July 11, 2007 Canada's New Government and University of Manitoba Launch Canada's Largest International Polar Year Research Project WINNIPEG -- Today the Honourable Vic Toews, President of the Treasury Board, joined the University of Manitoba for the official launch of the Circumpolar Flaw Lead System (CFL) Study, the largest project in Canada's International Polar Year research program. The CFL Study is based aboard the Canadian Coast Guard research icebreaker, CCGS Amundsen, and includes project team leaders from the University of Manitoba, the Universite Laval, the Universite du Quebec, the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC), and DFO. "The Circumpolar Flaw Lead System project will provide us with vital scientific knowled...

Five research ships with scientists from 16 countries are currently in the Arctic performing groundbreaking research to better understand climate changes. The European Union Programme DAMOCLES (Developing Arctic Modelling and Observing Capabilities for Long-term Environment Studies), which is part of the International Polar Year, is concerned with the potential for a significantly reduced sea ice cover, and the impacts this might have on the environment and human activities, both regionally and globally. -Polarstern reports: The sea ice is getting thinner- Large areas of the Arctic sea ice are now only one metre deep, which means the thickness of the ice has halved since 2001, initial findings from the research ship Polarste...

Mark your diaries: SEPTEMBER 21ST WILL BE THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL POLAR DAY, HIGHLIGHTING SEA ICE. IPY and Sea Ice Over 30 large, international IPY projects are studying some aspect of Sea Ice. This includes ship expeditions, remote sensing, sea ice ecosystems, the importance of sea ice to polar bears and marine mammals, climate research, exhibitions, and books. On September 13th, a web-page dedicated to Sea Ice will be published on www.ipy.org listing projects that are involved, real-time expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic, contacts for media, sources for images, and background information. There will also be educational and community activities including classroom...

MEDIA RELEASE For more information, visit the SIPEX expedition website. An earlier than usual foray into far southern waters will help scientists understand the connection between Antarctic sea ice and the ecosystems that depend on it for survival. The voyage is Australia's first in around 10 years to head into the Southern Ocean while the sea ice remains in place before the summer thaw. The Sea Ice Physics and Ecology eXperiment (SIPEX*) voyage, jointly organised by the Antarctic Climate & Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre (Antarctic CRC) and the Australian Antarctic Division, will sail from Hobart at the beginning of September 2007. Eighty-six scientists from eight nations will use a suite of...

Cape Farewell launches first climate change youth expedition to the High Arctic Launch: From 4pm, Sunday 9 September 2007, Southbank Centre, London Expedition: 14-23 September 2007 In September, Cape Farewell launches its first international youth expedition, voyaging north of the 79th parallel to the fragile extremes of Svalbard in the High Arctic with twelve students from Germany, Canada and the UK to investigate and raise awareness of the impacts of climate change. In a landmark arts, science and media project the young people will work alongside artist Dan Harvey, Professor Mark Maslin of University College London's Environment Institute and others to develop scientific and creative projects. The students will live, work and help sail the ...

Invitation to a press conference: On September 3, 2007, The Federal Minister of Education and Research, Dr Annette Schavan, will inspect the new Antarctic station Neumayer III, as well as the new research aircraft Polar 5, in Bremerhaven. Dear Sir or Madam, dear colleagues, The new German Antarctic station Neumayer III is currently under construction in Bremerhaven. It is scheduled to replace the present station in 2009. Neumayer III has been designed and will be constructed by the two Bremerhaven companies JH Kramer and Kaefer Isoliertechnik (Kaefer Technology) by order of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research. In order to assure subsequent trouble-free assembly on the ice, a large section of the building will be test-const...

MEDIA RELEASE WEDNESDAY 8 AUGUST 2007 Antarctic research to benefit from $4.5 million in special projects for International Polar Year. Six exciting research projects touching on climate change and protecting the fragile Antarctic environment have been approved to mark International Polar Year. The projects have been made possible by a special three-year, $4.5 million contestable fund to support International Polar Year research, announced by the Prime Minister in May and administered by the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology, "International Polar Year represents a unique opportunity for New Zealand scientists to participate in a number of important Antarctic scientific collaborations," says foundation Chief Executive Murray Bain....

WORLD'S FIRST COIN WITH PLASMA EFFECT! The Royal Canadian Mint has released a $20 silver IPY coin. This coin pays tribute to the visionary scientists who established an international collaboration to study the earth's polar regions 125 years ago, an initiative inspired by the arrival of the first English explorer in the Arctic three centuries prior. To underscore this timely theme, this special-edition coin is being issued with a plasma effect from the cutting edge of minting. Only 7,000 coins have been treated with this remarkable technique to create the blue hues and capture the frigid essence of the Arctic as represented on this coin. For more details and to order the coin please see the ...

At the end of August, an unusual expedition under Russian leadership will leave for the Arctic Ocean. One of the participants is J

The first 2007 issue of the journal "Polar Research" is now available Research in the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard is the focus of the first issue of Polar Research during International Polar Year (IPY). Biology articles demonstrate the moult migration of pink-footed geese, examine sipunculan and molluscan fauna and investigate carbon and nitrogen limitation in the respiration of soil microbes. Using photogrammetry to gauge coastal erosion is the subject of one article, while another uses direct measurements and modelling to assess snow accumulation across the Austfonna ice cap. Rounding off the issue, two essays shed light on an obscure chapter in polar exploration: Walter Wellman's failed bids to reach the North Pole by dirigible in the early years of the last centur...