Return to Main Land and Life page Many thanks to Jerry Brown for text, images, and enthusiasm. Further permafrost resources can be found at the end of this page. The following text and selected figures are based mainly on excerpts from a chapter entitled Permafrost and Periglacial Environments by J. Alan Heginbottom (Canada), Jerry Brown (USA), Ole Humlum (Norway) and Harald Svensson (Denmark). It is scheduled for publication later in 2008 in the U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1386-...

Return to Main Land and Life page Many thanks to Jerry Brown for text, images, and enthusiasm. Further permafrost resources can be found at the end of this page. The following text and selected figures are based mainly on excerpts from a chapter entitled Permafrost and Periglacial Environments by J. Alan Heginbottom (Canada), Jerry Brown (USA), Ole Humlum (Norway) and Harald Svensson (Denmark). It is scheduled for publication later in 2008 in the U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1386-...

From May 15-24, 2008, science centers worldwide are joining forces with local students for an international, educational event about the importance of the Polar ice caps. To fully understand how these regions are critical to helping the Earth maintain its climate through their reflection of the sun's rays (a process called albedo), youngsters will create large white spots using available material. At a scheduled time determined by optimum overpass angle, NASA satellites will pass overhead, measuring the reflectivity of these white spots and recording images of the white spots. On June 9, the World Ocean Network will participate in the Albedo Experiment as part of its World Ocean Week closing ceremony. ...

Return to Main Land and Life page Here is a list of IPY projects studying Land and Life. In addition, there are several organisations that have further information and activities. Land: Glacier and Permafrost Hazards in Mountains (GAPHAZ) Antarctic Permafrost and ...

Return to Main Land and Life page Press Releases Polar Day: Land and Life Press Release PDF version ...

The previously untold complete story of the first vessel to reach the North Pole, the nuclear submarine USS Nautilus, will be released in July 2008 by Thomas Nelson Publishers. The book is written by Captain William Anderson, the captain of Nautilus for the trip, and by best-selling author Don Keith. THE ICE DIARIES tells the inside story of how Nautilus made three attempts to reach the North Pole beneath the polar ice pack. The first two almost ended tragically. The third attempt took the submarine and her crew of 116 through the North Pole, from Pacific to Atlantic, in late July and early August 1958 via the long sought Northwest Passage. The data collected about navigation in those high latitudes, the oceans, the sea bottom, and the pack ice contributed mightily to future exploration of...

PRESS RELEASE Alfred-Wegener-Institut for Polar- und Meeresforschung in der Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft Institute for Polar and Marine Research Communications Dept. Postfach 12 01 61, 27515 Bremerhaven/Germany Tel. ++49 471 4831-1376, Fax ++49 471 4831-1389 email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it The Antarctic deep sea gets colder RV Polarstern finished first Antarctic field season within the International Polar Year Bremerhaven, April 21, 2008. The Antarctic deep sea gets colder, which might stimulate the circulation of the oceanic water masses. This is the first result of the Polarstern expedition of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association that has just ended in Punta Arenas/Chi...

A feature in Plentymag this week features the IPY Project SIKU: Sea Ice Knowledge and Use. "SIKU (the term, appropriately, is also the most common Eskimo/Inuit word for sea ice) is a consortium of projects involving research in more than 20 communities in Alaska, Canada, Russia, and Greenland. While researchers in each country are pursuing their own agendas and using different approaches, they are united under one common theme: recording indigenous knowledge of sea ice. Unlike many traditional research projects, which rely on data and measurements obtained directly by scientists, SIKU researchers are interested in the personal perspectives and observations of Arctic peop...

Previous International Polar Days have focussed on Sea Ice, Ice Sheets, our Changing Earth, and Land and Life. The IPY Day on September 24th will focus on People. Back to main People Pages ...

ANTARCTIC CLIMATE & ECOSYSTEMS COOPERATIVE RESEARCH CENTRE Media Release embargoed until 10:00 am 17 April 2008 Polar Year expedition returns with evidence of ocean change The Aurora Australis returns to Hobart this morning, after completing a major oceanographic expedition across the Southern Ocean. The Climate of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean (CASO) voyage obtained the most accurate and complete measurements of the ocean currents between Australia and Antarctica yet taken, providing important information that will improve models used to predict climate change. “We have collected a remarkable data set of observations from the Southern Ocean, covering a wide range of physical, chemical and bio...