MEDIA RELEASE Media Release, 20 September 2007 Sea ice under scrutiny from space Lasers from helicopters and space satellites are being used in Antarctica, for the first time, to determine whether sea ice in the Southern Ocean is changing in response to climate change. Sea ice plays an essential role in regulating global climate as well as supporting the Southern Ocean ecosystem, and there are concerns that Antarctic sea ice may be getting thinner. A team of international researchers, led by the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre (ACE CRC), is on a six-week expedition in the Southern Ocean aboard the Antarctic research ship Aurora Australis, which left Hobart earlier this month. ...

Shaktoolik, Alaska: Proposed Study on Local Knowledge of Sea Ice and Weather Conditions and Approaches to Adaptation to Climate/Environmental Change Part of IPY project 166: Sea Ice Knowledge and Use (SIKU) Report on the pilot visit, September 2-13, 2007 By Dr. Anja Nicole Stuckenberger, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA The study of Inuit/Iñupiaq cultural knowledge and adaptation to climate/environmental change that I envision as my contribution to the SIKU project will take place in two Arctic communities: the Iñupiat village of Shaktoolik in Norton Sound, Alaska (population 180) and the Inuit villag...

SIPEX: The first two weeks After 6 days and nights of rocking, rolling and bouncing our way through the Southern Ocean from Hobart, there was an abrupt change just before dawn and we were treated to a gentle rocking motion. Strong south-westerly winds during the previous day and night had pushed the sea ice to the north and caused more to form, so we reached the beginning of the ice a bit sooner than anticipated. First light revealed that we were going through bands of pancake ice - ice that forms as irregular roundish patties - separated by open water, some of which had an oily sheen to it. The sheen was caused by grease ice that forms when tiny ice crystals, known as frazil, are mixed through the top few meters of water. This is the first stage of sea ice de...

PRESS RELEASE The sea-ice is getting thinner - A closer look at the climate and ecosystem of the Arctic Ocean Bremerhaven, September 13, 2007. Large areas of the Arctic sea-ice are only one metre thick this year, equating to an approximate 50 percent thinning as compared to the year 2001. These are the initial results from the latest Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association lead expedition to the North Polar Sea. 50 scientists have been on board the Research Vessel Polarstern for two and a half months, their main aim; to carry out research on the sea-ice areas in the central Arctic. Amongst other things, they have found out that not only the ocean currents are changing, but community structures in the Arctic are also...

WIN A WEEK ABOARD AN ARCTIC ICEBREAKER!! (INCLUDING TRANSPORTATION FROM YOUR HOME COUNTRY) In April 2008, join journalists from all over the world for a week aboard the Canadian research icebreaker Amundsen. The World Federation of Science Journalists—in collaboration with the Canada Foundation for Innovation and the International Polar Year Circumpolar Flaw Lead Project—announces a competition offering science journalists the chance to win one of three week-long trips aboard the Canadian research icebreaker Amundsen. You will fly all the way to Inuvik (Canada), and hop aboard a Twin Otter aircraft to the famous icebreaker, where you will get first hand experience of global warming where it is unfolding the fastest. ENTRY GUIDELINES...

The International Polar Foundation's SciencePoles website has an interview Meredith Hooper to mark the publication of her new book: 'The Ferocious Summer: Palmer's Penguins and the Warming of Antarctica'. A trustee of the IPF-UK and recipient of the US National Science Foundation Antarctica Service Medal, Meredith Hooper's writing ranges from award-wining non-fiction books for all ages to academic articles and highly acclaimed fiction and information titles for children. During the last fourteen years, she has been invited as a wri...

Summary: The complete story of all IPY focuspoints, expressed in one videoart clip. No words, only moving pictures. Showing a silent but dramatic process in nature and culture. produced by Ap Verheggen, 2007 --------------------------------------------------------- The video is recorded in Nunavut, Canada, as well as at Cap Nez, France. --------------------------------------------------------- My name i...

WIN A WEEK ABOARD AN ARCTIC ICEBREAKER!! (INCLUDING TRANSPORTATION FROM YOUR HOME COUNTRY) In April 2008, join journalists from all over the world for a week aboard the Canadian research icebreaker Amundsen. The World Federation of Science Journalists- in collaboration with the Canada Foundation for Innovation and the International Polar Year Circumpolar Flaw Lead Project- announces a competition offering science journalists the chance to win one of three week-long trips aboard the Canadian research icebreaker Amundsen. You will fly all the way to Inuvik (Canada), and hop aboard a Twin Otter aircraft to the famous icebreaker, where you will get first hand experience of global warming where it is unfolding the fastest. ENTRY GUIDELINES...

MEDIA ADVISORY: SEPTEMBER 21, 2007 : IPY presents Sea Ice Day September 13, 2007 On September 21, 2007, the International Polar Year (IPY) will launch its first 'International Polar Day', focusing on Sea Ice. In preparation for this, a special sea ice web page has been prepared with information for Press and Educators, details of current projects and expeditions, contact details for scientists around the world, including in the polar regions, images, background information and useful links and resources. ...

In cooperation with the approaching Sea Ice Day, IPY project ICED talks about relationships between sea ice and marine life in the Southern Ocean: Some of the strongest expressions of climate change have been noticed in Antarctica. In some areas sea ice has markedly decreased, in others it has increased. Sea surface temperatures in the west Antarctic Peninsula region have increased significantly over the last 50 years. These and other such changes affect the delicate balance of life in the Southern Ocean ecosystem. Changes in sea ice can have a direct impact on ecosystems through shifts in the amount of habitat available for ice-associated animals. Recent research revealed a decline in tiny shrimp-like creatures (krill) across the Scotia ...