Many climate models suggest the Arctic ice cover will melt within 50 years. Researchers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution want to measure the changes in the water—particularly the layered structure of the ocean—in order to understand what mechanisms might lead the ice cap to melt from below. The impacts for the ecosystem, the regional and global climate, and for commerce would be enormous. Many climate models suggest the Arctic ice cover will melt within 50 years. Researchers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution want to measure the changes in the water—particularly the layered structure of the ocean—in order to understand what mechanisms might lead the ice cap to melt from below. But how is it possible to take continuous measurements over long periods of time in such a hostile environment? Scientists and engineers have found a way.

As part of the International Polar Year, Polar Discovery brings you the stories of science on ice. The polar regions are experiencing unprecedented environmental changes that are having significant impacts on global climate, ecosystems, and society. Using the latest engineering advancements, scientists are studying the changing climate at the heart of the icy Arctic Ocean, the melting glaciers of Greenland, and the creatures of Antarctica's Southern Ocean.

Susan Humphris describes where CTDs (Conductivity-Temperature-Depth oceanographic instruments) and the autonomous vehicle Puma have been deployed on the Gakkel Ridge to locate volcanoes and hydrothermal vents.

On Day 36 of Polar Discovery's third expedition, we were nearing the edge of the ice pack, which means we were also entering bear country. We saw nine in a 24-hour period, beginning Saturday evening. In the United States, we call them "polar bears," but that's a bit misleading because they don't exist at the southern pole.

Andrea Burke, a second year graduate student in the MIT/WHOI Joint Program discusses her interest in paleoceanography, past climate change, and her excitement about going to Antarctica to learn more.

Together with a team of scientists, University of Alaska's Matt Nolan has been spending the past 6 weeks on Alaska's McCall Glacier, extracting ice cores and installing thermistor string. And he's been blogging it, using some very innovative multimedia tools to bring home what life on the glacier is like. The main blogging challenge has been getting his posts, photos and videos from the glacier to your browser. Connections to the outside world are very sparse, so the first batch of blog posts and content, from April 22 to May 11, have only just now been delivered to IPY.org, via USB thumb drive flown back to civilization. The wait has been worth it: ...

On the occasion of the 31st Antarctic Treaty Consultative meeting held in Kiev, Ukraine, from the 2nd to the 13th of June 2008, SciencePoles looks at one of the lasting legacies of the International Polar Year (IPY) 2007-08: A series of high-tech scientific research stations recently completed, or in the process of being constructed in Antarctica. Never since the International Geophysical Year of 1957-58 has the frozen continent seen suc...

Camp is on a bit of a funny schedule, with half the folks working at night and the rest during the day. It feels like the issue we face all the time in Alaska, with considering the 4 hour time difference in the east coast. So we leave notes for each other to read when we wake up. This morning we got a note saying that the drill had hit a rock at 70 m and it could not get past it to drill the remaining 60 meters or so of ice. Most drills working on ice are not designed to penetrate rock, and this is certainly the case with the two types of drills we have here. For holes 2 and 3, our main scientific interest is just the hole itself, so that we can install a thermistor string into it to measure temperature. In my initial request for support (and several times afterwards), I had recommended th...

Click on the panorama and drag to look around, press Shift to zoom in, Command (Mac) or Control (PC) to zoom out. With the drill crew on the night shift, Jason, Kristin, Turner and I tried to keep things moving on the day shift. The morning began mostly by sorting through boxes, trying to organize stuff that had been disorganized by the move (or never organized in the first place). But by lunch time we were all headed up to the Upper Cirque. There we tried to do some ‘final’ sorting of gear for what needed to be left there to support Jason’s studies of internal accumulation and what should be brought to each of the 4 other cac...

By afternoon the day after moving to our new location, the drill was set up and the first cores taken. Unfortunately it was great, warm weather – nice for us, but not for the drilling as the cold cores kept freezing in the core barrel. So, having convinced ourselves that everything was functional, the Bella, Terry, Darek, and Ryo took naps so that they could begin drilling again after dinner when the air temperatures dropped. By about 9PM drilling recommenced, and at a rapid pace. The work flow was well thought out and everyone knew their role. By 4AM, ice at 25 meters depth had been extracted. At this rate, we’d be at the bottom in five days, and ready to move to our next site. ...