The Forum on Sustainable Northern Shelter in a World of Diminishing Resources will be held between 28th and 30th October in Fairbanks, Alaska. It is an IPY event sponsored by the Cold Climate Housing Research Center, the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation, the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation and the Northern Forum. Further details and registration information can be found on the web site. The circumpolar Forum on Sustainable Northern Shelter, scheduled for October 28-30, 2007 in Fairbanks Alaska, is the outgrowth of an alliance of private and public sector organizations that share the vision of bringing together the most outstanding minds currentl...

On Thursday, March 15th, Whitehorse's Beringia Interpretive Centre played host to a celebration of the launch of the book Polaris: A Celebration of Polar Science. This science fiction anthology causes the speculation and imagination of science fiction to explore polar science itself. Where might it take us? What might certain discoveries mean? And at what cost do we take the frozen poles for granted? The IPY Youth Steering Committee worked with editor Julie E. Czerneda to arrange for an international writing contest open to students from around the world. The winning story was published in the Polaris. The book has a strong Yukon connection. Yukoners Amber Church and Tyler Kuhn of the International IPY Youth Steering Committee wrote a special introduction to the boo...

I wrote in my first blog how lucky I was to have a chance to work in Antarctic and that experience has changed my life in many ways and continues to. I credit this to one of my dearest mentors and a true inspiration to me, Dr. Diane McKnight. Diane has been conducting research in the McMurdo Dry Valleys for two decades and has been inspiring new scientists for even longer. Diane continues to inspire new polar scientists through her recently completed children's book describing the first encounter with a live seal in the Dry Valleys. I encourage all of you to check out the Lost Seal website and share this great adventure with the schools you visit and the children you know. “Resear...

Dr. Diane McKnight, Antarctic Scientist at the University of Colorado - Boulder, has been inspiring people to study the Antarctic region for nearly two decades. She continues to do so through her wonderful new book The Lost Seal. The Lost Seal children's story describes the first documented encounter with a live seal in the remote McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica. This educational story tells of one seal's travels in the Antarctic desert and provides an engaging framework for conveying how different Antarctica and the Dry Valleys are from the environments with which children are familiar. "Research scientists camped at the desolate McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica studying the local lakes and streams are one day surprised to find a young Weddell seal in t...

The Dry Valleys lack many of the higher organisms generally considered "interesting". The mummified seal and penguin remains remind us that the occasional ill-fated visitor makes its way from the sea out to here, as six Adelie penguins did this season. Unfortunately, their attempts at colonizing the barren, frozen lakes have always ended tragically. On first glance, the Dry Valleys appear to be devoid of life altogether. But after a little while, I came to realize that despite the desert climate and extreme cold, the Valleys are teeming with life. I compare wildlife viewing in the Dry Valleys to looking at one of those 3-D picture books: readjust your eyes and after a while you simply cannot avoid seeing life all around you. Microscopic creatures live in the soils, lichen...

Live Earth concerts will be held around the world. Headliners for the London Concert will be Madonna, the Beastie Boys and Black Eyed Peas joined by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Keane, Foo Fighters and others. In East Rutherford, New Jersey artists will include Bon Jovi, Dave Matthews Band, Kanye West, Rihanna, John Mayer, Smashing Pumpkins and Fall Out Boy. Other concerts will be in China, South Africa, Australia, Toyko and Brazil. Organizers have promised an event in Antarctica - but no word yet on where. These concerts start a campaign called Save Our Selves (SOS). The full story can be found at cnn.com ...

Introducing a New Network for Cryosphere Early Career Scientists and Engineers! Are you a graduate student, postdoc, a starting professor or even an undergraduate student involved in polar or cyrosphere research? The Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS) is made for you! APECS is a new initiative that aims to bring together early career scientists from around the world who share an interest in the Polar Regions and the Cryosphere as a whole. The mission is to raise the profile of polar scientist by providing a continuum of leadership that is both internationally and inter...

The Frozen Five expedition team will be attempting to make a complete crossing of the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard from March to mid-June 2007. Our expedition team composes 5 young geoscientists (glaciology, geology, geophysics, biology, meteorology), aged 22-29 years, all with relevant Arctic experience from studying at least one year at the University of Svalbard. The actual expedition starts on March 29 at 12:45 in Longyearbyen, the "capital" of Svalbard. The planned return date is June 14, to the same location. The route, measuring some 1,000 km, will be completed on skis using our own power. All our gear will be carried on special sledges, known as pulks. We will all pull our own sledge(s), weighing about 100 kg each. The route is divided into 5 stages, with a food...

In its Edinburgh Declaration on the International Polar Year 2007-2008, the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting said: “We, the Antarctic Treaty Parties, express our support for a successful International Polar Year. We believe that the scientific research undertaken during the International Polar Year will increase knowledge of the Antarctic and will yield a better understanding of the major terrestrial, ocean and atmospheric systems that control the planet. The polar regions are sensitive barometers of climate change, and we value their biodiversity. Their health is vital to the well-being of the earth’s systems and its inhabitants.” This International Polar Year builds on the historic achievements of the three previous initiatives which took place ...

It may not show on this photo, but August 22nd in Antarctica was cold! I'm not in the picture here, because I'm taking it, but trust me, I was just as cold as everyone else. My crew and I had arrived two days prior on an NSF Antarctic Artists and Writers Program grant to shoot a film for four months, and we were already hard at work. Cameraman Sylvestre Guidi, and sound man Richard Fleming are filming Dr. Jennifer Mercer from the University of Wyoming's Department of Atmospheric Science, and Wiesje Mooiweer, a graduate student who was part of Jennifer's field team. This was Jennifer's fifth season on the Ice - and her first as co-PI of the project, which has been measuring the ozone hole over the continent for 20 years. I set out to make this film to put a human face on the scien...