Getting Ready

The three weeks at Troll Station are a blur of all-important activities. Erecting the science tent on a sled that will keep the researchers out of the wind as they process snow samples and ice cores. Tens of ice core boxes need pre-labeling, to save time en route. The safety officer drills them on crevasse rescue techniques, but there's time for a birthday party for the Norwegian camp manager who is planning the menu to keep the team warm and happy en route. Hurricane force winds of more than 100 mph confine the team inside, where they test equipment. It's also time to try on Glen Liston's unique "nose mitts" - he's made one for every member of the team. Watch now to see why Atsu thinks he looks like a duck!

From Cape Town to Troll Station

US and Norwegian researchers gather in Cape Town, and relax down by the waterside before boarding plane for Troll Station. There is cargo to carefully log in and weigh, group meetings to finalize plans. The 8 hour flight to Antarctica is a time to catch up on sleep. Arriving at Troll, a sign reads "Hot Dogs", but it's just a long-running joke about the two nations preferences in food. The members of the traverse know their adventure is now truly beginning.

Join an expedition out onto the spectacular "blue ice" to see how scientists search for chunks of the Earth and Moon - and liberate frozen meat patties for dinner. Check out an Antarctic fashion show, take a skidoo trip across a frozen landscape.

The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) - Sixth Continent Initiative fellowship 2008 award has just been granted to the Hungarian Ramón Hegedüs. The marine environment around Antarctica offers unique possibilities for studying the adaptations of visually-based animal navigation systems and foraging techniques. Currently working on a PhD in statistical and biological physics, this 26-year-old intends to investigate 'The role of polarized skylight in animal navigation and foraging in the Antarctic'.In his abstract research plan, Ramón explains that migration between h...

The next International Polar Day is in ONE MONTH: on September 24th we will be focussing on People and the Polar Regions. There are many ways you can get involved.. please consider some of the following, share with your networks, and let us know if you have any feedback or further ideas. Links to the following planned activities can be found from the sidebar at http://www.ipy.org/index.php?/ipy/detail/people 1. Launch a Virtual Balloon: show the involvement of your class or school in this event and watch balloons flying around the world. Launching instructions are available in several languages or email your loc...

In this SciencePoles interview, Dr. Bell provides an overview of what is currently known about the Gamburtsev Mountains in East Antarctica, and of how the research is unfolding. As a geophysicist specialised in Antarctic glacial and sub-glacial environments, Dr. Robin Bell has led seven major research expeditions to Antarctica and is one of the original instigators of the International Polar Year (IPY) 2007-08. She is Director of the ADVANCE program at the ...

The first black explorer to set foot on the Antarctic ice shelf garnered a posthumous honor August 5, when the school board of Rochester, Minnesota, confirmed the name of the George W. Gibbs Jr. Elementary School. George Washington Gibbs Jr. was born on Nov. 7, 1916, in Jacksonville, Florida. He was also raised in that port city and many years of his life were connected with service at sea. Enlisting in Macon, Georgia, in 1935, four years later Gibbs was chosen from of hundreds of applicants for the 1939-41 US Antarctic Expedition. Serving as a Mess Attendant 1st Class aboard the Bear, Gibbs attracted official attention before the ship ever departed American shores: Especially commended by the Commanding Officer at meritorious mast...

Contents: 1. IPO in August 2. September 24th: People Day 3. Oslo Science Conference, June 2010: Call For Session Ideas 4. AGU 5. Arctic Field Season Report no. 16, August 2008 From: IPY International Programme Office To: IPY Project Coordinators cc: IPY Community Google Groups 1. IPO in August Please note that the IPO will not be working at full potential during the month of August as Nicola, Dave, and Rhian are away from the office at different times. Please be patient if the response time is slow, and call our mobile phone numbers if an immediate response is required. 2. September 24th: People Day The next Polar D...

Session announcement and Call for Abstracts American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting 15-19 December 2008, San Francisco, California Papers are invited for Session A35: Cooperative Studies Incorporating Measurements from Land-Based Atmospheric Arctic Observatories The main mission of the International Arctic Systems for Observing the Atmosphere (IASOA) is coordination of atmospheric data collection and observatories. The effort supports the International Polar Year (IPY, www.ipy.org), but is intended to establish a continuing network consortium into the foreseeable future. Data of interest to the IASOA consortium include measurements of standard meteorology, greenhouse gases, atmospheric radiation, clouds, pollutants, chemistry, aeros...

A 150-meter ice core pulled from the McCall Glacier in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge this summer may offer researchers their first quantitative look at up to two centuries of climate change in the region. The core, which is longer than 1 1/2 football fields, is the longest extracted from an arctic glacier in the United States, according to Matt Nolan, an associate professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Institute of Northern Engineering who has led research at McCall Glacier for the past six years. The sample spans the entire depth of the glacier and may cover 200 years of history, he said. “What we hope is that the climate record will extend back into the Little Ice Age,said Nolan. “Up until the late 1800s these glaciers were actually gr...