Arctic researchers go with the floes
march 31, 2008 ABOARD CCGS AMUNDSEN Canada's peripatetic polar researchers are about to roll the dice in hopes of a bigger scientific payoff. Current plans call for the Amundsen icebreaker to shake free of its frozen berth later this week and knife farther west through the ice-encrusted Arctic. Barber is a driving force behind the Circumpolar Flaw Lead System Study, Canada's largest project for International Polar Year which runs from March 2007 to March 2009. More than 200 scientists from 14 countries are involved and making exhaustive use of the Amundsen.
Earth from Space: Further break-up of Antarctic ice shelf
March 28, 2008 This animation, comprised of images acquired by Envisat's Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR), highlights the rapid loss of ice on the Wilkins Ice Shelf from 26 February to 7 March 2008. Between 28 and 29 February, an area of about 400 sq km disintegrated into large and small icebergs within 24 hours. The break-up was preceded by the formation of a new rift appearing first in Envisat ASAR and in Japan's ALOS PALSAR imagery from July 2007. These ASAR images were acquired as part of ESA's support to the International Polar Year (IPY) 2007-2008, a large worldwide science programme focused on the Arctic and Antarctic.
Giant, Unknown Animals Found off Antarctica
March 28, 2008 — National Geographic Giant sea stars or starfish that measure 24 inches (60 centimeters) across are held by Sadie Mills, left, and Niki Davey of New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research on February 15, 2008. They and other researchers collected 30,000 sea creatures-many new to science-during a 35-day census in Antarctic waters in February and March, according to a March 26 announcement. The large-scale survey was part of the International Polar Year and Census of Antarctic Marine Life programs, which study the diversity of Antarctic marine life.
Compiled by Paul Garwood, WMO
