Oxford, UK, March 29, 2007 Global publisher, Wiley-Blackwell, which is part of John Wiley & Sons Inc., today announced publication of Polar Research, Issue 1, Volume 26, on behalf of the Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI). The first issue under the new partnership coincides with the commencement of International Polar Year, a major scientific initiative focused on the Arctic and the Antarctic that runs from March 2007 to March 2009.

Polar Research is a leading international publication aimed at promoting the exchange of high-quality scientific knowledge about the Arctic and Antarctic across disciplinary boundaries.

"We are delighted to be partnering with the Norwegian Polar Institute at such a critical point in the field of polar science," said Dr. Mike Davis, Managing Director & Vice President, Life Sciences, Wiley-Blackwell. "Drawing from our strength as a respected publisher of high-quality science content, we are well positioned to develop innovative strategies for extending the reach, scope, and depth of Polar Research."

Each issue of the journal will contain original primary research papers on topics such as glacier mass balance, sea ice-ocean atmosphere interactions, palaeoclimate reconstructed from sediment and ice cores, assemblages of marine invertebrates, bird distribution and migration patterns, as well as review articles, brief research notes, and book reviews. In addition, occasional solicited essays, covering biographical or historical subjects, will be selected to appeal to a wide audience of scientists and other readers.

During the last 20 years, portions of the polar regions have been warming up more rapidly than any other areas on Earth and models predict that temperature increases in the Arctic will continue to be more pronounced than elsewhere on the globe. How the resulting impact on glaciers, ice caps and sea ice will affect sea level and ocean circulation, and how this will influence global climate change, are some of the key scientific questions to be answered by research in the Arctic and Antarctic.

"Working with Wiley-Blackwell will enable us to further the journal's mission to promote the advancement of polar research and the dissemination of the results," said Helle V. Goldman, Chief Editor. "With our partnership as well as a distinguished, newly-established editorial board, we are confident that Polar Research will become a leading forum for research and forthcoming developments in Arctic and Antarctic science."
For more information on Polar Research, please visit www.blackwellpublishing.com/POR.

About the Norwegian Polar Institute
The Norwegian Polar Institute is Norway's central institution for research, environmental monitoring, and mapping in the Polar Regions. The Institute’s research activities are divided among four programmes that focus on climate, ecotoxins, biodiversity, geological mapping. The Institute regularly undertakes expeditions in both polar regions, owns the research vessel "Lance" and runs the Norwegian research stations in Ny-Alesund, Svalbard, and Antarctica. For more information on NPI, visit http://www.npolar.no

Scientists at the Norwegian Polar Institute are participating in a variety of national and international projects in connection with the International Polar Year, including several projects that the institute is leading. One international research consortium, called Marine Mammals Exploring the Oceans Pole to Pole and led by NPI biologist Kit M. Kovacs, will deploy sophisticated sensors on seals in the Arctic and Antarctica to investigate their movement patterns and to obtain unique, high-precision data about the temperature and salinity of the waters in which the animals are diving as they forage for food. These data will contribute to oceanographic and climatic modeling projects, as well as providing information about the seals’ habitat use.


About Wiley-Blackwell
Wiley-Blackwell was formed in February 2007 as a result of the merger between Blackwell Publishing Ltd. and John Wiley & Sons, Inc.'s Scientific, Technical, and Medical business. Together, the companies have created a global publishing business with deep strength in every major academic and professional field. Wiley-Blackwell publishes approximately 1,250 scholarly peer-reviewed journals and an extensive collection of books with global appeal. For more information on Wiley-Blackwell, please visit www.blackwellpublishing.com or http://interscience.wiley.com.