The German research vessel Polarstern is now about 500km north of Prydz Bay. The engineer Konrad Kopsch from the Alfred Wegener Institute Potsdam is getting instruments (such as the so-called “bird”) ready, together with his colleagues and the geophysicist Detlef Damaske from the "Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe" (Federal Institute for Geosciences and Raw Materials) in Germany. "The bird" is a torpedo-shaped probe that is suspended by a cable a few meters below a helicopter flying over the ocean. The measuring equipment itself, which measures the magnetization at the ocean floor, is located inside the helicopter. The researchers are looking for anomalies in the magnetization data in order to be able to record and make detailed reconstructions of co...

Polarstern has arrived at Prydz Bay, the primary research area of the expedition ANTXXIII/9 of the Alfred Wegener Institute. The first task is to take sediment samples from the ocean floor at a depth of more than 700 meters. Geologist Bernhard Diekmann from the University of Potsdam stands on the ship's bridge and watches the monitor attached to the parasound equipment. This Sonar system graphically represents the layers of the sea floor sediment under the Polarstern. Diekmann is looking for areas where the sediment layers are even and parallel to each other, so that an interference-free baseline measurement can be taken. Icebergs dating back to the last ice age have left deep grooves in the ocean floor. The literature, however, does not describe the location of these areas very accuratel...

Celebrate the start of IPY by climbing the snow-covered mountains of the Polar Urals in the heart of the Russian Arctic! Date: 11-15 April, 2007 Application deadline: March, 9 Place: Salekhard, Yamal-Nenets district, Russia Event: IPY mountain climbing Activities: sport, cooking, tourist video and music contests, skiing, mountain climbing Who: students, scientists, educators, press, anyone involved in IPY or wishing to do so Danger: None Fun: loads! Age: 14-18 18-30 30- any Countries: any Funding: apply early and get full funding!* *What is covered by the travel grant: 1. Letter of invitation from Russian Ministry of Foreign affairs 2. Fl...

The International Polar Year has begun. What a week! With US and UK launches on the Monday stirring up media attention, followed by an event in Portugal on the Wednesday and over 20 more national events on the day itself, March 1st 2007, we definitely hit the news! While traveling to Paris with Nicola, to prepare for the international launch, the phone didn't stop ringing, both sides of the Channel Tunnel and even on the Paris subway system! I was contacted by journalists as diverse as New Zealand Radio, an In-flight magazine, BBC World Service, Vatican Radio, Al Jazeera English, an Italian science magazine, Chinese TV networks, and Scientific American to name a few. During the International Ceremony itself, my phone kept shaking, and afterwards, on a tour of Paris, I saw ...

“From the scientific point of view, I have to assume that there once was or still is life in Mars,” says microbiologist Dirk Wagner, researcher at the AWI research centre in Potsdam. Because of statements like this, he is often labelled as a “sci-fi fanatic”, but he really isn’t, for the question of life on Mars has long been an intriguing possibility. Wagner and his team of seven have analysed the conditions in Mars. The most important finding to consider is that evidence of water has been found on Mars, and water is a basic building block of life. Another factor is the occurrence of carbon dioxide and hydrogen, which are nutritional bases for some life forms, just as bread is to humans. Fundamentals for life are also optimal if there are no huge temperature fluc...

Thank-you to everyone who was involved with launch events, who launched virtual balloons, who launched real balloons (see the Swedish launch web-cast!), those behind the scenes, and those on stage. IPY Celebrations around the world on March 1st, and throughout this week, have been a huge success. You can watch those you missed on the Arctic Portal, or still launch your virtual balloon now, and throughout IPY, to recognise the importance of the polar regions to the whole planet. Here is a map showing balloons that have been launched around the world (you can zoom in on where you live or zoom out to see the world map!): ...

IPY launch events around the world can be viewed live at the Arctic Portal. We also encourage everyone to launch a virtual balloon and show how many people around the world care about the polar regions and are interested in IPY. Everyone is welcome to join in, young or old, polar or tropical! The Official Opening Ceremony takes place in Paris at 11am local time. That is UTC 10:00, or, 1am in Anchorage, 5am in New York, 7am in Santiago, 3.30pm in Calcutta, 7pm in Tokyo, and 9pm in Sydney. You can watch it live or after the event on the web at the Arctic Portal, where you will also find webcasts of other national launch events from around th...

Join the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) team on the redesigned Antarctica UAB website as we explore the spectacular marine life around Palmer Station on the western Antarctic Peninsula. As part of the celebration of the International Polar Year, we want to help showcase the diversity of international cooperation in polar research and validate its worth in the public's eye. We invite you to visit the site, post comments/questions and join us as we bring the world to Antarctica during our NSF-funded expedition. The site combines traditional Web features with social networking Web sites like Digg.com and Del.icio.us. You can contribute your own knowledge, images and viewpoints as well as fo...

Watch IPY launch events on-line at the Arctic Portal and elsewhere. Throughout this week, over twenty nations around the world are celebrating the launch of the International Polar Year 2007-2008. New Zealand, Indigenous People, Argentina, and the Ukraine have already held extremely successful events. This week, Monday will see Press and Participants gathering in London, Strasbourg, and Washington DC, and Portugal will be holding their kick-off event on Wednesday. Thursday is the big day, with the Global Launch occurring in Paris at 1000 UTC (1100 local Central European Time) and national celebrations in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Greenland, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Norway, ...

Watch IPY launch events on-line at the Arctic Portal and elsewhere. Throughout this week, over twenty nations around the world are celebrating the launch of the International Polar Year 2007-2008. New Zealand, Indigenous People, Argentina, and the Ukraine have already held extremely successful events. This week, Monday will see Press and Participants gathering in London, Strasbourg, and Washington DC, and Portugal will be holding their kick-off event on Wednesday. Thursday is the big day, with the Global Launch occurring in Paris at 1000 UTC (1100 local Central European Time) and national celebrations in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Greenland, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Norway, ...