http://ipy.arcticportal.org/index.php?option=com_k2&id=1997&view=itemPress release: Kinnvika - Arctic warming and impact research - Change and variability of Arctic systems, with focus on Nordaustlandet, Svalbard Kinnvika is a project within the International Polar Year 2007–2008 that focuses on Arctic warming and impact research. Its a multinational and multidisciplinary initiative to enhance the understanding of the Arctic climate systems, to monitor environmental change due to global climate warming and to study effects of human activity in the Arctic. Kinnvika is also a logistic platform for scientists to manage research, with a base at the old Kinnvika station in Svalbard. There are 25 working packages in the project and the science involves several disciplines in the Earth Sciences including studies among others on ...

Course Announcement International Polar Year IV: Context and Promise Yukon College and University of the Arctic 2 February to 3 May 2009 Yukon College and University of the Arctic announce the international offering of the online course, International Polar Year IV: Context and Promise. The course will be held from 2 February through 3 May 2009. This second-year-level, multidisciplinary course presents an overview of the historical and scientific context of the fourth International Polar Year 2007-2008 and offers an examination of its development, planning, and execution. The overall orientation of the course is historical and descriptive rather than analytical or theoretical. The course will be of particular interest to individuals workin...

Special Issue of the Canadian Journal of Remote Sensing: Remote Sensing Innovations During the International Polar Year Guest Editors: Dr. Chris Derksen ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) Dr. Paul Treitz ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) We invite contributed papers on the application of remote sensing to polar research. Papers are solicited from all application areas including the marine and terrestrial cryosphere, land cover and ecology, geology, education, outreach, and policy. Contributions from endorsed IPY projects are encouraged, but all submissions dealing with remote sensing of the polar regions will be considered. If you intend to submit a manuscript please contact either of the Guest Editors by email before 1 February 20...

Having been able to survive in the harsh Arctic climate for millennia, indigenous Northern communities have extensive intimate knowledge about the Arctic ecosystems in which they live. Increasingly, researchers are taking advantage of this wealth of knowledge to help them study the ecosystems of the Far North and how climate change is affecting them. One programme to monitor ice cover being run by the Nunavik Research Centre (NRC), the research arm of Québec's ...

Since the last International Polar Year, circumstances in the eight Arctic nations have changed considerably. Interactions with southern countries have increased, affecting the social dynamic of indigenous communications. This has impacted the diet and nutrition of indigenous communities. Traditionally, many indigenous communities relied on the land for food—coastal communities ate marine mammals whereas inland communities hunted for animals such as reindeer or caribou. This diet was supplemented with other mammals, birds, fish, or plants. Today, store-bought items like white bread, pork chops, and beef ar...

Screening of The Last Continent (dir. Jean Lemire), a fascinating documentary on climate change through a 430-day intense expedition in Antarctica. Québec Film Week December 12 & 14 Landmark’s Opera Plaza Cinema Tickets available here Filmmaker and marine biologist Jean Lemire (The White Planet) leads an intense 430-day expedition to Antarctica in this resonant documentary about a group of scientists investigating the effects of climate change. When the team arrives they discover that warmer temperatures causing upheavals in the ecosystem also threaten the safety of the crew members themselves. Awaiting the arrival of a desperately needed winter, they struggle to keep f...

POLAR PERSPECTIVES is now well underway, taking place at 15 venues across the country, in each of Canada's provinces and territories! This National IPY event is supported by the Government of Canada’s International Polar Year Program, the Walter & Duncan Gordon Foundation, the Alliance of Natural History Museums of Canada, Students on Ice, the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, and Canadian Geographic Magazine.   The Speaker Series consists of an evening lecture program delivered to a general audience by prominent scientists, writers, artists, filmmakers, adventurers and leaders. It is intended to ...

Experience and learn about climate change first hand in the Antarctic! Gatineau, Qc.—6 November, 2008—Students on Ice Expeditions is accepting applications for the International Polar Year (IPY) Antarctic University Expedition 2009, a two week ship-based field course leaving Argentina on February 14th, 2009 returning February 28. This expedition provides a wonderful opportunity to study in one of the most exceptional and remote places on Earth. Our theme for this expedition is ‘Environmental Leadership’ and weaves itself through our education program in conjunction with our ongoing exploration of the ...

Dana Centre Event Tuesday, 21 October 2008 7:00 - 9:00 pm Tickets are free Reserve your place And so we return from our Arctic expedition - Western Greenland has worked its magic. 10 days of exploration, discussion and debate, and it turns out we were right all along, climate change is happening! In the icy cold - catching a satellite link where we could - we beamed back daily blogs, images, video and sound to our Disko Bay site. Visit our website to find out more about what we got up to in the Arctic and the first responses of voyagers to climate change. Thank you to all those who have followed the expedition online and continue to support our work. On Tuesday, Oc...

IAMAS, IAPSO and IACS invite the international atmospheric, oceanographic and cryospheric research community to MOCA-09, their Joint Assembly, to be held 19th July to 29th July 2009 in Montréal, Québec, Canada. The call for Abstracts is now open.  Please note the following session: Session: J03 International Polar Year – Early Results Convenors: Michel Béland (IAMAS), Ian Allison (IACS), Karen Heywood (IAPSO) Abstract: This symposium provides the first opportunity after the official end of the observing period of the International Polar Year 2007-2008 (1 March 2007 to 1 March 2009) to report new results from IPY projects. The session will particularly highlight interdisciplinary results ad...