Short clip explaining the International Polar Year and Students on Ice expeditions. Video includes interview footage from the Students on Ice Arctic expedition 2007.

Footage from the 2007 Students on Ice Antarctic Expedition. Students on Ice (SOI) is an award winning program dedicated to taking youth on educational expeditions to the Arctic and the Antarctic together with world-class teams of scientists and educators. As pioneers of experiential environmental education, the SOI experience has changed lives of students from all walks of life and backgrounds in what we like to call the greatest classroom on earth!

Adam Soule from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution talks about his volcano research and how Antarctica is sensitive to climate change. As a volcanologist, he will study the lava flows of the past, an important process in an actively evolving planet such as Earth. The products of volcanic eruptions cover more than 2/3's of the Earth's surface and are primary means for transferring heat and mass from the Earth's interior.

Mark Kurz from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution discusses how he can find out the ages of rocks in Antarctica to discover when ice sheets and glaciers advanced and retreated on the icy continent. That knowledge, in turn, helps scientists learn more about how and why Earth's climate changed in the past, providing clues to determine how humans are affecting Earth's climate today, and the impacts climate change will have on humans in the future.

Oceanographer Mary-Louise Timmermans discusses the importance of research to determine how much the Arctic's climate is changing.

Many climate models suggest the Arctic ice cover will melt within 50 years. Researchers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution want to measure the changes in the water—particularly the layered structure of the ocean—in order to understand what mechanisms might lead the ice cap to melt from below. The impacts for the ecosystem, the regional and global climate, and for commerce would be enormous. Many climate models suggest the Arctic ice cover will melt within 50 years. Researchers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution want to measure the changes in the water—particularly the layered structure of the ocean—in order to understand what mechanisms might lead the ice cap to melt from below. But how is it possible to take continuous measurements over long periods of time in such a hostile environment? Scientists and engineers have found a way.

As part of the International Polar Year, Polar Discovery brings you the stories of science on ice. The polar regions are experiencing unprecedented environmental changes that are having significant impacts on global climate, ecosystems, and society. Using the latest engineering advancements, scientists are studying the changing climate at the heart of the icy Arctic Ocean, the melting glaciers of Greenland, and the creatures of Antarctica's Southern Ocean.

Susan Humphris describes where CTDs (Conductivity-Temperature-Depth oceanographic instruments) and the autonomous vehicle Puma have been deployed on the Gakkel Ridge to locate volcanoes and hydrothermal vents.

On Day 36 of Polar Discovery's third expedition, we were nearing the edge of the ice pack, which means we were also entering bear country. We saw nine in a 24-hour period, beginning Saturday evening. In the United States, we call them "polar bears," but that's a bit misleading because they don't exist at the southern pole.