Media release: 22 March 2008 The final sailing south in the world’s largest Southern Ocean climate experiment gets underway today when the Aurora Australis sets sail from Hobart. Aurora Australis is the last of 20 international research vessels deploying instruments in the Southern Ocean as part of an International Polar Year (IPY) experiment known as CASO, for Climate of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. The Antarctic Climate & Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre (ACE CRC) is leading the voyage, which includes a team of researchers from the Centre’s partner organisations includ- ing the Alfred Wegner Institute (Germany) and the National Institue of Water and Atmospher- ic Research (New Zealand). “By pooling resources, s...

Columbus, Ohio …This year and next, middle school teachers have a unique opportunity to engage their students in one of the most massive scientific programs ever undertaken--the International Polar Year. Scientists from 60 countries are studying changes in the polar regions while many other groups are involved in educating the public via content-rich web sites, real-time broadcasts, and exhibits. How to make this complex undertaking accessible to students is the subject of Science and the Polar Regions, an online publication from the Middle School Portal of the National Science Digital Library. Mary LeFever, author of the publication, has identified more than three-dozen web-based resources for use in the middle school classroom. Among them are activities t...

Columbus, Ohio …This year and next, middle school teachers have a unique opportunity to engage their students in one of the most massive scientific programs ever undertaken--the International Polar Year. Scientists from 60 countries are studying changes in the polar regions while many other groups are involved in educating the public via content-rich web sites, real-time broadcasts, and exhibits. How to make this complex undertaking accessible to students is the subject of Science and the Polar Regions, an online publication from the Middle School Portal of the National Science Digital Library. Mary LeFever, author of the publication, has identified more than three-dozen web-based resources for use in the middle school classroom. Among them are activities t...

Download PDF pic: Icicles form as meltwater drips from winter sea ice grounded as the tide drops. Rothera Point, Adelaide Island, Antarctica. Pete Bucktrout (British Antarctic Survey) In order to understand how climate change is affecting the Southern Ocean ecosystem, it is necessary to understand the context in which change occurs. What was the Southern Ocean ecosystem like 10 years ago, 50 years ago or 5,000 years ago? Long-term monitoring combined with techniques which provide clues about the distant past, suc...