Contents: 1. Introduction to Monthly Reports 2. Information and Resources on the IPY web site 3. SCAR/IASC Open Science Conference, July 2008 4. Youth Networks FROM: IPY International Programme Office TO: IPY Project Coordinators 1. Introduction Several project coordinators have expressed a desire for more communication from the IPY Office. This IPY Report conveys (we hope) useful and timely information to the Coordinators of each of the IPY Projects. We welcome suggestions for content and improvement. We will send this by direct email from IPO using a Google Group, approximately monthly. Project Coordinators should redistribute these reports among the...

Monthly updates from the IPY International Programme Office to project leaders of internationally endorsed IPY projects. The full list of these projects can be found here. May 2007 (no. 1) June 2007 (no. 2) July 2007 (no. 3) August 2007 (no. 4) ...

One of the tasks of the endorsed project "Enhancing the environmental legacy of the IPY in Antarctica" is to look at the cumulative environmental impacts of the IPY. So far, the IPY Joint Committee has endorsed 99 projects with Antarctic or bipolar focus. These projects encompass at least 350 research activities, of which 82% plan to conduct fieldwork in Antarctica. Of these activities, 105 (37%) are planning to leave behind physical infrastructure. A large amount of activity has been planned around existing centers of research (e.g., the Antarctic Peninsula, Dronning Maud Land); a number of large-scale research activities has also been planned in areas which have, so far, been seldom visited (e.g., the Gamburtsev Mountains, subglacial lakes). Many of them...

The Government of India will be hosting the 30th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) at New Delhi from 30 April to 11 May. The ATCM is the annual occasion when the signatories of the Antarctic Treaty get together to discuss about the management of Antarctica. Usual topics on the agenda include environmental protection, tourism and legal issues. This year, IPY will also be an important item on the agenda. David Carlson will be representing the International Programme Office in New Delhi and will be providing updates on the IPY. For more information, please visit the sites for the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat site and the ...

DRAFT 19th April, 2007 The Smithsonian Institution will host a polar science symposium as one of the inaugural U.S. contributions to celebrate the International Polar Year 2007-2008. "Smithsonian at the Poles: Contributions to International Polar Year Science" is scheduled for Thursday and Friday, May 3-4 at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian Institution Building (Castle) in Washington, D.C. The symposium, which is also supported by the National Science Foundation, will present research findings by Smithsonian scholars and their collaborators from Arctic and Antarctic research, with particular attention to changes in polar systems past, present and future, and their global impact. The symposium will ...

I wrote in my first blog how lucky I was to have a chance to work in Antarctic and that experience has changed my life in many ways and continues to. I credit this to one of my dearest mentors and a true inspiration to me, Dr. Diane McKnight. Diane has been conducting research in the McMurdo Dry Valleys for two decades and has been inspiring new scientists for even longer. Diane continues to inspire new polar scientists through her recently completed children's book describing the first encounter with a live seal in the Dry Valleys. I encourage all of you to check out the Lost Seal website and share this great adventure with the schools you visit and the children you know. “Resear...

Dr. Diane McKnight, Antarctic Scientist at the University of Colorado - Boulder, has been inspiring people to study the Antarctic region for nearly two decades. She continues to do so through her wonderful new book The Lost Seal. The Lost Seal children's story describes the first documented encounter with a live seal in the remote McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica. This educational story tells of one seal's travels in the Antarctic desert and provides an engaging framework for conveying how different Antarctica and the Dry Valleys are from the environments with which children are familiar. "Research scientists camped at the desolate McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica studying the local lakes and streams are one day surprised to find a young Weddell seal in t...

One of the main projects to present polar science to a wide audience in The Netherlands is the development of a weblog for all IPY-NL science expeditions. A Dutch public broadcasting corporation

Posters introducing 14 different IPY-NL research projects can be downloaded in PDF format from the IPY NL website. Posters contributions include - a general introductions to the international IPY projects: ‘Tarantella’, ‘Bird Health’, ‘Lashipa’, ‘NORCLIM’, ‘Aliens’ - Dutch contributions to IPY projects: ‘Glaciodyn’, ‘ORACLE-O3’, ‘POLAR-AOD’, ‘IPY Geotraces’ and ‘PAME’. The posters were presented in November 2006 at an IPY-NL information meeting in The Hague, The Netherlands. ...

Live Earth concerts will be held around the world. Headliners for the London Concert will be Madonna, the Beastie Boys and Black Eyed Peas joined by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Keane, Foo Fighters and others. In East Rutherford, New Jersey artists will include Bon Jovi, Dave Matthews Band, Kanye West, Rihanna, John Mayer, Smashing Pumpkins and Fall Out Boy. Other concerts will be in China, South Africa, Australia, Toyko and Brazil. Organizers have promised an event in Antarctica - but no word yet on where. These concerts start a campaign called Save Our Selves (SOS). The full story can be found at cnn.com ...