The purpose of our study is to understand how Arctic predators respond to variations in oceanographic conditions. We will be studying Little Auks (Alle alle) at two sites, along the West coast of Spitsbergen and along the East coast of Greenland. We will be comparing the diets, foraging behavior and reproductive success at these two contrasting sites. The Greenland birds feed in cold Arctic water and the Spitsbergen birds feed in warmer water. We are collaborating with researchers from many different countries. We have a blog to decribe our activities which we will update during our expedition. The team at the Spitsbergen site is made up of undergradute students and Prof. Nina Karnovsky from Pomona College, CA. The team at the Greenland site is led by Ann Harding and will ha...

Celebrate the summer solstice and come and see the longest day of the year. Hourly images collected and recorded in the Windows Around the World program let us see and compare daylength from Hawaii to above the Arctic Circle in the Northwest Territories, CA. The attached worksheet shows the images collected during the summer solstice in 2006. Summer_Solstice.pdf __ Thanks to Juanita Urban-Rich for this post: Juanita is co-developer of Windows Around the World, a web-based exchange program for elementary students that uses visual images. She will use this Blog to suggest ways you can ...

In 1934 James Mann Wordie lead a team of researchers to West Greenland and Baffin Island. They returned with objects, photographs and their own impressions of local Inuit communities. This website, created by the University of Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in collaboration with the Scott Polar Research Institute, visually represents these objects and the expedition’s encounters and experiences in the Arctic. A comment section is available on most pages for visitors to contribute information relating to the content presented. Wordie Arctic Expedition Website For more information, please contact Imogen Gunn Museum of Archaeology & Anthr...

Photos from the launch event of the UNEP cartoon book Ozzy Goes Polar on June 5th in the Tromso Library, Norway - on World Environment Day. Ozzy and Zoe Ozone Launch event of cartoon book Ozzy Goes Polar on June 5th in the Tromso Library accompanied by Ms. Sylvi Liljegren (Norwegian Polar Institute). Ms. Anne Fenner (OzonAction Information Officer) and Ozzy Ozone Children from Lunheim School in Tromso Norway...

In order to salvage German scientific research and the specialized knowledge and experience gained from it, the German Scientific Research Aid Council was formed in 1920. The Council's task was to put public and private funds to their best possible use to this end. In 1924, Vienna-born oceanography professor Alfred Merz asserted that the ocean offered an open door of opportunity for exploration and suggested a well-planned voyage invited solutions to important problems of the deep. The president of the Council recognized an extraordinary opportunity and things rapidly moved forward. The survey vessel Meteor (with a specially trained crew) was chosen as the expedition ship, and the expanse of the South Atlantic Ocean was her target in April 1925. A strenuous arou...

The bibliography "International Polar Year 2007-2008 Resources on Polar Research in the NOAA Central Library Network : A Selected Bibliography" has been prepared to support NOAA Central Library (NCL) activities during International Polar Year 2007-2008. It reflects the NCL network’s unique print and online resources on exploration and research in Polar Regions. It includes citations organized “by title” from NOAALINC, the library's online catalog, and from the library's historical collections. The data and listings are comprehensive from the 18th century to the present. The formats represented in this resource include print, CD-ROM, online full-text documents, digital videos, digital images, online cruise data and Web resources. This document provides full-text access, copyright ...

Danish Polar Center has established an IPY service office in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland's main international and domestic traffic hub and the gateway to the Ice Sheet. The office is located in KISS, the researchers' hotel, and will be staffed until the end of August. The IPY service is targetted at the many researchers coming to Greenland during IPY. When you arrive at the airport, look for the IPY banner and the IPY logo * and you'll find the IPY service staff. The IPY service in Kangerlussuaq is a cooperative effort between Danish Polar Center, Kangerlussuaq International Science Support (KISS) and Greenland Home Rule's Office for Research Coordination. As part of the service an "IPY SERVICE Manual" is available for download. The manual includes material...

The ice caps are melting but Brits still think polar bears live in Antarctica - home of the penguins. A new exhibition - Ice Station Antarctica - opens at Natural History Museum for International Polar Year 2007-2008. It will challenges kids to understand the importance of the frozen continent. Antarctica is a continent 58 times the size of the UK and it plays a crucial role in understanding global climate change, but one in ten Brits doesn't know where it is and a third of us still think polar bears live there. The Natural History Museum today launches Ice Station Antarctica, a new family blockbuster exhibition developed in partnership with the British Antarctic Survey that challenges kids to survive the extreme conditions faced by scientists researc...

The Forum on Sustainable Northern Shelter in a World of Diminishing Resources will be held between 28th and 30th October in Fairbanks, Alaska. It is an IPY event sponsored by the Cold Climate Housing Research Center, the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation, the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation and the Northern Forum. Further details and registration information can be found on the web site. The circumpolar Forum on Sustainable Northern Shelter, scheduled for October 28-30, 2007 in Fairbanks Alaska, is the outgrowth of an alliance of private and public sector organizations that share the vision of bringing together the most outstanding minds currentl...

We have news from India about the various aspects of its involvement with IPY - through both scientific projects and outreach. The launching of the Indian chapter of the IPY 2007-2008 took place at National Centre For Antarctic & Ocean Research (NCAOR), Vasco-da-Gama, India and parallely at Jawaharlal Nehru National University (JNU), New Delhi, India on 1st March 2007. Details of the scientific and outreach projects can be read in this pdf document. Further details can be had at National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research website and ...