Since the next expedition to Rijpfjorden is starting today, it is time to publish the last part of the story! If you missed second part, try this. This part is dedicated to the people somewhere in the dark basement in the city of Tromsø. Let’s finish the story: 10.3.2007 Day 10. Saturday Since we had almost done all must-do sampling and we needed some free time after last evening’s event, we decided to take off Saturday morning. We slept 30 minutes longer and took a walk on the mountain on north side of the camp. Regardless of their earlier names, we decided that we have a claim to rename some particula...

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 ...

The twilight of Tromsø is shrinking into a more and more narrow and deeper and deeper red band at the horizon as we are moving further north. I am watching through the airplane window on my way to Svalbard. I see the black sea is shining in the moonlight when we go in for landing. It is about 2 pm and still not a sign of daylight. There is minus degrees in the air and the snow is making a weak sound under my feet. Just like a winter is supposed to be. Gone is rain and slush. Gone is naked ground and floods. The arrival hall is pretty small and full of people. It takes a while before everybody gets their bag and the university drives us by bus to Nybyen, the place where we are going to live. It is situated about half an hour walk from the centre of Longyearbyen and co...

The Gimli Connection to the Arctic and Antarctic (EoI 1186) project is sponsored by the New Iceland Heritage Museum (NIHM). It looks into the history of our area to discover the connections with the Arctic and Antarctic regions of planet Earth. Called New Iceland before Manitoba was extended north, we are close, geographically, to the Arctic. However, some thought we would have a problem finding a connection to the Antarctic. Not so. We learned that sled dogs from the west shore of Lake Winnipeg went with two Antarctic explorers, Shackleton and Byrd. The research project was on. We hope to educate our patrons, our school kids, and our summer visitors, as we have educated ourselves. We have two display windows at NIHM with artefacts and displays and two looseleaf binders full of informatio...

I look deep into the water lapping at the bow of the ice breaker and find myself thinking of the books in my wife’s study at home. Shackleton, Amundsen, Scott. Tales of great heroism and courage. I thought: if it weren't for my wife’s keen interest in this continent, I wouldn't be here. The excitement is almost tangible. Photographers swarm over the boat, smiling, shaking hands, examining new kit. Maybe I should have hired a 500mm telephoto? Puzzlingly a dockworker rests on a ladder balanced in mid air. Why? Sailors, nonchalantly eating sandwiches, perch on a container high above the huge boat moored alongside us. ...

The Arctic Centre of the University of Lapland is pleased to announce the opening of its fully renewed permanent exhibition on 18th of April, 2007, in Arktikum house in Rovaniemi. The exhibition opening is one of the highlights of Finnish IPY activities. "The Arctic in Change" exhibition offers the visitors a journey through the Arctic world today. The exhibition promotes the natural beauty and the cultural richness of the Arctic, while it informs the visitors about the ongoing rapid social and environmental changes occurring in the fragile Arctic. Set up in a friendly environment, the exhibition combines multimedia shows, interactive stations, artefacts and photo enlargements. The exhibition revolves around the ongoing changes in the Arctic and illuminate...

Join experienced educators from around the world for an interactive, cross-disciplinary workshop on Global Warming, its effects on the Arctic and Antarctic, and the scientific and cultural program associated with the International Polar Year. August 13-15, 2007 Science Museum of Minnesota St. Paul, Minnesota Explorer Will Steger will present visual evidence of Global Warming from his Arctic and Antarctic expeditions and invite educators to join his 2008 Global Warming 101 Expeditions to the ends of the Earth. Educators will receive a toolkit of resources, also available free for download from www.globalwarming101.com and www.ipy.org following the Summer Institute. The workshop will include:

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution has partnered with eight science and natural history museums across the United States to bring the stories of International Polar Year science expeditions to a broad audience. This education and outreach project, titled "Live from the Poles: A Multimedia Educational Experience", is funded by the US National Science Foundation. During four scientific expeditions to the polar regions, a professional photographer and science writer will chronicle the process of conducting scientific fieldwork "on the ice" through stunning still photographs, insightful written essays, podcast audio interviews, and video clips posted to the educational ...

An IPY Overview Presentation given by Dr Rhian Salmon at the National Science Teachers Association Conference in St Louis, USA, March 31st 2007. You can download the presentation in a variety of formats. Each of these is compressed as a .zip file to make the file size smaller. slides and presenters notes PDF (72MB) slides only PDF (71MB) Quick Time videos of sections of the presentation... interactive so you can click a mouse when you want the next slide. You may need to ...

You can download Dr David Carlson's IPY Opening Ceremony Presentation: The Science of IPY 2007-8, in a variety of formats. Each of these is compressed as a .zip file to make the file size smaller. slides and presenters notes PDF (24MB) slides onlyPDF (22MB) Quick Time videos of sections of the presentation... interactive so you can click a mouse when you want the next slide. You may need to download Quick Time softw...