Press release: Scientists report major steps towards first census of marine life Meeting in Spain, global crew shares progress towards historic Census in 2010; Among revelations in fourth interim global report: Antarctic ancestry of many octopus species, Behemoth bacteria, colossal sea stars, mammoth mollusks, more The 2,000-strong community of Census of Marine Life scientists from 82 nations today announced astonishing ex...

IPY Report: November 2008 1. Conferences and Workshops 2. Above The Poles 3. Norway 2010: thanks for submissions 4. APECS 5. IPY in photos: share your images 6. Polar Books Report no. 19, November 2008 From: IPY International Programme Office To: IPY Project Coordinators cc: IPY Community Google Groups 1. Conferences and Workshops The completion of field campaigns in IPY necessarily means an increase in workshops to discuss the outcomes. Please check the calendar on http://ipy.arcticportal.org for workshop information, and send any information about workshops for the calendar t...

The mythical, historical and cultural past of the Sámi in 19th century northern scientific works – a tale about northern culture and northern natural landscape. Sven Lovén (1809-1895) depicted Sámi in his three combined travelling journal and scientific notebook that he wrote on his journey in northern Norway, northern Sweden and Spitsbergen in 1836-1838. Lovén made several types of representations of the Sámi such as ethnographical and anthropological ones as well as the ones he constructed out of references to literary work such as myths, fairy-tales and narratives about the Sámi. I will in this blog post look at the representations he made of Sámi with references to fictive, literary works. Lovén referred to literary works such as the epic Kale...

By Falk Huettmann and Sue Hazlett The Arctic represents a region of the globe directly affected by climate change, human disturbance and natural variation. In addition to acting as the global weather machine, it is considered one of the last remaining “wilderness” areas. However, the warming of the Arctic, a prospect of an ice-free maritime route across the top of the world, and the International Polar Year (IPY), has piqued an interest in the Arctic not previously seen. Prospects of shipping routes, tourism, oil and gas development, and new commercial fisheries have started a land rush by various nations to claim a piece of the northern oceans. The Arctic is in danger of being given away piecemeal as each nation asserts claims and then rushes to develop or exploit their...

On Sept 1 it was announced in Melbourne that Meredith Hooper won the Nettie Palmer Prize for Non-Fiction 2008 for her book ,The Ferocious Summer, (Profile Books UK, Allen & Unwin Australia, Greystone Books USA and Canada). These prestigious awards were established in 1985 by the Premier of Victoria to mark the centenary of the births of Vance and Nettie Palmer – distinguished writers and critics in Victorian and Australian literary culture. Meredith’s citation reads: This book effortlessly gives the reader a lucid yet crucial understanding of what climate change is doing to penguins in the Antarctic and by extension to our world. Important information is engrossingly conveyed on every page through the engaging yet unsentimental voice of a super...

Title: Living in the Northern Landscape: Connecting Archaeology, History, and Environmental Science When: Friday, October 24, 5 pm Where: The American-Scandinavian Foundation @ Scandinavia House 58 Park Avenue (between 37th and 38th Streets) $20 ($15 for ASF members, free to students with valid ID) This symposium, presented in observance of the International Polar Year, is comprised of four lectures investigating geological and cultural relationships based on the polar region’s interactions with global ecosystems. Presentations include: The International Polar Year and the Norse World: Connecting Science, Education and Community from the Faroes to Greenland - Thomas McGovern - Prof...

The Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) has published several further issues of the Australian Antarctic Magazine: The latest issue of the Australian Antarctic Magazine (Issue 15, 2008) looks at the changes wrought in Antarctica by the signing of the Antarctic Treaty 50 years ago; ocean acidification; and Australia's science program for 2009. It is also available as a PDF. Issue 13 looks at the connections between Antarctic science and policy and how the Australian Antar...

Dana Centre Event Tuesday, 21 October 2008 7:00 - 9:00 pm Tickets are free Reserve your place And so we return from our Arctic expedition - Western Greenland has worked its magic. 10 days of exploration, discussion and debate, and it turns out we were right all along, climate change is happening! In the icy cold - catching a satellite link where we could - we beamed back daily blogs, images, video and sound to our Disko Bay site. Visit our website to find out more about what we got up to in the Arctic and the first responses of voyagers to climate change. Thank you to all those who have followed the expedition online and continue to support our work. On Tuesday, Oc...

Exhibition opens October 24, Athy Heritage Centre & Museum, County Kildare, Ireland "Face to Face: Polar Portraits" brings together both rare, unpublished treasures from the historic collections of the Scott Polar Research Institute (SPRI), University of Cambridge, ‘face to face’ with cutting-edge modern imagery from expedition photographer Martin Hartley. This stunning exhibition and publication will be shown for the first time in Ireland at the Athy Heritage Centre & Museum, Co. Kildare, in October at the official opening the ...

The US Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) Office announces the launch of the new SCAR website. The new and improved US SCAR Office website is easy to navigate and allows viewers to quickly find specific items of interest. The site provides links to: US SCAR Team contact information, a guide to SCAR, data and information resources, early career opportunities, SCAR communications plans, SCAR partners network, SCAR Scientific Research Programs, and a photo gallery. The site has many direct links to the main SCAR website and provides the latest information on SCAR News and Forthcoming Events. ANSWER email digest items are posted on the website's front page directly above a series of "Links of Interest."...