The third day of the IPY field school kicked off with another brisk stroll down to UNIS. Weather conditions were much clearer and warmer; the sun even popped its head out every now and again to see how the IPY students were getting along. The first lecture of the day was given by Prof. Hanne Christiansen, giving a thorough background on the Geology of Svalbard. Following Prof. Hanne Christiansen was a series of lectures given by PhD student Monica Sund covering glaciology and in particular the amazing glaciers covering the Svalbard landscape. It is very interesting to learn of the vast historical record that the geology of the region contains and the picturesque landscape made the task even better. Following the lectures and a brief lunch, the students met up at Nybyen for the geomo...

After a rough night with beds shaking from the wind, the IPY field course students worked their way through the gusts of winds to the UNIS building. There, the first two lectures were given by Ole Humlum, a professor of physical geography at the University of Oslo. He has lived in Longyearbyen and still teaches here part time. He lectured about Arctic Climate Change in the Present and Past. He used some interesting historical examples, like the Spanish Armada fleet being surprised by extremely bad weather and the coasts of England and Ireland being covered with broken Spanish ships, which happened during the Little Ice Age. Also during the Little Ice Age the Arctic cod was not present in Northern waters near Norway, and the Swedish army was able to reach Copenhagen on sea ice, which left t...

New record Arctic sea ice cover minimum? Climate researchers from Bremerhaven and Hamburg present new prognoses Bremerhaven/Hamburg, June 10th 2009. Climate researchers from the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research and KlimaCampus of the University of Hamburg participate for the second time in an international scientific competition. Some of the most renowned climate research institutes worldwide fathom possibilities for seasonal prognoses of Arctic sea ice cover by means of different methods and climate models. The declared aim of all participants is to find the best method for reliable prognoses. The German researchers agree upon a continuing negative trend. Another critical minimum of Arctic sea ice is to be expected in the late summer of 2009. ...

New record Arctic sea ice cover minimum? Climate researchers from Bremerhaven and Hamburg present new prognoses Bremerhaven/Hamburg, June 10th 2009. Climate researchers from the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research and KlimaCampus of the University of Hamburg participate for the second time in an international scientific competition. Some of the most renowned climate research institutes worldwide fathom possibilities for seasonal prognoses of Arctic sea ice cover by means of different methods and climate models. The declared aim of all participants is to find the best method for reliable prognoses. The German researchers agree upon a continuing negative trend. Another critical minimum of Arctic sea ice is to be expected in the late summer of 2009. ...

Bremerhaven/Cologne June 2nd 2009. An international team of researchers from Russia, Germany, the USA and Austria has conducted a deep drilling programme in the utmost northeast of Russia during the last six months to retrieve several hundred metres of marine sediments, impact breccias and permanently frozen soil. These make new insights into the climate history of the Arctic, crater formation of the Elgygytgyn Lake and permafrost dynamics possible. A milestone has been reached at the beginning of May with the first results of the drilling campaign. The cores gained will help to answer crucial open questions of Arctic geology. At the utmost northern fringe of north-eastern Siberia, about 900 kilometres west of the Bering Strait and 100 km north of the Arctic Circle (67°30

Content: 1. IPO Update 2. Political Impacts of IPY 3. Polar Weeks 4. Upcoming meetings 5. Update from APECS 6. Update from Oslo 2010 Planning Process 7. Call for new stories and blogs for ipy.org 8. Archiving IPY materials Report no. 26, June 2009 From: IPY International Programme Office To: IPY Project Coordinators cc: IPY Community Google Groups 1. IPO Update Please join us in congratulating Nicola Munro on the birth of her daughter Isabella Rose on May 11th. Mom and daughter are both doing well and we are very excited to welcome a new polar enthusiast into the world. An interim replacement for Nicola's position will hopefully ...

L'intervention de Valérie PECRESSE à la conférence sur l'année polaire internationale organisée par le Sénat du France est disponible à www.enseignementsup-recherche.gouv.fr. «La France est aux avant-postes et reste un leader dans les activités scientifiques en milieu polaire», a souligné Valérie Pécresse lors du colloque de clôture de l'Année polaire internationale, qui s'est tenu le 14 mai 2009. À cette occasion, la ministre a annoncé la création de l'observatoire international de l'Arctique qui rassemblera l'ensemble de la communauté scientifique et aura le rôle d'une vigie ...

9th ACUNS International Student Conference The Communities of Change – Building an IPY Legacy Conference will highlight research occurring at both poles, including interactions between the cryosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, atmosphere and society. Inter-disciplinary sessions will be arranged based on the number and breadth of Abstracts submitted. Poster Proposals and Travel Support applications are also now being accepted. For information regarding the submission of a poster proposal and regarding travel support, please visit www.communitiesofchange.ca. Abstract Submission Deadline: May 31, 2009 For guidelines a...

Second Announcement and Call for Abstracts for Poster Session (young scientists) NCP / AMAP Symposium on Human Health and Arctic Environmental Contaminants The Frobisher Inn - Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada 10-12 June 2009 Poster abstract submission deadline: 22 May 2009 For further information, including information on the agenda, flight group rate, venue and accommodations, please visit here. The Northern Contaminants Program (NCP) and Arctic Monitoring Assessment Program (AMAP) are hosting a joint symposium in Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada from 10-12 June 2009. The results of the two assessments on human health effects of environmental contaminants in the Arctic over...

The National Academy of Sciences together with the National Science Foundation held a celebration on 6 April 2009 to recognize the achievements of the International Polar Year 2007-2008 (IPY). The meeting included highlights of IPY projects, including such topics as climate change, sea ice stability, Antarctic ecosystems, and people in the Arctic. Presentation videos detailing various aspects of IPY research are available on the NSF website. Posted presentations include: - "Welcoming and Opening Remarks," by James White, Ralph J. Cicerone, and Arden L. Bement, Jr.; - "How the Past Informs the Future," by Richard Alley, Pennsylvania State University;...