This project – which involves scientists from two dozen countries – will examine how atmospheric processes in the Southern Hemisphere affect current climate, and provide an important baseline for assessing future climate change. COMPASS will obtain the first circumpolar snapshot of the Southern Hemisphere atmospheric environment – covering physical, chemical and ecological properties – a major observational milestone. Only by harnessing the resources of the global polar community can this multinational project achieve the depth of investigation required to improve knowledge of future climate change and its impacts.

The overall objective of IPY Arctic GOOS to develop and implement operational monitoring and forecasting systems in the Arctic Ocean and adjacent seas. The systems will be based on state-of-the-art remote sensing, in situ observations, numerical modelling, data assimilation and dissemination techniques. Several components of Arctic GOOS are presently in operation, producing daily information that can be downloaded from web sites.

The food-borne parasites Trichinella nativa, Toxoplasma gondii, and Anisakis simplex are significant Arctic human zoonoses; endemic to some regions and directly related to the consumption of country foods. Many Northerners remain reliant on wildlife as a source of food, financial income and cultural identity and are demanding programs which will provide greater security in the safety of country foods and programs that ensure the long-term sustainability of wildlife populations. Changing climatic conditions are predicted to alter wildlife habitat, facilitate the northward migration of wildlife diseases and parasites, and alter contaminant cycling and fate; all of which have the potential to detrimentally affect the health and long term sustainability of wildlife populations and ultimately the source and safety of country foods (ACIA 2004; Boonstra 2004; Derocher et al. 2003; Harvell et al., 2002; Hoberg et al., 2002; Kutz et al. 2004; Lie et al. 2004 & 2005). Adequate baseline data (benchmarks) regarding the current health conditions of wildlife (including zoonotic pathogens) is therefore urgently needed for the assessment and prediction of wildlife health impacts resulting from the cumulative impacts of multiple stressors associated with climate change and exposure to anthropogenic contaminants.

POLENET will deploy an ambitious array of geophysical instruments across the polar regions in order to study the complex interplay between climate, ice sheets, geodynamics, and global sea level change. POLENET geodetic and seismic observations, paired with other types of geophysical measurements, will greatly improve our understanding of high latitude Earth systems. This international collaboration of 24 countries will involve scientists, students and educators at all levels, and will further advance our capability to deploy autonomous instruments in extreme environments