WORLD'S FIRST COIN WITH PLASMA EFFECT! The Royal Canadian Mint has released a $20 silver IPY coin. This coin pays tribute to the visionary scientists who established an international collaboration to study the earth's polar regions 125 years ago, an initiative inspired by the arrival of the first English explorer in the Arctic three centuries prior. To underscore this timely theme, this special-edition coin is being issued with a plasma effect from the cutting edge of minting. Only 7,000 coins have been treated with this remarkable technique to create the blue hues and capture the frigid essence of the Arctic as represented on this coin. For more details and to order the coin please see the ...

CALL FOR PRESENTATIONS (JULY, 2007) The Canadian Aboriginal Science and Technology Society (CASTS), is preparing to hold its 8th national conference October 3 - 5, 2007. The Treaty Seven First Nations Education Association (TSFNEA), with the support of the University of Calgary, is proud to host the CASTS Conference 2007. The conference will be held at The Coast Plaza Hotel and Conference Centre in Calgary, Alberta. The CASTS Conference 2007 is the only national Aboriginal Science and Technology conference in Canada. The forums of discussion will cover the following areas: . Health . Environment . Education . Science & Technology . ...

When it was established in December 1861, the Navy Medal of Honor was only intended for enlisted men of the Navy and Marine Corps; officers would have to wait a further 54 years before being made eligible. The original provisions of the medal (the first decoration authorized by Congress to be worn on the uniform) contained a scant few words which opened the window of opportunity for it to be awarded for lifesaving at sea: '. . . which shall be bestowed upon such petty officers, seamen, landsmen and marines as shall most distinguish themselves by their gallantry in action and other seamanlike qualities . . .'[emphasis added] Over a decade passed before Congress created the Gold and Silver Lifesaving Medals on June 20, 1874. As of 1880, along wit...

At the end of August, an unusual expedition under Russian leadership will leave for the Arctic Ocean. One of the participants is J

The first 2007 issue of the journal "Polar Research" is now available Research in the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard is the focus of the first issue of Polar Research during International Polar Year (IPY). Biology articles demonstrate the moult migration of pink-footed geese, examine sipunculan and molluscan fauna and investigate carbon and nitrogen limitation in the respiration of soil microbes. Using photogrammetry to gauge coastal erosion is the subject of one article, while another uses direct measurements and modelling to assess snow accumulation across the Austfonna ice cap. Rounding off the issue, two essays shed light on an obscure chapter in polar exploration: Walter Wellman's failed bids to reach the North Pole by dirigible in the early years of the last centur...

Drift bottles have long been used as an inexpensive (and fun) way to study ocean surface currents. Notes in the drift bottle message explain how to make contact with the Institute of Ocean Sciences, Canada and are placed inside empty glass bottles that are then sealed using cork and wax. The drift bottles are completely biodegradable. Project participants throw these bottles over the side of ocean-going ships and n...

Preview of An Arctic Tale: The Word is Out. IPY has begun, and it's going to be big. The first summer season of four starts in earnest this month as researchers from around the world set off to the Arctic on ships, planes, small boats, and wheels. Canada, Russia, Alaska, Svalbard, Greenland, Scandinavia... hundreds of independent researchers heading North, at the same time, is powerful, full of potential. They will not only be inv...

The educational programme LATITUDE60! organized one of the biggest events of the International Polar Year in Portugal on on the 29 June 2007: the national contest “discovering the Polar Regions!” More than 600 children and nearly 50 schools were present at the Lisbon event. At present, LATITUDE60! is a leading educational program with IPY, with more than 170 schools involved, more than 300 teachers and thousands of students from all over Portugal (including the Azores and Madeira) involved. The contest had 6 categories: scientific essay, polar writer, website, audiovisual, art and “build an igloo”, and was open to children of all ages, from kindergarten to university level. More than 500 submissions were received nationally and more than 70 received aw...

How much volcanic and earthquake activity is there on the ultraslow-spreading Gakkel Ridge? Scientists have little idea because they have been unable to record earthquakes in this remote region. Large earthquakes on the ridge can be detected by seismometers far away in the global seismic network, but they don’t occur frequently enough to get sufficient data. Smaller earthquakes, magnitude 2 or less, occur several times a day, but they are too small to be “heard” by distant seismic stations. While Oden is in the neighborhood, Vera Schlindwein from the Alfred-Wegener Institute in Bremerhaven, Germany is installing seismometers on ice floes to record some of those mini-earthquakes over several days. She will retrieve them before we leave the area. Even this bit of data will allow...

The Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) has recently released the latest issue of the Australian Antarctic Magazine. The theme of this issue is the International Polar Year. AAD is participating in over 40 IPY projects and this issue of the magazine features some of these projects including the first marine research voyage for the AAD-coordinated Census of Antarctic Marine Life (CAML). You can download the Australian Antarctic Magazine, Issue 12, 2007 as a pdf here. For further information, please see the ...