Drawing South is a website documenting the visual communication of artist Nicholas Hutcheson from on board the ship Aurora Australis as it visits 3 of the Australian bases on one of the annual re-supply trips. Nicholas will be heading to the Antarctic as part of the Australian Governments Antarctic Arts fellowship progam. Each week of the 8 week voyage, a new set of drawings will be uploaded featuring the weather, interviews with people working in the Antartic, answers to viewers questions and the daily observations of things around him. Part of this project is working with school students who are following the journey, asking him questions and learning about Ant...

Drawing South is a website documenting the visual communication of artist Nicholas Hutcheson from on board the ship Aurora Australis as it visits 3 of the Australian bases on one of the annual re-supply trips. Nicholas will be heading to the Antarctic as part of the Australian Governments Antarctic Arts fellowship progam. Each week of the 8 week voyage, a new set of drawings will be uploaded featuring the weather, interviews with people working in the Antartic, answers to viewers questions and the daily observations of things around him. Part of this project is working with school students who are following the journey, asking him questions and learning about Ant...

PRESS RELEASE New book from the Natural History Museum Surviving Antarctica by David N. Thomas Foreword by Ray Mears “In this fascinating book David Thomas takes us to Antarctica in a very personal way...” From foreword by Ray Mears. In a land of terrifying winds, fearful cold and icebergs the size of London, survival is everything. Journey to the end of the Earth and discover how life survives some of the most extreme conditions on the planet in Surviving Antarctica. This timely book provides an invaluable insight into the lives of all beings living and working in this hostile environment. Find out how scientists prepare for an expedition, how male Emperor penguins use their feet to protect their...

January 30, 2008: Today the Tangaroa, New-Zealand's Antarctic research vessel, departed from Wellington and is heading due south to undertake the New Zealand IPY-CAML project. New Zealand is conducting a major biological survey of the Ross Sea, in the Antarctic, as part of the Census of Antarctic Marine Life (CAML) and International Polar Year (IPY). Forty four people including 24 scientists and 18 crew will take part in an eight-week voyage aboard RV Tangaroa from January 30th to mid March 2008. The data collected will provide baseline information from the Southern Ocean and Ross Sea environment that can be used to help monitor the effects of climate change in the Ross Sea region. With a biodiversity focus, the voyage will collect samples of...

International Polar Year celebration concert to be held Feb. 1 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE The University of Alaska International Polar Year office is sponsoring a concert by the Inuit tribal funk band Pamyua at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 1, at the Hering Auditorium, Fairbanks, Alaska. The concert is a celebration of the unique cultures of the north and their people’s ability to adapt to changes in both cultural and natural landscapes. An Alaska-founded group, Pamyua started 10 years ago as a dream by two brothers to share the ancient stories of their people through music and dance. Stephen and Phillip Blanchett, who are of Yup’ik Inuit and African American descent, quickly gained international attention and after being joined by Chefornak, Alaska, dance...

Position: 90 °S, 0 °E Elevation: 2836 masl Maximum and Minimum temperatures: -26 °C & -35 °C At 3 a.m. in the night Jan-Gunnar had a video teleconference with the Norwegian Prime Minister Mr. Jens Stoltenberg at Troll. The Prime Minister congratulated the expedition with its achievements and important contribution to climate research. The teleconference also included a press conference where the press at Troll had questions for Jan-Gunnar. Then in the afternoon, the remaining expedition members arrived at the South Pole. It was a moment of happiness when we all were together again. Thus, the expedition has almost come to an end and we are excited having completed this major undertaking. In the evening we had a gathering with some of the NSF...

Position: 90 °S, 0 °E Elevation: 2836 masl Maximum and Minimum temperatures: -26 °C & -35 °C At 3 a.m. in the night Jan-Gunnar had a video teleconference with the Norwegian Prime Minister Mr. Jens Stoltenberg at Troll. The Prime Minister congratulated the expedition with its achievements and important contribution to climate research. The teleconference also included a press conference where the press at Troll had questions for Jan-Gunnar. Then in the afternoon, the remaining expedition members arrived at the South Pole. It was a moment of happiness when we all were together again. Thus, the expedition has almost come to an end and we are excited having completed this major undertaking. In the evening we had a gathering with some of the NSF...

Todays' Sitrep proclaims success. 'CEAMARC sampling officially finished at 8 minutes past midnight. Overall, 82 different sites were occupied during CEAMARC, with samples collected from at least 78 sites; well in excess of the 67 sites we had hoped for.' We are one of three ships working in this part of Antarctica collecting marine life for the Collaborative East Antarctic Marine Census (CEAMARC). Our focus is on the benthic organisms below 200 metres. We have been looking at biodiversity in a region never before investigated so comprehensively and can now offer another jigsaw piece of information to complete the larger Census of Antarctic Marine Life (CAML) picture. Our grand tally is 106 trawls and 114 grab or box-corer deployments. The CEA...

Anti whaling activities in the Southern Ocean headlined this morning's daily onboard newspaper "Australia Today". The paper comprises four A4 pages printed from News on Board services via TEAMtalk Satellite. Anything from our part of the world, the Southern Ocean, generates animated conversation. Two Sea Shepherd Conservation Society members from the ship the 'Steve Irwin' boarded the Japanese ship the Yushin Maru No 2 to deliver a letter to the captain advising him that he was illegally killing whales in the Southern Whale Sanctuary. They were promptly taken into custody on the ship, where they remain. Notions of law at sea were bandied about at lunch along with the practicalities of regulation, prosecution, anarchy and foolhardiness. Opinion was divided....

PRESS RELEASE North3 Goes Live on the Internet From: Canadian Embassy Heads of Mission: Ralph Lysyshyn (MOSCOW) Anna Blauveldt (REYKJAVIK) Scott Fraser (HELSINKI) Fredericka Gregory (COPENHAGEN) Jillian Stirk (OSLO) and Alexandra Volkoff (STOCKHOLM) Date: 2008-01-10 Summary: To mark the International Polar Year, Canada's circumpolar embassies have launched an internet outreach project to engage northern youth. Canadian embassies in COPENHAGEN, HELSINKI, MOSCOW, OSLO, REYKJAVIK and STOCKHOLM are pleased to announce that North3 is now on the internet (www.ookpik.org/north3). These missions have collaborated...