syrinx

The International Polar Year is a large scientific programme focused on the Arctic and the Antarctic from March 2007 to March 2009. I have never heard of this project before, and was amazed to learn that it is not new.

First International Polar Year was in 1882-1883
Second International Polar Year was in 1932-1933
This close cousin: The International Geophysical Year 1957-58
Third International Polar Year - 2007-2009

tags: arctic polar antarctic

This article should scare anyone who reads it. Unfortunately it won't.

Ancient ice shelf snaps and breaks free from the Canadian Arctic
Posted 12/29/2006 8:02 AM ET

TORONTO (AP) — A giant ice shelf has snapped free from an island south of the North Pole, scientists said Thursday, citing climate change as a "major" reason for the event.

The Ayles Ice Shelf — all 41 square miles of it — broke clear 16 months ago from the coast of Ellesmere Island, about 500 miles south of the North Pole in the Canadian Arctic.

Scientists discovered the event by using satellite imagery. Within one hour of breaking free, the shelf had formed as a new ice island, leaving a trail of icy boulders floating in its wake.

Continue reading at this link:
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2006-12-29-ice-shelf_x.htm

tags: globalwarming arctic iceshelf

Source: Globe and Mail Update and Canadian Press TENILLE BONOGUORE

The arctic is changing so rapidly that Nunavut elders can no longer tell what ice is safe, and new birds and insects are making their way into the region.

Spring starts early and fall starts late, robins are flying into the region and hungry polar bears are fading to little more than skin and bones as global warming radically reshapes the landscape, Inuit elders warned officials in Ottawa Thursday.

tags: warming global inuit arctic