Explore & Learn

IPY Conference in Oslo Brings Fresh Energy to Polar Research

7/2/2010 A June conference in Norway highlighted how much this IPY differed from previous polar years; it emphasized human dimensions, international cooperation, and the role of education and outreach, and training of a new generation of researchers. More

NOAA Launches "Arctic Future" Web site

3/16/2010 NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory has launched a new Web site to help those interested in the Arctic learn more about the long-term effects of the loss of Arctic summer sea ice. More

First Person: Conversations with IPY Researchers

12/2/2009 This page serves the home for a series of articles, exclusive to this site, to highlight discoveries made possible, in whole or in part, through federal IPY funding. More

From Climate Science to Ecology: NSF-funded LARISSA Takes an In-depth Look at the Collapse of a Massive Antarctic Ice Shelf

10/27/2009 The LARsen Ice Shelf System, Antarctica (LARISSA) project will conduct a uniquely in-depth and wide-ranging study of an ice-shelf ecosystem in the wake of the spectacular collapse of the Larsen B ice shelf. More

"First Person": Researchers Discuss How Scientific Tools Yield a New Perspective on the Fates of Two Historic Polar Expeditions

10/8/2009 Writing in American Scientist, NSF-funded researchers describe how they used satellite ice measurements to examine the roles of luck and environment in the outcomes of Nansen's Fram expedition and Shackleton's Endurance voyage. More

New NSF-Funded, University of Colorado Research shows 53-million-year-old Arctic Mammals Wintered in Darkness

6/1/2009 Ancestors of tapirs and ancient cousins of rhinos living above the Arctic Circle 53 million years ago endured six months of darkness each year in a far milder climate than today, according to a researcher at the University of Colorado at Boulder. More

USGS and British Antarctic Survey Document Rapid Disappearance of Antarctica's Ice Shelves in a New Map

5/29/2009 The USGS and the British Antarctic Survey have published a report and accompanying map on changes brought about by the collapse of Anarctica's Larsen and Wordie ice shelves. Ice. Note: the map may be downloaded as a .pdf, but is a large file. More