A couple of polar notes of interest

Russian-U.S. Arctic Census 2009 August 22 - September 30, 2009 ***************************************************** The RUSALCA mission set sail from Nome, Alaska on the Russian Research Vessel Professor Khromov on August 22, for a 40-day voyage into the Bering Strait and northwards to the Pacific side of the Arctic Ocean. RUSALCA stands for Russian-American Long Term Census of the Arctic, and also means mermaid in Russian. RUSALCA is managed by NOAA¹s Arctic Research Program with contribution from Ocean Exploration and Research, and in Russia by Group Alliance. The public can learn more about this international expedition through blog posts, written by Reuters reporter Jeffrey Jones, who is onboard the first leg of the 2009 RUSALCA expedition. Check out the expedition online at ! __________________ New from NASA Š This week we have three new ice science stories, along with television interview and Web chat opportunities ... LIVE TV INTERVIEWS on SEPT 2 - Take a tour of some the coldest places on the planet and chat with NASA scientists about changes to ice sheets and sea ice at both Poles. Get an up-close view of the new HD "Tour of the Cryosphere 2009." Interviews are live from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center to your studio. Contact Laura Motel: 301-286-0918 (office), 202-329-5359 (cell), or Laura.A.Motel@nasa.gov. USTREAM LIVE CHAT ­ What's Going On with Earth's Ice & Snow Cover? The public can chat live with NASA cryosphere scientist Tom Wagner about changes to ice sheets and sea ice at both Poles. http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nasa-television -- Wednesday, Sept. 2 at 12:30 p.m. EDT NEWS - Satellites and Submarines Give the Skinny on Sea Ice Thickness Ron Kwok (JPL) and Drew Rothrock (U of Washington) have combined satellite data with Cold War submarine observations to piece together a five-decade history of Arctic ice thickness. The new record shows that since a peak in 1980, sea ice thickness has declined 53 percent. Read more at: http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/seaice_skinny.html ANALYSIS ­ What's holding Antarctic sea ice back from melting? There¹s something peculiar going on around Antarctica. As global air and ocean temperatures rise and Arctic ice recedes, Antarctic sea ice has expanded by about 1 percent per decade. Why is there such a drastic difference in the behavior of Earth's polar regions? Scientists from Goddard and the University of Washington offer three theories. Read more at:http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/antarctic_melting.html NEWS - Map Characterizes Active Lakes Below Antarctic Ice Researchers analyzed 4.5 years of ice elevation data from ICESat to create the most complete inventory to date of changes in the Antarctic plumbing system. The team has mapped the location of 124 active lakes, estimated how fast they drain or fill, and described the implications for lake and ice-sheet dynamics. Read more at:http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/active_lakes.html Contact: Kathryn Hansen NASA Earth Science News Team Wyle Information Systems 301-352-4638 / kathryn.h.hansen@nasa.gov