Interactive NOW from the arctic!

Hello science teachers ! INTRODUCTION of a new interactive website about Canada's Ocean Science Research on-board the Amundsen Coast Guard vessel GEOTRACES is a group of scientists, and educators who are on-board a ship that is currently conducting research in the Arctic Ocean. They visit Paulatak, NWT tomorrow, will begin their voyage on Aug 27th, and travel north of the MacKenzie Delta, and end their trip near Inuvik on Sept 13/09. They are very interested in engaging with teachers and students from northern communities via their interactive website, and encourage you to track the ship's visit, ask questions about their experiences, and to find out more about the health of the Arctic Ocean through the useful links in the Teacher's Corner. Highlights of the website

• Teachers' Corner with useful links for background information and teaching ideas
• Live podcasts from an educator who is on-board - Jason Carpenter from Nunavut Arctic College
• Students' Questions - Students can pose a question to scientists, and scientists will write back during their cruise
• Chief Scientists' blog

http://cruise.pointgreysoftware.com/project During June of 2009, I had an opportunity to work this group of scientists from the University of British Columbia in the education outreach portion of their IPY project. They are from the department of Earth and Ocean Science, and are part of the Canadian contingent of the international group called GEOTRACES. They are dedicated to extending this research to students, teachers and community members across the north and look forward to your participation. The following link is for the department at UBC. http://www.eos.ubc.ca/ Their research mission is to assess the potential affects of climate change on Arctic Ocean nutrient cycling, productivity and ecosystem structure. They will examine the composition of trace elements that exist in the ocean, and study how trace elements may affect the food chain, specifically phytoplankton. To find out more about this cruise, and how you could engage your students in this research, please check out their website. For more details or questions, feel free to contact me. All the best for your school year. Thank you, Sarah Wade -- Sarah Wade Curriculum Writer Curriculum and School Services Nunavut Department of Education Box 390, Arviat, NU, X0C 0E0 9 Marquette Ave Ottawa, ON, K1L 5K3 613 746 1994 s_wade@kitikmeot.edu.nu.ca saritakwade@gmail.com

Live from IPY! event with PolarTREC 13 August 2009

Participate in a Live from IPY! event with PolarTREC teacher Tom Harten and the Bering Seabird Ecology PolarTREC Expedition in the Pribilof Islands, of the coast of Alaska, in the Bering Sea. DATE: 13 August 2009 TIME: 3:30 pm Alaska Daylight Time (1:30 pm HST, 4:30 pm PDT, 5:30 pm MDT, 6:30 pm CDT, 7:30 pm EDT) How do you join an event? In order to participate in any Live from IPY event, we ask that you register online at . Instructions on how to join these events are sent out in an email once you register and are available for downloading on the website. Contact: info@polartrec.com http://www.polartrec.com --------------------------------------- What are Live from IPY events? * These are real-time, interactive events that utilize the Internet and phone for presentations. * These events allow participants to learn about the research being conducted in the field first-hand from the researchers and teachers while they are in a remote Arctic location. * Events are free to the public and at minimum require a phone or Internet access. Questions? Please feel free to contact Kristin Timm with questions about the live events.

Upcoming Live from IPY! event with Mike Rhinard and the High Arctic Change '09 Expedition in Svalbard, Norway!

Contact: info@polartrec.com http://www.polartrec.com --------------------------------------- DATE: 10 August 2009 TIME: 12:00 noon ADT (10 am HST, 1 pm PDT, 2 pm MDT, 3 pm CDT, 4 pm EDT) What are Live from IPY events? * These are real-time, interactive events that utilize the Internet and phone for presentations. * These events allow participants to learn about the research being conducted in the field first-hand from the researchers and teachers while they are in a remote Arctic location. * Events are free to the public and at minimum require a phone or Internet access. How do you join an event? In order to participate in any Live from IPY event, we ask that you register online at . Instructions on how to join these events are sent out in an email once you register and are available for downloading on the website. Arctic summers are busy! Join teachers out on expeditions in the Arctic through the PolarTREC (Teachers & Researchers Exploring & Collaborating) .

From the international IPY office

3. Polar Weeks As the IPY research program moves toward analysis and results and as IPY participants plan for a large international conference in Oslo in June 2010, the IPO plans two Polar Weeks, October 2009 and March 2010, with the theme: What Happens at the Poles Affects Us All. These Polar Weeks have four goals: * To expand the IPY global networks of motivated and enthused educators; * To raise the visibility of polar issues and polar organizations; * To enhance the development of polar science educational materials; and * To develop long-term education and outreach partnerships for polar science. During October 5th through 9th, the IPY Polar Week will focus on recruiting new individual and institutional partners, will stimulate increased engagement by polar partners, and will highlight classroom activities developed for the new IPY Polar Resource Book. If you have any events planned during October Polar Week and would like to connect to the international IPY community please contact Karen Edwards directly @ karen.edwards@ualberta.ca. In March 2010, the Polar Week will focus on local community-building activities, will connect new and existing partners in science outreach, and will stimulate global enthusiasm for June 2010 on-line and on-site events. Both polar weeks will feature fresh accessible science, live web events, fun classroom activities, virtual balloon launches and spontaneous global inter-connections - activities that have made IPY Polar Days effective and enjoyable. For more information please visit the IPY website at: 4. Changes to IPY Website IPY.org is currently undergoing construction as we transition to a new partner - the Arctic Portal. Please bear with us during this time as we work through broken links and other issues with the site. If you have any questions or need any help, please don't hesitate to contact us at ipyipo@bas.ac.uk.

A Celebration of International Polar Year 2007-2008

Presentations Now Available Online A Celebration of International Polar Year 2007-2008 National Academy of Sciences and The National Science Foundation To download the presentations, and for further information, please go to: http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=114688 -------------------- The National Academy of Sciences together with the National Science Foundation held a celebration on 6 April 2009 to recognize the achievements of the International Polar Year 2007-2008 (IPY). The meeting included highlights of IPY projects, including such topics as climate change, sea ice stability, Antarctic ecosystems, and people in the Arctic. Presentation videos detailing various aspects of IPY research are available at: http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=114688. Posted presentations include: - "Welcoming and Opening Remarks," by James White, Ralph J. Cicerone, and Arden L. Bement, Jr.; - "How the Past Informs the Future," by Richard Alley, Pennsylvania State University; - "Responses to Sea Ice in Transition," by Hajo Eicken, University of Alaska Fairbanks; - "Ice Sheet Stability and Global Sea Level," by David Holland, New York University; - "A Systems View of Climate Change in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres," by Timothy Killeen, Geosciences Directorate, National Science Foundation; - "The Arctic: IPY 1882 to IPY 2050," by Stephanie Pfirman, Barnard College; - "Antarctic Ecosystems and Climate Change," by Diana Wall, Colorado State University; and - "Audience Questions and Answers." IPY fieldwork, a two-year deployment of scientists from more than 60 nations into the polar regions, officially concluded on 1 March 2009. Science results from IPY-funded research can be expected to be published for some time to come. For more information about the IPY, please go to: http://www.ipy.org. To view the presentations and learn more about this celebration, please go to: http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=114688.

Witness the Arctic Online issue available

Spring 2009, Volume 13, Number 2 To view articles or to download a PDF file of this issue, please go to: http://www.arcus.org/witness_the_arctic/spring_09/index.html -------------------- Dear Subscribers to Witness the Arctic, With the current issue, ARCUS has changed the format of Witness the Arctic. To provide more frequent updates and reduce printing and mailing costs and associated environmental impacts, the newsletter will now be distributed online in three or four shorter issues per year, depending on newsworthy events. Subscribers will receive an e-mail when each issue has been released, with a link to the online content. The feature article in the current issue is by Mead Treadwell, the chair of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, on how the International Polar Year has heightened awareness of arctic issues beyond the research community. You may view individual articles or download a PDF file of this issue at: http://www.arcus.org/witness_the_arctic/spring_09/index.html. For further information or to subscribe, please go to: http://www.arcus.org/witness_the_arctic/index.html. For suggestions about the new format or article ideas for future issues, contact me at ARCUS (york@arcus.org). Sincerely, Alison York Witness the Arctic Editor

Polar Weeks

As the IPY research program moves toward analysis and results and as

IPY participants plan for a large international conference in Oslo in

June 2010, the IPO plans two Polar Weeks, in October 2009 and March

2010, with the theme: What Happens at the Poles Affects Us All.

These Polar Weeks have four goals:

To expand the IPY global networks of motivated and enthused educators;

To raise the visibility of polar issues and polar organizations;

To enhance the development of polar science educational materials; and

To develop long-term education and outreach partnerships for polar

science.

In October (October 5th through 9th) the IPY Polar Week will focus on

recruiting new individual and institutional partners, will stimulate

increased engagement by polar partners, and will highlight classroom

activities developed for the new IPY Polar Resource Book. In March

2010 the Polar Week will focus on local community-building activities,

will connect new and existing partners in science outreach, and will

stimulate global enthusiasm for June on-line and on-site events. Both

polar weeks will feature fresh accessible science, live web events,

fun classroom activities, virtual balloon launches and spontaneous

global inter-connections - activities that have made IPY Polar Days

effective and enjoyable.

For more information please visit the IPY website at:

http://www.ipy.org/index.php?/ipy/detail/international_polar_days