Polar News and Notes Scientists in the field

News from the polar regions in June includes speculation on the future of the Arctic sea ice and permafrost, unexpected behavior of an Antarctic ice stream, and new technology designed to assist in polar research. Missed these stories the first time? Read on!
In May, we reported on an international, three-week expedition designed to validate the […]

Want to learn about polar research? Check out the In the Field: Scientists at Work department in Issue 4 of Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears - Weather and Climate: From Home to the Poles!
In this issue:
Read about current news from polar researchers.
Read how a surprising discovery led to a better understanding of Earth’s climate 5,000 years […]

National research centers in the United States and the United Kingdom have agreed to work together on atmospheric science and technology and develop joint educational and training programs. The agreement, which runs for three years, is between the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and Britain’s National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS).
NCAS Director Stephen […]

What’s happening under and inside the masses of ice in the polar regions is of great interest to scientists. Recently researchers in West Antarctica have found that one ice stream–a region of the ice sheet that moves faster than the surrounding ice—jerks along in an earthquake-like pattern equivalent to a magnitude 7 quake.
Their findings ran […]

While many scientists are studying snow, ice, and permafrost on the earth for clues to climate change, others are flying a jet into the tropopause, the boundary between the lower atmosphere (troposphere) and the stratosphere. They are interested in this region because the buildup of greenhouse gases has altered it in ways that are not […]