News from the polar regions in November 2008 included many climate change-related reports, the fifth largest ozone hole on record, new marine discoveries, and new polar research projects. Missed these stories the first time? Read on!

Is the winter thinning of Arctic sea ice driving the summer record lows? That’s the question many scientists are asking. Last winter, the thickness of Arctic sea ice fell by nearly half a meter as compared to the average thickness of the previous five winters. In summer 2008, sea ice was at it second lowest extent ever, despite a relatively cool season. Scientists believe that the thinning ice contributes to greater summer melting, even without unusually warm weather.

Anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions have long been implicated as a major factor in Earth’s warming climate and Arctic sea ice decline. Now, researchers from the University of East Anglia state that their new work demonstrates that human activity is responsible for significant warming in both the Arctic and Antarctica. Updated data and simulations from new climate models show that the temperature increases in the polar regions are not consistent with natural climate variability alone. Warming from human activity has already impacted polar biology, ice sheets, indigenous communities, and global sea level.

Changes in ice sheets and sea level are two widely publicized effects of climate change, but both are difficult to predict and model. Scientists use satellites to monitor changes in water levels in the sea, rivers and lakes, ice sheets, and even under the ground. One new satellite technique shows that about 80% of the annual sea rise (about 3.3 millimeters a year) can be attributed to the loss of land-based ice in places like Greenland and Antarctica. This is a change from the 1993-2003 decade, in which scientists calculate that sea level rise was equally the result of shrinking land ice and ocean expansion. Other satellite data has helped scientists determine that the filling and draining of subglacial lakes in East Antarctica caused a rapid, temporary acceleration of Byrd Glacier. The work shows that these lakes are not stable and inactive as previously thought, and that glaciers are quite sensitive to change.

An international team of researchers are set to explore two immense ice-covered basins in the East Antarctic ice sheet. The researchers will measure the thickness of the ice sheet and characteristics of the rocks below the ice in an effort to model East Antarctic ice stability, predict the ice’s reaction to climate change, and show its potential impact on sea level.

Melting Arctic ice sheets and glaciers release cold, low-salinity water into the North Atlantic Ocean, resulting in shifts in the geographic range of many plants, and animals. The influx of polar water can also extend the growing season of phytoplankton and zooplankton and alter ecosystems from the bottom of the food chain upwards. Researchers studying these changes note that there will be both “winners and losers” in terms of marine species and the people who depend on the ocean for a livelihood.

If more severe consequences of climate change are to be avoided, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels must be reduced below the levels that already exist today, according to a new international study. The authors of the study state that carbon dioxide levels are already in a “danger zone” and call for the phasing out coal use except where the carbon dioxide can be captured or sequestered.

The ozone hole over Antarctica grew to the size of North America in its fifth largest maximum ever. The hole fluctuates in size in response to sunlight and temperature, reaching its annual maximum extent in September.

New discoveries in Antarctica are exciting polar biologists. Recent discoveries include microbial life in lakes of liquid water underneath the Antarctic ice sheet and many new marine findings. Molecular evidence shows that a large proportion of deep sea octopus species evolved from common ancestors that still exist in the Southern Ocean, and many new species of sponges, amphipods, sea cucumbers, and cnidarians have been discovered there as well. In the Arctic Ocean, marine biologists have discovered a rare site with a rocky seafloor, home to a diverse community in comparison to the soft and silty coastline that is common in the region. New species of Arctic jellies and zooplankton were also discovered.

Finally, scientists are launching new research projects as well. A Florida State University research is leading an effort to produce a comprehensive, international, comparative history of the Arctic region. A physical scientist in Svalbard plans to launch a rocket to gather atmospheric data in an effort to better understand the connection between the northern lights and disturbances to navigation systems and radio signals. The project is essential for developing warning systems to deal with these problems. Airplanes that fly over the Arctic can risk losing radio contact for several hours if the northern lights are active.

Know of another significant news story from November that you’d like to share? Reactions to one of the stories discussed here?  Post a comment-we’d love to hear from you!

Scientists studying the rare yellow-eyed penguin (Megadyptes antipodes), an endangered species found in New Zealand, made a surprising discovery: a new penguin species. The only catch? It’s extinct.

Researchers used genetic analysis as well as morphological evidence from bones and discovered that the oldest specimens were different enough to represent a new species (Megadyptes waitaha). They theorize that before humans first arrived in New Zealand in the 13th century, M. waitaha was able to outcompete the yellow-eyed penguins, forcing them to live on smaller islands to the south. The arrival of humans wiped out many large species, including M. waitaha, allowing the yellow-eyed penguins to expand their range.

December 4 will be the seventh International Polar Day and the focus is on modern-day research taking place at both poles. With the theme Above the Polar Regions, background information and activities will feature polar meteorology, atmospheric sciences, astronomy, and polar observations from space.

Teachers and others are invited to use resources from the Above the Polar Regions web site to prepare for a week-long observation and celebrate the day. Now on the site are the following features: 

An easy-to-understand summary describes weather-related processes that are under study: polar weather in both hemispheres, which influences weather as far away as the tropics; large-scale atmospheric circulations that transport particulate and gaseous materials; astronomical observations from the polar plateaus; and weather observations from space.

Each process then has its own page with more background, photographs, videos, and links to research sites, along with links to researchers’ blogs. Provided also is a list of all IPY projects that deal with astronomy, meteorology, and atmospheric sciences. The web pages of the projects provide a huge amount of information.

Classroom activities include a downloadable aurora observation guide, tours of research stations in Antarctica, and a list of educational materials from the European Space Agency, which offers astronomy exercises and weather study tools.

A section called Meet the Scientists profiles several researchers and gives email addresses. There will be two Live Events on December 4 connecting polar researchers to classes and individuals around the world.  

Using a program called Tagzania, schools can launch a virtual weather balloon to show their participation in the IPY day and see where other participating schools are located around the globe.

IPY provides downloadable and printable flyers, which schools and others can use to publicize the observation of the seventh IPY Day.  

Materials compiled for the past six themed Polar Days are available at http://www.ipy.org/index.php?/ipy/detail/international_polar_days/ .  

Weather and the Climate was the theme of the June 2008 issue of Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears. You’ll find science and literacy materials designed for K-5 classrooms there.

The World Conference on Marine Biodiversity, meeting in Valencia, Spain, in mid-November, received the fourth report on the Census of Marine Life, which is being compiled by 2,000 scientists from 82 nations. It will be officially released in October 2010.

This report revealed some amazing new findings about life in the ocean depths. In a press release from the Valencia conference, scientists reported the first molecular evidence that a large proportion of deep sea octopus species worldwide evolved from a common ancestor species that still exist in the Southern Ocean. They believe octopuses began migrating to new locations when Antarctica cooled and a large ice sheet grew about 30 million years ago. The octopuses followed a “thermohaline expressway,” a northbound flow of sea water with a high salt density caused by the ice that forms at the surface around the Antarctic. In their new habitats, many species of octopuses evolved.

 This and other revelations into the global distribution and diversity of deep sea life was made possible by intensive sampling during International Polar Year expeditions, according to the census report, which also relied on studies from many other areas of the world’s oceans.  Among some findings from expeditions in the polar regions:  

–Scientists in the Alaskan Arctic found a site with a rocky seafloor, rare along the normally soft and silty Arctic coastline. The hard substrate hosts a diverse community compared to surrounding soft bottom habitat. Researchers also discovered new species in the Aleutian archipelago, including a kelp, sea anemones, chitons (small ocean mollusk), snails, and sea stars.

–Researchers studying life in the Arctic found temperatures of –25 degrees Celsius in sea-ice channels where brine is more than six times saltier than regular sea water. Representing the coldest conditions in the global ocean, the channels were home to sea-ice algae and flagellates thriving in concentrations of thousands of individuals per liter.

–In the Canada Basin of the Arctic Ocean, researchers found several new species and more than 50 categories of gelatinous zooplankton. The first new species formally described from the expedition was named Sigambra healyae, in honor of the research vessel, the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy.

 –Scientists exploring a 10,000-kilometer (6,210-mile) portion of the Antarctic Weddell Sea, made accessible by the collapse of the Larsen A and B ice shelves, sampled an estimated 1,000 species. Of these, 15 potentially new amphipod (shrimp-like) species included one of Antarctica’s biggest-ever amphipod crustaceans, nearly 10 centimeters (3.9 inches) long. 

–Explorers made the first record of many marine animals in many areas of the Canada Basin. These included abundant and diverse comb jellies under Arctic pack ice and a dense bed of sea cucumbers. They also recorded more squid than ever before in the Arctic deep sea, and documented the importance of sea-ice ridges for marine life in the region.

–Expeditions to the Southern Ocean found frequent examples of gigantism common in Antarctic waters. The researchers collected huge scaly worms, giant crustaceans, starfish and sea spiders as big as dinner plates.

–Two new underwater robots gave scientists a bird’s eye view of what lives on Gakkel Ridge in the Arctic Ocean. These exploration vehicles carry cameras and sophisticated arrays of instruments that allowed scientists to discover a new underwater volcanic chain covered by extensive microbial mats. Because the deep Arctic ridges are isolated from other ocean basins, the investigation of Gakkel Ridge provides clues about the evolution of life around underwater vents in isolated habitats.

When the census is released in 2010, it is anticipated that an estimated 230,000-250,000 known species will be cataloged. Web pages will be available for the great majority of the named species, compiled in cooperation with the Encyclopedia of Life;

According to Ian Poiner, chair of the Census’s International Scientific Steering Committee and chief executive officer of the Australian Institute of Marine Science: “The release of the first Census in 2010 will be a milestone in science. After 10 years of new global research and information assembly by thousands of experts the world over, it will synthesize what humankind knows about the oceans, what we don’t know, and what we may never know – a scientific achievement of historic proportions.”

Find photos of several species in the census’s image gallery at http://www.coml.org/pressreleases/highlights08/index.html

Iceland has 109 outlet glaciers, 73 mountain glaciers, five valley glaciers and 21 surge-type glaciers, plus 55 cirque glaciers, ice caps and snow patches—and all have been counted and named. In a country about the size of the state of Virginia, residents have been observing and documenting their wealth of glaciers for centuries.

The glaciers’ names and histories are found in the book Geographic Names of Iceland’s Glaciers: Historic and Modern, published by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Iceland National Energy Authority. In addition to historical records that date back eight centuries, much of the information is gleaned from aerial and ground photographs and satellite images. The book, known as “professional paper 1746,” is available in print (259 pages) and in PDF format as one large file or as a group of smaller files at http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/1746/ 

In a press release, the co-publishers of the book say that “science-fiction readers (and moviegoers) will quickly identify Snaefellsjokull as the glacier-capped volcano whose summit crater was the entry point in Jules Verne´s Journey to the Center of the Earth.” (The movie versions of Verne’s book were discussed in the Popular Culture and the Polar Regions column in the April 2008 issue of Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears.)

 Another site that may be recognized by moviegoers is the glacial lake Jökulsarlon, in front of the Breiðamerkurjökull outlet glacier from Iceland´s largest ice cap. The lake was the setting for sequences in two of the James Bond movies.

 During the last half of the 20^th century, six named glaciers have disappeared.