August 27 2008 *RV Polarstern on its way to measurements in the East Siberian Sea*
German research vessel Polarstern, operated by the Alfred Wegener
Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association,
transits the Northwest Passage for the first time. Its destination is
the East Siberian Sea where geoscientific measurements at the junction
between the Mendeleev Ridge and the East Siberian Shelf are at the focus
of the participants of this expedition.
August 21 2008 ARKTIKA-2008
On August 20, 2008 at 8 a.m. (Moscow Time) RV "Akademik Federov" was positioned on 72 N., 64 E
The vessel is moving towards Kara Sea
At 21 -30 p.m. on August 19 the vessel passed Kara Gate and was moving along the North Passage eaastward. Accompanying observations are made and preparations for NP-36 are continued .
August 20 2008 ARKTIKA-2008
On August 18, 2008 RV "akademik Fedorov" was located at 68 N, 42 E . The vessel is in the Barents Sea, having passed 260 miles.
Around Sosnovets Island two helicopters MI-8 were embarked , and 10 members of the tea. Therefore the total numner of expedition members is 82 persons .
RV "Akademik Fedorov" is moving towards Karskie Vorota Strait , and then along the North Pass to Vrangel Island .
Scientific equipment is being checked and preparation for NP-36 is being made.
August 19 2008 Arctic oil claims are heating up
Canada says it has scientific proof of its territorial claims over a vast portion of the Arctic, amid growing debate between northern nations over sovereignty in the oil-rich region.Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn said that joint research with Denmark had found that the undersea Lomonosov Ridge is attached to the North American and Greenland plates, directly challenging a Russian claim.“The need to demonstrate our sovereignty in the Arctic has never been more important, which is why our government has made this research a top priority,” Lunn said in a statement.“Our commitment to this initiative, as well as other investments in the North, is ultimately about turning potential into prosperity for this remarkable region and for our country as a whole,” he said at the weekend.Lunn added that the scientific findings about the ridge will be presented at the 2008 International Geological Congress currently being held in Oslo, Norway
August 18 2008 The Russian SAON workshop
Russian SAON workshop was held 7 July 2008 at the State Hydrological Institute ( Roshydromet), St. Petersburg, Russia.
SAON (Sustained Arctic Observing Networks) is an initiative of the Arctic Council aiming at maintaining and increasing Arctic observations, and doing so in cooperation with IASC and other international partners. A number of Artic observing networks are in operation, and the International Polar Year will add another influx of Arctic data.
The SAON Initiating Group (SAON IG), consists to-day of 13 international partners, has initiated a series of workshops in the observing communities (governmental agencies, research communities and local observations) to identify user needs, current networks and suggesting ways ahead to the Arctic Council and international partners in the form of a set of recommendations for actions.
The goal of the Russian SAON workshop was to reach out to the Russian observing communities, and to connect them to international networks when needed.
The workshop was efficiently chaired by Dr. Alexander Frolov, Deputy Director of Roshydromet.
August 14 2008 'Arctic Map' could help divide natural resources
A new map of the Arctic has been drawn up by British cartographers which reveals the squabbling among countries staking a claim to its vast natural resources.
It shows how neighbouring superpowers such as America and Russia are circling ready to gain best position in an expected carve up of the polar region.
Map of maritime jurisdiction and boundaries in the Arctic. Click to download PDF
The race to find new reserves of oil, gas and minerals has led to the spotlight falling on the Arctic which is believed to contain about 20 per cent of the world's untapped resources under its pristine ice.
August 13 2008 RV Polarstern completes work in the Fram Strait
Successful series of measurements in Arctic sea ice - RV Polarstern completes work in the Fram Strait and enters port in Reykjavik
Bremerhaven August 7th 2008. The German Research Vessel Polarstern had to prove its ice breaking capabilities in Arctic waters to gain data on two series of long-term research measurements. After working in regions up to latitude 82° N, Polarstern of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association will enter port in Reykjavik (Iceland) on August 10th. "This year, we had to cope with exceptional heavy ice coverage", says chief scientist Prof. Gerhard Kattner. The sea ice covered the Arctic almost down to latitude 72° in southern direction. Perpetual winds from the Northwest have moved the ice into the central area of the Fram Strait since the beginning of summer. The main focus of the expedition lied in this region: the moorings along 78°50' N, and the so-called "AWI-Hausgarten". The measurements of the Polarstern expedition, which is completed by now, are part of continuous studies. Statements about long-term developments of the climate system can be made by means of these series of measurements. These research endeavours are only possible with an icebreaker like Polarstern - moorings in ice covered areas cannot be recovered with another research vessel.
August 7 2008 “The Lords of Tundra” exhibition tours world
On occasion of the IV International Polar Year, Italian researchers of the Project “Map of Arctic People” set up a touring historical-photographical exhibition focused on polar regions, called “The Lords of Tundra”, in order to spread the knowledge over arctic populations and lands.
Protagonists of the lens are the Ural Mountains chain, the Arctic ocean – being objects of significant transformations produced by the recent climate changes - and, above all, Nenets (or Nency) population, inhabiting the ice of Jamal Peninsula, in Siberia. Nency people are nomadic breeders founding their existence on reindeer breeding, thus constituting one of the last examples of still subsistent economies.
The exhibition, promoted within the Project “Map of Arctic People”, earned the patronage of several eminent institutions: CAI (Italian Mountain Sports Association) Executive Presidency, Geographic Polar Institute of Fermo, Circolo Polare Association and several Italian universities.
At the moment, the polar exhibition, after having been lodged in Fermo (FM), Milan and Ethiopia (in the Oromo Ethnographic Museum of Kofale) is visitable in Belluno, Passo Pordoi until the 15th of August 2008.
August 4 2008 High-Resolution Greenland Ice Core Data Show Abrupt Climate Change Happens in Few Years
The last two abrupt warmings at the onset of our present warm interglacial period, interrupted by the Younger Dryas cooling event, were investigated at high temporal resolution from the North Greenland Ice Core Project ice core. The deuterium excess, a proxy of Greenland precipitation moisture source, switched mode within 1 to 3 years over these transitions and initiated a more gradual change (over 50 years) of the Greenland air temperature, as recorded by stable water isotopes. The onsets of both abrupt Greenland warmings were slightly preceded by decreasing Greenland dust deposition, reflecting the wetting of Asian deserts. A northern shift of the Intertropical Convergence Zone could be the trigger of these abrupt shifts of Northern Hemisphere atmospheric circulation, resulting in changes of 2 to 4 kelvin in Greenland moisture source temperature from one year to the next.
