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International Polar Year 2007-2008 the INTERNATIONAL POLAR YEAR in This Issue

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NEWSLETTER OF T H E N A T I O N A L I C E C O R E L ABORATORY — S CIE N C E M A N AGE M E N T O FFICE Vol. 2 Issue 1 • SPRING 2007 International Polar Year 2007-2008 THE INTERNATIONAL POLAR YEAR In this issue . formation of the ozone hole and the 2007–2008 will be the largest internationally accumulation of pollutants in the Arctic Upcoming Meetings .......................2 coordinated research program in 50 environment. Ice Core Working Group years. It will be an intensive period of Members ........................................3 interdisciplinary science focused on the • The Arctic is home to more than 4 million International Partnerships in Arctic and the Antarctic. The polar regions people, and these communities face changes Ice Core Sciences ..........................4 are especially important for the following in their natural environment and in their Greenland NEEM Deep reasons: natural resources and food systems Ice Core ..........................................4 — changes that are, for the most U.S. International Trans • They are presently changing part, of a rapidity and magnitude Antarctic Scientific Expedition .......5 faster than any other regions beyond recent experience or Norwegian/ U.S. Scientific of the Earth, with regional and traditional knowledge. Traverse in East Antarctica .............6 global implications for societies, Currently Funded Projects .............7 economies and ecosystems. This • Within the polar regions lie change is particularly evident in important scientific challenges yet Message from widespread shrinking snow and ice. to be investigated and unique vantage the Director points for science. The regions beneath the • Processes in polar regions have a profound polar ice sheets and under the ice-covered Welcome to the 4th International Polar influence on the global environment, and oceans remain largely unknown. Many of Year (IPY)! Over the next two years there particularly on the weather and climate the new scientific frontiers in the polar will be intense focus on Polar research system. At the same time, the polar regions are at the intersection of traditional and several multi-institutional U.S ice environment is impacted by processes scientific disciplines. coring projects will be ongoing during at lower latitudes. Examples include the (continued on page 2) IPY. These include the WAIS Divide Ice Core Project, U.S. ITASE, a Norwegian/ U.S. scientific traverse in East Antarctica, and a new U.S.-European deep ice core WAIS Divide Ice Core Project in Greenland. Brief descriptions about Project Overview Greenland GISP2, GRIP, and North GRIP these projects are included in this issue WAIS DIVIDE is a United States deep ice ice cores. The most significant and unique of In-Depth and we hope to follow up core project in West Antarctica funded by characteristic of the WAIS Divide project with longer articles on each project in the National Science Foundation (NSF). will be the development of climate records upcoming issues. The purpose of the project is to collect a with an absolute, annual-layer-counted 3,400 meter deep ice core from the flow chronology for the most recent ~40,000 In other news, the international ice divide (similar to a watershed divide) in years. In addition, due to the high snowfall coring community has established the central West Antarctica in order to develop rate, the WAIS Divide record will have “International Partnerships in Ice Core Sciences” (IPICS) (see story page 4) records for the last 100,000 years of: global only a small offset between the ages of whose charge is to promote ice coring climate, the stability of the West Antarctic the ice and the air trapped in the ice. The projects through greater partnerships Ice Sheet (WAIS), and biological activity. combination of high-time resolution and in logistics, technology and scientific The WAIS Divide ice core will provide minimal age offset will allow us to study collaborations between the 20 member Antarctic records of environmental change interactions between climate variations nations. This is an important step for with the highest possible time resolution and atmospheric composition with a level increased ice coring activities leading for the last ~100,000 years; it will be the of detail previously not possible in deep to a better understanding of the Earth’s Southern Hemisphere equivalent of the long Antarctic ice core records. The WAIS climate system. -MST n (continued on page 3) International Polar Year 2007-2008 (continued from page 1) Six scientific themes provide a framework IPY 2007–2008 aims to leave a legacy of for IPY 2007–2008. enhanced observational systems, facilities In-Depth is published semi-annually by the National Ice Core Laboratory - Science and infrastructure. The observational Management Office (NICL-SMO). We 1. Status: to determine the present networks to be established during IPY welcome your comments, suggestions and submissions. environmental status of the polar include integrated ocean observing systems regions; in both the Arctic and Southern Oceans, Mark Twickler (MST), Director/Writing/Editing Joe Souney (JMS), Layout/Writing/Editing 2. Change: to quantify and understand coordinated acquisition of satellite data Katherine Sullivan, Editing past and present natural environmental products from multiple space agencies University of New Hampshire and social change in the polar regions and observational systems for astronomy, Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space and to improve projections of future sun–earth physics, atmospheric chemistry, Durham, New Hampshire 03824 change; meteorology, ecosystems, permafrost, [email protected] 3. Global linkages: to advance glaciers and geophysics. Many observing (603) 862-1991 understanding on all scales of the links systems within IPY will be developed http://nicl-smo.unh.edu and interactions between polar regions within the framework of existing Graphic Design: Kristi Donahue and the rest of the globe, and of the international global observing systems. Masthead photos courtesy of processes controlling these; Lonnie Thompson and Michael Morrison. 4. New frontiers: to investigate the The period from 1 March 2007 to 1 March frontiers of science in the polar regions; 2009 will be exciting and historic. The 5. Vantage point: to use the unique International Polar Year 2007–2008 should Upcoming Meetings vantage point of the polar regions to significantly advance our ability to meet the 15-20 April 2007 develop and enhance observatories major science challenges of the polar regions European Geosciences Union (EGU) from the interior of the Earth to the and generate a rich legacy, notably in a new General Assembly, Vienna, Austria sun and the cosmos beyond; understanding of polar processes and their http://meetings.copernicus.org/egu2007/ 6. The human dimension: to investigate global linkages at this critical time— for it is the cultural, historical and social becoming ever clearer that we humans have 24-25 April 2007 processes that shape the sustainability to recognize and respond to the planetary Ice Core Working Group Annual of circumpolar human societies and to limits of our behaviour. The polar regions Meeting, Irvine, CA identify their unique contributions to provide a litmus test and the insight to help [email protected] global cultural diversity and citizenship. us do so. 2-13 July 2007 Ice Cores and Climate Session of the IPY 2007–2008 research activities were From: IUGG, Perugia, Italy assembled from the ideas of researchers The scope of science for the International http://www.iugg2007perugia.it/ in more than 60 countries. A total of Polar Year 2007-2008, Executive Summary, 228 projects have been endorsed by the February 2007. Produced by the ICSU/ 26-31 August 2007 ICSU/WMO Joint Committee for IPY WMO Joint Committee for IPY 2007-2008. 10th International Symposium on 2007–2008. These projects have a strong Antarctic Earth Sciences, Santa Barbara, interdisciplinary emphasis and address the http://www.ipy.org/index.php?/ipy/ CA six themes as well as education and outreach detail/the_scope_of_science_for_the_ http://isaes2007.geol.ucsb.edu/ objectives. IPY projects will exploit new international_polar_year/ 5-8 September 2007 technological and logistical capabilities and West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) strengthen international coordination of ---------------------- Workshop research. They aim to attract, engage and For a list of NSF-funded IPY projects go to: http://igloo.gsfc.nasa.gov/wais/ develop a new generation of researchers http://www.nsf.gov/od/opp/ipy/ipy_ and raise the awareness, interest and awards_0607.jsp 4-5 October 2007 understanding of polar residents, educators, WAIS Divide Ice Core Project Science students, the general public and decision Meeting, Lake Tahoe, NV makers worldwide. IPY projects will collect http://www.waisdivide.unh.edu/ a broad-ranging set of samples, data and 10–14 December 2007 information which will be made available to AGU - Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA an unprecedented degree. http://www.agu.org/meetings/ In-Depth (SPRING 2007) (continued from page 1) WAIS Divide Ice Core Project Ice Core Working Group Divide ice core is expected to produce the of cargo, passengers, and fuel have been best atmospheric gas records of the past flown to the WAIS Divide camp. During the Eric Saltzman, Chair 100,000 years ever obtained. As such, the upcoming 2007-2008 Antarctic field season University of California-Irvine WAIS Divide ice core will enable detailed construction of the arch facility will be Eric Saltzman comparison of environmental conditions completed, the DISC drill will be installed, University of California-Irvine between the northern and southern and deep drilling will begin. Atmospheric Chemistry hemispheres, and the study of greenhouse Scott Rogers gas concentrations in the paleo-atmosphere, Project Organization Bowling Green State University with significantly greater accuracy than is The Office of Polar Programs at the NSF Biological possible with any existing or planned ice funds the project with most of the science Todd Sowers core record. funding coming from the Glaciology Penn State University Program managed by Julie Palais.
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