International Polar Year

From March 2007 through March 2009, scientists around the world are focusing their attention on the Earth’s polar regions. You can join in! Do some icy experiments and launch a virtual balloon to show the world that you are involved.

One of the main themes of the International Polar Year is the study of Earth’s changing ice and snow, and its impact on our planet and our lives. Here are some links that will help you start your explorations:

* Polar Webcasts The Exploratorium has a series of Webcasts highlighting the work of scientists at field sites surrounding the North and South Poles. Click on one of the six blue links at the bottom of the world to see some incredible videos about penguins, ice-breakers, walking on the frozen sea, a sense of place, the South Pole and ice diving (what an incredible world under the ice).
* Climate Change presentations that focus on global warming and its impact on the environment.
* South Pole Telescope watch the progress of scientists constructing the largest telescope ever deployed in a polar region.
* Ice and Iceberg Images from the Scott Polar Research Institute. While you are there, check out the other links at the bottom of the page for more amazing photos, or click on the Research link to find out what the scientists are studying.
* Iceberg Ahead! Journey around the Web and discover how icebergs are formed, where they come from, and how long they last…and that’s just the tip of the iceberg!
* What’s it like to live at research station in the Antarctic? What’s the current temperature at South Pole Research Station? How much does it snow? What are dry valleys? Scientists come to the South Pole from around the world to study climate, astrophysics, marine biology geology, ecology and more. Find out what makes the Antarctic such a great place for research.
* Polar Links A huge list of related links and some really cool information about the Antarctic… Where do penguins go to dance?
* Archaeology in the Arctic The northernmost part of the North American continent has seen some of the most fascinating human adaptations anywhere, extending back thousands of years. But learning about those adaptations through archaeological research in that vast region presents a number of unique challenges.
* Mars and the Arctic ??? Find out how research conducted in Canada’s Arctic may one day help us journey to Mars.

Subglacial “Plumbing” in the Antarctic

Giant “blisters” containing water that rapidly expand and contract have been mapped beneath the Antarctic ice sheet. Fed by a complex network of rivers, the subglacial reservoirs force the overlying ice to rise and fall. By tracking these changes with satellites scientists have mapped this subglacial plumbing. You’ll be surprised what they found! How do you think global warming will affect the water under the glaciers in the Antarctic?

Earth Day!

Earth Day is on April 22nd each year, all around the world. Wish your mentor Happy Earth Day. How are you going to celebrate? For information about Earth Day, take a look at the Earth Day Canada website. Click on the News/FAQ link to find out about Earth Day. You can also search the Events link to see if there are celebrations near to you. For information about how this big blue planet of ours works, you can explore the pages at HowStuffWorks.

Explore the Earth From Your Computer

If you haven’t already discovered Google Earth, you are in for some great discoveries. It is a free program combining satellite imagery, maps and the Google Search engine to put whole world right into your computer. You can point and zoom to any place on our planet that you want to explore. Satellite images and local facts zoom into view. Can you find your house? Your school? Your favourite mountain? The Pyramids? Your favourite holiday get-away place? If you get adventurous, you can also go for a trip to Mars with Google Mars.

Our Moving Earth

Have you heard about active volcanoes or earthquakes in the news lately? Then check out this site for great information about how the earth works. Even though plates move very slowly, their motion, called plate tectonics, has a huge impact on the Earth. Plate tectonics form the oceans, continents, and mountains. It also helps us understand why and where events like earthquakes occur and volcanoes erupt. http://ology.amnh.org/earth/plates/index.html

World Sunlight Map

Current sunlight and cloud cover

Earth’s greatest mass extinction

See what happened 250 million years ago. Probably caused by poisonous volcanic gas, killed off more than two-thirds of reptile and amphibian families and facilitated the rise of dinosaurs.

Don’t wash fossils!

Recent research has shown that the standard conservation techniques of washing, brushing and varnishing fossils used by many fossil hunters and museum curators alike vastly reduces the chances of recovering ancient DNA.

Faultline!

Earthquakes explained and experienced. Real-time data, historic quakes, damage prevention, and lots of activities (try the Cookie Subduction – yum!)

Stormy History

In the past few years, hurricanes such as Charlie, Frances, and Katrina have brought destruction to the southeastern United States. They are part of a recent surge in storm activity in the area, and many scientists have been blaming climate change for the trend. Results of a new study suggest that the number of severe hurricanes we’ve seen recently is normal. The current trend seems extreme only because there was an unusual dip in storm frequency in the 1970s and 1980s.

Hurricane Season

Hurricanes, typhoons and tropical cyclones – storms of awesome power and enormous potential destruction! Thanks to our mentee Julia (a keen hurricane enthusiast) for sharing these links that she and her meteorologist SCIberMENTOR, Lisa, have explored.
Learn how and where hurricanes form, fly through a 3-D hurricane, read the latest hurricane news and forecasts, find out what damage hurricanes cause (and much more) on HowStuffWorks, take a tour of a hurricane on NASA’s hurricane site, dare to fly into the eye of a hurricane with the hurricane hunters, and look back on Hurricane Katrinaand Hurricane Andrew. Are any hurricane going to be named with your name in the next few years?!

Tornadoes

Tornadoes cause havoc and disrupt lives, but did you know they’ve caused it to rain fish and frogs?

Water Calculator

How much water do you use? Find out by using the water calculator. How does your water use compare to the average person? What ways can you conserve water in your household?