Articles & Interviews
Sciencepoles articles look at key findings from a range of polar science and research fields. Our articles RSS feed will inform you when new articles are published on this website.
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Flora and Fauna: The Essentials
27.10.2005
The Arctic and Southern Oceans may be comparable in the abundance and adaptation methods of the species they harbour in their waters, but the flora and fauna of the polar lands could not be more different. Whereas Antarctica is a continent on which the largest land based animal is a…
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Earth: The Essentials
20.07.2005
The polar regions provide unique opportunities for understanding the earth's geological history. Continents have shifted significantly over the eons and Antarctica was once a part of an enormous landmass containing all contemporary continents. Exploring the geology of the Antarctic continent and the Arctic Ocean seabed presents great challenges for polar…
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Permafrost: Not Quite So Permanent
05.07.2005
Permafrost is soil (and/or rock) that remains below zero degrees Celsius year-round for at least two consecutive years. It is mostly found in the polar regions and in mountain ranges at high altitude. In recent decades, with global warming, permafrost has decreased in the Arctic and across the world's mountain…
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Atmospheric Circulation
08.06.2005
Atmospheric circulation is one of the key factors driving regional changes in wind, temperature, precipitation, moisture and other climatic variables. This large-scale movement of air (together with ocean circulation) is the means by which heat is distributed across the Earth's surface, particularly northward from the equator towards the poles. Without…
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SCAR and IASC Getting Nations Together
26.05.2005
The Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research (SCAR) and the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC), operate as separate, but parallel organisations working under or in association with the International Council for Science (ICSU) to facilitate international polar research initiatives across all disciplines. Both have the most active European polar research nations…
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History of Polar Research
25.05.2005
The history of polar research has always been intertwined with the great chapters of polar exploration, but looking beyond the national expeditions of the past, polar science is perhaps most indebted to the succession of International Polar Years (including an International Geophysical Year) organised in the last 125 years. Milestones…
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IPY 2007-2008: A Warming World Focuses on the Polar Regions
25.05.2005
Remote and inhospitable, the polar regions remain insufficiently studied. At a particularly sensitive time in the history of the Earth due to global climate change, the International Polar Year (IPY) of 2007-2008 will seek to remedy this situation through an intense, internationally coordinated campaign of research. The fourth of its…
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Polar Flora and Fauna Facing up to Major Climate Warming
24.05.2005
According to the different climate models developed by researchers and confirmed by the IPCC (the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), the poles are the regions of the world where climate change is and will be the most rapid. This development is not without impact on the organisms living in these…
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Satellites at the Service of Polar Research
24.05.2005
Satellites have become essential tools for polar research. For example, they track the movements of many birds and mammals at the poles. But they have proved particularly decisive when observing climate change; spatial teledetection has enabled study of changes to the extent of pack ice, the volume of ice caps,…
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IceCube: Antarctica’s Crystal Ball
24.05.2005
Buried deep within the East Antarctic ice sheet at the South Pole, a giant high-energy neutrino observatory due for completion in 2009 could provide scientists including from Europe with an unprecedented window to the Universe, as well as a means to answer some of the most fundamental questions of astrophysics…
