Resources

Student Downloads

• Arctic Orientation Package
• Packing List
• Arctic Media Toolkit

GENERAL ARCTIC INFORMATION

• EducaPoles
  (Visit the International Polar Foundation's excellent Arctic interactive multimedia)
• State of the Arctic Coast 2010 – Scientific Review and Outlook
• International Arctic Science Committee, Land-Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone, Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme, International Permafrost Association
• Canadian Polar Commission
• Government of Nunavut
• Nunatsiavut Government
• Canadian Arctic Resources Committee
• Canada and the Circumpolar World
• Avataq Cultural Institute
• National Inuit Youth Council
• Inuit Art Foundation
• Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami
• Inuit Circumpolar Conference

SCIENCE AND RESEARCH

• Arctic Institute of North America
• Nunavut Wildlife Management Board
• Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans
• Canadian Ice Service
• Getting Started in Oral Traditions Research

POLE TO POLE

• Arctic-Antarctic sea ice comparison
• NASA Cryosphere Imagery

WEATHER OR CLIMATE

• GLOBE Seasons and Biomes Atmosphere/Climate protocols

WHY IS IT COLD IN THE POLAR REGIONS?

• Information about the seasons and climate from Iowa State University’s Polaris Project North Star
• Video clip about Earth’s tilt and the seasons
• An online calculator to determine sunrise and sunset times at different latitudes and longituds around the world

OZONE HOLE DEMONSTRATION

• United Nations Environment Programme information about the ozone hole
• Background information from the University of Cambridge Centre for Atmospheric Science
• The role of CFCs in ozone destruction

ICE INTRODUCTION

• A multi-media tour of the cryosphere from NASA

ALBEDO

• An interactive demonstration of albedo and related conceptsbased on information from NASA and the US Geological Survey
• Overview of the cryosphere in climate research

GROWTH AND FLOW OF ICE SHEETS

• US National Snow and Ice Data Center—quick facts on ice sheets
• Ice Sheet chapter from Global Outlook for Ice and Snow from the United Nations Environment Programme
• Glacier glossary

WHEN ICE MELTS

• A short video exploring Archimedes’ principle
• Goddard Institute for Space Studies report on ice melt and sea level rise
• Measuring sea level

SEA ICE AND OCEAN CURRENTS

• A Northern Hemisphere perspective on sea ice and ocean processes in the Arctic

EXAMINING ICE CRYSTALS

• Sea Ice Physics and Ecosystem Experiment
• Diagrams and explanations of crystal structures
• More information about polarisation
• Information and tutorials about polarisation and optical birefringence
• Simple explanation of polarisation

SURFACE CURRENTS

• The Global Drifter Program—satellite-tracked drifting buoys
• Fundamentals of surface ocean currents

DEEP WATER CIRCULATION

• Deep water circulationv
• Downloadable animations of ocean currents
• NASA ‘Ocean Motion’
• ARGO project (free-drifting profiling floats)

SEA ICE POROSITY AND OCEAN ECOSYSTEMS

• Sea Ice Physics and Ecosystem Experiment (SIPEX)

POLAR FEASTS

• Simple game related to polar food chains
• Diagram of Arctic marine food web
• Pictures of Arctic marine organisms from the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research

BLUBBER INSULATION

• Details about blubber

THE EARTH THROUGH TIME

• A look at Earth’s climate through time
• An introduction to plate tectonics
• A more comprehensive background
• Information, diagrams and animations about geology from the University of Tromsø

RECONSTRUCTING PAST CLIMATES AND ENVIRONMENTS

• Diatoms
• Palaeoclimatology
• Palaeoclimatology information from NOAA

FORMATION OF GLACIAL VALLEYS

• National Snow and Ice Data Center Glacier Gallery (photos of glaciers and glacial features)
• Background material and activities from the US National Park Service
• Background material and photos of glacial features
• Glacier glossary

PERMAFROST AND TEMPERATURE CHANGES

• US Fish & Wildlife Service: Ice Wedges, Polygons and Pingos
• All about frozen ground from the US National Snow and Ice Data Center

TUNNEL MAN:

• Episode 1
• Episode 2
• Episode 3
• Episode 4

OPTIMAL FORAGING

• Snowy owl research in Nunavut
• ArcticWOLVES IPY Project

WHAT IS COMMUNITY

• Canadian Council for Geographic Education Lesson Plans (for more classroom resources on Arctic-specific life and land topics)
• Many Strong Voices (a group that links Arctic and small island developing states)
• Survey of Living Conditions in the Arctic

WHAT WILL BE THE FUTURE OF THE ARCTIC?

• The Arctic Human Development Report (AHDR) for a general overview and as a source of information and statistics on culture and societies in the North

For position research:

• Politicians
• Researchers
• NGO Representatives
• Economists

UP THE FOOD CHAIN: POLLUTION IN THE ARCTIC

• What are POPs?
• General articles on pollution in the Arctic
• Canadian Arctic Resources Committee information
• Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP)
• Biology online information on pollution in the Arctic

KEEPING WARM ON POLAR EXPEDITIONS

• Informative poster on polar clothing from Scott Polar Research Institute

UNDERSTANDING AURORAS

• Comprehensive information about auroras (with pictures, movies and web links) from the Exploratorium
• More about the science behind auroras
• More information with good photos of auroral forms and structures
• Information, links and images
• NASA videos of conjugate auroras
• British Astronomical Association Auroral Section

VIEWS FROM SPACE

• ESA School Atlas; geography from space thanks to real satellite imagery
• LandSat: A Global Land-Observing Program
• Glacier glossary

THE MISSING ENERGY MYSTERY: POPCORN AND NEUTRINOS

• IceCube Neutrino detector main website
• IceCube Education and Outreach site
• YouTube clip about the detector
• Popcorn popping in super-slow motion

CLIMATE CHANGE INFORMATION

• Earthwatch Institute
• Understanding Canadian Weather
• Pembina Institute's Climate Change portal
• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
• United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
• World Wildlife Fund: Climate
• The Northern Climate ExChange
• Climate Action Network
• Scott Polar Research Institute
• David Suzuki Foundation: Climate Change
• Environment Canada: Climate Change
• One Tonne Challenge
• Climate Change- Environment Canada
• Climate Change Impacts and Adaptations
• Health Canada: Climate Change and Health Office
• Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency
• CO2 Science
• Climate Change Calculator
• Carbon Footprint Calculator
• Year Round Programs - Earth Day
• Sustainable Energy Solutions
• International Institute for Sustainable Development
• Northern Climate Exchange
• Sierra Club - Clean Energy
• World Resource Institute
• Climate Change Youth Café
• Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment
• Walter and Duncan Gordan Foundation
• Counter Currents
• The University of Winnipeg Climate Change Resources
• Union of Concerned Scientists
• World Health Organization
• United Nation Environment Programme

SELECT NORTHERN NEWS MEDIA

• CBC News North
• Nunatsiaq News
• Northern News Services
• Inuit Broadcasting Corporation

ARCTIC EXPLORATION

• Arctic Exploration Overview

EDUCAPOLES.org

• EducaPoles (The International Polar Foundation's educational website)

Flash Animations:

1. Humankind: Culprit and Victim of Climate Change Today
2. The Polar Regions: The First Areas of the Planet to Be Affected by Climate Change
3. Impacts of Climate Change on the Oceans
4. The biodiversity: Climate Change
5. Biodiversity in the Arctic
6. The Polar Regions: One of a Kind Laboratories for Scientific Research

Pedagogical Dossiers:

1. Climate change: What is it?
2. The Polar Regions
3. People in the Polar Regions
4. Climate Change: Consequences for the Planet and the Polar Regions
5. Paleoclimatic Exploration in the Arctic and Antarctic
6. The new economic stakes of climate change
7. Fishing in the Arctic and Antarctic: Exploiting Living Resources
8. Exploitation of mineral resources

Weblinks

Be sure to check out many of the web-links listed on this site and the stories, announcements and links posted to SOI's Blog:

Students on Ice Blog