3 December, 2001

Jason - Frozen Worlds / AK Seal Migration / Healy Research / And More!

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A reminder from Betsy Youngman:

Check out "Frozen Worlds" brought to you by the Jason Project (http://www.jason.org). Neat labs, reading materials, and website digital labs for kids.

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Media Contact: October 29, 2001

Peter West

NSF PR 01-86

(703) 292-8070/pwest@nsf.gov

Program contact:

Gay Sheffield

(907) 686-2247

NSF-FUNDED RESEARCHERS TRACK ALASKA SEAL MIGRATION FOR THE FIRST TIME

Using a remarkable combination of time-tested hunting knowledge, the application of common-sense ingenuity and hightech satellite tracking, researchers supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), working with Alaska Native hunters, have captured, electronically tagged, and tracked a ringed seal in its spring migration as it moved northward with the ice of the Chukchi Sea.

This is the first time anyone has tracked a ringed seal in open sea ice, and its success has not only increased knowledge about the seal's movements, but also enhanced trust and mutual

respect between scientists and custodians of traditional ecological knowledge, according to Gay Sheffield of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG).

"Seal tracking is an important and somewhat unexpected offshoot of a larger NSF project to establish an onshore environmental observatory on Little Diomede Island in the Bering Strait and to encourage the parcticipation of Alaska natives in the research effort," according to Sheffield,

who oversees marine mammal sampling and data gathering for the observatory.

Ringed seals are one of the four "ice-associated" species of seals in those waters. The others are bearded, ribbon, and spotted seals.

"In Alaska, the large scale movements of ringed, bearded, and ribbon seals are unknown except in a general sense," said Sheffield. "At this point, the only northern seals in Alaska for which we have had even an inkling of their movements are spotted seals."

The recently tagged seal was captured initially by island residents using what Sheffield described as a "clever and effective" method in which a homemade plywood slide was deployed

from a blind to block the animal's escape down its breathing hole in the ice. Scientists then approached the seal on the ice and temporarily glued a tracking device to its fur.

Once released, the animal traveled more than 700 kilometers (400 miles) north during the period it was tracked -- roughly seven weeks last summer -- diving to depths of more than

50 meters (164 feet).

"The great thing is that you have people sharing information and learning together," said Sheffield. "I was working with men who work with and observe these animals on a daily basis. They are the experts on the animal's local behavior and movements. It was a privilege to be able to unite scientific and traditional knowledge to gain a better understanding of ringed seal life history."

The strategic location of the observatory on Little Diomede is expected to permit rapid, flexible collection of chemical, biological and physical data on the transport of nutrient- and

organic-rich waters of north Pacific origin into the Arctic Ocean through the narrow Bering Strait.

Researchers at the University of Alaska, the University of Maryland and the University of Tennessee are the principal investigators for the observatory.

"Little Diomede Island is a challenging, but rewarding place to work," said Lee Cooper of the University of Tennessee, the project lead scientist. "I can't think of any community in the

United States more remote and isolated, but the support of the local community has eased a lot of our research difficulties. We couldn't have made any significant progress up there without the

community's help."

-NSF-

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Media contact: November 28, 2001 Peter West NSF PR 01-93

(703) 292-8070/pwest@nsf.gov

Program contact:

Jane Dionne

(703) 292-8030/jdionne@nsf.gov

HEALY RESEARCHERS MAKE A SERIES OF

STRIKING DISCOVERIES ABOUT ARCTIC OCEAN

Contrary to their expectations, scientists on a research cruise to the Arctic Ocean have found evidence that the Gakkel

Ridge, the world's slowest spreading mid-ocean ridge, may be very volcanically active. They also believe that conditions in a

field of undersea vents, known as "black smokers," could support previously unknown species of marine life.

The findings were among a range of discoveries made by researchers aboard the US Coast Guard Cutter Healy, an icebreaker equipped for science, and a companion German research vessel, the Polarstern, in late August, early in a nine-week cruise to the

Gakkel Ridge, Earth's least volcanically active mid-ocean ridge.

"We accomplished easily a factor of two more than we

planned," said Peter Michael, of the University of Tulsa, the

U.S. chief scientist on the National Science Foundation (NSF) funded Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge Expedition (AMORE).

Michael and other AMORE researchers discussed their findings Nov. 28 at a news conference at the National Press Club in

Washington, D.C.

Among other important milestones from the cruise, scientists discovered an as yet unexplained "discontinuity" of volcanic

activity along the Gakkel Ridge. Because the southern end of the ridge is spreading relatively quickly and the northern end

extremely slowly, the researchers expected volcanic activity to gradually die out as they sailed north. Instead, there were

irregular pockets of activity as the cruise moved northwards.

They said they were also pleased to discover that they were able to map the ridge in great detail from the Healy because the vessel was much quieter when breaking ice than expected.

"Our maps show that this ridge is tectonically very

different than other ridges, the rift valley is close to a mile deeper with many enormous long-lived faults", explained Henry

Dick, an expedition co-chief scientist from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. "This likely accounts for why so many hydrothermal plumes were found here."

Prior to the AMORE cruise most scientists expected little recent volcanic activity and scant evidence for hydrothermal

vents, the deep-sea hot springs that host oases of life on the

deep seafloor. Instead, sampling sites revealed abundant fresh lava and multiple signs of hydrothermal activity.

Most surprisingly, a dredge team, led by Jeffrey Standish, a graduate student at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, recovered fresh sulfides that apparently are part of "black

smoker" chimneys, the most striking manifestation of hydrothermal activity. The find was verified by a camera and sensor package lowered to the seafloor from the Polarstern that showed intact

sulfide chimneys and recorded warm water vents. The expedition proposed the name "Aurora" for the vent field.

"We found more hydrothermal activity on this cruise than in

20 years of exploration on the mid-Atlantic Ridge," said Charles Langmuir, co-chief scientist on Healy from Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO) at Columbia University.

While the heated water from the hydrothermal vents does not significantly affect ocean temperatures, the vents have attracted

the attention of both biologists and geologists. Hydrothermal vents on mid-ocean ridges in the world's oceans provide chemical energy that supports exotic life forms and large ecosystems far removed from the Earth's sunlit surface, where photosynthesis

forms the base of the food chain. "Our discovery of these

signals clearly show that hydrothermal vents similar to those present on faster spreading mid-ocean ridges are present in

abundance here, too," said AMORE researcher Henrietta Edmonds of the University of Texas.

AMORE mapped and sampled the Gakkel Ridge which, extends

1100 miles from north of Greenland to Siberia, all of it beneath the Arctic ice cap. The ridge is the deepest and most remote

portion of the global mid-ocean ridge system, where new ocean

crust is continuously created as seafloor spreading takes place through volcanic activity. Many theories about seafloor

spreading can be tested only on a slow-spreading ridge like the Gakkel. Geologists, oceanographers and biologists on both ships recovered numerous samples of rocks, mud, water as well as

organisms from the seafloor that they will analyze in their labs.

The Arctic Ocean's isolation from major ocean basins has led scientists to debate whether ecosystems on Gakkel Ridge would

more resemble those from the Atlantic or Pacific Oceans, or

whether they would have evolved separately. "These exciting discoveries on Gakkel Ridge pave the way for future expeditions

that will map the vents and may discover completely new

organisms" Michael said.

The AMORE research was the first full science expedition for HEALY after an extensive four-month program of icebreaking and

science equipment testing in the Arctic last year.

-NSF-

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What's new at 70South:

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1. Many new historic dates added.

2. Exclusive interview with Robert Swan.

3. Events upgraded and updated.

4. The 70South site upgraded and moved to a new server. The new software will allow for better performance and some new features. This work meant that not as much time could be spend on news and other content this week. 5. New Syndication Tool was added. Now other sites (eg yours) can get the latest Antarctic news on with an automated update tool.

6. New Explorers were added to the history section, and the "Further Reading" section was improved.

Last week's Antarctic News: (www.70south.com/news) ---------------------------

Live Webchat with Arved Fuchs

Australian scientists investigate penguin deaths

Global Warming nothing new

Shackelton inspires Wall Street

Coming weeks Antarctic Calendar: (www.70south.com/resources/events) --------------------------------

Forthcoming Events:

2001/12/04 WebChat with Arved Fuchs

If you have one, let us know (www.70south.com/resources/events/send_event).

Historic Events:

1978/12/03 First annual Scott's Hut race at McMurdo

1935/12/05 First Ellsworth completes first transantarctic flight 1821/12/06 South Orkneys discovered

1822/12/08 First landing on Bouvet Island

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AICC Town Meeting and Long-Range Planning for USCG Icebreakers

DEADLINE TO SUBMIT PLANNING DOCUMENTS FOR TOWN MEETING: 30 November 2001

The AICC (Arctic Icebreaker Coordinating Committee) will hold a town meeting in conjunction with the upcoming Fall meeting of AGU in San Francisco. The town meeting will be Monday evening, 10 December 2001 at 6:30 PM in the Golden Gate Room at the Marriott Hotel. We anticipate covering topics such as long-range planning for the icebreakers, and look forward to hearing from the chief scientists on HEALY's 2001 cruises (AMORE and ALTEX).

In order to facilitate discussion of long-term planning, we would like to review requests for future use of the U.S. Coast Guard Icebreakers. If you plan to submit a request for a field program using a Coast Guard Icebreaker in the next few years, please take a few minutes to complete a UNOLS Ship Time Request Form at the following web site address:

http://www.gso.uri.edu/unols/ship/shiptime.html

The ship time request form has been revised to include a feature for long-range planning. Please remember to check the box in the top, right corner of the form titled, "Long Range Planning Document." You will also still need to choose between "Ancillary Only," "Principal Use," and "No Ship Required." The revised Ship Time Request form replaces the ad-hoc system used in past years.

If and when you decide to submit an actual ship time request for this program, you can access your Long-Range Planning Document, make any necessary revisions to the form and resubmit it as a request. The request will then be distributed automatically to the sponsoring agency, the USCG and the UNOLS Office.

To view all planning documents and requests for the Coast Guard Icebreakers, go to http://www.gso.uri.edu/unols/ship/mainmenu.html, click on, "View current list of Final Ship time Request Forms," and select the fields that you wish to view.

Please submit your Long-Range Planning documents by 30 November 2001 in order to be presented at the December meeting. You may submit a long-range planning document any time you want. The intent is for this information to be used as a planning tool for AICC, funding agencies, the Coast Guard, and other researchers that are considering proposals for the future.

For those of you who wish to use any of the USCG Icebreakers in the Arctic Ocean in 2003, we remind you that proposals for NSF funding are due 15 February 2002.

If you have questions about any AICC issues, feel free to contact the AICC Chair, Lisa Clough at: cloughl@mail.ecu.edu or the UNOLS office at: office@unols.org

For more information on the AICC itself, go to: http://www.unols.org/aicc/

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FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT OF

The Second AMAP International Symposium on

Environmental Pollution in the Arctic

Rovaniemi, Finland

1-4 October 2002

BACKGROUND:

The First AMAP International Symposium on Environmental Pollution in the Arctic was held in Tromsų, Norway, in June 1997, and attracted some 450 parcticipants to discuss the results and implications of the first AMAP assessment of environmental pollution in the Arctic.

A considerable amount of new information on the threats posed by various types of pollutants to the arctic environment and its ecosystems has now become available and the Second AMAP International Symposium on Environmental Pollution in the Arctic will take place in Rovaniemi, Finland, 1-4 October 2002.

TOPICS AND OBJECTIVES:

This second international scientific symposium dealing with pollution of the Arctic in an integrated circumpolar context will showcase results of recent research and monitoring into the sources and pathways, levels, trends, and effects of persistent organic pollutants, heavy metals, and radioactivity in the Arctic, including the implications for human health of arctic residents. It will highlight work conducted under the auspices of AMAP during the second phase of activities (1998-2003).

The Symposium is arranged as a prelude to the Third Arctic Council Ministerial Conference, which will be held in Inari, Finland, immediately following the symposium. The Symposium therefore constitutes an important part of the process by which the results and conclusions of the AMAP assessments are delivered to Ministers and communicated to arctic stakeholders.

The AMAP assessments will be discussed within the context of regional and sub-regional environment management and policy development and the concluding part of the symposium will concentrate on the implications of the studies, the conclusions and recommendations arising from the AMAP assessments, and options for implementing appropriate remedial actions, etc.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND:

Communication of both the scientific information and its implications to appropriate audiences is a fundamental objective of the conference. The Symposium will therefore be directed towards interest groups including: - scientists working on arctic and pollution issues;

- administrators, managers, and decision-makers with responsibility at both the local and regional level, including those concerned with health care and education in arctic communities;

- Indigenous peoples organizations;

- representatives of industries and international and non-governmental organizations with interests in the Arctic.

Conference Organization and Structure:

The Symposium will include key speaker presentations and selected oral and poster presentations. The latter will be selected from submitted abstracts, and will also include presentations on significant national, bilateral, and multilateral activities. The programme will allow for short oral presentations of posters during the symposium sessions. The meeting will conclude with a special Panel Discussion, bringing together invited experts representing the scientific community, environmental managers and decision-makers, Indigenous peoples groups, etc. This session is designed to achieve a serious dialogue between parties representing the above interest groups and will focus on the implications of the results presented at the symposium.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Information about the symposium can be found on the AMAP web site at: http://www.amap.no (see News and Announcements)

If you would like to submit a presentation or receive subsequent information about the symposium, please complete and return the reply slip (available from the web site) by: 15 January 2002

The detailed programme of the meeting and information about deadlines for abstract submission, etc., will be included in the second announcement, to be sent out on 1 May 2002.

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Greetings All,

(with apologies to those who may have received this twice)

You are most cordially invited to attend the 2002 Midwest Glaciology Meeting, April 5-6 at St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN. This meeting is for all who are interested in talking and hearing about research on ice, whether your home is in the Midwest USA or not. The PDF attachment below contains more information, as does our website at http://www.stolaf.edu/other/cegsic/mgm/

Just a couple of reminders about logistics: public transportation from the Minneapolis - St. Paul International Airport (about an hour away) is limited, and parcticipants are encouraged to share rental cars. A variety of nearby lodging is described on the website and again shared vehicles are recommended. If you can offer or need transportation, please give us a heads up in the on-line registration form when you know your travel plans.

April 5-6 is the Friday-Saturday after Easter and we are hoping to see a few Tulips, Daffodils and perhaps green grass again by then. Please come and enjoy a warm welcome and return to early spring (for most of you) at St. Olaf College.

Hope to see you in April.

Bob Jacobel

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