Polar Resources and Activities
General Information
What is IPY
A website explaining the International Polar Year (IPY) for 2007 – 2009. Included are up-to-date news and IPY blogs, along with many other informative links.
Warnings from the Ice
This is a companion website to NOVAs program “Warnings from the Ice.” This website includes a clickable timeline, images if the ice caps were to melt, Antarcticas environment and a quiz.
Fact Sheets
Antarctic Conditions Fact Sheet
A fact sheet stating the weather conditions of the Antartic.
Polar Region Fact Sheet
A fact sheet that includes the geography, flora and fauna, and climate change in the Polar Regions.
If The Polar Caps Melted
A fact sheet that states how much the oceans would rise if the polar caps melted.
Experiments
Density Dynamics
An experiment designed for students in 6th through 12th grade to familiarize students with processes driven by changes in density. These Processes include lake turnover and the formation of water masses.
Salinity Experiment
An experiment that demonstrates the influence of salinity on the formation of ice, and the process salt segregation during the formation of ice.
Google Earth Images
NSIDC Data shown with Google Earth
The National Snow and Ice Data Center created Google Earth files that display their sea ice data on a virtual globe. There are many files here including some that animate the sea ice concentrations over a time period.
Download Google Earth
Information and a download for Google Earth can be found here.
Videos and Animations
Antarctica is Melting
This video shows UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, during a visit to Antarctica. The thought of how much sea level will rise if the ice cap melts is discussed.
Polar Bear Threatened With Extinction
This video discusses how the polar bears habitat is disappearing with the melting of the ice caps.
Ice Concentration Animation
This animation shows how the northern ice cap melts and refreezes during the course of a year.
Ice in the Solar System
I See Ice
This is an activity for children that allows them to use a special viewer to see ice in our solar system.
Polar Caps Video
This is a short mpeg that shows a comparison between the North Pole of Mars and the South Pole of Earth.