Organizers of Session 4.2, "Natural resource exploration and utilization," announce a call for abstracts.

This session will explore the development of large-scale natural resource utilization in the polar areas in the past and the present, as well as its geo-political consequences and the increasing tensions between different security perspectives surrounding oil and gas exploration. It explores the tension between the notion of freedom of access to the resources of the polar areas, and the networks of private capital, states, and international political and legal regimes that control and sustain this notion of freedom.

Organizers invite abstracts for papers dealing with the development of large scale natural resources exploitation - whaling, mining, hunting, oil and gas - in the Arctic and in Antarctica, and its relation with polar science, different security perspectives and geopolitics.

For further information, please go to:
http://www.ipy-osc.no/article/2009/1246272385.62

Or contact:
Dag Avango
Email: d.avango@rug.nl

Louwrens Hacquebord
Email: L.Hacquebord@rug.nl

Gunhild Hoogensen
Email: gunhild.hoogensen@uit.no

Organizers of Session 5.2, "Polar observing systems," announce a call for abstracts.

Linked physical, geological, biological, chemical, and human observations of the atmosphere, oceans, ice, and land, and multidisciplinary observations, including social and human systems and engaging polar residents, constitute an intensive activity of the IPY.
Observing systems and infrastructure will leave a significant legacy of the IPY and provide long-term support to polar research. Improved spatial and temporal coverage of many data sets, and building capacity for observing and monitoring in local arctic communities, will enable determination of the present environmental status and establish a baseline for identifying and forecasting future change.

Coordinated, international efforts to sustain and connect polar observing systems to larger global observing systems are underway for the Arctic and Antarctic. For the Arctic, the Arctic Council together with the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC) and other partners have established the Sustaining Arctic Observing Networks
(SAON) to achieve long-term, arctic-wide observing activities that provide free, open, and timely access to high quality data that will realize pan-arctic and global value-added services and societal benefits. For the Antarctic, the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) is developing individual observing systems. The mechanism of coordination and or integration between them is under review.

This session provides an opportunity to present and discuss community, ground, and ocean based polar observing systems. The conveners envision a session which will include sub-sessions looking at ocean observing systems, land-based, atmospheric, and cryospheric observing systems, as well as community based systems. Organizers encourage contributions from both the Arctic and Antarctic.

For further information, please go to:
http://www.ipy-osc.no/article/2009/1257764911.36

Or contact:
Volker Rachold
Email: volker.rachold@iasc.info

Shari Gearheard
Email: sharig@qiniq.com

Mike Willis
Email: mjw272@cornell.edu

Martin Nweeia
Email: martin_nweeia@hsdm.harvard.edu

Organizers of Session 5.5, "Space for polar science," announce a call for abstracts.

The unique dimension provided by regular synoptic views of the high-latitude regions by Earth observing satellites has resulted in breathtakingly rapid development of satellite data applications in all aspects of polar science. Since the flight of Sputnik, and coincident
1957-58 International Geophysical Year, this new space frontier has seen rapid technical advances towards today's satellite-based polar observing system infrastructure.

IPY 2007-2008 has seen unified international engagement and response of Space Agencies to the scientific challenges posed by IPY projects. The result is a spectacular array of new snapshot satellite products and valuable new data time-series with which to address some of the most important scientific, social, and economic questions of our time. This session solicits abstracts that describe the broad array of unique space-based contributions to IPY, the new geophysical products, and examples of results from the world-class science being undertaken with satellite data captured over both poles.

For further information, please go to:
http://www.ipy-osc.no/article/2009/1258985707.07

Or contact:
Mark Drinkwater
Email: mark.drinkwater@esa.int