Experts discussing sea ice melting in the Arctic Ocean, loss of habitat for polar bears and penguins, disintegrating ice shelves in Antarctica, the retreat of glaciers worldwide and numerous issues will be addressed during the Aggie POLAR-PALOOZA set for Wednesday (Nov. 5) in Rudder Auditorium at Texas A&M University.
(Media-Newswire.com) - Experts discussing sea ice melting in the Arctic Ocean, loss of habitat for polar bears and penguins, disintegrating ice shelves in Antarctica, the retreat of glaciers worldwide and numerous issues will be addressed during the Aggie POLAR-PALOOZA set for Wednesday ( Nov. 5 ) in Rudder Auditorium at Texas A&M University.
POLAR-PALOOZA is a national educational outreach project funded by the National Science Foundation ( NSF ) and NASA. It engages and informs the public about cutting-edge research and changes in life in the northern and southern polar regions.
A 10 a.m. program will target middle and high school students and teachers, and a 7 p.m. program will be open to the university community and the general public. The morning show is accepting on-line reservations at http://aggiepalooza.tamu.edu/ and free tickets for the evening show are available at the MSC Box Office, The Eagle, the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum, KBTX and WTAW.
Polar guides during the show will include Mary Albert, a principal investigator on snow research at Summit Station and the South Pole; George Divoky of the Alaskan Institute of Arctic Biology, who has studied seabirds in Arctic for more than 35 years; Sean Topkok, an Eskimo and a curriculum specialist who maintains the Alaska Native Knowledge Network website that helps rural Arctic communities preserve cultural knowledge and heritage; Henrietta Edmonds, an associate professor and research scientist at the University of Texas Marine Science Institute, who is researching hydrothermal vents at the North Pole with remotely operated vehicles; and Randall Davis, a professor in the Department of Marine Biology at Texas A&M-Galveston, who is studying the lives of seals in the cold and dark of Antarctica.
These polar explorers will explain how rapid changes in the Arctic and Antarctic are affecting the health and function of the earth system through their own personal experiences and research. During the program, the team members will share their research and adventures in the polar regions. Their stories are illustrated by audio-visual media and dynamic high-definition video that includes graphics, animation, original artifacts and various research tools and will be followed by a question-and-answer session.
The Polar-palooza national tour began in October 2007 in California and the team will have traveled to more than 25 communities across the country by the end of this year, appearing at such museums as the National Geographic Society in Washington, D.C., the American Museum of Natural History in New York and the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.
The event is being held in conjunction with the International Polar Year ( IPY ) 2007-2008 that involves 50,000 researchers from more than 60 nations coming together to explore the polar regions. IPY is celebrating the fourth International Polar Year since 1881 and the 50th anniversary of the International Geophysical Year ( IGY )1957-1958. The IPY 2007-2008 seeks to answer fundamental questions about the polar regions and their links to the earth system with particular attention to the forces behind global climate change.
Polar-palooza is made possible by support from the National Science Foundation, NASA’s Science Mission Directorate and Apple Computer. Local sponsors include Texas A&M University, the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum, Sigma Xi and the Brazos Valley Museum of Natural History. Polar-palooza is produced by Passport to Knowledge, which is solely responsible for its content.
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