The Future of the Poles

Marine geophysicist Robin Bell is leading an expedition to Antarctica to explore a mysterious mountain range beneath the ice sheet and will be updating Scientific American readers regularly. Following are her initial thoughts as she--and her team--prepare to set off.

How a warming climate leads to freezing penguins, with journalist and author Jon Bowermaster, who has kayaked the world's seas, most recently in Antarctica. And Cynthia Graber takes us on a tour with a new M.I.T. underwater autonomous vehicle. Plus, we'll test your knowledge of some recent science in the news. Websites related to this episode include www.jonbowermaster.com

How letting nations establish territorial claims on Antarctica could save its threatened marine ecosystems.

The year 2009 will see a rendezvous between science, politics and big business in the high Arctic. Though frenzied seabed mapping clarifies the geology, economic incentives cloud the discussion

When sea ice disappears some polar inhabitants advance, whereas others retreat

With the melting of Arctic Ocean ice, the fabled waterway between Europe and Asia has been open to shipping the past two summers--or has it?

It's official: The South Pole is also succumbing to human-induced climate change

Some say high, some say low, some say fast, some say slow

New estimates show that frozen Arctic soil contains far more potential greenhouse gas than previously recognized--and could speed climate change as it melts

Weather patterns can permanently shift in as little as a year, according to the records preserved in an ice core from Greenland

The Interior Department lists the polar bear as a "threatened" species--one at risk of becoming endangered--due to dangerous declines in their sea ice habitat

Earth-monitoring satellites are being used to track everything from deforestation to the spread of plankton in the Arctic Ocean

U.S. mulls creating Bering Sea fish preserve as salmon and other species migrate north

Abundant liquid water newly discovered underneath the world's great ice sheets could intensify the destabilizing effects of global warming on the sheets. Then, even without melting, the sheets may slide into the sea and raise sea level catastrophically

Examining the state of the science on climate change

The permanent Arctic ice cap dwindled to a record low this week, presaging a future of a summertime Northwest Passage and obscuring fog

Winter ends in the Arctic earlier than a decade ago

Scientists from around the globe embark on a two-year effort to explore and boost understanding of Earth's poles