Dr. Elie Verleyen (Laboratory of Protistology and Marine Ecology at the University of Ghent), laureate of the InBev-Baillet Latour Antarctica Prize 2008 organised by the  InBev-Baillet Latour Fund and the International Polar Foundation, will be flying to Usteinen and the Princess Elisabeth Station on the 3^rd of January 2010. He will be staying in Antarctica for a period of five weeks to carry out field work.

His research project “Deglaciation, Ice-Sheet Thickness and Climate Change in Sør Rondane during the late Quartenary” (DELAQUA) aims to unravel the climate and environmental history of the Sør Rondane Mountains since the Last Glacial Maximum, some 18.000 years ago, when ice sheets reached their maximum extent.

This research project is deployed in collaboration with other international initiatives such as the British Antarctic Survey's CACHE PEP project (Natural climate variability -extending the Americas palaeoclimate transect through the Antarctic Peninsula to the Pole) and the EBA (Evolution of Biology in the Antarctic) program of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research.

During this season, Dr. Elie Verleyen will conduct an extensive survey and exploration of various landforms and natural climate archives of the area (lakes, moraines, lacustrine paleoshorelines, etc.).

This project is expected to provide important background information that can then be used to test ice-sheet models. To be validated, such models need to rely on accurate and reliable data from the field. The coastal regions of Dronning Maud Land have not been studied very much yet in terms of deglaciation history, past climate variability and variation in sea ice thickness. The DELAQUA project will participate in filling that gap.

On 9 December 2009 at the University of Liège, Belgium, the IPF participated in the annual meeting of three Belgian Antarctic research projects: AMBIO, ANTAR-IMPACT & BELDIVA.

• BELDIVA: A research project looking at the microbial diversity within a 200 km radius of the new Princess Elisabeth Station;
• ANTAR-IMPACT: An expert platform for the inventory of microbial diversity and evaluation of the environmental impact of the Princess Elisabeth Station;
• AMBIO (Antarctic Microbial BIOdiversity): A project looking at the influence of geographical and ecological factors on microbial biodiversity in the Antarctic

The meeting included researchers and their respective user committees from the Cyanobacteria Group at the Centre for Protein Engineering at the University of Liège, the Protistology and Aquatic Ecology Laboratory at the University of Gent, the Microbiology Laboratory at the University of Gent and the National Botanical Garden of Belgium.

Consisting of a morning and afternoon session, the meeting served not only to provide an overview of the research partners’ recent activities, but also an occasion to have an internal discussion about future steps to take in each of the research projects.

During the morning session, the partners presented the ongoing research and results currently being conducted on microbial diversity in Antarctica. In the last session of the morning, Dr. Bruno Danis (from the users committee) presented the SCAR-MarBIN database of Antarctic marine species he’s developed as well as the future AntaBIF (Antarctic Biodiversity Information Facility) database of all known species living in Antarctica he is in the process of developing. AntaBIF will be an essential tool for managing and sharing the terrestrial biodiversity data in Antarctica.

In the afternoon session, a workshop entitled "Antarctic Climate, Biodiversity and Invasion" was held for a wider general public audience. Dr. Pete Convey from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and Dr. Ad Huiskes from the Dutch Institute for Ecology (NIOO KNAW) gave talks about the invasion of non-native species in Antarctica.  Following this, Dr. Elie Verleyen, who won last year’s InBevBaillet Latour Fellowship, gave an overview of the now finalized BELSPO HOLANT (Holocene climate variability and ecosystem change in coastal East and Maritime Antarctica) project.  The afternoon session was topped off with Dr. Hendrick Segers from the Belgian Biodiversity Platform, who presented his organization and highlighted the important activities it undertakes in promoting research on biodiversity in Belgium and the rest of Europe.

The IPF has been regularly participating in these annual meetings for a number of years to stay abreast of Belgian research activities being conducted in Antarctica and be able to communicate to the general public about these activities and their findings through outreach and education initiatives.

From the 10^th to the 12^th of November, the IPF attended the DAMOCLES (Developing Arctic Modeling and Observing Capabilities for Long-term Environmental Studies) symposium held in Brussels, Belgium. The symposium convened researchers from all across Europe as well some from the United States, Canada, Russia, China and Japan to discuss and debate preliminary results they have obtained under the European-funded Arctic research project.

As the Arctic Ocean has been the least observed body of water in the world, DAMOCLES has been working to create an integrated ice-atmosphere-ocean monitoring and forecasting system for observing, understanding and quantifying climate change in the Arctic.  Since 2005, researchers have been deploying instruments for observation in the Arctic including buoys, moorings and gliders, as well sending the sea-ice resistant vessel TARA to drift freely in the pack ice over several months in order to collect data on the ocean, the sea ice, atmosphere and clouds in the Arctic.

During the symposium researchers also agreed upon a joint declaration on the Arctic Climate system, its present status, future evolution and potential impacts (PDF), which was released to the media and the wider public at a press conference held by by DAMOCLES Scientific Coordinator Jean-Claude Gascard on November 12th.

The symposium included special events, including a public showing of the film "TARA Journey to the Heart of the Climate Machine", which documented the first six months of the TARA's journey.  The IPF also hosted an open door evening for symposium attendees to have a look at the IPF's mobile educational exhibition on DAMOCLES, which is currently at the IPF's Class Zero Emission (CZE) workshop. In 2005, the IPF was charged with designing and managing the exhibition, which is aimed at the general public. Over the past four years the mobile exhibition has been featured seven different scientific and educational events in five different European countries.

At a briefing on Friday October 16th at the headquarters of the IPF, the new season for the Princess Elisabeth Station officially started! Fourty-four people will take part in BELARE this season, staying between one and five months at Utsteinen. The objective for this year is to finalize the tests of all the technical systems of the station. Moreover, a new satellite antenna will be installed next to the station.

The first team will be leaving on November 1st, 2009. In total, six teams will be relayed throughout the season: electromechanicians, cable installers, carpenters, and engineers from Laborelec, Consolar and Menerga, as well as technical assistants, doctors and cooks will all take part in this new adventure.

Seven scientists from Belgian universities will also be working on the site this year, one of which will be working alongside a team of Japanese researchers from this year's Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition (JARE 51). Steven Goderis, a researcher from the VUB and the University of Ghent (UGent) will work with them on the “Meteoritics and Planetary Science” project for which they will be collecting meteorites. Besides conducting a geological survey to clarify the East-West Gondwana collision and dispersion, they will try to recover the Cenozoic glacial history and global environmental changes through a geomorphological survey. The Japanese team will also conduct geological and geomorphological studies.

The ice-breaker “Mary Arctica” will set off from Bremerhaven in Germany on November 12th and should arrive in Antarctica by December 22nd. It will contain 15 containers transporting between 90 to 100 tons of material. The remaining material will be flown to Antarctica.

In order for all the participants to be well-prepared for the dangers of Antarctica, the Belgian Ministry of Defense, a partner in this project, will organize a special training for all members of the team from October 27th to 29th.

As usual, you can follow this season on the Princess Elisabeth Station website.

On October 5th, 2009, a delegation of Swiss members of parliament and representatives from the Swiss Embassy in Brussels visited the International Polar Foundation (IPF) headquarters in Brussels. The delegation's visit took place in the general framework of "aiming at zero emissions" and enabled the Swiss delegation to gain more insight into the offerings of the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica as a research station.

The visit followed up on a presentation about Princess Elisabeth Antarctica given by the IPF during a workshop at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in 2008. The scientific research opportunities in the area had then triggered the interest of scientists from EPFL, the universities of Bern and Geneva, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) Zurich, and the Swiss Institute for Snow and Avalanches in Davos.

All participants in the visit were led through Class Zero Emission after being given a presentation of the IPF and its missions and discussing research possibilities at the Princess Elisabeth Station.

The Swiss National Parliament was represented by:

• Mrs Chiara Simoneschi-Cortesi (TI), President of the Swiss National Council
• Mrs Liliane Maury Pasquier (GE), Swiss Counselor of States and former President of the Swiss National Council (2001-2002)
• Mr Sep Cathomas (GR), Member of the Swiss National Council
• Mrs Christa Markwalder Bär (BE), Member of the Swiss National Council
• Mr Ulrich Schlüer (ZH), Member of the Swiss National Council
• Mr Christoph Lanz, Secretary General of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland
• Mrs Suzanne Stritt, Chief of Protocol at the Service of International Relations

The Swiss Embassy in Brussels was represented by:

• His Excellency Ambassador Jean-Jacques de Dardel
• Mr Florian Koch
• Mr Alain-Denis Henchoz, Counselor

The International Polar Foundation will partake in the Shanghai World Expo 2010 as part of the Belgian and European pavilion. With this year's theme being "Better Cities, Better Lives", the space allocated to the IPF will exhibit Belgium's and Europe's involvement in finding solutions to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

The IPF will put forward Princess Elisabeth Antarctica, first "zero emission" polar research station, and educational elements from Class Zero Emission within its more general mission of bridging the science-society divide.

The "aiming for zero emission" motto will be translated in a scenography where Expo 2010 visitors become both receivers and providers of information, with a shared responsibility for action at individual and collective levels.

The InBev-Baillet Latour Fund celebrated its 30th anniversary on June 17th, in the presence of many of its friends and partners, including the International Polar Foundation.

The InBev-Baillet Latour Fund is a sponsor of the Princess Elisabeth Station in many respects. It provides scientific equipment and support to the Station and finances the InBev-Baillet Latour Antarctica Fellowship Award. This grant is awarded each year to a doctoral or post-doctoral researcher, regardless of nationality, who is enrolled at a Belgian University or a Federal research institute and whose research requires conducting field activities at the Princess Elisabeth Station or in its vicinity.

The InBev-Baillet Latour Fund has also financed a scientific movie about the Princess Elisabeth station which is entitled "Building the Future".

The International Polar Foundation (IPF) is honored that SWIFT has joined the ranks of the IPF's sponsors, supporting our mission of bridging the science-society divide.

During the kick-off meeting which took place at SWIFT's headquarters in Brussels, a series of guidelines were established between the two partners to pursue common goals related to actions against climate change.

The objective of this action plan is to raise awareness and general knowledge about climate change issues, including actions that can be taken at individual and collective levels, both internally and externally.

In September, the IPF will be present at SIBOS 2009 in Hong Kong with SWIFT.

With the first season of Class Zero Emission behind us, it is time for the International Polar Foundation to release its first assessment of the project. With 1700 pupils (1000 flemish-speaking and 700 French-speaking) having attended the workshop since its opening in March 2009, the IPF's educational team is quite satisfied with the overall outcome.

Another positive point worth mentionning is the fact that the attendance was extremely diversified with pupils coming from all over the country and all types of schooling (i.e. professionnal, technical or general).

Feedback on the tools used in Class Zero Emission was positive, highlighting an appreciation for their interactivity and diversity. Over the next season, new tools will be introduced in the Classroom and teachers will have the possibility of following a training program associated to the themes developed in Class Zero Emission.

Don't waste any more time and reserve your workshop now:  inscriptions for the month of September have started!

The International Polar Foundation attended the European Polar Summit 2009 held on the 24th of June at the International Auditorium in Brussels and organised by the European Polar Board. During this meeting a Memorandum of Understanding for a "European Polar Framework" was signed closing the EUROPOLAR ERA-NET project.

The EUROPOLAR ERA-NET is a project funded by the European Commission, bringing together 27 Funding Organisations from 19 countries.

During this conference, the survey results of this European project were presented with regards to:

• European Arctic and Antarctic research stations (including the recently inaugurated Princess Elisabeth Station)
• Research vessels and planes
• National research programs conducted in the Polar Regions

Presentations were also made of the BOREAS project (Histories from the North - environments, movements, narratives) and of the Aurora Borealis project.

The movie "Beyond the Poles", which was directed and produced by the International Polar Foundation for the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), was also shown to highlight the scientific efforts undertaken during the 4th International Polar Year (2007-2008).