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Polar Books - An International Polar Year Project

All Resources

Search everything in our virtual resource library 

This page lists all Polar Books resources, organized by type.

Bonus! Additional education and outreach resources that were produced for IPY are now being added to this resource library - these extra resource sets are marked **.

All resources are available for downloading and use for educational and non-commercial purposes. Please always credit the source of material used.

Photographs and Artwork

Antártida Photo Gallery

Photos of Antarctica from Antártida: Introducción a un Continente Remoto

Lucia's Photo Gallery

Photos of Antarctic wildlife and scenery from Antarctique, Coeur blanc de la Terre (Antartide: Il cuore bianco della Terra

Mireille's Photo Gallery

Photos of Arctic wildlife and scenery from Vanishing World: The Endangered Arctic

The Lost Seal Picture Gallery

Examples of artwork created by children from the UK, USA, New Zealand and Australia. See the book page for more free external resources based on The Lost Seal

Global Ice and Snow Photos

Photos from the book, derived from a range of sources (low resolution and some with use restrictions) from Global Outlook for Ice & Snow


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Maps, Graphics & Presentations

Global Ice and Snow Graphics 

Selected maps and graphics for the cryosphere (global scale, and for Arctic, Antarctic and mountain regions) - high resolution - from Global Outlook for Ice & Snow

Global Outlook for Ice and Snow presentation:
English Presentation (10 mb)
Russian Presentation (10 mb)

A set of 60 Power Point slides summarizing the book's findings, with photos, maps, graphics and speaker notes - for use in lectures and presentations - from Global Outlook for Ice & Snow


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Essays and Stories

Introduction to Antarctica: Life on the Ice (17 kb)

Reflections on Antarctic exploration and travel and an introduction to this book of  'travelers' tales" by Susan Fox Rogers from Antarctica: Life on the Ice

Leaving the Ice (37 kb)

Life at McMurdo, described around a poem engraved on a bridge, by Bill Fox from Antarctica: Life on the Ice

Sunrise at 90 South (42 kb)

Daily life, friendships, romance and views of Antarctica at a research base, by Katy M. Jensen from Antarctica: Life on the Ice

An Interview  with So Kawaguchi (65 kb)

Reflections on research, Antarctica and its future. So Kawaguchi is a krill ecologist with the Australia Antarctic Division from Antarctique, Coeur blanc de la Terre (Antartide: Il cuore bianco della Terra)

Extract from Chapter 1 Are you ready to Go? (255 kb); Extract from Chapter 3 Now to Work (217 kb)

Illustrated, entertaining accounts and information on preparing for and working in Antarctica from Surviving Antarctica

Extract from Chapter 4 Viruses to Whales (236 kb)

Illustrated and informative essay on Antarctic marine life from Surviving Antarctica

Author's Selections from "The Ferocious Summer" (53 kb)

A selection of evocative and poetic passages on the themes of Antarctica, research, penguins and climate change from The Ferocious Summer: Palmer's Penguins and the Warming of Antarctica

Author's selections from Antártida: Introducción a un Continente Remoto

Selections from several chapters, providing an overview of Antarctica's physical setting, governance and issues (Spanish) from Antártida: Introducción a un Continente Remoto


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Science and Issues

Highlights of Global Outlook for Ice and Snow (pdf):  Arabic (30 mb)   Chinese (6 mb)   English (3mb)   French(3 mb)   Norwegian (3 mb)   Russian (3 mb)   Spanish (3 mb)

Main findings from this UNEP assessment, prepared at the beginning of International Polar Year. Covers the Arctic, Antarctic and other regions of Earth dominated by ice and snow from Global Outlook for Ice & Snow 

UNEP Press Release: Arabic(156 kb)  Chinese (339 kb)  English (42 kb)  French (43 kb)  Russian(206 kb)  Spanish (50 kb)

Prepared for World Environment Day, June 5 2007. Includes an overview of findings and quotes on the subject (pdf) from Global Outlook for Ice & Snow 

Entire book (98 mb)
1. Highlights(3 mb)
2. Why are Ice & Snow Important to Us? (5 mb)
3. Why are Ice & Snow Changing? (4 mb)
4. Snow (9 mb)
5.  Ice in the Sea(13 mb)
6A.Ice Sheets(5 mb)
6B. Glaciers & Ice Caps (20 mb)
6C. Ice & Sea-level Change (6 mb)
7. Frozen Ground(8 mb)
8. River & Lake Ice(7 mb)
9. Policy & Perspectives(1.5 mb)

Entire book and each chapter in pdf files - illustrated with photos, maps and graphics and including reference lists. English only from  Global Outlook for Ice & Snow 

Introduction to polar biology (15 mb) 

An illustrated overview of polar biology from The Biology of Polar Regions, Second Edition

References on polar biology (400 kb)
**Abstracts and key words for all chapters at Oxford Scholarship Online (full text available with subscription) 

Reference materials on polar biology: comprehensive list of references and (on an external website) information on the book chapters from The Biology of Polar Regions, Second Edition

Introduction to Polar Lakes and Rivers (600 kb)

An illustrated overview of polar lakes and rivers from Polar Lakes and Rivers


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History

Introductory chapter on the first IPY(252 kb)
Concluding chapter on the first IPY (2.3 mb)

Overview of expeditions from the first IPY, discussion of the historic context and significance of the findings of these early polar science expeditions. With photos. From The Expeditions of the First International Polar Year 1882-1883 


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Youth and Education

Selections about climate change science (15 pages) (1.1 mb)

Selections from the book, with illustrations and photos, from sections 1 (where we find clues about climate change), 2 (fitting the clues together) and 3 (what scientists and you can do) from How We Know What We Know About Our Changing Climate

Climate change science selections from the Teacher's Guide  (16 pages) (445 kb)

Includes lesson plans, supplementary information and materials from How We Know What We Know About Our Changing Climate

Arctic ecology teachers' notes and classroom activity cards (60 kb)

Includes the Arctic animal identification game, ready with cards to print and cut out, from Green Makes White

**International Polar Year Poster Series

Five attractive, ready-to-print posters produced for IPY, aimed at a high school level. Posters, maps and graphics are all downloadable in formats suitable for web use and for print. Poster topics: 1. The Polar Regions, 2. Climate Change and the Polar Regions, 3. Polar People, 4. Research in the Polar Regions, 5. Biodiversity and the Poles. In English and Norwegian. Produced by UNEP/GRID-Arendal.


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