Every December a huge number of scientists gather in San Francisco for the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU). This year there were over 14,000 attendees, and the number grows every year. Though the meeting covers almost all aspects of earth and planetary science, climate change and polar regions were clearly dominant themes. One of my highlights from AGU a year ago was hearing Al Gore give a keynote address about climate change. This year there were many more exceptional talks about climate change and the Arctic.

Six Polaris Project scientists attended AGU this year. We were all really excited about the Polaris Project so it was great to be able to get much of the group together before we all head to Siberia next summer. Now we’re eagerly waiting for students to APPLY for the 2008 field course – remember, the application deadline is Feb. 1.

In future years, Polaris Project students will have the chance to attend the AGU meeting in San Francisco with project scientists. Several students will participate in Dec. 2010 (alumni from all Polaris Project classes), and we hope to have funding for students to attend the conference in 2008 and 2009 as well. This will be the chance to Polaris Project participants to tell the scientific world about there experiences in Siberia!