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Korea implemented its Antarctic research program in 1987 and diversified to the Arctic in 2002. Since the development of the Joint Committee on Antarctic Data Management, Korea has acknowledged the importance of data management. The launch of the Korea Polar Research Institute in 2004 also saw establishment of the Korea Polar Data Center (KPDC), which outlines and executes a Polar Data Management Policy. KPDC has set up an Information Technology infrastructure and has developed a metadata management system. However, there is still a long way to go, especially in terms of raising researcher recognition for improving data registration and sharing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Polar Data Catalogue (PDC) is a growing Canadian archive and public access portal for Arctic and Antarctic research and monitoring data. In partnership with a variety of Canadian and international multi-sector research programs, the PDC encompasses the natural, social, and health sciences. From its inception, the PDC has adopted international standards and best practices to provide a robust infrastructure for reliable security, storage, discoverability, and access to Canada's polar data and metadata. Current efforts focus on developing new partnerships and incentives for data archiving and sharing and on expanding connections to other data centres through metadata interoperability protocols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To date glacial and periglacial landforms, lichenometry is a valuable method but, to improve efficiency, the estimated surface dates derived from traditional methods need to be more accurate. In other words, the statistical uncertainty associated with inferred dates has to be reduced. How to perform such a reduction is the main question that we will address in this paper. An interdisciplinary approach (lichenometry and statistics) allows reduction in the main sources of uncertainty: lichen diameters and their associated ages. Around 2600 lichen measurements collected on moraines from the Charquini glacier in Bolivia (Cordillera Real) are used to illustrate the advantages of our approach over past studies. As for any statistical estimation procedure, the error analysis in lichenometry is directly linked to the type of observations and the statistical model used to represent accurately these data. The attribute of lichenometry studies is that the measurements are not averages but maxima; only the largest lichen diameters provide information about the surface ages. To take this characteristic into account, we propose a novel statistical way to model maximum lichen diameters. Our model, based on the extreme value theory, allows us to compute small confidence intervals for the inferred surface ages. In addition, it offers three other advantages: (1) a global statistical model, as all our data (dated surfaces and all lichen maximum diameters) are represented with a unique function; (2) a mathematical framework within which the maximum lichen distribution is derived from a statistical theory; and (3) flexibility, as different types of growing curves can be investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses administrative developments in the field of polar research as of September 2000. Establishment of the Arctic Council in 1996; Canada's membership in the Antarctic Treaty; Canada's contributions to Antarctica; Canada's role in the establishment of the Arctic Council; Role of the Arctic Council in Antarctica.

The cover page of the journal "Arctic, Antarctic & Alpine Research (AAAR)" is presented.

A calendar of events for Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine research is presented which includes Lessons from Continuity and Change in the Fourth International Polar Year, 3rd International IGBP PAGES Focus V (old) LIMPACS Conference 2009--Holocene Lakes: Climatic Instability and Salinlzation, and International Scientific Congress on Climate Change--Climate Change: Global Risks, Challenges and Decisions.