The Antarctic continent – as far away from Norway as you can possibly get, vast and fairly undisturbed. This is a part of the world that may provide a answers to some very important questions. How did the climate change in the past? Is there a link between climate changes in the South and the North? What survival strateg- ies are utilized by animals living in such unique areas of wildernes, and how will they respond to changes? How vulnerable is Antarctica to environmental toxins transported to the region by air and ocean currents? These are among the questions Norwegian scientists aim to help answer.

If temperatures increase, many southern species will head north towards the pole. If sea ice reduction (extent and thickness) turns out to be as dramatic as is currently predicted by many models, profound negative consequences for iceloving Arctic species can be expected. In a worst-case scenario extinctions of some Arctic specialists will occur.

The polar bear is the largest species of bear in the world. It has a circumpolar distribution and stands out as the symbol of arctic wilderness. The polar bear spends most of its life on or in proximity to the sea ice, depending on ice-covered sea for survival.