So-called “global warming skeptics” are indeed getting more vocal than ever, and banding together to show their solidarity against the scientific consensus that has concluded that global warming is caused by emissions from human activities. How to respond to people who doubt the human impact on the climate? With facts and scientific background. Climate change is now, more than ever, a "hot topic". Let's leave emotions behind and debunk some myths.

Presenter: Anna Wielgopolan

The lesson will introduce us to the history of global change on Earth, from its inception to today. The main causes of these changes will be discussed, including the role of the Sun, the specifics of the Earth's motion around the Sun, the movement of continents and the concentration of greenhouse gases. We will learn about the history of carbon dioxide change in the atmosphere and the fluctuation of sea level, we will look at the future of our planet for a moment.

Presenter: Marek Lewandowski

The physiology of all living organisms is specifically designed to keep the organism healthy and thriving in its environment. In this webinar you will learn about how the body of arctic mammals is designed to keep them from migrating to warmer areas, and for achieving the number one mission for all living organisms: to reproduce!

Presenter: Jo Jorem Aarseth

In the Arctic, during the polar night, the atmosphere at altitude around 24 km remains confined and will form during the winter a very large vortex, called the polar vortex, almost as large as the polar cap. During the lesson you will find more about polar vortex phenomena. You will get familiar with such terms as stratoshere, ozone hole and ozone layer.

Presenter: Alain Hauchecorne

We all know, that the Arctic is in the north, but where exactly? Which countries lie in the Arctic and how big parts of them? How many people live in the north and what is their occupation? Recently, the Arctic Region is gaining economical and political significance. Travelling there has also became easier. It is good then to be aware of human activity in this corner of the world. During the lesson you will learn how are the borders of the Arctic drawn, and which peoples inhabit it. We will also touch on northern politics and economy.

Presenter: Julian Podgórski

During the lesson I will introduce you two representatives of Arctic (little auk) and Antarctic (Adélie, chinstrap and gentoo penguin) fauna.

Although we know where the penguins live, and are able to point their natural habitat on a map of the world (“The Penguins of Madagascar" does not help here), some of us still think, that those birds might have regular encounters with polar bears (and they enjoy drinking together some advertised carbonated soft drinks). But the slogan "penguins, which have learned how to fly" is something unexpected and against the common associations.

So what penguins and little auks have in common since they are living on two different hemispheres, and one of them is not even dreaming about flying? Many. We will discuss those similarities during the lesson. If you have no idea what type of penguin is shown on the picture, you will find it soon

Presenter: Dagmara Bożek-Andryszczak

Good things come to those who wait! Be invited for the lesson about Arctic and Antarctic - we will focus on Polish research stations on Spitsbergen (Polish Polar Station Hornsund) and King George Island (“Arctowski” Polish Antarctic Station).

3,000 km north and over 14,000 km south from Warsaw, the capital city of Poland. Polar stations located far away, “in the middle of nowhere” are fascinating for the many, but accessible for the few. How the typical day in a research station look like? Where the food supply, and technical materials come from? Who work in polar station, and what should one do to become a member of the expedition?

There might be a lot of such questions, and I try to answer them. Especially, when I spent 2 years of my life in those two unusual places.

Presenter: Dagmara Bożek-Andryszczak

Many deciduous trees change their leaf colour in autumn, and usually this happens right before the leaves are shed. It may seem pointless. Why should plants make such extravagant changes in the colour of parts that are about to die anyway? As it turns out, it is more costly for the plant to keep its green colour. Many of the bright red and yellow colours are in fact there in the summer too, but they are kind of "hidden" behind the green. The webinar summarizes the current body of knowledge on autumn leaf colours, what makes them change, what is their adaptive value and evolutionary meaning.

Presenter: Snorre Hagen

Be invited for the lesson about Antarctica! The first ever antarctic lesson for EDU-ARCTIC.

Lesson will be conducted by Ewa Przepiórka, researcher from “Arctowski” Polish Antarctic Station located on King George Island (Antarctica).

During our lesson you can learn which species occur on King George Island, what kind of diet they have, how they forage and how they reproduce. We will answer questions: “what is it harem?” and “who form it?” We will tell you also what they are doing on the land and for how long they appear on King George Island.

Presenter: Ewa Przepiórka

This webinar is an introduction to my later webinar about bear poop (yes, poop indeed!). DNA can tell us so much about bears (and humans too).

The talk will consist of an introduction to DNA. I will present general information about its properties and purpose in our body, i.e. its size, its chemical structure, its information content. Then I will give a short description about how the DNA works in our bodies, before introducing you to the process by which DNA is utilized for scientific research. In the end I will give an overview over what type of research use DNA and the information contained in it.

Presenter: Julia Schregel

Follow me into the secret world of freshwater pearl mussels in this webinar. Seldom heard about, yet one of the most long-living animals on Earth. Historically an exclusive resource for Kings and Queens, and sadly today an endangered species in need of protection.

The freshwater pearl mussel (Margaritifera margaritifera - meaning "the one that carries pearls forward") is one of the most long-living species in the northern rivers. It can live for more than 200 years in northern parts of Europe (only for about 100 years in central Europe). The freshwater pearl mussel can clean 50 litres of river water in 24 hour. Growth patterns on its shell can also tell us a lot about the nature and climate in the river they live (for example, the presence of pollutants). And I am sure you wonder: does it produce beautiful glittering pearls? Enrol for the webinar, and you will find out!

Presenter: Paul Eric Aspholm

The Andes of South America represent a relatively new mountainous "backbone", of Cretaceous age that is about 145 million years ago, with a lot of volcanic activity - the highest volcanoes in the world are in the Andes - and many seismic movements -feared by its destructive power- are related to the Andes. The Andes begin in the Northern Hemisphere, at 11° N, in Venezuela. The geological plates of Nazca and Antarctica have a subduction process under the South American plate producing orogenic activity and the rising of the Andes. The Andean mountains can reach almost 7000 m of height in the province of Mendoza, in Argentina. The Aconcagua is the highest mountain in the Southern Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere. The Andes constitute a barrier to the West or Pacific winds. In this way the Andes influence the climate of many places. In some cases they cause that the rain and the snow fall to their west or to their east but very close to the mountains, leaving extensive regions like the Patagonian steppe, the Cuyo region in Argentina with scarce rain.The Andes and the Humboldt cold Antarctic current also originate the Andean cold desert climate at the Arid Diagonal of South America, which extends from the 13° to 27° S, approximately, where salinas and salares predominate in Bolivia, Chile and Argentina. There are places with rainfall less than 150 mm per year, in the so-called Dry Andes, enclosing regions where there is no rain for years, as in the Atacama Desert. In the Andes there are altiplanos, which are high plateaus. With a height of more than 5000 m the plateaus are very cold and are compared to regions of Mars because they preserve permafrost rich in ground ice, which is a type of permanently frozen ground. The Andes are most varied and complex, with very different characteristics throughout their extension of more than 7000 km in length in South America and their numerous ranges. In the south, the Andes show mountain ranges with very important glaciers or ice caps at low altitude, such as the two Patagonian Ice Fields. In the north however, glaciers appear at high altitude, for example at the impressive mountain Awsanqati in Peru, with more than 6000 m altitude and sacred for the Quechua people. According to their beliefs it is the origin of masculine energy.

Presenter: Dario Trombotto Liaudat