Antarctica

Write a voice-over for one of these films and win 2 weeks in Antarctica in an environmental team. Air New Zealand is promoting itself as a supporter of scientific research that creates a better understanding of the continent and the impact of climate change. "The best suited candidate [for this competition] will have a passion for the environment and want to play a role in building awareness of the efforts we all need to make to better protect the world we live in. Strong communication skills are a must along with a healthy respect for the difficult operating conditions in Antarctica."

Antarctica: No ordinary place, no ordinary assignment

Air New Zealand is currently promoting its global search for an 'environmental enthusiast keen to share the wonders of the Antarctic frozen continent with the world.'

The competition details are on this website: http://www.airnewzealand.co.nz/voiceforantarctica/ The competition requires entrants to choose one of two Antarctica videos on the site and to either record a voiceover or write a commentary to accompany the film.

The winner will go to Antarctica New Zealand's Christchurch headquarters to team up with National Geographic photographer Jason Edwards before flying south to the frozen continent for two weeks.

Jason Edwards, who is an Australian, will accompany the winner for the whole journey, capturing the adventure via photography and blogs and tweets from the ice.

Win and Promote global environmental issues and scientific research

Air New Zealand Chief Executive Officer Christopher Luxon says the successful candidate will not only live at New Zealand's Scott Base research support station in one of the most fragile and special places on earth, they will also help draw worldwide attention to global environmental issues and the scientific research underway in Antarctica to address these.

"The best suited candidate will have a passion for the environment and want to play a role in building awareness of the efforts we all need to make to better protect the world we live in. Strong communication skills are a must along with a healthy respect for the difficult operating conditions in Antarctica," Mr Luxon says.

Air New Zealand says it has deep links to Antarctica and has been a strong supporter of scientific research on the continent, including:

- $100,000 grants to two Antarctic researchers to support their post doctoral studies.
- Travel for scientists and research equipment from Canada and the United Kingdom to New Zealand to join Antarctic research efforts.
- Flights for New Zealand based re-searchers to travel to Canada and the United States to advance international research collaboration.
- Partnering with the New Zealand Antarctic Research Institute on polar amplification research and its potential consequences.

The competition involves the New Zealand Antarctic Research Institute and Antarctica New Zealand and is supported by a corporate partnership of players including the National Geographic Channel and Murdoch's FOX one stop media, which is better known for promoting consumerism and growth.

Antarctica New Zealand Chairman Rob Fenwick wants more corporations to support scientific research that creates a better understanding of the continent and the impact of climate change. He stated:

"Air New Zealand is a role model for other companies when it comes to playing a leadership position in supporting research around climate change in Antarctica. Our team hugely appreciates the long standing support of New Zealand's national airline. It acknowledges that aviation is a significant contributor of carbon emissions and alongside the airline's daily operational efforts to reduce its environment impact, it is also making substantive contributions to science. And these efforts are not just confined to Antarctica. It is doing a tremendous amount to partner with the New Zealand Department of Conservation as well."

Source: From a Press Release issued by Air New Zealand Public Affairs

In its transition from rich biodiversity to the barren, cold land of blizzards we see today, Antarctica provides a dramatic case study of how subtle changes in continental positioning can affect living communities, and how rapidly catastrophic changes can come about. Frozen in Time reconstructs Antarctica’s evolving animal and plant communities as accurately as the fossil record permits.

Antarctica: from paradise to polar ice

No other continent on Earth has undergone such radical environmental changes as Antarctica.

According to a new book, Frozen in Time: Prehistoric life in Antarctica, by Dr Jeffrey Stilwell from the School of Geosciences at Monash University and John Long from the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles County, Antarctica has gone from paradise to polar ice in just a few million years, a geological blink of an eye when we consider the real age of Earth.

In its transition from rich biodiversity to the barren, cold land of blizzards we see today, Antarctica provides a dramatic case study of how subtle changes in continental positioning can affect living communities, and how rapidly catastrophic changes can come about.

Frozen in Time presents a comprehensive overview of the fossil record of Antarctica framed within its changing environmental settings, providing a window into a past time and environment on the continent.

It reconstructs Antarctica’s evolving animal and plant communities as accurately as the fossil record permits.

From the story of how fossils were first discovered in Antarctica to modern day expeditions through remote sites, Frozen in Time presents a clear guide to the palaeontology of Antarctica. The publication provides an overview of the discovery and exploration of the continent to contemporary issues of heritage and preservation including the major impacts of climate change.

Chapter highlights include the age of fish and ferns, giant amphibians and hairy reptiles, volcanic lakes and early dinosaurs, when giant reptiles swam in southern seas, killer birds, giant penguins and early mammals.

Jeffrey Stilwell is a Senior Lecturer and Leader of the Applied Palaeontology and Basin Studies Group in the School of Geosciences at Monash University. Dr Stilwell is also an Honorary Research Associate at the Australian Museum, specialising in ancient greenhouse Earth environments and equator-to-south-polar ecosystems.

Dr Stilwell is the author of five monographs and more than 60 peer-reviewed research papers, including many on the fossil record of Antarctica. He has participated on five major expeditions to the Antarctic Peninsula and Transantarctic Mountains/McMurdo Sound.

John Long is an Australian palaeontologist and the Vice President of Research and Collections at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. He has authored some 26 books, including The Rise of Fishes and Feathered Dinosaurs. His research has focused on the early evolution of fishes, especially from Australia and Antarctica.

Frozen in Time: Prehistoric life in Antarctica (248 pages, illustrated, RRP $69.95) is published by CSIRO Publishing and will be available online and at bookstores from October 2011.