Frequent questions

• Why the name SciencePub? 

The name of the project was chosen as a shortening for: From Science to Public awareness (SciencePub). 
The name wants to correspond the unique and important aim within this project, which is to establish a strong link between the scientific research and the public awareness/knowledge from the start of the project and all the way to the interpretation of the results.

• What is an "ice-age"? 

An ice age (also called Glaciation) is a period of long-term reduction in the temperature of Earth's climate, resulting in an expansion of the continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and mountain glaciers ("glaciation").When speaking of the last few million years, ice ages are used to refer to colder periods with extensive ice sheets over the North American and Eurasian continents. Many glacial periods have occurred, initially at 40,000-year frequency but more recently at 100,000-year frequencies (four major ice ages in the further past). The last ice age (in Scandinavia called Weichsel) lasted approximately 100,000 years and ended about 10,000 years ago.Warm periods between two ice-ages are called Interglacials, of which the latest is the Holocene in which we are at present. A shorter warm spell within a ice age is called an Interstadial, and colder phases are called Stadials. 

• Why is the Arctic important for this type of studies?

 The Arctic region is, by its nature, a unique area. It is mostly a vast, ice-covered ocean surrounded by treeless, frozen ground. It teems with life, including organisms living in the ice, fish and marine mammals, birds, land animals and human societies. The cultures in the region and the Arctic indigenous peoples have adapted to its cold and extreme conditions.From the perspective of the physical, chemical and biological balance in the world, the Arctic region is in a key position. The Arctic reacts sensitively particularly to changes in the climate, which reflect extensively back on the global state of the environment. From the perspective of research into climatic change, the Arctic region is considered an early warning system. The Arctic is the region around the Earth's North Pole, opposite the Antarctic region around the South Pole. In the northern hemisphere, the Arctic includes the Arctic Ocean (which overlies the North Pole) and parts of Canada, Greenland (a territory of Denmark), Russia, the United States (Alaska), Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Finland.