ARCUS Internet Media Archive (IMA): A Resource for Outreach and Education

The ARCUS Internet Media Archive (IMA) is a collection of photos, graphics, videos, and presentations about the Arctic that are shared through the Internet. It provides the arctic research community and the public at large with a centralized location where images and video pertaining to polar research can be browsed and retrieved for a variety of uses. The IMA currently contains over 8,000 publicly accessible photos, including 6,000 photos from the National Science Foundation-funded PolarTREC (Teachers & Researchers Exploring & Collaborating) program, an educational research experience in which K-12 teachers participate in arctic research as a pathway to improving science education. The IMA also includes 850 video files, 650 audio files, nearly 150 graphics and logos, 70 presentations, and approximately 10,000 additional resources that are being prepared for public access. The contents of this archive are organized by file type, contributor's name, event, or by organization, with each photo or file accompanied by information on content, contributor source, and usage requirements. All the files are key-worded and all information, including file name and description, is completely searchable. ARCUS plans to continue to improve and expand the IMA with a particular focus on providing graphics depicting key arctic research results and findings as well as edited video archives of relevant scientific community meetings. To submit files or for more information and to view the ARCUS Internet Media Archive, please go to: http://media.arcus.org or email photo [at] arcus [dot] org.