The paper presents a detailed analysis of precipitation conditions in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland, covering data from 21 poviats. The basic data consisted of monthly sums of atmospheric precipitation from 49 stations of the Institute of Meteorology and Water Management National Research Institute (Pol.: Instytut Meteorologii i Gospodarki Wodnej Państwowy Instytut Badawczy – IMGW-PIB) in 1991–2020. Variability of precipitation conditions was demonstrated through annual and seasonal totals, the share of seasonal precipitation in annual totals, and the ratios of summer to winter precipitation and autumn and spring precipitation. It was found that area averaged annual totals ranged from below 600 mm in the poviats located in the west of the Voivodeship to more than 800 mm in the poviats located in the north-east. On average, the lowest annual totals were recorded in the area of the Police (550 mm) and Gryfino (565 mm) poviats, and the average highest in the Koszalin (842 mm) poviat. In most poviats, there was a slight, statistically insignificant tendency of increasing annual totals. The contribution of precipitation in spring, summer, autumn, and winter to the annual total in the voivodeship was 21, 33, 24, and 22%, respectively. The greatest year-to-year variability was found for summer (Vs = 28–39%) and winter precipitation totals (Vs = 29–35%). The most statistically significant result of the analysed features was identified for the calendar spring. The most prominent statistically significant changes in precipitation conditions were observed in the Goleniów, Kamień, and Sławno poviats.

This study addresses date palm growth and Saharan agriculture’s substantial environmental changes in Ziban agroecosystems (ZAE). Arid climate and vulnerable soils make oasis environments fragile. Most soils are sandy and rich in saline accumulations. This study characterised ZAE dry soils, determined its typology using the World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB) classification and US soil taxonomy (ST), and assessed their degradation using remote sensing (RS). Fieldwork identified representative oasis based on gypsum, calcareous crusts, and salinity. Ten soil profiles were selected using two topo-sequences, and 27 samples were obtained at 0–30, 30–60, and 60–120 cm. Analyses were carried out on organic matter (OM), pH, electrical conductivity (diluted extract 1:5), CaCO₃, gypsum, and soil texture. Oasis soils are dominated by gypsum and are all affected by salinity. The rates of OM and CaCO₃ are low to moderate. The land use and degraded areas were identified using RS data, field research, and soil analytical results. Soil classification revealed variability in soil diversity. The Typic and Gypsic Haplosalids’ ST soil group (SG) and the WRB Reference Soil Group (RSG) of Gypsic Solonchaks (Hypersalic) and Yermic Gypsic Solonchaks are equivalent. The Typic Haplogypsids and Typic Petrogypsids (ST) correspond to the Gypsisols (WRB). The Typic Torripsamments (ST) are correlated with the Arenosls (WRB). Differentiating degraded areas according to their degree of degradation and specific soil features is made possible by characterising the soils and identifying their typology. Farmers must use the right management strategies for each situation to sustain the oasis agroecosystem.

In the paper, we present a gradual transition from domination of men to equal treatment for men and women during the several decades of Polish expeditions to scientific stations in the Arctic and the Antarctic. This research has been based on the data available in the archives and at the database created within the project Female polar explorers (Polarniczki in Polish), which contains information about the number of female participants of expeditions to Polish research stations. Women participated in the seasonal expeditions almost from the very beginning when Polish research stations were established in 1970s and 1980s, but a significant increase of female participants is visible especially at year-round stations in the second decade of the 21^st century. In 1984, the first Polish female scientist overwintered in the Antarctic and in 1996 in the Arctic. In 1986, the first woman became a leader of a summer scientific expedition to Spitsbergen, and in 1991 a first woman became the leader of a year-long expedition to Arctowski Station. In the presented database, there are 825 records, that correspond to 417 surnames of female participants in Polish polar expeditions, 145 participated in more than one expedition. Women who were working at Polish polar research stations represented a variety of occupations, but most of them were scientists or combined science and station service. The collected data clearly show that the days when the presence of women at polar stations was unwelcome are a thing of the past.

Prolonged stays in extreme living and working conditions at Antarctic stations can result in both negative psychological manifestations and possible positive, salutogenic effects. The aim of this study was to check an assumption about existing salutogenic outcomes and their personality predictors in expeditioners who participated in year-long expeditions. We examined 62 expeditioners who participated in expeditions to the Ukrainian Antarctic Akademik Vernadsky station between 1996 and 2021, including 59 men and three women aged 27 to 68 years. We used the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory— Expanded, the General Self-Efficacy Scale, the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire and the Professional Hardiness Questionnaire. The majority of expeditioners (55–71%, on various grounds) recorded personal growth following Antarctic deployment, at a level from moderate to high. Based on personality characteristics diagnosed in the abovementioned questionnaires, we created an informative prognostic model explaining 30–45% of the variation in several indicators of expeditioners’ post-expedition growth. The most important predictors of expeditioners’ post-expedition growth were indicators of professional hardiness. Our findings provide additional opportunities to improve psychological evaluation and training for Antarctic expedition personnel.

The effects of climate change are much more rapid and visible in the Arctic than in the rest of the globe. The Arctic is extremely attractive scientifically and cognitively. Therefore, polar regions may serve as some of the most captivating natural settings capable of engage society in discussions on environmental changes. The primary objective of this paper is to present selected initiatives implemented by the Institute of Geophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences that aimed to connect polar research with schools and society, and show evidence on their effectiveness, with special focus on pupils from primary and secondary schools. In this paper, an overview of the educational and science communication initiatives undertaken by the Institute of Geophysics PAS for schools and whole society is presented, with the focus on polar research. Next, some results of the evaluation studies for those projects, that conducted detailed impact assessment, are discussed. Based on the evaluation studies and on general not-structured feedback received from diverse audiences of Institute’s activities, positive impact of bringing polar research closer to the society was observed. Using the Arctic and polar research as a vehicle to inspire interest in science and to raise societal awareness of the environmental challenges in various groups of non-specialists may be a very effective mean of science communication.

For over one hundred years, humans have been actively exploring polar regions. At present, each year, several thousand people work at polar stations in the Arctic and Antarctica. Polar stations have unique workplace characteristics; the conditions are classified as isolated, confined, and extreme. This leaves the important question of what motivates people to carry out professional tasks in such a context, particularly during wintering over in a polar station. The current study was designed to answer that question. Eighty-six winterers (22 women and 64 men) from ten different countries described their motivation to winter over. The qualitative approach, thematic analysis, was applied to data analysis. Two coding cycles were applied: initial coding and theming of the data. Fifty-six detailed categories were identified and then grouped thematically, resulting in 17 main categories. The three main motivation categories were challenge and adventure (N = 36), unique experience (N = 16), and performance of the job (N = 15). There were also differences in motivation between explorers from different countries, from Arctic and Antarctic polar stations, from civilian and military polar stations, and between female and male polar expeditioners. Obtained results can be applied to improve selection procedures and better support expeditioners during their stay in the polar station.

The first Arctic explorers underwent no formal selection procedure, and their personality traits were not diagnosed. Today, select in and select out procedures in systematic screening activities are common, although each country manages a polar station recruits according to its standards. The main goal of this article is to present the results of personality tests of work candidates at the Polish Polar Station Hornsund in Spitsbergen in 2019–2023. The applicants’ personality was diagnosed with the NEO Five-Factor Inventory examining the Big Five personality traits. Results indicated that candidates for work in the polar station were significantly lower in neuroticism, slightly lower in openness to experience and higher in conscientiousness than the general Polish population. Moreover, there was a significant discrepancy in neuroticism between winterers and those not selected for wintering. This result was not observed in the female group. Potential reasons for study outcomes will be discussed in the article.