scholarly journals The State of Polar Research after the International Polar Year 2007–2008

2011 ◽  
Vol 123 (1) ◽  
pp. 116
Author(s):  
Ian Allison
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Research ◽  
The State ◽  
Polar Regions ◽  
International Polar Year ◽  
International Geophysical Year ◽  
International Polar ◽  
International Geophysical ◽  
Second International

The International Polar Year 2007–2008—like its predecessors the first International Polar Year 1882–83 (championed by Georg von Neumayer as Chairman of the International Polar Commission), the second International Polar Year 1932–33 and the International Geophysical Year 1957–58—was an intensive, internationally coordinated campaign of scientific research in polar regions.

From Interwar to Cold War: Selling Field Science in the United States, 1920s Through 1950s

2003 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fae Korsmo ◽  
Michael Sfraga
Keyword(s):  
The United States ◽  
International Polar Year ◽  
White House ◽  
Atmospheric Sciences ◽  
International Geophysical Year ◽  
Scientific Disciplines ◽  
International Polar ◽  
International Geophysical ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Second International

A comparison of why proposed science programs succeed or fail to attract public financial support in the American political arena, this article examines three cases ranging from the 1920s to the 1950s: a unique, multi-disciplinary proposal emerging from the U.S. Navy's 1924 conference on oceanography, U.S. participation in the Second International Polar Year of 1932-1933, and U.S. participation in the International Geophysical Year of 1957-1958. Each proposal emphasized societal benefits and applications of the earth, ocean, or atmospheric sciences. Each began from the bottom up, i.e., people trained and working in the scientific disciplines originated the idea and expressed their support through reports, letters, and participation in committees or conferences. However the proposals experienced different fates. While the promoters of the International Geophysical Year succeeded in gaining relatively substantial federal support, and the backers of the Second International Polar Year gained a modest amount, the U.S. Navy failed to persuade the Coolidge White House to request congressional appropriations for an oceanographic program. The concepts and tools from policy analysis can help to explain why the proposals experienced different outcomes.

scholarly journals Fifty Years of McCall Glacier Research: From the International Geophysical Year 1957–58 to the International Polar Year 2007–08

ARCTIC ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gunter Weller ◽  
Matt Nolan ◽  
Gerd Wendler ◽  
Carl Benson ◽  
Keith Echelmeyer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
International Polar Year ◽  
International Geophysical Year ◽  
International Polar ◽  
International Geophysical

scholarly journals The International Polar Year in 2007

2003 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 413-413
Author(s):  
DAVID WALTON
Keyword(s):  
International Politics ◽  
Fiftieth Anniversary ◽  
International Polar Year ◽  
International Geophysical Year ◽  
The Future ◽  
International Polar ◽  
International Geophysical

Anniversaries punctuate all our lives, providing the semicolons that cause us to pause and think again. Everyone has plenty of personal anniversaries but there are also cultural and institutional ones that we can use as an opportunity to remember but also as a platform to leap forward. How far have we come and where do we want to be in the future? The recent announcement of an International Polar Year (IPY) in 2007 is linked to the fiftieth anniversary of the International Geophysical Year, an event that proved to have such momentous consequences both for Antarctic science and for international politics.

Some reflections on the Antarctic Treaty

Polar Record ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-4 ◽  
Author(s):  
F.W.G. Baker
Keyword(s):  
50Th Anniversary ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
International Polar Year ◽  
International Geophysical Year ◽  
International Polar ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
Major Increase ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
International Geophysical ◽  
Made In

2009 brings not only the 50th anniversary of the Antarctic Treaty but also the end of the International Geophysical Year (IGY) and of its extension into the period of International Geophysical Cooperation (IGC 1959). It is also the 133rd anniversary of K. Weyprecht's suggestion that initiated the impetus. As he noted, ‘if Polar Expeditions are looked upon merely as a sort of international steeple-chase . . . and their main object is to exceed by a few miles the latitude reached by a predecessor these mysteries (of Meteorology and Geomagnetism) will remain unsolved’ (Weyprecht 1875). Although he stressed the importance of observations in both the Arctic and Antarctic during the first International Polar Year (IPY) in 1882–1883 only two stations in the sub-Antarctic region, at Cap Horn and South Georgia, made such scientific recordings. In spite of the fact that several expeditions to the Antarctic had been made in the period between the first and the second IPY 1932–1933, no stations were created in Antarctica during that IPY. The major increase in scientific studies in Antarctica came with the third IPY, which became the IGY of 1957–1958.

Antarctic winter scientific stations to the International Polar Year, 2007–2009

Polar Record ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. K. Headland
Keyword(s):  
International Polar Year ◽  
International Geophysical Year ◽  
International Polar ◽  
Antarctic Continent ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
Scientific Station ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
International Geophysical

ABSTRACTThe earliest winter scientific station established in the Antarctic was in 1883 as part of the first International Polar Year (IPY) programme. Subsequently, to the IPY of 2007–2009, scientific stations have been deployed on 139 sites (103 on the Antarctic continent, 36 on the peri-Antarctic islands), by 24 countries for a cumulative total of 2666 winters to that of 2008. This paper summarises the winter dates, locations, and national status of all stations in the region. It thus includes all winter stations of the three IPYs and those of the International Geophysical Year (1957–1958). The positions of 120 of these winter stations are south of 60°S, the boundary of the Antarctic Treaty of 1959 (although many of them predate the Treaty).

The International Geophysical Year

1957 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harold Spencer Jones
Keyword(s):  
Arctic Region ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Polar Regions ◽  
International Polar Year ◽  
International Geophysical Year ◽  
Primary Object ◽  
International Polar ◽  
Meteorological Observations ◽  
One Year ◽  
The Arctic Region

In 1874, the Austrian arctic scientist, Weyprecht, on his return from an Austro-Hungarian polar expedition stated that, though many countries had sent expeditions into the polar regions at great expense and involving appreciable hazards to those participating, no important contributions to knowledge had resulted from them. They had done a certain amount of mapping and obtained a few meteorological observations but the primary object had been, as a matter of national prestige, to plant the flag nearer to the Pole than had been reached before. In his opinion what was needed for the advancement of knowledge about the polar regions was that nations should collaborate in sending expeditions to various parts of the arctic region to make observations throughout the whole of one year. Largely because of his persistent advocacy of this view, the value of the proposal came to be recognized, and as a result the enterprise known as the First International Polar Year was developed. A number of countries combined to send expeditions to establish observing stations at selected points in the arctic region to make observations throughout the year 1882–3 in meteorology and geomagnetism and also of the aurora. The observations made during this Polar Year contributed appreciably to knowledge of geomagnetism and of meteorology.

scholarly journals British radio observations during the Second International Polar Year 1932-33

1937 ◽  
Vol 236 (764) ◽  
pp. 191-259 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Polar Regions ◽  
Radio Waves ◽  
Radio Observations ◽  
Geophysical Investigation ◽  
International Polar Year ◽  
Atmospheric Physics ◽  
New Methods ◽  
International Polar ◽  
Improved Methods ◽  
Second International

The present communication deals with radio observations made by British workers as part of the general geophysical investigation of polar regions carried out during the Second International Polar Year, 1 August, 1932, to 31 August, 1933. In the long period which has elapsed since the first International Polar Year of 1882-83, the field of geophysical inquiry has been greatly extended by the use of improved methods and instruments. Such advances have been especially notable in atmospheric physics. Among the new methods which have been developed we may count the use of radio waves for the exploration of upper-atmospheric electrification. The prosecution of such methods in recent years has supplemented in many ways the information obtainable from a study of terrestrial magnetism and the aurora. The development of radio methods of ionospheric exploration has proceeded in England during the last ten years under the auspices of the Radio Research Board of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. On the scientific side the work has been directed to the elucidation of the structure of the ionosphere, its variation with time, and the correlation of such variations with other geophysical phenomena. Quite independently of any participation in the work of the International Polar Year, the results of work in England had, for reasons which will be stated later, suggested the need for carrying out similar observations in high latitudes, and Sir George Simpson, F.R.S., a member of the Board, had pointed out the special suitability of Northern Norway for such work. The proposals for an expedition were, however, held in abeyance because of the great advantages which were seen likely to accrue from merging such work in the international effort of the Second Polar Year.

Through the lens of the polar years: changing characteristics of polar research in historical perspective

Polar Record ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 313-336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aant Elzinga
Keyword(s):  
International Polar Year ◽  
Distinctive Features ◽  
International Geophysical Year ◽  
Computer Aided Analysis ◽  
Geophysical Processes ◽  
History Of ◽  
International Polar ◽  
Archaeology Of Knowledge ◽  
International Geophysical ◽  
Theoretical Foundations

ABSTRACTThe four polar years are used as windows for highlighting changes in the character of polar research over the past 125 years. The approach taken may be seen as one of an archaeology of knowledge. As such it fixes on four separate strata in the history of science and seeks to lay bare distinctive features in each of these. To simplify, the focus is selective, mainly presenting three types of aspect for each year. The first is the character of the instruments and research technologies employed in each, and the second is the kinds of problems tackled, while the third is the associated view or ideal of science that stands out. The latter aspect has to do with epistemology. The paper suggests that whereas work during the first International Polar Year (IPY) reflected an empirical inductivist philosophy of science, during the second IPY a mix of problem oriented, and hypothesis driven, approaches existed alongside inductivism. By the time of the International Geophysical Year (IGY) the theoretical foundations of polar research had grown stronger and much of the focus had shifted to larger scale geophysical processes. Finally, today's ambition to develop an integrated Earth system science reflects an ideal that is systemic, constructivist and predictive. Such epistemological features are evident in some of the most advanced forms of computer aided analysis of Arctic and Antarctic processes, as well as in visualisation methodologies used to interpret and present data, concepts, models and theories. This latest approach is evident in some of the planning and agenda setting documents generated under the auspices of the current IPY.

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