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International Polar Year 2007-2008 will be an intense, coordinated campaign of polar observations, research, and analysis that will be multidisciplinary in scope and international in participation. IPY is actually designed to last two years, from March 1, 2007 until March 1, 2009, to allow two field seasons of research in both the Arctic and the Antarctic.
If you are a student or anyone with an interest in the Arctic and Antarctic:
- Look for ways to get your schools, friends, and family interested. For example, plan a visit to the Smithsonian Institution or Marian Koshland Science Museum in Washington, D.C., both of which will have exhibits and programs of interest.
- Ask your science teacher to do some classes about glaciers or ice sheets, or biology in cold regions. Maybe your social studies teacher could arrange to partner with a school in an Arctic community and you use the Internet to share stories about how you live.
- Ask your literature teacher to assign some of the many outstanding books about the polar regions, such as The Worst Journey in the World, by Apsley Cherry-Garrard, South: A Memoir of the Endurance Voyage by Ernest Henry Shackleton, or Barry Lopez's vivid modern book, Arctic Dreams.
- If you are a Scout, propose a special merit badge on polar exploration or cold weather survival skills. Did you know that they took the nation's top Eagle Scout to Antarctica during the International Geophysical Year in 1957–1958?
IPY 2007-2008 will include research in both polar regions and involve strong links to the rest of the globe. It will educate and excite the public, and help train the next generation of engineers, scientists, and leaders. It will include elements from a wide range of scientific disciplines, including issues related to human populations.
The Arctic Environment in Historical Perspective
The records of the first International Polar Year offer a unique opportunity to study the Arctic as it existed prior to the present era of environmental change. The Natonal Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrtion has collected meteorological data and archival photographs and drawings from IPY stations. This information is presented here for the first time in digital format.