International Polar Year (IPY) 2007-2008

The International Polar Year (IPY) is a large international scientific and educational campaign focused on the Arctic and the Antarctic. The IPY "year" officially began on March 1, 2007 and will run through March 1, 2009 allowing researchers to conduct two full annual observing cycles in each polar region. IPY 2007-2008 was formally established by the International Council for Science (ISCU) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and will involve over 200 projects and thousands of scientists from over 60 nations. This is actually the fourth polar "year". Previous IPYs took place in 1882-3, 1932-3, and 1957-8 (more commonly referred to as the International Geophysical Year). IPY activities are focused on the Arctic and Antarctic polar environments and encompass a wide range of physical, biological and social research topics. IPY is a fantastic opportunity to both learn more about and get involved with cutting-edge polar research. Please use the links below to learn more about IPY. IPY Websites || Announcements || U.S. IPY Funded Ice Core Projects || IPY Expressions of Intent (EOI) || Educational Resources IPY Websites IPY U.S. - The official United States IPY website maintained by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the lead federal agency for coordinating U.S. IPY activities. The website serves as a gateway to information about (U.S.) federally supported IPY research, events, and opportunities for researchers and educators. IPY - The official international IPY website, maintained by the International Council for Science (ICSU) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The first IPY (1881-1884) - The first International Polar Year was held in 1881-1884. You can find historical information, data, images, and reports from the first IPY on this website supported by the NOAA Arctic Research Office. Announcements VECO Polar Resources: IPY Proposal Assistance Available NSF International Polar Year 2007 solicitation released: Full proposal deadline, 16 March 2007 NSF International Polar Year Information for the Research and Education Communities Available U.S. IPY Funded Ice Core Projects West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide (WAIS Divide) Ice Core Project - Learn more about the new NSF project to recover a ~3,500 meter long ice core from West Antarctica! The WAIS Divide ice core is going to provide Antarctic records of environmental change with the highest possible time resolution for the last ~100,000 years and will be the Southern Hemisphere equivalent of the Greenland GISP2, GRIP, and North GRIP ice cores. The WAIS Divide website has a large photo gallery, project updates from Antarctica, and much more. U.S. International Trans-Antarctic Scientific Expedition (U.S. ITASE) - Follow the U.S. ITASE team as they traverse across the Antarctic continent investigating the past 200-2000 years of climate history. Norwegian-United States IPY Scientific Traverse: Climate Variability and Glaciology in East Antarctica - Learn more about the joint Norwegian and United States IPY scientific traverses in East Antarctica! The project is studying climate change in the Dronning Maud Land region of East Antarctica. IPY Expressions of Intent (EOI) The following IPY EOIs deal with either ice core drilling or with ice core data: Seasonality as a cause of abrupt climate change: The East Greenland test USA Antarctic Climate Evolution USA Sea Ice Mass Balance in Antarctica: Bellingshausen Amundsen Ross Seas USA Holocene climates of the North Atlantic Arctic: a context for 20th century warming USA Detecting Oceanic Changes through Arctic Sea Ice Coring USA WAIS Divide Outreach Program USA International Partnerships in Ice Core Science-International Polar Year Initiative USA Antarctic Ice Sheet Accumulation and Discharge USA Mass Balance and Ice Dynamics of Antarctic Peninsula Glaciers for IPY2007-2008 USA Characterizing arctic climate variability and warming in high resolution climate proxies: application of a pan arctic precipitation isotope (d18O and dD) network USA US Geological Survey participation in the International Polar Year USA Paleo-perspectives on Environmental Change in the High Arctic USA Origin and formation of the ice in the Vostok ice core: implications for paleo-climate reconstructions and subglacial lake environments USA Antarctic subglacial processes and interactions Belgium Reconstructing the surface circulation of the Arctic Ocean Basin during the past ten thousand years and assessing its climatic implications: a Canadian invitation for an international project during IPY 2007-08 Canada International Conference devoted to a scientific synthesis of state-of-the-art understanding on the topic of "Polar Climate Stability” led by the CFCAS sponsored Polar Climate Stability Network Canada Paleoclimatology of the Canadian Arctic in relation to global climate change Canada Mercury contamination of polar regions Canada Bromine and biogenic sulphate in Arctic aerosols and snow: spatial and temporal relationships Canada Antarctic Convergence Zone -- Dome A (ACDA) Program China High Altitude Glaciology Scientific Expeditions-Parallel Expeditions to Pole Regions China Trans-Antarctic Scientific Traverses Expedition- from Zhongshan to Dome A or Ice Divide of East Antarctica-from Zhongshan to Dome A or Chinese “ITASE” project from Zhongshan Station to Dome A China Greenland’s Ice Sheet – reactions to past and present climate change Denmark Cultural and social strategies of human migration and mobility in the Arctic past Denmark Low frequency climate variability during late Holocene around Greenland Denmark Concordia a new facility for international and long-term scientific activities on the Antarctic Plateau France Trans-Antarctic Scientific Traverses Expeditions – Ice Divide of East Antarctica Germany HOlocene VAriability in the ARctic Ocean (HOVARO) Germany Temperate ice caps in changing climates Iceland To study the short-term Holocene climate variabilities in Antarctica and the Southern latitudes utilizing sediment cores from the Indian Ocean sector of the Southern ocean the cores from the periglacial lakes and the shallow ice-cores from Antarctica India Paleoclmate reconstruction at high resolution in marine sedimentary sequences from Polar oceans Italy Biological resources in Antarctic coastal areas: The role of sea ice Italy Scientific Traverse in Dronning Maud Land Antarctica (Japanese-Swedish Joint Antarctic Traverses) Japan Glaciological investigation in McCall Glacier Alaska for IPY Japan Arctic Ocean Warming in the past Norway Evolution of Spitsbergen Glaciers in response to climate change Poland Sediment Flux Study in East Antarctica Russia Aeolian and ice transport and fluxes of matter (including ecotoxicants) in the Arctic Russia Deep ice drilling in the northern part of subglacial Lake Vostok Russia Polar glaciers and ice caps as indicator of climate change Russia Scientific traverse along the Vostok ice-flow line Russia A Japanese-Swedish Antarctic Traverse Sweden Search for the Oldest Firn Interstitial Air in IPY UK Understanding Greenland Ice Sheet Response To Global Warming UK Sources and Fates of Atmospheric Nitrogen in Terrestrial Arctic Systems UK Controls on glacier thinning at the periphery of the Greenland ice sheet UK Pine Island Glacier -IPY UK Revealing the economic and social value of polar regions UK Climate variability and its influences on the state of glaciation of the Antarctic Peninsula region Ukraine Educational Resources IPY's Website Classroom Resources - A collection of websites with educational and classroom resources for educators.