The
International Polar Year (IPY) was a large scientific programme that focused on
the
IPY, organized through the International Council for
Science (ICSU) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), was actually
the fourth polar year, following those in 1882-1883, 1932-1933, and 1957-1958.
In order to have full and equal coverage of both the Arctic and the Antarctic,
IPY 2007-2008 covered two full annual cycles from March 2007 to March 2009 and
involved over 200 projects, with thousands of scientists from over 60 nations
examining a wide range of physical, biological and social research topics. It
was also an unprecedented opportunity to demonstrate, follow, and get involved
with, cutting edge science in real-time.
IPY occured amidst abundant evidence of changes in snow and ice:
reductions in extent and mass of glaciers and ice sheets, reductions in area,
timing, and duration of snow cover, and reductions in extent and thickness of
sea ice. Changes in snow cover and sea ice have immediate local consequences
for terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Permafrost, an additional form of ice
that influences nearly 25% of the northern hemisphere landmass, also shows substantial
decomposition due to warming climate. Permafrost degradation affects local
ecology and hydrology as well as coastal and soil stability.
Changes in the large ice sheets will impact global sea level, affecting
coastal cities and low-lying areas. Changes in snowfall and shrinkage of
glaciers will influence millions of people whose daily use of water for
personal consumption or for agriculture depends on snowpack and glacial
sources. Thermal degradation of permafrost will mobilize vast reserves of
frozen carbon, some of which, as methane, will increase the global greenhouse
effect. Changes in sea ice combined with enhanced river inputs of freshwater
will lead to substantial changes in ocean circulation. Warming of polar oceans,
coupled with changes in ice coverage and river run-off, will alter marine
ecosystems with consequences for globally-significant fisheries.
Polar changes occur not on a remote planet, but in the
daily living environment of more than 4 million people, fellow citizens and
neighbours of this planet. Northern communities face changes in their natural
environment and in their natural resources and food systems, changes of
rapidity and magnitude beyond recent experience or traditional knowledge.
Northern people also face unique health challenges related in part to
pollutants transported to polar regions, and accelerating pressures of
development and commercialism.
For
a majority of participants, IPY stimulated a sense of urgency and discovery.
What secrets, what clues to the planet’s past, lie under the ice? How does life
survive extreme cold and long dark? What structural and physiological
adaptations evolved in cold waters and propagated throughout the oceans? What
marvels of photochemistry occur when spring’s first light strikes winter snow?
How do microbial communities in the upper ocean influence cloudiness in the
atmosphere above? What subtle richness of behaviour, language and knowledge has
allowed human communities to survive in the
Links
The official
website of the IPY.
The Netherlands
contribution to IPY.
All the International Years proclaimed by the General Assembly.
Stamp catalogue
Australian
Antarctic Territory
Australian
Antarctic Territory
British
Antarctic Territory
Falkland Islands
Ross Dependency
South
Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
last revised: 3 December 2009