Officials Mark Start of U.S. Effort for International Polar Year
Washington -- The largest collaborative science program ever attempted th International Polar Year (IPY) 2007-2008 -- will focus on the Arctic and Antarctic and will involve more than 200 research projects, 50,000 scientists and more than 60 countries. From March 1, 2007, to March 9, 2009, scientists from around the planet will conduct a range of physical, biological and social sciences research studies in the Arctic and Antarctic that address questions in these areas and include a large education component.
(Media-Newswire.com) - Washington -- The largest collaborative science program ever attempted – International Polar Year ( IPY ) 2007-2008 -- will focus on the Arctic and Antarctic and will involve more than 200 research projects, 50,000 scientists and more than 60 countries.
From March 1, 2007, to March 9, 2009, scientists from around the planet will conduct a range of physical, biological and social sciences research studies in the Arctic and Antarctic that address questions in these areas and include a large education component.
“The U.S. government has invested considerable effort and resources in projects related to the polar regions – more than $350 million per year – and we’re excited about the International Polar Year,” said Paula Dobriansky; under secretary of state for democracy and global affairs, during the February 26 opening ceremony at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington.
The State Department directs international relations in polar affairs, leads federal policy involving the Arctic and Antarctic and heads U.S. delegations to the Arctic Council, and other polar organizations and forums. The Arctic Council is a high-level forum for cooperation among Arctic states.
“Our attention to the polar regions,” Dobriansky added, “is a very important aspect of our U.S. foreign policy.”
INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION
The International Council for Science and the World Meteorological Organization lead IPY. In the United States, the National Academy of Sciences has played a key role and its Polar Research Board serves as the U.S. National Committee for IPY.
Participating nations include Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Chile, China, Denmark, Greenland, Finland, France, Germany, Greenland, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay and others.
“Our planet is changing more quickly than at any time in recorded history,” said U.S. National Science Foundation ( NSF ) Director Arden Bement. “[F]rigid waters of the north and the frozen continent of the south are helping us realize and understand that change. We do not fully understand the causes of what we are observing. IPY has generated the national will to change that, and new tools – from satellites to ships to sensors – make it possible to obtain the needed observations and synthesis of knowledge.”
IPY will be conducted by scientists and engineers around the world, who will perform field research. Students of all ages will be involved through formal and informal mechanisms. Questions to be asked include the following:
• How does life persist in the world’s coldest, darkest regions?
• How will changes in glaciers, ice sheets, snow cover and sea ice affect the global Earth system?
• How are traditional ways of life in the polar latitudes facing the challenges of a changing planet?
• What will scientists discover when 21st century technology and new scientific monitoring and observational systems examine this unique frontier?
IPY researchers will use powerful tools – including high-powered computers, automatic observatories, satellite-based remote sensing, autonomous vehicles and genomics ( the study of human and animal hereditary information ) – to better understand how polar regions contribute to global processes.
During IPY, U.S. researchers will investigate and refine knowledge of the role of polar ice sheets as regulators of global climate and repositories of climate history, probe the depths of the Arctic Ocean for a better understanding of its role in ocean circulation and map a landscape that is less familiar than the surface of the moon.
They also will study microscopic life in such places as the ultra-salty and frigid lakes of Antarctica's McMurdo Dry Valleys to discover the extreme tolerances of life in such extreme places.
IPY projects will include the native people of Alaska and other polar regions as participants in setting the research agenda.
Many research projects will include educational components to help build a legacy of scientific literacy, attract students to careers in related sciences and inform the public through science-related television programs, films, radio programs, museum exhibits and other media.
U.S. CONTRIBUTION
U.S. agencies engaged in IPY scientific research and outreach include the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Geological Survey, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA ), NASA, the Department of Energy, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Institutes of Health ( NIH ). ( See related article. )
“NOAA has had footprints in the snow and ice at both poles for decades,” said NOAA Administrator Conrad Lautenbacher. “Our people are in the Arctic and Antarctic 365 days a year. This year is the 50th anniversary of NOAA collecting observations at the South Pole.”
“The Arctic Human Health Initiative is a U.S.-led effort with the Arctic Council,” said James Herrington, director of the Division of International Relations at the NIH Fogarty International Center. “[It's] a project that aims to increase the visibility and awareness of health concerns of Arctic peoples and to foster human health research and promote health-protection strategies that will improve the health and well-being of Arctic residents.”
This is the fourth IPY. The first such collaborative effort was held from 1882-83. The current IPYs is two years long to give the fullest coverage to both the Arctic and Antarctic.
More information about the International Polar Year is available online.
For more information on U.S. policy, see Environment.
( USINFO is produced by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov )
This story was released on 2007-02-27. Please make sure to visit the official company or organization web site to learn more about the original release date. See our disclaimer for additional information.
