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What Is International Polar Year?

An Arctic landscape.

Lynn Gillespie © Canadian Museum of Nature

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International Polar Year (IPY) was launched on March 1, 2007 and will continue until March 1, 2009. It is the largest ever international programme of coordinated scientific research and observations focussed on the polar regions.

Duration

  • IPY is taking place over two full annual cycles in order to have enough time to do fieldwork at the two poles.

Programme

  • The programme will involve more than 200 projects, with thousands of scientists from more than 60 nations examining a wide range of physical, biological and social research topics.

Impacts

  • The polar regions are highly sensitive to climate change. This has serious implications for the future of polar ecosystems and Northern peoples. The international science community is seeking to expand upon current knowledge of conditions at the poles and the interactions with and effects upon the oceans, atmosphere and land masses.

International Initiative

  • The International Polar Year programme is organized through the International Council for Science and the World Meteorological Organization.
Sea stars of the species Odonaster validus, in the Southern Ocean.

Kathy Conlan © Canadian Museum of Nature

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From 1882 to Today

The first polar year was held in 1882–83, and has occurred roughly every 50 years since then with only a 25-year-break between the second IPY in 1932–33 and the most recent one—the International Geophysical Year (IGY) of 1957–58. The IGY brought together 80 000 scientists from 67 countries.

The scientific research conducted in the Arctic and in Antarctica during these past polar years resulted in major breakthroughs, including improved radio communications and weather forecasting, as well as the signing of the Antarctic Treaty in 1959.

Canada Invests $150 Million in IPY

Polar bear (Ursus maritimus).

Trevor Lush © Students on Ice

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Nearly 25% of the entire Arctic region is located within Canada. To support the International Polar Year, the Government of Canada has invested $150-million over five years. One hundred million of that has been devoted to 44 scientific research projects. Another $50-million is covering logistics, emergency preparedness, communication, outreach, training, data management and administration.

The Government of Canada IPY programme is led by Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, in conjunction with six lead federal departments and agencies: Environment, Fisheries and Oceans, Health, National Sciences and Engineering Research Council Industry (on behalf of Industry), and Natural Resources.

The two key priorities of the Canadian IPY programme are climate change impacts and adaptation, and the health and well-being of Northern communities.

The Museum Is Participating!

The Canadian Museum of Nature is contributing to IPY. As Canada's national museum of natural history, the museum has a long history of research and collecting in the Arctic regions, dating back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The museum took part in the first Canadian-led study of the Arctic, the 1913–1918 Canadian Arctic Expedition. Now, during International Polar Year, some of the museum's researchers are carrying on this legacy, adding to the knowledge of the biodiversity in the polar regions.

Read about their involvement.