A two-year international research effort kicked off this week to study the polar regions and how they're tied in to global climate change, in the first such collaborative scientific project in more than 50 years.
Despite its name--International Polar Year (IPY) 2007-2008--the research project will run from February 2007 to March 2009, and it will call on scientists from 50 to 60 countries to study the Earth's north and south polar regions, or what's called the cryosphere. The stated goal is to investigate changes at the poles, enhance scientific collaboration and understanding of those regions, invest in new technologies and inspire a generation of young scientists through school curricula and public awareness.
"(My) hope as a result of this Polar Year is that we will have permanent observatories for ice, cryosphere, atmospheric and ocean that will last well beyond this year," said Conrad Lautenbacher, undersecretary for oceans and atmosphere at the U.S. Department of Commerce and administrator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Mar 2, 2007
Scientists seek cold, hard facts on polar changes
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