The History of the International Polar Years (IPYs) (eBook)

Susan Barr, Cornelia Lüdecke (Herausgeber)

eBook Download: PDF

2010
XII, 320 Seiten
Springer Berlin (Verlag)
9783642124020 (ISBN)

Infos

Although international scientific cooperation - particularly in meteorology - was established previous to the first International Polar Year, the IPY-1 (1882-83) is considered to be the first revolutionary step towards an extensive international cooperation in the polar areas for the benefit of science rather than national prestige and territorial gain. This was followed by IPY-2 (1932-33) and IPY-3 - actually the International Geophysical Year (1957-58) - before the crowning effort of IPY-4 (2007-08). The history of these years is recounted here and explains the political, economic, technical and scientific conditions and expectations that laid the basis for each IPY and which gradually expanded both the scope and extent of our understanding of the complexities in polar regions

Inhalt

Preface to Series 5
Letter from the Editorial Team 7
Contents 9
Contributors 11
1 The First Three Polar Years A General Overview 12
1.1 The First Polar Year, 1882--1883 14
1.2 The Second Polar Year, 1932--1933 14
1.3 The International Geophysical Year, 1957--1958 16
References 17
2 The International Polar Year 1882--1883 18
2.1 Introduction 18
2.2 The Organization and Effectuation of the Polar Year 20
References 41
3 The Expeditions of the First International Polar Year 45
3.1 Introduction 45
3.2 The Austro-Hungarian Station on Jan Mayen 46
3.3 Denmark's Station at Godthaab, Greenland 50
3.4 The Finnish Stations 52
3.4.1 Sodankylä 52
3.4.2 Kultala 55
3.4.3 An Extra Year 55
3.4.4 Results 55
3.5 The French Station at Cabo de Hornos - Cape Horn 56
3.6 The German Stations 60
3.6.1 Kingua (Clearwater) Fjord, Baffin Island 60
3.6.2 South Georgia 64
3.6.3 German Auxiliary Expedition to the Labrador Coast 68
3.7 Great Britain at Fort Rae, Canada 69
3.8 The Netherlands - Beset in the Ice of the Kara Sea 73
3.8.1 The Beginning 73
3.8.2 Financial Support 74
3.8.3 The Dutch Polar Expedition 75
3.8.4 Into the Ice 77
3.8.5 On the Home Front 80
3.8.6 The Results 81
3.9 The Norwegian Stations 82
3.9.1 Bossekop 82
3.9.2 Sophus Tromholt 84
3.10 The Russian Polar Stations 86
3.10.1 The Polar Station in the Lena Delta 90
3.10.2 The Polar Station in Novaya Zemlya 96
3.11 The Swedish Expedition to Svalbard 99
3.12 USA The American Expeditions 104
3.12.1 Lady Franklin Bay, Canada 104
3.12.2 Point Barrow, Alaska 111
3.12.3 Lucien Turner at Fort Chimo, Ungava Bay, Canada 114
References 114
4 An Evaluation of the Achievements of the First International Polar Year 118
4.1 Introduction 118
4.2 Presentism - or Reading the Present into the Past 119
4.3 Facilities and Instruments 121
4.4 Process of Observation and Sources of Error 122
4.5 The Primacy of Inductivism as an Ideal of Science and Way of Life 123
4.6 The Question of Leadership - Coordination Is Not the Same as Cooperation and Integrative Efforts in Research 126
4.7 (Under-) Utilisation of the Results 127
4.8 Incidental Findings 131
4.9 Conclusion 133
References 134
5 International Cooperation in Antarctica 1901--1904 136
References 142
6 The Second International Polar Year 1932--1933 144
References 178
7 Some IPY-2 Histories 183
7.1 14 Months in the Arctic - The Austrian Polar Expedition to Jan Mayen 1932--1933 183
7.2 The French Expedition to Greenland 191
7.3 The Dutch Contribution to the Second International Polar Year 1932--1933 192
7.3.1 The Dutch IPY-Station in Ammassalik 194
7.3.2 First Biological Research in an IPY 196
7.3.3 The Dutch IPY Aerological Station at Reykjavik 196
7.3.4 Conclusions 197
7.4 Norwegian Participation 198
7.5 Island of Fogs and Gales - The First Polish Expedition to Bjrnya (Bear Island) during IPY-2 202
7.5.1 Preparation 202
7.5.2 The Expedition to Bear Island 205
7.5.3 Results 213
7.6 Sweden in Svalbard 213
References 217
8 Achievements of the Second International Polar Year 219
8.1 Introduction 219
8.2 Significance of the Organizational Framework of IPY-2 for the Quality of Its Results 221
8.3 Essential Tension Between Research and Monitoring 227
8.4 Logistics and Instrumentation 229
8.5 Epistemology: A Combination of Inductivism and Hypothesis-Driven Research 231
8.6 Results and la Cours Quest to Ensure a Legacy 235
Appendix: Carrnegie Institute of Washington, DC: Archive Material Gathered 1931--1936 238
References 240
9 Origins of the International Geophysical Year 243
References 246
10 The IPY-3: The International Geophysical Year (1957--1958) 247
10.1 Geopolitics of the International Geophysical Year (1957--1958): The Case of Antarctica 247
10.1.1 The IGY Antarctic Conference, Paris, 1955 249
10.1.2 The IGY and Antarctica 250
10.1.3 The Road to Washington 250
10.2 Argentina and Chile 251
10.3 Assault on the Interior - Establishing the IGY Soviet Antarctic Inner-Continental Stations 254
10.3.1 Introduction 254
10.3.2 Preparations 256
10.3.3 The Attempts 258
10.3.4 Partial Success 260
10.3.5 The Last Hurdle 261
References 263
11 The Achievements of the IGY 266
11.1 IGY Research 266
11.1.1 Scope of the IGY 267
11.1.2 The Antarctic Focus 268
11.1.3 New Technologies, Instruments and Scientific Avenues 269
11.1.4 Atmospheric and Cryospheric Processes 270
11.1.5 The World's Oceans 272
11.1.6 Incidental Biological Studies 274
11.1.7 Concluding Remark 275
11.2 The International Geophysical Year (IGY) and the Antarctic Treaty - The Interface of Science and Law 275
11.2.1 Overview 275
11.2.2 Antarctica before the IGY 277
11.2.3 The IGY Scientific Revolution 278
11.2.4 The Treaty Regime and Science 281
References and Further Reading 283
12 Side-Effects and Traces of the Early IPYs 286
12.1 Archaeological Remains 286
12.1.1 IPY-1 286
12.1.2 Examples of IPY-2 Stations 292
12.1.3 IPY-3/IGY 294
12.2 Original Scientific Data and Instrumentation as Historical Artefacts 296
12.3 Creative Reflections 297
12.4 To Give all for Science 298
12.5 The Wider Heritage 301
References 302
13 International Meteorological and Magnetic Co-operations in Polar Regions 304
14 Why Do We Have a 4th IPY? 306
14.1 Scientific Plan of IPY 2007--2008 308
14.2 Initial Ideas and Expressions of Interest 309
14.3 From Ideas to Projects 310
14.4 Extending the Science Plan Across Three Years 312
14.5 The Full and Final IPY Science Plan 313
14.6 Participating Countries 315
14.7 A Focus on Northern Residents and Indigenous Partners 317
14.8 Summary 319
References 319
Index 320

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 2.9.2010
• Reihe/Serie: From Pole to Pole
• Reihe/Serie: From Pole to Pole
• Zusatzinfo: XII, 320 p. 98 illus., 36 illus. in color.
• Verlagsort: Berlin
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften ► Geowissenschaften ► Geografie / Kartografie
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften ► Geowissenschaften ► Geologie
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften ► Physik / Astronomie
• Themenwelt: Technik
• Schlagworte: Arctic/Antarctica • Evolution • History • History of Science • International Polar Years • meteorology
• ISBN-13: 9783642124020 / 9783642124020