A Century of International Interdisciplinary Co-operation

Abstract

1982–1983 is the centenary of the first International Polar Year which began on 1 August 1882. It is also the 50th anniversary of the second International Polar Year and the 25th anniversary of the third – the International Geophysical Year. Each of these Years provided a stimulus to geophysics, to international co-operation and to increased scientific interest in the polar zones. Although there had been earlier co-operative studies in science, these had been mainly in astronomy and geophysics. The first IPY was not restricted to geophysical studies: eleven of the fourteen expeditions made studies of natural history, two of ethnology and anthropology and one of Eskimo archaeology. Thus began international interdisciplinary scientific co-operation, which has become one of the more civilized aspects of life today.