Smithsonian at the Poles: Contributions to International Polar

x SMITHSONIAN AT THE POLES
blooms in a polynya well within the ozone hole, exposing
plankton to elevated UV-B. The continuous daylight
characteristic of this time of year has implications for the
regulation of DNA repair, most of which normally occurs
at night.
The Northern Latitudes Invasions Biology Program,
directed by Gregory Ruiz of the Smithsonian Environmental
Research Center has documented the northward
spread into six Alaskan regions of several nonnative species.
Emerging data suggest that polar systems are certainly
vulnerable to invasions. Experimental analyses and
modeling of the environmental tolerance of known nonnative
species and their capacity to colonize polar systems
are underway.
The National Zoological Park’s Olav Oftedal is studying
Weddell Seal energetics in Antarctica. This study of
seal capital expenditure (reliance on stored reserves), lactation
energetics and the importance of food intake relies
on a novel multimarker approach. The relative importance
of these expenditures and energy transfer to pups, in the
evolution of a mixed capital and income breeding strategy,
is being evaluated.
The NSF’s U.S. Antarctic Diving Program has been
managed since 2001 by Michael Lang in the Smithsonian’s
Offi ce of the Under Secretary for Science through an Interagency
Agreement. During this period the program reports
an average of 35 scientifi c divers per year logging a total
of over 4,800 under-ice dives while enjoying a remarkable
safety record and scientifi c productivity. Smithsonian ice
diving courses are taught regularly at the Svalbard Arctic
Marine Laboratory.
Astrophysical results include fi rst light achieved with
the NSF 10-m South Pole Telescope, 16 February 2007,
obtaining maps of Jupiter at wavelengths at 2 mm and 3
mm. The Antarctic Submillimeter Telescope and Remote
Observatory was operated by Antony Stark of the Smithsonian
Astrophysical Observatory since 1995 as part of
the Center for Astrophysical Research in Antarctica, under
NSF agreement.
The Arctic Studies Center of the National Museum
of Natural History was established by the Department of
Anthropology’s William Fitzhugh in 1988, with a second
offi ce operating since 1995 in Anchorage. Its focus is on
cultural heritage studies and indigenous knowledge of sea
ice, marine mammals and Arctic climate change. The recent
exhibit “Arctic: A Friend Acting Strangely” premiered
in 2006 at the Natural History Museum.
The United States marked the start of International
Polar Year (IPY) 2007–2008 with an opening event
hosted by the National Academies and the National Sci-
ence Foundation on 26 February 2007. IPY is a global
research effort to better understand the polar regions and
their climatic effect on Earth. The research completed
during IPY 2007–2008 will provide a baseline for understanding
future environmental change. Smithsonian at the
Poles: Contributions to International Polar Year Science is
one of the major inaugural science symposia of this IPY.
It is also one of the fi rst efforts in disseminating scientifi c
knowledge and research inspired by IPY to be undertaken
and published during this IPY period.
Another Smithsonian-initiated conference, Making
Science Global: Reconsidering the Social and Intellectual
Implications of the International Polar and Geophysical
Years, will convene in November 2007. Making Science
Global, an NSF-supported conference, explores the impetus
for (and the impact upon) science, society, and culture
of the IPYs of 1882–1883 and 1932–1933, and the International
Geophysical Year of 1957–1958. It is devoted
to sharing historical perspectives that might be useful to
those involved in the current IPY. Sessions will explore the
origins of these campaigns, their political dimensions, and
their consequences. Specifi c themes include the place of the
poles in human imagination, the role of polar exploration
in discipline formation, cultural nationalism, politics, and
transnationality. Additionally, there are sessions planned
on the emergence of the modern geosciences, the uses of
new technologies to explore the poles, changing assessments
of the nature of human cultures in high latitudes,
and polar contributions to environmental awareness. The
fi nal session of the conference, Polar History: Perspectives
on Globalization in the Geosciences, is a plenary session
at the annual meeting of the History of Science Society.
The Antarctic Treaty Summit: Science-Policy Interactions
in International Governance will be co-sponsored by
the Smithsonian Institution and will be convened at the
National Museum of Natural History from 30 November
through 3 December 2009. This summit celebrates the
fi ftieth anniversary of the signature-day for the Antarctic
Treaty in the city where it was adopted “in the interest of
all mankind.”
I would like to thank the NSF Offi ce of Polar Programs
for its support of this symposium and the Symposium
Committee Michael Lang, Scott Miller, Igor Krupnik,
Bill Fitzhugh, Rafael Lemaitre, Pat Neale, and Tony Stark
and the symposium speakers for their efforts.
Ira Rubinoff
Smithsonian Institution
Acting Under Secretary for Science
3 May 2007