International Polar Year 2007–2008 - WMO

Fig. 1.2-3.First
online publication,
the International
Heliophysical Year.
A Program of Global
Research Continuing
the Tradition of
Previous International
Years (Davila,
Poland, and Harrison
(http://ihy2007.org/
resources/resources.
shtml)
32
IPY 20 07–20 08
and referred to a proposal for ‘IGY+50’ by Dan Baker
from the University of Colorado adopted by the
SCOSTEP Bureau in 1999. The proposal put forward
by SCOSTEP called to declare the period 2003 to 2008
‘The IGY plus 50 years: new Perspectives for the Next
Millennium,’ with a worldwide program of research
into the geophysics, geochemistry, biology and the
dynamics of the solar-terrestrial and solar-planetary
systems’ (Allen, 2000). SCOSTEP appealed to several
ICSU Unions to join forces in the preparation of a new
program and pledged to take the lead in its Solar-
Terrestrial Physics component.
The SCOSTEP proposal never referred specifically
to the polar regions and had only passing references
to the early ‘international polar years.’ It eventually
evolved into what became the electronic Geophysical
Year (eGY – www.egy.org/index.php), a parallel initiative
that was implemented successfully and ended
on 31 December, 2008. 4 Nonetheless, SCOSTEP’s pro-
posal almost certainly triggered a similar push for the
‘International Heliophysical Year’ (IHY) in 2007, also in
commemoration of IGY. The IHY was launched by a
group of astrophysicists at the Goddard Space Flight
Center, U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA), Joseph Davila, Arthur Poland, Nat Gopalswamy
and Barbara Thompson, who were aware of
the SCOSTEP activities. The proposal for IHY was first
unveiled in February 2001 (Davila et al., 2001 – Fig. 1.2-
3); unlike the eGY, it was actively promoted as following
in the footsteps of the IPY-1, IPY-2 and IGY. The first
IHY website, under the title ‘International Heliophysical
Year’ was launched in early 2002 at http://ihy.gsfc.
nasa.gov.
Neumayer Symposium, June 2001: New ‘IPY-
4’ Is Proposed
Arctic scientists had their chance to discuss the
approaching anniversary of IGY at the Arctic Science
Summit Week (ASSW) in Iqaluit, Canada in
April 2001 (Chapter 1.4) at the meetings of the
European Polar Board (EPB) and the Forum of
Arctic Research Operators (FARO). Jörn Thiede,
Director of the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) in
Bremen and the Chair of EPB was among those
who raised the issue as he was already familiar
with the IGY+50 discussion at the SCAR meeting
of 2000. No decision was made, yet another
important polar science constituency became
aware of the calling for a new IPY.
A more inspirational concept for a new ‘IGY’like
initiative was unveiled at the International
Neumayer Symposium at Bad-Dürkheim,
Germany 24-26 June 2001. The symposium held
on the occasion of 175th anniversary of Georg von
Neumayer, a native of southwestern Germany
and a key figure in IPY-1 (Chapter 1.1), was
organized jointly by AWI, the German Navigation
and Hydrographic Service (BSH – Bundesanstalt
für Seeschiffahrt und Hydrographie) in Hamburg
and Rostock, the successor to the Deutsche
Seewarte, of which Neumayer was once the
Director, and Pollichia, the local Society for
Natural Sciences. The life and career of Neumayer
and the first IPY were featured prominently in
the sessions. The symposium also awarded the
Neumayer Medal to Leonard Johnson, former