From Interwar to Cold War: Selling Field Science in the United States, 1920s Through 1950s

2003 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fae Korsmo ◽  
Michael Sfraga
Keyword(s):  
The United States ◽  
International Polar Year ◽  
White House ◽  
Atmospheric Sciences ◽  
International Geophysical Year ◽  
Scientific Disciplines ◽  
International Polar ◽  
International Geophysical ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Second International

A comparison of why proposed science programs succeed or fail to attract public financial support in the American political arena, this article examines three cases ranging from the 1920s to the 1950s: a unique, multi-disciplinary proposal emerging from the U.S. Navy's 1924 conference on oceanography, U.S. participation in the Second International Polar Year of 1932-1933, and U.S. participation in the International Geophysical Year of 1957-1958. Each proposal emphasized societal benefits and applications of the earth, ocean, or atmospheric sciences. Each began from the bottom up, i.e., people trained and working in the scientific disciplines originated the idea and expressed their support through reports, letters, and participation in committees or conferences. However the proposals experienced different fates. While the promoters of the International Geophysical Year succeeded in gaining relatively substantial federal support, and the backers of the Second International Polar Year gained a modest amount, the U.S. Navy failed to persuade the Coolidge White House to request congressional appropriations for an oceanographic program. The concepts and tools from policy analysis can help to explain why the proposals experienced different outcomes.

scholarly journals The State of Polar Research after the International Polar Year 2007–2008

2011 ◽  
Vol 123 (1) ◽  
pp. 116
Author(s):  
Ian Allison
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Research ◽  
The State ◽  
Polar Regions ◽  
International Polar Year ◽  
International Geophysical Year ◽  
International Polar ◽  
International Geophysical ◽  
Second International

The International Polar Year 2007–2008—like its predecessors the first International Polar Year 1882–83 (championed by Georg von Neumayer as Chairman of the International Polar Commission), the second International Polar Year 1932–33 and the International Geophysical Year 1957–58—was an intensive, internationally coordinated campaign of scientific research in polar regions.

The Civilianization of a Nuclear Weapon Effects Test: Operation ARGUS

2012 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 283-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa M. Mundey
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Nuclear Weapon ◽  
New York Times ◽  
The United States ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
White House ◽  
International Geophysical Year ◽  
Test Operation ◽  
International Geophysical

In 1958 the United States secretly conducted a low-yield, high-atmosphere nuclear weapon effects test in the South Atlantic code-named ARGUS. It tested a theory devised by Nicholas Christofilos that an anti-missile shield could be created around the planet by trapping high-energy electrons in the Earth’s radiation field. In order to conduct the test before the October 1958 nuclear test moratorium, the military borrowed International Geophysical Year equipment and used the program as cover for the clandestine nuclear tests. Though the experiment determined that an electron shield could not work, it provided important research data for weapon effects, atmospheric physics, and long-distance communications. In March 1959, Hanson Baldwin and Walter Sullivan of the New York Times published an unauthorized account of the tests. In response, the White House presented ARGUS as a civilian science program of the International Geophysical Year rather than a nuclear weapon effects test. In the internal debate about declassification, in the publicity of the test, and in the memories of James Killian and Herbert York, Operation ARGUS demonstrates that many scientists and Americans remained comfortable with anti-militarism, even under militarized policies.

scholarly journals The United States Glaciological Researches during the International Geophysical Year

1962 ◽  
Vol 4 (31) ◽  
pp. 5-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. P. Crary ◽  
W. O. Field ◽  
M. F. Meier
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Ice Cover ◽  
The United States ◽  
International Geophysical Year ◽  
Northern Latitudes ◽  
International Geophysical ◽  
The U.S

AbstractThe U.S. IGY program in glaciology is reviewed in two parts: Antarctica and northern latitudes. The objectives of the program are outlined and the results of each investigation are briefly summarized. A separate discussion of observations related to changes in the Earth’s ice cover is included.

The First International Polar Year (1882-1883) and International Geophysical Cooperation

1991 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 223-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Schröder
Keyword(s):  
International Cooperation ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
International Polar Year ◽  
Scientific Disciplines ◽  
History Of ◽  
International Polar ◽  
International Geophysical

As a part of the historiography of individual scientific disciplines, the present paper provides a brief history of the development of Polar geophysics. Among important factors are expeditions and international cooperation (Magnetic Association of Göttingen; First International Polar Year, Berlin Atmospheric Programme, etc,). The history of observations and scientific expeditions is reviewed. The sources of data, beginning with the 18th century, as well as the scientists and institutions involved in these programs are noted.

scholarly journals Fifty Years of McCall Glacier Research: From the International Geophysical Year 1957–58 to the International Polar Year 2007–08

ARCTIC ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gunter Weller ◽  
Matt Nolan ◽  
Gerd Wendler ◽  
Carl Benson ◽  
Keith Echelmeyer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
International Polar Year ◽  
International Geophysical Year ◽  
International Polar ◽  
International Geophysical

scholarly journals The International Polar Year in 2007

2003 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 413-413
Author(s):  
DAVID WALTON
Keyword(s):  
International Politics ◽  
Fiftieth Anniversary ◽  
International Polar Year ◽  
International Geophysical Year ◽  
The Future ◽  
International Polar ◽  
International Geophysical

Anniversaries punctuate all our lives, providing the semicolons that cause us to pause and think again. Everyone has plenty of personal anniversaries but there are also cultural and institutional ones that we can use as an opportunity to remember but also as a platform to leap forward. How far have we come and where do we want to be in the future? The recent announcement of an International Polar Year (IPY) in 2007 is linked to the fiftieth anniversary of the International Geophysical Year, an event that proved to have such momentous consequences both for Antarctic science and for international politics.

Some reflections on the Antarctic Treaty

Polar Record ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-4 ◽  
Author(s):  
F.W.G. Baker
Keyword(s):  
50Th Anniversary ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
International Polar Year ◽  
International Geophysical Year ◽  
International Polar ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
Major Increase ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
International Geophysical ◽  
Made In

2009 brings not only the 50th anniversary of the Antarctic Treaty but also the end of the International Geophysical Year (IGY) and of its extension into the period of International Geophysical Cooperation (IGC 1959). It is also the 133rd anniversary of K. Weyprecht's suggestion that initiated the impetus. As he noted, ‘if Polar Expeditions are looked upon merely as a sort of international steeple-chase . . . and their main object is to exceed by a few miles the latitude reached by a predecessor these mysteries (of Meteorology and Geomagnetism) will remain unsolved’ (Weyprecht 1875). Although he stressed the importance of observations in both the Arctic and Antarctic during the first International Polar Year (IPY) in 1882–1883 only two stations in the sub-Antarctic region, at Cap Horn and South Georgia, made such scientific recordings. In spite of the fact that several expeditions to the Antarctic had been made in the period between the first and the second IPY 1932–1933, no stations were created in Antarctica during that IPY. The major increase in scientific studies in Antarctica came with the third IPY, which became the IGY of 1957–1958.

Antarctic winter scientific stations to the International Polar Year, 2007–2009

Polar Record ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. K. Headland
Keyword(s):  
International Polar Year ◽  
International Geophysical Year ◽  
International Polar ◽  
Antarctic Continent ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
Scientific Station ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
International Geophysical

ABSTRACTThe earliest winter scientific station established in the Antarctic was in 1883 as part of the first International Polar Year (IPY) programme. Subsequently, to the IPY of 2007–2009, scientific stations have been deployed on 139 sites (103 on the Antarctic continent, 36 on the peri-Antarctic islands), by 24 countries for a cumulative total of 2666 winters to that of 2008. This paper summarises the winter dates, locations, and national status of all stations in the region. It thus includes all winter stations of the three IPYs and those of the International Geophysical Year (1957–1958). The positions of 120 of these winter stations are south of 60°S, the boundary of the Antarctic Treaty of 1959 (although many of them predate the Treaty).

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document