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immediately followed by Gordon de Q. Robin, who served in that capacity for
11 years, and then was president of SCAR in 1970
-
74. Robin was also director of the
Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge, England, for 24 years, which has
housed the SCAR of
ce.
In the early 1950s it was agreed to have a new Polar Year in 1957
58 (see
Chapter 1
.) The International Geophysical Year (IGY) was approved to take place
from 1 July 1957 to 31 December 1958. That the name used was
-
'
Geophysical
'
and not
'
ected the broader approach compared to the previous two polar years.
Particularly new was that
Polar
'
re
was now on the agenda. Nevertheless, the main focus
was again on the polar regions, and this time the largest effort was in Antarctica.
About 50 year-round stations were established in the Antarctic, including the
'
space
'
rst
stations far inland. Extensive research programmes were conducted.
The achievements of IGY, especially with respect to cooperation, were
remarkable, given the political climate of the Cold War. In many ways IGY and
its progeny, SCAR, became the catalysts for the political cooperation that was to
follow, by facilitating and formalising the cooperation and exchange of scientists
and data. So some brief comments on the early days of SCAR and Antarctic
science are in order (see also
Chapter 9
).
The birth of the Antarctic Treaty
As IGY had a major Antarctic component, ICSU decided in September 1957 to
set up a committee to organise this activity. Ten of the 12 nations engaged in
Antarctic research, together with four international unions, met in February 1958
and elected the
cers for SCAR, and established working groups to prepare
Antarctic research programmes after IGY. Since then all 12 nations have met
regularly, and the number of SCAR members has now grown to 34.
The challenging Antarctic environment certainly helped establishing trust
and understanding between the scientists and support personnel there.
Occasionally accidents and other situations arose that were solved through joint
international efforts. Scientists were exchanged, and a
first of
was formed of
people with a common experience of overcoming the harsh climate. These personal ties
were important when the political discussions started informally in June 1958.
No doubt another major reason for proceeding with such discussions was
the attitude of the United States and the Soviet Union. By this time the Arctic
Ocean had become a very important strategic arena in the military balance, especially
for the Soviet Union, which had based its second strike capability on nuclear
submarines carrying long-distance rockets. Neither country wanted an escalation
into the Southern Ocean and Antarctica of another competitive military race.
'
family
'
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