As part of the DAHLI project in 2008, the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) collaborated with the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) to digitize their Polar Year (IPY) and International Geophysical Year (IGY) holdings.  The digitization effort began in 2009 and was finished in 2010.  This collection is composed of collections of rare and/or unpublished materials related to the first, second, and most recent IPY (1882-83, 1932-33, and 2007-08) and the IGY 1957-58.

Most of the materials in the collection are focused on research and collaboration through scientific projects initiated during and after the International Geophysical Year.  This collection also highlights Japanese and Soviet involvement in the IGY, including the Sputnik program which demonstrated the viability of using artificial satellites to explore the upper atmosphere.  There are also publications and research from United States Rocket Programs which were precursor programs that influenced the National Aeronautics and Space Act in 1958, thereby creating NASA.  Also included are a wide variety of publications and documents which result from scientific work done in the Polar Regions.

The NCAR Oral Histories are four recordings of interviews of influential persons involved with the IGY, including Gordon Cartwright, Morton Rubin, Robert N. Culnan, and Stanley H. Ruttenberg.  All four men also have several of their publications or other research documents in the NCAR collections.  A transcript of all four interviews is also available.

For more information on items in this collection:  NCAR Library.

For more information on the International Geophysical Year, please visit:

The International Geophysical Year

NOAA's "Rockets, Radar, and Computers: The International Geophysical Year"

Wikipedia's International Geophysical Year

NASA's International GeoPhysical Year

For more information on the Second International Polar Year, please visit:

USA.gov's International Polar Year

Geophysical Institute's International Polar Year