International Polar Year
There have been a number of major international science initiatives in Polar Regions since the first International Polar Year in 1882-83 and all have had a major influence in overhauling our understanding of global processes in these important areas. These initiatives have involved an intense period of interdisciplinary research, collecting a broad range of measurements that provide a snapshot in time of the state of the polar regions. The last such initiative was the International Geophysical Year in 1957-58, involving 80,000 scientists from 67 countries.
After 50 years the International Council for Science (ICSU) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) established an International Polar Year in 2007-2008 http://www.ipy.org.
WAP & IPY
WAP (Worldwide Antarctic Program) tied up and sensitive to the events purposeful to support of the polar research, in special way of that one in Antarctica, has since always, supported and promoted initiatives focused to the spread and the acquaintance of the Continent, through the own web site: www.ddxc.net/wap .
Thanks to the engagement of the ARI (Italian Radio Amateur Association) Section of Mondovi', of ARI Section of Cassino and of the ARI Section of Formia, we have
promoted specific activities and Antarctic Awards which are reaching remarkable level of interests worldwide.
WAP DataBase on the operating Ham stations in Antarctica since 1945 (currently deposited in Copyright ), is the only document in its kind, result of years of update and continues research; it constitutes the fulcrum on which rests the Antarctic Award’s program of the over mentioned ARI Sections and not only. It is visited by thousands of people in the world and is available on line.
Since September 2006 we have written on WAP web site, promoting Special events Callsigns and now, in occasion of the 2007-2009 IPY, WAP is launching and supporting these initiatives which at the moment seems to be the only ones in its kind at international level. We are sure that other Ham Groups world-wide will follow our example, but meanwhile, we are proud to have been the first promoters.
Various are the special callsigns already requested in Italy with IPY as a suffix and still, the ARI Section of Cassino that already manages AWA (Arctic World Award) and WAP-ASEA (Antarctic Special Event Award), has decided to launch a Special diploma called WAP-IPYA (International Polar Year Award), a permanent certificate having as topic, the two icecaps and the international celebration of the studies and researches that many Nations are carrying out to the North and to the South Poles.
HAMs that will operate with special IPY prefixes will enter in the Dbase of the WAP with the same rules in force for WAP-WACA and WAP-ASEA Awards and moreover, IPY stations could be credited for new diploma WAP-IPYA.
The invitation is opened to all amateur radio’s operator to apply Callsign with IPY as a suffix, in order to be able to participate world-wide, since the beginning, at the opening of the International Polar Year, that will be next 1 March 2007 likewise we have reported on the WAP.
This will be our way to support the cultural, informative and artistic initiatives like foretold on http://www.ipy.org.
Information on IPYA can be requested to Nuccio Meoli IØYKN nucciomeoli@libero.it , to the ARI Section of Cassino or it can be got by reading the news on WAP web site.
Opening ceremony for IPY will take place on Thursday 1st March 2007 in Paris.
