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International Organizations
Names of international organizations involved in glaciology are given here; many are derived from the directory International Polar and Cold Regions Organisations by William Mills, SPRI 2003.
- The Arctic Environmental Data Directory used to be based in the USGS, Alaska, USA.
- Arctic Monitoring and
Assessment Programme (AMAP)
- Activities: AMAP was set up in 1991 as a programme of the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy, now a programme group of the Arctic Council. It aims to measure the levels of heavy metals, radio nuclides and non-biodegradable toxic compounds in snow, ice and air in all regions of the Arctic.
- European Science Foundation (ESF)
- Activities:
Association of 59 member research councils and academics
in 21 countries.
The European Committee on Ocean and Polar Sciences (ECOPS) was an ESF / European Commission joint committee, and led to the formation of the European Polar Board in October 1995. ESF currently funds several major polar research programmes, detailed below: - Airborne Platform for
Earth observation (was Airborne Polar
Experiment (APE)
- Activities: The programme concerns the coordination of an airborne experiment which will make use of stratospheric platforms for in situ measurements of the minor atmospheric components, which are responsible for the greenhouse effect.
- European
Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica (EPICA)
- Activities: Geographical location, ice thickness and climatology combine to make Antarctica the storehouse of the longest and most representative proxy data for the composition and temperature of ancient atmospheres. This project is the first "Grand Challenge" identified by ECOPS.
- European Ice Sheet Modelling Initiative (EISMINT)
- Activities: EISMINT was a program supported by the European Science Foundation from 1993 to 1998. It aimed to examine the critical links between global climate change and ice sheets by improving mathematical modelling in a number of key areas. Some work continued until April 1999.
- Quaternary Environment
of the Eurasian North (QUEEN)
- Activities: The aim of this programme is to utilise the ongoing activities and projects operating in several sectors of the Eastern Arctic regions and the many bilateral projects between Russian and Western European research groups in order to formulate a research programme which will study the modern and past environmental changes in a structured and coordinated manner. This programme ended in December 2000, though some work continued until mid-2003.
- Activities:
Association of 59 member research councils and academics
in 21 countries.
- Greenland
Ice Core Project (GRIP) was an ESF funded project. See
also the US-funded GISP2
project.
- Activities: GRIP successfully drilled a 3028 metre ice core to the bed of the Greenland ice sheet at Summit. The annual layers are providing evidence spanning up to half a million years.
- International Arctic Environmental Data Directory (ADD) project is now closed. The USGS also ran a Arctic Environmental Data Directory, most recently from Alaska, USA.
- International Association for
the Physical Sciences of the Ocean (IAPSO), includes
- IAPSO Commission on Sea Ice
c/o Dr. Peter Wadhams, Commission President, Scott Polar Research Institute
- IAPSO Commission on Sea Ice
- International
Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS)
- Activities: International non-governmental organization dealing with hydrology and water resources, including snow and ice. It is one of the constituent associations of the Internationational Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG).
- The International
Commission on Snow and Ice (ICSI) is a part of IAHS.
- Activities: Coordinates and implements snow and ice related projects within international programmes such as the International Hydrological Programme and the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme. Operates chiefly through working groups (constituted for four year periods) and four divisions: Seasonal Snow Cover and Avalanches; Glaciers and Ice Sheets; River, Lake, and Sea Ice; and Ice as a Material.
- The World Glacier Monitoring Service
- see below - is a service of the IAHS.
- International
Commission on Polar Meteorology (ICPM) is one of the ten commissions of
the International Association of
Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences (IAMAS), which is in
turn part of the International
Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG).
- Activities: to further scientific work into the meteorology and climatology of the polar regions by maintaining liaison between active research workers and other organisations, such as SCAR and the WMO.
- International Geographical Union
(IGU) includes
- Commission on Climatic Changes and Periglacial Environments
- International
Glaciological Society (IGS)
- Activities: The leading international learned society for the study of snow and ice in all its forms. Holds annual conferences, symposia and awards the Seligman Crystal for outstanding contributions to glaciology.
- International Ice
Patrol (IIP), (USA)
- Activities: Monitors the distribution and movement of sea ice and icebergs in the North Atlantic
- International Permafrost
Association (IPA)
- Activities: Non-governmental organization established to foster the dissemination of knowledge concerning permafrost, seasonal frost, artificial ground freezing, and periglacial phenomena. Maintains the Global Geocryological Database to identify and describe relevant data sets wherever held.
- International Snow Science
Workshop
- International Society of Soil
Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, includes the
- Technical
Committee on Frost Geotechnics
- Activities: Promotes cooperation and exchange of information on frost in geotechnical engineering, liaises with other international bodies (especially the International Permafrost Association and the International Symposium on Ground Freezing), organizes the International Symposium on Frost in Geotechnical Engineering.
- Technical
Committee on Frost Geotechnics
- International Society of Offshore and
Polar Engineers (ISOPE)
- Activities: Has an International Polar Technology Committee. Organizes the International Offshore and Polar Engineering conferences
- International Symposium on Ground Freezing (ISGF) - various locations and organisers
- International Union for Quaternary
Research (INQUA) is devoted to the study of the Quaternary Period in
earth history. It includes the:
- Commission on Glaciation
- Commission on the Holocene
- Commission on Stratigraphy, including the Subcommission for European Stratigraphy.
- Commission on Global Continental Palaeohydrology including projects on glacial palaeogroundwater.
- International Working Group on Glacier Caves and Karst in Polar
Regions
Secretary, Universite de Quebec & Montreal, Departement de Geographie, C.P. 8888 Succursale, Montreal, Quebec H3C 3P8, Canada
- Organizes "International Symposia on Glacier Caves and Cryokarst in Polar and High Mountain Regions"
- Port and Ocean Engineering under Arctic Conditions (POAC),
Secretariat, Norwegian Hydrotechnical Laboratory, Klaebuveien 153, N- 7034 Trondheim, Norway
- Activities: Organises the biennial International Conference on Port and Ocean Engineering under Arctic Conditions.
- Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR),
- Activities: Scientific committee of the International Council of Scientific Unions, charged with the initiation, promotion, and coordination of scientific activity in the Antarctic, and the provision of scientific advice to the Antarctic Treaty System, with a view to framing scientific programmes of circum-Antarctic scope and significance. Provides a forum for scientists from all countries involved in Antarctic research to discuss their field activities and plans and to promotecollaboration between them.
- SCAR Standing Scientific Groups on Physical Sciences (SSG/PS)
- First Regional Observing Study of the Troposphere (FROST) was a scientific project organized by the Physics and Chemistry of the Atmosphere (PACA) group of SCAR.
- Scientific Committee on Oceanic
Research (SCOR)
- Activities: Scientific committee of the International Council of Scientific Unions. Leading non-governmental organization for the promotion and coordination of international oceanographic activities. Polar activities include working groups on Sea Ice Ecology and General Circulation of the Southern Ocean, and Southern Ocean activities in both the Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS) and Global Ocean Ecosystem Dynamics (GLOBEC). Collaborates with SCAR and AOSB with regard to the Southern and Arctic oceans respectively.
- The World Glacier Monitoring
Service
- Activities: Collects and publishes standardised data on glacier fluctuations. Maintains an inventory of perennial surface ice masses. Service of the IAHS. Permanent service of the Federation of Astronomical and Data Analysis Services (FAGS).
- World
Climate Research Programme (WCRP) is part of the WMO (see below),
and includes
- Activities: to develop a scientific understanding of the physical climate system and climate processes needed to determine to what extent climate can be predicted and the extent of man's influence on climate
- Arctic Climate System Study (ACSYS)
- Climate and Cryosphere (CLIC)
- World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
- Activities: United Nations specialized agency responsible for
the coordination, standardization and improvement of international
meteorological and related activities, and the efficient exchange
of meteorological and related information. Several programmes include
significant polar glaciology components, e.g.
- Global Atmospheric Research Programme (GARP)
- International Arctic Buoy Program (IABP)
- World Climate Applications Programme (WCAP)
- World Climate Data Programme (WCDP)
- World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) - (see above)
- Activities: United Nations specialized agency responsible for
the coordination, standardization and improvement of international
meteorological and related activities, and the efficient exchange
of meteorological and related information. Several programmes include
significant polar glaciology components, e.g.