IPY/IGY

From the early 1950's through the mid-1960's, U.S. polar ice coring research was led by two U.S. Army Corps of Engineers research labs: the Snow, Ice, and Permafrost Research Establishment (SIPRE), and later, the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL).

The International Polar Year 2007–2008 will be the largest internationally coordinated research program in 50 years. It will be an intensive period of interdisciplinary science focused on the Arctic and the Antarctic.

In March, 2004 the National Science Foundation supported a workshop proposal submitted by National Ice Core Laboratory-Science Management Office to gather the world’s premier ice core scientists, engineers and drillers to establish a formal plan for utilizing the strengths and expertise of each nation to promote future ice core projects and to develop focused research objectives.

A new ice coring partnership between the U.S. and Norway will enable scientific investigations along two overland traverses in East Antarctica: one going from the Norwegian Troll Station (72º S, 2º E) to the United States South Pole Station (90º S, 0º E) in 2007-2008; and a return traverse starting at South Pole Station and ending at Troll Station by a different route in 2008-2009.