Precedent for International Cooperation

As the early years of Arctic exploration drew to a close, the first concerted international coordination in the Arctic occurred during the first International Polar Year in 1881-1884. The International Polar Year was dedicated to the scientific study of the planet's two poles; twelve nations pledged to establish observation stations in the Arctic and Antarctic regions. This task was not without difficulty: for instance, the near total loss of the American Lady Franklin Bay expedition headed by Adolphus Greely, an explorer tasked with establishing the most remote observation station planned, became the largest Arctic disaster since the disappearance of Franklin and his men.  In total, more than seven hundred men braved the polar climates during the first International Polar Year to establish fourteen principal research stations, including twelve stations in the Arctic, that provided the first concerted scientific collection of data on polar geophysical and meteorological events.

In 1932-33, on the fiftieth anniversary of the first International Polar Year, forty-four nations helped establish research bases to help improve weather forecasting in the Arctic and to establish a better understanding of terrestrial magnetism. This effort was tagged as the second International Polar Year. The findings it produced, the nations believed, would improve both air and sea navigation. While a great amount of data was collected during these expeditions, further data collection was hampered by weather conditions: much of the mens' time was spent on survival rather than scientific observation. The forty permanent research bases established in the Arctic at this time helped the International Meteorological Association develop an early understanding of the newly discovered jet stream.  The extreme hardship endured by the explorers, though, was convincing proof that the Arctic remained of greater geopolitical than operational importance to the Arctic nations.