'Mapping' a Changing Earth through the Polar Lens - the USGS Contribution to the International Polar Year

USGS has a long tradition of scientific monitoring, assessment, and research in the polar regions. Beginning with geophysical and geological surveys in the Arctic in the early 1900's and joint work with the National Science Foundation in Antarctica after WWII, the USGS has had an extensive history of diverse activities such as topographic mapping and geodetic control in Antarctica; satellite and ground-based monitoring of glaciers and ice caps; research on movements, distribution patterns, and adaptation of polar wildlife; establishment and operation of a seismic array at the South Pole; estimations of energy resources of the circum-Arctic; mapping the occurrence and distribution of circum-Arctic vegetation; and the development of paleoclimate records from Alaskan sediments and polar ice cores. USGS participation in the 2007 - 2008 International Polar Year effort will both extend and enhance current activities and establish and integrate new activities into large-scale international monitoring and research efforts. We envision these efforts as 'mapping' the Earth in the broadest and most inclusive sense of the word - from mapping earth-system interactions to mapping genomic diversity, and from mapping at the largest scales utilizing remotely-sensed data acquired from satellite-based sensors to the smallest scales utilizing data acquired at the molecular level. By utilizing the full spectrum of USGS capabilities and by partnering with other federal and state agencies, NGOs, universities, and international consortia during IPY, the USGS seeks to be part of the global community that will lead scientific efforts to elucidate current physical, biological and chemical processes that operate in the polar regions and provide the fundamental science that will inform policy, land-use, and resource management decisions in the decades to come.