Expressions of Intent for IPY 2007-2008 Activities

Expression of Interest Details

PROPOSAL INFORMATION

Weather permitting: A proposal for a climatic communication system in the polar landscape  (Weather Permitting)

Outline
The launch of Sputnik (1-3) during the International Geophysics Year initiated the first-ever satellite technology to monitor terrestrial ecologies. As a communications device and geophysical laboratory, the satellite collected and distributed knowledge about global environmental and atmospheric conditions. Strategies of measurement, observation and communication of weather data via satellite are similarly critical to the focus of the upcoming International Polar Year. We propose to establish a field laboratory focused on the communication of climactic data from Polar Regions. Often the significance and impact of this data does not reach wider audiences. Our interdisciplinary project proposes to creatively visualize the scale and scope of climactic changes at the North and South Poles by identifying and disseminating climactic data to a broader public to convey awareness about global weather phenomena. We will approach this objective by establishing a mobile lab in Antarctica, based during the first year of research in the Antarctic Peninsula and during the second year on the Ross Ice Shelf. The purpose of the lab will be to work in situ, in real time, with meteorologists who are actively gathering climactic data. Working with the British Antarctic Survey and the World Meteorological Organization, we will analyze and interpret data collected from manned and remote weather monitoring stations. As we establish the mobile lab in the Antarctic, we will also look toward the North Pole as a comparative point of study. The proposed lab will then be situated as a node on existing data collection stations, specifically geared toward the creative and cultural synthesis of climactic data, thereby communicating the significance of polar events for global weather systems. Primary fieldwork with allow for first-hand, multimedia documentation of weather conditions, allowing us to cross-compare climactic data with real-time environmental conditions. This process will aid the process of education, outreach and communication, and will allow a first-hand experience of weather conditions before they are abstracted into data. Such an inquiry raises questions about current and historical modes of collecting weather and how the landscape is transformed through the process of data acquisition. Together with the in situ mobile lab, we will establish a site of primary project activity in London. This location will form a center for refining research questions, interpreting field data, and pairing real-time observations with creative modes of communication. From this center we will establish multiple modes of communication, including: 1) a website (to be located at www.weatherpermitting.org) that will serve as a critical portal to the general public; 2) bi-annual academic conferences and publications targeted toward decision makers and new polar researchers; and 3) quarterly field manuals and an exhibit at a location such as the Greenwich Observatory, which will present climactic data to the general public and school children. As researchers with primary fieldwork experience in the Antarctic, as well as training in Geography, Landscape Architecture and Communications, we are well-qualified to undertake this project, which promises an innovative approach to cultural understandings of the importance of polar environments within current weather events.

What significant advance(s) in relation to the IPY themes and targets can be anticipated from this project?
The project directly addresses Theme 3 by highlighting the cultural connections (and their weather-based environmental implications) between Polar Regions and the rest of the globe. The perception of these links is directly related to representations we make of Antarctica. These representations - such as those of the globe as a series of discrete ecologies, the ozone hole, the Larsen B ice shelf collapse - are, in turn directly related to global environmental policy. Our research project situates itself within these representations of data sets, which are caught in a feedback loop between environment, communication and visualisation. By making polar climactic data legible to a wider audience, we expand the sphere of communication and awareness of weather events.

What international collaboration is involved in this project?
International collaboration will take place with WMO researchers, as well as selected IPY researchers focusing on climactic conditions at the poles.

FIELD ACTIVITY DETAILS

Geographical location(s) for the proposed field activities:
Sites for research and communication lab: Antarctic Peninsular (2005/2006) and Ross Ice shelf/South Pole, Antarctica (2007/2008). Remote sites: Canadian Arctic (possible use of McGill University Arctic Research station) and a public gallery or museum in L

Approximate timeframe(s) for proposed field activities:
Arctic: n/a
Antarctic: 2005/2006      2006/2007      

Significant facilities will be required for this project:
Temporary field station with telecommunciation facilities and the use of a satellite link for the transmission of data. As the project proposes to utilise existing and newly created meteorological data, it will draw on existing infrastructures of data exchange

Will the project leave a legacy of infrastructure?
The infrastructural legacy for this project will consist of an expanded sphere of communication, including publications, a website and exhibition, which will relay the importance of Polar Regions to the state of the global climate.

How is it envisaged that the required logistic support will be secured?
Consortium
Own national polar operator

Application will be made to the British Antarctic Survey and National Science Foundation for logistical support in Antarctica.

Has the project been "endorsed" at a national or international level?
National operators will be contacted after consultation with the International Arctic Social Sciences Association (IASSA).

PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND STRUCTURE

Is the project a short-term expansion (over the IPY 2007-2008 timeframe) of an existing plan, programme or initiative or is it a new autonomous proposal?
New
The project is a new autonomous project, that builds upon preliminary ERA funded field research undertaken in Iceland (July/December 2004), which initiated the project Weather Permitting; and Antarctic fieldwork (2000/2002), which led to the completion of

How will the project be organised and managed?
The project will be managed individually by the scholars, and through their respective academic institutions (University of London). Institutional resources and synthesis of the project data will be undertaken as part of the remit of the scholars’ academic positions. The IASSA will be consulted for the development of the proposal, and members of the IPY undertaking weather research will be contacted to facilitate access to weather data sets.

What are the initial plans of the project for addressing the education, outreach and communication issues outlined in the Framework document?
The project will begin with the dissemination of the paper - “Weather and the Eroding Globe” at the Globalisation and Representation Conference, University of Brighton (March 2005). After initial Antarctic fieldwork (2005/06), the project will be distributed through a website and publication in academic journals. During the IPY, Field Notes will be published, and a public exhibition will take place in London.

What are the initial plans of the project to address data management issues (as outlined in the Framework document)?
The project will utilise existing data produced by WMO and other researchers during the IPY. The project is not proposing to produce a database, but to synthesise and creatively re-animate existing data. Outside of the usual disclaimers of intellectual property, there are no other data issues.

How is it proposed to fund the project?
For logistical purposes, BAS and NSF will be approached. For the dissemination and development of the projects, arts funding will be sought through the European Union Fund, Arts Council of England, Arts and Humanities Research Board, NESTA; and through the University of London for the support of research leave.

Is there additional information you wish to provide?
Both researchers have extensive experience in Geography, Communications and Landscape Architecture. The lead contact has primary fieldwork experience in the Antarctic, and has just completed her Ph.D. documenting research on representation of the polar environment. The researchers have experience with presenting research in educational and gallery-based settings, and are well-skilled with multimedia technologies.

PROPOSER DETAILS

Ms Kathryn Yusoff
18 Cinnamon Street
London
E1W 3NJ
UK

Tel: 07949 219972
Mobile: 07949 219972
Fax:
Email:

Other project members and their affiliation

Other Information