While layering up for the occasion, Ellis Malmgren covers the 145 years of the Arctic data-collection extravaganza known as the International Polar Year, or IPY - and why only four have occurred since 1881. He then connects the history to a modern-day case study in Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, involving drones, AI, machine learning, and emergency response.

Sources:

IPY:

https://www.pmel.noaa.gov/arctic-zone/ipy.html

https://wayback.archive-it.org/23655/20241216111902/http://icestories.exploratorium.edu/dispatches/big-ideas/international-polar-year/index.html

https://fortconger.org/histoire_de_la_premiere_annee_polaire_internationale-history_of_the_first_international_polar_year

https://gml.noaa.gov/obop/spo/igy_history.html

https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/johnson/65-years-ago-the-international-geophysical-year-begins/

https://earthzine.org/securing-the-legacy-of-ipy-2/

https://library.arcticportal.org/1211/1/IPY_Summary.pdf

Arctic drones: https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/11/arctic-drones-search-rescue-disaster-response/