International Geophysical Year (IGY)

...to observe geophysical phenomena and to secure data from all parts of the world; to conduct this effort on a coordinated basis by fields, and in space and time, so that results could be collated in a meaningful manner.

The following is a description contained in an undated "Space Age News Map" from KCMO, Kansas City.

THE INTERNATIONAL GEOPHYSICAL YEAR, JULY 1, 1957-DEC. 31, 1958

The International Geophysical Year is a period which will see over 8,000 scientists from more than 60 countries cooperating in a world-wide study of the planet Earth. Their energies will be devoted to GEOPHYSICS - a field of study which includes all sciences concerned with the earth: It interior, crust, land masses, oceans and the surrounding gaseous envelope of the atmosphere. The period July 1, 1957 to December 31, 1958 was chosen for the IGY largely because it is
during this time that the eleven- year cycle of sunspot activity will be at its height. In the United States the geophysical program is being conducted by the U.S. National Committee for the IGY, a part of the National Academy of Sciences, with the support of the National Science Foundation and the Department of Defense.

While great publicity has been given to the artificial satellites which ore a part of the IGY program, there are many other fields of activity which ore important. These include studies of the Aurora or Northern Lights; Cosmic Rays in the upper reaches of the atmosphere and In outer space; Geomagnetism Gravity; the Ionosphere; Oceanography; Meteorology, or the causes and patterns of weather; Geology; Seismology, or the study of earthquakes, Volcanoes, and tidal waves; Latitude and Longitude positions of more precise accuracy; and all scientific aspects of Solar Activity, especially sunspots.