The
International Polar Year (or
IPY) is a collaborative, international effort researching the
polar regions.
Karl Weyprecht, an Austro-Hungarian naval officer, motivated the endeavor, but died before it first occurred in 1882–1883. Fifty years later (1932–1933) a second IPY occurred. The
International Geophysical Year was inspired by the IPY and occurred 75 years after the first IPY (1957–58).