VI 



Although it may not be fully realized as yet, Man has 

 already started to carry out international scientific pro- 

 grammes, and these programmes have had a considerable 

 success both as regards the scientific results achieved, and 

 in furthering cooperation between scientists of the various 

 nations concerned. Several of these large collaborative ef- 

 forts are on a continuing basis, e.g. the study of the Antarc- 

 tic region, the World Health Organization malaria eradica- 

 tion campaign, and the Central European Nuclear Re- 

 search Laboratory in Switzerland. An international study 

 of the Indian Ocean is starting next year, as also is the 

 International Year of the Quiet Sun in 1964. And, of 

 course, international scientific conferences are being held 

 in ever greater numbers annually, in the major cities of 

 the world, often organized by the various international sci- 

 entific oganizations. 



The large-scale research programmes undertaken during 

 the International Geophysical Year (1957-1958) formed 

 the most intensive drive to increase knowledge of the Earth 

 ever accomplished by Man. During the 18 months of the 

 IGY, thousands of scientists, from several tens of difter- 

 ent countries, combined their specialized techniques and 

 abilities to obtain world-wide data in many different fields 

 of research. These included studies of the upper atmos- 

 phere — aurorae, night-sky light, ionospheric behavior, high- 

 altitude winds, chemical constitution of the outer atmos- 



70 



