The Scott Polar Research Institute (SPRI) is a centre for research into the

polar region The polar regions, also called the frigid geographical zone, zones or polar zones, of Earth are the regions of the planet that surround its geographical poles (the North Pole, North and South Poles), lying within the polar circles. These high l ...

s and glaciology worldwide. It is a sub-department of the Department of Geography in the University of Cambridge, located on

Lensfield Road Lensfield Road is a road (part of the A603 road, A603) in southeast central Cambridge, England. It runs between the junction of Trumpington Street and Trumpington Road to the west and the junction of Regent Street, Cambridge, Regent Street and H ...

in the south of Cambridge. SPRI was founded by

Frank Debenham Frank Debenham, OBE (26 December 1883 – 23 November 1965) was Emeritus Professor of Geography at the Department of Geography, Cambridge University and first director of the Scott Polar Research Institute. Biography Debenham was born in B ...

in 1920 as the national memorial to Captain Robert Falcon Scott and his companions, who died on their return journey from the South Pole in 1912. It investigates issues relevant to the Arctic and

Antarctic The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and other ...

in the

environmental science Environmental science is an interdisciplinary academic field that integrates physics, biology, and geography (including ecology, chemistry, plant science, zoology, mineralogy, oceanography, limnology, soil science, geology and physical geograp ...

s, social sciences and humanities. The institute is home the Polar Museum and has some 60 personnel, consisting of academic, library and support staff plus postgraduate students, associates and fellows attached to research programmes. The institute also hosts the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research.

Research

SPRI has several research groups. Notable researchers that have been based at the institute include Julian Dowdeswell, British diplomat Bryan Roberts, and glaciologist

Elizabeth Morris Elizabeth Morris (or variants) may refer to: Actresses *Libby Morris, Canadian actress *Beth Morris, British actress *Liz Morris, actress in ''Jaws 3-D'' Others *Elisabeth Ljunggren-Morris, swimmer *Elisabeth Hirsch, married name Elizabeth Morris, ...

Glaciology and Climate Change Group

This group's work involves quantifying the state of the cryosphere using remote sensing by satellites, plus accurate field measurements and computer simulations, to understand the processes in detail. In particular, the group has been able to observe the melting of the

Larsen Ice Shelf The Larsen Ice Shelf is a long ice shelf in the northwest part of the Weddell Sea, extending along the east coast of the Antarctic Peninsula from Cape Longing to Smith Peninsula. It is named after Captain Carl Anton Larsen, the master of the No ...

, the rapid retreat of ice in western Antarctica, and increased summer melting in northern Canada. This work has contributed greatly to understanding climate change.

Glacimarine Environments Group

This group's work focuses on the dynamics of ice-sheets and delivery of sediment to the marine environment. The group uses geophysical and geological evidence gathered by icebreakers in the polar seas.

Polar Landscape and Remote Sensing Group

This group's work focuses on the processes which modify the polar and sub-polar environments, such as Arctic vegetation, and snow and ice cover. Improving techniques for measuring vegetation from satellite data is an important part of the work.

Polar Social Science and Humanities Group

This is an interdisciplinary group covering the anthropology, history and art of the Arctic. Its work includes looking at politics and environmental management in the polar regions, with particular expertise in the religion, culture and politics of the Russian North.

The Polar Museum

SPRI operates the Polar Museum, which presents a range of objects, artworks, documents and photographs from the institute's extensive polar collections. The collections include material related to polar history, exploration, science, art and Arctic cultures. In 2010 the renovated Polar Museum opened its doors to the public; the reopening was met with widespread acclaim and the museum was shortlisted for the

Art Fund Art Fund (formerly the National Art Collections Fund) is an independent membership-based British charity, which raises funds to aid the acquisition of artworks for the nation. It gives grants and acts as a channel for many gifts and bequests, as ...

's Museum of the Year prize in 2011. It contains displays of Arctic art and artefacts, material from the nineteenth-century search for the elusive Northwest Passage, relics from the

Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration The Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration was an era in the exploration of the continent of Antarctica which began at the end of the 19th century, and ended after the First World War; the Shackleton–Rowett Expedition of 1921–1922 is often cit ...

(including the last letters of Captain Scott), and contemporary research and policy relating to the polar regions. As well as permanent exhibits, the museum regularly hosts special exhibitions. The museum is open Tuesdays to Saturdays (and Bank Holiday Mondays), 10:00 – 16:00 and on Sundays, 12:00 - 16:00. Admission is free. The museum is one of the eight museums and botanic garden which make up the

University of Cambridge Museums University of Cambridge Museums is a consortium of the eight museums of the University of Cambridge, which came into being in 2012 following awarding of Major Partner Museums status by Arts Council England. The consortium works in partnership w ...

consortium.

Key objects in the Polar Museum collection

Important material representing a wide of range of people concerned with the polar regions is cared for by the Scott Polar Research Institute and on display in the Polar Museum includes: * A folding camera used by Robert Falcon Scott at the South Pole, 1912, on the British Antarctic Expedition 1910–13 (Terra Nova). * A reindeer-skin sleeping bag used by Captain Lawrence Oates during the journey to the South Pole on the British Antarctic Expedition 1910–13 (Terra Nova). The bag was found on 12 November 1912 by the search party looking for the polar party. * A sextant used for navigation by Captain Frank Worsley on the James Caird during Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition 1914–16 ('' Endurance'').

Key artists represented in the Polar Museum collections

The wide-ranging collections include art and photographic works by several notable artists and photographers, including: *

Herbert Ponting Herbert George Ponting, FRGS (21 March 1870 – 7 February 1935) was a professional photographer. He is best known as the expedition photographer and cinematographer for Robert Falcon Scott's Terra Nova Expedition to the Ross Sea and South Pol ...

* Kenojuak Ashevak * Kathleen Scott * Edward Adrian Wilson *

Isobel Wylie Hutchison Isobel Wylie Hutchison (30 May 1889–20 February 1982) was a Scottish people, Scottish Arctic traveller, filmmaker and Botany, botanist. Hutchison published poetry, books describing her travels to Iceland, Greenland, Alaska, and the Aleut ...

Sidney Nolan Sir Sidney Robert Nolan (22 April 191728 November 1992) was one of Australia's leading artists of the 20th century. Working in a wide variety of mediums, his oeuvre is among the most diverse and prolific in all of modern art. He is best known ...

* Frank Hurley * Pudlo Pudlat The institute is actively adding to its collection of contemporary polar art through its artist in residence scheme, managed by the Friends of SPRI, which enables an artist to travel to the Antarctic and the Arctic each year. Artists include

Emma Stibbon Emma Stibbon (born 1 March 1962) is a Bristol-based British artist and Royal Academician. Career Emma Stibbon was born on 1 March 1962 in Münster, Germany, and studied at the Portsmouth College of Art, Goldsmiths College and the University o ...

, Lucy Carty,

Kat Austen Kat or KAT may refer to: People * Kat Alano (born 1985), Anglo-Filipino model, actress, and television presenter/VJ in the Philippines * Kat Ashley (c1502–1565), governess to Queen Elizabeth I * Kat Bjelland (born 1963), American musician * ...

and Shelly Perkins.

Library and collections

The Scott Polar Research Institute houses the world's most comprehensive polar library and archives. The institute's Thomas H. Manning Archive contains an unparalleled collection of manuscript material relating to research in and exploration of the polar regions, For scientists and scholars, the library offers a collection developed since the 1920s covering all subjects relating to the Arctic, the Antarctic, and to ice and snow wherever found. For industry, it is a prime information source on such subjects as exploration and exploitation of natural resources and on the environmental implications of such activities in the polar regions; on the design of ice-strengthened shipping and selection of sea routes; and on problems of construction and transportation in cold environments. The library also offers an unrivalled resource for the needs of international relations and strategic defence. The Picture Library contains a photograph collection from both the Arctic and Antarctic, mainly depicting the history of exploration in the polar regions, including much material from the expeditions of Scott and Shackleton. The Thomas H. Manning Polar Archives are named in honour of the British-Canadian Arctic researcher, a university alumnus. Its work includes an

oral history Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people wh ...

programme which interviews people who have worked in the polar regions over the years. Due to high demand, the Polar Archives runs a booking scheme for anyone wishing to consult material. The most recent addition to the library is the

Shackleton Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (15 February 1874 – 5 January 1922) was an Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic. He was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of An ...

Memorial Library, which in 1999 won a regional award from the Royal Institute of British Architects. This part of the building holds much of the library's Antarctic collection, as well as some of its subject-based material. The library is an active member of the

Polar Libraries Colloquy Background The Polar Libraries Colloquy is an international organization of librarians, archivists and others concerned with the collection, preservation, and dissemination of information dealing with the Arctic and Antarctic regions. This organi ...

, an international organization of Librarians and others concerned with the collection, preservation, and dissemination of information dealing with the Arctic and Antarctic regions. The library is open to anyone with a polar interest for reference work and research.

History

While climbing Mount Erebus in November 1912 as part of Robert Falcon Scott's ill-fated ''Terra Nova'' expedition,

came up with the idea of a polar research institute. After the end of World War I, he co-founded the institute with Raymond Priestley and was its first director. The Grade II listed main building (1933–1934) is by Sir Herbert Baker. The small halls have shallow domed ceilings painted with the aspect of the globe from north and south poles, by MacDonald Gill. The small gardens are home to a range of sculptures and historic artefacts relating to the polar regions.

Directors

* 1920–1946:

* 1946–1949 (part-time): Launcelot Fleming * 1949–1956: Colin Bertram * 1958–1982: Gordon de Quetteville Robin * 1982–1983:

Terence Armstrong Terence Edward Armstrong (7 April 1920 – 21 February 1996) was a British polar geographer, sea ice specialist, writer, and expert on the Russian Arctic. Career Terence Edward Armstrong was educated at Twyford School,David Drewry David John Drewry (born 22 September 1947, in Grimsby)David J Drewry
spea ...

* 1987–1992:

Peter Wadhams Peter Wadhams ScD (born 14 May 1948), is emeritus professor of Ocean Physics, and Head of the Polar Ocean Physics Group in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge. He is best known for his work on se ...

* 1992–1998: John Heap * 1998–2002: Keith Richards * 2002–2021:

Julian A. Dowdeswell Julian A. Dowdeswell (born 18 November 1957) is a British glaciologist and a Professor of Physical Geography in the Department of Geography at the University of Cambridge, and from 2002-2021 was the Director of the Scott Polar Research Institut ...

* 2021–: Neil Arnold

References

External links

World Data Centre for Glaciology, Cambridge

* ttp://www.geog.cam.ac.uk/ Department of Geography, University of Cambridge
The Polar Museum
{{Authority control Exploration of Antarctica United Kingdom and the Antarctic Geography organizations Polar Research Institute Polar Research Institute Polar Research Institute Research institutes in Cambridge Research institutes established in 1920 Arctic research Science museums in England History museums in Cambridgeshire Libraries of the University of Cambridge Antarctic research People of the Scott Polar Research Institute