Scientists have warned that world leaders are in a race against time to make key decisions about the future of international co-operation in the Arctic.

An ambitious project is making accessible some of the most important visual resources for research into international polar exploration.

The largest coordinated programme of international polar activities in 50 years – International Polar Year (IPY) – kicked off globally on 1 March 2007. Building on a 125-year history of previous polar events in 1882–1883, 1932–1933 and 1957–1958, the aim of IPY is to promote even greater international scientific collaboration to address issues of global importance within the Arctic and Antarctic.