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The IGY encompassed eleven Earth sciences: aurora and airglow , cosmic rays, geomagnetism, glaciology, gravity, ionospheric physics, longitude and latitudeLatitude denoted φ, gives the location of a place on Earth north or south of the Equator. Latitude is an angular measurement ranging from 0° at the Equator to 90° at the poles. Usually, the difference in latitude largely affects the climate and/or wea determinations (precision mapping), meteorologyMeteorology is the scientific study of the atmosphere that focuses on weather processes and forecasting. Meteorological phenomena are observable weather events which illuminate and are explained by the science of meteorology. Those events are bound by the, oceanographyOceanography (also called oceanology and marine science ) is the study of the earth's oceans and their interlinked ecosystems and chemical and physical processes. There are five major divisions within the science: biological oceanography (also sometimes c, seismologySeismology is the scientific study of earthquakes and the movement of waves through the Earth. The field also includes studies of variants such as seaquakes causes such as volcanoes and plate tectonics in general, and offshoot phenomena such as tsunami. and solar activity.
Both the U.S. and the Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR ( Russian: ; tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik (SSSR) also called the Soviet Union ( ; tr. Sovetsky Soyuz , was a state in much of the northern region of Eurasia that existed from 1922 until 1 launched early satelliteFor other uses, please see Satellite (disambiguation A satellite is an object that orbits another object (known as its primary . The term is often used to describe an artificial satellite (as opposed to natural satellites, or moons). Because all objects es for this event. Significant achievements included the discovery of the Van Allen Belts and the discovery of mid-ocean submarine ridges, an important confirmation of plate tectonics.
The polar areas have many unique phenomena. Circulatory systems for air and water reach the surface, as do the majority of the Earth's magnetic field lines. Thick glaciers have entrapped air and water from ancient times. It is easiest to observe these phenomena near the poles.
Unfortunately, the poles are expensive places to visit, because they are distant, cold and deserted. International cooperative programs share the costs, and maximize the amount of coordinated scientific observations. The IGY is the most famous example.