The general large‐scale circulation of the global atmosphere has its basic driving mechanism in the equator‐poleward temperature gradients in both hemispheres. It has become increasingly obvious over the last few decades that to understand and predict the behavior of the atmosphere at any point, it is essential to understand the behavior of the total global fluid system. The Global Atmospheric Research Project (Garp) is an outcome of this recognition. Studies of the heat sinks (the polar regions) are therefore just as important as studies of the heat source (the equatorial regions) to understand the meteorology of the planet. Interest in polar meteorology has undergone many cyclic fluctuations, peaking during the various international polar years and more recently during the International Geophysical Year (IGY) in 1957–1958. While polar meteorology continues to be studied for its own intrinsic interest, increased attention is given to its role within the framework of Garp. At the present the focus of Garp's first objective (improved extended weather forecasts) is on the tropical heat source, where convection and cloud formation and dissipation are still relatively little understood processes. However, the second Garp objective (better understanding of the physical basis of climate) requires more attention to be devoted to the cryosphere and its long‐term interaction with oceans and atmosphere and its role as indicator of climatic change. The idea of a polar experiment (Polex) in support of Garp was initially introduced by Treshnikov et al. [1968] and by Borisenkov and Treshnikov [1971]. A summary of the early history of Polex was recently given by Weller and Bierly [1973]. The two closely related objectives of Polex that most directly pertain to Garp may be restated in their simplest terms as (1) a better understanding of energy transfer processes and the heat budgets of the polar regions, for the purpose of parameterizing them properly in general circulation models and climate models, and (2) provision of adequate data from the polar regions during the First Garp Global Experiment (FGGE) in 1978.