The Polar Earth Observing Network (POLENET) multinational consortium will implement a network of in situ sensors across Antarctica and the Arctic during the International Polar Year (IPY). Activities will be focused on deployment of autonomous observatories at remote sites on the continents and offshore, coordinated with measurements made at permanent station observatories and by satellite campaigns. Measurements (in situ, satellite and airborne) will include GPS (w/ GLONASS, Galileo; GPS occultation/met sensors), seismic, gravity, geomagnetic, tide gauges and ocean bottom sensors, oceanographic (in situ and altimetry) and chemical (at offshore sites). Multidisciplinary deep sea observatories on the polar seafloor will perform continuous collection of geophysical, oceanographic and geochemical data. The POLENET initiative is designed to provide a legacy in in situ observational infrastructure in the polar regions and in the technological capability to overcome the challenges of autonomous operations in extreme environments.