Opportunities for Research at the
Ends of the Earth
NSF Research Day
University of Vermont
6 June 2008
Scott Borg
Director, Division of Antarctic Sciences
Office of Polar Programs
National Science Foundation
Office of Polar Programs
• Only part of NSF with a geographical focus
• OPP science is a microcosm of NSF
• Broad array of single investigator and small group
research opportunities in many disciplines
• Interdisciplinary collaborative research is a
strength and an emphasis
• Strong ties with other agencies, other directorates
within NSF, and with international partners
• National roles in both polar regions
Office of Polar Programs
Office Director and Executive Officer
• Division of Arctic Sciences
• 3 research programs along with science support
and logistics
• Division of Antarctic Sciences
• 6 research programs, artists/writers program
• Division of Antarctic Infrastructure and Logistics
• 3 stations, 2 RV’s, supply systems, airplanes,
helicopters, vehicles, labs, science support, etc
• Office of Polar Environment, Safety and Health
• Policy, management plans, etc
Arctic Opportunities
National Role for NSF:
• Coordinating federal Arctic research investments
Research Programs:
• Arctic Social Sciences
• Arctic Natural Sciences
• Arctic System Science
Solicitations:
• Arctic Research Opportunites (general)
• Bering Ecosystem Study
• Western Arctic Shelf-Basin Interactions
• Polar Postdoctoral Fellowships
Arctic Opportunities
Examples of Emphasis Areas
• Arctic Languages and Culture
• SEARCH – Study of Environmental Arctic Change
• AON – Arctic Observing Network, IPY effort
• build and exploit this system
• ocean/land/atmosphere components
• will facilitate SEARCH
Language and Culture:
21st Century Arctic Adaptations,
Beyond IPY
• Documenting Endangered Languages.
• Exploring New Evidence of Arctic Migrations.
• Interdisciplinary Research Exploring Social
and Cultural Adaptations to the Changing
Arctic Environment.
Image: Shari Gearheard
SEARCH: To understand causes of arctic
climate variability and responses of the arctic
system to changes
Recent retreat of
Helheim Glacier –
Image : NASA Earth
Observatory
Increased shrub growth
Image: M. Sturm
Decreased Sea ice
extent 25 Sept 2007
Image: NSIDC
Arctic Observing Network:
Physical & Chemical Oceanography; Sea Ice
Bering Strait
Aerial Hydrographic Surveys
North Pole
Environmental
Observatory
Seasonal
Ice Zone
Beaufort
Gyre
Observatory
& Deepest
Waters
Ice-Tethered Profilers
& Ice Dynamics and
Weather Buoys
Davis
Strait
Switchyard
& Seasonal
Ice Zone
Arctic Opportunities
Research Facilities
• Toolik Lake Field Station – operated by UAF
• USCG Ice Breaker Healy
• Logistics and science support contractor
• Ice Coring and Drilling Services contract
• Small plane and helicopter charters
• International Partnerships – for instance…
• Oden other ships in Arctic
• Lab in Svalbard
Turning South
Antarctic Research
National Role for NSF:
Single point manager of the Nation’s investments in
Antarctic activities – expressed through science
Research Programs:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Antarctic Aeronomy & Astrophysics
Antarctic Earth Sciences
Antarctic Glaciology
Antarctic Integrated System Science
Antarctic Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences
Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems
Solicitations
• Antarctic Research (general)
• Polar Postdoctoral Fellowships
Antarctic Opportunities
New Knowledge about the Antarctic, including
• exploration/discovery, and
• how it interacts with the non-polar Earth system
Antarctica as a Platform for Research
• Astronomy/Astrophysics
• Seismology of the deep interior
Examples of Emphasis Areas:
• Oceanographic changes with global change/warming
• ocean acidification, carbon cycle, sea ice and ice shelf interaction
• Changing Cryosphere and its contribution to sea level rise
• Exploit discovery potential of IceCube and 10m SPT
• Solar/Terrestrial Physics: internationally collaborative
observation networks and research exploitation
Amundsen-Scott South Pole
Station, Dedicated Jan 2008
South Pole Astrophysical Observatories
In red - approximate instrumented
volume, e.g. 40 of the planned
70-80 strings.
μ
Science requirement:
1 km3 detector volume
10m South Pole Telescope
– search for Dark Energy and
Dark Matter
Science
Exploitation is
Underway!
→
Ice Cube Neutrino Observatory
– new window on the universe

Solar/Terrestrial Physics: Ionospheric
Research
NIPR LPM between Syowa &
Dome F
Syow
a
Dom
eF
Dom
eA
Virginia Tech LPM test run at
South Pole
ZH
S
Palmer Station and Marine
Research
Life in the Cold and Dark
Algal mats in
ice-covered lakes
Rich and diverse marine life
Fish antifreeze
proteins
Bacteria Found in snow at the
geographic South Pole
Life within rocks
Effect of elevated CO2 on shell formation,
physiological function, and ecological interactions
among planktonic pteropods
• Elevated CO2 in the southern ocean may cause significant
carbonate undersaturation within the next 50-100 years
• Pteropods, other shell bearing organisms at risk
• Physiological, bioenergetic and food web consequences for
pelagic organisms and ecosystems
Limacina helicina
Clione antarctica
McMurdo Station and
Remote Interior Research
Mars Analogs
Surface morphology – Upper Beacon Valley,
Antarctica
1 km
Debris-covered glaciers from
Antarctica’s Dry Valleys
Upper Beacon Valley
1 km
Mars crater wall
247 W / 38 S M18/00898
Interior crater
wall on Mars –
Viscous flow?
Dave Marchant and Jim Head
ANT – New Initiative
AISS
Workshop Report
http://cresp.tamu.edu/AISSWorkshop
attended by 40 scientists
representing broad spectrum
of earth & environmental
research fields, institutions
and career stages
Now a new program area.
Antarctic Ice Sheet & Climate
What’s in the future?
WAIS
~6m
Sea Level
EAIS ~60m
Sea Level
- Major changes in the past
- Internal dynamics & ice streams;
interaction with ocean,
lithosphere, and atmosphere
- Sea level change
Alley
Questions?
Questions?
Photo: S. G. Borg