NSF News -- Polar Programs http://www.nsf.gov/news/ News for Polar Programs posted on the NSF website, http://www.nsf.gov. en Fri, 12 Mar 2010 23:01:50 EST Dome Away From Home http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=116468&WT.mc_id=USNSF_64&WT.mc_ev=click

Photo of dome being disassembled by crane and the words Photo Gallery.

After more than three decades of service to researchers and staff stationed at the bottom of the world, the dome at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station was deconstructed this austral summer.

The dome provided a platform for countless scientific discoveries in astronomy, physics, climatology, and other fields, and it also provided a home away from home for the station's 'winter over' crew during 8 months at the station during the austral winter, much of the time in darkness. The dome ...
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This is an NSF News - Polar Programs item.]]> http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=116468&WT.mc_id=USNSF_64&WT.mc_ev=click Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:58:00 EST Methane Releases From Arctic Shelf May Be Much Larger and Faster Than Anticipated http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=116532&WT.mc_id=USNSF_64&WT.mc_ev=click

Illustration showing leakage of methane from the East Siberian Arctic Shelf.

A section of the Arctic Ocean seafloor that holds vast stores of frozen methane is showing signs of instability and widespread venting of the powerful greenhouse gas, according to the findings of an international research team led by University of Alaska Fairbanks scientists Natalia Shakhova and Igor Semiletov.

The research results, published in the March 5 edition of the journal Science, show that the permafrost under the East Siberian Arctic Shelf, long thought to be an impermeable ...
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This is an NSF News - Polar Programs item.]]> http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=116532&WT.mc_id=USNSF_64&WT.mc_ev=click Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:10:00 EST Top Scientists to Discuss Global Changes at Arctic Conference in Miami http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=116467&WT.mc_id=USNSF_64&WT.mc_ev=click

Hundreds of the world's top scientists and policymakers are expected to attend the State of the Arctic conference at the Miami Hyatt Regency from March 16 - 19, 2010. Speakers will include Arden Bement, director of the National Science Foundation (NSF), Jane Lubchenko, administrator of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and Wendy Watson-Wright, assistant director-general of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). ...
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This is an NSF News - Polar Programs item.]]> http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=116467&WT.mc_id=USNSF_64&WT.mc_ev=click Thu, 25 Feb 2010 13:00:00 EST NSF Forum to Address "Ecosystem Services" in a Changing World http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=116382&WT.mc_id=USNSF_64&WT.mc_ev=click

Photo of a forest covered in mist.

Humans are sustained by a multitude of processes and resources in the environment around us. These benefits are called "ecosystem services," and include products like clean drinking water and the provision of foods such as crops and spices.

On Thursday, March 4, the National Science Foundation (NSF) will host a symposium titled, "Ecosystem Services in a Changing World: Perspectives from Long-Term Ecological Research." The meeting is the ninth such annual NSF ...
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This is an NSF News - Polar Programs item.]]> http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=116382&WT.mc_id=USNSF_64&WT.mc_ev=click Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:45:00 EST State of the Antarctic: SCAR report shows continent undergoing major changes http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=116264&WT.mc_id=USNSF_64&WT.mc_ev=click

Ice core drilling in Antarctica

In December the international Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) released Antarctic Climate Change and the Environment, the first comprehensive report on the crrent state of Antarctica's climate and its relationship to global climate.  The report, which pulls the latest research from 100 scientists in eight countries, identifies areas for future scientific research and addresses the urgent questions that policy makers have about Antarctic melting, sea-level rise, ...
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This is an NSF News - Polar Programs item.]]> http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=116264&WT.mc_id=USNSF_64&WT.mc_ev=click Fri, 22 Jan 2010 03:51:00 EST Renewable energy comes to Antarctica: New wind farm to help power U.S. and New Zealand antarctic stations http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=116281&WT.mc_id=USNSF_64&WT.mc_ev=click

Wind turbines on Crater Hill between McMurdo Station and Scott Base.

On 16 January 2010, U.S. and New Zealand officials held an opening ceremony for a three-turbine wind farm on Ross Island.  Engineers estimate that the wind farm will cut fuel consumption at McMurdo Station and Scott Base by about 240,000 gallons every year.

To learn more about the new wind farm, read Winding up: ...
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This is an NSF News - Polar Programs item.]]> http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=116281&WT.mc_id=USNSF_64&WT.mc_ev=click Fri, 22 Jan 2010 02:49:00 EST Sue La Fratta detailed to serve as OPP Executive Officer http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=116100&WT.mc_id=USNSF_64&WT.mc_ev=click

Arctic and Antarctic regions seen from above

I am pleased to announce that Ms. Sue LaFratta has been detailed to serve as OPP's Executive Officer. Ms. LaFratta has been with OPP since January 2003, first as the Deputy for what was then known as the Polar Research Support Section and more recently as Senior Advisor in OPP's Front Office. Before joining OPP, she held positions in NSF's Office of Inspector General and in Budget, Finance and Award Management, where she was instrumental in developing NSF's ...
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This is an NSF News - Polar Programs item.]]> http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=116100&WT.mc_id=USNSF_64&WT.mc_ev=click Tue, 15 Dec 2009 11:21:00 EST Alexandra Isern Appointed Antarctic Earth Sciences Program Director http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=115800&WT.mc_id=USNSF_64&WT.mc_ev=click

U.S. Antarctic Program

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to announce that Dr. Alexandra Isern has been appointed as the new Program Director for Antarctic Earth Sciences in the Division of Antarctic Sciences of the Office of Polar Programs.

Dr. Isern brings broad experience in teaching, research, science policy, and research management to the Program. Her research background in sedimentology, paleoceanography, geochemistry, and sediment geophysical properties was enabled in large part by the Ocean Drilling ...
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This is an NSF News - Polar Programs item.]]> http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=115800&WT.mc_id=USNSF_64&WT.mc_ev=click Wed, 02 Dec 2009 01:31:00 EST Ice Cold: Cooler Than Being Cool http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=115986&WT.mc_id=USNSF_64&WT.mc_ev=click

Photo of an Alaskan beetle that produces a nonprotein antifreeze molecule.

Water expands when it freezes. Anyone who has ever left a can of soda or bottle of water in the freezer too long has witnessed this first hand. So how do plants and animals survive severe temperatures?

Insects exposed to subzero temperatures can adapt to the extreme climate to survive freezing temperatures, but until now, antifreeze molecules had not been isolated from freeze-tolerant animals. The NSF-supported study, published in the November 24 issue of Proceedings of the ...
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This is an NSF News - Polar Programs item.]]> http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=115986&WT.mc_id=USNSF_64&WT.mc_ev=click Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:46:00 EST Anniversary Edition of Evolution Special Report Released http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=115998&WT.mc_id=USNSF_64&WT.mc_ev=click

Illustration of Charles Darwin with photos of stars, fossil, and dna in the background.

What questions are more profound and provocative than:

  • How did life begin?
  • How have humans evolved?
  • How are climate change and other ecological stresses currently forcing evolution?
  • Could the process of evolution have worked the same on other planets, even to the point of evolving life?
  • What will be science's next big evolution discovery?

These and other questions--which are as timely, controversial and news-worthy as ever--are addressed ...
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This is an NSF News - Polar Programs item.]]> http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=115998&WT.mc_id=USNSF_64&WT.mc_ev=click Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:55:00 EST Evolution of Evolution: A National Science Foundation Webcast http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=115990&WT.mc_id=USNSF_64&WT.mc_ev=click

Illustration of Charles Darwin.

Please join the National Science Foundation (NSF) on Monday, Nov. 23, at 10 a.m. ET for a live webcast featuring Darwin-Wallace Medal recipient Mohamed Noor of Duke University, who will answer media questions about current evidence for evolution and modern evolution theory. Among the topics:

  • Does modern genetic evidence favor the existence of a missing link?
  • What's the single most important evolution discovery in the last 50 years?
  • Is the current understanding of ...
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    This is an NSF News - Polar Programs item.]]> http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=115990&WT.mc_id=USNSF_64&WT.mc_ev=click Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:06:00 EST Stepping into history: Women mark 40 years of working in the U.S. Antarctic Program http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=115957&WT.mc_id=USNSF_64&WT.mc_ev=click

    On 12 November 1969, the first six women set foot at the South Pole.

    The U. S. Antarctic Program marks a significant milestone this month.  It was 40 years ago when the first women scientists from the United States were finally allowed to work in Antarctica.  On 12 November 1969, six women joined arms and stepped off the ramp of a ski-equipped Hercules LC-130 and onto the nearly two-mile-thick ice sheet at South Pole, the first time any women had been to the bottom of the planet.  

    The 13 November 2009 issue of the ...
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    This is an NSF News - Polar Programs item.]]> http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=115957&WT.mc_id=USNSF_64&WT.mc_ev=click Fri, 13 Nov 2009 04:16:00 EST New Arctic Research Opportunities Solicitation in Preparation http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=115621&WT.mc_id=USNSF_64&WT.mc_ev=click

    U.S. Arctic Research Program logo

    Division of Arctic Sciences is preparing a new solicitation. We anticipate that it will be posted soon. The new deadline for this year would be three months from the release date.

    Proposers who submit before the release of the new solicitation will be given the option of withdrawing and resubmitting for the new deadline or letting their proposals stand as submitted and be considered with those that come in under the new solicitation.


    More at http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=115621&WT.mc_id=USNSF_64&WT.mc_ev=click


    This is an NSF News - Polar Programs item.]]> http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=115621&WT.mc_id=USNSF_64&WT.mc_ev=click Tue, 22 Sep 2009 09:09:00 EDT NSF Advisory Committee for Environmental Research and Education Releases New Report http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=115474&WT.mc_id=USNSF_64&WT.mc_ev=click

    Image of the NSF AC-ERE's new report that considers environmental transitions and tipping points.

    From Canada to Chile, from Kazakhstan to Kansas, we are witnessing a fast-changing planet. What will it look like in the years, decades and centuries to come?

    How far and in what ways can Earth's systems be stressed before they reach tipping points, undergoing rapid transitions to new states--with unforeseen consequences?

    So asks a report released today by the National Science Foundation (NSF)'s Advisory Committee for Environmental Research and Education (AC-ERE).

    The ...
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    This is an NSF News - Polar Programs item.]]> http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=115474&WT.mc_id=USNSF_64&WT.mc_ev=click Wed, 09 Sep 2009 06:00:00 EDT Winfly 2009 ushers in the 2009-2010 antarctic field season http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=115551&WT.mc_id=USNSF_64&WT.mc_ev=click

    Passengers make their way from an Air Force C-17 air transport at Pegasus Airfield, Antarctica.

    The first flight since February was scheduled to land at McMurdo Station on 20 August (local time McMurdo) during a roughly weeklong period dubbed Winfly, for winter fly-in. However, two straight days of poor weather conditions at McMurdo have delayed the arrival of the first flight, as of 21 August (local time McMurdo).

    UPDATE (23 August 2009): The first flight touched down at ...
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    This is an NSF News - Polar Programs item.]]> http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=115551&WT.mc_id=USNSF_64&WT.mc_ev=click Thu, 03 Sep 2009 03:11:00 EDT