CHARGE

Develop a plan to organize and hold a workshop or series of workshops that will inform development of an implementation plan for studying Antarctic sub-glacial lakes. Other organizations in NSF are to be encouraged to participate at every opportunity — e.g. funding, expertise, implementation, etc. The workshops should be structured to bring out the likely interplay between science goals and technology requirements: The goals should define the requirements but the state of the technology may proscribe the goals. The workshops should include appropriate international and interagency participation and should at a minimum identify, discuss, and make recommendations concerning the following topics:

• primary and secondary science goals
• associated instrumentation requirements
• level of biological isolation required for each approach to meeting the various goals
• technology R&D necessary
• sequence in which science goals should be attached
• logistics requirements
• site selection criteria, taking into consideration
• any other topics deemed significant by the committee

Your planning activity should be timed to influence both longer-range plans and also FY-02 activities, to the extent that is possible.

This is an exciting opportunity and if we plan it well enough and early enough it has the potential for excellent scientific pay off. I wish you every success and look forward to periodic reports to Erick, Dennis and myself on your progress so far.

	Karl Erb
	Director, Office of Polar Programs
	National Science Foundation
	3 July 2001

Co-Chairs
Julie Palais, Glaciology Program Manager
Polly Penhale, Antarctic Biology & Medicine Program Manager

Committee Members
Scott Borg, Antarctic Geology & Geophysics Program Manager
Arthur Brown, Manager, Specialized Support
Joyce Jatko, Environmental Officer
Deneb Karentz, Antarctic Biology & Medicine Associate Program Manager
Brian Stone, Research Support Manager
Junku Yuh, Program Manager, Office of International Science and Engineering, Social, Behavioral, & Economic Sciences Directorate

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