The NSF Office of Polar Programs supports innovative and creative scientific research relating to the Earth's polar regions and the global interplay of these regions with other regions across the planet.
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Antarctic infrastructure
NSF McMurdo Station
NSF McMurdo Station is the largest of the U.S. year-round stations and the largest station on the continent. It is the central logistical hub for the U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP), supporting research on the continent and at NSF Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station.
NSF Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station
NSF Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station is the southernmost year-round research station in the world, serving as a critical center for cutting-edge scientific research and a logistical hub for access to East Antarctica.
NSF Palmer Station
NSF Palmer Station is the northernmost year-round U.S. research station in Antarctica, serving as a key center for marine and biological research in the peninsula region.
Arctic infrastructure
NSF Summit Station
NSF Summit Station is the only high-altitude, high-latitude, inland, year‐round observing station in the Arctic. It offers immediate access to the free troposphere and is relatively free of local influences that could corrupt atmospheric observations.
Toolik Research Field Station
The University of Alaska Fairbanks operates the Toolik Field Station located at mile 284.5 of the Dalton Highway, 370 miles north of Fairbanks. The station provides housing, meals, laboratories and science support to researchers and students from around the world.