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Frequently Asked Questions

How can I participate in the U.S. Antarctic Program? 

The Foundation provides "Opportunities for Participation" in several categories in addition to that of science. Science opportunities are described in more detail elsewhere in this Web site. 

How can I go to Antarctica if I am willing to pay? 

Privately owned and operated companies provide tours. Contact the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators or call (206)-854-7541. 

How can a reporter get an interview or collect facts for a story? 

Call the Foundation’s Office of Legislative and Public Affairs (703-292-8070) or e-mail Mr. Peter West,  pwest@nsf.gov. 

How can I get a free paper copy of National Science Foundation polar publications, program announcements, or proposal solicitations? 

If you know the publication number (e.g., NSF 97-157), call the NSF publications unit at 301-947-2722, or e-mail pubs@nsf.gov. To find out what OPP publications are available, see the OPP publications web page or call (703)292-8031 for information.  Information about all NSF publications and documents may be obtained through the Foundation's Online Document System or through the "About NSF Publications and Forms" page. 

How can I get Antarctic slides and aerial photographs? 

Slides:  NSF maintains a collection of slides, photographs, and videos at the U.S. Antarctic Resource Center, the U.S. Geological Survey, in Reston, Virginia.  These images show science at antarctic stations and camps, support work, vehicles, aircraft, ships, and Antarctica’s vegetation, wildlife, mountains, and ice.  To order antarctic images, contact Mr. Angel Gonzalez, U.S. Antarctic Resource Center, U.S. Geological Survey, 703-648-6010, fax 703-648-6755, agonzalez@usgs.gov.  NSF has also posted 46 of these images to its web site at http://www.nsf.gov/od/opp/antarct/imageset. You can download these free of charge.

Images online:  Raytheon Polar Services Company (RPSC), OPP’s antarctic support contractor, maintains for NSF the U.S. Antarctic Program photo library on the RPSC web site at http://photolibrary.usap.gov/. The collection includes current images of science, support activities, and U.S. facilities in Antarctica. The images are in jpeg format and are free to the public. Reproduction and distribution are encouraged, however, the photographer and the National Science Foundation should be credited.

Aerial photographs:  The U.S. Geological Survey makes available aerial photographs, satellite imagery, and other related information through its Global Land Information System.  Additional information about these and other topics is available on the web page for the U.S. Antarctic Resource Center, a joint venture between NSF/USAP and the USGS National Mapping Center. 

How can I get antarctic maps?   

Call the U.S. Geological Survey Information Service at 1(800) USA-MAPS. To obtain information and catalogs, and to order topographic maps or any of the wide variety of thematic maps available from the USGS, contact: 

USGS Information Services 
Box 25286 
Denver, Colorado 80225 
Telephone: (303) 202-4700 or 
1-800-HELP-MAP (for information or ordering assistance) 
Fax: (303) 202-4693 

Online information about USGS antarctic maps can be obtained from the USGS "Ordering U.S. Geological Survey" page or  the U.S. Antarctic Resource Center (703-648-6010 or fax 703-648-6755).     

Is there a list of Antarctic place names? 

Geographic Names of the Antarctic (NSF 95-157. 2d ed., Fred G. Alberts, ed.). contains 12,710 names approved by the United States Board on Geographic Names and the Secretary of the Interior for features in Antarctica and the area northward to the Antarctic Convergence. Stock number 038-000-00591-0, $43, $53.75 (non-U.S.), Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402.   

You can search the USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) for these names by going to the Antarctic Geographic Names Data Base web page.   

The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) has also compiled an online data base—the Composite Gazetteer of Antarctica.  This compilation brings together 21,552 names applied to 16,536 antarctic features—all the names that 20 countries have officially given to antarctic geographic features, as well as Antarctic undersea features taken from the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans. 

How can I find out about published Antarctic literature? 

Since 2000, the American Geological Institute, supported by the NSF and the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) under NSF cooperative agreement OPP 99-09727, has maintained the Cold Regions Bibliography Project, providing access to the Antarctic Bibliography and the Bibliography on Cold Regions Science and Technology.

The Library of Congress produced the Antarctic Bibliography for the Foundation, covering the period 1951-1998. For online searching, go to the Librarys Cold Regions page or get an Arctic and Antarctic Regions CD-ROM or online search subscription from National Information Services Corporation.      

Bound volumes of the Antarctic Bibliography, which provide annual compilations of citations and  abstracts, may be purchased from the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402. 

For the period 1996-1998, you can consult the Library's issues of the former monthly Current Antarctic Literature online. For antarctic literature published before 1951, a source is the library catalog of the Scott Polar Research Institute  

What do you have for kids? 

With Foundation support, Sesame Workshop has produced a 29-page color booklet Antarctica (NSF/Sesame Workshop 2001) . Great Plains National Instructional Television Library (1-800-228-4630) charges $15 for 25 copies.

In 1998, the polar regions were the focus of NSF's National Science and Technology  Week (NSTW).  Information distributed online for NSTW's "Polar Connections" program can still accessed at the NSTW98 site. Additionally, several other Web sites provide educational information about Antarctica. A place to start is Rice University’s "Glacier" site. 

How can I get back issues of Antarctic Journal of the United States? 

Send an e-mail citing volume and number (or month and year) to pubs@nsf.gov.  For additional information about the Antarctic Journal, consult the Journal home page

How many year-round stations are in Antarctica? 

As of the beginning of 2000, 22 nations operated 42 year-round stations. Several of the nations had additional temporary camps in summer. 

What research vessels does the U.S. Antarctic Program operate? 

R/V Nathaniel B. Palmer is a research ship with icebreaking capability that works throughout the southern ocean. R/VLaurence M. Gould is an ice-strengthened research and resupply ship that works in the Antarctic Peninsula area and with Palmer Station, Antarctica. 

What type of clothing is worn in Antarctica? 

Heavily insulated clothing that includes a parka, insulated vest, windproof leggings, thermal boots or mukluks, heavy socks, thermal underwear, cap, balaklava, neck gaiter, various gloves, and goggles. For U.S. Antarctic Program participants, the National Science Foundation maintains and issues clothing at centers in Christchurch, New Zealand, and Punta Arenas, Chile. 

What is the Office of Polar Programs? 

The Office of Polar Programs is an operating unit of the National Science Foundation, an agency of the United States Government. The Office of Polar Programs implements the Foundation’s responsibility to fund and manage the United States Antarctic Program, and it funds the Foundation’s Arctic Research Program. 

What is SCAR? 

SCAR is the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, of the International Council of Scientific Unions. It is nongovernmental. The Polar Research Board, National Research Council is the U.S. adhering body to SCAR; through it the National Science Foundation provides funding for U.S. participation. 

What is COMNAP? 

COMNAP is the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs, originated in the United States by the American Geophysical Union with support from the Foundation. In October 1997 the secretariat and the Antarctic Managers Electronic Network were moved from AGU to Australia (COMNAP Secretariat, GPO Box 824, Hobart, Tasmania 7001 Australia, jsayers@comnap.aq ). 

How big is Antarctica? 

The continent of Antarctica (including contiguous ice shelves) has an area of 14 million square kilometers (5.4 million square miles), larger than the United States and Mexico combined. 

What is the mean annual temperature of Antarctica? 

Minus 57° Celsius. 

What is the most heavily populated Antarctic station? 

McMurdo Station (U.S.), with more than 1,000 people during the austral summer. 

When did the Antarctic Treaty start? 

Representatives of 12 nations signed the Antarctic Treaty on 1 December 1959 in Washington, D.C. The treaty entered into force on 23 June 1961 after these nations’ governments deposited their instruments of ratification with the U.S. Department of State. Since then the treaty has been modified through adoption of recommendations developed at consultative meetings and through adoption of supplemental agreements.

 
 

 

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Last modified: June 2003; Office of Polar Programs