Scientific Logistics at the Poles
June 2001
Background. The National Science Foundation
(NSF), through its Office of Polar Programs (OPP),
supports basic research in a wide range of scientific
disciplines in both the Arctic and the Antarctic.
Due to the harsh conditions and remoteness of these
locations, logistical support for science in the field
is a complex undertaking and involves partnerships
with other nations, with the private sector, with
academic institutions and with the U.S. military.
NSF is an independent federal agency and is the only
federal agency whose mission covers research in all
fields of science and engineering.
The 109th Airlift Wing, N.Y. Air National Guard.
One common element in NSF's logistical infrastructure
at both Poles is air support provided by the Scotia,
N.Y.-based 109th Airlift Wing. The unit flies and
maintains the world's only fleet of ski-equipped LC-130
"Hercules" transport aircraft.
In the Arctic, the planes transport scientists and
supplies to Kangerlussuaq, NSF's logistics Hub in
Greenland, and to the Summit Environmental Observatory
high on the Greenland ice cap. This spring, the 109th
also will provide an airlink to transport personnel
and equipment to an automated station at the North
Pole, maintained for NSF by the University of Washington.
For more information, about the North Pole Environmental
Observatory, see: http://psc.apl.washington.edu/northpole/
In the Antarctic, the 109th flies its "Hercs" in support
of the U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP). NSF, through
the USAP, coordinates almost all U.S. scientific research
in the Antarctic. The 109th's aircraft are the program's
workhorses, transporting scientists and support personnel
to the continent from New Zealand and transporting
science parties and equipment into the field. The
planes also are used to transship all materials needed
to rebuild Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station and to
build East Station, a new U.S. scientific facility
at Lake Vostok, deep in the Antarctic interior.
Arctic Logistics. To provide logistical support
for Arctic science, OPP contracts with Veco Polar
Resources, of Englewood, Colo. OPP also maintains
relationships with several other organizations to
conduct Arctic science. Due to the international nature
of Arctic research, NSF also maintains strong ties
with the Canadian and Danish governments.
VECO Polar Resources. VPR is a subsidiary of
VECO Corporation, an organization with 30 years of
experience in logistics, construction, and operations
services in the Arctic regions of Alaska, Canada,
and Russia. VPR coordinates the transportation, clothing
and housing of NSF science parties in Greenland and
runs NSF's Summit Greenland Environmental Observatory.
Summit is operated in partnership with the Danish
Polar Center and the European Union.
NSF also works cooperatively with the Barrow Arctic
Science Consortium (BASC) which operates an environmental
observatory at Point Barrow, Alaska and with the Institute
of Arctic Biology (IAB) at University of Alaska
Fairbanks, which operates the Toolik Field Station.
Both provide Arctic researchers with access to modern
laboratory facilities as well as accommodation and
supplies in the field to conduct science.
For more information about VPR, see http://www.veco.com/vpr/
For more information about Summit Environmental Observatory,
see http://www.hwr.arizona.edu/~Alpine/Summit/observatory.html
The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy. Commissioned
in 2000, Healy is designed to conduct a wide range
of research activities, providing more than 4,200
square feet of lab space, numerous electronic sensor
systems, oceanographic winches, and accommodations
for up to 50 scientists. Healy is designed to break
4.5 feet of ice continuously at three knots and can
operate in temperatures as low as -50 degrees F. The
science community provided invaluable advice on lab
lay-outs and science capabilities during design and
construction of the ship.
For more information on the Healy, see http://www.uscg.mil/pacarea/healy/
The Alpha Helix. The University of Alaska's
Institute of Marine Science operates the 133-foot
oceanographic vessel Alpha Helix for NSF. The ship's
homeport is Seward, Alaska. The Alpha Helix is maintained
and used as a year-round platform supporting oceanographic
research on the open ocean and in Alaska's shelf and
coastal waters. Through participation in the University
National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS) the
ship is available to the worldwide oceanographic community.
For more information about Alpha Helix, see http://www.ims.alaska.edu/helix/
For more information about the University-National
Oceanographic Laboratory Systems, see http://www.unols.org/
Antarctic Logistics. OPP provides scientists
with the equipment and facilities needed to conduct
cutting-edge science in the field despite the very
difficult conditions on the Antarctic continent and
surrounding ocean; to analyze data in the state-of-the-art
Albert P. Crary Science and Engineering Center at
McMurdo Station, the USAP's logistics hub; and to
communicate large amounts of data electronically to
laboratories in the U.S.
To support a wide-range of sciences, from oceanography
to astronomy, and to insure that scientists are able
to access the remote sites that often are most productive
to their work, NSF maintains three U.S. year-round
research stations on the continent; summer camps (as
required for research in the field); the ice-strengthened
research ship R/V Laurence M. Gould; the icebreaking
research ship R/V Nathaniel B. Palmer; a fleet of
ski-equipped, propeller-driven LC-130 airplanes; Twin
Otter airplanes; and helicopters.
Research stations. NSF's logistic structure
in Antarctic centers around three major facilities:
McMurdo Station: Located on the Ross Island
in McMurdo Sound, the largest U.S. Antarctic station
serves as a "gateway" to continent for scientific
field teams as well as the logistical hub for most
of the U.S. scientific activity. During the Southern
Hemisphere's summer (austral summer), the population
of scientists and support personnel at McMurdo often
exceeds 1,000 people. In the austral winter (from
February to late October), the population drops to
roughly 180 persons. Scientists use the facilities
in the Albert P. Crary Science and Engineering Center
to conduct their work with a comfort and an access
to equipment, telecommunications, and supplies similar
to that to which they are accustomed in laboratories
in the home institutions. McMurdo also provides field
parties with access to everything from tents and sleeping
bags to snow mobiles and air transportation to conduct
their investigations.
Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station: Located 841
statute miles inland from McMurdo, at the geographic
South Pole, this station accommodates a maximum of
220 people (80 of whom are construction workers or
construction-support personnel) during the austral
summer. Astronomy and astrophysics are the primary
scientific work carried out at the South Pole and
several sophisticated telescopes are maintained there.
The current Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, named
for the two men who raced to discover the South Pole
in 1911 and 1912, was built in the 1970's and features
a central geodesic dome. The station currently is
being rebuilt and modernized with reconstruction scheduled
for completion in 2005. Part of the modernization
includes an upgrade of the telecommunications capability
at the Pole to allow for higher bandwidth.
For more information about astrophysics in Antarctica,
see http://www.nsf.gov/od/lpa/news/media/2000/fsastro.htm
For more information about upgrades to South Pole Station,
see http://www.nsf.gov/od/lpa/news/press/01/pr0104.htm
Palmer Station: Located on Anvers Island in
the Antarctic Peninsula region, logistically isolated
from the other stations, it relies mainly on the R/V
Laurence M. Gould for transport of passengers and
resupply from a port at the southern tip of South
America. The R/V Laurence M. Gould provides onboard
research support in marine biology, oceanography,
and geophysics and can support science in other areas
of the southern oceans.
Icebreaking. The U.S. Coast Guard icebreakers
Polar Star and Polar Sea provide channel breaking
at McMurdo, allowing for a resupply ship and a refueling
ship to reach the station; treaty inspection missions
and occasional research support; a variety of other
vehicles; and automated, unmanned weather and geophysical
observatories. Ships of the U.S. academic fleet and
the ocean-drilling program also occasionally support
research in Antarctica.
Air Support. In addition to support from the
N.Y. Air National Guard, the U.S. Air Force's 62nd
Airlift Wing, based at McChord Air Force Base in Washington
State, provides additional logistical support at the
beginning and the end of the austral summer with C-141
jet cargo aircraft.
Logistics. USAP also contracts with Raytheon
Polar Services Corp. (RPSC), of Englewood, Colo.,
for logistical support for the program.
For more information about RPSC, see http://www.polar.org/
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