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Aeronomy & Astrophysics

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The polar regions have been called Earth's window to outer space. Research projects here require the unique conditions of the Antarctic. What scientists learn from these projects contributes to the understanding of Antarctica's role in global environmental change. The Aeronomy & Astrophysics branch of Antarctic science promotes interdisciplinary study of geosphere-biosphere interactions in the middle and upper atmosphere. It contributes to our understanding of the interactions between the polar atmosphere and the magnetosphere and how solar activity affects both.

Program Manager: Dr. Vladimir Papitashvili. Read more about Dr. Papitashvili.

Biology & Medicine

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The Antarctic Biology & Medicine program funds research that will improve understanding of the physiology, behavior, adaptations, and processes of Antarctic life forms and ecosystems. Support is focused on these areas:

• Marine ecosystem dynamics
• Terrestrial and limnetic ecosystems
• Population biology and physiological ecology
• Genetic adaptation
• Human behavior and medical research

Program Manager: Dr. Polly Penhale. Read more about Dr. Penhale

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Geology & Geophysics

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Antarctica represents about 9 percent of the Earth's continental crust and has been in a near-polar position for more than 100 million years. It is covered by a continental ice sheet with an average thickness of 3 kilometers. In geophysics, the Antarctic continent and its environs have a central role in the geodynamic processes that have shaped the present global environment. Important program areas include:

• Antarctica's tectonic evolution and its relationship to that of other continents
• The structure of the continent's crust
• The continent's effect on paleocirculation of the world oceans, on the evolution of life, and on global paleoclimates as well as the present climate
• Detailed history of the ice sheets, identifying geological controls to ice sheet behavior and defining geological responses to the ice sheets on both regional and global scales
• The evolution of sedimentary basins on the continent and along its margins

Program Manager: Dr. Scott Borg. Read more about Dr. Borg

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Glaciology

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The Antarctic Glaciology program is concerned with the history and dynamics of the Antarctic ice sheet including the study of near-surface snow and firn, floating glacier ice (ice shelves), ice streams, and continental and marine ice sheets. Program emphases include paleoenvironments from ice cores, ice dynamics, numerical modeling, glacial geology, and remote sensing of ice sheets. Some specific objectives are:

• Correlation of climatic fluctuations evident in Antarctic ice cores with data from arctic and lower-latitude ice cores
• Integration of the ice record with the terrestrial and marine records
• Investigation of the physics of fast glacier flow with emphasis on processes at glacier beds
• Investigation of ice-shelf stability and the identification and quantification of the feedback between ice dynamics and climate change.

Program Manager: Dr. Julie Palais. Read more about Dr. Palais

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Oceans & Climate

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Antarctic oceanic and tropospheric studies focus on the structure and processes of the ocean-atmosphere environment and their relationships with the global ocean, the atmosphere, and the marine biosphere. As part of the global heat engine, the Antarctic has a major role in the world's transfer of energy. Its ocean/atmosphere system is both an indicator and a component of climate change. Major program elements include:

• Physical oceanography
  • The dynamics of the polar oceans,
  • The interaction of wind, solar radiation, and heat exchange,
  • Water-mass production and modification processes,
  • Ocean dynamics at the pack-ice edge, and
  • The effect of polynyas on ventilation
• Chemical oceanography
  • Chemical composition of seawater and its global differentiation,
  • Reactions among chemical elements and compounds in the ocean,
  • Fluxes of material within ocean basins and at their boundaries, and
  • Time and space scales of oceanic processes.
• Sea-ice dynamics
  • Material characteristics of sea-ice from the individual crystal to the large-scale patterns of freezing, deformation, and melting
• Meteorology
  • Atmospheric circulation systems and dynamics including the energy budget,
  • Atmospheric chemistry,
  • Transport of atmospheric contaminants to the Antarctic, and
  • The role of large and mesoscale systems in global exchange of heat, momentum, and trace constituents.

Program Manager: Dr. Bernhard Lettau. Read more about Dr. Lettau

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Artists & Writers

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The Artists & Writers Program provides opportunities for the humanities -- painting, photography, writing, history, and other liberal arts -- to be a part of the U.S. Antarctic Program. Artists and writers work at stations and field camps, often with science groups but also on their own. The program helps record America's Antarctic heritage and responds to White House direction that the USAP support a range of U.S. Antarctic interests.

Candidates apply for the program and compete in a peer-review selection process. Awardees receive field support including air travel, but no direct award of funds.

Program Manager: Mr. Guy Guthridge. Read more about Mr. Guthridge

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