Antarctic Earth Sciences Program
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PROGRAM GUIDELINES
08-535 Program Solicitation
SYNOPSIS
Beneath its thick ice sheets, Antarctica is a dynamic and diverse continent with mountains, volcanoes, deserts, meteorites, dinosaur fossils, and some of the Earth’s most ancient crust. The Antarctic Earth Sciences Program supports research to interpret this rich history and the processes that shape Antarctica today. Current projects address such diverse topics as:
- Exploring Antarctica’s tectonic evolution; from its central role in Gondwana's breakup to the present-day deformation driving volcanism, rifting, and orogenesis
- Investigating unique geologic processes; such as the formation of subglacial lakes or the aeolian and permafrost sculpting of the Dry Valleys
- Deciphering paleoenvironmental and paleobiological records to understand global climate, ocean circulation, and the evolution of life
- Understanding the ice sheets using sediment records to reconstruct their history, and determining the geologic controls of their formation and stability
All of these problems require a better understanding of Antarctica's geology, including its crustal structure and how Antarctica and its surrounding ocean basins were shaped by global tectonic patterns. The program therefore supports and encourages field, laboratory, and theoretical work in terrestrial and marine earth sciences, including the intersections between these fields and biology, glaciology, and oceanography.
The program also strongly encourages work on existing samples and data. Proposers should investigate availability from individual researchers and repositories such as:
Proposers should also be aware that during IPY, the program is supporting drilling in McMurdo Sound under the ANDRILL (http://andrill.org/) program. Samples may be available to researchers offering unique contributions.
RELATED URLS
ANDRILL: Stratigraphic Drilling for Climatic and Tectonic History in Antarctica
UNAVCO: GNSS Support to the National Science Foundation, OPP/Antarctic Program, 2006-2007 season (A report on support for scientific applications of the Global Navigation Satellite Systems)
Transantarctic Mountains Workshop: New Opportunities for Multi-disciplinary Research
Antarctic Geology and Geophysics Working Group
U.S. Antarctic Resource Center, U.S. Geological Survey
Antarctic Seismic Data Library System for Cooperative Research
Antarctic Research Facility, Florida State University -- -a national repository for geological materials collected in polar regions.
United States Polar Rock Repository, Byrd Polar Research Center, Ohio State University
Antarctic Multibeam Synthesis Data Portal--Marine Geoscience Data Management System
Antarctic Search for Meteorites (ANSMET)
Cape Roberts Project
THIS PROGRAM IS PART OF
Antarctic Research
Abstracts of Recent Awards Made Through This Program
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