Office of Polar Programs Budget

The polar regions, key elements and possible drivers of the global climate system, are premier natural laboratories for a variety of fundamental phenomena that cannot be studied elsewhere. They offer unusual opportunities for environmental research both because the polar ecosystem is sensitive to small changes in climate, rendering them important bellwethers for potential change, and because the polar regions provide information about how organisms adapt to environmental change. Polar research also offers opportunities for fundamental advances in each of the disciplinary sciences, ranging from the behavior of the Earth’s inner core to the formation of galaxies, from the biology of life in the cold and dark to how Arctic residents are affected by environmental change.

Key OPP support will broaden fundamental observations of Arctic and Antarctic systems—including land, ice, atmosphere, ocean, social/human systems, and the natural records of those systems. These observations will enable us to better understand the components, interrelationships, and overall functioning of these systems. Increased observations, analysis, and polar systems research are critical for understanding global climate phenomena.

OFFICE OF POLAR PROGRAMS — FISCAL YEAR 2009 BUDGET

OPP funding will support the development and implementation of the enhanced observation systems needed to trace these shaping influences on a regional basis. It will also support research to elucidate the interactions among them and how they impact the polar environment. The work will include studies of the natural climate records from the past contained in ice cores and earth sediments. Much of this research will be carried out in collaboration with scientists in other countries, promoting international partnerships.

Budget Narrative	Associated Tables
U.S. Polar Programs budget request	Office of Polar Programs Funding OPP Subactivity Funding (chart) OPP NSF-wide Investments OPP Programs by Strategic Outcome Goal and Investment Category OPP Performance Indicators: Number of People Involved in OPP Activities and OPP Funding Profile Arctic Sciences Funding Antarctic Sciences Funding Antarctic Infrastructure and Logistics Funding Polar Environment, Safety and Health Funding U.S. Coast Guard Polar Icebreaking Funding
Major Research and Facilities Construction
IceCube Neutrino Observatory	Appropriated and Requested MREFC Funds for IceCube IceCube Funding, by Stage (chart) Total Obligations for the IceCube Neutrino Observatory
South Pole Station Modernization (SPSM)	MREFC Funding for South Pole Station Modernization (SPSM) SPSM Funding by Stage (chart) Total Obligations for South Pole Station Modernization
U.S. Arctic Research Commission	U.S. Arctic Research Commission Funding U.S. Arctic Research Commission Funding Graph

As the lead agency supporting polar research, NSF will continue to provide U.S. leadership for the International Polar Year (IPY). In FY 2009, NSF will continue funding IPY research, infrastructure, and education. In FY 2006, emphasis was on establishing an Arctic Observing System in support of the Study of Environmental ARctic CHange (SEARCH), Polar Ice Sheet Dynamics and Stability, and studies of Life in the Cold and Dark, particularly at the genomic level. FY 2007 and FY 2008 work builds on these themes and expands to new ones, including understanding and characterizing environmental change through studies of systems and drivers, impacts on subsystems, and interactions among components. Another focus of IPY will be the maintenance of existing standardized data sets, creating new scientific collections, and ensuring their availability to current and future generations of researchers.

The full Fiscal Year 2009 budgets request for the Office of Polar Programs and for related activities are available at the following links. Budget requests and appropriations for previous years may be obtained on the NSF budget page.

In January 2006, the new elevated station facility at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station and the old geodesic dome station are seen from the Dark Sector, near the Martin A. Pomerantz Laboratory for astrophysics. Close by but not in the picture is the IceCube neutrino detector array. (NSF/USAP photo by Jerry Marty. )