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The United States maintains the southernmost base, Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station, and the largest base and research station in Antarctica, McMurdo Station. The second-southernmost base is the Chinese Kunlun Station at 80°25′2″S during the summer season, and the Russian Vostok Station at 78°27′50″S during the winter season.
- Bharati
Bharati is a permanent Antarctic research station...
- Shirreff
Shirreff Base (original name Cape Shirreff Field Station)...
- McMurdo Station
McMurdo Station is an American Antarctic research station on...
- United States Antarctic Program
The U.S. Antarctic Program operates three year-round...
- Bharati
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McMurdo Station is an American Antarctic research station on the southern tip of Ross Island, which is in the New Zealand –claimed Ross Dependency on the shore of McMurdo Sound in Antarctica. It is operated by the United States through the United States Antarctic Program (USAP), a branch of the National Science Foundation.
- United States Antarctic Program
- Background
- The U.S. Antarctic Program Today
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- Logistics
- Current Developments
- Agencies and Organizations Involved
- Sahpr Report
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The United States established the U.S. Antarctic Research Program (USARP) in 1959—the name was later changed to the U.S. Antarctic Program—immediately following the success of the International Geophysical Year (IGY). Today, the National Science Foundation(NSF) has a Presidential Mandate to manage the United States Antarctic Program, through which ...
Early U.S. expeditions to Antarctica
The first Americans to work in the Antarctic were sealers and whalers who discovered many sub-Antarctic islands. They were first to explore parts of the great peninsula jutting out of the Antarctic mainland toward South America. Among them was Nathaniel Palmer, who was among the first to see Antarctica, while on board the Hero in 1820, though historians have not settled the question of who discovered Antarctica. James Eights, a geologist from Albany, New York, became the first U.S. scientist...
The International Geophysical Year and the Antarctic Treaty
In 1956–57 the U.S. Navy, during Operation Deep Freeze I, and in conjunction with research teams funded by the National Science Foundation, established seven research stations in Antarctica to prepare for the International Geophysical Year(IGY, 1957–58). The IGY was an intensive, multi-national, multi-disciplinary, global research effort designed to study a wide range of geophysical processes. Much of that effort took place in Antarctica and was crucial in establishing Antarctica as a contine...
The U.S. Antarctic Program operates three year-round research stations and two research vessels. Additional temporary field camps are constructed and operated during the austral summer.
Astrophysics and Geospace
The Astrophysics and Geospace Sciences Program sponsors research areas that either use Antarctica as an observing platform or contribute to an understanding of the role played by the Antarctic upper atmosphere in global environmental processes.
Organisms and Ecosystems
The Organisms and Ecosystems Program supports research at all levels of biological organization, from molecular, cellular and organismal to communities and ecosystems.
Earth Sciences
The Earth Sciences Program provides insights into Antarctica's geologic history and lead to increased understanding of processes shaping it today.
Antarctica is the most remote region of the world, with no native inhabitants or infrastructure and nearly no vegetation. Working in such a hostile environment requires specialized systems to keep scientists and support staff safe and equipment operational.
AIMS
The Antarctic Infrastructure Modernization for Science (AIMS) is a ten-year construction project to upgrade and update McMurdo Station's infrastructure. Starting in 2021, the project will build about 370,000 square feet of new facilities, while razing several of the station's aging structures.
National Science Foundation
The NSF has overall management responsibility for U.S. activities in Antarctica. Organized through its Office of Polar Programs, it has responsibility for a range of day-to-day functions including preparing an annual budget and operational plans for consideration by the executive branch and for review and appropriation by Congress; obtaining advice from the scientific community, as needed, to develop scientific goals for NSF-supported research in Antarctica; evaluating and supporting proposal...
Support contractors
Leidos is currently the prime contractor supporting the USAP. Leidos manages a team that includes partner companies performing specific support functions. Together, the companies comprising the support contractor are known collectively as the Antarctic Support Contract (ASC).
Department of Defense
The DoD provides logistical support to the Program, including airlift between Christchurch, New Zealand and McMurdo Station, continental transport aboard ski-equipped C-130s, weather forecasting, air traffic control and shipborne fuel and cargo delivery support.
In April of 2021, the National Science Foundation Office of Polar Programs entered into an agreement with the Department of the Interior's Federal Consulting Group to oversee a needs assessment of the USAP as relates to allegations of sexual harassment and assault. The Sexual Assault/Harassment Prevention and Response (SAHPR) Report was published o...
Oct 5, 2023 · In this section, we’ll spotlight just a few of the dozens and dozens of seasonal and year-round research stations in Antarctica, including some of the best known or historically significant.
Multiple governments have set up permanent research stations in Antarctica and these bases are widely distributed. Unlike the drifting ice stations set up in th...
Nov 26, 2018 · Antarctic research stations are spread across the continent, with some stations being permanent while others are temporary. There are approximately 50 permanent active research stations representing 32 countries drawn from all the continents.
Feb 22, 2024 · Currently, Russia operates the largest number of research stations in Antarctica. With 5 stations, we'll take a look at Vostok, located on the Antarctic Ice Sheet.
