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Related Polar Links

ANTARCTIC RELATED LINKS

U.S. Antarctic Program Sites

  • USAP.gov is the U.S. Antarctic Program's portal for program participants and the public. Related sites are:
    • Leidos (U.S. Antarctic Program support and logistics contractor)
    • Polar Ice (Participant On-Line Antarctic Resource Information Coordination Environment—an online application, operated by Raytheon Polar Services Company for NSF, to enable researchers to submit annual logistic and support needs and to plan for field research in Antarctica.)
  • University NAVSTAR Consortium, Polar Programs (UNAVCO) provides high-precision GPS technology support to the U.S. Antarctic Program. Surveying, mapping, and other GPS support services are available to NSF-funded scientific investigators working in Antarctica.

U.S. Federal Government

Selected NSF-supported Projects

Antarctic Treaty Related Information and Organizations

  • United States Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research Office, serves as a focal point for U.S. activities and participation in international Science Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR). The National Academies of Science Polar Research Board serves as the U.S. National Committee to SCAR.
  • Antarctic Treaty Secretariat, the official secretariat for the Antarctic Treaty, is based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The web site includes links to the web sites of all Consultative Party members and the annual Antarctic Exchange of Information.
  • Handbook of the Antarctic Treaty System includes the text of the Antarctic Treaty, the Protocol on Environment Protection to the Antarctic Treaty, the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals, the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, measures [recommendations] that further the principles and objectives of the Treaty, and the text of and information on the Convention for the Regulation of Antarctic Mineral Resource Activities, which has not been ratified by any state. There is a list of Recommendations, Measures, Decisions and Resolutions adopted at successive Consultative Meetings in the introductory section, which also gives the month, year and place of each meeting. The handbook is currently maintained by the U.S. Department of State.
  • Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources oversees the implementation of the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Living Resources (CCAMLR), which is part of the Antarctic Treaty System and is concerned with conserving marine life in the Southern Ocean.
  • Council of Managers of Antarctic National Programs (COMNAPS): This site provides information about and links to all Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties national antarctic programs.
  • Antarctic Non-government Activities: Information about non-government activities from the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat.
  • Site Guidelines for visitors, Antarctic Treaty Secretariat. Specific insturctions on the conduct of activities at the most frequently visited Antarctic sites.
  • Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR): The interdisciplinary committee of the International Council for Science (ICSU). SCAR charged with initiating, promoting, and coordinating scientific research in Antarctica. It also provides scientific advice to the Antarctic Treaty System. The web site includes links to SCAR working groups, groups of specialists, and other relevant information.
  • Committee for Environmental Protection: The committee, established in 1998 by the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty, provides advice and formulates recommendations to the Antarctic Treaty Parties in connection with the implementation of the Protocol and performs other functions referred to it by the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings. On their web site, a full copy of the Environmental Protocol and an archive of Antarctic protected sites are maintained.

Information Resources

ARCTIC RELATED LINKS

Arctic Research Program Sites


U.S. Federal Government


Selected NSF-supported Projects

Information Resources

  • Field Notes (CH2MHILL Polar Field Services' newsletter covering arctic field research.)
  • Witness the Arctic (Witness the Arctic, a biannual newsletter, provides information on current arctic research and finds, significant research initiatives, national policy affecting arctic research, international activities, and profiles of institutions with major arctic research efforts.)
  • Arctic Research Mapping Application (ARMAP) is a suite of online, interactive maps and services that support Arctic science.

POLAR REGIONS RELATED LINKS

International Polar Year

U.S. Federal Government

National and International Organizations

Universities

  • Polar Science Center at Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington
  • Ice Drilling Program Office/Ice Drilling Design and Operations , Dartmouth College, University of New Hampshire, and University of Wisconsin. The Ice Drilling Program Office (IDPO) and the Ice Drilling Design and Operations group (IDDO) were established by NSF in October 2008 to coordinate long-term and short-term planning in collaboration with the U.S. ice science community and to supply ice drilling and ice coring support and expertise for NSF-funded research.
  • Byrd Polar Research Center , Ohio State University
    • U.S. Polar Rock Repository (Supported by NSF, the repository will house rock collections of U.S. scientists from Antarctica and the Arctic, along with materials such as field notes, annotated aerial photos and maps, raw analytic data, paleomagnetic cores, ground rock and mineral residues, thin sections, and microfossil mounts, microslides, and residues)
  • Polar Geospatial Center, University of Minnesota, is funded by the NSF's Office of Polar Programs. It supports USAP by providing geospatial support and analysis to federally-funded scientists and USAP logistics and operations and also serves the Arctic and Antarctic as a data resource, map repository, and GIS service provider for researchers.
  • Antarctic and Arctic Data Consortium, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, is a collaboration of research centers and support organizations that provide polar scientists with data and tools to complete their research objectives. From searching historical weather observations to submitting geologic samples, polar researchers use the a2dc to search and contribute to polar scientific and geospatial data.

Information Resources

  • Cold Regions Bibliography Project is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) under an NSF cooperative agreement (OPP 99-09727) to the American Geological Institute (AGI). AGI maintains the Antarctic Bibliography and the Bibliography on Cold Regions Science and Technology. From 1951 to 1998, the Library of Congress was responsible for the project. This earlier information can be found at the Cold Regions Bibliography Project, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
  • Polar Web (a cooperative project of the Polar Libraries Colloquy and the Arctic Center at the University of Lapland, Rovaniemi, Finland)
  • Directory of Polar and Cold Regions Organizations, Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
  • PolarTrec is an educational research experience, funded by the National Science Foundation and managed by the Arctic Research Consortium of the U.S., in which K-12 teachers participate in polar research, working closely with scientists to improve science education.
  • The Polar Hub is the official website of the Polar Learning and Responding (PoLAR) Climate Change Education Partnership.  Besides featuring the latest in polar climate science, news, and research, the Hub provides information on educational resources focused on polar climate change, including the games, activities, and other novel tools developed by the PoLAR Partnership.

    The PoLAR Partnership is supported by a 5-year grant from NSF's Division of Undergraduate Education.