A Strategic Vision for NSF Investments in Antarctic and Southern Ocean Research (2015) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
1 Introduction
1 Introduction
Pages 15-24
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From page 15... ...
Profound discoveries emerge both from studies that focus on the Antarctic itself and from studies that leverage Antarctica as a unique platform for looking beyond. The recent identification of a microbial ecosystem native to subglacial Lake Whillans beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is influencing our thinking about where life may exist on other planets.
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From page 16... ...
Cores drilled from Antarctic ice contain archives of how atmospheric composition has changed over time, helping us better understand how the climate system works. Sediment core observations of large and frequent changes in past Antarctic ice volume provide insights into how the ice sheet might change in the future.
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From page 17... ...
Major airlift support to the continent through the McMurdo airfields is launched from USAP facilities in New Zealand; and staging facilities in Punta Arenas Chile support Palmer Station and provide the operational base for USAP research vessels. Continuity of operations at these stations and essential infrastructure upgrades require annual ship-based esupply, r which in turn requires the services of a heavy icebreaker for break-in to McMurdo.
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From page 18... ...
SOURCE: Erin Pettit. B: Scientists install a high-frequency dipole antenna in East Antarctica to learn more about solar storms.
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From page 19... ...
In a time of tight science budgets, careful strategic planning is paramount for ensuring that new investments can both help contain future operational costs and maintain the safety of conducting Antarctic research. ORIGIN AND GOALS OF THIS STUDY The NSF/PLR leadership asked the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to convene a committee to develop a "strategic vision" for NSF-supported Antarctic and Southern Ocean research for the coming decade.
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From page 20... ...
Thus we deliberately built upon that framework by trying to identify specific, implementable steps forward under each of those eight questions. Second, a study was conducted by a special Blue Ribbon Panel that examined the logistics, management, and infrastructure needed to support the science identified in the Future Science Opportunities study.
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From page 21... ...
Likewise the Committee did not feel it was productive to call out specific existing grants that should be phased out, or to suggest specific limits on the number, size, or types of projects supported through the core programs -- because this depends on how the program's annual budget changes over the course of the coming decade. And as discussed later, we are recommending that the core programs continue to base most investment decisions on how individual proposals fare in the standard peer review process, rather than being determined top-down by our Committee.
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From page 22... ...
In all of these forums, participants were asked to: suggest research questions that are ripe for major advances in understanding and that could feasibly be achieved in the coming decade; identify specific technological, infrastructure, or data-sharing devel opments that are necessary to enable this research; and identify opportunities to advance this research through interagency cooperation, international cooperation, or other innovative arrangements. The Committee also considered the results of the Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research (SCAR)
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From page 23... ...
Although this study and its recommendations are aimed primarily at NSF leadership, we hope it will be useful to an array of other audiences, including officials at other federal agencies that conduct research and operations in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean, examiners at the Office of Management and Budget, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and congressional staff and committees. We hope the research community at large, which greatly helped shape the findings and recommendations presented here, will also find the report to be useful for a variety of educational and research planning purposes.
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