US-SCAR News

We welcome all to a second "Office Hours" session to learn more about US Antarctic data and sample repositories; and what to expect when you want to post data, contribute samples, or access either. This Office Hours event includes four NSF-supported Antarctic data and sample repositories: U.S. National Science Foundation Ice Core Facility (NSF-ICF), Polar Geospatial Center (PGC), EarthScope, and Antarctic Meteorological Research and Data Center (AMRDC). The expectations surrounding research data collected and produced by field projects have evolved (and continue to evolve!). Access to Antarctica has also changed and highlights the importance of opportunities for scientific discovery through our existing repositories. The Office Hours will be held Tuesday, June 18 @ 8 am HST, 10 am AKDT, 11 am PDT, 12 pm MDT, 1 pm CDT, 2 pm EDT. Curators from these facilities will briefly cover the basics of what services they provide, how to deposit data and samples, and how access the resources that are currently available. The session will then be open to questions and discussion from online participants. We are excited to hear from you and answer your questions, so come to this meeting to learn the latest from us. Continue Reading

PSECCO is a community-building and support effort for early career scientists focused on promoting community building, accessibility and inclusion and supporting diversity in the polar sciences, funded by NSF and housed at the University of Colorado. PSECCO invites US-based early career polar scientists to apply to serve on the PSECCO Advisory Board. The advisory board provides strategic guidance to help shape PSECCO activities supporting the early career polar science community, are available as a resource for the PSECCO Director, and serve on PSECCO selection committees. Board members will serve a two-year term and are expected to participate in quarterly board meetings. Polar is defined here as folks who work in or with matters pertaining to Antarctic, Arctic, or high alpine regions. Continue Reading

A new NSF-funded faculty travel grant to James Madison University will support up to 50 early-to-mid career faculty from under-resourced U.S. undergraduate-focused institutions, such as Emerging Research Institutions (ERIs), Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), and community colleges (2YCs) to attend the fall AGU24 annual meeting in Washington, D.C., in person. Travel grant awardees will receive a $1,700-travel stipend. Additionally, they will participate in professional development workshops as well as networking and social events; review student presentations for Outstanding Student Participation Awards; and potentially co-chair sessions. Please share with your communities as application window is open now. Continue Reading

The draft South Pole Station Master Plan (SPSMP) has been made available for public comment via the United States Federal Register. Public comments will be collected, which the NSF will use to inform the final Master Plan. Comments may be submitted to SPMasterPlan@nsf.govand via the Federal Docket Management System on the Federal Register webpage. To learn more about the draft plan visit NSF.gov. Continue Reading

Today, President Biden signed a National Security Memorandum (NSM) on United States Policy on the Antarctic Region, just ahead of the 46th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting. This policy reaffirms the United States' commitment to leading cooperative international efforts through the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS) to ensure the Antarctic Region remains dedicated to peaceful purposes. It also emphasizes the importance of protecting Antarctica's pristine environment and ecosystems, recognizing its critical role in the global climate system, and supporting ongoing scientific research. Continue Reading

We welcome all to a second "Office Hours" session to learn more about US Antarctic data and sample repositories; and what to expect when you want to post data, contribute samples, or access either. This Office Hours event includes four NSF-supported Antarctic data and sample repositories: U.S. National Science Foundation Ice Core Facility (NSF-ICF), Polar Geospatial Center (PGC), EarthScope, and Antarctic Meteorological Research and Data Center (AMRDC). The expectations surrounding research data collected and produced by field projects have evolved (and continue to evolve!). Access to Antarctica has also changed and highlights the importance of opportunities for scientific discovery through our existing repositories. The Office Hours will be held Tuesday, June 18 @ 8 am HST, 10 am AKDT, 11 am PDT, 12 pm MDT, 1 pm CDT, 2 pm EDT . Curators from these facilities will briefly cover the basics of what services they provide, how to deposit data and samples, and how access the resources that are currently available. The session will then be open to questions and discussion from online participants. We are excited to hear from you and answer your questions, so come to this meeting to learn the latest from us. Continue Reading

The U.S. National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Office of Polar Programs (OPP) has announced the non-renewal of the charter for the Antarctic Research and Supply Vessel (ARSV) Laurence M. Gould (LMG) following the conclusion of the 2023-24 Antarctic season. The LMG, a part of the U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP) since 1997, has played a key role in supporting marine research and logistics operations between NSF Palmer Station and South American ports. The LMG charter, held with Edison-Chouest Offshore, will expire on July 16, 2024. The decision not to renew the charter aligns with NSF's commitment to balancing scientific priorities, evolving logistical needs, and budget constraints. Escalating costs and the availability of alternative commercial opportunities have led to this strategic shift in vessel support. Continue Reading

The United States Antarctic Program Data Center (USAP-DC) will hold a webinar on 9 May at 2 pm US eastern time to provide an introduction to the data center and an overview of services offered. The session will provide an introduction on how to access and contribute data to USAP-DC, and discuss some best practices for FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reuseable) data submissions. USAP-DC provides service to support US researchers in fulfilling data management obligation and all are welcome. The session will be particularly targeted at new investigators and early career researchers to learn about the services offered at the data center. Continue Reading

A two-day workshop will be held at the Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience (University of Florida) in 2024 (July 22 & 23). Participants should plan to arrive on the afternoon of July 21st and depart in the morning or afternoon on July 24th. The workshop organizers, Dr. Scott Santagata and Dr. Joseph Ryan, will lead participants through a series of computational exercises using our SELECTINGS pipeline. Participants are encouraged to work with their own NGS-based datasets, but sample datasets will also be provided and analyzed using a bioinformatics platform. Applicants with transcriptomic datasets that span ecological boundaries (e.g. high vs. low latitudinal habitats, marine vs. freshwater habitats, deep vs. shallow water habitats, etc.) will be given priority. However, anyone who is interested in learning these techniques is encouraged to apply. Continue Reading

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Office of Polar Programs (OPP) recognizes that the Antarctic community is looking for promised updates on the infrastructure and logistics support to be provided by the United States Antarctic Program (USAP) for funded researchers during the 2024-2025 field season, and the status of the solicitation for proposals requesting USAP support in future seasons. Continue Reading

Thursday, March 21st @ 2:00-3:30 pm EST (11:00-12:30 pm PST) via Zoom. The expectations surrounding research data collected and produced by field projects have evolved (and continue to evolve!). Access to Antarctica has also changed and highlights the importance of opportunities for scientific discovery through our existing repositories. Born out of a WAIS community initiative in 2023, we welcome all to a virtual workshop to learn more about US Antarctic data and sample repositories, and what to expect when you want to post data, contribute samples, or access either. This workshop includes three NSF-funded data repositories and sample repositories: US Antarctic Program Data Center (hosted at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University), the Polar Rock Repository (associated with the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center at The Ohio State University) and the Marine and Geology Repository (at Oregon State University). Curators from these facilities will briefly cover the basics of what services they provide, how to deposit data and samples, and how access these resources that are currently available. The session will then be open to questions and discussion from online participants. Continue Reading

Reminder to please fill out this survey by Wednesday, March 20. The US Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (US-SCAR) is planning to host a series of online public workshops with NSF Antarctic Sciences and would like feedback from the US Antarctic Community on topics of interest. Please fill out this short survey to help us identify the most relevant issues that you would like to hear about and discuss with NSF. Responses will assist in developing the agenda for the workshop series, but workshops will be fairly open-ended to allow for wide discussion between NSF and the US Antarctic Community. Answers to this survey will be collected anonymously, and the responses will be used in aggregate to develop workshop themes. Please respond by March 20, 2024. Continue Reading

Update 1: Registration for the U.S. National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Spring 2024 NSF Grants Conference is now open! NSF will host the hybrid conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on June 3-5, 2024. Update 2: A revised version of the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) (NSF 24-1) has been issued. The new PAPPG will be effective for proposals submitted or due on or after May 20, 2024. NSF will present information about these PAPPG changes in a webinar on March 12th at 2PM EST. Continue Reading

Thursday, March 21st @ 2:00-3:30 pm EST (11:00-12:30 pm PST) via Zoom. The expectations surrounding research data collected and produced by field projects have evolved (and continue to evolve!). Access to Antarctica has also changed and highlights the importance of opportunities for scientific discovery through our existing repositories. Born out of a WAIS community initiative in 2023, we welcome all to a virtual workshop to learn more about US Antarctic data and sample repositories, and what to expect when you want to post data, contribute samples, or access either. This workshop includes three NSF-funded data repositories and sample repositories: US Antarctic Program Data Center (hosted at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University), the Polar Rock Repository (associated with the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center at The Ohio State University) and the Marine and Geology Repository (at Oregon State University). Curators from these facilities will briefly cover the basics of what services they provide, how to deposit data and samples, and how access these resources that are currently available. The session will then be open to questions and discussion from online participants. Continue Reading

The Antarctic Sciences Section (ANT) of the Office of Polar Programs (OPP) is seeking a qualified candidate for the position of Program Director in Antarctic Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences (AOAS). The AOAS Program Director manages the AOAS sciences proposal-driven research portfolio, communicates with the scientific community and funding partners, and interacts with colleagues throughout the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). The AOAS program director manages the proposal merit review process, coordinating as needed with Antarctic Infrastructure and Logistics for field-based projects, other programs in the Antarctic and Arctic sections of OPP and across NSF, and other funding agencies and international partners to achieve program goals. The deadline to apply is March 26, 2024. Continue Reading

The Polar Science Early Career Community Office (PSECCO)* Conference Travel Grant Program is now open for applications. Travel awards to attend and present polar-related work at a conference are open to US-based polar early career researchers (ECRs) and educators. In this March 2024 funding cycle, PSECCO will be distributing $5,000 of awards. Applicants may request a reasonable amount of funding to support their travel to/from a conference, up to a value of $900 per person, with awards aimed at those with demonstrated financial need. An additional $100 is available for awardees who organize a PSECCO social event at the conference. The application deadline is March 15, 2024 at 11.59pm MT. Continue Reading

The abstract submission deadline for the 11th SCAR Open Science Conference in Chile has been extended to Monday, 18th March 2024 at 23:59 UTC. This will be the final abstract submission deadline, so please make sure to submit your abstract in time. Abstracts can be submitted electronically through the conference website, www.scar2024.org. There is no abstract submission fee. Before submitting your abstract familiarize yourself with the submission guidelines and list of 50 parallel sessions to find the best match. The parallel sessions cover a wide range of themes from the Physical Sciences, Geosciences, Life Sciences, Humanities and Social Sciences as well as cross-disciplinary topics. Continue Reading

The US Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (US-SCAR) is planning to host a series of online public workshops with NSF Antarctic Sciences and would like feedback from the US Antarctic Community on topics of interest. Please fill out this short survey to help us identify the most relevant issues that you would like to hear about and discuss with NSF. Responses will assist in developing the agenda for the workshop series, but workshops will be fairly open-ended to allow for wide discussion between NSF and the US Antarctic Community. Answers to this survey will be collected anonymously, and the responses will be used in aggregate to develop workshop themes. Please respond by March 20, 2024. Continue Reading

The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) Open Science Conference (OSC) is held every two years, because of the pandemic this meeting has been virtual since 2020. The 2024 OSC will be in person 19-23 August 2024 in Pucón, Chile. The SCAR OSC is an excellent opportunity to present and discuss the most recent and important results of Antarctic research at an international venue. Deadline for abstracts is Monday, 4 March 2024. Applications for partial travel support (e.g., airfare, ground transportation, accommodation, and/or meeting registration) will be accepted from students, post-doctoral researchers and other scientists at US institutions (funding cannot be provided to anyone at a non-US institution). Preference will be given to early career investigators (students and those within 5 years of completing a PhD). Individuals from underrepresented groups in the sciences (e.g., women, persons with disabilities, blacks, Hispanics, American Indians, Alaska Natives) are encouraged to apply. Deadline for Applications: 1 April 2024. Continue Reading

The Polar Science Early Career Community Office (PSECCO) is ecstatic to announce that in the spring of 2024 we will be hosting a three-part Leadership Workshop Series created by polar early-career scientists for polar early-career scientists! The tools introduced in this series will be applicable to polar research environments both in the lab and in the field. The series will be broken down into three main themes, each taking place during a different month. This workshop series is hosted by PSECCO and co-organized by early career polar researchers with years of leadership experience in academia or in the field, including Tasha Snow, Elisa McGhee, and Annika Horlings. Continue Reading