US-SCAR News

The Antarctic Sciences (ANT) and Arctic Sciences (ARC) sections of the Office of Polar Programs (OPP) invite you to two upcoming webinars on the OPP Postdoctoral Research Fellowships (OPP-PRF) on Thursday, April 22, 2021 from 4:00pm – 5:00pm EDT and Thursday, May 6, 2021 from 1:00pm – 2:00pm EDT. Please join Arctic Social Sciences Program Director, Erica Hill, and Antarctic Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences Program Director, Dave Sutherland, at these informal webinars to learn about the basics of the OPP-PRF and have any questions you bring addressed. You’re welcome to send advanced questions to OPP Postdoc Research Fellowships (opp-prf@nsf.gov). Registration is required to attend. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. Continue Reading

A two-day workshop will be held at the Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience (University of Florida) during August 16-17, 2021 (arrival on the afternoon of August 15th). The workshop organizers, Dr. Scott Santagata and Dr. Joseph Ryan, will lead participants through a series of computational exercises having the following goals: (1) Construct orthologous gene assignments (OrthoFinder), prune paralogous genes (PhyloPYPruner), align orthologous gene (MAFFT), and multi-gene phylogenetic relationships (RAxML); (2) Establish collaborative research groups to test for genes under positive selection from diverse organisms and habitats (e.g., polar, terrestrial, marine, tropical) using genomic and transcriptomic datasets; (3) Evaluate current analytical methods for determining positive selection (e.g., PAML, HyPHy) and their statistical significance. Application deadline is June 01, 2021. Continue Reading

The Antarctic Sciences (ANT) and Antarctic Infrastructure and Logistics (AIL) Sections of the OPP will be hosting virtual Office Hours on Monday, April 19, 2021 from 4:00pm – 5:00pm Eastern time to share information with the academic community regarding evolving plans for upcoming seasons, funding opportunities, and the USAP Sexual Assault / Harassment Prevention & Response (SAHPR) Program. Current awardees, pending proposers, and future proposers are welcome to attend. To participate, you must register. Continue Reading

The SCAR Delegates Meeting was held last week online and we welcome a new SCAR President, Yeadong Kim (Korea), and a new Vice President, Deneb Karentz (United States). Jefferson Simões (Brazil) was re-elected to a second term as Vice President, and Gary Wilson (New Zealand) and Muthalagu Ravichandran (India) continue in their vice-presidential roles. SCAR also has two new full country members, the Czech Republic and Turkey; and a new associate member, Mexico. Continue Reading

The Office of Polar Programs (OPP) offers postdoctoral research fellowships (PRF) to provide opportunities for early career scientists, including social scientists, to accomplish one or more of the following goals: expand their work across traditional disciplinary lines, develop new partnerships connecting the polar regions and/or non-polar research communities, and provide entry to researchers who have traditionally had limited access to polar research resources, sites and facilities. The fellowship program encourages the integration of new investigators who have not previously worked in polar regions and/or innovative techniques that have not previously been applied to polar science into polar research. Continue Reading

Dr. Jennifer Mercer is serving as the acting Section Head for the Arctic Section at the US National Science Foundation. She is a program manager for Arctic Sciences and Arctic Research Support & Logistics. She also serves as Chair of the international Forum of Arctic Research Operators (FARO), and she co-leads the Atmospheres Collaboration Team for the US Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee (IARPC). Continue Reading

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Office of Polar Programs (OPP) and the Education and Human Resources (EHR) Directorate request input from interested parties on the goals, values and approaches for managing the Antarctic Artist and Writers (AAW) Program and possibly expanding that program to include the Arctic. In addition, OPP and EHR request input into whether the NSF program which selects and sends educators to the Arctic and Antarctic regions should be under a common management structure. Organizations representing artists, writers, scientists, educators (both formal and informal), and Arctic residents and individuals are encouraged to respond by the deadline, April 7, 2021. Continue Reading

The National Science Foundation Office of Polar Programs is holding separate office hours for Arctic and Antarctic Sciences. These webinars will cover program updates, funding opportunities, and season planning around COVID-19. Current awardees, pending proposers, and future proposers are welcome to attend. You must register to attend these sessions. Continue Reading

The Section Head, Arctic Sciences Section, a senior member of the Office of Polar Programs (OPP) management team, is responsible to the Office Director for the overall planning, management, and commitment of budgeted program funds for the Section. The incumbent works closely with the OPP Front Office Integration Team on matters concerning environment, safety, health, communications, budget and policy in implementing research objectives requiring an Arctic presence, and with the Section Head for Antarctic Sciences in supporting research activities occurring at both poles. Continue Reading

This new NSF Dear Colleague Letter: Supporting Data and Sample Reuse in Polar Research from the Office of Polar Programs (OPP) encourages submission of proposals that leverage existing data, physical samples, and non-physical samples (e.g., films, recordings, etc.), as well as those that facilitate the reuse of existing data. In this way, OPP aims to support both the Arctic and Antarctic research communities to drive polar science forward while capitalizing on NSF's previous research investments. Continue Reading

The National Science Foundation (NSF) manages the U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP) on behalf of the Nation. USAP encompasses all U.S. scientific research and related logistics in Antarctica and aboard ships in the Southern Ocean, and USAP’s world class science relies on seamless integration between operations and research support. NSF is beginning acquisition planning for a follow-on to the current Antarctic Support Contract, and we want to hear from interested parties at a Virtual Industry Day on Tues, February 16, 2021 (10:00 AM EST to 3:00 PM EST). You must pre-register for this event. For more information and how to register, visit http://bit.ly/35F2qwM. Continue Reading

In 2015, the National Academies released A Strategic Vision for NSF Investments in Antarctic and Southern Ocean Research, which recommended three large-scale priority research initiatives in addition to a core program of broad-based research for the U.S. National Research Foundation’s Antarctic Program. These priorities are: (1) How fast and by how much will sea level rise? The Changing Antarctic Ice Sheets Initiative; (2) How do Antarctic biota evolve and adapt to the changing environment? Decoding the genomic and transcriptomic bases of biological adaptation and response across Antarctic organisms and ecosystems; and (3) How did the universe begin and what are the underlying physical laws that govern its evolution and ultimate fate? A next-generation cosmic microwave background program. The National Academies’ committee is currently conducting a mid-term assessment to evaluate the state of progress in reaching the goals recommended in the 2015 study, explore recent scientific and technological developments that provide new opportunities to expand this progress, and address current implementation challenges in advancing these research areas. In support of the committee’s evaluation of progress toward Priorities 1 and 2, the committee will be holding web conferences via Zoom to get input from the scientific community via facilitated discussions. If you are interested in providing input, please register for the meetings using the links provided. Continue Reading

The National Science Foundation Office of Polar Programs is holding separate office hours for Arctic and Antarctic Sciences. These sessions will cover program updates, funding opportunities, and season planning around COVID-19. Current awardees, pending proposers, and future proposers are welcome to attend. You must register to attend these sessions. Antarctic Sciences Virtual Office Hours: December 7, 2020, 4:00-5:00pm EST. Arctic Program Manager Office Hours: December 10, 2020, 4:00-5:00pm EST. Continue Reading

The United States Antarctic Program Data Center (USAP-DC) will hold a webinar on 11 November at 3 pm EST to provide an overview of services offered and an introduction to the website https://www.usap-dc.org/. The session will include a demonstration of how to use USAP-DC to search for datasets, as well as how USAP-DC supports US researchers in fulfilling their data management obligations. We will show how to create a data management plan and explain the process of registering projects, depositing datasets, and linking to externally-archived datasets. The session will be held on zoom and recorded. Participants can register to receive the link to the webinar and access to the recording. Continue Reading

The Department of Geological Sciences at The University of Alabama (UA) seeks a motivated student who is interested in pursuing graduate studies in earthquake seismology. Full-time student support is available starting Fall 2021 to assist with projects focused on East Antarctic tectonics and seismicity (associated with NSF award 1914698). Interested applicants should send their curriculum vitae and cover letter to Dr. Samantha Hansen (shansen@geo.ua.edu). Candidates should also follow the application procedures outlined by the UA Graduate School (https://graduate.ua.edu/prospective-students/apply-now/), and applications received by January 15, 2021 will receive priority. Applicants from underrepresented and diverse backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply. Continue Reading

Please join me in congratulating Dr. W. Berry Lyons from the Byrd Polar Research Center at The Ohio State University who was awarded the 2020 SCAR Medal for Excellence in Antarctic Research. The SCAR Medal for Excellence link includes the citation honoring Berry’s career in Antarctic research. I hope you had a chance to participate in SCAR2020 Online, the organizers did a wonderful job switching over to the remote format. If you missed it, you can view recorded meeting sessions and presentations at the SCAR 2020 Online YouTube channel. Continue Reading

The Arctic Sciences Section in the Office of Polar Programs (OPP) is now accepting proposals for Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grants (DDRIGs) to conduct dissertation-level research about and related to the Arctic region. This solicitation is designed to support early-career scientists and the program will also advance research capacity in Arctic sciences, promote workforce development, and enhance diversity and inclusion in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). Continue Reading

The United States delegation to the Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research (SCAR) has a part time paid internship position available for a PhD student who is currently involved in Antarctic research at a US institution. A part time intern is sought to assist with various aspects of the operations and outreach efforts of US-SCAR. The US-SCAR internship will be through a contract with the University of San Francisco. To apply, complete the online application. Application deadline is August 24, 2020. Continue Reading

The US-SCAR ANSWER listserv has been retired. All members from ANSWER have been migrated to this new US-SCAR listserv. And we have a new US-SCAR website! Thank you to everyone who attended SCAR101 on July 28, it was a great turn out. The slides presented during the SCAR101 session are available to view. Our major announcement is that NSF Office of Polar Programs/Antarctic Sciences has awarded a five-year grant to the University of San Francisco (Deneb Karentz) to support the establishment of a US-SCAR Office. Continue Reading

Thanks to those of you who have already registered for SCAR101 on Tuesday. All registrants will receive a reminder e-mail on Monday. This message is a second announcement to the US-SCAR listserv for those who have not yet registered. Continue Reading