Dear Colleague Letter: 2023 Update on science support and infrastructure in Antarctica

Since the last NSF update in April 2022, the COVID-19 pandemic has continued to severely impact the Office of Polar Program’s (OPP) ability to support science on the continent, and those impacts have been exacerbated by increasing constraints on resources arising from inflation and the need for facility renewal.

The U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP) anticipated supporting a majority of COVID-19-impacted projects and new science projects in the 2022-2023 season. The highest priority science projects included fieldwork involving international collaborations, projects with critical time-series data, and projects involving instrument maintenance to prevent irreversible damage to, or loss of, science infrastructure. Additionally, construction on a critical new lodging building and a vehicle maintenance facility resumed in McMurdo this past season.

Unfortunately, delays in early-season cargo and passenger movements, as well as COVID management protocols, hampered science deployments throughout the program. As a result, USAP is facing a severe shortage of logistics resources relative to the volume of deferred science that those resources must support.

Due to these compounding constraints, the upcoming 2023-2024 Antarctic season will be significantly curtailed. 

Read the full DCL at nsf.gov.