1. National Science Foundation and Science Community Needs for Polar Icebreakers Background material prepared for the August 26, 2005 meeting of the NAS/NRC Task Force on Assessment of U.S. Coast Guar Polar Icebreaker Roles and Future Needs Karl Erb, Director Office of Polar Programs, National Science Foundation

2. NSF Polar Roles National Science Foundation – • Provides $96 million for Arctic fundamental research • Chairs the Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee (to coordinate Federal Arctic research) • Provides $266 million for Antarctic fundamental research • Manages the U.S. Antarctic Program

3. NSF Provides $96 Million (33%) of the Federal Funding for Arctic Research

4. Funding Decisions • Funding decisions based on peer review of scientific merit and broader impacts • 3,100 proposals over 5 years • 1,500 researchers • Future directions guided by science community input • NAS reports • Workshops (80 such) • IASC, SCAR, etc. • Disciplinary roadmaps

6. Life in the Cold and Dark Bacteria Found in Melt Samples Taken from Ice Thought To Be Refrozen from the Waters of Lake Vostok. Snow Bacteria Found at the geographic South Pole

8. Some Polar Knowledge Frontiers • Ice, Earth, and Climate • Life in the Cold and Dark • Origins of the Universe

9. Major Study Sites in the Arctic

10. USCG Healy and German icebreaker Polarstern in the Arctic Ocean

11. SHEBA

12. Study of Environmental ARctic CHange (SEARCH) SEARCH is a multi-agency, international, interdisciplinary research effort to understand the full scope of changes occurring in the Arctic http://www.arcus.org/search/

13. Bering Sea Jellyfish

15. Global ocean circulation

16. Palmer Station Amundsen-ScottSouth Pole Station 730 nm BeardmoreGlacier 375 nm Downstream C507 nm Vostok Station(Russian) 708 nm SipleDome 540 nm McMurdo Station To Christchurch, 2,085 NM Antarctic Science Science performed includes: • Upper atmosphere studies • Astrophysics • Climate change • Seismology • Glaciology • Volcanology • Life in the Cold and Dark

17. U.S. Antarctic ProgramResources – Ships USAP research icebreaker Laurence M. Gould USAP research icebreaker Nathaniel B. Palmer Contract cargo ship American Tern

18. USCG Polar Star and the Russian icebreaker Krasin, McMurdo Sound 2005

19. Presidential Memorandum 6646(1982) Tasked NSF to • Manage the U. S. Antarctic Program on behalf of the U.S. government. • Develop and fund the associated research program • Draw upon logistic support capabilities of government agencies on a cost reimbursable basis • Use commercial support and management facilities where these are determined to be cost effective and not detrimental to the national interest.

20. 1994 Presidential Decision Directive Four basic objectives of U.S. policy in Antarctica: • Protecting the relatively unspoiled environment of Antarctica and its associated ecosystems; • Preserving and pursuing unique opportunities for scientific research to understand Antarctica and global physical and environmental systems; • Maintaining Antarctica as an area of international cooperation reserved exclusively for peaceful purposes; and • Assuring the conservation and sustainable management of the living resources in the oceans surrounding Antarctica.

21. Ozone Hole, September 2004

22. The Changing Antarctic Ice Sheet

23. Cosmic microwave background if a camera were sensitive to microwaves

24. Astrophysical Research

25. Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, January 2005

27. Teachers Experiencing Antarctica and the Arctic

28. Palmer Station Amundsen-ScottSouth Pole Station 730 nm BeardmoreGlacier 375 nm Downstream C507 nm Vostok Station(Russian) 708 nm SipleDome 540 nm McMurdo Station To Christchurch, 2,085 NM Some Antarctic Study Sites McMurdo Sound Shipping Channel & Turning Basin

29. NSF/OPP Advisory Committee report – USAP Resupply Krasin and USCG Polar Star in McMurdo Sound, 2005

30. Ship Capabilities

31. Current ship resources

32. Meeting Future Needs for Heavy Icebreaking Capability POLAR STAR/SEA - SLEP? New Heavy Ice Breaker? • One or Two? • Icebreaker only or multi-purpose? • Antarctic only? • Arctic and Antarctic? • Build to lease? • Government Owned, Contractor operated? • Shared use with private sector? • Military or commercial crew? • Military or commercial construction?