The USAP Portal: Science and Support in Antarctica - News

As a federally funded program, the USAP is dedicated to inform the public of its activities and results.

View a story that made breaking news or subscribe to the USAP News RSS Feed. Also, read The Antarctic Sun ; the USAP's online newspaper, or see the USAP Announcements Page

Diving Robots Find Antarctic Seas Exhale Surprising Amounts of Carbon Dioxide in Winter

Aug 15, 2018

Diving Robots Find Antarctic Seas Exhale Surprising Amounts of Carbon Dioxide in Winter

The open water nearest the sea ice surrounding Antarctica releases significantly more carbon dioxide in winter than previously believed, a new study has found.

McMurdo's Satellite Tracking Station is a Critical Link in Global Observing Network

Aug 15, 2018

McMurdo's Satellite Tracking Station is a Critical Link in Global Observing Network

Technicians at NSF's McMurdo Station, Antarctica were the first in the world to receive data from NASA's GRACE-FO satellites, launched in May to track water movement across the globe.

Researchers Recover Two-Million-Year-Old Antarctic Ice, Containing a Trove of Pollen, Dust and, Possibly, DNA

Aug 6, 2018

Researchers Recover Two-Million-Year-Old Antarctic Ice, Containing a Trove of Pollen, Dust and, Possibly, DNA

A team of NSF funded researchers has brought home from the distant mountains of Antarctica samples of two-million-year-old ice, some of the oldest ever discovered and more than twice as old as most previous samples.

Relentless Nature at Work in Antarctica

Jul 30, 2018

Relentless Nature at Work in Antarctica

High winds drove snow and battered NSF's Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station during a streak of bad weather that lasted for weeks in June. One storm in particular formed a gigantic sastrugi, or snowdrift, nearly as hard as concrete.

DEADLINE August 6th: Research Community Encouraged to Participate in Survey on the Future of Antarctic Science Vessels

Jul 24, 2018

DEADLINE August 6th: Research Community Encouraged to Participate in Survey on the Future of Antarctic Science Vessels

An ad hoc subcommittee of the Office of Polar Programs' Advisory Committee is seeking the participation of the research community in reviewing the requirements and capabilities of replacement Antarctic research vessels.

A Significant Polar Birthday

Jul 18, 2018

A Significant Polar Birthday

On July 16, 1872, Norwegian polar explorer Roald Amundsen was born. He led the expedition that was first to reach the South Pole.

Previous News Stories

Reconstructing Antarctica's Prehistoric Past

NSF Press Conference Highlights Groundbreaking Neutrino Discovery

Previously Unsuspected Volcanic Activity Confirmed Under West Antarctic Ice Sheet at Pine Island Glacier

Construction Begins on Information Technology and Communications Primary Operations Facility at NSF's McMurdo Station, Antarctica

New Method of Gauging Ice-Sheet Movement May Improve Predictions of Sea-Level Rise

Change of Command for U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star

What Research on the Earth's Saltiest Lake, in the "Natural Laboratory" of Antarctica, Might Tell us About Water on Mars

VIDEO: Midsummer? Midwinter? It's All Relative

The Changing Face of Polar Oceanography

For Nearly a Quarter of a Century, Supporting a World-Class Classroom in Antarctica

Antarctic Blue-Water Sailing

PODCAST: Supporting Science in a "Washing Machine"

In Honor of Memorial Day

Ultraviolet Radiation Giving Antarctic Microbes Mixed Messages

VIDEO: The First Journey to This World

Antarctic Program Photographers Score Highly in Nature's Annual Photo Contest

Newly Collected Fossils Offer a Glimpse Into Prehistoric Antarctica

On Earth Day, Scouring the Sea Bottom... at the Bottom of the World

US and UK Join Forces to Understand How Quickly a Massive Antarctic Glacier Could Collapse

VIDEO: How Quickly Could a Massive Antarctic Glacier Collapse?

On World Penguin Day

Population of the Most Abundant Creature in Antarctica's Polar Desert Reportedly Declining

Researchers with Antarctica's McMurdo Long Term Ecological Research Site

Maj. Gen. German Has Antarctic Glacier Named After Him

A Window Opens Into Antarctica's Frozen Ocean

OPP Volunteers at the USA Science & Engineering Festival Expo

Palmer Station Celebrates 50 Years of Antarctic Discovery

VIDEO: N.Y. Air Guard Flies Unique Aircraft in Support of Polar Science

Flying to Safety

That Which Remains... From a Global Extinction

Circumnavigating the "Pole Hole": How Scientists "Ground Truth" an Ice-Detecting Satellite Before it Flies

The Presidency and Antarctica

A First-Hand Account of a Uniquely Antarctic New Year Ceremony

Atmospheric Observations at the South Pole

NPR Host Gets Tips from Antarctica for How to Stay Warm During the Bomb Cyclone

"Learning By Doing" at the Bottom of the World

Massive East Antarctic Ice Sheet has History of Instability

PolarTREC Teachers Celebrate Antarctica Day in Two Separate Events, One Live From the South Pole

Testing a Space-Communications Technology in Antarctica That May One Day have Applications in Polar Research

Antarctic Detector Offers First Look at How Earth Stops High-Energy Neutrinos in Their Tracks

Thanksgiving Greetings From One of the U.S. Antarctic Program's Military Partners

How to Cater a Thanksgiving Dinner for 900... in Antarctica

Antarctic Seal Research Featured in Children's Book

Intensifying Winds Could Increase East Antarctica's Contribution to Sea Level Rise

NASA's IceBridge Launches 2017 Antarctic Flights, Which Will be Supported in Part by NSF's Office of Polar Programs

Year-to-Year Changes in Penguin Populations Difficult to Understand and Predict, Researchers Say

VIDEO: Change-of-Command Ceremony at the 109th Airlift Wing, Which Supports NSF Polar Science.

Spending the Antarctic Winter Learning to Become Proficient Radio "Hams"

Scientists Scour Antarctica for Ancient Life

Looking for a Few Good Firefighters

The Ice Detectives

Office of Polar Programs (OPP) Moves to New NSF Headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia on August 31, 2017

Hidden River Once Flowed Beneath Antarctic Ice

Statement by Dr. Kelly K. Falkner, Head of NSF's Office of Polar Programs, on the Death of Charles R. Bentley

Extreme Melt Season Leads to Decade-Long Ecosystem Changes in Antarctica's Dry Valleys

Methane-Eating Bacteria in Antarctic Lake May Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

U.S. National Ice Core Laboratory Featured in New York Times Magazine Piece on Global Repositories

The Prehistoric Forests of the Frozen Continent

VIDEO: The World's Most Remote Independence Day Celebration?

VIDEO: A Harsh Winter Storm at Antarctica's McMurdo Station

President Trump's Midwinter's Day Message to the Antarctic Community

'Skibird' Navigator Shares Antarctic Flying Experience in a Children's Book

OPP-Funded Study: Widespread Melt in West Antarctica Documented During Unusually Warm Austral Summer

Ancient Ice from Greenland and Antarctica: the Story it Tells About Climate

Antarctic Artists and Writers Program Participant O'Boyle Featured in Massachusetts Gallery Showing

Adelie Penguins Sport New Tags, Long-Term Tagging Project Notes "Dramatic" Uptick in Populations

The So-Called "Doomsday Glacier" and How NSF-Funded Scientists Hope to Learn More About Its Fate

VIDEO AND MULTIMEDIA: Digital Immersion Into the Fate of Antarctic's Ice and What it Means to the Rest of the World

Lyle McGinnis, International Geophysical Year Antarctic Researcher, Dies at 86

NSF-Funded Researchers Solve the Century-Old Mystery of Blood Falls

NSF's Office of Polar Programs (OPP) Encourages Observation of May 8-12, 2017 National Safety Stand-Down

Former NSF Director Colwell to Receive Prestigious Vannevar Bush Award

VIDEO: "What Lies Beneath"... Antarctic Ice is Pretty Amazing

"Citizen Scientists" Sought to Count Seals in Satellite Images

Photographer Shaun O'Boyle Awarded Guggenheim Fellowship

Polar Glaciers May be Home to Previously Undiscovered Carbon Cycle

VIDEO: Launching a New Era of Small Boating at Palmer Station

Smithsonian Honors Aircrews That Flew 2016 Medical-Evacuation Flight to NSF's South Pole Station

VIDEO: A Massive Ice-Bound Detector Searches for Infinitesimally Small Particles

NSF-Funded Researcher James McClintock Discusses With NPR Host Changes at NSF's Palmer Station

Ecological Society of America Honors Antarctic Researcher Diana Wall

Pioneering Women in Antarctica

Video: A Teacher's Tour of NSF's South Pole Station

U.S. Icebreaker to Visit New Zealand

Polar-Supported Researchers Receive Nation's Highest Honor for Early Career Scientists

2017 Geographic South Pole Marker Unveiled

Change of Name for the Division of Polar Programs, Directorate for Geosciences, to Office of Polar Programs

National Science Foundation Evacuates Patient from Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station

New Study Reveals West Antarctica's Largest Glacier May Have Begun Retreating as Early as the 1940s

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to Visit NSF Antarctic Research Stations

Sixty Years Of South Pole Flights

NSF, U.K. Jointly Support Research Into Fate of Massive Antarctic Glacier

Season of Intense Melting in Antarctica Offers Insights Into Continent's Future

Analysis of Fossilized Antarctic Bird's 'Voice Box' Suggests Dinosaurs Couldn't Sing

Mars' "Wharton Ridge" Named in Honor of Astrobiologist Bob Wharton

Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Environmental Protocol to the Antarctic Treaty

2016-2017 Antarctic Science Planning Summary Now Available

NSF, NASA Sign Collaborative Agreement to Support Human Health Research in Polar Environments

GOES-3 Satellite Decommissioned After Linking Antarctica to the World For More Than 20 Years

A Robotic Rehearsal for Interplanetary Exploration

Little Pieces of Outer Space on the Frozen Continent

Research Shows Antarctic Lakes Are a Repository For Ancient Soot

Early Career Researchers Publish New Insights Into Antarctic Subglacial Lakes

Changing Ocean Chemistry May Threaten Antarctic Food Chain

A New Runway for McMurdo Station is Named

NSF Awards $35 Million to University of Wisconsin-Madison for Continued Operation of IceCube Neutrino Observatory

South Pole Medical Evacuation Mission Concludes Safely (Updated June 23, 2016)

Sunset at South Pole

NSF/National Center for Atmospheric Research Gulfstream V (GV) Aircraft Flies Over ARSV Laurence M. Gould

Time-Lapse Video Records the 2016 Resupply of McMurdo Station

Antarctic Detector Confirms Observation of Cosmic Neutrinos

Previously Unknown Microbial 'Drama' Playing in the Southern Ocean

Surprisingly High Geothermal Heating Revealed Beneath West Antarctic Ice Sheet

Planet-sized "Virtual Telescope" Expands to South Pole to Observe Black Holes in Detail

Antarctic Ice Core Reveals How Climate Changes in North Atlantic Moved South

Discovered Under Antarctica: Salty Aquifer and Potentially Vast Microbial Habitat

New Priorities: 2016 NSF Budget AIMS to Rebuild McMurdo and Palmer Stations

Forest for the Trees: New Fossil Flora in Antarctica

BICEP2 and Planck Joint Study: Gravitational Waves Remain Elusive

Big Load: Cargo Operations Begin in McMurdo with Arrival of the MV Ocean Giant

NSF-Funded Antarctic Drilling Team is First to Sample Ice Sheet "Grounding Zone"

Unmanned Vehicle Provides First 3-D Images of Underside of Antarctic Sea Ice

Antifreeze Proteins in Antarctic Fish Prevent Both Freezing and Melting

Antarctic Insect's Newly Sequenced Genome is Smallest to Date

Confirmed: Subglacial Lake Holds Viable Microbial Ecosystems

New Chapter Begins: 2014-15 Antarctic Field Season Kicks Off

Getting Busy: Flights Headed to McMurdo Station This Month For 2014-15 Field Season

Radar Surveys and Data Models Indicate Eventual West Antarctic Ice Sheet Collapse

Antarctic Telescope May Have Provided the First Direct Evidence of Cosmic Inflation

Return to Duty: Icebreaker Polar Star Returns to McMurdo

Antarctic Contract Employee Dies at NSF's Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station

NSF-Managed U.S. Antarctic Program Recognized For Search-and-Rescue Efforts

Southern Solstice: Midwinter Day 2014

Fond Farewell: Last of Summer Crew Departs South Pole Station

Program Lets U.S. Students Experience Antarctic Science at Chilean Station

New Sea Anemone Species Discovered in Antarctica

From a Galaxy Far, Far Away: First Evidence of Extrasolar Neutrinos

Reaching a New Low: Record Negative Temperatures Recorded in East Antarctica

Early-Career Investigator Discovers Current Volcanic Activity Under West Antarctica

IceCube Observatory Provides First Indication of Extrasolar Neutrinos

Two Results From Instruments at the South Pole named "Discoveries of the Year"

New Mode of Discovery: South Pole Telescope Detects Pattern in Big Bang Afterglow

Season Opener: Two-Phase Winfly Operation Prepares McMurdo for 2013-14

Measurements of Antarctic Ice-Shelf Melt Help Refine Climate Change Models

Geological Feature on Mercury Named for Antarctic Research Vessel

Antarctic Ice Core Sheds New Light On How the Last Ice Age Ended

Giant Iceberg Calves From Pine Island Glacier Ice Shelf

Former USAP Participants Land Spots on Latest Astronaut Class

New Zealand Coroner Rules January Plane Crash Killed Antarctic Crew

NSF-Supported Antarctic Science Documentary Is Also a Teaching Tool

Midwinter Day 2013

Two-month Time-lapse Video of Antarctic Ice Goes Viral

NSF Releases Plan to Guide Development of its Largest Antarctic Research Station

New Study on Carbon Dioxide Absorption in Antarctic Seas

Predator and Prey: Researchers Hunt for Answers to Dynamics of Ross Sea Ecosystem

IceCube Neutrino Observatory Reports First Evidence For Extraterrestrial Neutrinos

Recent Antarctic Climate, Glacier Changes at the "Upper Bound" of Normal

NSF Responds to Panel's Suggestions for Improving Antarctic Science and Logistics

NSF-funded Telescopes Discover Bursts of Early Universe Star Formation

Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets (CReSIS) Investigates Melting Polar Ice

Antarctic Ice Core Contains Unrivaled Detail of Past Climate

Johns Hopkins Scientist Says Ozone Thinning has Changed Ocean Circulation

U.S., New Zealand Search-and-Rescue Teams Recalled From Antarctic Crash Site

Loss of Three Canadian Aircrew Members in Antarctica Is Confirmed

NSF-funded Team Samples Antarctic Lake Beneath the Ice Sheet

Wreckage of Aircraft Located High in Antarctic Mountain Range

NSF Cooperating with Italy, New Zealand in Search for Downed Plane in Antarctica

Search For Life About to Begin in Lake Under the Ice

Study Finds Portions of West Antarctica Are Warming Twice as Fast as Thought

Trio of Complex Antarctic Science Projects Reach Significant Technological Milestones

WAIS Divide Team Drills Historic Replicate Ice Core in West Antarctica

Camp Site from the "Heroic Age" of Antarctic Exploration Found

Ancient Microbes Survive Beneath the Icy Surface of Antarctic Lake

International Study Provides More Solid Measure of Shrinking in Polar Ice Sheets

Magical Realism: WISSARD Project Poised to Explore Subglacial Lake Whillans

Explosive Event: South Pole Telescope Eyes Birth of First Massive Galaxies

Boomerangs and Bad Weather: Storms Delay First Planes to McMurdo Station

South Pole Telescope Discovers Galaxy Cluster Creating Stars at Record Pace

Blue Ribbon Panel Recommends Logistical Improvements to Support Antarctic Science

Antarctic Medical Evacuation - August 2012

Remote Siberian Lake Holds Clues to Arctic--and Antarctic--Climate Change

Ancient Global Warming Allowed Greening of Antarctica

LARISSA Project Studies Ecosystem Changes Since Larsen Ice Shelf Collapse

Scientists Determined First-ever Census for Emperor Penguins

IceCube Neutrino Observatory Provides New Insights Into Origin of Cosmic Rays

Antarctic Research Stations Observe Winter Solstice

NSF Office of Polar Programs Director Karl Erb Retires

Mission Complete: South Pole Telescope Finishes Five-Year Survey

Airborne System Allows Antarctic Researchers to Look Beneath the Surface

To the Rescue: USAP Research Vessel Transports Victims of Ship Fire to Safety

NSF Awards Antarctic Support Contract to Lockheed Martin

South Pole Anniversary: Norwegian Prime Minister's Visit Honors Roald Amundsen

South Pole Website Celebrates a Century of Science

NSF Director Subra Suresh on the Ice

Without Pier: McMurdo's Missing Ice Dock is Located

Antarctica's Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains Mystery Solved

Pine Island Glacier: A Scientific Quest to Determine What's Causing Ice Loss

NSF Funds RAPID Grants to Study Effects from New Zealand, Japan Earthquakes

Antarctica Rocks!

Pacific Tsunami Creates Icebergs in Antarctica

University of California Irvine Studies Find Different Reasons for Global Methane Riddle

West Antarctic Puzzles Bring Together Polar Researchers at Annual Workshop

Rift Spotted in Pine Island Glacier Ice Shelf Before Upcoming Expedition

Antarctic Ozone Hole Should Start Healing, While Arctic Hole Getting Worse

Fossilized Pollen Reveals Climate History of Northern Antarctica

Ocean Currents Speed Melting of Antarctic Ice

First Flights Arrive in McMurdo

South Pole Winter Airdrop

New Booklet About Antarctic Science Useful to Teachers Across Disciplines

AGAP Scientists Gain New Understanding of Ice Sheet Dynamics

National Science Foundation Transports two Norwegian Expeditioners to Safety

Break-up of Sea Ice in McMurdo Sound Brings Wildlife Sightings

Glacial Stream Offers Insight into Evolution of Dissolved Organic Matter

Last Plane of 2010-2011 Summer Field Season Leaves McMurdo

WAIS Divide Project Completes Five-year Effort to Retrieve 3,331 Meter Ice Core

NSF, University of Wisconsin-Madison Complete Construction of the World's Largest Neutrino Observatory

Message from Dr. Subra Suresh, Director of the National Science Foundation

NSF's Nathaniel B. Palmer Sails with Sweden's Oden to Study Antarctic Peninsula Ecosystem

NSF Signs $34.5-million Operating Agreement with University Of Wisconsin as Antarctic Neutrino Detector Nears Completion

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Visits U.S., New Zealand Antarctic Programs

IceCube and Its Frozen Secrets

Marine Ecology Project Unites Four Generations of Scientists

Arrival of Basler Aircraft Marks the End of Winter Isolation at South Pole

Summer Season Begins at USAP's McMurdo Station

Scientists Track Seal Hunt During Winter Night

USAP Researcher Receives Prestigious Prize for Discovery

USAP Researchers Process Important Samples at National Ice Core Laboratory (NICL)

2010 Winter Fly-in (Winfly) Flights to Utilize Night-Vision Goggles

Satellite Used in Polar Research Enters Retirement

Antarctic Shoal Breaks the Ice

First USAP Flight Since March Lands in Antarctica During Winter Night

Discovery of Seafloor Ridge by Robotic Sub Offers Insight into Ice Loss in Antarctica

Palmer LTER (Longer Term Ecological Research) Scientists Monitor Climate Change

Researchers Hunt Down Antarctic Microbes

Antarctica's Soil Reveals Its Past Climate

Deconstruction of the Dome

Stiff Sea Ice Forces LARISSA Science Cruise to Reassess Project Priorities

U.S. Antarctic Program Personnel Send Midwinter's Greetings

Life at a Remote Field Camp

South Pole Experiences Warmest Year on Record in 2009

Through the Looking Glass: Scientists Peer into Antarctica's Past to See Future Climate

State of the Antarctic: New SCAR Report Shows Continent Undergoing Major Changes

Women Mark 40 Years of Working in the U.S. Antarctic Program

New Wind Farm to Help Power U.S., New Zealand Research Stations in Antarctica

British NSF-funded Researchers Deploy Automated Submarine

New Evidence Demonstrates Climate Warming Affects Ice Sheet Stability

Climate-related Changes on the Antarctic Peninsula Being Driven from the Ecosystem

ANDRILL Research Indicates Remarkably Warm Period in Antarctica 15.7 Million Years Ago

NASA Flies to Antarctica for Largest Airborne Polar Ice Survey

International Polar Year (IPY) LARISSA Project Planned for 2009-10 Field Season in Antarctic Peninsula

Study Provides Insight into Evolution and Extinction of Vanished Elephant Seal Colony

Main Field Season Under Way as Planes Bring in Hundreds of People to McMurdo

Antarctica's IceCube Telescope is Wisconsin-made

Winter Fly-in 2009

Improved Data Communications for South Pole Science

Arctic and Antarctic-themed Activities to Bring a Breath of Polar Air to Baltimore

Research at the Ends of the Earth

U.S. Antarctic Program personnel send Midwinter's Greetings

NSF Plays Major Role in Evacuation of Injured Australian from Antarctica

Karl A. Erb, NSF's Polar Programs Director, on the Death of Martin A. Pomerantz

International AGAP Team Poised to Probe One of Antarctica's Last Unexplored Places

Air Force Makes First Night Landing on Southernmost Continent

Antarctic Fossils Paint a Picture of a Much Warmer Continent

A Single Boulder May Prove that Antarctica and North America Were Once Connected

New Antarctic Ice Core to Provide Clearest Climate Record Yet

Scientific Balloons Achieve Antarctic Flight Record

Penguins Helped and Hurt by Changing Climate

Robert Falcon Scott: The Pioneer Who Died for the South Pole

Antarctica's Sea "Babies" in Limbo

A Bright Spot of Life on the Icy Continent

Vistas, Science and Staying Warm at the South Pole

Antarctic Ice Shelf Disintegration Underscores a Warming World

NSF Dedicates New South Pole Station

Explorers Club to Honor NSF-Funded Researchers and Glaciologist

Using Penguin Remains to Measure Antarctic Ice Movement

Researchers and Science Teacher to Explore Antarctica

Locked in Antarctic Glaciers, Ancient Microbes May Return to Life

Erb Honored by French Republic for International Scientific Contributions

New Undersea Images Challenge Prevailing Ideas About the Antarctic Ice Sheet

Antarctic Icebergs: Unlikely Oases for Ocean Life

Palmer Station, Antarctica Celebrates Earth Day With an Underwater Clean Up

International Polar Year Web Portal Offers Email Alerts for Educators

Report Offers Guidance on How to Safely Explore Vast Aquatic Systems Buried Under Antarctic Ice

International Polar Year (IPY) Funds Research and Exploration by Teachers, Students, and the Public

Landmark Completion of South Pole Telescope to Help Scientists Learn What the Universe is Made of and How it Got Here

Students Help Design a Remotely Operated Vehicle for Antarctic Research

NPR Science Friday - Audio Programs on Antarctic Science

NSF Commemorates 50th Anniversary of First Flight to Land at the South Pole

New Lunar Meteorite Found in Antarctica

Alaskan Storm Cracks Giant Iceberg to Pieces in Antarctica

Alaskan Storm Plays Role of Butterfly for Antarctica

Chemical Cause of Ozone Hole Discovered 20 Years Ago This Month

Polar Melting May Raise Sea Level Sooner Than Expected

Impact of Climate Warming on Polar Ice Sheets Confirmed

NASA Mission Detects Significant Antarctic Ice Mass Loss

Two New Lakes Found Beneath Antarctic Ice Sheet

Students, Faculty Depart For Antarctica

Hamilton College 2006 Antarctic Expedition: Weekly Journals

Irresistible Force Meets Immoveable Object

Arctic, Antarctic Melting May Raise Sea Levels Faster than Expected

Polar Neutrino Observatory Takes a Big Step Forward

NSF Launches New Web Portal for International Polar Year

Crew Member Lost at Sea

McMurdo Fish May Prove to be New Species

South Pole Skylab Transition Keeps Sci Techs On the Move

What's The Dirt? Researchers Track Soil Movement and Land Erosion in the McMurdo Dry Valleys

Cargo, Fuel Safely Unloaded at Antarctic Research Station

Icy Overland Trip May Add Ground Vehicles to South Pole Supply Missions

DNA Studies Show Microevolution in Penguins

Digging Dinosaurs