Project Title

Next Generation of Geospace Research Facilities at USAP Stations

Summary

Event Number:
A-111-M/P/S
NSF / OPP 2332427

Program Director:
Dr. Marion Dierickx

ASC POC/Implementer:
Paul Sullivan / Jamee Johnson / Randolph Jones / Sheryl Seagraves

Principal Investigator(s)

Dr. Hyomin Kim
Hyomin.kim@njit.edu
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Department of Physics
Newark, New Jersey

Location

Supporting Stations: McMurdo Station, Palmer Station, South Pole Station
Research Locations: McMurdo Station (Arrival Heights), South Pole Station (B2 Laboratory), Palmer Station (Terra Lab)

Description

It is increasingly clear that Earth’s space environment (geospace) is important to understanding the planet’s functions within the solar system and the sun’s influence on technological systems deployed on Earth and in space (space weather). Space weather impacts a wide range of technologies, including spacecraft operations and orbits, global positioning and global navigation satellite systems, high-frequency radio communications, and power grids. The polar caps are specific areas around the geomagnetic poles where geomagnetic field lines are open and directly interact with the interplanetary magnetic field. Antarctica is an ideal location for geospace research, as its land mass provides superior siting for observing Earth’s high geomagnetic latitude magnetic field lines, facilitating studies of the polar cap, cusp, auroral zone, and geosynchronous altitude where communications satellites orbit. It also allows for extended and continuous observations of the sun. As such, Antarctic stations have long been outfitted with a variety of instrumentation for observational studies of the geospace environment.

Field Season Overview

No on-site field work is to be performed by the science team in 2025-26. The instruments will continue to operate autonomously, year-round, via remote monitoring and control, aided by on-site support provided by Antarctic Support Contract staff and other station infrastructure (e.g., information technology network, station services) as needed. Research associate support will be provided to install new computers and ship data drives back to the US.