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Welcome to the United States Antarctic Program (USAP) web portal.
Funded by the U.S. Government's National Science Foundation (NSF)  , the United States Antarctic Program (USAP) supports scientific research in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. The USAP carries forward the Nation's goal of supporting the Antarctic Treaty, fostering cooperative research with other nations, protecting the Antarctic environment, and conserving living resources.
The NSF manages the program under guidance of a Presidential memorandum that directs an "active and influential presence in Antarctica designed to support the range of U.S. Antarctic interests."
Since 1956 Americans have been studying Antarctica and its interactions with the rest of the planet. Research disciplines include glaciology, biology and medicine, geology and geophysics, oceanography, climate studies, astronomy, and astrophysics. Contractors and units of the military provide operational support.
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U.S. Opening Ceremony Celebrates the International Polar Year (IPY)
The U.S. IPY opening ceremony included remarks from polar scientists about the nature and scope of U.S. IPY research, as well as remarks from government officials whose agencies play an active role in IPY ... Read More
Archived Webcast 
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South Pole Station Special Report
Perhaps the world's most remote research environment, the South Pole is a unique scientific laboratory, and the South Pole Special Report captures the ongoing research efforts there ... Read More
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Announcements
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South Pole Service Outage Notification
Intelsat has announced it must make an unexpected decommissioning and disposal of the MARISAT-F2 satellite. The last date of service for South Pole Station is October 28, 2008. Read More …
U.S. Antarctic Program Grantee Alert
The USAP Grantee Alert letter describes the impacts, which are expected based on the anticipated budget situation, on support for the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 Antarctic seasons. These impacts were discussed at the August 12, 2008 meeting of the National Science Board.
Explore Earth's Poles at a Museum near You with "Polar-Palooza"
The NSF and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)-sponsored Polar-Palooza "Stories from a Changing Planet" tour will stop in cities across the country in 2007 and 2008 ... Read More
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Research at the Ends of the Earth
The Arctic and Antarctic are the world’s great "natural laboratories," where for decades scientists have studied the extremes of life: from fish with anti-freeze for blood, to microbes that can survive six months of intense cold and total darkness; from the birth of the universe, to an ocean that we know less about than the surface of the moon. More recently, the polar regions serve as harbingers of climate change and sites for studying early effects first-hand.
Read some of the stories and watch videos that capture these scientific efforts ...
NSF Plays Major Role in Complex International Evacuation of an Injured Australian from Antarctica
A complicated international air operation coordinated by the USAP has successfully evacuated a badly injured employee of the Australian Antarctic Division ...
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Statement by Karl A. Erb, Director of NSF's Office of Polar Programs, on the Death of Martin A. Pomerantz
Almost single-handedly, Martin Pomerantz recognized the value of one of the world's most remote and inhospitable places as an ideal place to study the physical origin of the Universe and other complex astrophysical phenomena ...
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U.S.-Led, International AGAP Team Poised to Probe One of Antarctica's Last Unexplored Places
A U.S.-led, multinational team of scientists from six nations will pierce the mysteries of one of the globe's last major unexplored places this month ...
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Flying in Support of U.S. Antarctic Science Program, Air Force Makes Night Landing on Southernmost Continent
Using night vision goggles, A C-17 Globemaster III aircrew from McChord Air Force Base, Washington, performed the first known after-dark landing in Antarctica at McMurdo Station ...
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Antarctic Photo Library
Photo of the Week:
The waste barn at McMurdo Station is where the station's refuse is collected, sorted, and prepared for shipment off the continent.
The Antarctic Sun Newspaper
Why do people go to Antarctica, and what do they do there? Read the USAP's newspaper to find out about U.S. Antarctic communities ...
National Science Foundation, Office of Polar Programs
Find out about The Office of Polar Programs' (OPP) operational support in the Antarctic, and how it manages and initiates National Science Foundation funding for basic research ...
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