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The United States has dedicated a new scientific station
at the geographic South Pole--the third since 1957--officially
ushering in a new support system for sophisticated large-scale
experiments in disciplines ranging from astrophysics to
environmental chemistry and seismology.
The dedication of the new Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station,
which took place on Sat., Jan. 12, local time (U.S. stations
in Antarctica keep New Zealand time), also reasserts the
National Science Foundation's (NSF) vital role in managing
the U.S. Antarctic Program in order to meet the needs
of the U.S. research community as well as those of other
federal agencies. NSF manages the U.S. Antarctic Program.
Arden L. Bement Jr., NSF director, spoke to an assembled
group of dignitaries as the American flag was raised over
the new elevated station. Just hours before, the stars
and stripes had been struck for the last time over the
iconic domed station adjacent to the new building, which
had served as the U.S. scientific outpost at the South
Pole since the mid-1970's. In attendance were heads of
federal agencies with a scientific presence at the Pole
and others who played key roles in the design and completion
of the project.
"Our purpose is to dedicate a facility that will
help us push back the boundaries of the unknown--a quest
that has continued year-round at this site for over 50
years," Bement said. "And to pay our respects
to those who helped transform this mysterious and forbidding
continent into a globally recognized place of wonder,
transformation and knowledge."
Bement also remarked on the contributions to polar exploration
of New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary, who died at the age
of 88 just hours before the ceremony. "It is fitting
that we pause for a moment to remember the accomplishments
of Sir Edmund Hillary, who stood near this very spot in
January 1958, the first person to do so since Robert Falcon
Scott in 1912," he said. "I was honored to meet
him at the 50th anniversary of the building of New Zealand's
Scott Base in 2007, an accomplishment for which he was
responsible. I cannot help but believe that he is here
with us in spirit today as we usher in this new phase
of scientific exploration of the continent which he so
loved."
Bement was joined at the ceremony by two former NSF directors:
Neal Lane, senior fellow in science and technology policy
at Rice University's James A. Baker III Institute for
Public Policy, and Rita Colwell, chairman of Canon U.S.
Life Sciences, Inc. and distinguished professor both at
the University of Maryland at College Park and at Johns
Hopkins University's Bloomberg School of Public Health.
NSF is responsible for the operation of the new station
as well as the reconstruction and associated environmental
upgrades.
Also in attendance at the ceremony were:
Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Jr., undersecretary
of commerce for oceans and atmosphere at the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Jay M. Cohen, undersecretary for science and technology
at the Department of Homeland Security
Alexander Karsner, assistant secretary for energy and
renewable energy at the Department of Energy
Paula J. Dobriansky, undersecretary for democracy and
global affairs at the State Department
Rep. Rodney P. Frelinghuysen, the ranking member of the
House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice,
Science, and Related Agencies
Patricia J. Walker, deputy assistant secretary of defense
for reserve affairs, materiel and facilities
Kathy Sullivan, vice chair of the National Science Board
Maj. Gen. Robert A. Knauff, chief of staff and commander
N.Y. Air National Guard
Col. Ron Smith, U.S. Air Force, commander of Operation
Deep Freeze, the military support for the U.S. Antarctic
Program
Karl A. Erb, director of NSF's Office of Polar Programs
Norman Augustine, chairman, and Susan Solomon, NOAA scientist
and member of the blue-ribbon panel whose report led to
the rebuilding of the station
Erb noted that the dedication occurred slightly more than
50 years after men spent the first winter at the Pole
in 1957, during the International Geophysical Year (IGY).
That first group was an 18-member team of U.S Navy personnel
and civilian scientists.
The dedication, Erb added, coming as it does at the height
of the International Polar Year (IPY), a concerted scientific
field campaign supported by more than 60 nations worldwide
which shares many of the IGY goals, has a particular resonance.
Erb also noted that the new station not only is dramatically
more technologically and architecturally sophisticated
than the 1975 station or its predecessor, but is also
almost immeasurably different from the first habitation
ever erected at the Pole: a pyramidal tent left as proof
of his accomplishment by the first man to reach the site,
Norwegian Roald Amundsen, and for Briton Scott, whose
party reached the Pole a month later.
The station is named for the two explorers.
The replacement of the South Pole station was given critical
support by the external panel chaired by Augustine, who,
in a key 1997 report, argued that the existing facilities
at the South Pole were both outmoded and potentially unsafe.
The report noted that "Antarctica today is a continent
generally characterized by peaceful, environmentally friendly,
human activity. High among the reasons for this situation
is the role played by the U.S. over many years in helping
create a system of treaties and international agreements
governing the nature of human conduct on the continent.
The presence of the U.S. in Antarctica is a key element
of the continued stability of the region."
To maintain that stability the panel recommended that
the "U.S., as a matter of national policy, should
maintain a continued year-round presence in Antarctica,
including at the South Pole."
But the panel also found that, at the time, "various
critical safety and health deficiencies exist at U.S.
facilities in Antarctica, particularly at South Pole Station,"
and recommended environmental upgrades and reconstruction.
The elevated station is the most imposing structure ever
built at the Pole and the 12-year reconstruction required
extraordinary effort to complete. It required 925 flights
by ski-equipped LC-130 aircraft flown by the N.Y. Air
National Guard. At 26,000 pounds of cargo per flight,
a total of 24 million pounds of cargo were transported.
In November of 2007, Popular Science magazine named the
new station as one of its "Best of What's New"
innovations of the year.
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NSF
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