USGS / IPY Projects and Related Facilities

Major USGS IPY Projects

• Glacier Studies Project
  
  
• Petroleum Resource Assessment of the Arctic
  
  
• Permafrost Temperature Monitoring
  
  
• Yukon River Basin – Rates and Effects of Permafrost Thawing in the Arctic (New Project)
  
  
• High Resolution Landsat Mosaic of Antarctica (New Project)
  
  
• USGS Streamgaging in Antarctica
  
  
• Polar Bear Research at the Alaska Science Center

Antarctic Research and Investigations

• Permanent GPS CORS Stations for USAP
• Trans-Antarctic Mountains Deformation (TAMDEF)
• Atlas of Antarctic Research
• Antarctic Seismic Program for USAP
• Hydrology Project in the McMurdo Dry Valleys
• Antarctic Seismic Data Library System
• US Antarctic Resource Center
• US Board on Geographic Names – Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names

USGS Facilities for Arctic and Antarctic Research

• US National Ice Core Laboratory, Denver, CO
  The U.S. National Ice Core Laboratory (NICL) is a facility for storing, curating, and studying ice cores recovered from the polar regions of the world. It provides scientists with the ability to conduct examinations and measurements on ice cores, and it preserves the integrity of these ice cores in a long-term repository for current and future investigations. Ice cores contain an abundance of climate information more so than any other natural recorder of climate such as tree rings or sediment layers. Although their record is short (in geologic terms), it can be highly detailed. An ice core can contain an uninterrupted, detailed climate record extending back hundreds of thousands of years. This record can include temperature, precipitation, chemistry and gas composition of the lower atmosphere, volcanic eruptions, solar variability, sea-surface productivity and a variety of other climate indicators. It is the simultaneity of these properties recorded in the ice that makes ice cores such a powerful tool in paleo-climate research. http://nicl.usgs.gov/
  
  
• US Antarctic Resource Center, Reston, VA
  The U.S. Antarctic Resource Center (USARC) is the Nation's depository for Antarctic maps, charts, geodetic ground control, satellite images, aerial photographs, publications, slides, and video tapes. These resources are produced by Antarctic Treaty nations in support of their activities in Antarctica and provided to the USARC in compliance with a standing resolution of the treaty providing for exchange of information. The USGS maintains these materials through an interagency cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation (NSF), which also supports the USGS Antarctic Mapping Program.
  
  The USARC develops and maintains the Antarctic Web site (usarc.usgs.gov) and its supporting databases, and provides access to other online digital databases, such as the Atlas of Antarctic Resources.
  
  
• Alaska Science Center, Anchorage, AK
  This facility addresses important natural resources issues and natural hazards assessments in Alaska and circumpolar regions through long-term data collection and monitoring, research and development, and assessments and applications. The facility's mission is to provide scientific leadership and accurate, objective, and timely data, information, and research findings about the Earth and its flora and fauna to Federal and State resource managers and policy makers, local government, and the public. This supports sound decisionmaking about natural resources, natural hazards, and ecosystems in Alaska and circumpolar regions. http://alaska.usgs.gov/index.php
  
  
• Real-time Surface Water Data for Alaska —Coordinated through the Alaska Science Center
  Stage and discharge data from real-time sites on Alaska Rivers are relayed to USGS offices via satellite, telephone, and/or radio and are available for viewing within minutes of arrival. Real-time data typically are recorded at 15-60 minute intervals, stored onsite, and then transmitted to USGS offices every 1 to 4 hours, depending on the data relay technique used. Recording and transmission times may be more frequent during critical events. All real-time data are provisional and subject to revision. http://waterdata.usgs.gov/ak/nwis/rt