Letter from the Office of Polar Programs
18 August 2008
National Science Foundation
The following letter describes the impacts on support for the 2008-2009
and 2009-2010 Antarctic seasons, which are anticipated based on the
anticipated budget situation. These are the impacts that were discussed
at the 12 August 2008 meeting of the National Science Board.
To view the letter on the National Science Foundation website, please go to:
http://www.nsf.gov/div/index.jsp?div=ANT
To: U.S Antarctic Program grantees
Office of Polar Programs
National Science Foundation
August 18, 2008
Dear U.S. Antarctic Program Researcher:
All indications are that in FY 2009 (October 1 - September 30) the
National Science Foundation will operate, at least until the new
Congress and new Administration are in place next year, on a Continuing
Resolution that fixes funding at the prior year's level. That budget
was, in turn, essentially identical to the previous year's (FY 2007)
budget. This means that the 2008-2009 austral summer season in
Antarctica will be supported at the level it was in the 2006-2007
season.
To further compound the problem, the U.S. Antarctic Program's fuel costs
increased by $8 million for the 2007-2008 period and our guidance is to
plan on a further increase of $19 million for the 2008-2009 season.
Labor costs beyond our control, declines in the purchasing power of the
U.S. dollar, and several other factors add to the pressure on our
budget.
In light of this situation, we have had to make difficult decisions that
will affect all parts of the Program. Examples include: deferring plans
to replace the pier at Palmer Station as well as other facility
improvements; reducing the intercontinental airlift (particularly in the
middle of the operational season); deferring parts of
logistically-intensive deep field projects, and consolidating science
projects and reducing the length of cruises scheduled on the research
vessels.
In addition, on-continent LC-130 operations will be significantly
reduced and this, in turn, requires reductions and delays to a range of
projects that require LC-130 support. While delays and reductions will
be experienced this year, we are committed to eventually meet our
existing commitments.
Lack of funding for research support and logistics also means we will
not be able to sustain our normal rate of new-project funding this year.
The overall proposal success rate will probably slip below 20%, and only
a few new proposals requiring 2009 deployment are being funded. In
addition, this situation is likely to cause a relatively low success
rate for the proposals that are currently under review and would require
field support in the 2009-2010 season.
A guiding principle in our approach to this difficult situation has been
to leave open the possibility of reinstating activities should the FY
2009 budget be appropriated at the request level.
It is clear that this budget situation has significant impacts on the
science program and we appreciate your patience and understanding as we
work through these difficult issues. Principal Investigators who are
directly affected have already been contacted and are involved in
specific discussions. Nevertheless, if you have ideas or concerns,
please feel free to contact NSF program mangers or us directly.
Sincerely,
Scott Borg
Director
Division of Antarctic Sciences
Office of Polar Programs
Brian Stone
Director, Division of Antarctic Infrastructure and Logistics (Acting) NSF/OPP
Office of Polar Programs