2021 Antarctic Subsea Cable Workshop: High-Speed Connectivity Needs to Advance US Antarctic Science

2021 年南极海底电缆研讨会：高速连接需要推进美国南极科学

• 批准号: 2130663
• 负责人: Peter Neff
• 金额: $ 5万
• 依托单位: University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-06-01 至 2023-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2130663&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: 2021; Antarctic; Subsea; Cable; Workshop

Current networking capacity at McMurdo Station is insufficient to even be considered “broadband,” with a summer population of up to 1000 people sharing what is equivalent to the connection enjoyed by a typical family of three in the United States. The changing Antarctic ice sheets and Southern Ocean are large, complex systems that require cutting edge technology to do cutting edge research, with remote technology becoming increasingly useful and even necessary to monitor changes at sufficient spatial and temporal scales. Antarctic science also often involves large data-transfer needs not currently met by existing satellite communication infrastructure. This workshop will gather representatives from across Antarctic science disciplines—from astronomy to zoology—as well as research and education networking experts to explore the scientific advances that would be enabled through dramatically increased real-time network connectivity, and also consider opportunities for subsea cable instrumentation.This workshop will assess the importance of a subsea fiber optic cable for high-capacity real-time connectivity in the US Antarctic Program, which is at the forefront of some of the greatest climate-related challenges facing our planet. The workshop will: (1) document unmet or poorly met current scientific and logistic needs for connectivity; (2) explore connectivity needs for planned future research and note the scientific advances that would be possible if the full value of modern cyberinfrastructure-empowered research could be brought to the Antarctic research community; and (3) identify scientific opportunities in planning a fully instrumented communication cable as a scientific observatory. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the workshop will be hosted and streamed online. While the workshop will be limited to invited personnel in order to facilitate a collaborative working environment, broad community input will be sought via survey and via comment on draft outputs. A workshop summary document and report will be delivered to NSF. Increasing US Antarctic connectivity by orders of magnitude will be transformative for science and logistics, and it may well usher in a new era of Antarctic science that is more accessible, efficient and sustainable.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

麦克默多站目前的网络容量甚至不足以被认为是“宽带”，多达1000人的夏季人口共享的连接相当于美国典型的三口之家所享受的连接。不断变化的南极冰盖和南大洋是一个庞大而复杂的系统，需要尖端技术来进行尖端研究，远程技术变得越来越有用，甚至是在足够的时空尺度上监测变化所必需的。南极科学还经常涉及目前现有卫星通信基础设施无法满足的大量数据传输需求。本次研讨会将聚集来自南极各科学学科的代表——从天文学到动物学——以及研究和教育网络专家，探讨通过大幅增加实时网络连接而实现的科学进步，并考虑海底电缆仪表的机会。本次研讨会将评估海底光缆对美国南极计划中高容量实时连接的重要性，该计划处于我们星球面临的一些与气候相关的最大挑战的最前沿。该研讨会将：(1)记录未满足或未充分满足的当前科学和物流连接需求；(2)探索计划中的未来研究的连通性需求，并注意如果能够将现代网络基础设施支持的研究的全部价值带给南极研究界，可能会取得的科学进步；(3)确定规划全仪器通信电缆作为科学天文台的科学机会。由于2019冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行正在进行，研讨会将在网上主持和直播。虽然讲习班将限于受邀人员，以促进协作工作环境，但将通过调查和对产出草案的评论寻求广泛的社区投入。研讨会总结文件和报告将提交给美国国家科学基金会。以数量级增加美国与南极的连通性，将对科学和物流产生革命性影响，很可能开启一个更容易获得、更高效、更可持续的南极科学新时代。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。