Technology Developments to Advance Antarctic Research: A Workshop

由于南极地区偏远、与世隔绝和极端天气，该地区的研究带来了巨大的挑战。美国南极计划负责帮助科学界找到克服这些挑战的方法，并在这一独特的地形上安全有效地运作。拟议的讲习班活动将帮助国家科学基金会确定和探索各种前沿技术进步，以促进南极研究和支持这项研究的后勤工作。例如，可以探索的技术开发类型包括与新的环境传感器有关的技术开发；数据和通信技术；用于寒冷天气环境的电子、电池和电力系统；交通和住房；以及可以在没有人在场的情况下运行的“自动”仪器。这些领域的进展将使南极研究能够以更高效、更安全和更可靠的方式在更大的空间/时间范围内进行，同时将成本和环境影响降至最低。这些进展将促成的研究类型可以在许多方面造福社会--例如，导致更好地预测海平面将如何随着时间的推移而上升；更有能力监测和预测破坏性的空间天气事件；更好地了解生物群落和生态群落的变化，这些变化可能波及整个食物网；以及对南大洋吸收碳和热量的能力的洞察，从而推动气候变化的速度。为了帮助NSF更好地应对南极挑战，美国国家科学院、工程和医学研究院提议组织一次研讨会，探讨如何利用尖端技术发展为扩大南极和南大洋研究的所有领域的科学发现--以更低的成本、更小的环境影响以及更高的安全和效率--奠定更坚实的基础。将召集一个委员会，组织一个在线/虚拟研讨会论坛，旨在利用南极研究界内外的见解，广泛征求社区对这一专题的意见。讲习班将探讨推动下列领域发展的机会：地质、生物、大气、冰冻圈、海洋环境观测系统；天文学、天体物理学、空间气象研究传感器；数据和通信技术；用于寒冷天气环境的低温电子和系统部件、电池和电力系统；远程后勤；以及机器人和自主仪器工程。这项工作将建立在来自科学院极地研究委员会和其他几个相关国家科学院委员会的广泛的专业知识和联系网络的基础上。国家科学院的工作人员将撰写一份研讨会会议记录，其中将概述共享的信息，并对讨论中产生的关键想法进行总体综合。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Research in the Antarctic region poses tremendous challenges due to the region’s remoteness, isolation, and extreme weather. The U.S. Antarctic Program is responsible for helping the scientific community find ways to overcome these challenges, and operate safely and effectively in this unique terrain. The proposed workshop activity will help NSF identify and explore a variety of cutting-edge technological advances that facilitate Antarctic research and the logistics that support this research. The types of technological developments that may be explored include, for instance, those related to new environmental sensors; data and communications technologies; electronics, batteries, and power systems for cold-weather environments; transportation and housing; and ‘autonomous’ instruments that can operate without human presence. Advances in these areas will allow Antarctic research to be carried out in a way that is more efficient, safe, and reliable, and over a greater spatial/temporal range, while minimizing costs and environmental impacts. The types of research that such advances would enable can benefit society in numerous ways—for instance, leading to better predictions of how sea level rise will unfold over time; greater capacity to monitor and foresee disruptive space weather events; stronger understanding of changes in biological and ecological communities that can ripple across food webs; and insights into the capacity of the Southern Ocean to absorb carbon and heat and thus drive the rate of climate change. To help NSF better address Antarctic challenges, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine proposes to organize a workshop that will explore how cutting-edge technology developments can be harnessed to build a stronger foundation for expanding scientific discovery--at lower cost, with a smaller environmental impact, and with greater safety and efficiency--across all fields of Antarctic and Southern Ocean research. A committee will be convened to organize an online/virtual workshop forum that is designed to solicit broad community input to this topic—drawing upon insights from within and beyond the Antarctic research community. The workshop will explore opportunities to advance areas such as: observing systems for geological, biological, atmospheric, cryospheric, oceanic environments; astronomy, astrophysics, space weather research sensors; data and communications technologies; low-temperature electronics and system components, batteries, and power systems for cold-weather environments; remote logistics; and robotics and autonomous instrument engineering. This effort will build upon the extensive networks of expertise and contacts from the Academies’ Polar Research Board, and several other relevant National Academies Boards. National Academies' staff will author a workshop proceedings, which will provide an overview of the information shared, and a general synthesis of key ideas arising in the discussions.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.