^{This page is part of © FOTW Flags Of The World website}

National Science Foundation Antarctic Program (U.S.)

[flag of the National Science Foundation Antarctic Program]

image by Chris Kretowicz, 14 April 2001

image by António Martins, 16 September 2003

See also:

U.S. stations in Antarctica:
(permanent)
McMURDO
PALMER
SOUTH POLE

Organizing authority: National Science Foundation U.S. Antarctic Program
Chris Kretowicz, 14 April 2001

In January 2001, Marty Lyons wrote:
"I worked at the South Pole during the 1991 science season, and nearly tripped over those two flags every time I was on top of the dome. One is the National Science Foundation flag, essentially the NSF seal on a blue background; the other is the United States Antarctic Program seal on a blue background."

Here is my rendition based upon the logo sent by Marty on a light blue background.
António Martins, 26 January 2002

Having seen this photo, the flag with the map of Antarctica was easy to identify: www.maritime.edu/images/cruise/2006/flags.jpg not counting of course US, Louisana, and a UFE.

Official website presenting USAP, the United States Antarctic Program: www.usap.gov/aboutTheUSAP/
"Without interruption since 1956, Americans have been studying the Antarctic and its interactions with the rest of the planet. These investigators and supporting personnel make up the U.S. Antarctic Program, which carries forward the Nation's goals of supporting the Antarctic Treaty, fostering cooperative research with other nations, protecting the Antarctic environment, and developing measures to ensure only equitable and wise use of resources.

The program comprises research by scientists selected from universities and other research institutions and operations and support by a contractor and other agencies of the U.S. Government. The National Science Foundation (the U.S. Government agency that promotes the progress of science) funds and manages the program. Approximately, 3,000 Americans are involved each year.

The research has three goals: to understand the region and its ecosystems; to understand its effects on (and responses to) global processes such as climate; and to use the region as a platform to study the upper atmosphere and space. Antarctica's remoteness and extreme climate make field science more expensive than in most places. Research is done in the Antarctic only when it cannot be performed at more convenient locations.

The program has three year-round research stations. In summer (the period of extensive sunlight and comparative warmth that lasts roughly October through February) additional camps are established for glaciologists, earth scientists, biologists, and others. Large, ski-equipped LC-130 airplanes, which only the United States has, provide air logistics. Air National Guard crews operate these planes. Helicopters, flown by a contractor, provide close support for many research teams. Tracked or wheeled vehicles provide transport over land and snow; small boats are used in coastal areas."
Jan Mertens, 6 January 2007