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NSF-GBS Public Release Antarctica Desktop Study

Bridging Technology, Science and Industry Antarctica is an exciting frontier with many environmental, biological, and geological discoveries yet to be made; it is also a technological frontier as it is the only remaining continent without submarine fiber optic communications, relying on low-bandwidth satellite for information transmission. The addition of a new SMART cable system could open a world of scientific discovery and international engagement. GBS is pleased to support the U.S. National Science Foundation's objective to explore the feasiblity of a SMART cable system to McMurdo Research Station to further research and communications for the U.S. Antarctic program.

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In June 2021, more than 100 participants from science,

technology, government, and industry gathered to

address questions around the value and feasibility of

deploying a new submarine fiber optic cable system to

McMurdo Station in a virtual “ANTARCTIC SUBSEA CABLE

WORKSHOP.” The results were published in an

October 2021 report (Neff et al., 2021).

SETTING THE FOUNDATION FOR THE

DESKTOP STUDY

“The IceCube Neutrino Observatory, South Pole

Telescope, and BICEP/Keck, for example,

currently produces >1 TB of data per day, but

only transmits on the order of 100GB per day

via satellite. This results in reduced data quality,

limits timely measurement feedback, inhibits the

ability to respond to transient events, and causes

other operational headaches. In the coming

decades, plans for these South Pole scientific

platforms will result in ten times greater data

volumes than today. Increased bandwidth is

essential for the continued progress of U.S. and

international research in Antarctica.”

2021 Antarctic Subsea Cable Workshop Report

(Neff et al., 2021 pg.9)

The 2021 Antarctic Workshop