Officials at the National Science Foundation (NSF) are scrambling to save the upcoming Antarctic research season after losing access to the Oden, a Swedish icebreaker. If a replacement can't be found, and soon, scientists hoping to study everything from geology to climate science to astrophysics may have to postpone their plans for a year.
The ship was slated to clear a channel through the ice in December 2011 and January 2012 to allow supply vessels to reach McMurdo Research Station, the biggest scientific base in Antarctica. Some cargo can be flown into McMurdo using LC-130H aircraft, but the base relies on an annual visit by a freighter and fuel tanker to maintain operations. Without an icebreaker on hand, NSF might have to severely curtail work at the station and at the Amundsen-Scott Station at the South Pole, which is supplied by flights from McMurdo.
The Oden has performed the same task before, but the Swedish government officials faced criticism at home after heavy ice in the Baltic Sea impeded commercial shipping in 2011. For the upcoming season, the Swedish Maritime Administration has said it will keep the ship close to home, according to Deborah Wing, an NSF spokesperson.
About 1000 personnel occupy McMurdo, which is located on the edge of McMurdo Sound, during the Southern Hemisphere's summer. The base is a site for scientific research and the launching pad for expeditions on the continent. The South Pole station, which houses about 250 staff and researchers during the austral summer, is the second largest permanent U.S. station in Antarctica.
One source who asked not to be named suggested that if ships couldn't reach McMurdo, scientific work likely would be curtailed, but that staff could maintain the facilities at both stations. (Palmer Station, a much smaller U.S. base on the other side of the continent, is supplied by ship separately, and would not be affected.)
For decades, icebreaking work at McMurdo was done by American ships. The country currently has three of these vessels, all operated by the Coast Guard, but at the moment only the USCGC Healy is operational. The Healy is rated to break 4.5 feet of ice continuously at three knots, and has 30,000 hp at its disposal. The aging Polar Star, a 60,000-hp ship that can break 6 feet of ice continuously at three knots, is undergoing repairs after sitting idle for several years, and its twin, the Polar Sea, will soon be decommissioned.
Lawson Brigham, a polar scientist and policy expert who commanded the Polar Sea as a Coast Guard captain on multiple icebreaking trips to McMurdo, is among those who argue that the United States should invest more in its icebreaking capability. "This situation is why you have a national asset, instead of outsourcing to other countries," he says. Several current Coast Guard officers interviewed by Popular Mechanics over the past year have made essentially the same point.