With NSF support, the U.S. Geological Survey has prepared and published topographic and geologic maps of portions of Antarctica at scales of 1:50,000, 1:250,000, 1:500,000, and 1:1,000,000. Most of these maps, which are the most authoritative ones available, cost under $5 each. A 1991 satellite image wall map of the continent at 1:5,000,000 scale (``Antarctica,'' Map I-2284) is $5.25.
The free Catalogue of Antarctica Maps can be requested by phone from the Survey's Denver office (1-800-USA-MAPS) at --
USGS Branch of Distribution
Box 25286, Building 810
Denver, Colorado 80225
An older one-sheet map of the continent at 1:5,000,000 scale, published by the American Geographical Society in 1970, is available from the Smithsonian Oceanographic Sorting Center, Washington, D.C. 20560. The map measures 107 by 142 centimeters and costs $6 folded or $7 rolled and shipped in a tube.
A one-sheet map of the continent and surrounding oceans (scale 1:6,000,000), a part of the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans series, was published in 1980. It is available for $5 from the Hydrographic Chart Distribution Service, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, 1675 Russell Road, P.O. Box 8080, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1G 3H6 (613-998-4931).
An extremely large and complete library collection of antarctic aerial photographs and maps produced by both the United States and other nations is available for inspection at the SCAR (Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research) Map Library, U.S. Geological Survey, 515 National Center, Reston, Virginia 22092 (telephone 703- 648-6010).
A total of 37 hydrographic charts of antarctic coastal and deep sea waters at scales from 1:500,000 to 1:5,000 are available from the Defense Mapping Agency (DMA), Office of Distribution Services, Washington, D.C. 20315 (301-227-2495). An index is available from DMA or the Office of Polar Programs.
Aeronautical charts and publications regarding portions of Antarctica are available for purchase by the public from the Defense Mapping Agency, Combat Support Center, Attn: DDCP, Washington, D.C. 20315-0020 (301-227-2495 in Maryland or 1-800-826-0342 outside Maryland). To decide what to order, get Public Sale Catalog DMA Stock No. CATP6V03 (First Edition, December 1987). These are specialized products and not very useful to those who are not aviators.
A gazetteer of the 12,362 antarctic place names recog- nized by the United States (Gazetteer of the Antarctic; NSF 89-98; xii + 145p.) was published in 1990 and is available from the Polar Information Program (703-306- 1031). This book also lists 2,546 unapproved variant names, which should not be used, and it contains a form on which to recommend new names.
An updated gazetteer with descriptions of place names is expected to be published in early 1995.
Two bibliography projects provide virtually complete coverage of the antarctic research literature.
An ongoing Antarctic Bibliography prepared by the Library of Congress abstracts and indexes the world antarctic literature published between 1951 and the present.
At the end of 1993, 54,270 titles had been cited in the subject categories of: general, biological sciences, cartography, expeditions, geological sciences, ice and snow, logistics equipment and supplies, medical sciences, meteorology, oceanography, atmospheric physics, terrestrial physics, and political geography. Author, subject, geographic, and grantee indexes are included.
Twenty hardbound volumes and two cumulative indexes have been published to date, and some still may be purchased from the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402.
Current Antarctic Literature is a printout of abstracts issued monthly by the Library of Congress staff that produces the Antarctic Bibliography. It is available free to working scientists and librarians. Write the Polar Information Program, Office of Polar Programs (or e-mail dfriscic@nsf.gov).
To assure prompt entry of your research papers into the Antarctic Bibliography please send reprints to:
Mr. Stuart Hibben, Head
Cold Regions Bibliography Project
Science and Technology Division
Library of Congress
Washington, D.C. 20540
tel. 202-707-1181
fax 202-707-1125
Online searching of Antarctic Bibliography citations since 1961 and of the companion Bibliography on Cold Regions Science and Technology can be performed on the COLD database, offered by Orbit Search Service, 8000 Westpark Drive, McLean, Virginia 22102 (800-456-7248 or 703-442-0900).
The Antarctic Bibliography and the Bibliography on Cold Regions Science and Technology, along with a number of other polar data bases, are on Arctic and Antarctic Regions, a CD-ROM disk that is updated twice a year. Copies are at U.S. antarctic facilities, at the International Center in Christchurch, and at NSF in Arlington, Virginia. For sales or further inquiries regarding the CD-ROM only:
NISC Engineering Research Center
Suite 6, Wyman Towers
3100 St. Paul Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21218
tel. 410-243-0797
An Antarctic Bibliography (NAVAER 10-35-591) prepared by the U.S. Naval Photographic Interpretation Center in 1951 was reprinted by the Greenwood Press, 51 Riverside Ave- nue, Westport, Connecticut 06880 (tel. 203-226-3571). The 147-page hardbound volume lists and indexes some 5,500 titles, covering the scientific, technical, and popular literature published from the earliest times to 1951.
Most results of antarctic research are published as pa- pers in scientific journals, which are referenced in the Antarctic Bibliography. The following books and articles have been selected, somewhat arbitrarily, as representing the history and present status of antarctic exploration and research.
Little America (1930, 420 p.), Discovery (1935, 405 p.), and Alone (1938, 296 p.), by Richard E. Byrd (New York, Putnams). The first two are the official narratives of the first and second Byrd expeditions. The third described Byrd's vigil alone on the Ross Ice Shelf.
The Worst Journey in the World, by Apsley Cherry-Garrard (first published 1922). A member of Scott's last expedi- tion describes the expedition and a winter journey between McMurdo Sound and Cape Crozier. This antarctic classic has been reprinted many times in several editions.
Cold. The Record of an Antarctic Sledge Journey, by L. M. Gould (New York, Brewer, Warren, and Putnam, 1931).
Quest for a Continent, by Walter Sullivan (McGraw Hill, 1957). 357 p. History of antarctic exploration to late 1950s.
Endurance, Shackleton's Incredible Voyage, by Alfred Lansing (New York, McGraw Hill, 1959). 284 p. Shackleton's 2-year adventure.
90 Degrees South: The Story of the American South Pole Conquest, by Paul A. Siple (New York, G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1959). The author was first station science leader at the Pole.
Antarctic Conquest: The Great Explorers in Their Own Words, edited by Walker Chapman (Bobbs Merrill, 1965). 368 p. Anthology.
Americans in Antarctica 1775-1948, by Kenneth J. Bertrand (New York, American Geographical Society, 1971). 554 p. Authoritative history of U.S. involvement.
Antarctica: Authentic Accounts of Life and Exploration, edited by Charles Neider (New York, Random House, 1972). 464 p. Anthology plus editor's personal narrative.
Little America: Town at the Bottom of the World, by Paul A. Carter (New York, Columbia University Press, 1979). 301 p. History emphasizing Byrd's expeditions.
Scott and Amundsen, by Roland Huntford (New York, G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1980). 665 p. Comparative biography.
Encyclop‘dia Britannica, ``Antarctica.'' 18 p.
Frozen Future: A Prophetic Report from Antarctica, edited by Richard S. Lewis and Philip M. Smith (Quadrangle Books, 1973). 454 p. Antarctica as political and scientific laboratory.
Edge of the World: Ross Island, Antarctica, by Charles Neider (Doubleday, 1974). 461 p. Personal and historical narrative.
Life at the Bottom: The People of Antarctica, by John Langone (Boston, Little, Brown, 1977). 262 p. Anecdotal narrative.
Antarctica, by Eliot Porter (New York, E. P. Dutton, 1978). 169 p. Eighty-seven color photographs plus text.
The New Explorers: Women in Antarctica, by Barbara Land (New York: Dodd, Mead, 1981). 224 p.
``A reporter at large (Antarctica): South of 60 degrees south,'' by Katherine Bouton. The New Yorker, 23 March 1981, p. 42-122.
A Pole Apart: The Emerging Issue of Antarctica, by Philip W. Quigg (New York, McGraw Hill, 1983). 299 p. Roundup of political and scientific concerns.
Antarctica: Great Stories from the Frozen Continent (Surry Hills, New South Wales, Australia: Readers Digest Pty Limited, 1985). 320 p. Detailed overall review of past and present activities.
Antarctica: The Continuing Experiment, by Philip W. Quigg (New York, Foreign Policy Association, Headline Series No. 273, March/April 1985). 62 p.
The Seventh Continent: Antarctica in a Resource Age, by Deborah Shapley (Washington, Resources for the Future, 1986). 315 p. Review of antarctic affairs.
Antarctic Treaty System: Politics, Law, and Diplomacy, by J.D. Myhre (Boulder, Westview Press, 1986). 162 p. In- cludes a draft text of the proposed minerals regime for Antarctica.
Antarctic Treaty System: An Assessment. Proceedings of a Workshop Held at Beardmore South Field Camp, Antarcti- ca, edited by Polar Research Board. (National Academy Press, 1986), 435 p.
South Light, by Michael Parfit. Macmillan Publishing Co., 1986. Book based on a 3-month sojourn with the U.S. Antarctic Program.
The Ice: A Journey to Antarctica, by Stephen J. Pyne (Iowa City, University of Iowa Press, 1986). 428 p. Judged by the New York Times Book Review as one of the 16 best books of the year. Paperbound: Ballantine Books, 1988.
Natural History of the Antarctic Peninsula, by Sanford Moss, illustrations by Lucia deLeiris (Columbia University Press, 1988). 208 p.
The Sea and the Ice, by Louis J. Halle (Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 1973). 286 p. [Cornell Paperbacks edition published 1989 by Cornell University Press.] Personal narrative of a voyage by icebreaker.
Antarctic Comrades: An American with the Russians in Antarctica, by Gilbert Dewart (Ohio State University Press, 1989). 194 p. Glasnost during the era of Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Krushchev.
Wild Ice: Antarctic Journeys, by Ron Naveen, Colin Monteath, Tui de Roy, and Mark Jones (Smithsonian Institution Press, 1990). 224 p incl 175 color illus. Four authors collaborate to present textual and photographic images of Antarctica.
The Crystal Desert: Summers in Antarctica, by David G. Campbell (Houghton Mifflin, 1993). A biologist's three seasons with the Brazilian program.
``Offshore: A Journey to the Weddell Sea,'' by Barry Lopez. Orion, Winter 1994. An esteemed writer accompanies the research icebreaker Nathaniel B. Palmer from Louisiana to Antarctica.
The National Academy of Sciences has published a series of recommended research objectives and related reports. The National Science Foundation has provided partial financial support for this activity. For a list of the reports, or to obtain copies, contact the Polar Research Board, 2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20418 (tel. 202-334-3479). Some recent reports:
Prospects and concerns for remote sensing of snow and ice. 1990.
The role of Antarctica in global change. 28 p. 1989.
Physical oceanography and tracer chemistry of the south- ern ocean. 82 p. 1988.
Data coordination and career stimulation in polar bio- medical research. 39 p. 1988.
``Laboratory Antarctica: research contributions to global problems,'' Science, 4 December 1987 (p. 1361-1368) and 22 January 1988 (p. 335).
Antarctic solid-earth sciences research: a guide for the next decade and beyond. 40 p. 1986.
Recommendations for a U.S. ice coring program. 67 p. 1986.
U.S. research in Antarctica in 2000 a.d. and beyond: a preliminary assessment. 35 p. 1986.
Research emphases for the U.S. Antarctic Program. 126 p. 1983.
Unless otherwise indicated, the National Science Foundation publishes these items. Order those with NSF numbers from Publications, NSF, Arlington, Virginia 22230 (703-306-1130, pubs@nsf.gov). Some older NSF antarctic publications can be obtained from the Foundation's Polar Information Program (703-306-1031; dfriscic@nsf.gov).
Antarctic Research Proposal Guide (Annex) (NSF 94-62). You need this book and the next two to prepare a research proposal to NSF.
Antarctic Program Announcement and Proposal Guide (NSF 93-49).
Grant Proposal Guide (NSF 94-2).
Guide to Programs (NSF 93-167). Describes areas of NSF grant support.
United States Antarctic Program (NSF 91-92, color brochure).
Antarctic Journal of the United States (1966- ). National Science Foundation. Free to U.S. Antarctic Program participants from Office of Polar Programs. All others: Contact Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402. Quarterly news plus annual reviews of U.S. Antarctic Program.
Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (NSF 89-59, 80 p.). This book contains the law, its regulations, maps of special areas, and a permit application form.
Gazetteer of the Antarctic (NSF 89-98, xii + 145p). Contains the 12,362 place names (and their geographic coordinates) officially recognized by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names.
Antarctic News Clips, 1994 (NSF 94-76, 185 p.). Polar Information Program. Latest annual collection of news clippings related to the U.S. Antarctic Program.
Directorate for Geosciences and Office of Polar Programs Long Range Plan FY 1995-2000 (NSF 94-49, 62 p.).
Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the United States Antarctic Program. National Science Foundation, October 1991. xxvi+431 p.
Cooperative Agreements for Environmental Research in Support of U.S. Antarctic Program Environmental Management--Program Solicitation (NSF 93-96) describes financial support available in this subprogram begun in 1993.
An NSF contractor holds a large number of indexed antarctic slides that are available for public use. For information, contact:
Capital Systems Group, Inc. 1355 Piccard Drive, Suite 350 Rockville, Maryland 20850 tel. 301-948-3033 fax 301-948-2242
Various antarctic videos may be borrowed from the above or from the Polar Information Program at NSF (703-306- 1031).
NSF's free online Science & Technology Information System (STIS) provides access to many NSF documents, ranging from the phone book to announcements of research opportuni- ties. It is available to any computer with vt100 emulation that can access a network or that has dialup capability. The service is free. For information: stisserv@nsf.gov, phone 703-306-0214.
