10 



STATEMENT OF 



DR. NEAL F. LANE 



DIRECTOR, NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 



BEFORE THE 



COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE 



U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 



APRIL 18, 1996 



Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for this opportunity to discuss the legislation that you 

 have introduced to implement the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Ant- 

 arctic Treaty. 



The Protocol, signed by the United States at Madrid on October 4, 1991, and 

 given the advice and consent of the Senate on October 7, 1992, designates Antarc- 

 tica as a natural reserve, devoted to peace and science, and establishes a com- 

 ?rehensive environmental protection regime governing activities undertaken there. 

 he National Science Foundation whole-heartedly supports its basic goal of accord- 

 ing priority to research, while requiring that all activities, including scientific re- 

 search, be undertaken in a manner that preserves the Antarctic environment. 



Antarctic scientific research has made and continues to make invaluable contribu- 

 tions to our understanding of the history of the earth, the evolution of the universe, 

 and global processes. Especially now, in times of heightened environmental aware- 

 ness, Antarctic research provides crucial understanding and insight into global cli- 

 mate change, ozone depletion and other global issues. I would like to briefly describe 

 some of the exciting research underway: 



• The annual expansion and contraction of sea ice doubles the area of sea ice in the 



southern hemisphere. The sea ice is a habitat for organisms from bacteria to 

 marine mammals. Studies to improve our understanding of the dynamics and 

 thermodynamics of this system are critical for understanding the role of the 

 Antarctic region in climate change and world ocean circulation. Understanding 

 Antarctica's important role in global ocean circulation will better our under- 

 standing of the effect of greenhouse gases on global climate change and the 

 earth's heat budget. 



• Marine biologists have discovered that Antarctic fish have adapted to their icy 



habitats by developing antifreeze proteins. There may be several commercial ap- 

 plications for these proteins since they are 300 times more effective in prevent- 

 ing freezing than conventional chemical antifreezes. For example, they may be 

 useful to prevent food from freezing or to engineer cold resistance in living 

 plants. They may also be used as non-polluting de-icing agents. 



• The remarkably transparent ice sheet at the South Pole makes it the ideal location 



for installing an Ajitarctic Muon and Neutrino Detector Array (AMANDA) to 

 map extraterrestrial neutrino sources. This recently recognized feature of the 

 ice sheet will open new opportunities in neutrino astrophysics, allowing astrono- 

 mers to see inside such celestial objects as the cores of galaxies. 



• The United States, Russian and French Antarctic Programs have worked together 



to obtain the world's deepest ice cores. These ice cores are providing an invalu- 

 able record of past climatic and environmental conditions as far back as 300,000 

 years ago and are providing insights into how the global climate may change 

 in the future. 



• Paleontologists have discovered the first dinosaur bones ever found in Antarctica. 



These and other fossil records are providing new insights into the Antarctic cli- 

 mate and the evolution of life at a time when Antarctica was part of the 

 supercontinent Gondwanaland. Antarctic fossil discoveries have also helped 

 clarify the record of destruction of many of the planet's species some 65 million 

 years ago. 

 The Antarctic continent and surrounding seas provide an unmatched natural lab- 

 oratory for scientific research. The National Science Foundation, as lead agency and 

 manager of the United States Antarctic Program (USAP), is committed to protecting 

 that natural laboratory, and to that end, has strengthened its environmental man- 

 agement over the past several years. Although the Protocol is not yet in force, NSF 

 already conducts its Antarctic activities in a manner consistent with the Protocol's 

 requirements. For example, we issued Antarctic waste management regulations in 



