US government shutdown puts Antarctica study on ice

The US federal government shutdown is reaching all the way down to the South Pole.


The National Science Foundation announced Tuesday that it is putting its three Antarctic scientific stations in deep freeze just as scientists are starting to arrive for the start of a new research season, The Guardian reported.


The NSF runs three stations in Antarctica spending just under $400m a year there. It often takes weeks for some 1,200 researchers to get to the southern continent by boat or plane.


Scientists have said that October is when spring and summer research starts in Antarctica. A ship had been scheduled to arrive Wednesday with researchers, including those working on a long term study that has tracked penguins and other creatures since 1990.
A skeleton staff will remain for safety and property protection.