PORT HUENEME, Calif. –
Each year, the Preservation, Packaging, Packing and Marking team at Defense Logistics Agency Distribution San Diego, Calif., at Port Hueneme supports Operation Deep Freeze, the National Science Foundation’s Antarctic research mission at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, the logistics hub for NSF’s research mission. Due to the area’s harsh climate, the resupply occurs in January- summertime on the continent- when the ice is at its thinnest.
The Office of Polar Programs manages and initiates NSF funding for basic research and its operational support in the Arctic and Antarctic. Additionally, the NSF supports scientific research and oversees the cooperative efforts of civilian contractors, the military and several federal agencies by coordinating scientific research and related logistical support in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean.
During this year’s mission, Distribution personnel packaged more than more than 450 containers of construction and packing material, frozen and dry foods, repair parts and lumber. The cargo was loaded onboard the Military Sealift Command-chartered vessel, the Polar Star; and departed Port Hueneme, CA., shortly before the first of the year.
When the Polar Star returns to Port Hueneme, Calif., the haul will include a year’s worth of scientific data and ice core samples that will assist the NSF‘s continued study of the Antarctic.