The Battelle ARO team provides support to researchers via acute knowledge of the environmental conditions, the limited transport options, political nuances, and the local challenges, which translates into thorough planning efforts and realistic scheduling for NSF funded field teams.

Executing field research in Greenland provides challenges due to travel distances, lack of infrastructure, limited resources, environmental risks, foreign permitting, custom regulations, language barriers, currency difference, and the requirement to coordinate with agencies ranging from the Government of Greenland (GoG) to Department of Defense (DoD) sections such as the Air National Guard (ANG) and the United States Air Force.

Fuel Handling

All researchers using fuel at a field site must use containment for all fuel and equipment that uses fuel. Researchers should be aware of how to clean up a spill, and how to use a spill response kit.

Researchers can receive spill containment equipment and spill response kits for Battelle ARO issued equipment. Researchers should provide their own resources for any non-NSF equipment they are taking into the field that uses fuel.

Any amount of hazardous material spilled on the ground at a field location must be cleaned up. The researcher and his/her institution will be responsible for any spills, and remediation of spills, at a field site.

1. Contain the spilled material.
2. If feasible and safe, absorb the spilled material using absorbents from local spill kits. If the spill is on snow, shovel the snow and place in plastic bags or a drum to be disposed of off-site. On soil, shovel the contaminated material into a bag or drum for disposal.

If a large spill occurs, the researcher should notify immediately Battelle ARO staff and the local authority responsible for the land (i.e., BLM, NPS).

Third-party Logistics Support

Planning Third Party Logistics support in your proposal

In addition to the logistics support provided by Battelle ARO, RSL provides support via other third-party providers such as the Ice Drilling Program (IDP), Toolik Field Station (TFS) and UNAVCO. RSL engages these third-party providers through NSF subcontracts, grants, and cooperative agreements. In many cases, using one of the third-party providers reduces the overall logistics costs to a proposal due to resource sharing and economies of scale. For the full list of third-party providers, visit the Arctic Research Support and Logistics Program (RSL) website.

If you would like assistance from a third-party provider, do not include these costs as a budget line item. Instead, identify your plans clearly and realistically in the logistics description, include statements in your budget justification signaling your intent to request third-party logistics provider support, and obtain a support letter and budget estimate from the provider to include as a supplementary document to your proposal. If your proposal is awarded, this ROM estimate will form the basis of the approved logistics support scope. Researchers who request logistics support/funds beyond the scope of that identified in their funded proposal will be required to justify changes to their Program Officer before any additional support or funding is approved. For this reason, it’s important to clearly identify all anticipated support requirements at the proposal stage.

Researchers should reach out to the following field support and service organizations, if they are to be used, when preparing proposals and request a scope and cost document for the Supplementary Documents.

• Earthscope Consortium (formerly UNAVCO) which operates
  • Geodetic Facility for the Advancement of Geoscience (GAGE)
  • Seismological Facility for the Advancement of Geoscience (SAGE)
• Ice Drilling Program (IDP) for ice core drilling and drill development
• Ice Core Facility (ICF) for ice core archival and sample requests
• Polar Geospatial Center (PGC) for satellite imagery
• Toolik Field Station (TFS) for access to this field station

Transportation

ALASKA

Scientists are generally responsible for transporting their team members and cargo from Fairbanks or Anchorage to the airport closest to their field site. With NSF approval, once at the field site, Battelle ARO can arrange air charters for local science support.

All researchers using Battelle ARO chartered aircraft must have emergency survival gear and a satellite phone on-board.

Battelle ARO provides research teams in Alaska with vehicles (ATVs, snow machines, trucks) for science project use.

For current road conditions throughout Alaska, please visit Alaska 511.

Battelle ARO schedules helicopter usage at Toolik Field Station each spring.

GREENLAND

The New York ANG 109th Air Wing provides heavy lift services with ski-equipped LC-130 Hercules aircraft. The ANG has scheduled flights to Summit Station, Raven Camp, Pituffik Space Base (formerly Thule Air Base), and the Danish EGRIP camp. For the current airlift schedule please contact your Battelle ARO PM.

Air Greenland operates scheduled, fixed-wing and helicopter service from Kangerlussuaq to most coastal towns and villages within Greenland.  Check with your Battelle ARO PM as inter-island flights are often part of the logistics scope of your project and can be coordinated by Battelle. Air Greenland

With NSF approval, Battelle ARO charters helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft for remote field projects. Your PM will develop a custom flight plan around science objectives and provide information/support to your field team to ensure safe, efficient air operations.

Battelle ARO provides research teams in Greenland with various transportation options for science project use, including trucks/vans/cars for use around villages, Arctic Trucks (for use on the ice sheet), snow machines (utilized for transportation and moving light cargo), and larger pieces of equipment such as Tucker Snowcats (employed to move larger cargo and travel to remote science sites). Work with your Battelle ARO PM to outline your requirements so that the correct transportation mode can be built into your support plan.

Travel Support

Battelle ARO provides research teams in the Arctic with various means of travel support. Work with your Battelle ARO PM to outline your requirements so that the correct lodgings and transportation modes can be built into your support plan.

Other Support Requests

Proposals submitted to NSF programs outside of the Section of Arctic Sciences

Researchers submitting proposals to NSF outside of the Section of Arctic Sciences (ARC) can request logistics support from Battelle ARO.  Support will be contingent on NSF approval, and the funding program will be responsible for all logistics costs provided by Battelle ARO. ARC provides funding for arctic logistics in proposals outside of ARC if there is scientific interest in the proposal. NSF program managers make these decisions and co-funding arrangements within NSF. We suggest you specifically bring your proposal to the attention of Dr. Frank Rack to ensure co-review by the ARC.

Battelle ARO support via a reimbursable arrangement

The NSF Arctic Research Support and Logistics (RSL) program offers logistics support to non-NSF projects working in the Arctic via a reimbursable arrangement. All support is contingent on NSF approval.  For additional information, please contact arctic.planning@battelle.org.