Multimedia Gallery
South polar skua at McMurdo Station
A south polar skua ( Stercorarius maccormicki) sits on the Hut Point Ridge Trail, with McMurdo Station in the background. Polar skuas are the most southerly bird in the world. Although they live around the coastal edges of Antarctica, they have been seen flying over the South Pole, over 1,575 kilometers (850 miles) from the coast. They are large birds, measuring approximately 53 centimetres (21 inches) in length. McMurdo Station is one of three U.S. research stations on Antarctica. The National Science Foundation operates them all.
The National Science Foundation runs the U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP). In addition to maintaining three U.S. research stations on the continent, USAP supports research projects in an array of scientific disciplines, including for example, aeronomy and astrophysics, biology and medicine, geology and geophysics, glaciology, and ocean and climate systems. Outreach such as the Antarctic Artists and Writers program and education programs are also supported. For more information about USAP, visit the program's website Here. (Date of Image: February 2006)
Credit: Peter Rejcek, National Science Foundation
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