[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 211 (Thursday, October 31, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Page 86843]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-25350]


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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION


Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic 
Conservation Act of 1978

AGENCY: National Science Foundation.

ACTION: Notice of permit applications received.

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SUMMARY: The National Science Foundation (NSF) is required to publish a 
notice of permit applications received to conduct activities regulated 
under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978. NSF has published 
regulations under the Antarctic Conservation Act in the Code of Federal 
Regulations. This is the required notice of permit applications 
received.

DATES: Interested parties are invited to submit written data, comments, 
or views with respect to this permit application by December 2, 2024. 
This application may be inspected by interested parties at the Permit 
Office, address below.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to Permit Office, Office of 
Polar Programs, National Science Foundation, 2415 Eisenhower Avenue, 
Alexandria, Virginia 22314 or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#a2e3e1e3d2c7d0cfcbd6d1e2ccd1c48cc5cdd4"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="4a0b090b3a2f3827233e390a24392c642d253c">[email protected]</span></a>.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andrew Titmus, ACA Permit Officer, at 
the above address, 703-292-4479.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The National Science Foundation, as directed 
by the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541, 45 CFR 671), 
as amended by the Antarctic Science, Tourism and Conservation Act of 
1996, has developed regulations for the establishment of a permit 
system for various activities in Antarctica and designation of certain 
animals and certain geographic areas as requiring special protection. 
The regulations establish such a permit system to designate Antarctic 
Specially Protected Areas.

Application Details

Permit Application: 2025-021

1. Applicant: Sujatha Bagal, National Geographic Society, 1145 17th 
Street NW, Washington, DC 20036

    Activity for Which Permit is Requested: Waste Management. The 
applicant seeks an Antarctic Conservation Act permit in association 
with Waste Management activities in Antarctica. The applicant proposes 
to conduct a multidisciplinary research project in the Weddell Sea 
involving the use of a Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS), a 
Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV), and a benthic camera (drop cam). For 
RPAS use, flights will only occur under fair weather conditions and be 
operated by an experienced pilot. No flights would occur in the 
vicinity of wildlife, and no flights would occur over Antarctic 
Specially Protected Areas or Historic Sites and Monuments. The dropcam 
would be deployed to a max depth of 3,500 m for up to four hours. A 
biodegradable anchor would be released to the environment with each 
camera deployment. All visits ashore would follow Visitor Site 
Guidelines where applicable.
    Location: Weddell Sea, Antarctica.
    Dates of Permitted Activities: December 14, 2024-January 4, 2025.

Permit Application: 2025-020

2. Applicant: Ari S. Friedlaender, Institute for Marine Sciences, UC 
Santa Cruz, 115 McAllister Way, Santa Cruz, CA 95003.

    Activity for Which Permit is Requested: Waste Management. The 
applicant proposes to conduct research around the Antarctic Peninsula 
to determine the ecological role of cetaceans. Sensor tags would be 
used to collect data on the underwater movement and behavior of the 
whales. The applicant would collect skin and blubber biopsy samples to 
gain a better understanding of the identity, population structure, and 
health of the whales. The applicant would operate Remotely Piloted 
Aircraft Systems (RPAS) to collect photographs of individual whales for 
health assessment purposes. The applicant would collaborate with 
Antarctic tour operators that would provide platforms to the 
applicant's research team in order to gather data during time periods 
that are undersampled. The applicant is seeking a waste permit to cover 
any accidental releases that may occur if the biopsy darts, tags, and/
or remotely piloted aircraft are lost. The research teams would be 
comprised of experienced researchers and RPAS pilots. The applicant 
would minimize the risk of generating waste and losing any equipment 
due to human error. The applicant would also conduct activities under 
conditions (weather, sea state, etc.) allowing the applicant and team 
to maintain visual contact with instrumentation and equipment as well 
as aid in retrieval as needed. Multi-sensor, suction cup tags would be 
attached to whales. When they are shed, they float and are retrieved 
using radio telemetry tracking tools. While tag failure is rare, a lost 
tag would constitute waste in the form of 300 grams of syntactic foam, 
100 grams of electronics and 20 grams of silicon suction cups. Biopsy 
sampling is done with a crossbow firing a floating dart, made of 
aluminum and carbon fiber, that bounces off the whale's body after 
extracting a tiny plug of tissue. The biopsy bolt tips are a 40 mm 
stainless steel barrel and the bolts also contain a 5x2cm foam float 
that is used to aid in dart retrieval. The bolts are highly visible and 
remain at the surface for retrieval. An observer would maintain visual 
contact with the bolt until retrieval. The successful retrieval rate is 
very high (only 3 bolts lost in over 500 sampling events). The UAS/RPAS 
would be operated by experienced pilots according to protocols designed 
to ensure safe operations and to minimize the risk of loss. The 
commercial, off-the-shelf aircraft are powered by lithium polymer 
batteries and do not require any fuels. Loss of aircraft would result 
in a minor amount of plastic and metal waste from the frame and camera 
as well as non-toxic (no lead or cadmium) lithium polymer batteries.
    Location: Antarctic Peninsula Region.
    Dates of Permitted Activities: December 1, 2024-November 30, 2029.

Alina Pavao,
Administrative Assistant, Office of Polar Programs.
[FR Doc. 2024-25350 Filed 10-30-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-P


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