Project Grant 2535315

The National Science Foundation Division of Polar Programs awarded the University of Texas at Arlington $799,527 on September 1, 2026, under the Polar Programs assistance listing (CFDA 47.078) to operate, maintain, and restore the Antarctic Penguin magnetometer array across the Southern Polar Cap, cusp, and auroral zones through August 31, 2030.

The project will keep a continuous ground-based monitoring network operational to measure Earth's magnetic field in Antarctica's southernmost regions, generating data on solar wind–magnetosphere–ionosphere coupling processes during the solar maximum. Coordinated with conjugate magnetometer sites in Greenland, the array will investigate interhemispheric asymmetries in high-latitude geospace dynamics by characterizing drivers and spatial structure of magnetic perturbations during extreme space weather events, and quantifying how interplanetary shocks and ultra-low frequency waves couple differently into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. All observations will be shared with the global research community to support space weather forecasting and preparedness. The project includes training for early-career space weather scientists through hands-on research and public engagement activities centered on polar science and its relevance to protecting satellites, aviation communications, and power grids. Performance occurs in Arlington, Texas.