Some of these funding will benefit the SAPRI running costs into the future and the exact portion year on year will depend on the projects supported. Ship time covered by NRF SANAP is related to research cruises - again dependent year on year. The funding for the DPS IF, which integrates ALSA and the SEAmester program, will also come from this source.
Supporting Facilities This may include standby power, water purification, air conditioning, clean
laboratory spaces, extraction fans, security, etc.
The Polar Lab and the specialised container labs will be equipped with clean laboratory spaces, air-conditioning and extraction fans. A major
temperature-control system is required for the Polar Lab to simulate Antarctic conditions, as well as a system to recycle water and treat brines and flumes. Green building solutions will be prioritised.
Auxiliary Infrastructure This includes infrastructure supporting the main RI such as access roads, overnight facilities for researchers, transport under special circumstances, such as ships, aeroplanes, etc.
Auxiliary infrastructures also include the vehicles (polar tractors, skidoos, for transporting scientists and equipment in Antarctica and the equipment/gear for fieldwork and overnight stay.
Not included in the set-up phase of SAPRI, but aircraft transportation may sensibly reduce logistics costs if properly organised. The main logistics service provider in the Dronning Maud Land Air Network (DROMLAN) is the Antarctic Logistics Centre International (ALCI). The ALCI facilitates the activities of Antarctic operators using Cape Town as their gateway to Antarctica. Engagement with these operators and auxiliary
infrastructures will be considered in Phase 2 and beyond.
Data Hardware for data storage,
data security, data
verification and curation and data mining which may be on-site or centrally hosted, or cloud based, etc. It includes redundant systems.
Refresh technology must be in budget.
The SAPRI Data Centre will be established within the SAEON Data Centre and a considerable amount of infrastructure is required for this. These are summarised in Appendix E.
Computing This may refer to hardware and software for in-house as well as national resources for high performance
computing, grid computing,
For SAPRI this relates specifically to staff employed by the SAPRI in terms of laptops, screens, office infrastructure, etc.
cloud computing, etc.
Refresh technology must be in budget.
Connectivity RIs will have to be connected to the national grid and to the Internet. SANReN connectivity may require upgrading of systems on the RI site as well as upgrading of existing national
infrastructure. Refresh technology must be in budget.
These costs are included within the Data section. A dedicated capital cost item has been included to develop new satellite communication systems between the continent and the observational platforms. The Digital Antarctic
component of the DPS IF will also deploy computing and monitoring devices to implement the digital twin technology at the bases, the ship and the Polar Lab.
Equipment
Replacements Research and other equipment have varying lifetimes, many of which are much shorter than the RI life cycle. Replacement has to be planned into the business case as capital injections from time to time after the operations have started.
Replacement costs have been included in the proposed business plan. They range from the replacement of the glider fleet and mooring equipment, as well as gear for terrestrial and oceanic fieldwork. The capital cost has been distributed evenly over the life cycle, since polar equipment is subjected to extreme conditions that makes its lifetime more unpredictable.
Autonomous devices such as drifters need to be continuously replaced since they are lost at sea and cannot be retrieved.
Equipment Upgrades Research and other equipment need upgrades from time to time. These should appear as capital cost spread over the life cycle of the RI.
Upgrade costs for the SAPRI Data Centre have been included
New Equipment
Expansions New generations of research and other equipment emerge on a continuous basis and the RI should plan the acquisition of these new generations of equipment to remain competitive and to ensure sustainability.
The major capital costs related to new equipment are linked to the devices for the new deep-sea observatory, the seawater wave tank for sea-ice/ocean interactions and the new equipment installed on future moorings.
5.1.2 Running cost Table 20 Running cost
Running Cost
Item Characteristics of this running
cost Indicate how these cost items will apply to this RI
Utilities Utilities include electricity, water,
gas supply, waste treatment, etc. These costs are included in the overheads of the IFs and as such are not detailed here.
Data The running costs aspects of data includes external service fees and levies for data management, curation, security, backup and storage.
These costs are included within the DPS, specifically the SAPRI Data Centre.
Computing The running costs aspects of HPC includes external service fees and levies for access to HPC CPUs.
These costs are included within the DPS, specifically the SAPRI Data Centre.
Connectivity The running costs aspects of connectivity includes external service fees and levies.
These costs are included in the overheads of the IFs and as such are not detailed here.
Consumables Consumables include all specialised gases, chemicals, glassware, packaging, protective clothing, disposable materials, etc., that are related to experiments done in the RI. This cost is usually recovered from user fees or project grant income
Costs are detailed for each of the IF’s requiring consumable costs. These are linked to computing, data, gases, chemicals, glassware, etc. Included here is the running costs of the autonomous platforms and moorings unit in terms of batteries, engineering, design and data management.
Security Running cost for security includes monthly levies for security companies, secure laboratory space, personal and physical security measures, etc.
These costs are included in the overheads of the IFs and as such are not detailed here.
Rental/Levies This running cost includes
monthly/annual rental of land and premises
These costs are included in the overheads of the IFs and as such are not detailed here.
Staff Staff cost is usually a major running cost item for a RI. The staff
requirements have been indicated in the Staffing Model. Staff cost is made up of salaries, benefits, training and travel costs.
SAPRI will employ 39 people by Year 4. These include 7 Management team members (Manager, Coordinating Officers and 3-year Project Manager for the Polar Lab), 2 Admin staff, 11 technicians across the IFs, 4 annual overwinter team members for Marion Island and 15 Data Centre staff.
Maintenance Maintenance costs start kicking in once the RI is operational.
Preventative maintenance and emergency maintenance make up these costs. It is an important cost item for sustainability of the RI.
These costs are included within the running costs for the IF’s.
Shut-down costs Shut-down costs include phasing out costs, decommissioning costs and costs of closure and may include disassembly, waste, recycling, storage, reskilling and relocation costs.
No costs have been specified here.
Other overheads Other overheads may include taxes, levies, interest, insurance, and other costs not mentioned above
These costs are included in the overheads of the IFs and as such are not detailed here.
Contingencies Contingencies arise from
unforeseen events, fault margins on planning, unexpected increases in exchange rate and interest rate, inflation, etc.
These costs have been taken into account within the ICRR.
Other (Specify) Line items included here are related to ad
interim management costs, travel and admin of the advisory panels, general travel and catering for SAPRI activities, a capacity development training budget and costs associated with report writing.