[{"awards": "2333940 Zhong, Shijie", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-180 -60,-144 -60,-108 -60,-72 -60,-36 -60,0 -60,36 -60,72 -60,108 -60,144 -60,180 -60,180 -63,180 -66,180 -69,180 -72,180 -75,180 -78,180 -81,180 -84,180 -87,180 -90,144 -90,108 -90,72 -90,36 -90,0 -90,-36 -90,-72 -90,-108 -90,-144 -90,-180 -90,-180 -87,-180 -84,-180 -81,-180 -78,-180 -75,-180 -72,-180 -69,-180 -66,-180 -63,-180 -60))", "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Mon, 08 Jan 2024 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Satellite observations of Earth\u2019s surface gravity and elevation changes indicate rapid melting of ice sheets in recent decades in northern Antarctica Peninsula and Amundsen Sea Embayment of West Antarctica. This rapid melting may lead to significant global sea level rise which is a major societal concern. Measurements from the Global Positioning System (GPS) show rapid land uplift in these regions as the ice sheets melt. When an ice sheet melts, the melt water flows to oceans, causing global sea level to rise. However, the sea level change at a given geographic location is also influenced by two other factors associated with the ice melting process: 1) the vertical motion of the land and 2) gravitational attraction. The vertical motion of the land is caused by the change of pressure force on the surface of the solid Earth. For example, the removal of ice mass reduces the pressure force on the land, leading to uplift of the land below the ice sheet, while the addition of water in oceans increases the pressure force on the seafloor, causing it to subside. The sea level always follows the equipotential surface of the gravity which changes as the mass on the Earth\u2019s surface (e.g., the ice and water) or/and in its interiors (e.g., at the crust-mantle boundary) is redistributed. Additionally, the vertical motion of the land below an ice sheet has important effects on the evolution and stability of the ice sheet and may determine whether the ice sheet will rapidly collapse or gradually stabilize. The main goal of this project is to build an accurate and efficient computer model to study the displacement and deformation of the Antarctic crust and mantle in response to recent ice melting. The project will significantly improve existing and publicly available computer code, CitcomSVE. The horizontal and vertical components of the Earth\u2019s surface displacement depends on mantle viscosity and elastic properties of the Earth. Although seismic imaging studies demonstrate that the Antarctica mantle is heterogeneous, most studies on the ice-melting induced deformation in Antarctica have assumed that mantle viscosity and elastic properties only vary with the depth due to computational limitations. In this project, the new computational method in CitcomSVE avoids such assumptions and makes it possible to include realistic 3-D mantle viscosity and elastic properties in computing the Antarctica crustal and mantle displacement. This project will interpret the GPS measurements of the surface displacements in northern Antarctica Peninsula and Amundsen Sea Embayment of West Antarctica and use the observations to place constraints on mantle viscosity and deformation mechanisms. The project will also seek to predict the future land displacement Antarctica, which will lead to a better understand of Antarctica ice sheets. Finally, the project has direct implications for the study of global sea level change and the dynamics of the Greenland ice sheet. Technical Description Glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) is important for understanding not only fundamental science questions including mantle viscosity, mantle convection and lithospheric deformation but also societally important questions of global sea-level change, polar ice melting, climate change, and groundwater hydrology. Studies of rock deformation in laboratory experiments, post-seismic deformation, and mantle dynamics indicate that mantle viscosity is temperature- and stress-dependent. Although the effects of stress-dependent (i.e., non-Newtonian) viscosity and transient creep rheology on GIA process have been studied, observational evidence remains elusive. There has been significant ice mass loss in recent decades in northern Antarctica Peninsula (NAP) and Amundsen Sea Embayment (ASE) of West Antarctica. The ice mass loss has caused rapid bedrock uplift as measured by GPS techniques which require surprisingly small upper mantle viscosity of ~1018 Pas. The rapid uplifts may have important feedback effects on ongoing ice melting because of their influence on grounding line migration, and the inferred small viscosity may have implications for mantle rheology and deformation on decadal time scales. The main objective of the project is to test hypotheses that the GPS observations in NAP and ASE regions are controlled by 3-D non-Newtonian or/and transient creep viscosity by developing new GIA modeling capability based on finite element package CitcomSVE. The project will carry out the following three tasks: Task 1 is to build GIA models for the NAP and ASE regions to examine the effects of 3-D temperature-dependent mantle viscosity on the surface displacements and to test hypothesis that the 3-D mantle viscosity improves the fit to the GPS observations. Task 2 is to test the hypothesis that non-Newtonian or/and transient creep rheology controls GIA process on decadal time scales by computing GIA models and comparing model predictions with GPS observations for the NAP and ASE regions. Task 3 is to implement transient creep (i.e., Burgers model) rheology into finite element package CitcomSVE for modeling the GIA process on global and regional scales and to make the package publicly available to the scientific community. The project will develop the first numerical GIA model with Burgers transient rheology and use the models to examine the effects of 3-D temperature-dependent viscosity, non-Newtonian viscosity and transient rheology on GIA-induced surface displacements in Antarctica. The project will model the unique GPS observations of unusually large displacement rates in the NAP and ASE regions to place constraints on mantle rheology and to distinguish between 3-D temperature-dependent, non-Newtonian and transient mantle viscosity. The project will expand the capability of the publicly available software package CitcomSVE for modeling viscoelastic deformation and tidal deformation on global and regional scales. The project will advance our understanding in lithospheric deformation and mantle rheology on decadal time scales, which helps predict grounding line migration and understand ice sheet stability in West Antarctica. The project will strengthen the open science practice by improving the publicly available code CitcomSVE at github. This award reflects NSF\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": 180.0, "geometry": "POINT(0 -89.999)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "WAIS; CRUSTAL MOTION; COMPUTERS; GLACIER MASS BALANCE/ICE SHEET MASS BALANCE", "locations": "WAIS", "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Zhong, Shijie", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e MODELS \u003e COMPUTERS", "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "Investigating Effects of Transient and Non-Newtonian Mantle Viscosity on Glacial Isostatic Adjustment Process and their Implications for GPS Observations in Antarctica", "uid": "p0010441", "west": -180.0}, {"awards": "1643575 Kanatous, Shane; 1644004 Trumble, Stephen; 1644256 Costa, Daniel", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-66.534369 -52.962091,-65.3857434 -52.962091,-64.2371178 -52.962091,-63.0884922 -52.962091,-61.9398666 -52.962091,-60.791241 -52.962091,-59.6426154 -52.962091,-58.4939898 -52.962091,-57.3453642 -52.962091,-56.1967386 -52.962091,-55.048113 -52.962091,-55.048113 -54.530129,-55.048113 -56.098167000000004,-55.048113 -57.666205000000005,-55.048113 -59.234243,-55.048113 -60.802281,-55.048113 -62.370319,-55.048113 -63.938357,-55.048113 -65.506395,-55.048113 -67.074433,-55.048113 -68.642471,-56.1967386 -68.642471,-57.3453642 -68.642471,-58.4939898 -68.642471,-59.6426154 -68.642471,-60.791241 -68.642471,-61.9398666 -68.642471,-63.0884922 -68.642471,-64.2371178 -68.642471,-65.3857434 -68.642471,-66.534369 -68.642471,-66.534369 -67.074433,-66.534369 -65.506395,-66.534369 -63.938356999999996,-66.534369 -62.370319,-66.534369 -60.802281,-66.534369 -59.234243,-66.534369 -57.666205,-66.534369 -56.098167000000004,-66.534369 -54.530129,-66.534369 -52.962091))", "dataset_titles": "Data from: Whiskers provide time-series of toxic and essential trace elements, Se:Hg molar ratios, and stable isotope values of an apex Antarctic predator, the leopard seal; Leopard Seal Diving behavior data; Leopard Seal movement data", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601690", "doi": "10.15784/601690", "keywords": "Antarctica; Antarctic Peninsula; Biota; Body Mass; Diving Behavior; Leopard Seal; Seals", "people": "Costa, Daniel", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Leopard Seal Diving behavior data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601690"}, {"dataset_uid": "200361", "doi": "https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.ksn02v75b", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "Dryad", "science_program": null, "title": "Data from: Whiskers provide time-series of toxic and essential trace elements, Se:Hg molar ratios, and stable isotope values of an apex Antarctic predator, the leopard seal", "url": "https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061%2Fdryad.ksn02v75b"}, {"dataset_uid": "601689", "doi": "10.15784/601689", "keywords": "Antarctica; Antarctic Peninsula; Biota; Body Mass; Diving Behavior; Leopard Seal; Movement Data; Seals", "people": "Costa, Daniel", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Leopard Seal movement data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601689"}], "date_created": "Fri, 12 May 2023 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This research project is a multidisciplinary effort that brings together a diverse team of scientists from multiple institutions together to understand the foraging behavior and physiology of leopard seals and their role in the Southern Ocean food web. The project will examine the physiology and behavior of leopard seals to in an effort to determine their ability to respond to potential changes in their habitat and foraging areas. Using satellite tracking devices the team will examine the movement and diving behavior of leopard seals and couple this information with measurements of their physiological capacity. The project will determine whether leopard seals- who feed on diverse range of prey- are built differently than their deep diving relatives the Weddell and elephant seal who feed on fish and squid. The team will also determine whether leopard seals are operating at or near their physiological capability to determine how much, if any, ?reserve capacity? they might have to forage and live in changing environments. A better understanding of their home ranges, movement patterns, and general behavior will also be informative to help in managing human-leopard seal interactions. The highly visual nature of the data and analysis for this project lends itself to public and educational display and outreach, particularly as they relate to the changing Antarctic habitats. The project will use the research results to educate the public on the unique physiological and ecological adaptations to extreme environments seen in diving marine mammals, including adaptations to exercise under low oxygen conditions and energy utilization, which affect and dictate the lifestyle of these exceptional organisms. The results of the project will also contribute to the broader understanding that may enhance the aims of managing marine living resources. The leopard seal is an apex predator in the Antarctic ecosystem. This project seeks to better understand the ability of the leopard seal to cope with a changing environment. The project will first examine the foraging behavior and habitat utilization of leopard seals using satellite telemetry. Specifically, satellite telemetry tags will be used to obtain dive profiles and movement data for individuals across multiple years. Diet and trophic level positions across multiple temporal scales will then be determined from physiological samples (e.g., blood, vibrissae, blubber fatty acids, stable isotopes, fecal matter). Oceanographic data will be integrated with these measures to develop habitat models that will be used to assess habitat type, habitat utilization, habitat preference, and home range areas for individual animals. Diet composition for individual seals will be evaluated to determine whether specific animals are generalists or specialists. Second, the team will investigate the physiological adaptations that allow leopard seals to be apex predators and determine to what extent leopard seals are working at or near their physiological limit. Diving behavior and physiology of leopard seals will be evaluated (for instance the aerobic dive limit for individual animals and skeletal muscle adaptations will be determined for diving under hypoxic conditions). Data from time-depth recorders will be used to determine foraging strategies for individual seals, and these diving characteristics will be related to physiological variables (e.g., blood volume, muscle oxygen stores) to better understand the link between foraging behavior and physiology. The team will compare myoglobin storage in swimming muscles associated with both forelimb and hind limb propulsion and the use of anaerobic versus aerobic metabolic systems while foraging.", "east": -55.048113, "geometry": "POINT(-60.791241 -60.802281)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Antarctic Peninsula; Diving Behavior; MAMMALS; MARINE ECOSYSTEMS; Movement Patterns; Leopard Seal", "locations": "Antarctic Peninsula", "north": -52.962091, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems; Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems; Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Costa, Daniel; Trumble, Stephen J; Kanatous, Shane", "platforms": null, "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "Dryad; USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -68.642471, "title": "Collaborative Research: Foraging Ecology and Physiology of the Leopard Seal", "uid": "p0010419", "west": -66.534369}, {"awards": "2152622 Morlighem, Mathieu", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-110 -74,-109 -74,-108 -74,-107 -74,-106 -74,-105 -74,-104 -74,-103 -74,-102 -74,-101 -74,-100 -74,-100 -74.3,-100 -74.6,-100 -74.9,-100 -75.2,-100 -75.5,-100 -75.8,-100 -76.1,-100 -76.4,-100 -76.7,-100 -77,-101 -77,-102 -77,-103 -77,-104 -77,-105 -77,-106 -77,-107 -77,-108 -77,-109 -77,-110 -77,-110 -76.7,-110 -76.4,-110 -76.1,-110 -75.8,-110 -75.5,-110 -75.2,-110 -74.9,-110 -74.6,-110 -74.3,-110 -74))", "dataset_titles": "Sliding-Law Parameter and Airborne Radar-Derived Basal Reflectivity Data Underneath Thwaites Glacier, Antarctica", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601658", "doi": "10.15784/601658", "keywords": "Airborne Radar; Antarctica; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Thwaites; Thwaites Glacier", "people": "Das, Indrani", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "Thwaites (ITGC)", "title": "Sliding-Law Parameter and Airborne Radar-Derived Basal Reflectivity Data Underneath Thwaites Glacier, Antarctica", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601658"}], "date_created": "Tue, 20 Dec 2022 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This project contributes to the joint initiative launched by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.K. Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) to substantially improve decadal and longer-term projections of ice loss and sea-level rise originating from Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica. Thwaites Glacier has been accelerating and widening over the past three decades. How fast Thwaites will disintegrate or how quickly it will find a new stable state have become some of the most important questions of the future of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and its contribution to sea-level rise over the next decades to centuries and beyond. This project will rely on three independent numerical models of ice flow, coupled to an ocean circulation model to (1) improve our understanding of the interactions between the ice and the underlying bedrock, (2) analyze how sensitive the glacier is to external changes, (3) assess the processes that may lead to a collapse of Thwaites, and, most importantly, (4) forecast future ice loss of Thwaites. By providing predictions based on a suite of coupled ice-ocean models, this project will also assess the uncertainty in model projections. The project will use three independent ice-sheet models: Ice Sheet System Model, Ua, and STREAMICE, coupled to the ocean circulation model of the MIT General Circulation Model. The team will first focus on the representation of key physical processes of calving, ice damage, and basal slipperiness that have either not been included, or are poorly represented, in previous ice-flow modelling work. The team will then quantify the relative role of different proposed external drivers of change (e.g., ocean-induced ice-shelf thinning, loss of ice-shelf pinning points) and explore the stability regime of Thwaites Glacier with the aim of identifying internal thresholds separating stable and unstable grounding-line retreat. Using inverse methodology, the project will produce new physically consistent high-resolution (300-m) data sets on ice-thicknesses from available radar measurements. Furthermore, the team will generate new remote sensing data sets on ice velocities and rates of elevation change. These will be used to constrain and validate the numerical models, and will also be valuable stand-alone data sets. This process will allow the numerical models to be constrained more tightly by data than has previously been possible. The resultant more robust model predictions of near-future impact of Thwaites Glacier on global sea levels can inform policy-relevant decision-making. This award reflects NSF\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": -100.0, "geometry": "POINT(-105 -75.5)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "COMPUTERS; Amundsen Sea; ICE SHEETS", "locations": "Amundsen Sea", "north": -74.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": "NOT APPLICABLE", "persons": "Morlighem, Mathieu; Das, Indrani", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e MODELS \u003e COMPUTERS", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -77.0, "title": "NSF-NERC: PROcesses, drivers, Predictions: Modeling the response of Thwaites Glacier over the next Century using Ice/Ocean Coupled Models (PROPHET)", "uid": "p0010400", "west": -110.0}, {"awards": "2218996 Collins, Kristina", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-180 -60,-144 -60,-108 -60,-72 -60,-36 -60,0 -60,36 -60,72 -60,108 -60,144 -60,180 -60,180 -63,180 -66,180 -69,180 -72,180 -75,180 -78,180 -81,180 -84,180 -87,180 -90,144 -90,108 -90,72 -90,36 -90,0 -90,-36 -90,-72 -90,-108 -90,-144 -90,-180 -90,-180 -87,-180 -84,-180 -81,-180 -78,-180 -75,-180 -72,-180 -69,-180 -66,-180 -63,-180 -60))", "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Sun, 07 Aug 2022 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Magnetic field variations on the Earth\u2019s surface can be used to remote sense and characterize electrical currents and plasma waves in the near-Earth space environment that can affect technology, for example by inducing currents in power grids. Asymmetries between the space environment in the polar regions of the northern and southern hemispheres can profoundly affect these magnetic field variations. Magnetometers, which measure the strength and direction of magnetic fields, have been installed in the Arctic and Antarctic at opposite ends of the Earth\u2019s magnetic field lines. By looking at data from both sets of magnetometers, researchers can determine whether disturbances in the Earth\u2019s magnetosphere (a region of near-Earth space dominated by the Earth\u2019s magnetic field) caused by the Sun impact the Northern hemisphere, the Southern hemisphere or both, and thus understand the sources of north-south hemisphere asymmetries. Some events that appear in the magnetometer data may be difficult for computers to identify, but easy for people to identify if the data is translated into sound. Researchers will develop a tool for listening to data in a virtual reality environment, so that data from various instruments can be played back, making it easier to explore datasets intuitively. This system will be prototyped using a mixed reality headset for use in both science and education and may be used to analyze data taken at the same time by sensors on the ground and on satellites. This project will examine one particular type of disturbance \u2013 magnetosheath jets \u2013 and its relation to plasma waves by addressing the question \u201cDo magnetosheath jets routinely drive Pc5/Pc6 geomagnetic pulsations?\u201d via the analysis of magnetometer data from geomagnetically conjugate (based on the International Geomagnetic Reference Field, IGRF) Arctic and Antarctic magnetometers. This question will be approached first through traditional plotting and visual analysis, then by presenting datastreams as sound sources situated in a virtual audio environment developed in the Unity game engine and integrated with mixed reality presentation via the Microsoft Hololens platform. This approach will leverage human capabilities for spatial discrimination of sounds to identify geomagnetic pulsations (surface magnetic field variations related to plasma waves in outer space) related to magnetosheath jet events with potentially large north-south hemispheric asymmetries, spatially localized wave activity, and irregular waveforms. The resulting presentation modality will make use of existing repositories of magnetometer data and may potentially be extended to the presentation of synchronous datasets from multiple sensing networks. This award reflects NSF\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": 180.0, "geometry": "POINT(0 -89.999)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "MAGNETIC FIELD", "locations": null, "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Post Doc/Travel; Antarctic Astrophysics and Geospace Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Collins, Kristina", "platforms": null, "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "OPP-PRF: Conjugate Experiment to Explore Magnetospheric Phenomena Via Spatial Sonification and Mixed Reality", "uid": "p0010363", "west": -180.0}, {"awards": "1643436 Donohoe, Aaron", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-180 -60,-144 -60,-108 -60,-72 -60,-36 -60,0 -60,36 -60,72 -60,108 -60,144 -60,180 -60,180 -63,180 -66,180 -69,180 -72,180 -75,180 -78,180 -81,180 -84,180 -87,180 -90,144 -90,108 -90,72 -90,36 -90,0 -90,-36 -90,-72 -90,-108 -90,-144 -90,-180 -90,-180 -87,-180 -84,-180 -81,-180 -78,-180 -75,-180 -72,-180 -69,-180 -66,-180 -63,-180 -60))", "dataset_titles": "Partionining of CERES planetary albedo between atmospheric and surface reflection", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601579", "doi": "10.15784/601579", "keywords": "Antarctica; Southern Ocean", "people": "Donohoe, Aaron", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Partionining of CERES planetary albedo between atmospheric and surface reflection", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601579"}], "date_created": "Fri, 10 Jun 2022 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This project will use observations and coupled climate model simulations to examine the causes of sea ice variability. Sea ice in the Southern Ocean has increased in area over the observational record but researchers have yet to agree on the cause. Researchers suggests that changes in surface winds, upper-ocean freshening, or internal ocean/atmosphere variability could be the main driver for the increase in sea ice area. This project will determine how much of the change in sea ice area from year to year is due to oceanic, atmospheric, and radiative processes. Reconciling the observation-based understanding with model representations of sea ice variability will improve confidence in projections of future changes in Southern Ocean sea ice. The goal of this proposal is to improve our understanding of the processes that drive Southern Ocean sea ice year-to-year variability and long term trends. This knowledge will provide insight into how Southern Ocean sea ice responded to greenhouse gas and ozone forcing in the past and how it will respond in the future. The energy budget of the coupled cryosphere/ocean/atmosphere climate system will be used as a framework to disentangle drivers and responses during sea ice loss events. The technique consists of: (i) calculating the coupled energy budget of the climate system at the monthly timescale, (ii) isolating the radiative impact of sea ice variability from the radiative impact of cloud variability in the observed satellite radiation record and (iii) analyzing the vertical structure of atmospheric energy transport to determine the vertical profile of energy transport into the atmospheric column. This framework will allow the investigators to distinguish whether ice loss events are triggered by oceanic processes, atmospheric dynamics, or radiative processes. Preliminary results show that a diversity of mechanisms can drive Southern Ocean sea ice variability in coupled climate models whereas observed sea ice variability appears to be dominated by atmospheric dynamics. The exploration of biases between models and observations in both the mean state and in specific processes will yield more accurate projections of the future of sea ice in the Southern Ocean.", "east": 180.0, "geometry": "POINT(0 -89.999)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "USAP-DC; AMD; Amd/Us; SEA ICE; United States Of America; COMPUTERS; ATMOSPHERIC WINDS; ATMOSPHERIC RADIATION; NSF/USA", "locations": "United States Of America", "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Donohoe, Aaron; Schweiger, Axel", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e MODELS \u003e COMPUTERS", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "What Processes Drive Southern Ocean Sea Ice Variability and Trends? Insights from the Energy Budget of the Coupled Cryosphere-ocean-atmosphere System", "uid": "p0010336", "west": -180.0}, {"awards": "2203487 Ben Mansour, Walid", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-180 -60,-144 -60,-108 -60,-72 -60,-36 -60,0 -60,36 -60,72 -60,108 -60,144 -60,180 -60,180 -63,180 -66,180 -69,180 -72,180 -75,180 -78,180 -81,180 -84,180 -87,180 -90,144 -90,108 -90,72 -90,36 -90,0 -90,-36 -90,-72 -90,-108 -90,-144 -90,-180 -90,-180 -87,-180 -84,-180 -81,-180 -78,-180 -75,-180 -72,-180 -69,-180 -66,-180 -63,-180 -60))", "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Mon, 06 Jun 2022 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Non-Technical abstract The physical state of the mantle beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet plays a key role in the interaction between the Antarctic ice cover and the solid earth, strongly influencing the glacial system\u0027s evolution. Generally, mantle temperature profiles are determined by analyzing rock samples from the mantle to determine pressure-temperature conditions, and/or by conversion of seismic velocity anomalies to temperature anomalies. However, mantle rocks have been found only in a very few places in Antarctica, and seismic anomalies reflect not only thermal anomalies but also compositional variations. In this project, the investigators will (1) use the most recent geophysical datasets sensitive to temperature and composition (high-resolution seismic velocity model, topography, satellite gravity), (2) Combine the sensitivity of these datasets in a to retrieve the most reliable model of thermal and compositional structure, (3) translate the results into 2-dimensional maps of temperature slices and the composition of iron in the mantle,(4) compare the results with results from other continents to better understand Antarctic geological history, and (5) use the new thermal model along with established rock relationships to estimate mantle viscosity. Technical abstract The thermochemical structure of the lithosphere beneath Antarctica is fundamental for understanding the geological evolution of the continent and its relationship to surrounding Gondwana continents. In addition, the thermal structure controls the solid earth response to glacial unloading, with important implications for ice sheet models and the future of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. However, it is challenging to get an accurate picture of temperature and composition from only sparse petrological/geochemical analysis, and most previous attempts to solve this problem geophysically have relied on seismic or gravity data alone. Here, we propose to use a probabilistic joint inversion (high resolution regional seismic data, satellite gravity data, topography) and petrological modelling approach to determine the 3D thermochemical structure of the mantle. The inversion will be carried out using a Markov-chain Bayesian Monte Carlo methodology, providing quantitative estimates of uncertainties. Mapping the 3-dimensional thermochemical structure (thermal and composition) will provide a comprehensive view of the horizontal (50-100 km resolution) and vertical (from the surface down to 380 km) variations. This new model will give us the temperature variation from the surface down to 380 km and the degree of depletion of the lithospheric mantle and the sub-lithospheric mantle. This new model will also be compared to recent models of Gondwana terranes 200 Myrs to build a new model of the thermochemical evolution of the cratonic mantle. The new thermal and chemical structures can be used to better understand the geothermal heat flux beneath the ice sheet as well as improve glacial isostatic adjustment and ice sheet models. This award reflects NSF\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": 180.0, "geometry": "POINT(0 -89.999)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Antarctica; GRAVITY FIELD; AMD; COMPUTERS; GEOCHEMISTRY; PLATE BOUNDARIES; Amd/Us; SEISMIC SURFACE WAVES; USA/NSF; USAP-DC", "locations": "Antarctica", "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Ben-Mansour, Walid; Wiens, Douglas", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e MODELS \u003e COMPUTERS", "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "Thermal and Compositional Structure of Antarctica from Probabilistic Joint Inversion of Seismic, Gravity, and Topography Data and Petrological Modelling", "uid": "p0010334", "west": -180.0}, {"awards": "1246151 Bromirski, Peter; 1744958 Wei, Yong; 1744856 Bromirski, Peter; 1744759 Dunham, Eric", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": "Data for: Ocean Surface Gravity Wave Excitation of Flexural Gravity and Extensional Lamb Waves in Ice Shelves; Datasets for Model Simulations of Tsunami Propagation from Circum-Pacific Subduction Zone to West Antarctic Ice Shelves (Thwaites); Datasets of bathymetric model grids for model simulations of tsunami Propagation from Circum-Pacific Subduction Zone to West Antarctic Ice Shelves; Model simulation data of tsunami propagation in the Pacific Ocean; Model simulations of tsunami propagation from Circum-Pacific Subduction Zone to West Antarctic Ice Shelves (Ross Sea); Model Tsunami Propagation Simulation From Circum-Pacific Subduction Zones to West Antarctic Ice Shelves; Simulation of flexural-gravity wave response of Antarctic ice shelves to tsunami and infragravity waves", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601924", "doi": "10.15784/601924", "keywords": "Antarctica; Cryosphere; Model Simulation; Pacific Ocean; Subduction Zone Earthquakes; Tsunami; Tsunami impact; West Antarctica Ice Shelf", "people": "Wei, Yong", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Datasets of bathymetric model grids for model simulations of tsunami Propagation from Circum-Pacific Subduction Zone to West Antarctic Ice Shelves", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601924"}, {"dataset_uid": "601561", "doi": "10.15784/601561", "keywords": "Amundsen Sea; Antarctica; Glaciology", "people": "Almquist, Martin; Tazhimbetov, Nurbek; Dunham, Eric", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Simulation of flexural-gravity wave response of Antarctic ice shelves to tsunami and infragravity waves", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601561"}, {"dataset_uid": "200323", "doi": "10.25740/qy001dt7463", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "Stanford Digital Repository", "science_program": null, "title": "Data for: Ocean Surface Gravity Wave Excitation of Flexural Gravity and Extensional Lamb Waves in Ice Shelves", "url": "https://doi.org/10.25740/qy001dt7463"}, {"dataset_uid": "200424", "doi": "N/A", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "NOAA Center for Tsunami Research (NCTR)", "science_program": null, "title": "Model Tsunami Propagation Simulation From Circum-Pacific Subduction Zones to West Antarctic Ice Shelves", "url": " https://nctr.pmel.noaa.gov/antarctica/ "}, {"dataset_uid": "601921", "doi": "10.15784/601921", "keywords": "Antarctica; Cryosphere; Model Output; Model Simulation; Pacific Ocean; Subduction Zone Earthquakes; Tsunami; Tsunami impact; West Antarctic Ice Sheet", "people": "Wei, Yong", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Model simulation data of tsunami propagation in the Pacific Ocean", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601921"}, {"dataset_uid": "601923", "doi": "10.15784/601923", "keywords": "Antarctica; Cryosphere; Model Simulation; Ross Sea Ice Shelf; Thwaites Region; Tsunami; Tsunami impact; West Antarctica Ice Shelf", "people": "Wei, Yong", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Datasets for Model Simulations of Tsunami Propagation from Circum-Pacific Subduction Zone to West Antarctic Ice Shelves (Thwaites)", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601923"}, {"dataset_uid": "601922", "doi": "10.15784/601922", "keywords": "Antarctica; Cryosphere; Model Simulation; Ross Ice Shelf; Ross Sea Ice Shelf; Subduction Zone Earthquakes; Tsunami; Tsunami impact; West Antarctica Ice Shelf", "people": "Wei, Yong", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Model simulations of tsunami propagation from Circum-Pacific Subduction Zone to West Antarctic Ice Shelves (Ross Sea)", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601922"}], "date_created": "Mon, 16 May 2022 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Understanding and being able to more reliably forecast ice mass loss from Antarctica is a critical research priority for Antarctic Science. Massive ice shelves buttress marine terminating glaciers, slowing the rate that land ice reaches the sea and, in turn, restraining the rate of sea level rise. To date, most work has focused on the destabilizing impacts of warmer air and water temperatures, resulting in melting that thins and weakens ice shelves. However, recent findings indicate that sea ice does not protect ice shelves from wave impacts as much as previously thought, which has raised the possibility that tsunamis and other ocean waves could affect shelf stability. This project will assess the potential for increased shelf fracturing from the impact of tsunamis and from heightened wave activity due to climate-driven changes in storm patterns and reduced sea-ice extent by developing models to investigate how wave impacts damage ice shelves. The modeling effort will allow for regional comparisons between large and small ice shelves, and provide an evaluation of the impacts of changing climate and storm patterns on ice shelves, ice sheets, glaciers, and, ultimately, sea level rise. This project will train graduate students in mathematical modeling and interdisciplinary approaches to Earth and ocean sciences. This project takes a four-pronged approach to estimating the impact of vibrations on ice shelves at the grounding zone due to tsunamis, very long period, infragravity, and storm-driven waves. First, the team will use high-resolution tsunami modeling to investigate the response of ice shelves along the West Antarctic coast to waves originating in different regions of the Pacific Ocean. Second, it will compare the response to wave impacts on grounding zones of narrow and wide ice shelves. Third, it will assess the exposure risk due to storm forcing through a reanalysis of weather and wave model data; and, finally, the team will model the propagation of ocean-wave-induced vibrations in the ice from the shelf front to and across the grounding zone. In combination, this project aims to identify locations along the Antarctic coast that are subject to enhanced, bathymetrically-focused, long-period ocean-wave impacts. Linkages between wave impacts and climate arise from potential changes in sea-ice extent in front of shelves, and changes in the magnitude, frequency, and tracks of storms. Understanding the effects of ocean waves and climate on ice-shelf integrity is critical to anticipate their contribution to the amplitude and timing of sea-level rise. Wave-driven reductions in ice-shelf stability may enhance shelf fragmentation and iceberg calving, reducing ice shelf buttressing and eventually accelerating sea-level rise. This award reflects NSF\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "COMPUTERS; AMD; Amd/Us; SEA ICE; Amundsen Sea; USAP-DC; USA/NSF; Ross Ice Shelf; MODELS", "locations": "Amundsen Sea; Ross Ice Shelf", "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Integrated System Science; Antarctic Glaciology; Antarctic Glaciology; Antarctic Integrated System Science; Antarctic Integrated System Science; Antarctic Glaciology; Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Dunham, Eric; Bromirski, Peter; Wei, Yong", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e MODELS \u003e COMPUTERS; OTHER \u003e MODELS \u003e MODELS", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "NOAA Center for Tsunami Research (NCTR); Stanford Digital Repository; USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "Collaborative Research: Do Ocean Wave Impacts Pose a Hazard to the Stability of West Antarctic Ice Shelves?", "uid": "p0010320", "west": null}, {"awards": "1823135 Bromwich, David", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-180 -60,-144 -60,-108 -60,-72 -60,-36 -60,0 -60,36 -60,72 -60,108 -60,144 -60,180 -60,180 -63,180 -66,180 -69,180 -72,180 -75,180 -78,180 -81,180 -84,180 -87,180 -90,144 -90,108 -90,72 -90,36 -90,0 -90,-36 -90,-72 -90,-108 -90,-144 -90,-180 -90,-180 -87,-180 -84,-180 -81,-180 -78,-180 -75,-180 -72,-180 -69,-180 -66,-180 -63,-180 -60))", "dataset_titles": "YOPP-SH Analysis and Forecast Results. ", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "200287", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "PI website", "science_program": null, "title": "YOPP-SH Analysis and Forecast Results. ", "url": "http://polarmet.osu.edu/YOPP-SH/"}], "date_created": "Mon, 14 Mar 2022 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This research will take advantage of the greater number of Antarctic weather observations collected as part of the World Meteorological Organization\u0027s \"Year of Polar Prediction\". Researchers will use these additional observations to study new ways of incorporating data into existing weather prediction models. The primary goal of this research is to improve the accuracy of weather forecasts in Antarctica. This work is important, as the harsh weather in Antarctica greatly impacts scientific research and the support of this research. Being able to accurately predict changing weather increases the safety and efficiency of Antarctic field science and operations. The proposed effort seeks to advance goals of the World Meteorological Organization\u0027s Polar Prediction Project and its Year of Polar Prediction-Southern Hemisphere (YOPP-SH) effort. Researchers will investigate and demonstrate the forecast impact of enhanced atmospheric observations obtained from YOPP-SH\u0027s Special Observing Period on polar numerical weather prediction. This will be done by using the Antarctic Mesoscale Prediction System (AMPS). AMPS is the primary numerical weather prediction capability for the United States Antarctic Program (USAP). Modeling experimentation will assess the impact of Special Observing Period data on Antarctic forecasts and will serve as a vehicle for testing new data assimilation approaches for AMPS. The primary goal for this work is improved forecasting and numerical weather prediction tools. Outcomes will include quantification of the value of enhanced southern hemisphere atmospheric observations. This work will also help improve AMPS and its ability to support the USAP. This award reflects NSF\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": 180.0, "geometry": "POINT(0 -89.999)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "VERTICAL PROFILES; Antarctica; USA/NSF; WATER VAPOR PROFILES; USAP-DC; AMD; Amd/Us; COMPUTERS; WIND PROFILES", "locations": "Antarctica", "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Bromwich, David; Powers, Jordan", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e MODELS \u003e COMPUTERS", "repo": "PI website", "repositories": "PI website", "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "Application of Year of Polar Prediction- Southern Hemisphere (YOPP-SH) Observations for Improvement of Antarctic Numerical Weather Prediction", "uid": "p0010308", "west": -180.0}, {"awards": "1744835 Wagner, Till; 1744800 Adcroft, Alistair", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-180 -60,-144 -60,-108 -60,-72 -60,-36 -60,0 -60,36 -60,72 -60,108 -60,144 -60,180 -60,180 -63,180 -66,180 -69,180 -72,180 -75,180 -78,180 -81,180 -84,180 -87,180 -90,144 -90,108 -90,72 -90,36 -90,0 -90,-36 -90,-72 -90,-108 -90,-144 -90,-180 -90,-180 -87,-180 -84,-180 -81,-180 -78,-180 -75,-180 -72,-180 -69,-180 -66,-180 -63,-180 -60))", "dataset_titles": "Model of iceberg drift and decay including breakup", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601510", "doi": "10.15784/601510", "keywords": "Antarctica; Footloose Mechanism; Iceberg Breakup; Iceberg Decay; Model; Southern Ocean", "people": "Wagner, Till; England, Mark", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Model of iceberg drift and decay including breakup", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601510"}], "date_created": "Tue, 18 Jan 2022 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Icebergs are a component of the Antarctic climate system, yet a comprehensive representation of their dynamics in climate models has remained elusive. Representing the role of icebergs in global climate models (GCMs) poses a formidable challenge to the scientific community. The most striking shortcoming of current iceberg models is arguably that they do not represent giant tabular icebergs, even though giant icebergs carry most of the freshwater stored in icebergs in the Southern Ocean. This lack of large icebergs in models is mostly due to the difficulties associated with adequately modeling iceberg decay. In particular, fracturing and breakup are not typically considered in iceberg models, despite being dominant iceberg decay processes. Investigators are to address these issues using a hierarchy of iceberg models, ranging from an idealized analytical model to a comprehensive GCM, in concert with recent observational data. The main objective of this study is to develop a new iceberg model that: (i) accounts for iceberg breakup and fracturing processes that have been neglected to date, (ii) improves on the representation of iceberg decay processes that were considered in previous models, (iii) explicitly represents large tabular icebergs. The primary broader impact of the proposed work will be through a K-12 teacher workshop series showcasing this project as an example of how scientists develop physical models. Ongoing changes in the California K-12 science standards will enable the teachers to creatively use this material in their classrooms. This award reflects NSF\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": 180.0, "geometry": "POINT(0 -89.999)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Amd/Us; ICEBERGS; USA/NSF; Southern Ocean; AMD; USAP-DC; COMPUTERS", "locations": "Southern Ocean", "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences; Antarctic Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Wagner, Till; Eisenman, Ian", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e MODELS \u003e COMPUTERS", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "Modeling Giant Icebergs and Their Decay", "uid": "p0010290", "west": -180.0}, {"awards": "2230824 Nitsche, Frank; 1936530 Carbotte, Suzanne", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-180 -60,-144 -60,-108 -60,-72 -60,-36 -60,0 -60,36 -60,72 -60,108 -60,144 -60,180 -60,180 -63,180 -66,180 -69,180 -72,180 -75,180 -78,180 -81,180 -84,180 -87,180 -90,144 -90,108 -90,72 -90,36 -90,0 -90,-36 -90,-72 -90,-108 -90,-144 -90,-180 -90,-180 -87,-180 -84,-180 -81,-180 -78,-180 -75,-180 -72,-180 -69,-180 -66,-180 -63,-180 -60))", "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Fri, 05 Nov 2021 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Samples and data obtained by researchers working in Antarctica are valuable, unique assets which typically require a substantial and expensive logistical effort to acquire. Preservation of these data increases the return on the significant public investment for acquisition, enabling future re-use for new analyses, and ensure that data behind scientific publications are available for others to review. The US Antarctic Program Data Center (USAP-DC) will provide an open-disciplinary hybrid repository for project metadata and the diverse research data obtained from the Antarctic region by NSF funded researchers for which other data repositories do not exist. In addition, a Project Catalog will provide a single online resource for the US Antarctic scientific community to manage information about their research activities and will link project metadata to the various distributed repositories where Antarctic data resides. In doing so, the USAP-DC will follow community best practices and standards to ensure data are citable, shareable, and discoverable. It will also facilitate registration of data descriptions into the Antarctic Master Directory to meet US goals for data sharing under the International Antarctic Treaty. With full open access to interfaces to search for and download data, USAP-DC will make a wide range of data products resulting from NSF funded research in Antarctica available not only to the research community but also to the broader public. The data center is operated using community standards for metadata and data access which helps ensure data re-usability into the future. The new Project catalog, which is designed to support consolidation of information on research products of USAP awards over the lifetime of a project, will make it simpler for NSF program managers, but also for individual researchers and especially larger collaborative research groups to keep track of datasets and related information produced as part of their projects. Through tutorials and meetings at conferences USAP-DC will contribute to raise awareness and inform the research community, especially new investigators about data management best practices. This award reflects NSF\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": 180.0, "geometry": "POINT(0 -89.999)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "USA/NSF; Antarctica; Amd/Us; PALEOCLIMATE RECONSTRUCTIONS; GLACIERS/ICE SHEETS; COMPUTERS; ICE CORE RECORDS; SNOW/ICE; Database; ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS; USAP-DC; OCEAN CHEMISTRY; AMD", "locations": "Antarctica", "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Polar Cyberinfrastructure; Polar Cyberinfrastructure", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Carbotte, Suzanne; Tinto, Kirsty; Nitsche, Frank O.", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e MODELS \u003e COMPUTERS", "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "Supporting Antarctic Research with Ongoing Operations and Development of the USAP-DC Project Catalog and Data Repository", "uid": "p0010274", "west": -180.0}, {"awards": "2023259 Thompson, Andrew; 2023244 Stewart, Andrew; 2023303 Purkey, Sarah", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-180 -60,-144 -60,-108 -60,-72 -60,-36 -60,0 -60,36 -60,72 -60,108 -60,144 -60,180 -60,180 -63,180 -66,180 -69,180 -72,180 -75,180 -78,180 -81,180 -84,180 -87,180 -90,144 -90,108 -90,72 -90,36 -90,0 -90,-36 -90,-72 -90,-108 -90,-144 -90,-180 -90,-180 -87,-180 -84,-180 -81,-180 -78,-180 -75,-180 -72,-180 -69,-180 -66,-180 -63,-180 -60))", "dataset_titles": "Code for reproducing the ocean-biogeochemical experiments in Sun et al. (2024); Hydrographic data collected from the Bellingshausen and Amundsen seas (NCEI Accession 0210639); Ocean CFC reconstructed data product", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601752", "doi": "10.15784/601752", "keywords": "Antarctica; CFCs; GLODAP; Ocean Model; Ocean Ventilation; Southern Ocean", "people": "Gebbie, Jack; Purkey, Sarah; Cimoli, Laura", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Ocean CFC reconstructed data product", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601752"}, {"dataset_uid": "200428", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "NOAA\u0027s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)", "science_program": null, "title": "Hydrographic data collected from the Bellingshausen and Amundsen seas (NCEI Accession 0210639)", "url": "https://data.nodc.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/iso?id=gov.noaa.nodc:0210639"}, {"dataset_uid": "200427", "doi": "10.6084/m9.figshare.26787751", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "Figshare (open repository)", "science_program": null, "title": "Code for reproducing the ocean-biogeochemical experiments in Sun et al. (2024)", "url": "https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.26787751"}], "date_created": "Thu, 01 Jul 2021 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Part 1: Because of the manner in which it is formed at high latitudes in the Antarctic ice, Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) is the coldest, saltiest and densest water on the planet. The global circulation of is often quanti\ufb01ed via the transport in a two-dimensional, latitude/depth coordinate space. However, AABW formation, northward \ufb02ow and distribution between the Atlantic, Indian and Paci\ufb01c basins are fundamentally three-dimensional processes. AABW is formed in a handful of distinct sites around the Antarctic coast, notably the southern Weddell Sea, the western Ross Sea, along the Ad\u00b4elie coast, and in Prydz Bay. AABW is one of the key components of the global ocean overturning circulation, and plays a critical role in regulating Earth\u0027s climate, on multi-decadal-to-millennial time scales. Part 2: Mapping of AABW transport to northern basins is not well constrained, with conflicting conclusions drawn in previous studies. At one extreme the ACC has been suggested to be a \u201cconduit\" that simply allows each variety of AABW to transit directly northward. At the other extreme, it has been suggested that the ACC \u201cblends\" all shelf AABW sources together before they reach the northern basins. To close the gap in understanding, this collaborative project draws on three complementary analytical tools: process-oriented modeling of AABW export across the ACC, a high-resolution global ocean model, and an observationally-constrained estimate of the global circulation. The proposed identification and mechanistic understanding of AABW pathways. This project will also advance the careers of three postdoctoral researchers and two early-career faculty members, and will continue collaborative links between the PI and a foreign investigator. This award reflects NSF\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": 180.0, "geometry": "POINT(0 -89.999)", "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e DATA ANALYSIS \u003e ENVIRONMENTAL MODELING \u003e COMPUTER", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "AMD; MODELS; USAP-DC; WATER MASSES; Southern Ocean; Amd/Us; OCEAN CURRENTS; COMPUTERS; Antarctic Circumpolar Current; USA/NSF", "locations": "Southern Ocean", "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences; Antarctic Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences; Antarctic Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Stewart, Andrew; Thompson, Andrew; Purkey, Sarah", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e MODELS \u003e COMPUTERS; OTHER \u003e MODELS \u003e MODELS", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "Figshare (open repository); NOAA\u0027s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI); USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "Collaborative Research: The Antarctic Circumpolar Current: A Conduit or Blender of Antarctic Bottom Waters?", "uid": "p0010220", "west": -180.0}, {"awards": "1643445 Eisenman, Ian", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-180 -60,-144 -60,-108 -60,-72 -60,-36 -60,0 -60,36 -60,72 -60,108 -60,144 -60,180 -60,180 -63,180 -66,180 -69,180 -72,180 -75,180 -78,180 -81,180 -84,180 -87,180 -90,144 -90,108 -90,72 -90,36 -90,0 -90,-36 -90,-72 -90,-108 -90,-144 -90,-180 -90,-180 -87,-180 -84,-180 -81,-180 -78,-180 -75,-180 -72,-180 -69,-180 -66,-180 -63,-180 -60))", "dataset_titles": "Model code, model output fields, etc", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "200226", "doi": null, "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "GitHub", "science_program": null, "title": "Model code, model output fields, etc", "url": "https://eisenman-group.github.io/"}], "date_created": "Wed, 30 Jun 2021 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Satellite observations show expanding Antarctic sea ice over the last three decades. Increasing Antarctic sea ice seems unexpected when compared to observations of rising global temperatures or shrinking Arctic sea ice. Computer models of global climate also predict Antarctic sea ice to shrink instead of grow. Several hypotheses have been suggested to explain the contradiction between what scientists expect to see based on computer models and physical intuition and the growth that is recorded in observations. This study will examine the hypothesis that sea ice expansion can be explained by sea ice motion, where sea ice moves in such a way as to promote an increase in overall coverage. Researchers will use several different types of computer models, ranging in complexity, to better understand the physical processes of sea ice motion and how the sea ice motion interacts with the larger atmosphere-ocean system. The team will transfer their research to the classroom by hosting a week-long teacher workshop. Teachers will learn how scientists use computer models to test hypotheses and then develop and test tools for use in the classroom. Five middle and high school teachers will participate and become part of the UC San Diego STEM Success Initiative master science teacher network. The project will support a graduate student and a postdoctoral researcher. Sea ice motion has recently emerged as one of the candidates to explain the Antarctic sea ice expansion but a systematic investigation of how sea ice motion influences sea ice concentration has not been presented to date. Researchers will conduct a process-oriented study of the relationship between sea ice motion and Antarctic sea ice extent using a hierarchy of models. The hierarchy will consist of (i) an idealized single-column model of sea ice evolution, (ii) an idealized latitudinally-varying global model of sea ice and climate, (iii) an atmospheric global climate model (GCM) above a slab ocean that includes sea ice motion, (iv) a comprehensive GCM, and (v) model output from the suite of current comprehensive GCMs. The range of model complexities will help researchers better understand the relationship between sea ice motion and sea ice extent by allowing them to identify important processes that are robust across the model hierarchy.", "east": 180.0, "geometry": "POINT(0 -89.999)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Amd/Us; AMD; Southern Ocean; USAP-DC; USA/NSF; ICE EXTENT; COMPUTERS; Sea Ice; GCM", "locations": "Southern Ocean", "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Eisenman, Ian; Wagner, Till", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e MODELS \u003e COMPUTERS", "repo": "GitHub", "repositories": "GitHub", "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "The Influence of Sea Ice Motion on Antarctic Sea Ice Expansion", "uid": "p0010216", "west": -180.0}, {"awards": "1644159 Jacobs, Stanley", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-180 -72.5,-177 -72.5,-174 -72.5,-171 -72.5,-168 -72.5,-165 -72.5,-162 -72.5,-159 -72.5,-156 -72.5,-153 -72.5,-150 -72.5,-150 -73.15,-150 -73.8,-150 -74.45,-150 -75.1,-150 -75.75,-150 -76.4,-150 -77.05,-150 -77.7,-150 -78.35,-150 -79,-153 -79,-156 -79,-159 -79,-162 -79,-165 -79,-168 -79,-171 -79,-174 -79,-177 -79,180 -79,178.2 -79,176.4 -79,174.6 -79,172.8 -79,171 -79,169.2 -79,167.4 -79,165.6 -79,163.8 -79,162 -79,162 -78.35,162 -77.7,162 -77.05,162 -76.4,162 -75.75,162 -75.1,162 -74.45,162 -73.8,162 -73.15,162 -72.5,163.8 -72.5,165.6 -72.5,167.4 -72.5,169.2 -72.5,171 -72.5,172.8 -72.5,174.6 -72.5,176.4 -72.5,178.2 -72.5,-180 -72.5))", "dataset_titles": "Antarctic Seawater d18O isotope data from SE Amundsen Sea: 2000, 2007, 2009, 2019, 2020; Ross Island area salinity and temperature records 1956 to 2020", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601611", "doi": "10.15784/601611", "keywords": "Amundsen Sea; Antarctica; Chemistry:Water; CTD; D18O; NBP0001; NBP0702; NBP0901; NBP1901; NBP2002; Oceans; Oxygen Isotope; R/v Nathaniel B. Palmer; Seawater Isotope; Southern Ocean", "people": "Hennig, Andrew", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Antarctic Seawater d18O isotope data from SE Amundsen Sea: 2000, 2007, 2009, 2019, 2020", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601611"}, {"dataset_uid": "601458", "doi": "10.15784/601458", "keywords": "Antarctica; CTD; Oceans; Physical Oceanography; Ross Island; Ross Sea; Salinity; Temperature", "people": "Giulivi, Claudia F.; Jacobs, Stanley", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Ross Island area salinity and temperature records 1956 to 2020", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601458"}], "date_created": "Fri, 25 Jun 2021 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Overview and Intellectual merit: This project extends and combines historical and recent ocean data sets to investigate ice-ocean-interactions along the Pacific continental margin of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. The synthesis focuses on the strikingly different environments on and near the cold Ross Sea and warm Amundsen Sea continental shelves, where available measurements reach back to ~1958 and 1994, respectively. On the more extensively covered Ross Sea continental shelf, multiple reoccupations of ocean stations and transects are used to extend our knowledge of long-term ocean freshening and the mass balance of the world?s largest ice shelf. On the more rugged Amundsen Sea continental shelf, which contains the earth?s fastest melting ice shelves, continuing research on observed thermohaline variability also pursues connections between outer shelf shoals and vulnerable ice shelf grounding zones. This interdisciplinary work updates a prior study of ice shelf response to ocean thermal forcing, and uses chemical tracers to measure changes in shelf, deep and bottom water transformations and production rates. Broader Impacts : Recent and potential future rates of sea level rise are the primary broad-scale impacts of the ice and ocean changes revealed by observations in the study area. The overriding question is whether global and regional sea levels will accelerate gradually, allowing carbon usage reductions to head off the worst consequences, or so rapidly that they will contribute to major social and economic upheavals. Collaborations and data acquired by foreign vessels are also utilized to better understand the causes of rapid change in these shelf seas and ice shelves, along with associated wider implications. Data that are re-gridded, re-edited or newly collated will be archived, and results made available via presentations, publications, and press releases if warranted. This proposal does not require fieldwork in the Antarctic This award reflects NSF\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": -150.0, "geometry": "POINT(-174 -75.75)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Amd/Us; AMD; USA/NSF; COMPUTERS; Ross Sea; SHIPS; USAP-DC; SALINITY/DENSITY; OCEAN TEMPERATURE", "locations": "Ross Sea", "north": -72.5, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Jacobs, Stanley", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e MODELS \u003e COMPUTERS; WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e VESSELS \u003e SURFACE \u003e SHIPS", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -79.0, "title": "West Antarctic Ice Shelf- Ocean Interactions ", "uid": "p0010208", "west": 162.0}, {"awards": "1935438 McCarthy, Christine", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Thu, 03 Jun 2021 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "The ice sheets of Antarctica and Greenland are losing mass and contributing to accelerating global sea-level rise. Satellite altimetry provides precise measurement of ice-sheet volume change, but computing ice-sheet mass change\u2014the quantity relevant for estimating the ice sheet\u2019s sea-level contribution\u2014requires knowing the density of the ice sheet. The density near the ice-sheet surface also affects age estimates of air bubbles recovered in ice cores, which are a key source of information on past climate changes. Ice-sheet density is primarily controlled by the rate at which firn (snow that has persisted for a year or more on ice sheets) compacts into ice, but there is currently no widely accepted theory of how this compaction occurs. The goal of this project is thus to advance understanding of how firn densifies. The team will conduct laboratory experiments and analyze ice-penetrating radar and ice-core data from Antarctica. A key desired outcome of the project is a new model of firn densification that can be used to improve satellite-based altimetry measurements of present-day ice-sheet change and reconstructions of past climate changes from ice cores. This project will combine laboratory experiments, numerical modeling, and geophysical techniques to determine the rheology of firn as it compacts to form ice. The team will use two methods to measure firn compaction: (1) lab-based experiments and (2) analysis of ice-core and radar data. For the lab-based work, the team will conduct a suite of compaction experiments on synthetic firn samples under uni-axial strain and constant temperature and axial stress. They will also measure the grain-size evolution. By running a large number of experiments (\u003e 25), the team will constrain key parameters that determine how firn compaction rate depends on density, temperature, grain size, and axial stress. The experiments will be conducted in a table-top apparatus at temperatures as low as -40 degrees C and axial stresses up to 4 MPa. For the field-data-based component, the team will analyze ice-core and ice-penetrating radar data to produce the first coincident set of radar-derived firn compaction rates, borehole temperatures, firn densities, and firn grain sizes. Results from lab and field data will be tied together using a numerical firn compaction model. This model is formulated using conservation of mass, momentum, and energy, along with an explicit description of firn rheology and grain-size evolution. Constraints on firn rheology will be incorporated into this model and the team will use it to examine fundamental questions about how changes in the climate affect firn density. This is a crucial unknown that contributes significant measurement uncertainty in estimates of past and present climate change. This award reflects NSF\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "AMD; LABORATORY; USA/NSF; COMPUTERS; USAP-DC; FIRN; Antarctic Ice Sheet; Amd/Us", "locations": "Antarctic Ice Sheet", "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology; Arctic Natural Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "McCarthy, Christine M.; Kingslake, Jonathan", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e MODELS \u003e COMPUTERS; OTHER \u003e PHYSICAL MODELS \u003e LABORATORY", "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "Understanding Firn Rheology Through Laboratory Compaction Experiments and Radar Data", "uid": "p0010185", "west": null}, {"awards": "1743310 Kingslake, Jonathan", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-180 -60,-144 -60,-108 -60,-72 -60,-36 -60,0 -60,36 -60,72 -60,108 -60,144 -60,180 -60,180 -63,180 -66,180 -69,180 -72,180 -75,180 -78,180 -81,180 -84,180 -87,180 -90,144 -90,108 -90,72 -90,36 -90,0 -90,-36 -90,-72 -90,-108 -90,-144 -90,-180 -90,-180 -87,-180 -84,-180 -81,-180 -78,-180 -75,-180 -72,-180 -69,-180 -66,-180 -63,-180 -60))", "dataset_titles": "Vulnerability of Antarctica\u2019s ice shelves to meltwater-driven fracture", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601395", "doi": "10.15784/601395", "keywords": "Antarctica; Computer Model; Fractures; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Meltwater; Model Data", "people": "Lai, Ching-Yao", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Vulnerability of Antarctica\u2019s ice shelves to meltwater-driven fracture", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601395"}], "date_created": "Wed, 02 Jun 2021 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Ice shelves slow the movement of the grounded ice sheets that feed them. This reduces the rate at which ice sheets lose mass to the oceans and contribute to sea-level rise. But ice shelves can be susceptible to collapse, particularly when surface meltwater accumulates in vulnerable areas. Meltwater lakes can create and enlarge fractures within the ice shelves, thereby triggering or hastening ice-shelf collapse. Also, water refreezing within ice shelves warms the ice and could affect the flow of the ice by changing its viscosity, which depends on temperature. The drainage of water across the surface of Antarctica and where it accumulates has received little attention. This drainage was assumed to be insignificant, but recent work shows that meltwater can drain for tens of kilometers across ice-shelf surfaces and access areas that would otherwise not accumulate meltwater. Surface meltwater drainage could play a major role in the future stability of ice sheets. This drainage is the focus of this project. The team will develop and test physics-based mathematical models of water flow and ice-shelf flow, closely informed by remote sensing observations, to ask (1) how drainage systems will grow in response to the increased melt rates that are predicted for this century, (2) how this drainage is influenced by ice dynamics and (3) whether enlarged drainage systems could deliver meltwater to areas of ice shelves that are vulnerable to water-driven collapse. The team hypothesizes that refreezing of meltwater in snow and firn will prove important for hydrology by impacting the permeability of the snow/firn and for ice-shelf dynamics by releasing latent heat within the ice and lowering ice viscosity. The project will examine these issues by (1) conducting a remote sensing survey of the structure and temporal evolution of meltwater systems around Antarctica, (2) developing and analyzing mathematical models of water flow across ice shelves, and (3) examining idealized and realistic models of ice-shelf flow. This project will support a first-time NSF PI, a post-doctoral researcher and a graduate student. An outreach activity will make use of the emerging technology of Augmented Reality to visualize the dynamics of ice sheets in three dimensions to excite the public about glaciology at outreach events around New York City. This approach will be made publicly available for wider use as Augmented Reality continues to grow in popularity. This award reflects NSF\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": 180.0, "geometry": "POINT(0 -89.999)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "USA/NSF; AMD; USAP-DC; Antarctica; ICE SHEETS; Amd/Us; Ice Shelf; COMPUTERS; Surface Meltwater", "locations": "Antarctica", "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Kingslake, Jonathan", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e MODELS \u003e COMPUTERS", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "Satellite observations and modelling of surface meltwater flow and its impact on ice shelves", "uid": "p0010184", "west": -180.0}, {"awards": "1543501 Howat, Ian", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-180 -60,-144 -60,-108 -60,-72 -60,-36 -60,0 -60,36 -60,72 -60,108 -60,144 -60,180 -60,180 -63,180 -66,180 -69,180 -72,180 -75,180 -78,180 -81,180 -84,180 -87,180 -90,144 -90,108 -90,72 -90,36 -90,0 -90,-36 -90,-72 -90,-108 -90,-144 -90,-180 -90,-180 -87,-180 -84,-180 -81,-180 -78,-180 -75,-180 -72,-180 -69,-180 -66,-180 -63,-180 -60))", "dataset_titles": "The Reference Model of Antarctica", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "200218", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "PGC", "science_program": null, "title": "The Reference Model of Antarctica", "url": "https://www.pgc.umn.edu/data/rema/"}], "date_created": "Tue, 18 May 2021 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Howat/1543501 This award will provide support to map the topography of the Antarctic continent at high spatial resolution and precision to measure ice sheet change, constrain models, correct satellite observations and support logistics. Antarctica remains the most poorly mapped landmass on Earth, yet, accurate and complete surface topography is essential for a wide range of scientific and logistical activities. The group will use a combination of very high-resolution satellite imagery, existing ground and airborne survey data and the NSF\u0027s supercomputer infrastructure to construct the Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica (REMA): a continuous, time-stamped reference surface that will be one to two orders of magnitude higher resolution than currently available. REMA will be constructed from stereoscopic, submeter resolution imagery collected by the WorldView satellite constellation, obtained at no cost in partnership with the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency and the NSF-supported Polar Geospatial Center (PGC). The high spatial and radiometric resolution of the imagery enables photogrammetric digital elevation model (DEM) extraction over low contrast terrains such as snow, ice and shadows. These DEM\u0027s have horizontal and vertical offsets of up to several meters that can be reduced to the DEM relative accuracy of 0.2 meter with a single ground control point. We will use available control points from ground and lidar surveys to register individual DEMs and optimized, least-squares co-registration to provide control between overlapping DEM\u0027s over large regions. REMA will have a posting of 10 meters and accuracy better than 1 meter. It will be distributed openly by the Polar Geospatial Center. This project will involve substantial undergraduate participation, providing training in geospatial science and remote sensing, and REMA will be used extensively for the outreach programs of the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center. This project does not require field work in Antarctica.", "east": 180.0, "geometry": "POINT(0 -89.999)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Topography; AMD; USA/NSF; Amd/Us; USAP-DC; Antarctica; ICE SHEETS; COMPUTERS", "locations": "Antarctica", "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology; Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Howat, Ian; Myoung-Jong Noh, ", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e MODELS \u003e COMPUTERS", "repo": "PGC", "repositories": "PGC", "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "The Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica", "uid": "p0010180", "west": -180.0}, {"awards": "1744755 Ito, Takamitsu", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-80 -45,-75 -45,-70 -45,-65 -45,-60 -45,-55 -45,-50 -45,-45 -45,-40 -45,-35 -45,-30 -45,-30 -47.5,-30 -50,-30 -52.5,-30 -55,-30 -57.5,-30 -60,-30 -62.5,-30 -65,-30 -67.5,-30 -70,-35 -70,-40 -70,-45 -70,-50 -70,-55 -70,-60 -70,-65 -70,-70 -70,-75 -70,-80 -70,-80 -67.5,-80 -65,-80 -62.5,-80 -60,-80 -57.5,-80 -55,-80 -52.5,-80 -50,-80 -47.5,-80 -45))", "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Tue, 23 Mar 2021 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "The Southern Ocean serves as the planet\u0027s major uptake region for the oceanic uptake of increasing levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). The current generation of coupled climate models (atmosphere-ocean-land) are used to make future climate projections, but are known to exhibit significant biases in observed ocean carbon uptake. These numerical models are known to lack the resolution (space and time) to adequately represent many of the mesoscale processes and features known to effect important roles in air-sea exchange. To account for the ocean mesoscale (10km - 100km) phenomena, such as jets, fronts, meanders and eddies known to be crucial for bio-physical interactions of CO2 fluxes, this project will progressively increase model resolution from coarse to finer grid spacing, furthering our understanding of mesoscale processes. The study will focus on regions of interest, the austral South Pacific, and the Drake Passage. Both regions are to some extent well observed. These two regions are topographically constrained pathways constituent pathways of the Atlantic Circumpolar Current, and exhibit enhanced eddy activity. The numerical output will be compared with observations and a suite of bio-geochemical tracers will be used to examine biophysical interaction processes, occurring at fronts and eddies. The results from the study can provide process and specific metrics and diagnostics to assess and calibrate the global climate carbon models. A Ph.D. and an undergraduate intern will be trained and gain research insight. This award reflects NSF\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": -30.0, "geometry": "POINT(-55 -57.5)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "COMPUTERS; OCEAN CHEMISTRY; Drake Passage; AMD; USA/NSF; USAP-DC; Air-Sea Carbon Transfer; Amd/Us", "locations": "Drake Passage", "north": -45.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Ito, Takamitsu", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e MODELS \u003e COMPUTERS", "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": -70.0, "title": "A mechanistic study of bio-physical interaction and air-sea carbon transfer in the Southern Ocean", "uid": "p0010166", "west": -80.0}, {"awards": "2002346 Tinto, Kirsteen; 2001714 Muto, Atsuhiro", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-115 -70,-113 -70,-111 -70,-109 -70,-107 -70,-105 -70,-103 -70,-101 -70,-99 -70,-97 -70,-95 -70,-95 -70.8,-95 -71.6,-95 -72.4,-95 -73.2,-95 -74,-95 -74.8,-95 -75.6,-95 -76.4,-95 -77.2,-95 -78,-97 -78,-99 -78,-101 -78,-103 -78,-105 -78,-107 -78,-109 -78,-111 -78,-113 -78,-115 -78,-115 -77.2,-115 -76.4,-115 -75.6,-115 -74.8,-115 -74,-115 -73.2,-115 -72.4,-115 -71.6,-115 -70.8,-115 -70))", "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Tue, 02 Mar 2021 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Predictions of future changes of the Antarctic ice sheet are essential for understanding changes in the global sea level expected for the coming centuries. These predictions rely on models of ice-sheet flow that in turn rely on knowledge of the physical conditions of the Antarctic continent beneath the ice. Exploration of Antarctica by land, sea, and air has advanced our understanding of the geological material under the Antarctic ice sheet, but this information has not yet been fully integrated into ice-sheet models. This project will take advantage of existing data from decades of US and international investment in geophysical surveys to create a new understanding of the geology underlying the Amundsen Sea and the adjacent areas of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet\u2014a portion of Antarctica that is considered particularly vulnerable to collapse. A series of new datasets called \u201cBed Classes\u201d will be developed that will translate the geological properties of the Antarctic continent in ways that can be incorporated into ice-sheet models. This project will develop a new regional geologic/tectonic framework for the Amundsen Sea Embayment and its ice catchments using extensive marine and airborne geophysical data together with ground-based onshore geophysical and geological constraints to delineate sedimentary basins, bedrock ridges, faults, and volcanic structures. Using this new geologic interpretation of the region, several key issues regarding the geologic influence on ice-sheet stability will be addressed: whether the regional heat flow is dominated by localization along the faults or lithology; the role of geology on the sources, sinks, and flow-paths of subglacial water; the distribution of sediments that determine bed-character variability; and the extent of geologic control on the current Thwaites Glacier grounding line. The impact of improved geological knowledge on ice-sheet models will be tested with the development of a set of \u201cBed Class\u201d grids to capture these new insights for use in the models. Bed Classes will be tested within the Parallel Ice Sheet Model framework with initial experiments to identify the sensitivity of model simulations to geological parameterizations. Through a series of workshops with ice-sheet modelers, the Bed Classes will be refined and made accessible to the broader modelling community. This work aims to ensure that the Bed-Class concept can be applied more broadly to ice-sheet models working in different geographic areas and on different timescales. This award reflects NSF\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": -95.0, "geometry": "POINT(-105 -74)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Amundsen Sea; COMPUTERS; GRAVITY ANOMALIES; Amd/Us; GLACIERS/ICE SHEETS; AMD; USA/NSF; USAP-DC", "locations": "Amundsen Sea", "north": -70.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Integrated System Science; Antarctic Earth Sciences; Antarctic Earth Sciences; Antarctic Integrated System Science; Antarctic Glaciology; Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Tinto, Kirsty; Bell, Robin; Porter, David; Muto, Atsu", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e MODELS \u003e COMPUTERS", "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": -78.0, "title": "Collaborative Research: Building Geologically Informed Bed Classes to Improve Projections of Ice Sheet Change", "uid": "p0010164", "west": -115.0}, {"awards": "1643873 Hansen, Samantha; 1643798 Emry, Erica", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-180 -60,-144 -60,-108 -60,-72 -60,-36 -60,0 -60,36 -60,72 -60,108 -60,144 -60,180 -60,180 -63,180 -66,180 -69,180 -72,180 -75,180 -78,180 -81,180 -84,180 -87,180 -90,144 -90,108 -90,72 -90,36 -90,0 -90,-36 -90,-72 -90,-108 -90,-144 -90,-180 -90,-180 -87,-180 -84,-180 -81,-180 -78,-180 -75,-180 -72,-180 -69,-180 -66,-180 -63,-180 -60))", "dataset_titles": "GEOSCOPE Network; IU: Global Seismograph Network; Shear Wave Velocity of the Antarctic Upper Mantle from Full Waveform Inversion and Long Period Ambient Seismic Noise; XP (2000-2004): A Broadband Seismic Investigation of Deep Continental Structure Across the East-West Antarctic Boundary ; YT (2007-2023): IPY POLENET-Antarctica: Investigating links between geodynamics and ice sheets; ZJ (2012-2015): Transantarctic Mountains Northern Network ; ZM (2007-2013): A Broadband Seismic Experiment to Image the Lithosphere beneath the Gamburtsev Mountains, East Antarctica", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "200168", "doi": "10.18715/GEOSCOPE.G", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "IRIS", "science_program": null, "title": "GEOSCOPE Network", "url": "http://geoscope.ipgp.fr/networks/detail/G/"}, {"dataset_uid": "200171", "doi": "10.7914/SN/YT_2007", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "IRIS", "science_program": null, "title": "YT (2007-2023): IPY POLENET-Antarctica: Investigating links between geodynamics and ice sheets", "url": "http://www.fdsn.org/networks/detail/YT_2007/"}, {"dataset_uid": "601909", "doi": "10.15784/601909", "keywords": "Ambient Seismic Noise; Antarctica; Cryosphere; Full-Waveform Inversion; Seismic Tomography; Shear Wave Velocity", "people": "Hansen, Samantha; Emry, Erica", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Shear Wave Velocity of the Antarctic Upper Mantle from Full Waveform Inversion and Long Period Ambient Seismic Noise", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601909"}, {"dataset_uid": "200170", "doi": "10.7914/SN/XP_2000", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "IRIS", "science_program": null, "title": "XP (2000-2004): A Broadband Seismic Investigation of Deep Continental Structure Across the East-West Antarctic Boundary ", "url": "http://www.fdsn.org/networks/detail/XP_2000/"}, {"dataset_uid": "200169", "doi": "10.7914/SN/IU", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "IRIS", "science_program": null, "title": "IU: Global Seismograph Network", "url": "http://www.fdsn.org/networks/detail/IU/"}, {"dataset_uid": "200173", "doi": "10.7914/SN/ZJ_2012", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "IRIS", "science_program": null, "title": "ZJ (2012-2015): Transantarctic Mountains Northern Network ", "url": "http://www.fdsn.org/networks/detail/ZJ_2012/"}, {"dataset_uid": "200172", "doi": "10.7914/SN/ZM_2007", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "IRIS", "science_program": null, "title": " ZM (2007-2013): A Broadband Seismic Experiment to Image the Lithosphere beneath the Gamburtsev Mountains, East Antarctica", "url": "http://www.fdsn.org/networks/detail/ZM_2007/"}], "date_created": "Thu, 15 Oct 2020 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Nontechnical description of proposed research: This project will apply cutting-edge seismic imaging methods to existing seismic data to study the three-dimensional structure of the Earth beneath the ice-covered Antarctic continent. The study will improve understanding of Earth structure and hotspots and geologically recent and ancient rift systems. The results will be useful for models of ice movement and bedrock elevation changes due to variation in ice sheet thickness. The results will also help guide future seismic data collection. The researchers will transfer existing software from the high-performance computers at The University of Rhode Island to the Alabama supercomputer facilities. The project will also broaden public understanding of scientific research in Antarctica by engaging with the students and teachers in Socorro County, New Mexico to discuss career opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), the Earth Sciences, and the importance of computers in scientific research. Project personnel from Alabama will visit Socorro and share research with students at New Mexico Tech and at the Socorro High School. The project will also train undergraduate and graduate students in the expanding field of computational seismology, by applying these approaches to study Antarctic geology. Technical description of proposed research: The project seeks to better resolve the three-dimensional Antarctic mantle structure and viscosity and to identify locations of ancient rifts within the stable East Antarctic lithosphere. To accomplish this, the researchers will utilize full-waveform tomographic inversion techniques that combine long-period ambient noise data with earthquake constraints to more accurately resolve structure than traditional tomographic approaches. The proposed research will be completed using the Alabama supercomputer facilities and the programs and methodology developed at The University of Rhode Island. The new tomographic results will be useful in assessing lithospheric structure beneath Dronning Maud Land as well as the Wilkes and Aurora Subglacial Basins in East Antarctica, where previous rifting episodes and mid-lithospheric discontinuities will be explored. In West Antarctica, the work will elucidate the easternmost extent of the West Antarctic Rift System as well as rifted structure and possible compositional variations within the Weddell Sea. The accuracy of existing Antarctic seismic models will be quantified through model validation approaches. The researchers will highlight regions of Antarctica where tomographic resolution is still lacking and where future deployments would improve resolution.", "east": 180.0, "geometry": "POINT(0 -89.999)", "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e MAGNETIC/MOTION SENSORS \u003e SEISMOMETERS \u003e SEISMOGRAPHS", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "SEISMIC SURFACE WAVES; USA/NSF; USAP-DC; SEISMOLOGICAL STATIONS; Amd/Us; AMD; POLNET; TECTONICS; Antarctica", "locations": "Antarctica", "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences; Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Emry, Erica; Hansen, Samantha", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e PERMANENT LAND SITES \u003e SEISMOLOGICAL STATIONS", "repo": "IRIS", "repositories": "IRIS; USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "Collaborative Research: Imaging Seismic Heterogeneity within the Antarctic Mantle with Full Waveform Ambient Noise Tomography", "uid": "p0010139", "west": -180.0}, {"awards": "1141275 Warren, Stephen", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": "Antarctic field campaign data page", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "001399", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "PI website", "science_program": null, "title": "Antarctic field campaign data page", "url": "http://www.atmos.washington.edu/articles/EastAntarctica_SeaIceAlbedos_SnowImpurities/"}], "date_created": "Fri, 30 Jan 2015 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "The albedo, or reflection coefficient, is a measure of the diffuse reflectivity of an irradiated surface. With the sunlit atmosphere as a light source, and sea-ice as a diffuse reflecting surface, the albedo would be the fraction of incident light that is returned to the atmosphere. A perfect (white) reflecting surface would have an albedo of 1; a perfect (black) absorbing surface would have an albedo of 0. The albedo of sea-ice is needed to assess the solar energy budget of the marginal ice zone, to compute the partial solar bands in radiation budgets in general circulation and earth system models, and is also needed to interpret remote sensing imagery data products. Applications requiring albedos further into the near IR, out to 2500nm, are assumed or approximated. Modern spectral radiometers, such as will be used in this campaign on a Southern Ocean voyage from Hobart to Antarctica, can extend these measurements of albedo from 350 to 2500nm, allowing earlier estimates to be verified, or corrected. Surfaces to be encountered on this research cruise are expected to include open water, grease ice, nila ice, pancake ice, young grey ice, young grey-white ice, along with first year ice. The presence of variable amounts of snow on these surfaces is also of interest. Light absorbing impurities in the snow and ice, including black carbon and organic matter (brown carbon) are different from those found in Arctic Sea ice, the Antarctic being so remote from combustion sources. This may allow better understanding of the seasonal cycles, energy budgets and their recent trends in spatial extent and thickness. The project will also broaden the educational experiences of both US and Australian students participating in the measurement campaign", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "Radiometers; Radiation Budgets; Sea Ice; Energy Budgets; Impurities; COMPUTERS; Albedo; Spectral; LABORATORY; Antarctica; Snow Temperature; Reflecting Surface; Snow Density; R/V AA", "locations": "Antarctica", "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Warren, Stephen; Zatko, Maria", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e MODELS \u003e COMPUTERS; OTHER \u003e PHYSICAL MODELS \u003e LABORATORY; WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e VESSELS \u003e SURFACE \u003e R/V AA", "repo": "PI website", "repositories": "PI website", "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "Spectral and Broadband Albedo of Antarctic Sea-ice Types", "uid": "p0000375", "west": null}, {"awards": "0944087 Hamilton, Gordon", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((145 -80,147 -80,149 -80,151 -80,153 -80,155 -80,157 -80,159 -80,161 -80,163 -80,165 -80,165 -80.035,165 -80.07,165 -80.105,165 -80.14,165 -80.175,165 -80.21,165 -80.245,165 -80.28,165 -80.315,165 -80.35,163 -80.35,161 -80.35,159 -80.35,157 -80.35,155 -80.35,153 -80.35,151 -80.35,149 -80.35,147 -80.35,145 -80.35,145 -80.315,145 -80.28,145 -80.245,145 -80.21,145 -80.175,145 -80.14,145 -80.105,145 -80.07,145 -80.035,145 -80))", "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Fri, 23 Jan 2015 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award supports a project to understand the flow dynamics of large, fast-moving outlet glaciers that drain the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. The project includes an integrated field, remote sensing and modeling study of Byrd Glacier which is a major pathway for the discharge of mass from the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) to the ocean. Recent work has shown that the glacier can undergo short-lived but significant changes in flow speed in response to perturbations in its boundary conditions. Because outlet glacier speeds exert a major control on ice sheet mass balance and modulate the ice sheet contribution to sea level rise, it is essential that their sensitivity to a range of dynamic processes is properly understood and incorporated into prognostic ice sheet models. The intellectual merit of the project is that the results from this study will provide critically important information regarding the flow dynamics of large EAIS outlet glaciers. The proposed study is designed to address variations in glacier behavior on timescales of minutes to years. A dense network of global positioning satellite (GPS) instruments on the grounded trunk and floating portions of the glacier will provide continuous, high-resolution time series of horizontal and vertical motions over a 26-month period. These results will be placed in the context of a longer record of remote sensing observations covering a larger spatial extent, and the combined datasets will be used to constrain a numerical model of the glacier\u0027s flow dynamics. The broader impacts of the work are that this project will generate results which are likely to be a significant component of next-generation ice sheet models seeking to predict the evolution of the Antarctic Ice Sheet and future rates of sea level rise. The most recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) highlights the imperfect understanding of outlet glacier dynamics as a major obstacle to the production of an accurate sea level rise projections. This project will provide significant research opportunities for several early-career scientists, including the lead PI for this proposal (she is both a new investigator and a junior faculty member at a large research university) and two PhD-level graduate students. The students will be trained in glaciology, geodesy and numerical modeling, contributing to society\u0027s need for experts in those fields. In addition, this project will strengthen international collaboration between polar scientists and geodesists in the US and Spain. The research team will work closely with science educators in the Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets (CReSIS) outreach program to disseminate project results to non-specialist audiences.", "east": 165.0, "geometry": "POINT(155 -80.175)", "instruments": "EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e POSITIONING/NAVIGATION \u003e GPS \u003e GPS RECEIVERS; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e POSITIONING/NAVIGATION \u003e GPS \u003e GPS", "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "Sea Level Rise; FIELD INVESTIGATION; Glacier; LABORATORY; Outlet Glaciers; Boundary Conditions; Model; Numerical Model; FIELD SURVEYS; Antarctica; COMPUTERS; Not provided; Flow Dynamics", "locations": "Antarctica", "north": -80.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Stearns, Leigh; Hamilton, Gordon S.", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD SURVEYS; Not provided; OTHER \u003e MODELS \u003e COMPUTERS; OTHER \u003e PHYSICAL MODELS \u003e LABORATORY", "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": -80.35, "title": "Collaborative Research: Byrd Glacier Flow Dynamics", "uid": "p0000319", "west": 145.0}, {"awards": "0632322 Wilson, Terry; 0632136 Nyblade, Andrew", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-20 -70,-1 -70,18 -70,37 -70,56 -70,75 -70,94 -70,113 -70,132 -70,151 -70,170 -70,170 -72,170 -74,170 -76,170 -78,170 -80,170 -82,170 -84,170 -86,170 -88,170 -90,151 -90,132 -90,113 -90,94 -90,75 -90,56 -90,37 -90,18 -90,-1 -90,-20 -90,-20 -88,-20 -86,-20 -84,-20 -82,-20 -80,-20 -78,-20 -76,-20 -74,-20 -72,-20 -70))", "dataset_titles": "Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS); University NAVSTAR Consortium (UNAVCO)", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "000131", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "UNAVCO", "science_program": null, "title": "University NAVSTAR Consortium (UNAVCO)", "url": "http://www.unavco.org/data/gps-gnss/data-access-methods/dai2/app/dai2.html#groupingMod=contains;grouping=POLENET%20-%20ANET;scope=Station;sampleRate=normal"}, {"dataset_uid": "000132", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "IRIS", "science_program": null, "title": "Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS)", "url": "http://www.iris.edu/mda/YT?timewindow=2007-2018"}], "date_created": "Thu, 22 Jan 2015 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This project constructs POLENET a network of GPS and seismic stations in West Antarctica to understand how the mass of the West Antarctic ice sheet (WAIS) changes with time. The information is ultimately used to predict sea level rise accompanying global warming and interpret climate change records. The GPS (global positioning system) stations measure vertical and horizontal movements of bedrock, while the seismic stations characterize physical properties of the ice/rock interface, lithosphere, and mantle. Combined with satellite data, this project offers a more complete picture of the ice sheet\u0027s current state, its likely change in the near future, and its overall size during the last glacial maximum. This data will also be used to infer sub-ice sheet geology and the terrestrial heat flux, critical inputs to models of glacier movement. As well, this project improves tomographic models of the earth\u0027s deep interior and core through its location in the Earth\u0027s poorly instrumented southern hemisphere. \u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eBroader impacts of this project are varied. The work is relevant to society for improving our understanding of the impacts of global warming on sea level rise. It also supports education at the postdoctoral, graduate, and undergraduate levels, and outreach to groups underrepresented in the sciences. As an International Polar Year contribution, this project establishes a legacy of infrastructure for polar measurements. It also involves an international collaboration of twenty four countries. For more information see IPY Project #185 at IPY.org. NSF is supporting a complementary Arctic POLENET array being constructed in Greenland under NSF Award #0632320.", "east": 170.0, "geometry": "POINT(75 -80)", "instruments": "EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e POSITIONING/NAVIGATION \u003e GPS \u003e GPS RECEIVERS; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e POSITIONING/NAVIGATION \u003e GPS \u003e GPS", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Antarctica; Bedrock; Ice/Rock Interface; Climate Change; Seismic; West Antarctic Ice Sheet; FIELD SURVEYS; LABORATORY; Not provided; FIELD INVESTIGATION; Mass Balance; COMPUTERS; Sub-Ice Sheet Geology; Sea Level; Terrestrial Heat Flux", "locations": "Antarctica; West Antarctic Ice Sheet", "north": -70.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology; Antarctic Earth Sciences; Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Wilson, Terry; Bevis, Michael; Anandakrishnan, Sridhar; Wiens, Douglas; Aster, Richard; Smalley, Robert; Nyblade, Andrew; Winberry, Paul; Hothem, Larry; Dalziel, Ian W.; Huerta, Audrey D.", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD SURVEYS; Not provided; OTHER \u003e MODELS \u003e COMPUTERS; OTHER \u003e PHYSICAL MODELS \u003e LABORATORY", "repo": "UNAVCO", "repositories": "IRIS; UNAVCO", "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "Collaborative Research: IPY: POLENET-Antarctica: Investigating Links Between Geodynamics and Ice Sheets", "uid": "p0000315", "west": -20.0}, {"awards": "0732730 Truffer, Martin; 0732869 Holland, David; 0732804 McPhee, Miles; 0732906 Nowicki, Sophie", "bounds_geometry": "POINT(-100.728 -75.0427)", "dataset_titles": "Automatic Weather Station Pine Island Glacier; Borehole Temperatures at Pine Island Glacier, Antarctica; Ocean-Ice Interaction in the Amundsen Sea Sector of West Antarctica", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "600072", "doi": "10.15784/600072", "keywords": "Antarctica; Atmosphere; McMurdo; Meteorology; Oceans; Ross Island; Southern Ocean", "people": "McPhee, Miles G.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Ocean-Ice Interaction in the Amundsen Sea Sector of West Antarctica", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/600072"}, {"dataset_uid": "609627", "doi": "10.7265/N5T151MV", "keywords": "Antarctica; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Core Records; Pine Island Glacier; Temperature", "people": "Truffer, Martin; Stanton, Timothy", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Borehole Temperatures at Pine Island Glacier, Antarctica", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/609627"}, {"dataset_uid": "601216", "doi": "10.15784/601216", "keywords": "Antarctica; Atmosphere; Automated Weather Station; Flux; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Meteorology; Pine Island Glacier; Weather Station Data", "people": "Holland, David; Mojica Moncada, Jhon F.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "Thwaites (ITGC)", "title": "Automatic Weather Station Pine Island Glacier", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601216"}], "date_created": "Tue, 30 Dec 2014 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Collaborative With: McPhee 0732804, Holland 0732869, Truffer 0732730, Stanton 0732926, Anandakrishnan 0732844 \u003cbr/\u003eTitle: Collaborative Research: IPY: Ocean-Ice Interaction in the Amundsen Sea Sector of West Antarctica\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThe Office of Polar Programs, Antarctic Integrated and System Science Program has made this award to support an interdisciplinary study of the effects of the ocean on the stability of glacial ice in the most dynamic region the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, namely the Pine Island Glacier in the Amundsen Sea Embayment. The collaborative project builds on the knowledge gained by the highly successful West Antarctic Ice Sheet program and is being jointly sponsored with NASA. Recent observations indicate a significant ice loss, equivalent to 10% of the ongoing increase in sea-level rise, in this region. These changes are largest along the coast and propagate rapidly inland, indicating the critical impact of the ocean on ice sheet stability in the region. While a broad range of remote sensing and ground-based instrumentation is available to characterize changes of the ice surface and internal structure (deformation, ice motion, melt) and the shape of the underlying sediment and rock bed, instrumentation has yet to be successfully deployed for observing boundary layer processes of the ocean cavity which underlies the floating ice shelf and where rapid melting is apparently occurring. Innovative, mini ocean sensors that can be lowered through boreholes in the ice shelf (about 500 m thick) will be developed and deployed to automatically provide ocean profiling information over at least three years. Their data will be transmitted through a conducting cable frozen in the borehole to the surface where it will be further transmitted via satellite to a laboratory in the US. Geophysical and remote sensing methods (seismic, GPS, altimetry, stereo imaging, radar profiling) will be applied to map the geometry of the ice shelf, the shape of the sub ice-shelf cavity, the ice surface geometry and deformations within the glacial ice. To integrate the seismic, glaciological and oceanographic observations, a new 3-dimensional coupled ice-ocean model is being developed which will be the first of its kind. NASA is supporting satellite based research and the deployment of a robotic-camera system to explore the environment in the ocean cavity underlying the ice shelf and NSF is supporting all other aspects of this study. \u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eBroader impacts: This project is motivated by the potential societal impacts of rapid sea level rise and should result in critically needed improvements in characterizing and predicting the behavior of coupled ocean-ice systems. It is a contribution to the International Polar Year and was endorsed by the International Council for Science as a component of the \"Multidisciplinary Study of the Amundsen Sea Embayment\" proposal #258 of the honeycomb of endorsed IPY activities. The research involves substantial international partnerships with the British Antarctic Survey and the University of Bristol in the UK. The investigators will partner with the previously funded \"Polar Palooza\" education and outreach program in addition to undertaking a diverse set of outreach activities of their own. Eight graduate students and one undergraduate as well as one post doc will be integrated into this research project.", "east": -100.728, "geometry": "POINT(-100.728 -75.0427)", "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e TEMPERATURE/HUMIDITY SENSORS \u003e THERMISTORS \u003e THERMISTORS; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e ACTIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e RADAR SOUNDERS \u003e RADAR; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e SEISMIC REFLECTION PROFILERS", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "West Antarctica; Seismic; LABORATORY; Amundsen Sea; Ocean-Ice Interaction; Remote Sensing; COMPUTERS; FIELD SURVEYS; LANDSAT-8; FIELD INVESTIGATION; Ocean Profiling; AUVS; Sea Level Rise; Stability; Not provided; Deformation; SATELLITES; Ice Movement; GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS; Ice Temperature; International Polar Year; Borehole", "locations": "West Antarctica; Amundsen Sea", "north": -75.0427, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Integrated System Science; Antarctic Integrated System Science; Antarctic Integrated System Science; Antarctic Integrated System Science", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Truffer, Martin; Stanton, Timothy; Bindschadler, Robert; Behar, Alberto; Nowicki, Sophie; Anandakrishnan, Sridhar; Holland, David; McPhee, Miles G.", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD SURVEYS; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e PERMANENT LAND SITES \u003e GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS; Not provided; OTHER \u003e MODELS \u003e COMPUTERS; OTHER \u003e PHYSICAL MODELS \u003e LABORATORY; SPACE-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e EARTH OBSERVATION SATELLITES \u003e LANDSAT \u003e LANDSAT-8; SPACE-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e EARTH OBSERVATION SATELLITES \u003e SATELLITES; WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e UNCREWED VEHICLES \u003e SUBSURFACE \u003e AUVS", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -75.0427, "title": "Collaborative Research; IPY: Ocean-Ice Interaction in the Amundsen Sea sector of West Antarctica", "uid": "p0000043", "west": -100.728}, {"awards": "0838810 Hulbe, Christina", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Mon, 01 Jul 2013 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Hulbe/0838810 \u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThis award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThis award supports a modeling study of the processes in West Antarctic grounding zones, the transition from ice resting on bedrock to ice floating on the ocean surface with an eye toward understanding the interrelated causes of rapid change in grounding line configuration and outlet flow. A combination of satellite remote sensing and numerical modeling will be used to investigate both past and ongoing patterns of change. New high-resolution surface elevation maps made from a novel combination of satellite laser altimetry and remotely observed surface shape provide a unique view of grounding zones. These data will be used to diagnose events associated with the shutdown of Kamb Ice Stream, to investigate a recent discharge event on Institute Ice Stream and to investigate ongoing change at the outlet of Whillans Ice Stream, along with other modern processes around the West Antarctic. An existing numerical model of coupled ice sheet, ice stream, and ice shelf flow will be used and improved as part of the research project. The broader impacts of the project relate to the importance of understanding the role of polar ice sheets in global sea level rise. The work will contribute to the next round of deliberations for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Improved views, interpretations, and insights into the physical processes that govern variability in ice sheet outlet streams will help correct the shortcomings of the last IPCC report that didn?t include the role of ice sheets in sea level rise. The PIs have a strong record of public outreach, involvement in the professional community, and student training.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "LABORATORY; Kamb Ice Stream; Grounding Line; FIELD INVESTIGATION; SATELLITES; Transition Zone; Ice Shelf Flow; Outlet Flow; Ice Sheet; Modeling; COMPUTERS; Antarctica", "locations": "Antarctica; Kamb Ice Stream", "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Hulbe, Christina; Fahnestock, Mark", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION; OTHER \u003e MODELS \u003e COMPUTERS; OTHER \u003e PHYSICAL MODELS \u003e LABORATORY; SPACE-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e EARTH OBSERVATION SATELLITES \u003e SATELLITES", "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "Collaborative Research: Mass Transit: Controls on Grounding and Ungrounding at Marine Ice Sheet Outlets", "uid": "p0000371", "west": null}, {"awards": "0732946 Steffen, Konrad", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": "Larsen C automatic weather station data 2008\u20132011; Mean surface mass balance over Larsen C ice shelf, Antarctica (1979-2014), assimilated to in situ GPR and snow height data", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601056", "doi": "10.15784/601056", "keywords": "Antarctica; Antarctic Peninsula; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; GPR; Larsen C Ice Shelf; Radar", "people": "McGrath, Daniel; Kuipers Munneke, Peter; Steffen, Konrad", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Mean surface mass balance over Larsen C ice shelf, Antarctica (1979-2014), assimilated to in situ GPR and snow height data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601056"}, {"dataset_uid": "601445", "doi": "10.15784/601445", "keywords": "Antarctica; Atmosphere; AWS; Foehn Winds; Ice Shelf; Larsen C Ice Shelf; Larsen Ice Shelf; Meteorology; Weather Station Data", "people": "Steffen, Konrad; Bayou, Nicolas; McGrath, Daniel", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Larsen C automatic weather station data 2008\u20132011", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601445"}], "date_created": "Wed, 03 Oct 2012 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award supports a field experiment, with partners from Chile and the Netherlands, to determine the state of health and stability of Larsen C ice shelf in response to climate change. Significant glaciological and ecological changes are taking place in the Antarctic Peninsula in response to climate warming that is proceeding at 6 times the global average rate. Following the collapse of Larsen A ice shelf in 1995 and Larsen B in 2002, the outlet glaciers that nourished them with land ice accelerated massively, losing a disproportionate amount of ice to the ocean. Further south, the much larger Larsen C ice shelf is thinning and measurements collected over more than a decade suggest that it is doomed to break up. The intellectual merit of the project will be to contribute to the scientific knowledge of one of the Antarctic sectors where the most significant changes are taking place at present. The project is central to a cluster of International Polar Year activities in the Antarctic Peninsula. It will yield a legacy of international collaboration, instrument networking, education of young scientists, reference data and scientific analysis in a remote but globally relevant glaciological setting. The broader impacts of the project will be to address the contribution to sea level rise from Antarctica and to bring live monitoring of climate and ice dynamics in Antarctica to scientists, students, the non-specialized public, the press and the media via live web broadcasting of progress, data collection, visualization and analysis. Existing data will be combined with new measurements to assess what physical processes are controlling the weakening of the ice shelf, whether a break up is likely, and provide baseline data to quantify the consequences of a breakup. Field activities will include measurements using the Global Positioning System (GPS), installation of automatic weather stations (AWS), ground penetrating radar (GPR) measurements, collection of shallow firn cores and temperature measurements. These data will be used to characterize the dynamic response of the ice shelf to a variety of phenomena (oceanic tides, iceberg calving, ice-front retreat and rifting, time series of weather conditions, structural characteristics of the ice shelf and bottom melting regime, and the ability of firn to collect melt water and subsequently form water ponds that over-deepen and weaken the ice shelf). This effort will complement an analysis of remote sensing data, ice-shelf numerical models and control methods funded independently to provide a more comprehensive analysis of the ice shelf evolution in a changing climate.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e RECORDERS/LOGGERS \u003e AWS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e CORERS \u003e CORING DEVICES; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e ACTIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e RADAR SOUNDERS \u003e GPR; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e POSITIONING/NAVIGATION \u003e GPS \u003e GPS; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e TEMPERATURE PROFILERS", "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "Climate Warming; Firn; COMPUTERS; Ice Dynamic; USAP-DC; Glaciological; Thinning; Sea Level Rise; FIELD SURVEYS; FIELD INVESTIGATION; USA/NSF; AMD; Ice Edge Retreat; LABORATORY; Climate Change; Antarctic Peninsula; Amd/Us; Melting", "locations": "Antarctic Peninsula", "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Steffen, Konrad", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD SURVEYS; OTHER \u003e MODELS \u003e COMPUTERS; OTHER \u003e PHYSICAL MODELS \u003e LABORATORY", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "IPY: Stability of Larsen C Ice Shelf in a Warming Climate", "uid": "p0000087", "west": null}, {"awards": "0739684 Hatcher, Patrick", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Wed, 26 Sep 2012 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award supports a project to fully develop the analytical protocols needed to exploit a relatively new technique for the analysis of soluble organic matter in ice core samples. The technique couples Electrospray ionization to high resolution Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (ESI-FTICR-MS). Sample volume will be reduced and pre-concentration steps will be eliminated. Following method optimization a suite of ice core samples will be studied from several Antarctic and Greenland locations to address several hypothesis driven research questions. Preliminary results show that a vast record of relatively high molecular weight organic material exists in ice core samples and intriguing results from a few samples warrant further investigation. Several important questions related to developing a better understanding of the nature and paleo record of organic matter in ice cores will be addressed. These include developing a better understanding of the origin of nitrogen and sulfur isotopes in pre-industrial vs. modern samples, developing the methods to apply molecular biomarker techniques, routinely used by organic geochemists for sediment analyses, to the analysis of organic matter in ice cores, tracking the level of oxidation of homologous series of compounds and using them as a proxy for atmospheric oxidant levels in the past and determining whether or not high resolution FTICR mass spectral analysis can provide the ice core community with a robust method to analyze organic materials at the molecular level. The intellectual merit of this work is that this analytical method will provide a new understanding of the nature of organic matter in ice, possibly leading to the discovery of multitudes of molecular species indicative of global change processes whose abundances can be compared with other change proxies. The proposed studies are of an exploratory nature and potentially transformative for the field of ice core research and cryobiology. The broader impacts of these studies are that they should provide compelling evidence regarding organic matter sources, atmospheric processing and anthropogenic inputs to polar ice and how these have varied over time. The collaborative work proposed here will partner atmospheric chemistry/polar ice chemistry expertise with organic geochemistry expertise, resulting in significant contributions to both fields of study and significant advances in ice core analysis. Training of both graduate and undergraduate students will be a key component of the project and students will be involved in collaborative research using advanced analytical instrumentation, presentation of research results at national meetings, and will participate in manuscript preparation.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e SPECTROMETERS/RADIOMETERS \u003e MASS SPECTROMETERS", "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "Ice Core; Isotope; Organic Matter; Nitrogen; Sulfur; Not provided; LABORATORY; Mass Spectrometry; COMPUTERS; Molecular", "locations": null, "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Hatcher, Patrick; Grannas, Amanda", "platforms": "Not provided; OTHER \u003e MODELS \u003e COMPUTERS; OTHER \u003e PHYSICAL MODELS \u003e LABORATORY", "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "Collaborative Research: Molecular Level Characterization of Organic Matter in Ice Cores using High-resolution FTICR mass spectrometry", "uid": "p0000707", "west": null}, {"awards": "0940650 Pettit, Erin; 0636996 Waddington, Edwin", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-165 -75,-159 -75,-153 -75,-147 -75,-141 -75,-135 -75,-129 -75,-123 -75,-117 -75,-111 -75,-105 -75,-105 -76,-105 -77,-105 -78,-105 -79,-105 -80,-105 -81,-105 -82,-105 -83,-105 -84,-105 -85,-111 -85,-117 -85,-123 -85,-129 -85,-135 -85,-141 -85,-147 -85,-153 -85,-159 -85,-165 -85,-165 -84,-165 -83,-165 -82,-165 -81,-165 -80,-165 -79,-165 -78,-165 -77,-165 -76,-165 -75))", "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Fri, 16 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Pettit/0636795\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThis award supports a project to constrain the accumulation rate, thickness, and temperature history for Siple Dome using a vertical velocity profile that includes the effects of an evolving fabric on deformation through time, to invert the depth-profile of fabric determined from sonic velocity measurements and grain size observed in thin sections in Siple Dome for the surface temperature and accumulation rate changes in the past, focusing on the apparent abrupt climate change events at 22ka and 15ka. The intellectual merit of the work is that it will extract past climate information from a number of physical properties of the deep ice using a coupled fabric evolution and ice-sheet flow model. The focus will be on the deep ice-age ice at Siple Dome, where the ice-core record shows puzzling signals and where modeling results imply intriguing deformation patterns. The method will also be applied to the records from Byrd Station and Taylor Dome to ultimately form a basis for future analysis of the West Antarctic Divide core. The broader impacts of the project are that it will ultimately contribute to our understanding of the effects of anisotropy on ice flow dynamics in West Antarctica. It will contribute to our understanding of the connection between ice flow and the paleoclimate record in ice cores, particularly with respect to the relationship between the chemical record and ice deformation. And it will contribute a new ice-flow model that includes the effects of anisotropy and fabric evolution. The project will also contribute to advancing the career of a new, young, female investigator and will support a couple of graduate students. Finally, the work will encouraging diversity in the physical sciences by directly helping to support the Girls on Ice a program that encourages young women to explore science and the natural world.", "east": -105.0, "geometry": "POINT(-135 -80)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "LABORATORY; FIELD SURVEYS; FIELD INVESTIGATION; Vertical Velocity; COMPUTERS; Ice Core; Firn; Accumulation Rate; Siple Dome; Ice Thickness; Abrupt Climate Change; Ice Temperature; Metamorphism; Anisotropy; Antarctica", "locations": "Siple Dome; Antarctica", "north": -75.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology; Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Pettit, Erin; Waddington, Edwin D.", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD SURVEYS; OTHER \u003e MODELS \u003e COMPUTERS; OTHER \u003e PHYSICAL MODELS \u003e LABORATORY", "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": -85.0, "title": "Collaborative Research: Anisotropy, Abrupt Climate Change, and the Deep Ice in West Antarctica", "uid": "p0000741", "west": -165.0}, {"awards": "0230469 Wise, Sherwood", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Tue, 31 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award, provided by the Antarctic Geology and Geophysics Program of the Office of Polar Programs, supports the development of a standardized diatom image catalog or database. Diatoms are considered by many to be the most important microfossil group used today in the study of Antarctic Cenozoic marine deposits south of the Polar Front, from the near shore to deep sea. These microfossils, with walls of silica called frustules, are produced by single-celled plants (algae of the Class Bacillariophyceae) in a great variety of forms. Consequently, they have great biostratigraphic importance in the Southern Ocean and elsewhere for determining the age of marine sediments. Also, paleoclimatic and paleoceanographic studies increasingly rely on fossil diatom data. Changing biogeographic distributions of given taxa indicate shifting paleoecological conditions and provide evidence of the surface productivity and temperatures of ancient oceans. The generality of conclusions, though, is limited by variation in species concepts among workers. The broad research community relies, directly or indirectly, on the accurate identification of diatom species. Current technology can be used to greatly improve upon the standard references that have been used in making these identifications.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThis project will develop an interactive digital-image catalog of modern and Cenozoic fossil diatoms of the Southern Ocean called \"DiatomWare\" for use by specialists and educators as an aid in rapid, accurate, and consistent species identification. As such, this will be a researcher\u0027s resource. It will be especially useful where it is not possible to maintain standard library resources such as onboard research vessels or at remote stations such as McMurdo Station. Major Antarctic geological drilling initiatives such as the new SHALDRIL project and the pending ANDRILL project will benefit from this product because they will rely heavily on diatom biostratigraphy to achieve their research objectives. The DiatomWare image database will be modeled on NannoWare, which was released in October 2002 on CD-ROM as a publication of the International Nannoplankton Association. BugCam will be adapted and modified as necessary to run the DiatomWare database, which can then be run from desktop or laptop computers. Images and text for the database will be scanned from the literature or captured in digital form from light or scanning electron microscopes.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThe software interface will include a number of data fields that can be accessed by the click of a mouse button. Primary information will be the images and descriptions of the holotypes. In addition, representative images of paratypes or hypotypes will be included whenever possible in plain transmitted, differential interference contrast light and, when available, as drawings and SEM images. Also included will be a 35-word or less English diagnosis (\"mini-description\"), the biostratigraphic range in terms of zones and linear time, bibliographic references, lists of species considered junior synonyms, and similar species. The list of similar species will be cross-referenced with their respective image files to enable quick access for direct visual comparison on the viewing screen. Multiple images can be brought to the viewing screen simultaneously, and a zoom feature will permit image examination at a wide range of magnifications. Buttons will allow range charts, a bibliography, and key public-domain publications from the literature to be called up from within the program. The DiatomWare/BugCam package will be distributed at a nominal cost through a major nonprofit society via CD-ROM and free to Internet users on the Worldwide Web. Quality control measures will include critical review of the finalized database by a network of qualified specialists. The completed database will include descriptions and images of between 350 and 400 species, including fossil as well as modern forms that have no fossil record.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThe development of the proposed diatom image database will be important to all research fields that depend on accurate biostratigraphic dating and paleoenvironmental interpretation of Antarctic marine sediments and plankton. The database will also serve as a valuable teaching tool for micropaleontology students and their professors, will provide a rapid means of keying down species for micropaleontologists of varying experience and background, and will promote a uniformity of taxonomic concepts since it will be developed and continuously updated with the advice of a community of nannofossil fossil experts. Broad use of the database is anticipated since it will be widely available through the Internet and on CD-ROM for use on personal computers that do not require large amounts of memory, costly specialized programs, or additional hardware.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "Not provided", "locations": null, "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Wise, Sherwood", "platforms": "Not provided", "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "DiatomWare: An Interactive Digital Image Catalog for Antarctic Cenozoic Diatoms", "uid": "p0000062", "west": null}]

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Investigating Effects of Transient and Non-Newtonian Mantle Viscosity on Glacial Isostatic Adjustment Process and their Implications for GPS Observations in Antarctica

2333940

2024-01-08

Zhong, Shijie

No dataset link provided

Satellite observations of Earth’s surface gravity and elevation changes indicate rapid melting of ice sheets in recent decades in northern Antarctica Peninsula and Amundsen Sea Embayment of West Antarctica. This rapid melting may lead to significant global sea level rise which is a major societal concern. Measurements from the Global Positioning System (GPS) show rapid land uplift in these regions as the ice sheets melt. When an ice sheet melts, the melt water flows to oceans, causing global sea level to rise. However, the sea level change at a given geographic location is also influenced by two other factors associated with the ice melting process: 1) the vertical motion of the land and 2) gravitational attraction. The vertical motion of the land is caused by the change of pressure force on the surface of the solid Earth. For example, the removal of ice mass reduces the pressure force on the land, leading to uplift of the land below the ice sheet, while the addition of water in oceans increases the pressure force on the seafloor, causing it to subside. The sea level always follows the equipotential surface of the gravity which changes as the mass on the Earth’s surface (e.g., the ice and water) or/and in its interiors (e.g., at the crust-mantle boundary) is redistributed. Additionally, the vertical motion of the land below an ice sheet has important effects on the evolution and stability of the ice sheet and may determine whether the ice sheet will rapidly collapse or gradually stabilize. The main goal of this project is to build an accurate and efficient computer model to study the displacement and deformation of the Antarctic crust and mantle in response to recent ice melting. The project will significantly improve existing and publicly available computer code, CitcomSVE. The horizontal and vertical components of the Earth’s surface displacement depends on mantle viscosity and elastic properties of the Earth. Although seismic imaging studies demonstrate that the Antarctica mantle is heterogeneous, most studies on the ice-melting induced deformation in Antarctica have assumed that mantle viscosity and elastic properties only vary with the depth due to computational limitations. In this project, the new computational method in CitcomSVE avoids such assumptions and makes it possible to include realistic 3-D mantle viscosity and elastic properties in computing the Antarctica crustal and mantle displacement. This project will interpret the GPS measurements of the surface displacements in northern Antarctica Peninsula and Amundsen Sea Embayment of West Antarctica and use the observations to place constraints on mantle viscosity and deformation mechanisms. The project will also seek to predict the future land displacement Antarctica, which will lead to a better understand of Antarctica ice sheets. Finally, the project has direct implications for the study of global sea level change and the dynamics of the Greenland ice sheet. Technical Description Glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) is important for understanding not only fundamental science questions including mantle viscosity, mantle convection and lithospheric deformation but also societally important questions of global sea-level change, polar ice melting, climate change, and groundwater hydrology. Studies of rock deformation in laboratory experiments, post-seismic deformation, and mantle dynamics indicate that mantle viscosity is temperature- and stress-dependent. Although the effects of stress-dependent (i.e., non-Newtonian) viscosity and transient creep rheology on GIA process have been studied, observational evidence remains elusive. There has been significant ice mass loss in recent decades in northern Antarctica Peninsula (NAP) and Amundsen Sea Embayment (ASE) of West Antarctica. The ice mass loss has caused rapid bedrock uplift as measured by GPS techniques which require surprisingly small upper mantle viscosity of ~1018 Pas. The rapid uplifts may have important feedback effects on ongoing ice melting because of their influence on grounding line migration, and the inferred small viscosity may have implications for mantle rheology and deformation on decadal time scales. The main objective of the project is to test hypotheses that the GPS observations in NAP and ASE regions are controlled by 3-D non-Newtonian or/and transient creep viscosity by developing new GIA modeling capability based on finite element package CitcomSVE. The project will carry out the following three tasks: Task 1 is to build GIA models for the NAP and ASE regions to examine the effects of 3-D temperature-dependent mantle viscosity on the surface displacements and to test hypothesis that the 3-D mantle viscosity improves the fit to the GPS observations. Task 2 is to test the hypothesis that non-Newtonian or/and transient creep rheology controls GIA process on decadal time scales by computing GIA models and comparing model predictions with GPS observations for the NAP and ASE regions. Task 3 is to implement transient creep (i.e., Burgers model) rheology into finite element package CitcomSVE for modeling the GIA process on global and regional scales and to make the package publicly available to the scientific community. The project will develop the first numerical GIA model with Burgers transient rheology and use the models to examine the effects of 3-D temperature-dependent viscosity, non-Newtonian viscosity and transient rheology on GIA-induced surface displacements in Antarctica. The project will model the unique GPS observations of unusually large displacement rates in the NAP and ASE regions to place constraints on mantle rheology and to distinguish between 3-D temperature-dependent, non-Newtonian and transient mantle viscosity. The project will expand the capability of the publicly available software package CitcomSVE for modeling viscoelastic deformation and tidal deformation on global and regional scales. The project will advance our understanding in lithospheric deformation and mantle rheology on decadal time scales, which helps predict grounding line migration and understand ice sheet stability in West Antarctica. The project will strengthen the open science practice by improving the publicly available code CitcomSVE at github. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

Collaborative Research: Foraging Ecology and Physiology of the Leopard Seal

1643575
1644004
1644256

2023-05-12

Costa, Daniel; Trumble, Stephen J; Kanatous, Shane

Leopard Seal Diving behavior data	USAP-DC
Data from: Whiskers provide time-series of toxic and essential trace elements, Se:Hg molar ratios, and stable isotope values of an apex Antarctic predator, the leopard seal	Dryad
Leopard Seal movement data	USAP-DC

This research project is a multidisciplinary effort that brings together a diverse team of scientists from multiple institutions together to understand the foraging behavior and physiology of leopard seals and their role in the Southern Ocean food web. The project will examine the physiology and behavior of leopard seals to in an effort to determine their ability to respond to potential changes in their habitat and foraging areas. Using satellite tracking devices the team will examine the movement and diving behavior of leopard seals and couple this information with measurements of their physiological capacity. The project will determine whether leopard seals- who feed on diverse range of prey- are built differently than their deep diving relatives the Weddell and elephant seal who feed on fish and squid. The team will also determine whether leopard seals are operating at or near their physiological capability to determine how much, if any, ?reserve capacity? they might have to forage and live in changing environments. A better understanding of their home ranges, movement patterns, and general behavior will also be informative to help in managing human-leopard seal interactions. The highly visual nature of the data and analysis for this project lends itself to public and educational display and outreach, particularly as they relate to the changing Antarctic habitats. The project will use the research results to educate the public on the unique physiological and ecological adaptations to extreme environments seen in diving marine mammals, including adaptations to exercise under low oxygen conditions and energy utilization, which affect and dictate the lifestyle of these exceptional organisms. The results of the project will also contribute to the broader understanding that may enhance the aims of managing marine living resources. The leopard seal is an apex predator in the Antarctic ecosystem. This project seeks to better understand the ability of the leopard seal to cope with a changing environment. The project will first examine the foraging behavior and habitat utilization of leopard seals using satellite telemetry. Specifically, satellite telemetry tags will be used to obtain dive profiles and movement data for individuals across multiple years. Diet and trophic level positions across multiple temporal scales will then be determined from physiological samples (e.g., blood, vibrissae, blubber fatty acids, stable isotopes, fecal matter). Oceanographic data will be integrated with these measures to develop habitat models that will be used to assess habitat type, habitat utilization, habitat preference, and home range areas for individual animals. Diet composition for individual seals will be evaluated to determine whether specific animals are generalists or specialists. Second, the team will investigate the physiological adaptations that allow leopard seals to be apex predators and determine to what extent leopard seals are working at or near their physiological limit. Diving behavior and physiology of leopard seals will be evaluated (for instance the aerobic dive limit for individual animals and skeletal muscle adaptations will be determined for diving under hypoxic conditions). Data from time-depth recorders will be used to determine foraging strategies for individual seals, and these diving characteristics will be related to physiological variables (e.g., blood volume, muscle oxygen stores) to better understand the link between foraging behavior and physiology. The team will compare myoglobin storage in swimming muscles associated with both forelimb and hind limb propulsion and the use of anaerobic versus aerobic metabolic systems while foraging.

NSF-NERC: PROcesses, drivers, Predictions: Modeling the response of Thwaites Glacier over the next Century using Ice/Ocean Coupled Models (PROPHET)

2152622

2022-12-20

Morlighem, Mathieu; Das, Indrani

Sliding-Law Parameter and Airborne Radar-Derived Basal Reflectivity Data Underneath Thwaites Glacier, Antarctica

USAP-DC

This project contributes to the joint initiative launched by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.K. Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) to substantially improve decadal and longer-term projections of ice loss and sea-level rise originating from Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica. Thwaites Glacier has been accelerating and widening over the past three decades. How fast Thwaites will disintegrate or how quickly it will find a new stable state have become some of the most important questions of the future of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and its contribution to sea-level rise over the next decades to centuries and beyond. This project will rely on three independent numerical models of ice flow, coupled to an ocean circulation model to (1) improve our understanding of the interactions between the ice and the underlying bedrock, (2) analyze how sensitive the glacier is to external changes, (3) assess the processes that may lead to a collapse of Thwaites, and, most importantly, (4) forecast future ice loss of Thwaites. By providing predictions based on a suite of coupled ice-ocean models, this project will also assess the uncertainty in model projections. The project will use three independent ice-sheet models: Ice Sheet System Model, Ua, and STREAMICE, coupled to the ocean circulation model of the MIT General Circulation Model. The team will first focus on the representation of key physical processes of calving, ice damage, and basal slipperiness that have either not been included, or are poorly represented, in previous ice-flow modelling work. The team will then quantify the relative role of different proposed external drivers of change (e.g., ocean-induced ice-shelf thinning, loss of ice-shelf pinning points) and explore the stability regime of Thwaites Glacier with the aim of identifying internal thresholds separating stable and unstable grounding-line retreat. Using inverse methodology, the project will produce new physically consistent high-resolution (300-m) data sets on ice-thicknesses from available radar measurements. Furthermore, the team will generate new remote sensing data sets on ice velocities and rates of elevation change. These will be used to constrain and validate the numerical models, and will also be valuable stand-alone data sets. This process will allow the numerical models to be constrained more tightly by data than has previously been possible. The resultant more robust model predictions of near-future impact of Thwaites Glacier on global sea levels can inform policy-relevant decision-making. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

OPP-PRF: Conjugate Experiment to Explore Magnetospheric Phenomena Via Spatial Sonification and Mixed Reality

2218996

2022-08-07

Collins, Kristina

No dataset link provided

Magnetic field variations on the Earth’s surface can be used to remote sense and characterize electrical currents and plasma waves in the near-Earth space environment that can affect technology, for example by inducing currents in power grids. Asymmetries between the space environment in the polar regions of the northern and southern hemispheres can profoundly affect these magnetic field variations. Magnetometers, which measure the strength and direction of magnetic fields, have been installed in the Arctic and Antarctic at opposite ends of the Earth’s magnetic field lines. By looking at data from both sets of magnetometers, researchers can determine whether disturbances in the Earth’s magnetosphere (a region of near-Earth space dominated by the Earth’s magnetic field) caused by the Sun impact the Northern hemisphere, the Southern hemisphere or both, and thus understand the sources of north-south hemisphere asymmetries. Some events that appear in the magnetometer data may be difficult for computers to identify, but easy for people to identify if the data is translated into sound. Researchers will develop a tool for listening to data in a virtual reality environment, so that data from various instruments can be played back, making it easier to explore datasets intuitively. This system will be prototyped using a mixed reality headset for use in both science and education and may be used to analyze data taken at the same time by sensors on the ground and on satellites. This project will examine one particular type of disturbance – magnetosheath jets – and its relation to plasma waves by addressing the question “Do magnetosheath jets routinely drive Pc5/Pc6 geomagnetic pulsations?” via the analysis of magnetometer data from geomagnetically conjugate (based on the International Geomagnetic Reference Field, IGRF) Arctic and Antarctic magnetometers. This question will be approached first through traditional plotting and visual analysis, then by presenting datastreams as sound sources situated in a virtual audio environment developed in the Unity game engine and integrated with mixed reality presentation via the Microsoft Hololens platform. This approach will leverage human capabilities for spatial discrimination of sounds to identify geomagnetic pulsations (surface magnetic field variations related to plasma waves in outer space) related to magnetosheath jet events with potentially large north-south hemispheric asymmetries, spatially localized wave activity, and irregular waveforms. The resulting presentation modality will make use of existing repositories of magnetometer data and may potentially be extended to the presentation of synchronous datasets from multiple sensing networks. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

What Processes Drive Southern Ocean Sea Ice Variability and Trends? Insights from the Energy Budget of the Coupled Cryosphere-ocean-atmosphere System

1643436

2022-06-10

Donohoe, Aaron; Schweiger, Axel

Partionining of CERES planetary albedo between atmospheric and surface reflection

USAP-DC

This project will use observations and coupled climate model simulations to examine the causes of sea ice variability. Sea ice in the Southern Ocean has increased in area over the observational record but researchers have yet to agree on the cause. Researchers suggests that changes in surface winds, upper-ocean freshening, or internal ocean/atmosphere variability could be the main driver for the increase in sea ice area. This project will determine how much of the change in sea ice area from year to year is due to oceanic, atmospheric, and radiative processes. Reconciling the observation-based understanding with model representations of sea ice variability will improve confidence in projections of future changes in Southern Ocean sea ice. The goal of this proposal is to improve our understanding of the processes that drive Southern Ocean sea ice year-to-year variability and long term trends. This knowledge will provide insight into how Southern Ocean sea ice responded to greenhouse gas and ozone forcing in the past and how it will respond in the future. The energy budget of the coupled cryosphere/ocean/atmosphere climate system will be used as a framework to disentangle drivers and responses during sea ice loss events. The technique consists of: (i) calculating the coupled energy budget of the climate system at the monthly timescale, (ii) isolating the radiative impact of sea ice variability from the radiative impact of cloud variability in the observed satellite radiation record and (iii) analyzing the vertical structure of atmospheric energy transport to determine the vertical profile of energy transport into the atmospheric column. This framework will allow the investigators to distinguish whether ice loss events are triggered by oceanic processes, atmospheric dynamics, or radiative processes. Preliminary results show that a diversity of mechanisms can drive Southern Ocean sea ice variability in coupled climate models whereas observed sea ice variability appears to be dominated by atmospheric dynamics. The exploration of biases between models and observations in both the mean state and in specific processes will yield more accurate projections of the future of sea ice in the Southern Ocean.

Thermal and Compositional Structure of Antarctica from Probabilistic Joint Inversion of Seismic, Gravity, and Topography Data and Petrological Modelling

2203487

2022-06-06

Ben-Mansour, Walid; Wiens, Douglas

No dataset link provided

Non-Technical abstract The physical state of the mantle beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet plays a key role in the interaction between the Antarctic ice cover and the solid earth, strongly influencing the glacial system's evolution. Generally, mantle temperature profiles are determined by analyzing rock samples from the mantle to determine pressure-temperature conditions, and/or by conversion of seismic velocity anomalies to temperature anomalies. However, mantle rocks have been found only in a very few places in Antarctica, and seismic anomalies reflect not only thermal anomalies but also compositional variations. In this project, the investigators will (1) use the most recent geophysical datasets sensitive to temperature and composition (high-resolution seismic velocity model, topography, satellite gravity), (2) Combine the sensitivity of these datasets in a to retrieve the most reliable model of thermal and compositional structure, (3) translate the results into 2-dimensional maps of temperature slices and the composition of iron in the mantle,(4) compare the results with results from other continents to better understand Antarctic geological history, and (5) use the new thermal model along with established rock relationships to estimate mantle viscosity. Technical abstract The thermochemical structure of the lithosphere beneath Antarctica is fundamental for understanding the geological evolution of the continent and its relationship to surrounding Gondwana continents. In addition, the thermal structure controls the solid earth response to glacial unloading, with important implications for ice sheet models and the future of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. However, it is challenging to get an accurate picture of temperature and composition from only sparse petrological/geochemical analysis, and most previous attempts to solve this problem geophysically have relied on seismic or gravity data alone. Here, we propose to use a probabilistic joint inversion (high resolution regional seismic data, satellite gravity data, topography) and petrological modelling approach to determine the 3D thermochemical structure of the mantle. The inversion will be carried out using a Markov-chain Bayesian Monte Carlo methodology, providing quantitative estimates of uncertainties. Mapping the 3-dimensional thermochemical structure (thermal and composition) will provide a comprehensive view of the horizontal (50-100 km resolution) and vertical (from the surface down to 380 km) variations. This new model will give us the temperature variation from the surface down to 380 km and the degree of depletion of the lithospheric mantle and the sub-lithospheric mantle. This new model will also be compared to recent models of Gondwana terranes 200 Myrs to build a new model of the thermochemical evolution of the cratonic mantle. The new thermal and chemical structures can be used to better understand the geothermal heat flux beneath the ice sheet as well as improve glacial isostatic adjustment and ice sheet models. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

Collaborative Research: Do Ocean Wave Impacts Pose a Hazard to the Stability of West Antarctic Ice Shelves?

1246151
1744958
1744856
1744759

2022-05-16

Dunham, Eric; Bromirski, Peter; Wei, Yong

Datasets of bathymetric model grids for model simulations of tsunami Propagation from Circum-Pacific Subduction Zone to West Antarctic Ice Shelves	USAP-DC
Simulation of flexural-gravity wave response of Antarctic ice shelves to tsunami and infragravity waves	USAP-DC
Data for: Ocean Surface Gravity Wave Excitation of Flexural Gravity and Extensional Lamb Waves in Ice Shelves	Stanford Digital Repository
Model Tsunami Propagation Simulation From Circum-Pacific Subduction Zones to West Antarctic Ice Shelves	NOAA Center for Tsunami Research (NCTR)
Model simulation data of tsunami propagation in the Pacific Ocean	USAP-DC
Datasets for Model Simulations of Tsunami Propagation from Circum-Pacific Subduction Zone to West Antarctic Ice Shelves (Thwaites)	USAP-DC
Model simulations of tsunami propagation from Circum-Pacific Subduction Zone to West Antarctic Ice Shelves (Ross Sea)	USAP-DC

Understanding and being able to more reliably forecast ice mass loss from Antarctica is a critical research priority for Antarctic Science. Massive ice shelves buttress marine terminating glaciers, slowing the rate that land ice reaches the sea and, in turn, restraining the rate of sea level rise. To date, most work has focused on the destabilizing impacts of warmer air and water temperatures, resulting in melting that thins and weakens ice shelves. However, recent findings indicate that sea ice does not protect ice shelves from wave impacts as much as previously thought, which has raised the possibility that tsunamis and other ocean waves could affect shelf stability. This project will assess the potential for increased shelf fracturing from the impact of tsunamis and from heightened wave activity due to climate-driven changes in storm patterns and reduced sea-ice extent by developing models to investigate how wave impacts damage ice shelves. The modeling effort will allow for regional comparisons between large and small ice shelves, and provide an evaluation of the impacts of changing climate and storm patterns on ice shelves, ice sheets, glaciers, and, ultimately, sea level rise. This project will train graduate students in mathematical modeling and interdisciplinary approaches to Earth and ocean sciences. This project takes a four-pronged approach to estimating the impact of vibrations on ice shelves at the grounding zone due to tsunamis, very long period, infragravity, and storm-driven waves. First, the team will use high-resolution tsunami modeling to investigate the response of ice shelves along the West Antarctic coast to waves originating in different regions of the Pacific Ocean. Second, it will compare the response to wave impacts on grounding zones of narrow and wide ice shelves. Third, it will assess the exposure risk due to storm forcing through a reanalysis of weather and wave model data; and, finally, the team will model the propagation of ocean-wave-induced vibrations in the ice from the shelf front to and across the grounding zone. In combination, this project aims to identify locations along the Antarctic coast that are subject to enhanced, bathymetrically-focused, long-period ocean-wave impacts. Linkages between wave impacts and climate arise from potential changes in sea-ice extent in front of shelves, and changes in the magnitude, frequency, and tracks of storms. Understanding the effects of ocean waves and climate on ice-shelf integrity is critical to anticipate their contribution to the amplitude and timing of sea-level rise. Wave-driven reductions in ice-shelf stability may enhance shelf fragmentation and iceberg calving, reducing ice shelf buttressing and eventually accelerating sea-level rise. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

Application of Year of Polar Prediction- Southern Hemisphere (YOPP-SH) Observations for Improvement of Antarctic Numerical Weather Prediction

1823135

2022-03-14

Bromwich, David; Powers, Jordan

YOPP-SH Analysis and Forecast Results.

PI website

Modeling Giant Icebergs and Their Decay

1744835
1744800

2022-01-18

Wagner, Till; Eisenman, Ian

Model of iceberg drift and decay including breakup

USAP-DC

Supporting Antarctic Research with Ongoing Operations and Development of the USAP-DC Project Catalog and Data Repository

2230824
1936530

2021-11-05

Carbotte, Suzanne; Tinto, Kirsty; Nitsche, Frank O.

No dataset link provided

Samples and data obtained by researchers working in Antarctica are valuable, unique assets which typically require a substantial and expensive logistical effort to acquire. Preservation of these data increases the return on the significant public investment for acquisition, enabling future re-use for new analyses, and ensure that data behind scientific publications are available for others to review. The US Antarctic Program Data Center (USAP-DC) will provide an open-disciplinary hybrid repository for project metadata and the diverse research data obtained from the Antarctic region by NSF funded researchers for which other data repositories do not exist. In addition, a Project Catalog will provide a single online resource for the US Antarctic scientific community to manage information about their research activities and will link project metadata to the various distributed repositories where Antarctic data resides. In doing so, the USAP-DC will follow community best practices and standards to ensure data are citable, shareable, and discoverable. It will also facilitate registration of data descriptions into the Antarctic Master Directory to meet US goals for data sharing under the International Antarctic Treaty. With full open access to interfaces to search for and download data, USAP-DC will make a wide range of data products resulting from NSF funded research in Antarctica available not only to the research community but also to the broader public. The data center is operated using community standards for metadata and data access which helps ensure data re-usability into the future. The new Project catalog, which is designed to support consolidation of information on research products of USAP awards over the lifetime of a project, will make it simpler for NSF program managers, but also for individual researchers and especially larger collaborative research groups to keep track of datasets and related information produced as part of their projects. Through tutorials and meetings at conferences USAP-DC will contribute to raise awareness and inform the research community, especially new investigators about data management best practices. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

Collaborative Research: The Antarctic Circumpolar Current: A Conduit or Blender of Antarctic Bottom Waters?

2023259
2023244
2023303

2021-07-01

Stewart, Andrew; Thompson, Andrew; Purkey, Sarah

Ocean CFC reconstructed data product	USAP-DC
Hydrographic data collected from the Bellingshausen and Amundsen seas (NCEI Accession 0210639)	NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)
Code for reproducing the ocean-biogeochemical experiments in Sun et al. (2024)	Figshare (open repository)

The Influence of Sea Ice Motion on Antarctic Sea Ice Expansion

1643445

2021-06-30

Eisenman, Ian; Wagner, Till

Model code, model output fields, etc

GitHub

Satellite observations show expanding Antarctic sea ice over the last three decades. Increasing Antarctic sea ice seems unexpected when compared to observations of rising global temperatures or shrinking Arctic sea ice. Computer models of global climate also predict Antarctic sea ice to shrink instead of grow. Several hypotheses have been suggested to explain the contradiction between what scientists expect to see based on computer models and physical intuition and the growth that is recorded in observations. This study will examine the hypothesis that sea ice expansion can be explained by sea ice motion, where sea ice moves in such a way as to promote an increase in overall coverage. Researchers will use several different types of computer models, ranging in complexity, to better understand the physical processes of sea ice motion and how the sea ice motion interacts with the larger atmosphere-ocean system. The team will transfer their research to the classroom by hosting a week-long teacher workshop. Teachers will learn how scientists use computer models to test hypotheses and then develop and test tools for use in the classroom. Five middle and high school teachers will participate and become part of the UC San Diego STEM Success Initiative master science teacher network. The project will support a graduate student and a postdoctoral researcher. Sea ice motion has recently emerged as one of the candidates to explain the Antarctic sea ice expansion but a systematic investigation of how sea ice motion influences sea ice concentration has not been presented to date. Researchers will conduct a process-oriented study of the relationship between sea ice motion and Antarctic sea ice extent using a hierarchy of models. The hierarchy will consist of (i) an idealized single-column model of sea ice evolution, (ii) an idealized latitudinally-varying global model of sea ice and climate, (iii) an atmospheric global climate model (GCM) above a slab ocean that includes sea ice motion, (iv) a comprehensive GCM, and (v) model output from the suite of current comprehensive GCMs. The range of model complexities will help researchers better understand the relationship between sea ice motion and sea ice extent by allowing them to identify important processes that are robust across the model hierarchy.

West Antarctic Ice Shelf- Ocean Interactions

1644159

2021-06-25

Jacobs, Stanley

Antarctic Seawater d18O isotope data from SE Amundsen Sea: 2000, 2007, 2009, 2019, 2020	USAP-DC
Ross Island area salinity and temperature records 1956 to 2020	USAP-DC

Overview and Intellectual merit: This project extends and combines historical and recent ocean data sets to investigate ice-ocean-interactions along the Pacific continental margin of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. The synthesis focuses on the strikingly different environments on and near the cold Ross Sea and warm Amundsen Sea continental shelves, where available measurements reach back to ~1958 and 1994, respectively. On the more extensively covered Ross Sea continental shelf, multiple reoccupations of ocean stations and transects are used to extend our knowledge of long-term ocean freshening and the mass balance of the world?s largest ice shelf. On the more rugged Amundsen Sea continental shelf, which contains the earth?s fastest melting ice shelves, continuing research on observed thermohaline variability also pursues connections between outer shelf shoals and vulnerable ice shelf grounding zones. This interdisciplinary work updates a prior study of ice shelf response to ocean thermal forcing, and uses chemical tracers to measure changes in shelf, deep and bottom water transformations and production rates. Broader Impacts : Recent and potential future rates of sea level rise are the primary broad-scale impacts of the ice and ocean changes revealed by observations in the study area. The overriding question is whether global and regional sea levels will accelerate gradually, allowing carbon usage reductions to head off the worst consequences, or so rapidly that they will contribute to major social and economic upheavals. Collaborations and data acquired by foreign vessels are also utilized to better understand the causes of rapid change in these shelf seas and ice shelves, along with associated wider implications. Data that are re-gridded, re-edited or newly collated will be archived, and results made available via presentations, publications, and press releases if warranted. This proposal does not require fieldwork in the Antarctic This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

Understanding Firn Rheology Through Laboratory Compaction Experiments and Radar Data

1935438

2021-06-03

McCarthy, Christine M.; Kingslake, Jonathan

No dataset link provided

The ice sheets of Antarctica and Greenland are losing mass and contributing to accelerating global sea-level rise. Satellite altimetry provides precise measurement of ice-sheet volume change, but computing ice-sheet mass change—the quantity relevant for estimating the ice sheet’s sea-level contribution—requires knowing the density of the ice sheet. The density near the ice-sheet surface also affects age estimates of air bubbles recovered in ice cores, which are a key source of information on past climate changes. Ice-sheet density is primarily controlled by the rate at which firn (snow that has persisted for a year or more on ice sheets) compacts into ice, but there is currently no widely accepted theory of how this compaction occurs. The goal of this project is thus to advance understanding of how firn densifies. The team will conduct laboratory experiments and analyze ice-penetrating radar and ice-core data from Antarctica. A key desired outcome of the project is a new model of firn densification that can be used to improve satellite-based altimetry measurements of present-day ice-sheet change and reconstructions of past climate changes from ice cores. This project will combine laboratory experiments, numerical modeling, and geophysical techniques to determine the rheology of firn as it compacts to form ice. The team will use two methods to measure firn compaction: (1) lab-based experiments and (2) analysis of ice-core and radar data. For the lab-based work, the team will conduct a suite of compaction experiments on synthetic firn samples under uni-axial strain and constant temperature and axial stress. They will also measure the grain-size evolution. By running a large number of experiments (> 25), the team will constrain key parameters that determine how firn compaction rate depends on density, temperature, grain size, and axial stress. The experiments will be conducted in a table-top apparatus at temperatures as low as -40 degrees C and axial stresses up to 4 MPa. For the field-data-based component, the team will analyze ice-core and ice-penetrating radar data to produce the first coincident set of radar-derived firn compaction rates, borehole temperatures, firn densities, and firn grain sizes. Results from lab and field data will be tied together using a numerical firn compaction model. This model is formulated using conservation of mass, momentum, and energy, along with an explicit description of firn rheology and grain-size evolution. Constraints on firn rheology will be incorporated into this model and the team will use it to examine fundamental questions about how changes in the climate affect firn density. This is a crucial unknown that contributes significant measurement uncertainty in estimates of past and present climate change. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

Satellite observations and modelling of surface meltwater flow and its impact on ice shelves

1743310

2021-06-02

Kingslake, Jonathan

Vulnerability of Antarctica’s ice shelves to meltwater-driven fracture

USAP-DC

Ice shelves slow the movement of the grounded ice sheets that feed them. This reduces the rate at which ice sheets lose mass to the oceans and contribute to sea-level rise. But ice shelves can be susceptible to collapse, particularly when surface meltwater accumulates in vulnerable areas. Meltwater lakes can create and enlarge fractures within the ice shelves, thereby triggering or hastening ice-shelf collapse. Also, water refreezing within ice shelves warms the ice and could affect the flow of the ice by changing its viscosity, which depends on temperature. The drainage of water across the surface of Antarctica and where it accumulates has received little attention. This drainage was assumed to be insignificant, but recent work shows that meltwater can drain for tens of kilometers across ice-shelf surfaces and access areas that would otherwise not accumulate meltwater. Surface meltwater drainage could play a major role in the future stability of ice sheets. This drainage is the focus of this project. The team will develop and test physics-based mathematical models of water flow and ice-shelf flow, closely informed by remote sensing observations, to ask (1) how drainage systems will grow in response to the increased melt rates that are predicted for this century, (2) how this drainage is influenced by ice dynamics and (3) whether enlarged drainage systems could deliver meltwater to areas of ice shelves that are vulnerable to water-driven collapse. The team hypothesizes that refreezing of meltwater in snow and firn will prove important for hydrology by impacting the permeability of the snow/firn and for ice-shelf dynamics by releasing latent heat within the ice and lowering ice viscosity. The project will examine these issues by (1) conducting a remote sensing survey of the structure and temporal evolution of meltwater systems around Antarctica, (2) developing and analyzing mathematical models of water flow across ice shelves, and (3) examining idealized and realistic models of ice-shelf flow. This project will support a first-time NSF PI, a post-doctoral researcher and a graduate student. An outreach activity will make use of the emerging technology of Augmented Reality to visualize the dynamics of ice sheets in three dimensions to excite the public about glaciology at outreach events around New York City. This approach will be made publicly available for wider use as Augmented Reality continues to grow in popularity. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

The Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica

1543501

2021-05-18

Howat, Ian; Myoung-Jong Noh,

The Reference Model of Antarctica

PGC

Howat/1543501 This award will provide support to map the topography of the Antarctic continent at high spatial resolution and precision to measure ice sheet change, constrain models, correct satellite observations and support logistics. Antarctica remains the most poorly mapped landmass on Earth, yet, accurate and complete surface topography is essential for a wide range of scientific and logistical activities. The group will use a combination of very high-resolution satellite imagery, existing ground and airborne survey data and the NSF's supercomputer infrastructure to construct the Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica (REMA): a continuous, time-stamped reference surface that will be one to two orders of magnitude higher resolution than currently available. REMA will be constructed from stereoscopic, submeter resolution imagery collected by the WorldView satellite constellation, obtained at no cost in partnership with the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency and the NSF-supported Polar Geospatial Center (PGC). The high spatial and radiometric resolution of the imagery enables photogrammetric digital elevation model (DEM) extraction over low contrast terrains such as snow, ice and shadows. These DEM's have horizontal and vertical offsets of up to several meters that can be reduced to the DEM relative accuracy of 0.2 meter with a single ground control point. We will use available control points from ground and lidar surveys to register individual DEMs and optimized, least-squares co-registration to provide control between overlapping DEM's over large regions. REMA will have a posting of 10 meters and accuracy better than 1 meter. It will be distributed openly by the Polar Geospatial Center. This project will involve substantial undergraduate participation, providing training in geospatial science and remote sensing, and REMA will be used extensively for the outreach programs of the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center. This project does not require field work in Antarctica.

A mechanistic study of bio-physical interaction and air-sea carbon transfer in the Southern Ocean

1744755

2021-03-23

Ito, Takamitsu

No dataset link provided

Collaborative Research: Building Geologically Informed Bed Classes to Improve Projections of Ice Sheet Change

2002346
2001714

2021-03-02

Tinto, Kirsty; Bell, Robin; Porter, David; Muto, Atsu

No dataset link provided

Predictions of future changes of the Antarctic ice sheet are essential for understanding changes in the global sea level expected for the coming centuries. These predictions rely on models of ice-sheet flow that in turn rely on knowledge of the physical conditions of the Antarctic continent beneath the ice. Exploration of Antarctica by land, sea, and air has advanced our understanding of the geological material under the Antarctic ice sheet, but this information has not yet been fully integrated into ice-sheet models. This project will take advantage of existing data from decades of US and international investment in geophysical surveys to create a new understanding of the geology underlying the Amundsen Sea and the adjacent areas of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet—a portion of Antarctica that is considered particularly vulnerable to collapse. A series of new datasets called “Bed Classes” will be developed that will translate the geological properties of the Antarctic continent in ways that can be incorporated into ice-sheet models. This project will develop a new regional geologic/tectonic framework for the Amundsen Sea Embayment and its ice catchments using extensive marine and airborne geophysical data together with ground-based onshore geophysical and geological constraints to delineate sedimentary basins, bedrock ridges, faults, and volcanic structures. Using this new geologic interpretation of the region, several key issues regarding the geologic influence on ice-sheet stability will be addressed: whether the regional heat flow is dominated by localization along the faults or lithology; the role of geology on the sources, sinks, and flow-paths of subglacial water; the distribution of sediments that determine bed-character variability; and the extent of geologic control on the current Thwaites Glacier grounding line. The impact of improved geological knowledge on ice-sheet models will be tested with the development of a set of “Bed Class” grids to capture these new insights for use in the models. Bed Classes will be tested within the Parallel Ice Sheet Model framework with initial experiments to identify the sensitivity of model simulations to geological parameterizations. Through a series of workshops with ice-sheet modelers, the Bed Classes will be refined and made accessible to the broader modelling community. This work aims to ensure that the Bed-Class concept can be applied more broadly to ice-sheet models working in different geographic areas and on different timescales. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

Collaborative Research: Imaging Seismic Heterogeneity within the Antarctic Mantle with Full Waveform Ambient Noise Tomography

1643873
1643798

2020-10-15

Emry, Erica; Hansen, Samantha

GEOSCOPE Network	IRIS
YT (2007-2023): IPY POLENET-Antarctica: Investigating links between geodynamics and ice sheets	IRIS
Shear Wave Velocity of the Antarctic Upper Mantle from Full Waveform Inversion and Long Period Ambient Seismic Noise	USAP-DC
XP (2000-2004): A Broadband Seismic Investigation of Deep Continental Structure Across the East-West Antarctic Boundary	IRIS
IU: Global Seismograph Network	IRIS
ZJ (2012-2015): Transantarctic Mountains Northern Network	IRIS
ZM (2007-2013): A Broadband Seismic Experiment to Image the Lithosphere beneath the Gamburtsev Mountains, East Antarctica	IRIS

Nontechnical description of proposed research: This project will apply cutting-edge seismic imaging methods to existing seismic data to study the three-dimensional structure of the Earth beneath the ice-covered Antarctic continent. The study will improve understanding of Earth structure and hotspots and geologically recent and ancient rift systems. The results will be useful for models of ice movement and bedrock elevation changes due to variation in ice sheet thickness. The results will also help guide future seismic data collection. The researchers will transfer existing software from the high-performance computers at The University of Rhode Island to the Alabama supercomputer facilities. The project will also broaden public understanding of scientific research in Antarctica by engaging with the students and teachers in Socorro County, New Mexico to discuss career opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), the Earth Sciences, and the importance of computers in scientific research. Project personnel from Alabama will visit Socorro and share research with students at New Mexico Tech and at the Socorro High School. The project will also train undergraduate and graduate students in the expanding field of computational seismology, by applying these approaches to study Antarctic geology. Technical description of proposed research: The project seeks to better resolve the three-dimensional Antarctic mantle structure and viscosity and to identify locations of ancient rifts within the stable East Antarctic lithosphere. To accomplish this, the researchers will utilize full-waveform tomographic inversion techniques that combine long-period ambient noise data with earthquake constraints to more accurately resolve structure than traditional tomographic approaches. The proposed research will be completed using the Alabama supercomputer facilities and the programs and methodology developed at The University of Rhode Island. The new tomographic results will be useful in assessing lithospheric structure beneath Dronning Maud Land as well as the Wilkes and Aurora Subglacial Basins in East Antarctica, where previous rifting episodes and mid-lithospheric discontinuities will be explored. In West Antarctica, the work will elucidate the easternmost extent of the West Antarctic Rift System as well as rifted structure and possible compositional variations within the Weddell Sea. The accuracy of existing Antarctic seismic models will be quantified through model validation approaches. The researchers will highlight regions of Antarctica where tomographic resolution is still lacking and where future deployments would improve resolution.

Spectral and Broadband Albedo of Antarctic Sea-ice Types

1141275

2015-01-30

Warren, Stephen; Zatko, Maria

Antarctic field campaign data page

PI website

Collaborative Research: Byrd Glacier Flow Dynamics

0944087

2015-01-23

Stearns, Leigh; Hamilton, Gordon S.

No dataset link provided

This award supports a project to understand the flow dynamics of large, fast-moving outlet glaciers that drain the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. The project includes an integrated field, remote sensing and modeling study of Byrd Glacier which is a major pathway for the discharge of mass from the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) to the ocean. Recent work has shown that the glacier can undergo short-lived but significant changes in flow speed in response to perturbations in its boundary conditions. Because outlet glacier speeds exert a major control on ice sheet mass balance and modulate the ice sheet contribution to sea level rise, it is essential that their sensitivity to a range of dynamic processes is properly understood and incorporated into prognostic ice sheet models. The intellectual merit of the project is that the results from this study will provide critically important information regarding the flow dynamics of large EAIS outlet glaciers. The proposed study is designed to address variations in glacier behavior on timescales of minutes to years. A dense network of global positioning satellite (GPS) instruments on the grounded trunk and floating portions of the glacier will provide continuous, high-resolution time series of horizontal and vertical motions over a 26-month period. These results will be placed in the context of a longer record of remote sensing observations covering a larger spatial extent, and the combined datasets will be used to constrain a numerical model of the glacier's flow dynamics. The broader impacts of the work are that this project will generate results which are likely to be a significant component of next-generation ice sheet models seeking to predict the evolution of the Antarctic Ice Sheet and future rates of sea level rise. The most recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) highlights the imperfect understanding of outlet glacier dynamics as a major obstacle to the production of an accurate sea level rise projections. This project will provide significant research opportunities for several early-career scientists, including the lead PI for this proposal (she is both a new investigator and a junior faculty member at a large research university) and two PhD-level graduate students. The students will be trained in glaciology, geodesy and numerical modeling, contributing to society's need for experts in those fields. In addition, this project will strengthen international collaboration between polar scientists and geodesists in the US and Spain. The research team will work closely with science educators in the Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets (CReSIS) outreach program to disseminate project results to non-specialist audiences.

Collaborative Research: IPY: POLENET-Antarctica: Investigating Links Between Geodynamics and Ice Sheets

0632322
0632136

2015-01-22

Wilson, Terry; Bevis, Michael; Anandakrishnan, Sridhar; Wiens, Douglas; Aster, Richard; Smalley, Robert; Nyblade, Andrew; Winberry, Paul; Hothem, Larry; Dalziel, Ian W.; Huerta, Audrey D.

University NAVSTAR Consortium (UNAVCO)	UNAVCO
Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS)	IRIS

Collaborative Research; IPY: Ocean-Ice Interaction in the Amundsen Sea sector of West Antarctica

0732730
0732869
0732804
0732906

2014-12-30

Truffer, Martin; Stanton, Timothy; Bindschadler, Robert; Behar, Alberto; Nowicki, Sophie; Anandakrishnan, Sridhar; Holland, David; McPhee, Miles G.

Ocean-Ice Interaction in the Amundsen Sea Sector of West Antarctica	USAP-DC
Borehole Temperatures at Pine Island Glacier, Antarctica	USAP-DC
Automatic Weather Station Pine Island Glacier	USAP-DC

Collaborative With: McPhee 0732804, Holland 0732869, Truffer 0732730, Stanton 0732926, Anandakrishnan 0732844 Title: Collaborative Research: IPY: Ocean-Ice Interaction in the Amundsen Sea Sector of West Antarctica The Office of Polar Programs, Antarctic Integrated and System Science Program has made this award to support an interdisciplinary study of the effects of the ocean on the stability of glacial ice in the most dynamic region the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, namely the Pine Island Glacier in the Amundsen Sea Embayment. The collaborative project builds on the knowledge gained by the highly successful West Antarctic Ice Sheet program and is being jointly sponsored with NASA. Recent observations indicate a significant ice loss, equivalent to 10% of the ongoing increase in sea-level rise, in this region. These changes are largest along the coast and propagate rapidly inland, indicating the critical impact of the ocean on ice sheet stability in the region. While a broad range of remote sensing and ground-based instrumentation is available to characterize changes of the ice surface and internal structure (deformation, ice motion, melt) and the shape of the underlying sediment and rock bed, instrumentation has yet to be successfully deployed for observing boundary layer processes of the ocean cavity which underlies the floating ice shelf and where rapid melting is apparently occurring. Innovative, mini ocean sensors that can be lowered through boreholes in the ice shelf (about 500 m thick) will be developed and deployed to automatically provide ocean profiling information over at least three years. Their data will be transmitted through a conducting cable frozen in the borehole to the surface where it will be further transmitted via satellite to a laboratory in the US. Geophysical and remote sensing methods (seismic, GPS, altimetry, stereo imaging, radar profiling) will be applied to map the geometry of the ice shelf, the shape of the sub ice-shelf cavity, the ice surface geometry and deformations within the glacial ice. To integrate the seismic, glaciological and oceanographic observations, a new 3-dimensional coupled ice-ocean model is being developed which will be the first of its kind. NASA is supporting satellite based research and the deployment of a robotic-camera system to explore the environment in the ocean cavity underlying the ice shelf and NSF is supporting all other aspects of this study. Broader impacts: This project is motivated by the potential societal impacts of rapid sea level rise and should result in critically needed improvements in characterizing and predicting the behavior of coupled ocean-ice systems. It is a contribution to the International Polar Year and was endorsed by the International Council for Science as a component of the "Multidisciplinary Study of the Amundsen Sea Embayment" proposal #258 of the honeycomb of endorsed IPY activities. The research involves substantial international partnerships with the British Antarctic Survey and the University of Bristol in the UK. The investigators will partner with the previously funded "Polar Palooza" education and outreach program in addition to undertaking a diverse set of outreach activities of their own. Eight graduate students and one undergraduate as well as one post doc will be integrated into this research project.

Collaborative Research: Mass Transit: Controls on Grounding and Ungrounding at Marine Ice Sheet Outlets

0838810

2013-07-01

Hulbe, Christina; Fahnestock, Mark

No dataset link provided

IPY: Stability of Larsen C Ice Shelf in a Warming Climate

0732946

2012-10-03

Steffen, Konrad

Mean surface mass balance over Larsen C ice shelf, Antarctica (1979-2014), assimilated to in situ GPR and snow height data	USAP-DC
Larsen C automatic weather station data 2008–2011	USAP-DC

This award supports a field experiment, with partners from Chile and the Netherlands, to determine the state of health and stability of Larsen C ice shelf in response to climate change. Significant glaciological and ecological changes are taking place in the Antarctic Peninsula in response to climate warming that is proceeding at 6 times the global average rate. Following the collapse of Larsen A ice shelf in 1995 and Larsen B in 2002, the outlet glaciers that nourished them with land ice accelerated massively, losing a disproportionate amount of ice to the ocean. Further south, the much larger Larsen C ice shelf is thinning and measurements collected over more than a decade suggest that it is doomed to break up. The intellectual merit of the project will be to contribute to the scientific knowledge of one of the Antarctic sectors where the most significant changes are taking place at present. The project is central to a cluster of International Polar Year activities in the Antarctic Peninsula. It will yield a legacy of international collaboration, instrument networking, education of young scientists, reference data and scientific analysis in a remote but globally relevant glaciological setting. The broader impacts of the project will be to address the contribution to sea level rise from Antarctica and to bring live monitoring of climate and ice dynamics in Antarctica to scientists, students, the non-specialized public, the press and the media via live web broadcasting of progress, data collection, visualization and analysis. Existing data will be combined with new measurements to assess what physical processes are controlling the weakening of the ice shelf, whether a break up is likely, and provide baseline data to quantify the consequences of a breakup. Field activities will include measurements using the Global Positioning System (GPS), installation of automatic weather stations (AWS), ground penetrating radar (GPR) measurements, collection of shallow firn cores and temperature measurements. These data will be used to characterize the dynamic response of the ice shelf to a variety of phenomena (oceanic tides, iceberg calving, ice-front retreat and rifting, time series of weather conditions, structural characteristics of the ice shelf and bottom melting regime, and the ability of firn to collect melt water and subsequently form water ponds that over-deepen and weaken the ice shelf). This effort will complement an analysis of remote sensing data, ice-shelf numerical models and control methods funded independently to provide a more comprehensive analysis of the ice shelf evolution in a changing climate.

Collaborative Research: Molecular Level Characterization of Organic Matter in Ice Cores using High-resolution FTICR mass spectrometry

0739684

2012-09-26

Hatcher, Patrick; Grannas, Amanda

No dataset link provided

This award supports a project to fully develop the analytical protocols needed to exploit a relatively new technique for the analysis of soluble organic matter in ice core samples. The technique couples Electrospray ionization to high resolution Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (ESI-FTICR-MS). Sample volume will be reduced and pre-concentration steps will be eliminated. Following method optimization a suite of ice core samples will be studied from several Antarctic and Greenland locations to address several hypothesis driven research questions. Preliminary results show that a vast record of relatively high molecular weight organic material exists in ice core samples and intriguing results from a few samples warrant further investigation. Several important questions related to developing a better understanding of the nature and paleo record of organic matter in ice cores will be addressed. These include developing a better understanding of the origin of nitrogen and sulfur isotopes in pre-industrial vs. modern samples, developing the methods to apply molecular biomarker techniques, routinely used by organic geochemists for sediment analyses, to the analysis of organic matter in ice cores, tracking the level of oxidation of homologous series of compounds and using them as a proxy for atmospheric oxidant levels in the past and determining whether or not high resolution FTICR mass spectral analysis can provide the ice core community with a robust method to analyze organic materials at the molecular level. The intellectual merit of this work is that this analytical method will provide a new understanding of the nature of organic matter in ice, possibly leading to the discovery of multitudes of molecular species indicative of global change processes whose abundances can be compared with other change proxies. The proposed studies are of an exploratory nature and potentially transformative for the field of ice core research and cryobiology. The broader impacts of these studies are that they should provide compelling evidence regarding organic matter sources, atmospheric processing and anthropogenic inputs to polar ice and how these have varied over time. The collaborative work proposed here will partner atmospheric chemistry/polar ice chemistry expertise with organic geochemistry expertise, resulting in significant contributions to both fields of study and significant advances in ice core analysis. Training of both graduate and undergraduate students will be a key component of the project and students will be involved in collaborative research using advanced analytical instrumentation, presentation of research results at national meetings, and will participate in manuscript preparation.

Collaborative Research: Anisotropy, Abrupt Climate Change, and the Deep Ice in West Antarctica

0940650
0636996

2012-03-16

Pettit, Erin; Waddington, Edwin D.

No dataset link provided

DiatomWare: An Interactive Digital Image Catalog for Antarctic Cenozoic Diatoms

0230469

2007-07-31

Wise, Sherwood

No dataset link provided

This award, provided by the Antarctic Geology and Geophysics Program of the Office of Polar Programs, supports the development of a standardized diatom image catalog or database. Diatoms are considered by many to be the most important microfossil group used today in the study of Antarctic Cenozoic marine deposits south of the Polar Front, from the near shore to deep sea. These microfossils, with walls of silica called frustules, are produced by single-celled plants (algae of the Class Bacillariophyceae) in a great variety of forms. Consequently, they have great biostratigraphic importance in the Southern Ocean and elsewhere for determining the age of marine sediments. Also, paleoclimatic and paleoceanographic studies increasingly rely on fossil diatom data. Changing biogeographic distributions of given taxa indicate shifting paleoecological conditions and provide evidence of the surface productivity and temperatures of ancient oceans. The generality of conclusions, though, is limited by variation in species concepts among workers. The broad research community relies, directly or indirectly, on the accurate identification of diatom species. Current technology can be used to greatly improve upon the standard references that have been used in making these identifications. This project will develop an interactive digital-image catalog of modern and Cenozoic fossil diatoms of the Southern Ocean called "DiatomWare" for use by specialists and educators as an aid in rapid, accurate, and consistent species identification. As such, this will be a researcher's resource. It will be especially useful where it is not possible to maintain standard library resources such as onboard research vessels or at remote stations such as McMurdo Station. Major Antarctic geological drilling initiatives such as the new SHALDRIL project and the pending ANDRILL project will benefit from this product because they will rely heavily on diatom biostratigraphy to achieve their research objectives. The DiatomWare image database will be modeled on NannoWare, which was released in October 2002 on CD-ROM as a publication of the International Nannoplankton Association. BugCam will be adapted and modified as necessary to run the DiatomWare database, which can then be run from desktop or laptop computers. Images and text for the database will be scanned from the literature or captured in digital form from light or scanning electron microscopes. The software interface will include a number of data fields that can be accessed by the click of a mouse button. Primary information will be the images and descriptions of the holotypes. In addition, representative images of paratypes or hypotypes will be included whenever possible in plain transmitted, differential interference contrast light and, when available, as drawings and SEM images. Also included will be a 35-word or less English diagnosis ("mini-description"), the biostratigraphic range in terms of zones and linear time, bibliographic references, lists of species considered junior synonyms, and similar species. The list of similar species will be cross-referenced with their respective image files to enable quick access for direct visual comparison on the viewing screen. Multiple images can be brought to the viewing screen simultaneously, and a zoom feature will permit image examination at a wide range of magnifications. Buttons will allow range charts, a bibliography, and key public-domain publications from the literature to be called up from within the program. The DiatomWare/BugCam package will be distributed at a nominal cost through a major nonprofit society via CD-ROM and free to Internet users on the Worldwide Web. Quality control measures will include critical review of the finalized database by a network of qualified specialists. The completed database will include descriptions and images of between 350 and 400 species, including fossil as well as modern forms that have no fossil record. The development of the proposed diatom image database will be important to all research fields that depend on accurate biostratigraphic dating and paleoenvironmental interpretation of Antarctic marine sediments and plankton. The database will also serve as a valuable teaching tool for micropaleontology students and their professors, will provide a rapid means of keying down species for micropaleontologists of varying experience and background, and will promote a uniformity of taxonomic concepts since it will be developed and continuously updated with the advice of a community of nannofossil fossil experts. Broad use of the database is anticipated since it will be widely available through the Internet and on CD-ROM for use on personal computers that do not require large amounts of memory, costly specialized programs, or additional hardware.

USAP-DC

U.S. ANTARCTIC PROGRAM DATA CENTER

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