[{"awards": "1945693 Wiens, Douglas; 1945856 Shen, Weisen", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-180 -70,-144 -70,-108 -70,-72 -70,-36 -70,0 -70,36 -70,72 -70,108 -70,144 -70,180 -70,180 -72,180 -74,180 -76,180 -78,180 -80,180 -82,180 -84,180 -86,180 -88,180 -90,144 -90,108 -90,72 -90,36 -90,0 -90,-36 -90,-72 -90,-108 -90,-144 -90,-180 -90,-180 -88,-180 -86,-180 -84,-180 -82,-180 -80,-180 -78,-180 -76,-180 -74,-180 -72,-180 -70))", "dataset_titles": "Antarctica crust and uppermost-mantle shear-velocity and radial-anisotropy model from ambient-noise Rayleigh- and Love-wave tomography; Antarctica shallow-crustal and uppermost-mantle azimuthal-anisotropy model from ambient-noise Rayleigh-wave tomography", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "200597", "doi": "10.5281/zenodo.23970184", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "Zenodo", "science_program": null, "title": "Antarctica crust and uppermost-mantle shear-velocity and radial-anisotropy model from ambient-noise Rayleigh- and Love-wave tomography", "url": "https://zenodo.org/records/23970184"}, {"dataset_uid": "200598", "doi": "10.5281/zenodo.23965617", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "Zenodo", "science_program": null, "title": "Antarctica shallow-crustal and uppermost-mantle azimuthal-anisotropy model from ambient-noise Rayleigh-wave tomography", "url": "https://zenodo.org/records/23965617"}], "date_created": "Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This project provides Antarctic crustal and uppermost-mantle models from ambient-noise tomography. The radial-anisotropy dataset contains shear-wave velocity, radial anisotropy, Moho depth, sediment thickness and uncertainty fields. The azimuthal-anisotropy dataset contains anisotropy amplitudes, fast-axis directions, uncertainties, reference structure and node misfit values. Both datasets are archived on Zenodo as NetCDF grids and text tables with a README describing fields and units. Related papers: https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JB022857 and https://doi.org/10.1029/2023JB027556.", "east": 180.0, "geometry": "POINT(0 -89.999)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Crust; SEISMIC SURFACE WAVES; Antarctica", "locations": "Antarctica", "north": -70.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences; Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Zhou, Zhengyang; Wiens, Douglas; Shen, Weisen", "platforms": null, "repo": "Zenodo", "repositories": "Zenodo", "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "Collaborative Research: Seismic Investigation of the Sub-ice Environment and Crustal Composition of Antarctica", "uid": "p0010590", "west": -180.0}, {"awards": "2142592 Lloyd, Andrew", "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": "GIA_Kernels", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "200580", "doi": "10.5281/zenodo.21629572", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "Zenodo", "science_program": null, "title": "GIA_Kernels", "url": "https://zenodo.org/records/21629573"}], "date_created": "Fri, 24 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Given the imminent threat posed by rising sea levels across much of the globe, there is a critical need to better understand past, present, and future Antarctic ice mass change and the resulting solid Earth deformation. The latter process is referred to as glacial isostatic adjustment. A key parameter that determines the rate of this deformation is the viscosity of the deforming material. To date, the vast majority of global glacial isostatic adjustment models assume that Earth\u0027s viscosity structure varies with depth alone. However, there exists extensive geological and geophysical evidence for significant lateral variations in viscosity and for the existence of low viscosity regions in the Earths mantle below Antarctica that deform rapidly on decadal or faster time scales. This variability in viscosity causes regions of the solid mantle to deform differently and thus a model of three-dimensional viscosity structure is needed to better measure the changing weight of the Antarctic ice sheet, to accurately model ice sheet dynamics, and to better project future sea level changes in response to Antarctic ice melt. The research conducted here will construct a first-generation reference three-dimensional viscosity model for the solid Earth underlying Antarctica. The analysis will use horizontal and vertical deformations measured by the Global Navigation Satellite System over the last few decades at sites across Antarctica, a state-of-the-art seismic model of the Antarctic mantle, coupled simulations of glacial isostatic adjustment and ice sheet stability, and a novel, observationally driven and mathematically rigorous approach to calculating the glacial isostatic adjustment parameters that cannot be directly observed. This project supports two early-career researchers and two graduate students. Funding will be used to support the participation of U.S. graduate students and instructors in a glacial isostatic adjustment training school, which will be organized by the principal investigator and leadership of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research initiative Instabilities and Thresholds in Antarctica. Quantifying the magnitude of modern ice mass loss from Antarctica is a key element in efforts to constrain future sea level change. Although satellite gravimetry and changes in ice surface elevation are used to estimate ice mass change, these observations cannot provide a direct estimate because they also record changes in the solid Earth. Similarly, modeling of past and future ice sheet dynamics and sea level change require an accurate model of solid earth deformation. Thus, the contribution from the ongoing response of the viscoelastic Earth to ice sheet evolution across the ice age and into the modern world, termed glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA), must be accurately quantified. Although the signal from GIA is widely recognized as being a significant component of modern Antarctic deformation, our incomplete knowledge of earths three-dimensional viscosity structure and the appropriate rheological model for the solid Earth deformation leads to large uncertainties in estimates of present-day ice mass change and modeling of future ice dynamics and sea level change. Fortunately, direct observations of solid Earth deformation have been made over the last few decades by Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) stations installed on bedrock across Antarctica. These observations have been used in forward modeling to infer regional one-dimensional viscosity structure, but they have not been directly used to image the continents three-dimensional viscosity structure. This will be addressed through four key tasks: (1) Inferring plausible steady-state diffusion creep viscosity models from the seismic shear wave speeds determined with the latest ANT-20 seismic tomography model using an inverse calibration scheme based on experimental results from mineral physics and a suite of geophysical constraints; (2) Determining ice histories that span from the Last Glacial Maximum to present from a coupled GIA/ice sheet model, which explores the range of inferred three-dimensional viscosity models and plausible parameters governing ice dynamics. These ice histories will be merged with modern estimates of ice mass change; (3) Exploring and characterizing the spatiotemporal sensitivities of vertical and horizontal GNSS deformation and relative sea level observations to the three-dimensional viscosity structure and ice history produced in tasks 1 and 2 using the adjoint method; and (4) Inverting observations of GNSS crustal deformation rates and relative sea level using the adjoint method to derive a new three-dimensional map of mantle viscosity below Antarctica. These inversions will use the models from task 1 and 2 and intuition gained from task 3 to further refine the three-dimensional viscosity structure and to explore whether observations include signals of transient or non-linear deformation. 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": "SEISMIC PROFILE; Antarctica; GLACIERS/ICE SHEETS", "locations": "Antarctica", "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Lloyd, Andrew", "platforms": null, "repo": "Zenodo", "repositories": "Zenodo", "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "Collaborative Research: Imaging the 3D Viscosity Structure of the Antarctic Mantle with Existing Observations from GPS and Relative Sea Level", "uid": "p0010576", "west": -180.0}, {"awards": "2516646 Cimino, Megan; 2516647 Moffat, Carlos", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-150 60,-141 60,-132 60,-123 60,-114 60,-105 60,-96 60,-87 60,-78 60,-69 60,-60 60,-60 47,-60 34,-60 21,-60 8,-60 -5,-60 -18,-60 -31,-60 -44,-60 -57,-60 -70,-69 -70,-78 -70,-87 -70,-96 -70,-105 -70,-114 -70,-123 -70,-132 -70,-141 -70,-150 -70,-150 -57,-150 -44,-150 -31,-150 -18,-150 -5,-150 8,-150 21,-150 34,-150 47,-150 60))", "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Thu, 16 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Use and reuse of long-term ecological data is needed for understanding how biological communities are responding to a changing world. In marine environments, key data includes large-scale patterns such as El Ni\u00f1o, ocean conditions such as sea surface temperature and winds, and biological data such as the distribution and abundance of food resources and marine wildlife. These core data are often collected in non-standardized ways, which makes it a challenge to compare patterns of biological response across different regions or marine ecosystems. The Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) network provides an opportunity to make comparisons between sites as they share similarities in conceptual design and data collection procedures. In this ULTRA-Data project, a team of scientists is harmonizing ecological data from three different LTER sites representing temperate (California Current), subpolar (Northern Gulf of Alaska) and polar (Antarctic Peninsula) marine ecosystems. These three sites are influenced by global-scale processes and each provides comparable local data on ocean conditions, lower trophic level planktonic food resources (euphausiid crustaceans, also known as \u201ckrill\u201d), and upper trophic level consumers (seabirds). The investigators are testing the idea that seabird populations and community structure are affected by local ocean conditions (habitat quality) and food resource availability, affected by larger-scale processes as observed during El Ni\u00f1o. Results from this study are helping scientists and marine stakeholders understand how changing ocean conditions and food availability affect marine biological communities. This study is revealing whether large-scale environmental variability is affecting disparate marine ecosystems similarly or if response mechanisms differ between regions. This research is supplying cross-ecosystem knowledge to help inform management and conservation. The scientists are also training younger researchers, including early-career scientists, graduate students, and an undergraduate intern. This project addresses a gap in our understanding of how marine biological communities respond to environmental change by conducting cross-ecosystem syntheses on the climate responses of geographically disparate but functionally analogous prey and predator communities. Seabird communities are an ideal metric for regional comparisons, as their local distribution and abundance can reflect both short-term and long-term ecosystem dynamics, and geographically unrelated seabird communities retain similar functional compositions (e.g. divers vs. fliers, planktivores vs. piscivores, etc.). By leveraging data available from three different Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) sites, this project is testing how local ocean conditions affect seabird abundance, diversity, and community composition across the California Current Ecosystem (CCE), Northern Gulf of Alaska (NGA), and Antarctic Peninsula (PAL). These three regions represent temperate, subpolar and polar ecosystems, yet are structurally linked by large-scale Pacific climate modes including the El Ni\u00f1o Southern Oscillation, Pacific Decadal Oscillation, and Southern Annular Mode. The three LTER sites have collected similar long-term datasets on oceanography (hydrographic casts), prey (net-sampled euphausiids), and seabirds (at-sea visual observation surveys). Data are thus being harmonized into 30+ year datasets to investigate bottom-up linkages between climate modes, local oceanographic patterns, and local prey/predator variability. Generalized Additive Mixed Models (GAMMs) and Hierarchical Modeling of Species Communities (HMSC) are being used to test biophysical relationships, including the evaluation of temporal effects such as direct and lagged effects of climate mode variability. The integrative and cross-ecosystem framework utilizes valuable data provided by LTER sites, identifies unknown dynamics underlying ecosystem synchrony and divergence, and provides mechanistic perspectives on how regional biophysical processes contribute to productive and globally important ecosystems. This award reflects NSF\u0027\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": -60.0, "geometry": "POINT(-105 -5)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "ANIMAL ECOLOGY AND BEHAVIOR; California; El Nino-Southern Oscillation; Antarctica; COMMUNITY DYNAMICS; COASTAL; Seabirds; Alaska; Krill", "locations": "Antarctica; California; Alaska", "north": 60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Cimino, Megan; William , Sydeman; Brian, Hoover; Moffat, Carlos", "platforms": null, "repositories": null, "science_programs": "LTER", "south": -70.0, "title": "Collaborative Research: ULTRA-Data: Harmonizing at-sea seabird surveys at three marine LTER sites to uncover community responses from the subarctic to Antarctic", "uid": "p0010574", "west": -150.0}, {"awards": "2145410 Shen, Weisen", "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": "Tue, 07 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Nontechnical Understanding the subsurface structure near the South Pole will answer some of the most exciting scientific questions in Antarctic Earth Science, ranging from the origin of the high subglacial mountains and the southernmost volcanic rocks to the existence of nearby subglacial lakes. However, it has been difficult to answer these questions since the area is remote and the ice cover is thick. Using seismic stations deployed on top of the ice sheet provides an alternative tool to image the continent through the ice, as seismic signals record sensitive information about the geology of the crust below. For example, crustal rocks with more radioactive elements may have caused the ice sheet to melt, creating subglacial lakes, and these rocks can be identified by their unique seismic signatures. This project plans to fill a knowledge gap by deploying new seismic sensors in the South Pole area and collecting data to perform a suite of modern seismic data analyses to produce a variety of seismic observables. These observables will be translated into maps illustrating the physical properties and chemical composition of the underlying crust, and further help determine the thermal properties of the underlying crust near the South Pole. These observations will provide a first-order assessment of the sub-ice geology and insights into the origins of the features such as the Transantarctic Mountains and numerous subglacial lakes. The project will collaborate with K-12 school districts and community colleges in Long Island and provide free geoscience tutoring, public lectures, and inviting K-12 educators to teach students from the field. These efforts will highlight the importance of polar geosciences in a changing climate and elevate the awareness of earth science as a viable career path for high school students. Technical The area within 300 km of the South Pole and its sub-ice structures are equally, if not more, critical in studying Antarctic earth sciences. Given its gateway locality between the high southern Transantarctic Mountains and East Antarctic craton, the area is critical for studying geological history and modern tectonism of the continent, modeling continental dynamics, and developing more accurate ice sheet dynamic models to predict their response to the global climate change. However, these properties have not been systematically studied due to both the remoteness of the continent and its thick ice coverage. In this proposed study, the team will deploy ~ 180 high-frequency 3-component portable seismic nodes and eight broadband sensors near the South Pole, encompassing the nearby southern Transantarctic Mountains and the polar subglacial basins. A combination of linear nodal arrays and 2-dimensional broadband arrays will provide both spatial coverage and the capability to resolve high-resolution subsurface structural variations. Once the data are collected the team will apply a suite of data processing schemes tailored for the array and study area, including 1) a comprehensive surface wave analysis that determines both the isotropic and anisotropic structure of its crust and uppermost mantle; 2) 2-layer receiver function analysis that measures sub-ice layering and Poisson\u2019s ratio; 3) a joint surface wave and receive function inversion that builds seismic models with uncertainties; 4) a novel crustal compositional analysis which uses the seismic attributes to quantify the silica content of the crust, and 5) a joint Monte Carlo thermal inversion that combines Curie-depth measurements with seismologically constrained crustal heat generation to construct a self-consistent, uniform crustal geotherms. This research is complemented by a comprehensive educational component that provides high-quality earth science education to graduate students, as well as to high-need K-12 school districts and community colleges in Long Island. 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": "SEISMIC SURFACE WAVES; South Pole", "locations": "South Pole", "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Shen, Weisen", "platforms": null, "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "CAREER: A Comprehensive Seismic Investigation to the Crust and Uppermost Mantle Beneath the South Pole, East Antarctica", "uid": "p0010572", "west": -180.0}, {"awards": "2217127 Tominaga, Masako", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((160 -71,161.9 -71,163.8 -71,165.7 -71,167.6 -71,169.5 -71,171.4 -71,173.3 -71,175.2 -71,177.1 -71,179 -71,179 -71.7,179 -72.4,179 -73.1,179 -73.8,179 -74.5,179 -75.2,179 -75.9,179 -76.6,179 -77.3,179 -78,177.1 -78,175.2 -78,173.3 -78,171.4 -78,169.5 -78,167.6 -78,165.7 -78,163.8 -78,161.9 -78,160 -78,160 -77.3,160 -76.6,160 -75.9,160 -75.2,160 -74.5,160 -73.8,160 -73.1,160 -72.4,160 -71.7,160 -71))", "dataset_titles": "NBP2501 Data", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "200530", "doi": "10.7284/910896", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "NBP2501 Data", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/NBP2501"}], "date_created": "Tue, 30 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Understanding the origins and nature of heat available at the base of the cryosphere is essential in deciphering the extent and residence time of the ice in Antarctica and its oceans. Constraints on parameters that control ice-sheet stability, response of the crust to ice loading and unloading, and the effects of volcanism and heat from Earth\u2019s interior on overlying ice is of broad interest to the global climate change community. The goal of this study is to identify and to document the distribution of heat source and heat flux within the seafloor of the southwestern Ross Sea. Geothermal heat flux is one of the basic parameters that shape and control ice flow, ocean circulation, and ecosystem, connecting with subglacial hydrology and its influence on the ability of the ice sheet to slide and internally deform. Despite the importance, particularly in the Antarctic environments, there have been few investigations made in the Ross Sea on how lithospheric heat flux contributes to cryospheric dynamics over time. The project study site in the western Ross Sea seafloor comprises the Terror Rift, which represents the youngest phase of extension within the West Antarctic Rift System, one of the world\u2019s largest rifts and the only one covered by continental ice sheets. The thinned western Ross Sea lithosphere and Terror Rift encompasses active volcanism that range from 5 million years to present-day, suggesting that Pliocene-Quaternary fault movement and dynamic changes in ice sheet extent and thickness over this period are concurrent with magmatic activities. This project will conduct a shipboard survey of the western Ross Sea seafloor. The datasets to be collected include seafloor heatflow/conductivity measurements, real-time seafloor visualization, water-column hydrothermal signal acquisition, and rock sampling via dredging. Heat flow and direct seafloor observations will provide an unprecedented context for seafloor-ocean interactions, addressing some of the biogeochemical cycles in the water column (e.g., chemical and nutrients contributions to the water column from seafloor volcanism and resultant hydrothermal systems) in constraining Ross Sea ecosystems. The compilation of all the data will enable the testing of hypotheses that magmatic intrusion and volcanism in the western Ross Sea is the primary lithospheric heat source that has influenced the dynamics of the ocean-cryosphere system in this region. Data collected will also allow us to refine current timeseries and geodynamics that drive one of the world\u2019s major continental rift systems. Deliverables from this project will be new geospatial information data, including all the underway geophysics grids of the area, publicly available via NSF funded data repositories. After acquiring geochemistry and geochronology, the remaining rock samples will be archived at the Polar Rock Repository. The project will also train 1 postdoc, 2 graduate students, and at least 3 undergraduate students. 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": 179.0, "geometry": "POINT(169.5 -74.5)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "MARINE GEOPHYSICS; Ross Sea", "locations": "Ross Sea", "north": -71.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Tominaga, Masako", "platforms": null, "repo": "R2R", "repositories": "R2R", "science_programs": null, "south": -78.0, "title": "Collaborative Research: Heat Source and Flux Distributions in the Western Ross Sea Seafloor", "uid": "p0010544", "west": 160.0}, {"awards": "1943112 Ritzwoller, Michael", "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": "Models from \"Applying machine learning to characterize and extrapolate the relationship between seismic structure and surface heat flow\"; Models from \"Applying Machine Learning to Characterize and Extrapolate the Relationship Between Seismic Structure and Surface Heat Flow\"", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601943", "doi": "10.15784/601943", "keywords": "Antarctica; Cryosphere", "people": "Zhang, Shane", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Models from \"Applying Machine Learning to Characterize and Extrapolate the Relationship Between Seismic Structure and Surface Heat Flow\"", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601943"}, {"dataset_uid": "200517", "doi": "10.5281/zenodo.12173897", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "Zenodo", "science_program": null, "title": "Models from \"Applying machine learning to characterize and extrapolate the relationship between seismic structure and surface heat flow\"", "url": "https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12173897"}], "date_created": "Wed, 09 Jul 2025 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Part I: Non-Technical Geothermal heat flux is an important geodynamic indicator throughout the world but is uniquely important in the home of the world\u2019s largest ice cap, Antarctica. Subglacial heat flux strongly influences basal ice temperatures, the volume of ice at its melting point, the extent and distribution of liquid water, the properties of glacial bed material, the formation of subglacial lakes, and, crucially, whether the ice is frozen to or slides along its interface with the solid earth. Ultimately, it determines the thermal state and mechanical stability of the ice sheet. Nevertheless, subglacial heat flux remains poorly known across Antarctica. Over the past 15 years, researchers have introduced a variety of indirect measures to estimate heat flux across Antarctica. The proposed research aims to refine and improve one of these methods by leveraging recent improvements in seismic models and heat flow data bases. The goal is to deliver better basal heat flux estimates and their uncertainties across much of Antarctica. If successful, this promises to be an important and timely upgrade for Antarctic ice-sheet and ice-stream modelers and may affect the assessment of the impact of global climate change and sea level rise in the 21st century. \r\n\r\nPart II: Technical Spatially extended information about subglacial heat flux across Antarctica derives mainly from indirect or proxy methods that aim to infer heat flux from properties of the solid earth or glacial ice. Past work by the PI has been based on the extrapolation of heat flux measurements obtained elsewhere in the world guided by a global seismic model of the crust and upper mantle. The proposed work is an update, refinement, and extension of the earlier method designed to address two principal challenges: improving continental-scale accuracy and regional-scale resolution of basal heat flux across a large fraction of Antarctica. The proposed refinements are based on recent improvements in regional-scale seismic models and heat flow data bases. Better and notably higher-resolution seismic models of the crust and uppermost mantle have been developed in the past few years across the US, China, Europe, and Canada, as well as across much of Antarctica, that can be used to guide the extrapolation of heat flux measurements to Antarctica from the US, China, Europe, and Canada. The critical test for the refined method will be validating it to infer heat flux across regions of the earth where such measurements exist, notably the US, China, Canada, and Europe. Such validation experiments will provide crucial tests of the proposed methods to infer heat flux across Antarctica as well as quantitative information about the accuracy of the inferences. The final product will be a regional-scale heat flux map with attendant uncertainty information across central and West Antarctica. The map will be composed of the means and standard deviations of the proposed inferred heat flux distributions across central and western Antarctica with a grid-spacing of about 100 km. \r\n\r\nThis 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": "HEAT FLUX; Antarctica", "locations": "Antarctica", "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Ritzwoller, Michael", "platforms": null, "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC; Zenodo", "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "Improving the Resolution of Heat Flux Estimates Across Antarctica Using Recent-Generation Seismic Models", "uid": "p0010523", "west": -180.0}, {"awards": "1918338 VanTongeren, Jill", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": "Zircon geochronology constraints on the geometry and solidification timescales of the Dufek layered mafic intrusion, Antarctica", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601997", "doi": "10.15784/601997", "keywords": "Antarctica; Cryosphere; Ferrar Magmatic Province; Geochronology; Zircon", "people": "VanTongeren, Jill", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Zircon geochronology constraints on the geometry and solidification timescales of the Dufek layered mafic intrusion, Antarctica", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601997"}], "date_created": "Thu, 03 Apr 2025 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Voluminous outpourings of iron-rich molten rock (magma), which can initiate from deep within the earth, occur regularly throughout geologic time. Understanding volcanic eruptions requires knowledge of the magmatic plumbing systems and magma chambers that feed eruptions. While many magma chambers are typically emplaced in the shallow subsurface of the earth, only rarely are the entirety of the solidified remnants of these chambers later exposed at the surface of the earth for study. One such magma chamber, the Dufek Intrusion, exists in Antarctica. The Dufek Intrusion is part of the Ferrar magmatic event, which was triggered by the separation or rifting of South America, Africa and Antarctic continents approximately 182 million years ago. The research objectives focus on analyzing existing samples to understand the thermal and chemical evolution of the magma in the Dufek Intrusion magma chamber and deciphering whether the exposed sections are part of the same magma chamber or represent two separate magma chambers. Results from this study may result in the research community questioning the assumption that small intrusions crystallized faster than larger layered intrusions such as the Dufek Intrusion. This project supports multiple early career researchers and provides laboratory training for undergraduate students. Preliminary high-precision U-Pb ages from zircon throughout the Dufek Intrusion show that rocks thought to represent the lowermost section of stratigraphy (the Dufek Massif) are younger than the rocks thought to represent the uppermost section (the Forrestal Range). This study tests whether the zircon ages represent a cooling profile of a single large layered intrusion, or whether the Dufek Massif and Forrestal Range are two separate smaller intrusions. Crystallization temperatures of the cumulus phases (plagioclase and clinopyroxene) and the zircons, as well as cooling rates from the cumulus phases will be obtained to test the cooling profile hypothesis. The research team will construct thermal models of emplacement and cooling to compare with the laboratory analyses. In order to test the two intrusions hypothesis, the team will analyze zircon Hf isotopic compositions and whole rock Sr, Nd, Pb isotopes from samples of the two intrusions to determine whether they are similar and therefore genetically related. Results will provide important constraints on the duration of magmatism associated with continental breakup and present a coherent picture of the construction of (possibly) one of the largest magmatic intrusions exposed on earth today. 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": "AGE DETERMINATIONS; Ferrar Magmatic Province", "locations": "Ferrar Magmatic Province", "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "VanTongeren, Jill", "platforms": null, "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "The Dufek Intrusion Ages: Crystallization or Cooling?", "uid": "p0010505", "west": null}, {"awards": "2332108 Loewy, Staci", "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": "Thu, 27 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Technical Abstract This research evaluates whether the small Coats Land crustal block of East Antarctica is a tectonic tracer linking Kalahari and southern Laurentia within the Neoproterozoic supercontinent of Rodinia across an orogenic suture. A Pan-African (~600 Ma) suture separates the small Coats Land block from the main Mawson Craton indicating that this crustal block had an independent pre-Pan-African history. Existing data from the miniscule outcrops of bedrock in Coats Land provide critical clues to that paleogeography, suggesting that Laurentia collided with Kalahari across the Grenville-Namaqua/Natal-Maud orogen. The Coats Land block has only three small groups of bedrock exposures, two form nunataks and the third occurs in a cliff face. The two nunataks comprise granophyre and rhyolite contemporaneous with the ca. 1.1 Ga Keweenawan, mid-continent rift, volcanics of Laurentia and its proposed southwestern extension in El Paso, TX. Moreover, the Pb isotopes of the Coats Land and Keweenawan rocks are identical, and paleomagnetic data are broadly supportive of the Coats Land block having been located adjacent to the present southern margin of the Laurentian craton. Metamorphic rocks from the cliff face exposure lithologically resemble basement rocks of the El Paso, TX. The proposed research will further existing geochemical and geochronologic studies of specimens previously collected from Coats Land and new and existing samples of rocks collected near El Paso, Texas for detailed comparison. Analyses include zircon U-Pb dating and Hf and O isotope analysis, and whole rock geochemistry and Pb, Sm-Nd and Rb-Sr isotope analysis. This research will make maximum use of existing material from this extremely remote part of Antarctica to test this hypothesis. Researchers will collaborate with 2 well-established education-outreach programs in the Jackson School of Geosciences at The University of Texas at Austin. Undergraduate research assistants will be recruited from the Jackson Scholars Program (JSP). Researchers will provide a field- and lab-based seminar on reconstructing Rodinia for the JSP and will conduct research with high school students during GeoFORCE 12th grade summer academy. Non-technical Abstract This research evaluates whether the small Coats Land crustal block of East Antarctica is a piece of ancestral North America (Laurentia) that was transferred to southern Africa (Kalahari) during ~ 1 Ga collision, and subsequent breakup, of the two continents during the formation of the ancient supercontinent of Rodinia. Coats Land is separated from the adjacent Mawson Craton of Antarctica by ~600 Ma continental sutures indicating that Coats Land had an independent history prior to 600 Ma. Existing data from the miniscule outcrops of bedrock in Coats Land provide critical clues to that paleogeography, suggesting that Laurentia collided with Kalahari. The Coats Land block has only three small groups of bedrock exposures, two form nunataks and the third occurs in a cliff face. The two nunataks comprise granophyre and rhyolite contemporaneous with the ca. 1.1 Ga Keweenawan, mid-continent rift, volcanics of Laurentia and its proposed southwestern extension in El Paso, TX. Moreover, the Pb isotopes of the Coats Land and Keweenawan rocks are identical, and paleomagnetic data are broadly supportive of the Coats Land block having been located adjacent to the present southern margin of the Laurentian craton. Metamorphic rocks from the cliff face exposure lithologically resemble basement rocks of the El Paso, TX. The proposed research will further existing geochemical and geochronologic studies of specimens previously collected from Coats Land and new and existing samples of rocks collected near El Paso, Texas for detailed comparison. Analyses include zircon U-Pb dating and Hf and O isotope analysis, and whole rock geochemistry and Pb, Sm-Nd and Rb-Sr isotope analysis. This research will make maximum use of existing material from this extremely remote part of Antarctica to test this hypothesis. Researchers will collaborate with 2 well-established education-outreach programs in the Jackson School of Geosciences at The University of Texas at Austin. Undergraduate research assistants will be recruited from the Jackson Scholars Program (JSP). Researchers will provide a field- and lab-based seminar on reconstructing Rodinia for the JSP and will conduct research with high school students during GeoFORCE 12th grade summer academy. 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": "Coats Land; Geochronology; ISOTOPES; Rodina; zircons; Paleogeography; Isotopes; PLATE TECTONICS; Texas", "locations": "Coats Land; Texas; Rodina", "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Loewy, Staci; Dalziel, Ian W.", "platforms": null, "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "Antarctica within Rodinia: Testing the Laurentia Connection", "uid": "p0010500", "west": -180.0}, {"awards": "1744651 Wilcock, William", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-62 -62,-61.5 -62,-61 -62,-60.5 -62,-60 -62,-59.5 -62,-59 -62,-58.5 -62,-58 -62,-57.5 -62,-57 -62,-57 -62.2,-57 -62.4,-57 -62.6,-57 -62.8,-57 -63,-57 -63.2,-57 -63.4,-57 -63.6,-57 -63.8,-57 -64,-57.5 -64,-58 -64,-58.5 -64,-59 -64,-59.5 -64,-60 -64,-60.5 -64,-61 -64,-61.5 -64,-62 -64,-62 -63.8,-62 -63.6,-62 -63.4,-62 -63.2,-62 -63,-62 -62.8,-62 -62.6,-62 -62.4,-62 -62.2,-62 -62))", "dataset_titles": "3D P-wave velocity models of Orca Volcano, Bransfield Basin, Antarctica from the\r\nBRAVOSEIS experiment; Bransfield OBSIC OBS network 2019-20 (network code ZX, 2019); BRAVOSEIS Onshore Seismic Array (Network code 5M)", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "200440", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "NSF SAGE Facility DMC", "science_program": null, "title": "Bransfield OBSIC OBS network 2019-20 (network code ZX, 2019)", "url": " https://ds.iris.edu/mda/18-017/"}, {"dataset_uid": "200442", "doi": "in progress", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "Marine Geoscience Data System", "science_program": null, "title": "3D P-wave velocity models of Orca Volcano, Bransfield Basin, Antarctica from the\r\nBRAVOSEIS experiment", "url": ""}, {"dataset_uid": "200441", "doi": "10.14470/0Z7563857972", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "GEOFON", "science_program": null, "title": "BRAVOSEIS Onshore Seismic Array (Network code 5M)", "url": "https://doi.org/10.14470/0Z7563857972"}], "date_created": "Fri, 14 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "One of the fundamental processes in plate tectonics is the rifting or separating of continental crust creating new seafloors which can widen and ultimately form new ocean basins, the latter is a process known as seafloor spreading. The Bransfield Strait, separating the West Antarctic Peninsula from the South Shetland Islands, formed and is presently widening as a result of the separation of continental crust. What is unique is that the system appears to be approaching the transition to seafloor spreading making this an ideal site to study the transitional process. Previous seafloor mapping and field surveys provide the regional structure of the basin; however, there exists a paucity of regional seismic studies documenting the tectonic and volcanic activity in the basin as a result of the rifting. This would be the first local-scale study of the seismicity and structure of the volcanoes in the center of the basin where crustal separation is most active. The new seismic data will enable scientists to compare current patterns of crustal separation and volcanism at the Bransfield Strait to other well-studied seafloor spreading centers. This collaborative international project, led by the Spanish and involving scientists from the U.S., Germany and other European countries, will monitor seismicity for one year on land and on the seafloor. An active seismic study conducted by the Spanish will image fault and volcanic structures that can be related to the distribution of earthquakes. Back-arc basins are found in subduction settings and form in two stages, an initial interval of continental rifting that transitions to a later stage of seafloor spreading. Studying the transitional process is important for understanding the dynamics and evolution of subduction zones, and in locations where back-arc rifting breaks continental crust, it is relevant to understanding the formation of passive continental margins. The Central Bransfield Basin is unusual in that the South Shetland Islands have lacked recent arc volcanism and it appears subduction is ceasing, but this system has broad significant because it appears to be nearing the transition from rifting to seafloor spreading. This award will support the U.S. component of an international initiative led by the Spanish Polar Committee to conduct a study of the seismicity and volcanic structure of the Central Bransfield Basin. The objective is to characterize the distribution of active extension across the basin and determine whether the volcanic structure and deformation of the rift are consistent with a back-arc basin that is transitioning from rifting to seafloor spreading. The U.S. component of the experiment will contribute a network of six hydroacoustic moorings to monitor regional seismicity and 15 short-period seismometers to study the distribution of tectonic and volcanic seismicity on Orca volcano, one of the most active volcanoes in the basin. An active seismic study across closely spaced multichannel seismic lines across the rift will provide the data necessary to link earthquakes with fault structures enabling a tomography study of Orca volcano and provide insight into how the volcano\u0027s structure relates to rifting. This research will constrain the distribution of active rifting across the Central Bransfield Basin and determine whether the patterns of faulting and the structure of volcanic portion of the rift are consistent with a diffuse zone of rifting or a single spreading center that is transitioning to the production of oceanic crust. The Bransfield Basin is an ideal site for a comparative study of seismic and hydroacoustic earthquake locations that will improve the understanding of the generation and propagation of T-wave signals and contribute to efforts to compare the result of T-wave studies with data from traditional solid-earth seismic studies. 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": -57.0, "geometry": "POINT(-59.5 -63)", "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e AIRGUN ARRAYS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e MAGNETIC/MOTION SENSORS \u003e SEISMOMETERS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e RECORDERS/LOGGERS \u003e PASSIVE ACOUSTIC RECORDER", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Back Arc Basin; SHIPS; TECTONICS; PLATE TECTONICS; South Shetland Islands; Bransfield Strait; MARINE GEOPHYSICS; Antarctic Peninsula", "locations": "Bransfield Strait; South Shetland Islands; Antarctic Peninsula", "north": -62.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": "NOT APPLICABLE", "persons": "William, Wilcock; Dax, Soule; Robert, Dziak", "platforms": "WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e VESSELS \u003e SURFACE \u003e SHIPS", "repo": "NSF SAGE Facility DMC", "repositories": "GEOFON; Marine Geoscience Data System; NSF SAGE Facility DMC", "science_programs": null, "south": -64.0, "title": "Collaborative Research: The Tectonic and Magmatic Structure and Dynamics of Back-arc Rifting in Bransfield Strait: An International Seismic Experiment", "uid": "p0010498", "west": -62.0}, {"awards": "2437938 Goodge, John", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((155 -82,156 -82,157 -82,158 -82,159 -82,160 -82,161 -82,162 -82,163 -82,164 -82,165 -82,165 -82.3,165 -82.6,165 -82.9,165 -83.2,165 -83.5,165 -83.8,165 -84.1,165 -84.4,165 -84.7,165 -85,164 -85,163 -85,162 -85,161 -85,160 -85,159 -85,158 -85,157 -85,156 -85,155 -85,155 -84.7,155 -84.4,155 -84.1,155 -83.8,155 -83.5,155 -83.2,155 -82.9,155 -82.6,155 -82.3,155 -82))", "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Thu, 16 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Non-Technical Abstract This project will examine ancient Antarctic rocks to understand the continent\u2019s early history, including how Antarctica was once connected to other continents. By studying rock samples from the Nimrod Complex, the project will gather data on the age and makeup of these rocks, showing how Antarctica\u0027s crust formed and changed over time. This work will not only expand scientific knowledge about Earth\u0027s history but also provide valuable training for college students at multiple universities, helping to grow a diverse community of researchers who can tackle big questions in Earth science. Technical Abstract This project seeks to unravel the origin, evolution, and geological significance of the Nimrod Complex in Antarctica\u2019s East Antarctic craton through detailed age and isotopic analysis of its igneous and metamorphic rocks. Using U-Pb zircon geochronology along with O-isotope, Hf-isotope, and trace element analyses, we will construct a comprehensive petrochronological profile of these Mesoarchean to Paleoproterozoic rocks to reveal their magmatic sources, metamorphic history, and role in the broader tectonic framework. The project aims to trace sediment sources and tectonic influences across sedimentary units spanning the Paleoproterozoic to lower Paleozoic eras, adding crucial data to supercontinent reconstructions (Columbia, Rodinia, and Gondwana) and Antarctic tectonic models. Broader impacts include collaborations between universities to develop a diverse STEM workforce, inter-laboratory partnerships, and a robust isotopic dataset that will contribute to models of Antarctic crustal evolution and its implications for ice sheet stability. 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": 165.0, "geometry": "POINT(160 -83.5)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "ISOTOPES; Miller Range; Geologists Range; Zircon; Transantarctic Mountains; FIELD INVESTIGATION; Duluth, MN", "locations": "Transantarctic Mountains; Miller Range; Geologists Range; Duluth, MN", "north": -82.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": "ARCHAEAN \u003e MESOARCHEAN; ARCHAEAN \u003e NEOARCHEAN; PROTEROZOIC \u003e MESOPROTEROZOIC; PROTEROZOIC \u003e PALEOPROTEROZOIC; PROTEROZOIC \u003e NEOPROTEROZOIC", "persons": "Goodge, John; Kylander-Clark, Andrew; Bell, Elizabeth; Pecha, Mark", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION", "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": -85.0, "title": "The Nimrod Complex, an Ancient Window into East Antarctic Crustal Evolution", "uid": "p0010495", "west": 155.0}, {"awards": "2423761 Blackburn, Terrence", "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": "Evaporitic carbonate crust isotopic data; Thermogenic Methane Production in Antarctic Subglacial Hydrocarbon Seeps", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "602030", "doi": "10.15784/602030", "keywords": "Antarctica; Cryosphere", "people": "Brigham, Noah", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Evaporitic carbonate crust isotopic data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/602030"}, {"dataset_uid": "601918", "doi": "10.15784/601918", "keywords": "Antarctica; Carbon Isotopes; Cryosphere; East Antarctica; Elephant Moraine; Geochronology; Isotope Data; Subglacial", "people": "Piccione, Gavin", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Thermogenic Methane Production in Antarctic Subglacial Hydrocarbon Seeps", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601918"}], "date_created": "Tue, 14 May 2024 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Non-technical abstract Earth\u2019s climatic changes have been recorded in the ice core collected from the Antarctic ice sheet. While these records provide a high resolution view of how polar temperatures changed through time, it is not always clear what Earth process influence Antarctic climate. One likely contributor to Antarctic temperature changes is the cyclic changes in Earth\u2019s orientation as it orbits the sun. These so-called Milankovitch cycles control the amount and pattern of sunlight reaching the polar regions, that in turn result in periods of climatic warming or cooling. While the orbital variations and control on incoming solar energy remain well understood, how they influence Antarctic climate remains unresolved. It is the goal of this project to determine how variations in Earth\u2019s orbit may be locally influencing Antarctic temperatures. The researchers on this project are pursing this goal by identifying periods of past ice melting on the surface of Antarctica using minerals that precipitate from the meltwaters that resulted from past warm periods. The timing of this past melting will be determined by radioisotopic dating of the minerals using the natural radioactive decay of uranium to thorium. By dating numerous samples, collected in past scientific expeditions throughout the Antarctic continent, these researchers aim to reconstruct the frequency and spatial pattern of past warming and in doing so, determine what aspect of Earth\u2019s orbital variations influences Antarctic ice loss. Technical abstract Antarctic ice cores provide high resolution records of Pleistocene Southern Hemisphere temperatures that show an overall coherence with Northern Hemisphere temperature variations. One explanation for this bi-hemispheric temperature covariance relies on changes in atmospheric CO2 that result from varying northern hemisphere insolation. An alternative posits that the apparent coherence of polar temperatures is due to the misleading covariance between northern hemisphere summer insolation and, the southern hemisphere summer duration. At present there is an insufficient understanding of the role that local insolation plays in Antarctic climate. The goal of this research project is to identify the temporal spatial patterns of solar forcing in Antarctica. To reach this goal, the project team will: 1) develop a way to identify periods of past surface melt production in Antarctica using U-Th dating of pedogenic carbonates; and 2) utilize the evidence of past surface melting to calibrate energy balance models and interrogate past Antarctic surface temperatures and; 3) compare the timing of Antarctic warm periods to potential solar forcing mechanisms such as peak summer insolation or summer duration. A means of identifying the spatial and temporal pattern at which local insolation influences Antarctic temperature would provide a transformative solution to the contradiction in current climate records. 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": "Antarctic Ice Sheet; PALEOCLIMATE RECONSTRUCTIONS", "locations": "Antarctic Ice Sheet", "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Blackburn, Terrence", "platforms": null, "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "EAGER: Pedogenic Carbonates Record Insolation Driven Surface Melting in Antarctica", "uid": "p0010459", "west": -180.0}, {"awards": "2044924 Barrett, John", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": "Hyperspectral reflectance values and biophysicochemical properties of biocrusts and soils in the Fryxell Basin, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601773", "doi": "10.15784/601773", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Hyperspectral reflectance values and biophysicochemical properties of biocrusts and soils in the Fryxell Basin, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica", "url": "http://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601773"}], "date_created": "Wed, 03 Apr 2024 00:00:00 GMT", "description": null, "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Antarctica; Carbon; Cryosphere; McMurdo Dry Valleys; Snow", "locations": "McMurdo Dry Valleys; Antarctica", "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Barrett, John", "platforms": null, "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": null, "uid": null, "west": null}, {"awards": "2023355 Schmandt, Brandon", "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": "A seismic catalog for the southernmost continent", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601805", "doi": "10.15784/601805", "keywords": "Antarctica; Cryosphere; Earthquakes; Icequakes; Volcanic Events", "people": "Pena Castro, Andres", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "A seismic catalog for the southernmost continent", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601805"}], "date_created": "Tue, 20 Feb 2024 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Part 1: Nontechnical Unlike other locations on the globe Antarctica is not known for having large earthquakes and the remote nature and harsh conditions make it difficult to install and maintain seismometers for earthquake detection. Some researchers believe the lack of large earthquakes is due to the continent being surrounded by inactive tectonic margins. However, in the last two decades, scientists have discovered that more earthquakes occur in the interior of the continent than previously observed. This suggests that there are many earthquakes missing from historic earthquake catalogs. This study aims to find the missing earthquakes using novel earthquake detection and location techniques from seismic data collected from temporary and permanent seismic stations in Antarctica over the last 25 years. Locating these earthquakes will help understand if and where earthquakes are located in Antarctica and will help in planning future seismic deployments. As part of the project broader impacts, a field expedition with the Girls on Rock program will be conducted to teach high school age girls, and especially those from underrepresented backgrounds, data visualization techniques using scientific data. Part 2: Technical The spatial distribution of seismicity and the number of moderate magnitude earthquakes in Antarctica is not well-defined. The current catalog of earthquakes may be biased by uneven and sparse seismograph distribution on the continent. We will mine existing broadband seismic data from both permanent and temporary deployments to lower the earthquake detection threshold across Interior Antarctica, with a focus on tectonic earthquakes. The hypothesis is that Interior Antarctica has abundant moderate magnitude earthquakes, previously undetected. These earthquakes are likely collocated with major tectonic features such as the Transantarctic Mountains, the suspected Vostok collision zone, the West Antarctic Rift System, the crustal compositional boundary between East and West Antarctica, and the Cretaceous East Antarctic Rift. Previous seismic deployments have recorded earthquakes in the Antarctic interior, suggesting there are many earthquakes missing from the current catalog. We propose to use novel earthquake location techniques designed for automated detection and location using 25 years of continuous data archived at IRIS from PASSCAL experiments and permanent stations. The approach will use STA/LTA detectors on the first arrival P-wave to 90 degrees distance, Reverse Time Imaging to locate events, and beamforming at dense arrays strategically located on cratons for enhanced detection and location. The combination of detection and location techniques used in this work has not been used on teleseismic body waves, although similar methods have worked well for surface wave studies. If successful the project would provide an excellent training dataset for future scrutiny of newly discovered Antarctic seismicity with machine learning approaches and/or new targeted data collection. We plan to collaborate with Girls on Rock, a local and international organization committed to building a culturally diverse community in science, art, and wilderness exploration, in a summer field expedition and integrating computer coding into post-field scientific projects. 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; Seismic Events; Icequakes; TECTONICS; Earthquakes", "locations": "Antarctica", "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences; Polar Special Initiatives", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Schmandt, Brandon", "platforms": null, "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "EAGER: Lowering the detection threshold of Antarctic seismicity to reveal undiscovered intraplate deformation", "uid": "p0010450", "west": -180.0}, {"awards": "1443522 Wannamaker, Philip", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((166 -77.15,166.34 -77.15,166.68 -77.15,167.02 -77.15,167.36 -77.15,167.7 -77.15,168.04 -77.15,168.38 -77.15,168.72 -77.15,169.06 -77.15,169.4 -77.15,169.4 -77.22500000000001,169.4 -77.30000000000001,169.4 -77.375,169.4 -77.45,169.4 -77.525,169.4 -77.60000000000001,169.4 -77.67500000000001,169.4 -77.75,169.4 -77.825,169.4 -77.9,169.06 -77.9,168.72 -77.9,168.38 -77.9,168.04 -77.9,167.7 -77.9,167.36 -77.9,167.02 -77.9,166.68 -77.9,166.34 -77.9,166 -77.9,166 -77.825,166 -77.75,166 -77.67500000000001,166 -77.60000000000001,166 -77.525,166 -77.45,166 -77.375,166 -77.30000000000001,166 -77.22500000000001,166 -77.15))", "dataset_titles": "Erebus volcano/Ross Island Magnetotelluric (MT) data", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601493", "doi": "10.15784/601493", "keywords": "Antarctica; Mantle Melting; Mount Erebus", "people": "Hill, Graham; Wannamaker, Philip", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Erebus volcano/Ross Island Magnetotelluric (MT) data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601493"}], "date_created": "Mon, 05 Feb 2024 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "General Description: This project is intended to reveal the magma source regions, staging areas, and eruptive pathways within the active volcano Mount Erebus. This volcano is an end-member type known as phonolitic, which refers to the lava composition, and is almost purely carbon-dioxide-bearing and occurs in continental rift settings. It is in contrast to the better known water-bearing volcanoes which occur at plate boundary settings (such as Mount St Helens or Mount Fuji). Phonolitic volcanic eruptions elsewhere such as Tamboro or Vesuvius have caused more than 50,000 eruption related fatalities. Phonolites are also associated with rare earth element deposits, giving them economic interest. To illuminate the inner workings of Mount Erebus, we will cover the volcano with a dense network of geophysical probes based on magnetotelluric (MT) measurements. MT makes use of naturally occurring electromagnetic (EM) waves generated mainly by the sun as sources to provide images of the electrical conductivity structure of the Earth\u0027s interior. Conductivity is sensitive to the presence of fluids and melts in the Earth and so is well suited to understanding volcanic processes. The project is a cooperative effort between scientists from the United States, New Zealand, Japan and Canada. It implements new technology developed by the lead investigator and associates that allows such measurements to be taken on snow-covered terrains. This has applicability for frozen environments generally, such as resource exploration in the Arctic. The project supports a new post-doctoral researcher, and leverages imaging and measurement methods developed through support by other agencies and interfaced with commercial platforms. Technical Description: The investigators propose to test magmatic evolution models for Mount Erebus volcano, Antarctica, using the magnetotelluric (MT) method. The phonolite lava flow compositions on Mount Erebus are uncommon, but provide a window into the range of upper mantle source compositions and melt differentiation paths. Explosive phonolite eruptions have been known worldwide for devastating eruptions such as Tambora and Vesuvius, and commonly host rare earth element deposits. In the MT method, temporal variations in the Earth\u0027s natural electromagnetic (EM) field are used as source fields to probe the electrical resistivity structure in the depth range of 1 to 100 kilometers. This effort will consist of approximately 100 MT sites, with some concentration in the summit area. Field acquisition will take place over two field seasons. The main goals are to 1) confirm the existence and the geometry of the uppermost magma chamber thought to reside at 5-10 kilometer depths; 2) attempt to identify, in the deeper resistivity structure, the magma staging area near the crust-mantle boundary; 3) image the steep, crustal-scale, near-vertical conduit carrying magma from the mantle; 4) infer the physical and chemical state from geophysical properties of a CO2-dominated mafic shield volcano; and 5) constrain the relationships between structural and magmatic/ hydrothermal activity related to the Terror Rift. Tomographic imaging of the interior resistivity will be performed using a new inversion platform developed at Utah, based on the deformable edge finite element method, that is the best available for accommodating the steep topography of the study area. The project is an international cooperation between University of Utah, GNS Science Wellington New Zealand (G. Hill, Co-I), and Tokyo Institute of Technology Japan (Y. Ogawa, Co-I), plus participation by University of Alberta (M. Unsworth) and Missouri State University (K. Mickus). Instrument deployments will be made exclusively by helicopter. The project implements new technology that allows MT measurements to be taken on snow-covered terrains. The project supports a new post-doctoral researcher, and leverages imaging and measurement methods developed through support by other agencies and interfaced with commercial platforms.", "east": 169.4, "geometry": "POINT(167.7 -77.525)", "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e MAGNETIC/MOTION SENSORS", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "MAGNETIC FIELD; FIELD SURVEYS; Ross Island; Magnetotelluric; Mount Erebus", "locations": "Ross Island; Mount Erebus", "north": -77.15, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Wannamaker, Philip", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD SURVEYS", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -77.9, "title": "Magma Sources, Residence and Pathways of Mount Erebus Phonolitic Volcano, Antarctica, from Magnetotelluric Resistivity Structure", "uid": "p0010444", "west": 166.0}, {"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": "1916982 Teyssier, Christian; 1917176 Siddoway, Christine; 1917009 Thomson, Stuart", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-160.16 -67.15,-154.572 -67.15,-148.984 -67.15,-143.39600000000002 -67.15,-137.808 -67.15,-132.22 -67.15,-126.632 -67.15,-121.04400000000001 -67.15,-115.456 -67.15,-109.868 -67.15,-104.28 -67.15,-104.28 -68.165,-104.28 -69.18,-104.28 -70.19500000000001,-104.28 -71.21000000000001,-104.28 -72.225,-104.28 -73.24,-104.28 -74.255,-104.28 -75.27,-104.28 -76.285,-104.28 -77.3,-109.868 -77.3,-115.456 -77.3,-121.044 -77.3,-126.632 -77.3,-132.22 -77.3,-137.808 -77.3,-143.396 -77.3,-148.98399999999998 -77.3,-154.572 -77.3,-160.16 -77.3,-160.16 -76.285,-160.16 -75.27,-160.16 -74.255,-160.16 -73.24,-160.16 -72.225,-160.16 -71.21000000000001,-160.16 -70.19500000000001,-160.16 -69.18,-160.16 -68.165,-160.16 -67.15))", "dataset_titles": "Apatite Fission Track Data Marie Byrd Land; Apatite fission track thermochronology data for detrital minerals, offshore clasts, and bedrock; Byrd Ice Core Apatite Fission Track and Zircon U-Pb Data; Low Temperature Thermochronology and Geochronology Data from Sif Island Antarctica; U-Pb detrital zircon geochronological data, obtained by LA-ICP-MS", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "200333", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "in progress", "science_program": null, "title": "Apatite fission track thermochronology data for detrital minerals, offshore clasts, and bedrock", "url": ""}, {"dataset_uid": "200332", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "in progress", "science_program": null, "title": "U-Pb detrital zircon geochronological data, obtained by LA-ICP-MS", "url": ""}, {"dataset_uid": "601940", "doi": "10.15784/601940", "keywords": "Antarctica; Byrd Ice Core; Cryosphere; Fission Track Thermochronology; Marie Byrd Land; West Antarctic Ice Sheet", "people": "Thomson, Stuart", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "Byrd Ice Core", "title": "Byrd Ice Core Apatite Fission Track and Zircon U-Pb Data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601940"}, {"dataset_uid": "601941", "doi": "10.15784/601941", "keywords": "Amundsen Sea; Amundsen Sea Sector; Antarctica; Cryosphere; Fission Track Thermochronology; Thwaites Glacier", "people": "Thomson, Stuart", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Low Temperature Thermochronology and Geochronology Data from Sif Island Antarctica", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601941"}, {"dataset_uid": "601944", "doi": "10.15784/601944", "keywords": "Antarctica; Cryosphere; Fission Track Thermochronology; Marie Byrd Land; West Antarctic Ice Sheet", "people": "Thomson, Stuart", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Apatite Fission Track Data Marie Byrd Land", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601944"}], "date_created": "Wed, 19 Oct 2022 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Sediment records off the coast of Marie Byrd Land (MBL), Antarctica suggest frequent and dramatic changes in the size of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) over short (tens of thousands of years) and long (millions of years) time frames in the past. WAIS currently overrides much of MBL and covers the rugged and scoured bedrock landscape. The ice sheet carved narrow linear troughs that reach depths of two to three thousand meters below sea level as outlet glaciers flowed from the interior of the continent to the oceans. As a result, large volumes of fragmented continental bedrock were carried out to the seabed. The glaciers cut downward into a region of crystalline rocks (i.e. granite) whose temperature change as a function of rock depth happens to be significant. This strong geothermal gradient in the bedrock is favorable for determining when the bedrock experienced rapid exhumation or \"uncovering\". Analyzing the chemistry of minerals (zircon and apatite) within the eroded rocks will provide information about the rate and timing of the glacier removal of bedrock from the Antarctic continent. The research addresses the following questions: When did the land become high enough for a large ice sheet to form? What was the regional pre-glacial topography? Under what climate conditions, and at what point in the growth of an ice sheet, did glaciers begin to cut sharply into bedrock to form the narrow troughs that flow seaward? The research will lead to greater understanding of past Antarctic ice sheet fluctuations and identify precise timing of glacial incision. These results will refine ice sheet history and aid the international societal response to contemporary ice sheet change and its global consequences. The project will contribute to the training of two graduate and two undergraduate students in STEM. The objective is to clarify the onset of WAIS glacier incision and assess the evolution of Cenozoic paleo-topography. Low-temperature (T) thermochronology and Pecube 3-D thermo-kinematic modeling will be applied to date and characterize episodes of glacial erosional incision. Single-grain double- and triple-dating of zircon and apatite will reveal the detailed crustal thermal evolution of the region enabling the research team to determine the comparative topographic influences on glaciation versus bedrock uplift induced by Eocene to present tectonism/magmatism. High-T mineral thermochronometers across Marie Byrd Land (MBL) record rapid extension-related cooling at ~100 Ma from temperatures of \u003e800 degrees C to \u0026#8804; 300 degrees C. This signature forms a reference horizon, or paleogeotherm, through which the Cenozoic landscape history using low-T thermochronometers can be explored. MBL\u0027s elevated geothermal gradient, sustained during the Cenozoic, created favorable conditions for sensitive apatite and zircon low-T thermochronometers to record bedrock cooling related to glacial incision. Students will be trained to use state-of-the-art analytical facilities in Arizona and Minnesota, expanding the geo- and thermochronologic history of MBL from bedrock samples and offshore sedimentary deposits. The temperature and time data they acquire will provide constraints on paleotopography, isostasy, and the thermal evolution of MBL that will be modeled in 3D using Pecube model simulations. Within hot crust, less incision is required to expose bedrock containing the distinct thermochronometric profile; a prediction that will be tested with inverse Pecube 3-D models of the thermal field through which bedrock and detrital samples cooled. Using results from Pecube, the ICI-Hot team will examine time-varying topography formed in response to changes in erosion rates, topographic relief, geothermal gradient and/or flexural isostatic rigidity. These effects are manifestations of dynamic processes in the WAIS, including ice sheet loading, ice volume fluctuations, relative motion upon crustal faults, and magmatism-related elevation increase across the MBL dome. The project makes use of pre-existing sample collections housed at the US Polar Rock Repository, IODP\u0027s Gulf Coast Core Repository, and the Antarctic Marine Geology Research Facility. 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": -104.28, "geometry": "POINT(-132.22 -72.225)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Marie Byrd Land; GLACIERS/ICE SHEETS; Zircon; Subglacial Topography; FIELD SURVEYS; TECTONICS; Ice Sheet; Thermochronology; Apatite; ROCKS/MINERALS/CRYSTALS; Erosion; United States Of America; LABORATORY", "locations": "United States Of America; Marie Byrd Land", "north": -67.15, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences; Antarctic Earth Sciences; Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": "PHANEROZOIC", "persons": "Siddoway, Christine; Thomson, Stuart; Teyssier, Christian", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD SURVEYS; OTHER \u003e PHYSICAL MODELS \u003e LABORATORY", "repo": "in progress", "repositories": "in progress; USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -77.3, "title": "Collaborative Research: Ice sheet erosional interaction with hot geotherm in West Antarctica", "uid": "p0010386", "west": -160.16}, {"awards": "2138994 Kocot, Kevin; 2138993 Gerken, 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": "Invertebrate Zoology Collection", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "200519", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "Alabama Museum of Natural History", "science_program": null, "title": "Invertebrate Zoology Collection", "url": "https://arctosdb.org/"}], "date_created": "Tue, 20 Sep 2022 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Part I: General description Cumaceans are small crustaceans, commonly known as comma shrimp, that live in muddy or sandy bottom environments in marine waters. Cumaceans are important for the diet of fish, birds, and even grey whales. This research program is assessing cumacean diversity and adaptation in different regions of Antarctica and evaluate this organisms adaptations using molecular methods to a changing Antarctic region. The research stands to significantly advance understanding of invertebrate adaptations to cold, stable habitats and responses to changes in those habitats. In addition, this project is advancing understanding of the biology of Cumacea, a globally diverse and biologically important group of animals. Targeted training of early career students and professionals in cumacean biology, molecular techniques, and bioinformatics is included as part of the program. A workshop at the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum will also train 10 additional graduate students, with a focus on training for underrepresented groups. Project outreach also includes social media, outreach to schools in very diverse school districts in Anchorage, AK, and creation of museum events and an exhibit at the Alabama Museum of Natural History. Finally, engagement by the team in activities related to the National Ocean Science Bowl promotes broad engagement with high school students for Antarctic science learning. Part II: Technical Description The overarching goal of this research is to use cumaceans as a model system to explore invertebrate adaptations to the changing Antarctic. This project is leveraging integrative taxonomy, functional, comparative and evolutionary genomics, and phylogenetic comparative methods to understand the true diversity of Cumacea in the Antarctic. The team is identifying genes and gene families experiencing expansions, selection, or significant differential expression, generating a broadly sampled and robust phylogenetic framework for the Antarctic Cumacea based on transcriptomes and genomes, and exploring rates and timing of diversification. The project is providing important information related to gene gain/loss, positive selection, and differential gene expression as a function of adaptation of organisms to Antarctic habitats. Phylogenomic analyses is providing a robust phylogenetic framework for understudied Southern Ocean Cumacea. At the start of this project, only one Antarctic transcriptome was published for this organism. This project is generating sequenced genomes from 8 species, about 250 transcriptomes from about 70 species, and approximately 470 COI and 16S amplicon barcodes from about 100 species. Curated morphological reference collections will be deposited at the Smithsonian, Los Angeles County Natural History Museum and in the New Zealand National Water and Atmospheric Research collection at Greta Point to assist future researchers in identification of Antarctic cumaceans. Beyond the immediate scope of the current project, the genomic resources will be able to be leveraged by members of the polar biology and invertebrate zoology communities for diverse other uses ranging from PCR primer development to inference of ancestral population sizes. 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": "Benthic; SHIPS; Antarctic Peninsula; Antarctica; Biodiversity; Peracarida; ARTHROPODS; East Antarctica; Chile; BENTHIC; Cumacea; Ross Sea; Crustacea", "locations": "Antarctica; East Antarctica; Chile; Ross Sea; Antarctic Peninsula", "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems; Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems; Polar Special Initiatives", "paleo_time": "NOT APPLICABLE", "persons": "Gerken, Sarah; Kocot, Kevin", "platforms": "WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e VESSELS \u003e SURFACE \u003e SHIPS", "repo": "Alabama Museum of Natural History", "repositories": "Alabama Museum of Natural History", "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "Collaborative Research: ANT LIA: Cumacean -Omics to Measure Mode of Adaptation to Antarctica (COMMAA)", "uid": "p0010379", "west": -180.0}, {"awards": "2201129 Fischer, Karen", "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": "Crustal thicknesses in Antarctica from Sp receiver functions; Lithospheric thicknesses in Antarctica from Sp receiver functions", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601978", "doi": "10.15784/601978", "keywords": "Antarctica; Crust; Cryosphere; Moho; Receiver Function", "people": "Brown, Sarah; Fischer, Karen", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Crustal thicknesses in Antarctica from Sp receiver functions", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601978"}, {"dataset_uid": "601977", "doi": "10.15784/601977", "keywords": "Antarctica; Cryosphere; LAB; Lithosphere; Lithospheric Thickness; Receiver Function", "people": "Fischer, Karen; Brown, Sarah", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Lithospheric thicknesses in Antarctica from Sp receiver functions", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601977"}], "date_created": "Tue, 14 Jun 2022 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "The western portion of the Antarctic continent is very active in terms of plate tectonic processes that can produce significant variations in the Earths mantle temperature as well as partial melting of the mantle. In addition to these internal processes, the ice sheet in western Antarctica is melting due to Earths warming climate and adding water to the ocean. These changes in ice mass cause adjustments in rocks within the Earth\u0027s crust, allowing the surface to rebound in some locations and fall in others, altering the geographical pattern of sea-level change. However, the solid Earth response depends strongly on the strength of the rocks at a wide range of timescales which is not well-known and varies with temperature and other rock properties. This project has three primary goals. (1) It will assess how processes such as rifting, mantle upwelling and lithospheric instability have altered the lithosphere and underlying asthenosphere of western Antarctica, contributing to a planet-wide understanding of these processes. (2) It will use new measurements of mantle and crust properties to estimate the rate at which heat from the solid Earth flows into the base of the ice, which is important for modeling the rates at which the ice melts and flows. (3) It will places bounds on mantle viscosity, which is key for modeling the interaction of the solid Earth with changing ice and water masses and their implications for sea-level rise. To accomplish these goals, new resolution of crust and mantle structure will be obtained by analyzing seismic waves from distant earthquakes that have been recorded at numerous seismic stations in Antarctica. These analyses will include new combinations of seismic wave data that provide complementary information about mantle temperature, heat flow and viscosity. This project will provide educational and career opportunities to a Brown University graduate student, undergraduates from groups underrepresented in science who will come to Brown University for a summer research program, and other undergraduates. The project will bring together faculty and students for a seminar at Brown that explores the connections between the solid Earth and ice processes in Antarctica. Project research will be incorporated in outreach to local public elementary schools and high schools. This research addresses key questions about mantle processes and properties in western Antarctica. What are the relative impacts of rifting, mantle plumes, and lithospheric delamination in the evolution of the lithosphere and asthenosphere? Where is topography isostatically compensated, and where are dynamic processes such as plate flexure or tractions from 3-D mantle flow required? What are the bounds on heat flow and mantle viscosity, which represent important inputs to models of ice sheet evolution and its feedback from the solid Earth? To address these questions, this project will measure mantle and crust properties using seismic tools that have not yet been applied in Antarctica: regional-scale measurement of mantle attenuation from surface waves; Sp body wave phases to image mantle velocity gradients such as the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary; and surface wave amplification and ellipticity. The resulting models of seismic attenuation and velocity will be jointly interpreted to shed new light on temperature, bulk composition, volatile content, and partial melt, using a range of laboratory-derived constitutive laws, while considering data from mantle xenoliths. To test the relative roles of rifting, mantle plumes, and delamination, and to assess isostatic support for Antarctic topography, the predictions of these processes will be compared to the new models of crust and mantle properties. To improve bounds on western Antarctic heat flow, seismic attenuation and velocity will be used in empirical comparisons and in direct modeling of vertical temperature gradients. To better measure mantle viscosity at the timescales of glacial isostatic adjustment, frequency-dependent viscosity will be estimated from the inferred mantle conditions. This project will contribute to the education and career development of the following: a Brown University Ph.D. student, Brown undergraduates, and undergraduates from outside the university will be involved through the Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences (DEEPS) Leadership Alliance NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Site which focuses on geoscience summer research experiences for underrepresented students. The project will be the basis for a seminar at Brown that explores the connections between the solid Earth and cryosphere in Antarctica and will contribute to outreach in local public elementary and high schools. 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 MAGNETIC/MOTION SENSORS \u003e SEISMOMETERS \u003e SEISMOGRAPHS", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "USAP-DC; West Antarctica; USA/NSF; SEISMIC SURFACE WAVES; AMD; PLATE TECTONICS; Amd/Us; GLACIERS/ICE SHEETS; FIELD INVESTIGATION", "locations": "West Antarctica", "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Fischer, Karen; Dalton, Colleen", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "Probing the Western Antarctic Lithosphere and Asthenosphere with New Approaches to Imaging Seismic Wave Attenuation and Velocity", "uid": "p0010339", "west": -180.0}, {"awards": "2019719 Brook, Edward", "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": "2019-2020 Allan Hills Field Report; 2022-23 Allan Hills Intermediate Ice Core Site Selection Field Report; 2023-2024 Allan Hills End-of-Season Science Report; 2024-2025 I-187 End of season science report ; 40Ar-atm and \u03b418O data for Allan Hills ice cores ALHIC 2301, ALHIC 2302, ALHIC 2201; Airborne Radar Data: 2022-23 (CXA1) flight based HDF5/matlab format data; Airborne Radar Data: 2022-23 (CXA1) transect based (science organized) unfocused data; Airborne Radar Data: 2023-24 (CXA2) flight based data HDF5/matlab format; Airborne Radar Data: 2023-24 (CXA2) transect based (science organized) unfocused data; ALHIC2201 and ALHIC2302 3D ECM and Layer Orientations; Allan Hills 2022-23 Shallow Ice Core Field Report; Allan Hills 2025/2026 End of Season Report; Allan Hills ALHIC1901 ice core 2D bubble parameters; Allan Hills ALHIC1901 ice core 3D bubble parameters; Allan Hills ALHIC1901 ice core fabric data; Allan Hills ALHIC1901 ice core texture images; Allan Hills CMC3 ice core d18Oatm, d15N, dO2/N2, dAr/N2, d40/36Ar, d40/38Ar 2021 \u0026 2022; Allan Hills dXeKr measurements and mean ocean temperature reconstruction; Allan Hills I-188 Field Season Report 2022-2023; Allan Hills ice water stable isotope record for dD, d18O; Basal Ice Unit Thickness Mapped by the NSF COLDEX MARFA Ice Penetrating Radar; Borehole temperature measurements using distributed temperature sensing in Allan Hills, Antarctica (2022-2024); CO2 and CH4 from Allan Hills ice cores ALHIC1901, 1902, and 1903; COLDEX survey preliminary accumulation; COLDEX VHF MARFA Open Polar Radar radargrams; Continuous Flow Analysis of ALHIC 2201 and 2302: water isotopes, methane, and dust; Dust Record from Allan Hills Blue Ice: Towards Extending the Archive to 4000 ka; Firn microstructure from micro-computer tomography of PICO2303, Allan Hills Blue Ice Area, Antarctica; Fractional Thickness of Incoherent Scattering Within the Basal Unit Mapped by the NSF COLDEX MARFA Ice-Penetrating Radar; GPS stake measurements of surface ice flow at the Allan Hills, Antarctica (2023-2025); Heavy noble gases (Ar/Xe/Kr) from ALHIC1901, 1902, and 1903; Hyperspectral Images of Allan Hills Ice Core 2302 10-45m; Hyperspectral Line Scan Data from Allan Hills Ice Core ALHIC-2416; I-165-M GPR Field Report 2019-2020; Magnetotelluric measurements of crustal structure at a potential old ice drilling site on the flank of Dome A, Antarctica; MOT data (Xe/Kr) from Allan Hills ice cores ALHIC1901, 1902, and 1903; NSF COLDEX 2022-2023 Airborne Season (CXA1): Level 1B Serial Instrument Measurements; NSF COLDEX 2022-2023 Airborne Season (CXA1): Level 1 gravimeter instrument measurements; NSF COLDEX 2022-23 GNSS/IMU Level 1 instrument measurements from Dome A, East Antarctica; NSF COLDEX 2022-23 Level 2 Basal Specularity Content Profiles; NSF COLDEX 2022-23 Riegl Laser Altimeter Level 2 Geolocated Surface Elevation Triplets; NSF COLDEX 2023-2024 Airborne Season (CXA2): Level 1B ; NSF COLDEX 2023-2024 Airborne Season (CXA2): Level 1 gravimeter instrument measurements; NSF COLDEX 2023-24 GNSS/IMU Level 1 instrument measurements from Dome A, East Antarctica; NSF COLDEX 2023-24 Level 2 Basal Specularity Content Profiles; NSF COLDEX 2023-24 Riegl Laser Altimeter Level 2 Geolocated Surface Elevation Triplets; NSF COLDEX Ice Penetrating Radar Derived Grids of the Southern Flank of Dome C; NSF COLDEX/Open Polar Radar Example Delay Doppler Classification of Englacial Reflectors; NSF COLDEX Raw MARFA Ice Penetrating Radar data; O2 triple isotope record from the Allan Hills, Antarctica, ranging from 500 - 2800 ka; Oxygen and hydrogen isotope compositions and associated d-excess of ice from ALHIC1903 drilled at the Allan Hills Blue Ice Area; Rare earth elemental concentrations of leached ice core dust from ALHIC1903 drilled at the Allan Hills Blue Ice Area; Repeat ApRES survey of the Allan Hills, Antarctica (2022-2026); Replicate O-17-excess by continuous flow laser spectroscopy for an ice core section at Summit, Greenland; Rising Seas: Representations of Antarctica, Climate Change, and Sea Level Rise in U.S. Newspaper Coverage; Snapshot record of CO2 and CH4 from the Allan Hills, Antarctica, ranging from 400,000 to 3 million years old; Social network analysis to understand participant engagement in transdisciplinary team science: a large U.S. science and technology center case study; Strontium and neodymium isotope compositions of ice core dust from ALHIC1903 drilled at the Allan Hills Blue Ice Area", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "602075", "doi": "10.15784/602075", "keywords": "Allan Hills; Antarctica; Cryosphere; Geophysics; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Phase Sensitive Radar; Radar Interferometry", "people": "Strawson, Ivo; Froger Silva, Martin; Goverman, Ashley; Harris Stuart, Romilly; Higgins, John; Hudak, Abigail; Ishraque, Fairuz; Kirkpatrick, Liam; Koons, Kate; Marks Peterson, Julia; Mayo, Emalia; Meyer, Kelcie; Severinghaus, Jeffrey P.; Shackleton, Sarah; Horlings, Annika; Whittaker, Danielle; Fudge, T. J.; Farr, Tim; Epifanio, Jenna; Chalif, Jacob; Carter, Austin; Brook, Edward; Banerjee, Asmita; Shaya, Marguerite; Manos, John-Morgan; Li, An; Conway, Howard", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "COLDEX", "title": "Repeat ApRES survey of the Allan Hills, Antarctica (2022-2026)", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/602075"}, {"dataset_uid": "601933", "doi": "10.15784/601933", "keywords": "Aerogeophysics; Antarctica; Cryosphere; South Pole", "people": "Ng, Gregory; Kempf, Scott D.; Blankenship, Donald D.; Young, Duncan; Singh, Shivangini; Echeverry, Gonzalo; Chan, Kristian; Kerr, Megan E.; Greenbaum, Jamin Stevens; Young, Duncan A.; Buhl, Dillon P.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "COLDEX", "title": "NSF COLDEX 2022-23 GNSS/IMU Level 1 instrument measurements from Dome A, East Antarctica", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601933"}, {"dataset_uid": "200464", "doi": "10.18738/T8/DM10IG", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "Texas Data Repository", "science_program": null, "title": "NSF COLDEX/Open Polar Radar Example Delay Doppler Classification of Englacial Reflectors", "url": "https://doi.org/10.18738/T8/DM10IG"}, {"dataset_uid": "602026", "doi": "10.15784/602026", "keywords": "Allan Hills; Antarctica; Cryosphere; Geophysics; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; GPS; Ice Surface Velocity", "people": "Fudge, T. J.; Shaya, Marguerite; Manos, John-Morgan; Banerjee, Asmita; Brook, Edward; Carter, Austin; Chalif, Jacob; Epifanio, Jenna; Goverman, Ashley; Hudak, Abigail; Ishraque, Fairuz; Kirkpatrick, Liam; Marks Peterson, Julia; Mayo, Emalia; Meyer, Kelcie; Shackleton, Sarah", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "COLDEX", "title": "GPS stake measurements of surface ice flow at the Allan Hills, Antarctica (2023-2025)", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/602026"}, {"dataset_uid": "602055", "doi": "10.15784/602055", "keywords": "Allan Hills; Antarctica; Basal Debris; Cryosphere; Dust; Ice Core; Ice Core Dust", "people": "Chalif, Jacob; Kirkpatrick, Liam; Brook, Edward J.; Higgins, John; Shackleton, Sarah; Marks-Peterson, Julia; Carter, Austin; Choi, Alissa; Aarons, Sarah", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Dust Record from Allan Hills Blue Ice: Towards Extending the Archive to 4000 ka", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/602055"}, {"dataset_uid": "602057", "doi": "10.15784/602057", "keywords": "Allan Hills; Allan Hills Blue Ice; Antarctica; Cryosphere; Ice Core", "people": "Kurbatov, Andrei; Kurbatov, Andrei V.; Rumsey, Roisin", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "Allan Hills", "title": "Hyperspectral Images of Allan Hills Ice Core 2302 10-45m", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/602057"}, {"dataset_uid": "602025", "doi": "10.15784/602025", "keywords": "Allan Hills; Antarctica; Borehole Temperature; Cryosphere; Distributed Temperature Sensing; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Glaciology; Ice Core Records; Snow/ice; Snow/Ice", "people": "Shaya, Marguerite; Manos, John-Morgan", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "COLDEX", "title": "Borehole temperature measurements using distributed temperature sensing in Allan Hills, Antarctica (2022-2024)", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/602025"}, {"dataset_uid": "200497", "doi": "10.18738/T8/ANTMMV", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "Texas Data Repository", "science_program": null, "title": "NSF COLDEX 2022-2023 Airborne Season (CXA1): Level 1 gravimeter instrument measurements", "url": "https://doi.org/10.18738/T8/ANTMMV"}, {"dataset_uid": "602009", "doi": "10.15784/602009", "keywords": "Air Bubbles; Allan Hills; Antarctica; Bubble Number Density; Cryosphere; Ice Deformation; Microstructure; Porosity", "people": "Stoll, Nicolas; Freitag, Johannes", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "COLDEX", "title": "Allan Hills ALHIC1901 ice core 3D bubble parameters", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/602009"}, {"dataset_uid": "200470", "doi": "10.15784/601822", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Oxygen and hydrogen isotope compositions and associated d-excess of ice from ALHIC1903 drilled at the Allan Hills Blue Ice Area", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601822"}, {"dataset_uid": "601696", "doi": "10.15784/601696", "keywords": "Allan Hills; Antarctica; Ice Core", "people": "Brook, Edward J.; Shackleton, Sarah", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "Allan Hills", "title": "Allan Hills 2022-23 Shallow Ice Core Field Report", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601696"}, {"dataset_uid": "601697", "doi": "10.15784/601697", "keywords": "Allan Hills; Antarctica; Apres; Ice Core; Ice Penetrating Radar; Temperature Profiles", "people": "Conway, Howard; Brook, Edward J.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "COLDEX", "title": "2022-23 Allan Hills Intermediate Ice Core Site Selection Field Report", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601697"}, {"dataset_uid": "602046", "doi": "10.15784/602046", "keywords": "Antarctica; Cryosphere", "people": "Hudak, Abigail", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Continuous Flow Analysis of ALHIC 2201 and 2302: water isotopes, methane, and dust", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/602046"}, {"dataset_uid": "602044", "doi": "10.15784/602044", "keywords": "Allan Hills; Allan Hills Blue Ice; Antarctica; Argon-Argon Dates; Cryosphere; Water Isotopes", "people": "Higgins, John; Steig, Eric J.; Kirkpatrick, Liam; Hishamunda, Valens", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "COLDEX", "title": "40Ar-atm and \u03b418O data for Allan Hills ice cores ALHIC 2301, ALHIC 2302, ALHIC 2201", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/602044"}, {"dataset_uid": "602058", "doi": "10.15784/602058", "keywords": "Allan Hills Blue Ice; Antarctica; Cryosphere; Ice Core", "people": "Kurbatov, Andrei V.; Kurbatov, Andrei; Rumsey, Roisin", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "COLDEX", "title": "Hyperspectral Line Scan Data from Allan Hills Ice Core ALHIC-2416", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/602058"}, {"dataset_uid": "200573", "doi": "10.18738/T8/FU5QV1", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "Texas Data Repository", "science_program": null, "title": "NSF COLDEX 2023-2024 Airborne Season (CXA2): Level 1 gravimeter instrument measurements", "url": "https://dataverse.tdl.org/dataset.xhtml?persistentId=doi:10.18738/T8/FU5QV1"}, {"dataset_uid": "602063", "doi": "10.15784/602063", "keywords": "Allan Hills; Antarctica; Cryosphere", "people": "Froger, Silva; Brunner, Dusty; Haala, Andrew; Johnson, Jay; Joy, Branden; Keck, Jesse; Morton, Elizabeth; Epifanio, Jenna; Harris Stuart, Romilly; Higgins, John; Strawson, Ivo; Whittaker, Danielle; Li, An", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "COLDEX", "title": "Allan Hills 2025/2026 End of Season Report", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/602063"}, {"dataset_uid": "601895", "doi": "10.15784/601895", "keywords": "Allan Hills; Antarctica; Cryosphere; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Core Records; Noble Gas", "people": "Higgins, John", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "Allan Hills", "title": "Heavy noble gases (Ar/Xe/Kr) from ALHIC1901, 1902, and 1903", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601895"}, {"dataset_uid": "200452", "doi": "https://hdl.handle.net/11299/270020", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "UMN University Digital Conservancy", "science_program": null, "title": "Social network analysis to understand participant engagement in transdisciplinary team science: a large U.S. science and technology center case study", "url": "https://hdl.handle.net/11299/270020"}, {"dataset_uid": "601896", "doi": "10.15784/601896", "keywords": "Allan Hills; Antarctica; Ch4; CO2; Cryosphere; Glaciology; Glaciology; Ice Core Data; Ice Core Records", "people": "Higgins, John", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "Allan Hills", "title": "CO2 and CH4 from Allan Hills ice cores ALHIC1901, 1902, and 1903", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601896"}, {"dataset_uid": "601826", "doi": "10.15784/601826", "keywords": "Allan Hills; Antarctica; Cryosphere", "people": "Manos, John-Morgan; Horlings, Annika; Shaya, Marguerite; Conway, Howard", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "COLDEX", "title": "Allan Hills I-188 Field Season Report 2022-2023", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601826"}, {"dataset_uid": "601897", "doi": "10.15784/601897", "keywords": "Allan Hills; Antarctica; Cryosphere; Glaciology; Ice Core Data; MOT; Ocean Temperature; Paleoclimate; Xe/Kr", "people": "Higgins, John", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "Allan Hills", "title": "MOT data (Xe/Kr) from Allan Hills ice cores ALHIC1901, 1902, and 1903", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601897"}, {"dataset_uid": "601824", "doi": "10.15784/601824", "keywords": "Allan Hills; Antarctica; Coldex; Cryosphere", "people": "Goverman, Ashley; Carter, Austin; Manos, John-Morgan; Hudak, Abigail; Banerjee, Asmita; Morton, Elizabeth; Jayred, Michael; Mayo, Emalia; Epifanio, Jenna; Shackleton, Sarah; Brook, Edward J.; Higgins, John; Marks Peterson, Julia", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "COLDEX", "title": "2023-2024 Allan Hills End-of-Season Science Report", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601824"}, {"dataset_uid": "601819", "doi": "10.15784/601819", "keywords": "Allan Hills; Antarctica; Cryosphere", "people": "Morgan, Jacob; Epifanio, Jenna; Shackleton, Sarah; Higgins, John; Zajicek, Anna; Nesbitt, Ian; Kuhl, Tanner; Carter, Austin; Morton, Elizabeth", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "COLDEX", "title": "2019-2020 Allan Hills Field Report", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601819"}, {"dataset_uid": "601863", "doi": "10.15784/601863", "keywords": "Allan Hills; Antarctica; Cryosphere; Isotope Data", "people": "Higgins, John; Severinghaus, Jeffrey P.; Introne, Douglas; Mayewski, Paul A.; Kurbatov, Andrei V.; Brook, Edward", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "Allan Hills", "title": "Allan Hills ice water stable isotope record for dD, d18O", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601863"}, {"dataset_uid": "200461", "doi": "10.18738/T8/6T5JS6", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "Texas Data Repository", "science_program": null, "title": "NSF COLDEX 2022-23 Level 2 Basal Specularity Content Profiles", "url": "https://doi.org/10.18738/T8/6T5JS6"}, {"dataset_uid": "601863", "doi": "10.15784/601863", "keywords": "Allan Hills; Antarctica; Cryosphere; Isotope Data", "people": "Mayewski, Paul A.; Introne, Douglas; Higgins, John; Brook, Edward; Severinghaus, Jeffrey P.; Kurbatov, Andrei V.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "COLDEX", "title": "Allan Hills ice water stable isotope record for dD, d18O", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601863"}, {"dataset_uid": "601912", "doi": "10.15784/601912", "keywords": "Antarctica; Coldex; Cryosphere; East Antarctica; East Antarctic Plateau; Glaciology; Radar Echo Sounder", "people": "Yan, Shuai; Kerr, Megan E.; Singh, Shivangini; Blankenship, Donald D.; Young, Duncan A.; Vega Gonzalez, Alejandra", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "COLDEX", "title": "Basal Ice Unit Thickness Mapped by the NSF COLDEX MARFA Ice Penetrating Radar", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601912"}, {"dataset_uid": "602070", "doi": "10.15784/602070", "keywords": "Allan Hills; Antarctica; Blue Ice; Carbon Dioxide; Cryosphere; Triple Oxygen Isotopes", "people": "Banerjee, Asmita; Yan, Yuzhen", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "Allan Hills", "title": "O2 triple isotope record from the Allan Hills, Antarctica, ranging from 500 - 2800 ka", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/602070"}, {"dataset_uid": "200542", "doi": "10.7914/dmhj-4441", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "FDSN", "science_program": null, "title": "Magnetotelluric measurements of crustal structure at a potential old ice drilling site on the flank of Dome A, Antarctica", "url": "https://doi.org/10.7914/dmhj-4441"}, {"dataset_uid": "602036", "doi": "10.15784/602036", "keywords": "Allan Hills; Antarctica; Blue Ice; Carbon Dioxide; Cryosphere; Methane", "people": "Marks Peterson, Julia; Brook, Edward; Marks-Peterson, Julia; Severinghaus, Jeffrey P.; Shackleton, Sarah; Hishamunda, Valens; Kalk, Michael", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "COLDEX", "title": "Snapshot record of CO2 and CH4 from the Allan Hills, Antarctica, ranging from 400,000 to 3 million years old", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/602036"}, {"dataset_uid": "200536", "doi": "10.18738/T8/LHSVH5", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "Texas Data Repository", "science_program": null, "title": "NSF COLDEX 2023-2024 Airborne Season (CXA2): Level 1B ", "url": "https://doi.org/10.18738/T8/LHSVH5"}, {"dataset_uid": "200435", "doi": "10.18738/T8/PNBFOL", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "Texas Data Repository", "science_program": null, "title": "NSF COLDEX 2023-24 Riegl Laser Altimeter Level 2 Geolocated Surface Elevation Triplets", "url": "https://doi.org/10.18738/T8/PNBFOL"}, {"dataset_uid": "200434", "doi": "10.18738/T8/99IEOG", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "Texas Data Repository", "science_program": null, "title": "NSF COLDEX 2022-23 Riegl Laser Altimeter Level 2 Geolocated Surface Elevation Triplets", "url": "https://doi.org/10.18738/T8/99IEOG"}, {"dataset_uid": "200433", "doi": "10.18738/T8/FV6VNT", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "Texas Data Repository", "science_program": null, "title": "Airborne Radar Data: 2023-24 (CXA2) transect based (science organized) unfocused data", "url": "https://dataverse.tdl.org/dataset.xhtml?persistentId=doi:10.18738/T8/FV6VNT"}, {"dataset_uid": "200462", "doi": "10.18738/T8/KHUT1U", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "Texas Data Repository", "science_program": null, "title": "NSF COLDEX 2023-24 Level 2 Basal Specularity Content Profiles", "url": "https://doi.org/10.18738/T8/KHUT1U"}, {"dataset_uid": "200463", "doi": "10.18738/T8/M77ANK", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "Texas Data Repository", "science_program": null, "title": "NSF COLDEX Ice Penetrating Radar Derived Grids of the Southern Flank of Dome C", "url": "https://doi.org/10.18738/T8/M77ANK"}, {"dataset_uid": "601659", "doi": "10.15784/601659", "keywords": "Antarctica; Continuous Flow; Glaciology; Greenland; Ice Core Data; Laser Spectroscopy; Oxygen Isotope; Triple Oxygen Isotopes", "people": "Davidge, Lindsey", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "Hercules Dome Ice Core", "title": "Replicate O-17-excess by continuous flow laser spectroscopy for an ice core section at Summit, Greenland", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601659"}, {"dataset_uid": "601967", "doi": "10.15784/601967", "keywords": "Allan Hills; Antarctica; Cryosphere; Electrical Conductivity; Ice Core Data", "people": "Shackleton, Sarah; Carter, Austin; Kirkpatrick, Liam; Fudge, T. J.; Marks Peterson, Julia", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "COLDEX", "title": "ALHIC2201 and ALHIC2302 3D ECM and Layer Orientations", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601967"}, {"dataset_uid": "200468", "doi": "10.15784/601820", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Strontium and neodymium isotope compositions of ice core dust from ALHIC1903 drilled at the Allan Hills Blue Ice Area", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601820"}, {"dataset_uid": "200419", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "University Digital Conservancy", "science_program": null, "title": "Rising Seas: Representations of Antarctica, Climate Change, and Sea Level Rise in U.S. Newspaper Coverage", "url": "https://hdl.handle.net/11299/265195"}, {"dataset_uid": "200420", "doi": "10.18738/T8/J38CO5", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "OPR", "science_program": null, "title": "Airborne Radar Data: 2022-23 (CXA1) flight based HDF5/matlab format data", "url": "https://data.cresis.ku.edu/data/rds/2022_Antarctica_BaslerMKB/"}, {"dataset_uid": "601972", "doi": "10.15784/601972", "keywords": "Antarctica; Coldex; Cryosphere; East Antarctic Plateau; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Penetrating Radar", "people": "Young, Duncan A.; Li, Duyi; Vega Gonzalez, Alejandra; Singh, Shivangini; Blankenship, Donald D.; Yan, Shuai; Kerr, Megan E.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "COLDEX", "title": "Fractional Thickness of Incoherent Scattering Within the Basal Unit Mapped by the NSF COLDEX MARFA Ice-Penetrating Radar", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601972"}, {"dataset_uid": "200421", "doi": "10.18738/T8/J38CO5", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "OPR", "science_program": null, "title": "Airborne Radar Data: 2023-24 (CXA2) flight based data HDF5/matlab format", "url": "https://data.cresis.ku.edu/data/rds/2023_Antarctica_BaslerMKB/"}, {"dataset_uid": "602013", "doi": "10.15784/602013", "keywords": "Allan Hills; Antarctica; Cryosphere", "people": "Shackleton, Sarah", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "COLDEX", "title": "Allan Hills dXeKr measurements and mean ocean temperature reconstruction", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/602013"}, {"dataset_uid": "200432", "doi": "10.18738/T8/XPMLCC", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "Texas Data Repository", "science_program": null, "title": "Airborne Radar Data: 2022-23 (CXA1) transect based (science organized) unfocused data", "url": "https://dataverse.tdl.org/dataset.xhtml?persistentId=doi:10.18738/T8/XPMLCC"}, {"dataset_uid": "601669", "doi": "10.15784/601669", "keywords": "Allan Hills; Antarctica; GPR; Ice Core; Report", "people": "Brook, Edward J.; Nesbitt, Ian", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "Allan Hills", "title": "I-165-M GPR Field Report 2019-2020", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601669"}, {"dataset_uid": "200469", "doi": "10.15784/601821", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Rare earth elemental concentrations of leached ice core dust from ALHIC1903 drilled at the Allan Hills Blue Ice Area", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601821"}, {"dataset_uid": "601994", "doi": "10.15784/601994", "keywords": "Antarctica; Coldex; Cryosphere; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Glaciology; Radar; Snow/ice; Snow/Ice", "people": "Fudge, T. J.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "COLDEX", "title": "COLDEX survey preliminary accumulation", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601994"}, {"dataset_uid": "200498", "doi": "10.18738/T8/ANTMMV", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "Texas Data Repository", "science_program": null, "title": "NSF COLDEX 2022-2023 Airborne Season (CXA1): Level 1B Serial Instrument Measurements", "url": "https://doi.org/10.18738/T8/ANTMMV"}, {"dataset_uid": "601999", "doi": "10.15784/601999", "keywords": "Aerogeophysics; Allan Hills; Antarctica; Beardmore Glacier; Cryosphere; David Glacier; Dome A; GPS Data; South Pole; South Pole Basin", "people": "Kerr, Megan E.; Buhl, Dillon P.; Ng, Gregory; Kempf, Scott D.; Blankenship, Donald D.; Young, Duncan; Young, Duncan A.; Singh, Shivangini", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "NSF COLDEX 2023-24 GNSS/IMU Level 1 instrument measurements from Dome A, East Antarctica", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601999"}, {"dataset_uid": "602011", "doi": "10.15784/602011", "keywords": "Air Bubbles; Allan Hills; Antarctica; Bubble Number Density; Cryosphere; Ice Deformation; Microstructure; Porosity", "people": "Stoll, Nicolas", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "COLDEX", "title": "Allan Hills ALHIC1901 ice core fabric data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/602011"}, {"dataset_uid": "602002", "doi": "10.15784/602002", "keywords": "Antarctica; Cryosphere", "people": "Horlings, B. Ilyse", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Firn microstructure from micro-computer tomography of PICO2303, Allan Hills Blue Ice Area, Antarctica", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/602002"}, {"dataset_uid": "602010", "doi": "10.15784/602010", "keywords": "Air Bubbles; Allan Hills; Antarctica; Bubble Number Density; Cryosphere; Ice Deformation; Microstructure; Porosity", "people": "Stoll, Nicolas; Fudge, T. J.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "COLDEX", "title": "Allan Hills ALHIC1901 ice core 2D bubble parameters", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/602010"}, {"dataset_uid": "601945", "doi": "10.15784/601945", "keywords": "Allan Hills; Antarctica; Cryosphere", "people": "Ishraque, Fairuz; Chalif, Jacob; Epifanio, Jenna; Fudge, T. J.; Severinghaus, Jeffrey P.; Hudak, Abigail; Kirkpatrick, Liam; Shaya, Marguerite", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "COLDEX", "title": "2024-2025 I-187 End of season science report ", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601945"}, {"dataset_uid": "601768", "doi": "10.15784/601768", "keywords": "Antarctica; Coldex; East Antarctic Plateau; Glaciology; Radar Echo Sounder", "people": "Blankenship, Donald D.; Chan, Kristian; Kerr, Megan E.; Buhl, Dillon P.; Kempf, Scott D.; Young, Duncan A.; Ng, Gregory; Greenbaum, Jamin", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "COLDEX", "title": "NSF COLDEX Raw MARFA Ice Penetrating Radar data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601768"}, {"dataset_uid": "601620", "doi": "10.15784/601620", "keywords": "18O; Allan Hills; Allan Hills Blue Ice; Antarctica; Blue Ice; Delta 15N; Delta 18O; Dole Effect; Firn Thickness; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Core Chronology; Ice Core Records", "people": "Severinghaus, Jeffrey P.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "Allan Hills", "title": "Allan Hills CMC3 ice core d18Oatm, d15N, dO2/N2, dAr/N2, d40/36Ar, d40/38Ar 2021 \u0026 2022", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601620"}, {"dataset_uid": "602018", "doi": "10.15784/602018", "keywords": "Allan Hills; Allan Hills Blue Ice; Antarctica; Cryosphere; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Grain Size; Ice Core Records; Microscope; Microstructure; Subgrain Boundaries", "people": "Stoll, Nicolas", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "COLDEX", "title": "Allan Hills ALHIC1901 ice core texture images", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/602018"}, {"dataset_uid": "200465", "doi": "10.18738/T8/DM10IG", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "Texas Data Repository", "science_program": null, "title": "COLDEX VHF MARFA Open Polar Radar radargrams", "url": "https://doi.org/10.18738/T8/DM10IG"}], "date_created": "Sat, 21 May 2022 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Cores drilled through the Antarctic ice sheet provide a remarkable window on the evolution of Earth\u2019s climate and unique samples of the ancient atmosphere. The clear link between greenhouse gases and climate revealed by ice cores underpins much of the scientific understanding of climate change. Unfortunately, the existing data do not extend far enough back in time to reveal key features of climates warmer than today. COLDEX, the Center for Oldest Ice Exploration, will solve this problem by exploring Antarctica for sites to collect the oldest possible record of past climate recorded in the ice sheet. COLDEX will provide critical information for understanding how Earth\u2019s near-future climate may evolve and why climate varies over geologic time. New technologies will be developed for exploration and analysis that will have a long legacy for future research. An archive of old ice will stimulate new research for the next generations of polar scientists. COLDEX programs will galvanize that next generation of polar researchers, bring new results to other scientific disciplines and the public, and help to create a more inclusive and diverse scientific community. Knowledge of Earth\u2019s climate history is grounded in the geologic record. This knowledge is gained by measuring chemical, biological and physical properties of geologic materials that reflect elements of climate. Ice cores retrieved from polar ice sheets play a central role in this science and provide the best evidence for a strong link between atmospheric carbon dioxide and climate on geologic timescales. The goal of COLDEX is to extend the ice-core record of past climate to at least 1.5 million years by drilling and analyzing a continuous ice core in East Antarctica, and to much older times using discontinuous ice sections at the base and margin of the ice sheet. COLDEX will develop and deploy novel radar and melt-probe tools to rapidly explore the ice, use ice-sheet models to constrain where old ice is preserved, conduct ice coring, develop new analytical systems, and produce novel paleoclimate records from locations across East Antarctica. The search for Earth\u2019s oldest ice also provides a compelling narrative for disseminating information about past and future climate change and polar science to students, teachers, the media, policy makers and the public. COLDEX will engage and incorporate these groups through targeted professional development workshops, undergraduate research experiences, a comprehensive communication program, annual scientific meetings, scholarships, and broad collaboration nationally and internationally. COLDEX will provide a focal point for efforts to increase diversity in polar science by providing field, laboratory, mentoring and networking experiences for students and early career scientists from groups underrepresented in STEM, and by continuous engagement of the entire COLDEX community in developing a more inclusive scientific culture. 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; Antarctica; Amd/Us; Coldex; USAP-DC; FIELD SURVEYS; ICE DEPTH/THICKNESS", "locations": "Antarctica", "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Polar Special Initiatives; Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Brook, Edward J.; Severinghaus, Jeffrey P.; Pettit, Erin; Koutnik, Michelle; Higgins, John", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD SURVEYS", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "FDSN; OPR; Texas Data Repository; UMN University Digital Conservancy; University Digital Conservancy; USAP-DC", "science_programs": "COLDEX", "south": -90.0, "title": "Center for Oldest Ice Exploration", "uid": "p0010321", "west": -180.0}, {"awards": "0944150 Hall, Brenda", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((163.6 -77.5,163.7 -77.5,163.8 -77.5,163.9 -77.5,164 -77.5,164.1 -77.5,164.2 -77.5,164.3 -77.5,164.4 -77.5,164.5 -77.5,164.6 -77.5,164.6 -77.57,164.6 -77.64,164.6 -77.71,164.6 -77.78,164.6 -77.85,164.6 -77.92,164.6 -77.99,164.6 -78.06,164.6 -78.13,164.6 -78.2,164.5 -78.2,164.4 -78.2,164.3 -78.2,164.2 -78.2,164.1 -78.2,164 -78.2,163.9 -78.2,163.8 -78.2,163.7 -78.2,163.6 -78.2,163.6 -78.13,163.6 -78.06,163.6 -77.99,163.6 -77.92,163.6 -77.85,163.6 -77.78,163.6 -77.71,163.6 -77.64,163.6 -77.57,163.6 -77.5))", "dataset_titles": "Marshall Valley Radiocarbon Data; Marshall Valley U-Series Data; Royal Society Range Headland Moraine Belt Radiocarbon Data; Salmon Valley Radiocarbon Data", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601528", "doi": "10.15784/601528", "keywords": "234U/230Th Dating; Antarctica; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Last Glacial Maximum; Marshall Drift; Marshall Valley; MIS 6; Royal Society Range", "people": "Hall, Brenda", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Marshall Valley U-Series Data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601528"}, {"dataset_uid": "601529", "doi": "10.15784/601529", "keywords": "Algae; Antarctica; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Marshall Valley; Radiocarbon; Ross Sea Drift; Royal Society Range", "people": "Hall, Brenda", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Marshall Valley Radiocarbon Data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601529"}, {"dataset_uid": "601555", "doi": "10.15784/601555", "keywords": "Antarctica; Last Glacial Maximum; McMurdo Sound; Radiocarbon Dates; Ross Sea Drift; Royal Society Range", "people": "Hall, Brenda", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Royal Society Range Headland Moraine Belt Radiocarbon Data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601555"}, {"dataset_uid": "601556", "doi": "10.15784/601556", "keywords": "Antarctica; Last Glacial Maximum; McMurdo Sound; Radiocarbon Dates; Ross Sea Drift; Royal Society Range", "people": "Hall, Brenda", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Salmon Valley Radiocarbon Data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601556"}], "date_created": "Thu, 03 Mar 2022 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award supports a project to investigate the sensitivity of the Antarctic ice sheet (AIS) to global climate change over the last two Glacial/Interglacial cycles. The intellectual merit of the project is that despite its importance to Earth\u0027s climate system, we currently lack a full understanding of AIS sensitivity to global climate change. This project will reconstruct and precisely date the history of marine-based ice in the Ross Sea sector over the last two glacial/interglacial cycles, which will enable a better understanding of the potential driving mechanisms (i.e., sea-level rise, ice dynamics, ocean temperature variations) for ice fluctuations. This will also help to place present ice?]sheet behavior in a long-term context. During the last glacial maximum (LGM), the AIS is known to have filled the Ross Embayment and although much has been done both in the marine and terrestrial settings to constrain its extent, the chronology of the ice sheet, particularly the timing and duration of the maximum and the pattern of initial recession, remains uncertain. In addition, virtually nothing is known of the penultimate glaciation, other than it is presumed to have been generally similar to the LGM. These shortcomings greatly limit our ability to understand AIS evolution and the driving mechanisms behind ice sheet fluctuations. This project will develop a detailed record of ice extent and chronology in the western Ross Embayment for not only the LGM, but also for the penultimate glaciation (Stage 6), from well-dated glacial geologic data in the Royal Society Range. Chronology will come primarily from high-precision Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) Carbon-14 (14C) and multi-collector Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP)-Mass Spectrometry (MS) 234Uranium/230Thorium dating of lake algae and carbonates known to be widespread in the proposed field area. ", "east": 164.6, "geometry": "POINT(164.1 -77.85)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "LABORATORY; Amd/Us; AMD; USA/NSF; GLACIAL LANDFORMS; USAP-DC; Royal Society Range; GLACIER ELEVATION/ICE SHEET ELEVATION", "locations": "Royal Society Range", "north": -77.5, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Hall, Brenda; Denton, George", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e PHYSICAL MODELS \u003e LABORATORY", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -78.2, "title": "Sensitivity of the Antarctic Ice Sheet to Climate Change over the Last Two Glacial/Interglacial Cycles", "uid": "p0010302", "west": 163.6}, {"awards": "1643248 Hall, Brenda", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((163.3 -77.8,163.43 -77.8,163.56 -77.8,163.69 -77.8,163.82 -77.8,163.95 -77.8,164.08 -77.8,164.21 -77.8,164.34 -77.8,164.47 -77.8,164.6 -77.8,164.6 -77.85,164.6 -77.9,164.6 -77.95,164.6 -78,164.6 -78.05,164.6 -78.1,164.6 -78.15,164.6 -78.2,164.6 -78.25,164.6 -78.3,164.47 -78.3,164.34 -78.3,164.21 -78.3,164.08 -78.3,163.95 -78.3,163.82 -78.3,163.69 -78.3,163.56 -78.3,163.43 -78.3,163.3 -78.3,163.3 -78.25,163.3 -78.2,163.3 -78.15,163.3 -78.1,163.3 -78.05,163.3 -78,163.3 -77.95,163.3 -77.9,163.3 -77.85,163.3 -77.8))", "dataset_titles": "Marshall Valley Radiocarbon Data; Marshall Valley U-Series Data; Pyramid Trough Radiocarbon Data; Walcott Glacier area radiocarbon data; Walcott Glacier Exposure Data", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601616", "doi": "10.15784/601616", "keywords": "Antarctica; Beryllium-10; Exposure Age; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; McMurdo Sound; Royal Society Range; Walcott Glacier", "people": "Hall, Brenda", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Walcott Glacier Exposure Data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601616"}, {"dataset_uid": "601528", "doi": "10.15784/601528", "keywords": "234U/230Th Dating; Antarctica; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Last Glacial Maximum; Marshall Drift; Marshall Valley; MIS 6; Royal Society Range", "people": "Hall, Brenda", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Marshall Valley U-Series Data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601528"}, {"dataset_uid": "601529", "doi": "10.15784/601529", "keywords": "Algae; Antarctica; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Marshall Valley; Radiocarbon; Ross Sea Drift; Royal Society Range", "people": "Hall, Brenda", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Marshall Valley Radiocarbon Data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601529"}, {"dataset_uid": "601614", "doi": "10.15784/601614", "keywords": "Algae; Antarctica; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Pyramid Trough; Radiocarbon; Radiocarbon Dates; Ross Sea Drift; Royal Society Range", "people": "Hall, Brenda", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Pyramid Trough Radiocarbon Data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601614"}, {"dataset_uid": "601615", "doi": "10.15784/601615", "keywords": "Algae; Antarctica; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Howchin Glacier; Radiocarbon; Radiocarbon Dates; Ross Sea Drift; Royal Society Range; Walcott Glacier", "people": "Hall, Brenda", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Walcott Glacier area radiocarbon data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601615"}], "date_created": "Thu, 03 Mar 2022 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Hall/1643248 This award supports a project to reconstruct the behavior of a portion of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (the Ross Ice Sheet), using glacial geologic mapping and radiocarbon dating of algal deposits contained in glacial moraines, at the end of the last glacial period. The results will be compared with other dating methods that will be used on alpine glaciers that terminated in the mountains of the Royal Society Range in East Antarctica during the last glacial maximum and whose landforms intersect with those of the Ross Ice Sheet. Results from this comparison will contribute to a better understanding of the Antarctic ice sheet during the most recent global warming that ended the last ice age. This period is of interest since it will help inform our understanding of Antarctic ice sheet behavior in a future climate warming. Such data also will help inform models that attempt to simulate not only the behavior of the ice sheet during the end of the last ice age, but also its future response to elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide. The work will contribute to the education and training of both graduate and undergraduate students and results from the work will be incorporated in classes at the University of Maine. Results derived from the research will be disseminated to the public through lectures and visits to K-12 classrooms and data from this project will be downloadable from a University of Maine web site, as well as from public data repositories. The Antarctic Ice Sheet exerts a key control on global sea levels, both past and future, and strongly influences Southern Hemisphere and even global climate and ocean circulation. And yet a complete understanding of the evolution of the ice sheet over the last glacial cycle and of the mechanisms that caused it to advance and retreat is still lacking. Of particular interest is the response of the Antarctic Ice Sheet to the global warming that ended the last ice age, because it yields important clues about likely future ice-sheet behavior under a warming climate. In this project, scientists will reconstruct the thinning history of the Antarctic Ice Sheet in the Ross Sea sector during the last glacial/interglacial transition on the headlands of the southern Royal Society Range. They will use a combination of glacial geomorphological mapping and radiocarbon dating of algal deposits enclosed within recessional moraines. Finally, this record will be compared with a beryllium- and radiocarbon-dated chronology that will be produced of adjacent independent alpine glaciers that terminated on land during the last glacial maximum and whose deposits show cross-cutting relationships with those of the ice sheet. Results from this comparison will bear on the behavior of the Antarctic Ice Sheet during the termination of the last ice age. This work will support six students, including at least three undergraduates, and involves field work in the Antarctic.", "east": 164.6, "geometry": "POINT(163.95 -78.05)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "GLACIER ELEVATION/ICE SHEET ELEVATION; Royal Society Range; USA/NSF; USAP-DC; Amd/Us; AMD; LABORATORY; GLACIAL LANDFORMS", "locations": "Royal Society Range", "north": -77.8, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology; Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Hall, Brenda; Denton, George", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e PHYSICAL MODELS \u003e LABORATORY", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -78.3, "title": "Response of the Antarctic Ice Sheet to the last great global warming", "uid": "p0010301", "west": 163.3}, {"awards": "2039432 Grapenthin, Ronni", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((165.5 -77.1,165.91 -77.1,166.32 -77.1,166.73 -77.1,167.14 -77.1,167.55 -77.1,167.96 -77.1,168.37 -77.1,168.78 -77.1,169.19 -77.1,169.6 -77.1,169.6 -77.18,169.6 -77.26,169.6 -77.34,169.6 -77.42,169.6 -77.5,169.6 -77.58,169.6 -77.66,169.6 -77.74,169.6 -77.82,169.6 -77.9,169.19 -77.9,168.78 -77.9,168.37 -77.9,167.96 -77.9,167.55 -77.9,167.14 -77.9,166.73 -77.9,166.32 -77.9,165.91 -77.9,165.5 -77.9,165.5 -77.82,165.5 -77.74,165.5 -77.66,165.5 -77.58,165.5 -77.5,165.5 -77.42,165.5 -77.34,165.5 -77.26,165.5 -77.18,165.5 -77.1))", "dataset_titles": "Erebus GPS timeseries ", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601471", "doi": "10.15784/601471", "keywords": "Antarctica; GPS; Mount Erebus; Ross Island", "people": "Grapenthin, Ronni", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Erebus GPS timeseries ", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601471"}], "date_created": "Fri, 03 Sep 2021 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Nontechnical Abstract Mount Erebus volcano on Ross Island, Antarctica, is the southernmost active volcano on the planet. It provides a natural laboratory to study a volcanic system that has been in a continuous state of activity with a persistent lava lake over at least the last 40 years. Worldwide only four other volcanoes with such long-lived lava lakes exist: Erta Ale, Ethiopia; Kilauea, Hawaii; Nyiragongo, Congo; and Ambrym, Vanuatu. These volcanoes are a rare anomaly that provide a window into the underlying magmatic system and behavior. Erebus is of particular interest as it cycles through phases of very explosive activity every 20 thousand years. This project will investigate interactions between the magmatic system, the rift it is located in, and the impact of the gravitational load the volcano imposes on the underlying crust and its own magmatic system. Possible interactions between these factors may explain the changes in activity. The project will analyze geophysical data that have been collected at Erebus over at least the last two decades. The results of this work will be available to the public and scientific community and inform geodynamic models in this region. The project funds an early-career scientist and a graduate student at New Mexico Tech and contributes to the development of the next generation of scientists. Technical Abstract The proposed work targets scientific questions recently formulated by the community during the 2016 NSF-sponsored Scientific Drivers and Future of Mount Erebus Volcano Observatory workshop. The location and geometry of the magmatic plumbing from vent to lower crust system remain poorly constrained, particularly below 1 km depth. The style and causes for changes in volcanic and magmatic activity over the short term (minutes to hours) and on the decadal scale remains enigmatic. Two decades of campaign and continuous GPS data on Ross Island will inform about the longer term dynamics of both, Ross Island growing within the Terror Rift, and Erebus? deeper magmatic system. This project will organize and analyze all existing GPS data for Ross Island, and interpret any anomalies in the resulting time series. These activities require organization, consistent processing and interpretation/modeling of the existing ~20 years of GPS data, which include campaign, continuous, and high-rate GPS observations. We will generate these position time series in a consistent local reference frame and make the results, including models of transient deformation available to the community. Volcanic, tectonic and isostatic adjustment related deformation will be modeled to place Erebus in a broad volcano-tectonic framework of West Antarctica. During the data analysis phase, the utility of existing GPS data for reflection studies of snow and sea-level dynamics will also be evaluated.", "east": 169.6, "geometry": "POINT(167.55 -77.5)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Ross Island; TECTONICS; USAP-DC; Amd/Us; AMD; CRUSTAL MOTION; USA/NSF; FIELD SURVEYS", "locations": "Ross Island", "north": -77.1, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Instrumentation and Facilities; Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Grapenthin, Ronni", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD SURVEYS", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -77.9, "title": "Collaborative Research: Multi-Parameter Geophysical Constraints on Volcano Dynamics of Mt. Erebus and Ross Island, Antarctica", "uid": "p0010255", "west": 165.5}, {"awards": "2046800 Thurber, Andrew", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((162 -77,162.6 -77,163.2 -77,163.8 -77,164.4 -77,165 -77,165.6 -77,166.2 -77,166.8 -77,167.4 -77,168 -77,168 -77.1,168 -77.2,168 -77.3,168 -77.4,168 -77.5,168 -77.6,168 -77.7,168 -77.8,168 -77.9,168 -78,167.4 -78,166.8 -78,166.2 -78,165.6 -78,165 -78,164.4 -78,163.8 -78,163.2 -78,162.6 -78,162 -78,162 -77.9,162 -77.8,162 -77.7,162 -77.6,162 -77.5,162 -77.4,162 -77.3,162 -77.2,162 -77.1,162 -77))", "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Sat, 21 Aug 2021 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Part I: Non-technical description: Methane is one of the more effective atmospheric gases at retaining heat in the lower atmosphere and the earth\u2019s crust contains large quantities of methane. Research that identifies the factors that control methane\u2019s release into the atmosphere is critical to understanding and mitigating climate change. One of the most effective natural processes that inhibits the release of methane from aquatic habitats is a community of bacteria and Archaea (microbes) that use the chemical energy stored in methane, transforming methane into less-climate-sensitive compounds. The amount of methane that may be released in Antarctica is unknown, and it is unclear which microbes consume the methane before it is released from the ocean in Antarctica. This project will study one of the few methane seeps known in Antarctica to advance our understanding of which microbes inhibit the release of methane in marine environments. The research will also identify if methane is a source of energy for other Antarctic organisms. The researchers will analyze the microbial species associated with methane consumption over several years of field and laboratory research based at an Antarctic US station, McMurdo. This project clearly expands the fundamental knowledge of Antarctic systems, biota, and processes outlined as a goal in the Antarctic solicitation. This research communicates and produces educational material for K-12, college, and graduate students to inspire and inform the public about the role Antarctic ecosystems play in the global environment. This project also provides a young professor an opportunity to establish himself as an expert in the field of Antarctic microbial ecology to help solidify his academic career. Part II: Technical description: Microbes act as filter to methane release from the ocean into the atmosphere, where microbial chemosynthetic production harvests the chemical energy stored in this greenhouse gas. In spite of methane reservoirs in Antarctica being as large as Arctic permafrost, we know only a little about the taxa or dominant processes involved in methane consumption in Antarctica. The principal investigator will undertake a genomic and transcriptomic study of microbial communities developed and still developing after initiation of methane seepage in McMurdo Sound. An Antarctic methane seep was discovered at this location in 2012 after it began seeping in 2011. Five years after it began releasing methane, the methane-oxidizing microbial community was underdeveloped and methane was still escaping from the seafloor. This project will be essential in elucidating the response of microbial communities to methane release and identify how methane oxidation occurs within the constraints of the low polar temperatures. This investigation is based on 4 years of field sampling and will establish a time series of the development of cold seep microbial communities in Antarctica. A genome-to-ecosystem approach will establish how the Southern Ocean microbial community is adapted to prevent methane release into the ocean. As methane is an organic carbon source, results from this study will have implications for the Southern Ocean carbon cycle. Two graduate students will be trained and supported with undergraduates participating in laboratory activities. The researcher aims to educate, inspire and communicate about Antarctic methane seeps to a broad community. A mixed-media approach, with videos, art and education in schools will be supported in collaboration with a filmmaker, teachers and a visual artist. Students will be trained in filmmaking and K-12 students from under-represented communities will be introduced to Antarctic science through visual arts. 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": 168.0, "geometry": "POINT(165 -77.5)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "AMD; USA/NSF; USAP-DC; BACTERIA/ARCHAEA; McMurdo Sound; BENTHIC; FIELD SURVEYS; Amd/Us; ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONS", "locations": "McMurdo Sound", "north": -77.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Thurber, Andrew", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD SURVEYS", "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": -78.0, "title": "CAREER: Ecosystem Impacts of Microbial Succession and Production at Antarctic Methane Seeps", "uid": "p0010250", "west": 162.0}, {"awards": "2122248 Waters, Laura", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-127.143608 -77.1380528,-127.1012394 -77.1380528,-127.0588708 -77.1380528,-127.0165022 -77.1380528,-126.9741336 -77.1380528,-126.931765 -77.1380528,-126.8893964 -77.1380528,-126.8470278 -77.1380528,-126.8046592 -77.1380528,-126.7622906 -77.1380528,-126.719922 -77.1380528,-126.719922 -77.14809141,-126.719922 -77.15813002,-126.719922 -77.16816863,-126.719922 -77.17820724,-126.719922 -77.18824585,-126.719922 -77.19828446,-126.719922 -77.20832307,-126.719922 -77.21836168,-126.719922 -77.22840029,-126.719922 -77.2384389,-126.7622906 -77.2384389,-126.8046592 -77.2384389,-126.8470278 -77.2384389,-126.8893964 -77.2384389,-126.931765 -77.2384389,-126.9741336 -77.2384389,-127.0165022 -77.2384389,-127.0588708 -77.2384389,-127.1012394 -77.2384389,-127.143608 -77.2384389,-127.143608 -77.22840029,-127.143608 -77.21836168,-127.143608 -77.20832307,-127.143608 -77.19828446,-127.143608 -77.18824585,-127.143608 -77.17820724,-127.143608 -77.16816863,-127.143608 -77.15813002,-127.143608 -77.14809141,-127.143608 -77.1380528))", "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Thu, 19 Aug 2021 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2). The geologic record reveals that volcanic activity increases when glaciers retreat and major ice sheets thin. This relationship produces a positive feedback mechanism where the uptick in volcanism increases greenhouse gasses concentrations, leading to climate warming and further deglaciation. Although the pattern between volcanism and deglaciation is observed in the geologic record, the exact mechanism(s) by which glaciers impact a volcanic plumbing system is unknown. This project focuses on Mount Waesche, a volcano in West Antarctica, that frequently erupts during warm, interglacial periods and undergoes a period of less activity during cold, glacial periods. This project will examine compositions of the rocks and minerals from Mount Waesche to determine magma storage depths, allowing the investigators to understand how magma plumbing systems change in response to glacial cycles. These results will be compared with geodynamic simulations to understand the physics behind the effects of deglaciation on the magmatic plumbing systems within Earth\u2019s crust. The investigators will additionally partner with Mentoring Kids Works to develop several Polar and Earth Science Educational Modules aimed at improving reading skills in third grade students in New Mexico. The proposed Polar and Earth Science program consists of modules that include readings of books introducing students to Earth and Polar science themes, paired with Earth and Polar Science activities, followed by simple experiments, where students make predictions and collect data. Information required to implement our Polar and Earth Science curriculum will be made available online. Isotopic and sedimentary datasets reveal that volcanic activity typically increases during interglacial periods. However, the physical mechanisms through which changes in the surface loading affect volcanic magmatic plumbing systems remain unconstrained. Recently generated 40Ar/39Ar eruption ages indicate that 86% of the dated samples from Mt. Waesche, a late Quaternary volcano in Marie Byrd land, correlate with interglacial periods, suggesting this volcano uniquely responds to changes in the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. We propose to combine the petrology of Mount Waesche\u2019s volcanic record, constraints on changing ice loads through time, and geodynamic modelling to: (1) Determine how pre-eruptive storage conditions change during glacial and interglacial periods using whole rock and mineral compositions of volcanic rocks; (2) Conduct geodynamic modeling to elucidate the relationship between lithospheric structure, temporal variations in ice sheet thickness, and subsequent changes in crustal stresses and magmatic transport and, therefore, the mechanism(s) by which deglaciation impacts magmatic plumbing systems; (3) Use the outcomes of objectives (1) and (2) to provide new constraints on the changes in ice sheet thickness through time that could plausibly trigger future volcanic and magmatic activity in West Antarctica. This collaborative approach will provide a novel methodology to determine prior magnitudes and rates of ice load changes within the Marie Byrd Land region of Antarctica. Lastly, estimates of WAIS elevation changes from this study will be compared to ongoing studies at Mount Waesche focused on constraining last interglacial ice sheet draw down using cosmogenic exposure ages obtained from shallow drilling. The scope of work also includes a partnership with Mentoring Kids Works to develop several Polar and Earth Science Educational Modules aimed at improving reading skills in third grade students in New Mexico. The proposed Polar and Earth Science program consists of modules that include readings of books introducing students to Earth and Polar science themes, paired with Earth and Polar Science activities, followed by simple experiments, where students make predictions and collect data. Information required to implement our Polar and Earth Science curriculum will be made available online. 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": -126.719922, "geometry": "POINT(-126.931765 -77.18824585)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Mt. Waesche; GEOCHEMISTRY; LITHOSPHERIC PLATE MOTION; STRESS; Amd/Us; West Antarctica; Executive Committee Range; NOT APPLICABLE; USAP-DC; AMD; MAJOR ELEMENTS; USA/NSF; ROCKS/MINERALS/CRYSTALS", "locations": "West Antarctica; Mt. Waesche; Executive Committee Range", "north": -77.1380528, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Waters, Laura; Naliboff, John; Zimmerer, Matthew", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE", "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": -77.2384389, "title": "Integrating petrologic records and geodynamics: Quantifying the effects of glaciation on crustal stress and eruptive patterns at Mt. Waesche, Executive Committee Range, Antarctica", "uid": "p0010248", "west": -127.143608}, {"awards": "2022920 Zhan, Zhongwen", "bounds_geometry": "POINT(180 -90)", "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Wed, 30 Jun 2021 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This EAGER award will explore the Distributed Acoustic Sensing emerging technology that transforms a single optical fiber into a massively multichannel seismic array. This technology may provide a scalable and affordable way to deploy dense seismic networks. Experimental Distributed Acoustic Sensing equipment will be tested in the Antarctic exploiting unused (dark) strands in the existing fiber-optic cable that connects the U.S. Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station to the Remote Earth Science and Seismological Observatory (SPRESSO) located about 7.5-km from the main station. Upon processing the seismic signals, the Distributed Acoustic Sensing may provide a new tool to structurally image firn, glacial ice, and glacial bedrock. Learning how Distributed Acoustic Sensing would work on the ice sheet, scientists can then check seismological signals propagating through the Earth\u0027s crust and mantle variously using natural icequakes and earthquakes events in the surrounding area. The investigators propose to convert at least 8 km of pre-existing fiber optic cable at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole station into more than 8000 sensors to explore the potential of Distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) as a breakthrough data engine for polar seismology. The DAS array will operate for about one year, allowing them to (1) evaluate and calibrate the performance of the DAS technology in the extreme cold, very low noise (including during the exceptionally quiet austral winter) polar plateau environment; (2) record and analyze local ambient and transient signals from ice, anthropogenic signals, ocean microseism, atmospheric and other processes, as well as to study local, regional, and teleseismic tectonic events; (3) structurally image the firn, glacial ice, glacial bed, crust, and mantle, variously using active sources, ambient seismic noise, and natural icequake and earthquake events. 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(180 -90)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "AMD; South Pole Station; GLACIERS/ICE SHEETS; NSF/USA; Amd/Us; SEISMIC SURFACE WAVES; SEISMOLOGICAL STATIONS; USAP-DC", "locations": "South Pole Station", "north": -90.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Instrumentation and Facilities", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Zhan, Zhongwen", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e PERMANENT LAND SITES \u003e SEISMOLOGICAL STATIONS", "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "EAGER: Pilot Fiber Seismic Networks at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station", "uid": "p0010214", "west": 180.0}, {"awards": "1848887 McClintock, James", "bounds_geometry": "POINT(-64.0527 -64.77423)", "dataset_titles": "2020 and 2023 Underwater video transect community analysis data; 2020 daily seawater carbonate chemistry; 2023 daily seawater carbonate chemistry; Amphipod counts from 2020 ocean acidification experiment; Feeding of Gondogeneia antarctica maintained under ambient and low pH treatments; Palatability of Desmarestia menziesii extracts from ambient and low pH treatments; Palatability of Palmaria decipiens thallus from ambient and low pH treatments; Underwater transect videos used for 2020 and 2023 community analyses", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601793", "doi": "10.15784/601793", "keywords": "Antarctica; Cryosphere; Palmer Station", "people": "Amsler, Charles", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Feeding of Gondogeneia antarctica maintained under ambient and low pH treatments", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601793"}, {"dataset_uid": "601700", "doi": "10.15784/601700", "keywords": "Antarctica; Palmer Station", "people": "Amsler, Charles", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "2020 daily seawater carbonate chemistry", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601700"}, {"dataset_uid": "601702", "doi": "10.15784/601702", "keywords": "Antarctica; Palmer Station", "people": "Amsler, Charles", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Amphipod counts from 2020 ocean acidification experiment", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601702"}, {"dataset_uid": "601796", "doi": "10.15784/601796", "keywords": "Antarctica; Biota; Cryosphere; Oceans; Southern Ocean; Video Transects", "people": "Amsler, Charles", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Underwater transect videos used for 2020 and 2023 community analyses", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601796"}, {"dataset_uid": "601792", "doi": "10.15784/601792", "keywords": "Antarctica; Cryosphere; Palmer Station", "people": "Amsler, Charles", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Palatability of Palmaria decipiens thallus from ambient and low pH treatments", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601792"}, {"dataset_uid": "601701", "doi": "10.15784/601701", "keywords": "Antarctica; Palmer Station", "people": "Amsler, Charles", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "2023 daily seawater carbonate chemistry", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601701"}, {"dataset_uid": "601791", "doi": "10.15784/601791", "keywords": "Antarctica; Cryosphere; Palmer Station", "people": "Amsler, Charles", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Palatability of Desmarestia menziesii extracts from ambient and low pH treatments", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601791"}, {"dataset_uid": "601787", "doi": "10.15784/601787", "keywords": "Antarctica; Antarctic Peninsula; Biota; Cryosphere; Species Abundance; Video Transects", "people": "Amsler, Charles", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "2020 and 2023 Underwater video transect community analysis data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601787"}], "date_created": "Mon, 21 Jun 2021 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Undersea forests of seaweeds dominate the shallow waters of the central and northern coast of the western Antarctic Peninsula and provide critical structural habitat and carbon resources (food) for a host of marine organisms. Most of the seaweeds are chemically defended against herbivores yet support very high densities of herbivorous shrimp-like grazers (crustaceans, primarily amphipods) which greatly benefit their hosts by consuming filamentous and microscopic algae that otherwise overgrow the seaweeds. The amphipods benefit from the association with the chemically defended seaweeds by gaining an associational refuge from fish predation. The project builds on recent work that has demonstrated that several species of amphipods that are key members of crustacean assemblages associated with the seaweeds suffer significant mortality when chronically exposed to increased seawater acidity (reduced pH) and elevated temperatures representative of near-future oceans. By simulating these environmental conditions in the laboratory at Palmer Station, Antarctica, the investigators will test the overall hypothesis that ocean acidification and ocean warming will play a significant role in structuring crustacean assemblages associated with seaweeds. Broader impacts include expanding fundamental knowledge of the impacts of global climate change by focusing on a geographic region of the earth uniquely susceptible to climate change. This project will also further the NSF goals of training new generations of scientists and of making scientific discoveries available to the general public. This includes training graduate students and early career scientists with an emphasis on diversity, presentations to K-12 groups and the general public, and a variety of social media-based outreach programs. The project will compare population and assemblage-wide impacts of natural (ambient), carbon dioxide enriched, and elevated temperature seawater on assemblages of seaweed-associated crustacean grazers. Based on prior results, it is likely that some species will be relative \"winners\" and some will be relative \"losers\" under the changed conditions. The project will then aim to carry out measurements of growth, calcification, mineralogy, the incidence of molts, and biochemical and energetic body composition for two key amphipod \"winners\" and two key amphipod \"losers\". These measurements will allow an assessment of what factors drive species-specific enhanced or diminished performance under conditions of ocean acidification and sea surface warming. The project will expand on what little is known about prospective impacts of changing conditions on benthic marine Crustacea, in Antarctica, a taxonomic group that faces the additional physiological stressor of molting. The project is likely to provide additional insight on the indirect regulation of the seaweeds that comprise Antarctic undersea forests that provide key architectural components of the coastal marine ecosystem. 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": -64.0527, "geometry": "POINT(-64.0527 -64.77423)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "USA/NSF; Amd/Us; AMD; COASTAL; BENTHIC; USAP-DC; Palmer Station; ANIMALS/INVERTEBRATES; FIELD INVESTIGATION; MACROALGAE (SEAWEEDS)", "locations": "Palmer Station", "north": -64.77423, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Amsler, Charles; McClintock, James", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -64.77423, "title": "Assemblage-wide effects of ocean acidification and ocean warming on ecologically important macroalgal-associated crustaceans in Antarctica", "uid": "p0010193", "west": -64.0527}, {"awards": "1543399 Peng, Zhigang; 1543286 Walter, Jacob; 1745135 Walter, Jacob", "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": "Wed, 19 May 2021 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "The continent of Antarctica has approximately the same surface area as the continental United States, though we know significantly less about its underlying geology and seismic activity. Multinational investments in geophysical infrastructure over the last few decades, especially broadband seismometers operating for several years, are allowing us to observe many interesting natural phenomena, including iceberg calving, ice stream slip, and tectonic earthquakes. To specifically leverage those past investments, we will analyze past and current data to gain a better understanding of Antarctic seismicity. Our recent research revealed that certain large earthquakes occurring elsewhere in the world triggered ice movement near various stations throughout Antarctica. We plan to conduct an exhaustive search of the terabytes of available data, using cutting-edge computational techniques, to uncover additional evidence for ice crevassing, ice stream slip, and earth movement during earthquakes. One specific focus of our research will include investigating whether some of these phenomena may be triggered by external influences, including passing surface waves from distant earthquakes, ocean tides, or seasonal melt. We plan to produce a catalog of the identified activity and share it publicly, so the public and researchers can easily access it. To reach a broader audience, we will present talks to high school classes, including Advanced Placement classes, in the Austin, Texas and Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan areas with emphasis on general aspects of seismic hazard, climate variability, and the geographies of Antarctica. This project will provide research opportunities for undergraduates, training for graduate students, and support for an early-career scientist. In recent years, a new generation of geodetic and seismic instrumentation has been deployed as permanent stations throughout Antarctica (POLENET), in addition to stations deployed for shorter duration (less than 3 years) experiments (e.g. AGAP/TAMSEIS). These efforts are providing critical infrastructure needed to address fundamental questions about both crustal-scale tectonic structures and ice sheets, and their interactions. We plan to conduct a systematic detection of tectonic and icequake activities in Antarctica, focusing primarily on background seismicity, remotely-triggered seismicity, and glacier slip events. Our proposed tasks include: (1) Identification of seismicity throughout the Antarctic continent for both tectonic and ice sources. (2) An exhaustive search for additional triggered events in Antarctica during the last ~15 years of global significant earthquakes. (3) Determination of triggered source mechanisms and whether those triggered events also occur at other times, by analyzing years of data using a matched-filter analysis (where the triggered local event is used to detect similar events). (4) Further analysis of GPS measurements over a ~5.5 year period from Whillans Ice Plain, which suggests that triggering of stick-slip events occurred after the largest earthquakes. An improved knowledge of how the Antarctic ice sheet responds to external perturbations such as dynamic stresses from large distant earthquakes and recent ice unloading could lead to a better understanding of ice failure and related dynamic processes. By leveraging the vast logistical investment to install seismometers in Antarctica over the last decade, our project will build an exhaustive catalog of tectonic earthquakes, icequakes, calving events, and any other detectable near-surface seismic phenomena.", "east": 180.0, "geometry": "POINT(0 -89.999)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Antarctica; GLACIERS/ICE SHEETS; USA/NSF; TECTONICS; Amd/Us; AMD; USAP-DC; SEISMOLOGICAL STATIONS", "locations": "Antarctica", "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences; Antarctic Earth Sciences; Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Walter, Jacob; Peng, Zhigang", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e PERMANENT LAND SITES \u003e SEISMOLOGICAL STATIONS", "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "Collaborative Research: Triggering of Antarctic Icequakes, Slip Events, and other Tectonic Phenomena by Distant Earthquakes", "uid": "p0010182", "west": -180.0}, {"awards": "1643795 Mikesell, Thomas", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-134.5 -75,-130.85 -75,-127.2 -75,-123.55 -75,-119.9 -75,-116.25 -75,-112.6 -75,-108.95 -75,-105.3 -75,-101.65 -75,-98 -75,-98 -75.85,-98 -76.7,-98 -77.55,-98 -78.4,-98 -79.25,-98 -80.1,-98 -80.95,-98 -81.8,-98 -82.65,-98 -83.5,-101.65 -83.5,-105.3 -83.5,-108.95 -83.5,-112.6 -83.5,-116.25 -83.5,-119.9 -83.5,-123.55 -83.5,-127.2 -83.5,-130.85 -83.5,-134.5 -83.5,-134.5 -82.65,-134.5 -81.8,-134.5 -80.95,-134.5 -80.1,-134.5 -79.25,-134.5 -78.4,-134.5 -77.55,-134.5 -76.7,-134.5 -75.85,-134.5 -75))", "dataset_titles": "2D shear-wave velocity model across the West Antarctic Rift System from POLENET-ANET seismic data", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601423", "doi": "10.15784/601423", "keywords": "Antarctica; Crust; Moho; Seismic Tomography; Seismology; Seismometer; Shear Wave Velocity; Surface Wave Dispersion; West Antarctica", "people": "Mikesell, Dylan", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "POLENET", "title": "2D shear-wave velocity model across the West Antarctic Rift System from POLENET-ANET seismic data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601423"}], "date_created": "Fri, 15 Jan 2021 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Non-technical description: Global sea-level rise is a significant long-term risk for human population and infrastructure. To mitigate and properly react to this threat, society needs accurate predictions of future sea-level variations. The largest uncertainty in these predictions comes from estimating the amount of ice that melts from polar ice sheets, especially from the West Antarctica ice sheet. Right now, scientists estimate the mass variations of ice sheets in two ways. The first way is using airplanes and repeated flybys to monitor the variation of ice sheet topography and estimate the gain or loss of ice. The second way is using satellite measurements to track gravity fluctuations that correlate with the variation of ice sheet volume. Both techniques work, but both have limitations including cost and resolution. This project uses a passive seismic monitoring method to estimate the change in weight of the ice pressing on the Earth\u0027s crust. One advantage of this seismic method is that vibrations are recorded continuously; therefore, it is possible to monitor the changes of the ice sheet with better temporal resolution. The sensitivity of the seismic waves also provides a picture of the structure of the interface between the ice and the rocks beneath the ice, where most of the dynamics and changes of the ice sheet take place. This information is difficult to obtain with other methods. In this project, the researchers will process and analyze previously acquired seismic data from the POLENET-ANET array, measuring variations in seismic wave speed through time to assess the amount of ice lost or gained. They will also determine important information about the mechanical properties at the ice-rock interface. The project will support a postdoctoral scholar to develop this new branch of seismological research and more generally the field of environmental seismology. This project will also support the education of a PhD student who will work in close collaboration with the postdoctoral scholar and the two researchers. Technical description: The researchers plan to monitor ice-mass variations in the West-Antarctic ice sheet by measuring and interpreting seismic velocity changes in crust beneath the ice sheet. This project will extend similar work already completed on the Greenland ice sheet, where ice-mass fluctuations were found to lead to poroelastic changes in the crust and modify the seismic-wave velocity. This investigation uses a passive seismology method, whereby repetitive seismic noise correlation functions are computed from records of Earth\u0027s ambient seismic noise field. Measurements of the temporal changes in the correlation functions are made and then related to variations of the poroelastic properties of the crust. The physical model for the relationship between ice-mass change and surface-wave velocity change has previously been verified using GRACE satellite data in Greenland. This project will specifically focus on the recent rapid ice loss in Western Antarctica using data from the POLENET-ANET seismic network. A comparison between the ice-sheet behaviors in Greenland and Antarctica will provide clarification about the underlying physical processes responsible for the observed seismic velocity changes. This new method will be a transformative approach to monitor ice sheets with the potential for much higher spatial and temporal resolution than existing methods. The fact that this method relies on seismic waves makes the approach completely independent from other modern ice-sheet monitoring techniques.", "east": -98.0, "geometry": "POINT(-116.25 -79.25)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "FIELD INVESTIGATION; SEISMIC SURFACE WAVES; West Antarctica", "locations": "West Antarctica", "north": -75.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Mordret, Aurelien; Mikesell, Dylan", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": "POLENET", "south": -83.5, "title": "Collaborative Research: Monitoring Antarctic Ice Sheet Changes with Ambient Seismic Noise Methods", "uid": "p0010155", "west": -134.5}, {"awards": "1443576 Panter, Kurt", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-154.1 -86.9,-154.03 -86.9,-153.96 -86.9,-153.89 -86.9,-153.82 -86.9,-153.75 -86.9,-153.68 -86.9,-153.61 -86.9,-153.54 -86.9,-153.47 -86.9,-153.4 -86.9,-153.4 -86.92,-153.4 -86.94,-153.4 -86.96,-153.4 -86.98,-153.4 -87,-153.4 -87.02,-153.4 -87.04,-153.4 -87.06,-153.4 -87.08,-153.4 -87.1,-153.47 -87.1,-153.54 -87.1,-153.61 -87.1,-153.68 -87.1,-153.75 -87.1,-153.82 -87.1,-153.89 -87.1,-153.96 -87.1,-154.03 -87.1,-154.1 -87.1,-154.1 -87.08,-154.1 -87.06,-154.1 -87.04,-154.1 -87.02,-154.1 -87,-154.1 -86.98,-154.1 -86.96,-154.1 -86.94,-154.1 -86.92,-154.1 -86.9))", "dataset_titles": "Volcanological and Petrological measurements on Mt. Early and Sheridan Bluff volcanoes, upper Scott Glacier, Antarctica ", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601331", "doi": "10.15784/601331", "keywords": "Antarctica; Chemistry:rock; Chemistry:Rock; Geochronology; Glacial Volcanism; Magma Differentiation; Major Elements; Mantle Melting; Solid Earth; Trace Elements; Transantarctic Mountains", "people": "Panter, Kurt", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Volcanological and Petrological measurements on Mt. Early and Sheridan Bluff volcanoes, upper Scott Glacier, Antarctica ", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601331"}], "date_created": "Fri, 05 Jun 2020 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Predictions of future sea level rise require better understanding of the changing dynamics of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. One way to better understand the past history of the ice sheets is to obtain records from inland ice for past geological periods, particularly in Antarctica, the world?s largest remaining ice sheet. Such records are exceedingly rare, and can be acquired at volcanic outcrops in the La Gorce Mountains of the central Transantarctic Mountains. Volcanoes now exposed within the La Gorce Mountains erupted beneath the East Antarctic ice sheet and the data collected will record how thick the ice sheet was in the past. In addition, information will be used to determine the thermal conditions at the base of the ice sheet, which impacts ice sheet stability. The project will also investigate the origin of volcanic activity in Antarctica and links to the West Antarctic Rift System (WARS). The WARS is a broad area of extended (i.e. stretched) continental crust, similar to that found in East Africa, and volcanism is wide spread and long-lived (65 million years to currently active) and despite more than 50 years of research, the fundamental cause of volcanism and rifting in Antarctica is still vigorously debated. The results of this award therefore also potentially impact the study of oceanic volcanism in the entire southwestern Pacific region (e.g., New Zealand and Australia), where volcanic fields of similar composition and age have been linked by common magma sources and processes. The field program includes a graduate student who will work on the collection, analysis, and interpretation of petrological data as part of his/her Masters project. The experience and specialized analytical training being offered will improve the quality of the student?s research and optimize their opportunities for their future. The proposed work fosters faculty and student national and international collaboration, including working with multi-user facilities that provide advanced technological mentoring of science students. Results will be broadly disseminated in peer-reviewed journals, public presentations at science meetings, and in outreach activities. Petrologic and geochemical data will be disseminated to be the community through the Polar Rock Repository. The study of subglacially erupted volcanic rocks has been developed to the extent that it is now the most powerful proxy methodology for establishing precise ?snapshots? of ice sheets, including multiple critical ice parameters. Such data should include measurements of ice thickness, surface elevation and stability, which will be used to verify, or reject, published semi-empirical models relating ice dynamics to sea level changes. In addition to establishing whether East Antarctic ice was present during the formation of the volcanoes, data will be used to derive the coeval ice thicknesses, surface elevations and basal thermal regime(s) in concert with a precise new geochronology using the 40Ar/39Ar dating method. Inferences from measurement of standard geochemical characteristics (major, trace elements and Sr, Nd, Pb, O isotopes) will be used to investigate a possible relationship between the volcanoes and the recently discovered subglacial ridge under the East Antarctic ice, which may be a rift flank uplift. The ridge has never been sampled, is undated and its significance is uncertain. The data will provide important new information about the deep Earth and geodynamic processes beneath this mostly ice covered and poorly understood sector of the Antarctic continent.", "east": -153.4, "geometry": "POINT(-153.75 -87)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "FIELD INVESTIGATION; Mantle Melting; Magma Differentiation; Geochronology; Glacial Volcanism; GEOCHEMISTRY; Major Elements; ISOTOPES; Trace Elements; Transantarctic Mountains; LABORATORY; LAVA COMPOSITION/TEXTURE; USAP-DC; LAND RECORDS", "locations": "Transantarctic Mountains", "north": -86.9, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Panter, Kurt", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION; OTHER \u003e PHYSICAL MODELS \u003e LABORATORY", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -87.1, "title": "Investigating Early Miocene Sub-ice Volcanoes in Antarctica for Improved Modeling and understanding of a Large Magmatic Province", "uid": "p0010105", "west": -154.1}, {"awards": "1744883 Wiens, Douglas", "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": "ANT-20: A 3D seismic model of the upper mantle and transition zone structure beneath Antarctica and the surrounding southern oceans; CWANT-PSP: A 3-D shear velocity model from a joint inversion of receiver functions and surface wave dispersion derived from ambient noise and teleseismic earthquakes.", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "200178", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "IRIS", "science_program": null, "title": "CWANT-PSP: A 3-D shear velocity model from a joint inversion of receiver functions and surface wave dispersion derived from ambient noise and teleseismic earthquakes.", "url": "http://ds.iris.edu/ds/products/emc-cwant-psp/"}, {"dataset_uid": "200179", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "IRIS", "science_program": null, "title": "ANT-20: A 3D seismic model of the upper mantle and transition zone structure beneath Antarctica and the surrounding southern oceans", "url": "http://ds.iris.edu/ds/products/emc-ant-20/"}], "date_created": "Tue, 02 Jun 2020 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "The geological structure and history of Antarctica remains poorly understood because much of the continental crust is covered by ice. Here, the PIs will analyze over 15 years of seismic data recorded by numerous projects in Antarctica to develop seismic structural models of the continent. The seismic velocity models will reveal features including crustal thinning due to rifting in West Antarctica, the structures associated with mountain building, and the boundaries between different tectonic blocks. The models will be compared to continents that are better understood geologically to constrain the tectonic evolution of Antarctica. In addition, the work will provide better insight into how the solid earth interacts with and influences the development of the ice sheet. Surface heat flow will be mapped and used to identify regions in Antarctica with potential melting at the base of the ice sheet. This melt can lead to reduced friction and lower resistance to ice sheet movement. The models will help to determine whether the earth response to ice mass changes occurs over decades, hundreds, or thousands of years. Estimates of mantle viscosity calculated from the seismic data will be used to better understand the pattern and timescales of the response of the solid earth to changes in ice mass in various parts of Antarctica. The study will advance our knowledge of the structure of Antarctica by constructing two new seismic models and a thermal model using different but complementary methodologies. Because of the limitations of different seismic analysis methods, efforts will be divided between a model seeking the highest possible resolution within the upper 200 km depth in the well instrumented region (Bayesian Monte-Carlo joint inversion), and another model determining the structure of the entire continent and surrounding oceans extending through the mantle transition zone (adjoint full waveform inversion). The Monte-Carlo inversion will jointly invert Rayleigh wave group and phase velocities from earthquakes and ambient noise correlation along with P-wave receiver functions and Rayleigh H/V ratios. The inversion will be done in a Bayesian framework that provides uncertainty estimates for the structural model. Azimuthal anisotropy will be determined from Rayleigh wave velocities, providing constraints on mantle fabric and flow patterns. The seismic data will also be inverted for temperature structure, providing estimates of lithospheric thickness and surface heat flow. The larger-scale model will cover the entire continent as well as the surrounding oceans, and will be constructed using an adjoint inversion of phase differences between three component seismograms and synthetic seismograms calculated in a 3D earth model using the spectral element method. This model will fit the entire waveforms, including body waves and both fundamental and higher mode surface waves. Higher resolution results will be obtained by using double-difference methods and by incorporating Green\u0027s functions from ambient noise cross-correlation, and solving for both radial and azimuthal anisotropy. 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": "NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "USA/NSF; Carbon Cycle; SEISMIC PROFILE; Seismology; Southern Ocean; Amd/Us; Antarctica; West Antarctica; MODELS; SEISMIC SURFACE WAVES; AMD; TECTONICS; USAP-DC", "locations": "Antarctica; West Antarctica; Southern Ocean", "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Wiens, Douglas; Shen, Weisen", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e MODELS \u003e MODELS", "repo": "IRIS", "repositories": "IRIS", "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "Comprehensive Seismic and Thermal Models for Antarctica and the Southern Oceans: A Synthesis of 15-years of Seismic Exploration", "uid": "p0010103", "west": -180.0}, {"awards": "9615282 Siddoway, Christine; 9615281 Luyendyk, Bruce", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-170 -76,-166.5 -76,-163 -76,-159.5 -76,-156 -76,-152.5 -76,-149 -76,-145.5 -76,-142 -76,-138.5 -76,-135 -76,-135 -76.8,-135 -77.6,-135 -78.4,-135 -79.2,-135 -80,-135 -80.8,-135 -81.6,-135 -82.4,-135 -83.2,-135 -84,-138.5 -84,-142 -84,-145.5 -84,-149 -84,-152.5 -84,-156 -84,-159.5 -84,-163 -84,-166.5 -84,-170 -84,-170 -83.2,-170 -82.4,-170 -81.6,-170 -80.8,-170 -80,-170 -79.2,-170 -78.4,-170 -77.6,-170 -76.8,-170 -76))", "dataset_titles": "Bedrock sample data, Ford Ranges region (Marie Byrd Land); SOAR-WMB Airborne gravity data", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601294", "doi": "10.15784/601294", "keywords": "Aerogeophysics; Airborne Gravity; Airplane; Antarctica; Free Air Gravity; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Gravimeter; Gravity; Gravity Data; Marie Byrd Land; Potential Field; Ross Sea; Solid Earth", "people": "Bell, Robin", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "SOAR-WMB Airborne gravity data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601294"}, {"dataset_uid": "601829", "doi": "10.15784/601829", "keywords": "Antarctica; Cryosphere; Gondwana; Marie Byrd Land; Migmatite", "people": "Siddoway, Christine", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Bedrock sample data, Ford Ranges region (Marie Byrd Land)", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601829"}], "date_created": "Fri, 24 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "OPP 9615281 Luyendyk OPP 9615282 Siddoway Abstract This award supports a collaborative project that combines air and ground geological-geophysical investigations to understand the tectonic and geological development of the boundary between the Ross Sea Rift and the Marie Byrd Land (MBL) volcanic province. The project will determine the Cenozoic tectonic history of the region and whether Neogene structures that localized outlet glacier flow developed within the context of Cenozoic rifting on the eastern Ross Embayment margin, or within the volcanic province in MBL. The geological structure at the boundary between the Ross Embayment and western MBL may be a result of: 1) Cenozoic extension on the eastern shoulder of the Ross Sea rift; 2) uplift and crustal extension related to Neogene mantle plume activity in western MBL; or a combination of the two. Faulting and volcanism, mountain uplift, and glacier downcutting appear to now be active in western MBL, where generally East-to-West-flowing outlet glaciers incise Paleozoic and Mesozoic bedrock, and deglaciated summits indicate a previous North-South glacial flow direction. This study requires data collection using SOAR (Support Office for Aerogeophysical Research, a facility supported by Office of Polar Programs which utilizes high precision differential GPS to support a laser altimeter, ice-penetrating radar, a towed proton magnetometer, and a Bell BGM-3 gravimeter). This survey requires data for 37,000 square kilometers using 5.3 kilometer line spacing with 15.6 kilometer tie lines, and 86,000 square kilometers using a grid of 10.6 by 10.6 kilometer spacing. Data will be acquired over several key features in the region including, among other, the eastern edge of the Ross Sea rift, over ice stream OEO, the transition from the Edward VII Peninsula plateau to the Ford Ranges, the continuation to the east of a gravity high known from previous reconnaissance mapping over the Fosdick Metamorphic Complex, an d the extent of the high-amplitude magnetic anomalies (volcanic centers?) detected southeast of the northern Ford Ranges by other investigators. SOAR products will include glaciology data useful for studying driving stresses, glacial flow and mass balance in the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS). The ground program is centered on the southern Ford Ranges. Geologic field mapping will focus on small scale brittle structures for regional kinematic interpretation, on glaciated surfaces and deposits, and on datable volcanic rocks for geochronologic control. The relative significance of fault and joint sets, the timing relationships between them, and the probable context of their formation will also be determined. Exposure ages will be determined for erosion surfaces and moraines. Interpretation of potential field data will be aided by on ground sampling for magnetic properties and density as well as ground based gravity measurements. Oriented samples will be taken for paleomagnetic studies. Combined airborne and ground investigations will obtain basic data for describing the geology and structure at the eastern boundary of the Ross Embayment both in outcrop and ice covered areas, and may be used to distinguish between Ross Sea rift- related structural activity from uplift and faulting on the perimeter of the MBL dome and volcanic province. Outcrop geology and structure will be extrapolated with the aerogeophysical data to infer the geology that resides beneath the WAIS. The new knowledge of Neogene tectonics in western MBL will contribute to a comprehensive model for the Cenozoic Ross rift and to understanding of the extent of plume activity in MBL. Both are important for determining the influence of Neogene tectonics on the ice streams and WAIS.", "east": -135.0, "geometry": "POINT(-152.5 -80)", "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e MAGNETIC/MOTION SENSORS \u003e GRAVIMETERS \u003e LGS", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "GRAVITY; USAP-DC; Ross Sea; TECTONICS; Marie Byrd Land", "locations": "Ross Sea; Marie Byrd Land", "north": -76.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences; Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Luyendyk, Bruce P.; Siddoway, Christine", "platforms": null, "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -84.0, "title": "Air-Ground Study of Tectonics at the Boundary Between the Eastern Ross Embayment and Western Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica: Basement Geology and Structure", "uid": "p0010096", "west": -170.0}, {"awards": "9615704 Bell, Robin; 9615832 Blankenship, Donald", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-180 -74,-176 -74,-172 -74,-168 -74,-164 -74,-160 -74,-156 -74,-152 -74,-148 -74,-144 -74,-140 -74,-140 -75.6,-140 -77.2,-140 -78.8,-140 -80.4,-140 -82,-140 -83.6,-140 -85.2,-140 -86.8,-140 -88.4,-140 -90,-144 -90,-148 -90,-152 -90,-156 -90,-160 -90,-164 -90,-168 -90,-172 -90,-176 -90,180 -90,174 -90,168 -90,162 -90,156 -90,150 -90,144 -90,138 -90,132 -90,126 -90,120 -90,120 -88.4,120 -86.8,120 -85.2,120 -83.6,120 -82,120 -80.4,120 -78.8,120 -77.2,120 -75.6,120 -74,126 -74,132 -74,138 -74,144 -74,150 -74,156 -74,162 -74,168 -74,174 -74,-180 -74))", "dataset_titles": "SOAR-PPT Airborne gravity data; SOAR-WLK Airborne gravity data", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601292", "doi": "10.15784/601292", "keywords": "Aerogeophysics; Airborne Gravity; Airplane; Antarctica; Free Air Gravity; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Gravimeter; Gravity; Gravity Data; Potential Field; Solid Earth; Transantarctic Mountains", "people": "Bell, Robin", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "SOAR-PPT Airborne gravity data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601292"}, {"dataset_uid": "601293", "doi": "10.15784/601293", "keywords": "Aerogeophysics; Airborne Gravity; Airplane; Antarctica; Free Air Gravity; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Gravimeter; Gravity; Gravity Data; Potential Field; Solid Earth; Transantarctic Mountains", "people": "Bell, Robin", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "SOAR-WLK Airborne gravity data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601293"}], "date_created": "Fri, 24 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Bell and Buck: OPP 9615704 Blankenship: OPP 9615832 Abstract Continental extension produces a great variety of structures from the linear narrow rifts of the East African Rift to the diffuse extension of the Basin and Range Province of the Western U.S. Rift shoulder uplift varies dramatically between rift flanks. The cause of variable rift width and crustal thinning is fairly well explained by variable initial heat flow and crustal thickness. Mechanical stretching of the lithosphere has been linked to rift shoulder uplift but the cause of variable rift flank uplift remains poorly understood. The Transantarctic Mountains (TAM) are an extreme example of rift flank uplift, extending over 3500 km across Antarctica and reaching elevations up to 4500 m and thus constitute a unique feature of EarthOs crust. The range was formed in the extensional environment associated with the Mesozoic and Cenozoic breakup of Gondwanaland. Geological and geophysical work has shown that the TAM developed along the long-lived lithospheric boundary between East and West Antarctica reactivated by a complex history of extensional and translational microplate motions. The TAM are not uniform along strike. Along the OWilkes FrontO, the northern segment of the rift extends from North Victoria Land to Byrd Glacier. The Wilkes Front architecture consists of (1) thin, extended crust forming the Victoria Land Basin in the Ross Sea, (2) the TAM rift shoulder, and (3) a long-wavelength down- ward forming the Wilkes Basin. Contrasting structures are mapped along the OPensacola/PoleO Front, the southern segment of the rift extending from the Nimrod Glacier to the Pensacola Mountains. Along this southern section no rift basin has been mapped to date and the down-ward along the East Antarctic, or ObacksideO, edge of the mountains is less pronounced. A flexural model linking the extension in the Ross Sea to the formation of both the mountains and the Wilkes Basin has been considered as a me chanism for uplift of the entire mountain range. The variability in fundamental architecture along the TAM indicates that neither a single event nor a sequence of identical events produced the rift flank uplift. The observation of variable architecture suggests complex mechanisms and possibly a fundamental limitation in maximum sustainable rift flank elevation. The motivation for studying the TAM is to try to understand the geodynamics of this extreme elevation rift flank. Are the geodynamics of the area unique, or does the history of glaciation and related erosion contribute to the extreme uplift? With the existing data sets it is difficult to confidently constrain the geological architecture across representative sections of the TAM. Any effort to refine geodynamic mechanisms requires this basic understanding of the TAM architecture. The goal of this project is to (1) constrain the architecture of the rift system as well as the distribution and structure of sedimentary basins, glacial erosion and mafic igneous rocks surrounding the rift flank by acquiring three long wavelength geophysical transects with integrated gravity, magnetics, ice- penetrating radar, and ice surface measurements, (2) quantify the contribution of various geodynamic mechanisms to understand the geological conditions which can lead to extreme rift flank uplift, and (3) use the improved understanding of architecture and geophysical data to test geodynamic models in order to improve our understanding both of the TAM geodynamics and the general problem of the geodynamics of rift flank uplift worldwide. This project will allow development of a generalized framework for understanding the development of rift flank uplift as well as address the question of the specific geodynamic evolution of the TAM.", "east": -140.0, "geometry": "POINT(170 -82)", "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e MAGNETIC/MOTION SENSORS \u003e GRAVIMETERS \u003e GRAVIMETERS", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "USAP-DC; Transantarctic Mountains; GRAVITY FIELD; TECTONICS", "locations": "Transantarctic Mountains", "north": -74.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences; Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Bell, Robin; Buck, W. Roger; Blankenship, Donald D.", "platforms": null, "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "Contrasting Architecture and Dynamics of the Transantarctic Mountains", "uid": "p0010095", "west": 120.0}, {"awards": "9319877 Finn, Carol; 9319369 Blankenship, Donald; 9319854 Bell, Robin", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-155 -77.5,-150 -77.5,-145 -77.5,-140 -77.5,-135 -77.5,-130 -77.5,-125 -77.5,-120 -77.5,-115 -77.5,-110 -77.5,-105 -77.5,-105 -78.2,-105 -78.9,-105 -79.6,-105 -80.3,-105 -81,-105 -81.7,-105 -82.4,-105 -83.1,-105 -83.8,-105 -84.5,-110 -84.5,-115 -84.5,-120 -84.5,-125 -84.5,-130 -84.5,-135 -84.5,-140 -84.5,-145 -84.5,-150 -84.5,-155 -84.5,-155 -83.8,-155 -83.1,-155 -82.4,-155 -81.7,-155 -81,-155 -80.3,-155 -79.6,-155 -78.9,-155 -78.2,-155 -77.5))", "dataset_titles": "SOAR-BSB Airborne gravity data for the CASERTZ/WAIS project; SOAR-IRE airborne gravity data for the CASERTZ/WAIS project; SOAR-TKD airborne gravity data for the CASERTZ/WAIS project; SOAR-WAZ Airborne gravity data for the CASERTZ/WAIS project", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601289", "doi": "10.15784/601289", "keywords": "Aerogeophysics; Airborne Gravity; Airplane; Antarctica; Free Air Gravity; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Gravimeter; Gravity; Gravity Data; Marie Byrd Land; Potential Field; Solid Earth; WAIS", "people": "Bell, Robin; Arko, Robert A.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "SOAR-TKD airborne gravity data for the CASERTZ/WAIS project", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601289"}, {"dataset_uid": "601291", "doi": "10.15784/601291", "keywords": "Aerogeophysics; Airborne Gravity; Airplane; Antarctica; Free Air Gravity; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Gravimeter; Gravity; Gravity Data; Marie Byrd Land; Potential Field; Solid Earth; WAIS", "people": "Arko, Robert A.; Bell, Robin", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "SOAR-WAZ Airborne gravity data for the CASERTZ/WAIS project", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601291"}, {"dataset_uid": "601290", "doi": "10.15784/601290", "keywords": "Aerogeophysics; Airborne Gravity; Airplane; Antarctica; Free Air Gravity; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Gravimeter; Gravity; Gravity Data; Marie Byrd Land; Potential Field; Solid Earth; WAIS", "people": "Arko, Robert A.; Bell, Robin", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "SOAR-IRE airborne gravity data for the CASERTZ/WAIS project", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601290"}, {"dataset_uid": "601288", "doi": "10.15784/601288", "keywords": "Aerogeophysics; Airborne Gravity; Airplane; Antarctica; Free Air Gravity; Geology/Geophysics - Other; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Gravimeter; Gravity; Gravity Data; Marie Byrd Land; Solid Earth; WAIS", "people": "Arko, Robert A.; Bell, Robin", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "SOAR-BSB Airborne gravity data for the CASERTZ/WAIS project", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601288"}], "date_created": "Fri, 24 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Blankenship: 9319369 Bell: 9319854 Behrendt: 9319877 This award supports a project to conduct an integrated geophysical survey over a large portion of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) toward an understanding of the dynamic behavior of the ice sheet and the nature of the lithosphere beneath the ice sheet. West Antarctica is characterized by two kinds of the Earth s most dynamic systems, a continental rift (the West Antarctic Rift System) and a marine based ice sheet (the WAIS). Active continental rift systems, caused by divergent plate motions, result in thinned continental crust. Associated with the thin crust are fault-bounded sedimentary basins, active volcanism, and elevated heat flow. Marine ice sheets are characterized by rapidly moving streams of ice, penetrating and draining a slowly moving ice reservoir. Evidence left by past marine ice sheets indicates that they may have a strongly non- linear response to long-term climate change which results in massive and rapid discharges of ice. Understanding the evolution of the ice stream system and its interaction with the interior ice is the key to understanding this non-linear response. Subglacial geology and ice dynamics are generally studied in isolation, but evidence is mounting that the behavior of the West Antarctic ice streams may be closely linked to the nature of the underlying West Antarctic rift system. The fast moving ice streams appear to glide on a lubricating layer of water-saturated till. This till requires easily eroded sediment and a source of water, both of which may be controlled by the geology of the rift system; the sediments from the fault-bounded basins and the water from the elevated heat flux associated with active lithospheric extension. This project represents an interdisciplinary aerogeophysical study to characterize the lithosphere of the West Antarctic rift system beneath critical regions of the WAIS. The objective is to determine the effects of the rift architect ure, as manifested by the distribution of sedimentary basins and volcanic constructs, on the ice stream system. The research tool is a unique geophysical aircraft with laser altimetry, ice penetrating radar, aerogravity, and aeromagnetic systems integrated with a high precision kinematic GPS navigation system. It is capable of imaging both the surface and bed of the ice sheet while simultaneously measuring the gravity and magnetic signature of the subglacial lithosphere. Work to be done under this award will build on work already completed in the southern sector of central West Antarctica and it will focus on the region of the Byrd Subglacial Basin and Ice Stream D. The ice sheet in these regions is completely covered by satellite imagery and so this project will be integrated with remote sensing studies of the ice stream. The changing dynamics of Ice Stream D, as with other West Antarctic ice streams, seem to be correlated with changes in the morphological provinces of the underlying rift system. The experimental targets proceed from the divide of the interior ice, downstream through the onset of streaming to the trunk of Ice Stream D. This study will be coordinated with surface glaciological investigations of Ice Stream D and will be used to guide cooperative over-snow seismic investigations of the central West Antarctic rift system. The data will also be used to select a site for future deep ice coring along the crest of the WAIS. These data represent baseline data for long term global change monitoring work and represent crucial boundary conditions for ice sheet modeling efforts.", "east": -105.0, "geometry": "POINT(-130 -81)", "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e MAGNETIC/MOTION SENSORS \u003e GRAVIMETERS \u003e GRAVIMETERS", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "USAP-DC; MAGNETIC FIELD; GRAVITY FIELD; Antarctica; GLACIERS/ICE SHEETS; Marie Byrd Land; Airborne Gravity", "locations": "Marie Byrd Land; Antarctica", "north": -77.5, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences; Antarctic Earth Sciences; Antarctic Earth Sciences; Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Bell, Robin; Blankenship, Donald D.; Finn, Carol A.", "platforms": null, "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -84.5, "title": "Collaborative Research: Lithospheric Controls on the Behavior of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet: Corridor Aerogeophysics of Eastern Ross Transect Zone", "uid": "p0010094", "west": -155.0}, {"awards": "1840058 Jenouvrier, Stephanie", "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": "Causes and consequences of pair-bond disruption in a sex-skewed population of a long-lived monogamous seabird: the wandering Albatross; Demographic outputs and their variances for three life history complexes for the Southern Fulmar across contrasted sea ice conditions.; Impact of Climate Change on Pair-Bond Dynamics of Snow Petrels (Pagodroma nivea); Supplementary material from \"Boldness predicts divorce rates in wandering albatrosses", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601832", "doi": "10.15784/601832", "keywords": "Antarctica; Climate Change; Cryosphere; Ile des Petrels, Pointe Geologie Archipelago (66\u25e640\u2032 S, 140\u25e601\u2032 106 E), Terre Adelie, Antarctica.", "people": "jenouvrier, stephanie", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Impact of Climate Change on Pair-Bond Dynamics of Snow Petrels (Pagodroma nivea)", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601832"}, {"dataset_uid": "601518", "doi": "10.15784/601518", "keywords": "Antarctica; Biota; Wandering Albatross", "people": "Barbraud, Christophe; Jenouvrier, Stephanie; Sun, Ruijiao; Delord, Karine", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Causes and consequences of pair-bond disruption in a sex-skewed population of a long-lived monogamous seabird: the wandering Albatross", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601518"}, {"dataset_uid": "200372", "doi": "https://rs.figshare.com/collections/Supplementary_material_from_Boldness_predicts_divorce_rates_in_wandering_albatrosses_i_Diomedea_exulans_i_/6181063", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "https://rs.figshare.com/", "science_program": null, "title": "Supplementary material from \"Boldness predicts divorce rates in wandering albatrosses", "url": "https://rs.figshare.com/collections/Supplementary_material_from_Boldness_predicts_divorce_rates_in_wandering_albatrosses_i_Diomedea_exulans_i_/6181063"}, {"dataset_uid": "601585", "doi": "10.15784/601585", "keywords": "Antarctica; Biota; Birds; East Antarctica; Southern Fulmar", "people": "Jenouvrier, Stephanie", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Demographic outputs and their variances for three life history complexes for the Southern Fulmar across contrasted sea ice conditions.", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601585"}], "date_created": "Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Many animals, from crustaceans to humans, engage in long-term relationships. The demographic consequences of divorce or widowhood for monogamous species are poorly understood. This research seeks to advance understanding of the drivers of partner loss and quantify its resulting effects on individual fitness and population dynamics in polar species that form life-long relationships. The project will focus on pair disruption in two seabirds that form long-last pair bonds: the wandering albatross and the snow petrel. Unique long-term individual mark-recapture data sets exist for these iconic polar species, allowing for a comprehensive study of the rates, causes and consequences of pair disruption and how they may differ among Antarctic species. Insights might be gained regarding the effects of changing environmental regimes as well as by direct and indirect effects of fisheries as a by-product of this research. The aim of the project is to better understand the implications of different drivers of pair disruption and quantify its resulting effects on individual fitness components and population growth rate and structure for two procellariiformes breeding in the Southern Ocean. The project will focus on the wandering albatross and the snow petrel, which both form long-lasting pair bonds. The unique long-term individual mark-recapture data sets allow for a study of the rates, causes and consequences of pair disruption and how they differ among species with different life histories as well as expected differences in mechanisms and rates of pair disruptions. The study will result in a detailed analysis of the impact of social monogamy and long-term pair bonds on individual fitness components (vital rates: survival, recruitment and fecundity; life-history outcomes: life expectancy, age at 1st breeding and lifetime reproductive success; and occupancy times: duration of pair bond or widowhood) and population growth and structure (e.g, sex ratio of individuals available for mating). Specifically, the project will assess: 1. Variations in pair disruption rates, and if they are related to global change (by-catch in the case of albatross widowing, and climate in the case of petrel divorce) by developing a statistical multievent mark-recapture model. 2. Impacts of pair disruption on vital rates, specifically whether i) greater familiarity and better coordination within pairs improves breeding performance and survival, ii) mating costs reduce the probability of breeding and iii) divorce is more likely to occur after a breeding failure. 3. Impacts of pair disruption on life-history outcomes and occupancy times using Markov chain stochastic life cycle models. 4. Impacts of pair disruption on population dynamics by developing a novel non-linear two-sex matrix population model. The research will include sensitivity and Life Table Response Experiment analyses to examine the respective effects of fisheries, climate, vital rates, and pair-disruption rates on life-history outcomes, occupancy times, and population growth and structure, and their variations among year and species 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 PHOTON/OPTICAL DETECTORS \u003e VISUAL OBSERVATIONS", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS; FIELD INVESTIGATION; East Antarctica; USAP-DC", "locations": "East Antarctica", "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Jenouvrier, Stephanie", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "https://rs.figshare.com/; USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "Polar Seabirds with Long-term Pair Bonds: Effects of Mating on Individual Fitness and Population Dynamics", "uid": "p0010090", "west": -180.0}, {"awards": "1644013 Gaetani, Glenn; 1644020 Sims, Kenneth W.; 1644027 Wallace, Paul", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((164.1 -77.1,164.65 -77.1,165.2 -77.1,165.75 -77.1,166.3 -77.1,166.85 -77.1,167.4 -77.1,167.95 -77.1,168.5 -77.1,169.05 -77.1,169.6 -77.1,169.6 -77.235,169.6 -77.37,169.6 -77.505,169.6 -77.64,169.6 -77.775,169.6 -77.91,169.6 -78.045,169.6 -78.18,169.6 -78.315,169.6 -78.45,169.05 -78.45,168.5 -78.45,167.95 -78.45,167.4 -78.45,166.85 -78.45,166.3 -78.45,165.75 -78.45,165.2 -78.45,164.65 -78.45,164.1 -78.45,164.1 -78.315,164.1 -78.18,164.1 -78.045,164.1 -77.91,164.1 -77.775,164.1 -77.64,164.1 -77.505,164.1 -77.37,164.1 -77.235,164.1 -77.1))", "dataset_titles": "G170 Electron Microprobe Analyses of Melt Inclusions and Host Olivines; G170 Raman Spectroscopy \u0026 Tomography Volumes of Melt Inclusions and Vapor Bubbles; G170 Sample Locations Ross Island \u0026 Discovery Province; G170 Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry Analses of Melt Inclusion Volatiles; G170 Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry Analyses of Melt Inclusion Hydrogen Isotopes; Location and Description of Tephra Samples from the Erebus and Discovery Sub-provinces", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601506", "doi": "10.15784/601506", "keywords": "Antarctica; Ion Mass Spectrometry; Ross Island; Volatiles", "people": "Gaetani, Glenn", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "G170 Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry Analses of Melt Inclusion Volatiles", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601506"}, {"dataset_uid": "601507", "doi": "10.15784/601507", "keywords": "Antarctica; Chemistry:rock; Chemistry:Rock; Geochemistry; Hydrogen; Ion Mass Spectrometry; Ross Island", "people": "Gaetani, Glenn", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "G170 Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry Analyses of Melt Inclusion Hydrogen Isotopes", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601507"}, {"dataset_uid": "601508", "doi": "10.15784/601508", "keywords": "Antarctica; Chemistry:rock; Chemistry:Rock; Geochemistry; Melt Inclusions; Raman Spectroscopy; Ross Island; Vapor Bubbles; Volcanic", "people": "Gaetani, Glenn", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "G170 Raman Spectroscopy \u0026 Tomography Volumes of Melt Inclusions and Vapor Bubbles", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601508"}, {"dataset_uid": "601250", "doi": "10.15784/601250", "keywords": "Antarctica; Hut Point Peninsula; Mt. Bird; Mt. Morning; Mt. Terror; Ross Island; Turks Head; Turtle Rock", "people": "Pamukcu, Ayla; Gaetani, Glenn", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Location and Description of Tephra Samples from the Erebus and Discovery Sub-provinces", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601250"}, {"dataset_uid": "601504", "doi": "10.15784/601504", "keywords": "Antarctica; Ross Island; Sample/collection Description; Sample/Collection Description; Sample Location", "people": "Gaetani, Glenn", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "G170 Sample Locations Ross Island \u0026 Discovery Province", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601504"}, {"dataset_uid": "601505", "doi": "10.15784/601505", "keywords": "Antarctica; Chemistry:rock; Chemistry:Rock; Electron Microprobe Analyses; Olivine; Petrography; Ross Island", "people": "Gaetani, Glenn", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "G170 Electron Microprobe Analyses of Melt Inclusions and Host Olivines", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601505"}], "date_created": "Sat, 08 Feb 2020 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Nontechnical project description Globally, 500 million people live near and are threatened by active volcanoes. An important step in mitigating volcanic hazards is understanding the variables that influence the explosivity of eruptions. The rate at which a magma ascends from the reservoir within the Earth to the surface is one such variable. However, magma ascent rates are particularly difficult to determine because of the lack of reliable methods for investigating the process. This research applies a new approach to study magma storage depths and ascent rates at the Erebus volcanic province of Antarctica, one of Earth\u0027s largest alkaline volcanic centers. Small pockets of magma that become trapped within growing olivine crystals are called melt inclusions. The concentrations of water and carbon dioxide in these melt inclusions preserve information on the depth of magma reservoirs. Changes to the concentration and isotopic composition of water in the inclusions provide information on how long it took for the host magma to rise to the surface. In combination, these data from samples of olivine-rich volcanic deposits in the Erebus volcanic province will be used to determine the depths at which magmas are stored and their ascent rates. The project results will provide a framework for understanding volcanic hazards associated with alkaline volcanism worldwide. In addition, this project facilitates collaboration among three institutions, and provides an important educational opportunity for a postdoctoral researcher. Technical project description The depths at which magmas are stored, their pre-eruptive volatile contents, and the rates at which they ascend to the Earth\u0027s surface are important controls on the dynamics of volcanic eruptions. Basaltic magmas are likely to be vapor undersaturated as they begin their ascent from the mantle through the crust, but volatile solubility drops with decreasing pressure. Once vapor saturation is achieved and the magma begins to degas, its pre-eruptive volatile content is determined largely by the depth at which it resides within the crust. Magma stored in deeper reservoirs tend to experience less pre-eruptive degassing and to be richer in volatiles than magma shallower reservoirs. Eruptive style is influenced by the rate at which a magma ascends from the reservoir to the surface through its effect on the efficiency of vapor bubble nucleation, growth, and coalescence. The proposed work will advance our understanding of pre-eruptive storage conditions and syn-eruptive ascent rates through a combined field and analytical research program. Volatile measurements from olivine-hosted melt inclusions will be used to systematically investigate magma storage depths and ascent rates associated with alkaline volcanism in the Erebus volcanic province. A central goal of the project is to provide a spatial and temporal framework for interpreting results from studies of present-day volcanic processes at Mt Erebus volcano. The Erebus volcanic province of Antarctica is especially well suited to this type of investigation because: (1) there are many exposed mafic scoria cones, fissure vents, and hyaloclastites (exposed in sea cliffs) that produced rapidly quenched, olivine-rich tephra; (2) existing volatile data for Ross Island MIs show that magma storage was relatively deep compared to many mafic volcanic systems; (3) some of the eruptive centers ejected mantle xenoliths, allowing for comparison of ascent rates for xenolith-bearing and xenolith-free eruptions, and comparison of ascent rates for those bearing xenoliths with times estimated from settling velocities; and (4) the cold, dry conditions in Antarctica result in excellent tephra preservation compared to tropical and even many temperate localities. The project provides new tools for assessing volcanic hazards, facilitates collaboration involving researchers from three different institutions (WHOI, U Wyoming, and U Oregon), supports the researchers\u0027 involvement in teaching, advising, and outreach, and provides an educational opportunity for a promising young postdoctoral researcher. Understanding the interrelationships among magma volatile contents, reservoir depths, and ascent rates is vital for assessing volcanic hazards associated with alkaline volcanism across the globe.", "east": 169.6, "geometry": "POINT(166.85 -77.775)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Tephra; Turtle Rock; USA/NSF; Amd/Us; LABORATORY; AMD; Ross Island; Turks Head; Hut Point Peninsula; LAVA SPEED/FLOW; USAP-DC; Mt. Morning; Mt. Terror; ROCKS/MINERALS/CRYSTALS; Mt. Bird; FIELD INVESTIGATION", "locations": "Ross Island; Mt. Morning; Mt. Bird; Mt. Terror; Hut Point Peninsula; Turtle Rock; Turks Head", "north": -77.1, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences; Antarctic Earth Sciences; Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Gaetani, Glenn; Le Roux, Veronique; Sims, Kenneth; Wallace, Paul", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION; OTHER \u003e PHYSICAL MODELS \u003e LABORATORY", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -78.45, "title": "Collaborative Research: Determining Magma Storage Depths and Ascent Rates for the Erebus Volcanic Province, Antarctica Using Diffusive Water Loss from Olivine-hosted Melt Inclusion", "uid": "p0010081", "west": 164.1}, {"awards": "1443437 Carlson, Anders; 1443268 Beard, Brian", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-80 -65,-79 -65,-78 -65,-77 -65,-76 -65,-75 -65,-74 -65,-73 -65,-72 -65,-71 -65,-70 -65,-70 -65.5,-70 -66,-70 -66.5,-70 -67,-70 -67.5,-70 -68,-70 -68.5,-70 -69,-70 -69.5,-70 -70,-71 -70,-72 -70,-73 -70,-74 -70,-75 -70,-76 -70,-77 -70,-78 -70,-79 -70,-80 -70,-80 -69.5,-80 -69,-80 -68.5,-80 -68,-80 -67.5,-80 -67,-80 -66.5,-80 -66,-80 -65.5,-80 -65))", "dataset_titles": "Radiogenic isotopes of ODP Site 178-1096; Sand content of ODP Site 178-1096", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "200109", "doi": " doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.909411", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "PANGAEA", "science_program": null, "title": "Sand content of ODP Site 178-1096", "url": "https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.909411 "}, {"dataset_uid": "200108", "doi": " doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.909407 ", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "PANGAEA", "science_program": null, "title": "Radiogenic isotopes of ODP Site 178-1096", "url": "https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.909407"}], "date_created": "Fri, 31 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Collapse of the West Antarctic ice sheet (WAIS) could raise global sea level by up to 3 meters, at a rate of up to ~1 meter per century, yielding major societal impacts. The goal of this project is to determine if such a collapse occurred in the recent past. This will include development of new geochemical tools to evaluate the sedimentary geologic record around the WAIS to evaluate WAIS behavior during past warm periods. The primary activities to be carried out by the research team are to: 1) characterize the chemistry and magnetic properties of sediments being discharged from different portions of the WAIS and use these properties to ?fingerprint? inputs from different sources on the continent; 2) measure these same properties in a marine sediment core to document major changes in the WAIS over the last 150,000 years. Determining if the WAIS has collapsed in the recent past can provide important information on WAIS potential to grow unstable in the future. The tools to be developed here can then be used on older records around the WAIS to examine the frequency of ice sheet instability in the past. The project will support a postdoctoral researcher as well as undergraduate students. This project will develop sediment provenance proxies to trace the sources of sediment discharged by the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) to the continental rise. Specific questions to be addressed are: 1) the degree that sediment from different WAIS terranes can be geochemically and magnetically differentiated; 2) the ability of terrane provenance proxies to detect WAIS collapse in the late Quaternary. The WAIS erodes sediments from various West Antarctic geologic terranes that are deposited in adjacent drift sites. The geochemistry and magnetic properties of drift sediments reflect the tectonic and metamorphic history of their source terranes. Deglaciation of a terrane during WAIS collapse should be detectable by the loss of the terrane?s geochemical and magnetic signature in continental-rise detrital sediments. Continental shelf late-Holocene sediments from near the current WAIS groundling line will be analyzed for silt- and clay-size Sr-Nd-Pb isotopes, magnetic properties, and major-trace elements. The suite of cores includes the eastern Ross Sea to the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula and will establish provenance signatures of the Ross and Amundsen Provinces of Marie Byrd Land, Pine Island Bay, Thurston Island/Eight Coast Block, Ellsworth-Whitmore Crustal Block, and Antarctic Peninsula terranes. Many of these terranes have similar tectonic and metamorphic histories but Sr-Nd isotope data from detrital sediments suggest at least 3 distinct provenance signatures. An initial down core study of Ocean Drilling Program Site 1096 in the Bellingshausen Sea will be conducted to detect if the WAIS was unstable during the last interglacial period.", "east": -70.0, "geometry": "POINT(-75 -67.5)", "instruments": "NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "West Antarctic Ice Sheet; GLACIERS/ICE SHEETS; West Antarctica; PALEOCLIMATE RECONSTRUCTIONS; NOT APPLICABLE; USAP-DC; ISOTOPES; GEOCHEMISTRY; Bellingshausen Sea", "locations": "West Antarctic Ice Sheet; West Antarctica; Bellingshausen Sea", "north": -65.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences; Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Anders, Carlson; Beard, Brian; Stoner, Joseph", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE", "repo": "PANGAEA", "repositories": "PANGAEA", "science_programs": null, "south": -70.0, "title": "Collaborative Research: Development of a Suite of Proxies to Detect Past Collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet", "uid": "p0010079", "west": -80.0}, {"awards": "1443296 Cottle, John", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-180 -76.85314,-179.4383642 -76.85314,-178.8767284 -76.85314,-178.3150926 -76.85314,-177.7534568 -76.85314,-177.191821 -76.85314,-176.6301852 -76.85314,-176.0685494 -76.85314,-175.5069136 -76.85314,-174.9452778 -76.85314,-174.383642 -76.85314,-174.383642 -77.658865,-174.383642 -78.46459,-174.383642 -79.270315,-174.383642 -80.07604,-174.383642 -80.881765,-174.383642 -81.68749,-174.383642 -82.493215,-174.383642 -83.29894,-174.383642 -84.104665,-174.383642 -84.91039,-174.9452778 -84.91039,-175.5069136 -84.91039,-176.0685494 -84.91039,-176.6301852 -84.91039,-177.191821 -84.91039,-177.7534568 -84.91039,-178.3150926 -84.91039,-178.8767284 -84.91039,-179.4383642 -84.91039,180 -84.91039,177.4459565 -84.91039,174.891913 -84.91039,172.3378695 -84.91039,169.783826 -84.91039,167.2297825 -84.91039,164.675739 -84.91039,162.1216955 -84.91039,159.567652 -84.91039,157.0136085 -84.91039,154.459565 -84.91039,154.459565 -84.104665,154.459565 -83.29894,154.459565 -82.493215,154.459565 -81.68749,154.459565 -80.881765,154.459565 -80.07604,154.459565 -79.270315,154.459565 -78.46459,154.459565 -77.658865,154.459565 -76.85314,157.0136085 -76.85314,159.567652 -76.85314,162.1216955 -76.85314,164.675739 -76.85314,167.2297825 -76.85314,169.783826 -76.85314,172.3378695 -76.85314,174.891913 -76.85314,177.4459565 -76.85314,-180 -76.85314))", "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Mon, 02 Dec 2019 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Subduction takes place at convergent plate boundaries and involves sinking of one tectonic plate underneath another. Although this process is a key aspect of plate tectonics that shapes the planet over geologic time, and is a primary cause of earthquakes, it is not known what causes subduction to cease, and what effect it has on the deepest portions of the crust and the upper part of the mantle. By studying the age and composition of igneous rocks emplaced at the very end of the subduction cycle, this project seeks to understand what causes subduction to cease, and how this changes the composition and structure of the crust and upper mantle. Because this process occurs deep within the earth, the project will focus on rocks in the root of an ancient subduction zone, now exposed in the Transantarctic Mountains of Antarctica. In addition, Antarctica remains relatively poorly understood, and this project will contribute directly to increasing our understanding of the geologic history of this region. The project will focus on training graduate and undergraduate students - incorporating hands-on experience with an array of state-of-the-art analytical instrumentation. Students will also gain a range of more general skills including Geographic Information Systems (GIS), written and oral communication, and data management - strengths that are highly relevant to careers both in the academic and Geosciences industry. Each summer, high school students will be incorporated into aspects of the laboratory-based research through the UCSB research mentorship program. The PI and graduate students will engage the general public through a purpose-built iPhone App and multimedia website. Activities will include live phone and video conversations from the field between elementary school students and members of the team in Antarctica. The mechanisms by which the deep crustal delaminates or \"founders\" and is returned to the mantle remains a fundamental problem in earth science. Specifically, little is known about the temporal and spatial scales over which this process occurs or the mechanisms that trigger such catastrophic events. Igneous rocks highly enriched in potassium, called lamprophyres, are often emplaced during, and immediately after, termination of subduction and therefore potentially provide direct insight into foundering. These enigmatic rocks are important because they represent near-primary mantle melt compositions and therefore their age, geochemistry and petrologic evolution reveal key information on both the composition of the upper mantle and its thermal state. Of equal importance, they reveal how these key parameters vary through both space and time. By evaluating lamprophyres along a subduction zone margin it is possible to extract: 1) local-scale information, such as the timing and duration of melting and the role of igneous crystallization processes in generation of isotopic heterogeneities; 2) along-strike variations in mantle source composition, temperature, and depth of melting 3) the plate-scale forces that control foundering and termination of subduction. This project will study a suite of lamprophyres along the axis of the Transantarctic Mountains, emplaced during the latest stages of the Neoproterozoic - Ordovician Ross orogeny, Antarctica (roughly 505 to 470 million years before present). High-precision geochronology (age determinations) will be combined with geochemical measurements on the rocks and minerals to understand the mechanisms and timing of deep crustal foundering/delamination.", "east": -174.383642, "geometry": "POINT(170.0379615 -80.881765)", "instruments": "NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "AGE DETERMINATIONS; ISOTOPES; PLATE TECTONICS; Antarctica; USAP-DC; NOT APPLICABLE", "locations": "Antarctica", "north": -76.85314, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Cottle, John", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE", "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": -84.91039, "title": "Petrologic Constraints on Subduction Termination From Lamprophyres, Ross Orogen, Antarctica", "uid": "p0010071", "west": 154.459565}, {"awards": "1341339 Baker, Bill; 1341333 McClintock, James", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-65 -65,-64.8 -65,-64.6 -65,-64.4 -65,-64.2 -65,-64 -65,-63.8 -65,-63.6 -65,-63.4 -65,-63.2 -65,-63 -65,-63 -64.9,-63 -64.8,-63 -64.7,-63 -64.6,-63 -64.5,-63 -64.4,-63 -64.3,-63 -64.2,-63 -64.1,-63 -64,-63.2 -64,-63.4 -64,-63.6 -64,-63.8 -64,-64 -64,-64.2 -64,-64.4 -64,-64.6 -64,-64.8 -64,-65 -64,-65 -64.1,-65 -64.2,-65 -64.3,-65 -64.4,-65 -64.5,-65 -64.6,-65 -64.7,-65 -64.8,-65 -64.9,-65 -65))", "dataset_titles": "Data from Amsler et al. 2019 Antarctic Science; Plocamium cartilagineum field chemotyping; Plocamium reproductive system data and R code; Plocamium transect and transplant data; Raw gastropod collection data from Amsler et al. 2022 Antarctic Science; Supplementary information provided with Murray et al.: Discovery of an Antarctic ascidian-associated uncultivated Verrucomicrobia with antimelanoma palmerolide biosynthetic potential; Synoicum adareanum sampling underwater video Mar 2011 Palmer Station Antarctica; The Chemical Ecology of Shallow-water Marine Macroalgae and Invertebrates on the Antarctic Peninsula - 2010 experimental data; The Chemical Ecology of Shallow-water Marine Macroalgae and Invertebrates on the Antarctic Peninsula - 2010 field data; The Chemical Ecology of Shallow-water Marine Macroalgae and Invertebrates on the Antarctic Peninsula - 2011 Clad Outplant; The Chemical Ecology of Shallow-water Marine Macroalgae and Invertebrates on the Antarctic Peninsula - 2013 Chemo Phylo data", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "600047", "doi": "10.15784/600047", "keywords": "Antarctica; Biota; Oceans; Southern Ocean", "people": "Baker, Bill", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "The Chemical Ecology of Shallow-water Marine Macroalgae and Invertebrates on the Antarctic Peninsula - 2010 experimental data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/600047"}, {"dataset_uid": "600095", "doi": "10.15784/600095", "keywords": "Algae; Antarctica; Antarctic Peninsula; Biota; Oceans; Southern Ocean", "people": "McClintock, James; Amsler, Charles", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "The Chemical Ecology of Shallow-water Marine Macroalgae and Invertebrates on the Antarctic Peninsula - 2011 Clad Outplant", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/600095"}, {"dataset_uid": "200357", "doi": "10.5061/dryad.gxd2547gw", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "Dryad", "science_program": null, "title": "Synoicum adareanum sampling underwater video Mar 2011 Palmer Station Antarctica", "url": "https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.gxd2547gw"}, {"dataset_uid": "200356", "doi": "10.5061/dryad.8sf7m0cpp", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "Dryad", "science_program": null, "title": "Supplementary information provided with Murray et al.: Discovery of an Antarctic ascidian-associated uncultivated Verrucomicrobia with antimelanoma palmerolide biosynthetic potential", "url": "https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.8sf7m0cpp"}, {"dataset_uid": "601159", "doi": "601159", "keywords": "Antarctica; Benthic; Biota; Macroalgae; Mesograzer; Microscopy; Oceans; Zooplankton", "people": "Amsler, Charles", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Data from Amsler et al. 2019 Antarctic Science", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601159"}, {"dataset_uid": "600046", "doi": "10.15784/600046", "keywords": "Antarctica; Biota; Oceans; Southern Ocean", "people": "McClintock, James; Amsler, Charles", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "The Chemical Ecology of Shallow-water Marine Macroalgae and Invertebrates on the Antarctic Peninsula - 2010 field data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/600046"}, {"dataset_uid": "600096", "doi": "10.15784/600096", "keywords": "Algae; Antarctica; Antarctic Peninsula; Biota; Oceans; Southern Ocean", "people": "Baker, Bill", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "The Chemical Ecology of Shallow-water Marine Macroalgae and Invertebrates on the Antarctic Peninsula - 2013 Chemo Phylo data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/600096"}, {"dataset_uid": "601533", "doi": "10.15784/601533", "keywords": "Antarctica; Benthos; Palmer Station", "people": "Amsler, Charles", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Raw gastropod collection data from Amsler et al. 2022 Antarctic Science", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601533"}, {"dataset_uid": "601215", "doi": "10.15784/601215", "keywords": "Algae; Antarctica; Biota; Chemical Ecology; Chemotyping; Halogenated Monoterpenes; Natural Products; Oceans; Palmer Station; Plocamium Cartilagineum; Southern Ocean; Terpenes", "people": "Baker, Bill", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Plocamium cartilagineum field chemotyping", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601215"}, {"dataset_uid": "601621", "doi": "10.15784/601621", "keywords": "Antarctica; Benthic; Biota; Macroalgae; Mesograzer; Microscopy; Oceans; Secondary Metabolites", "people": "Amsler, Charles", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Plocamium transect and transplant data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601621"}, {"dataset_uid": "601622", "doi": "10.15784/601622", "keywords": "Antarctica; Benthic; Biota; Macroalgae; Population Genetics", "people": "Amsler, Charles", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Plocamium reproductive system data and R code", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601622"}], "date_created": "Tue, 05 Mar 2019 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "The coastal environments of the western Antarctic Peninsula harbor rich assemblages of marine animals and algae. The importance of the interactions between these groups of organisms in the ecology of coastal Antarctica are well known and often mediated by chemical defenses in the tissues of the algae. These chemicals are meant to deter feeding by snails and other marine animals making the Antarctic Peninsula an excellent place to ask important questions about the functional and evolutionary significance of chemical compound diversity for marine communities. This project will focus on three main objectives: the first objective is to expand the current understanding of the relationship between algae and their associated marine animals. The second objective focuses on the diversity of chemical compounds used to defend algae from being consumed. The third objective seeks to understand how marine animals can benefit from these compounds by consuming the algae that contain them, and then using those compounds to chemically deter predators. The field components of this research will be performed during three expeditions to the US Palmer Station, Antarctica. During these expeditions, a variety of laboratory feeding bioassays, manipulative field and laboratory experiments, and on-site chemical analyses will be performed. The investigators will also foster opportunities to integrate their NSF research with a variety of educational activities. As in the past they will support undergraduate research, both through NSF programs as well as home, university-based, programs, and they will also continue to support and foster graduate education. Through their highly successful University of Alabama in Antarctica interactive web program (two time recipient of awards of excellence from the US Council for Advancement and Support of Education), they will continue to involve large numbers of teachers, K-12 students, and other members of the community at large in their scientific endeavors in Antarctica. In addition, the investigators have hosted K-12 teachers on their Antarctic field teams through the former NSF Teachers Experiencing Antarctica and the Arctic program and will pursue participation in PolarTREC, the successor to this valuable program. Moreover, they will actively participate in outreach efforts by presenting numerous talks on their research to local school and community groups. The near shore environments of the western Antarctic Peninsula harbor rich assemblages of macroalgae and macroinvertebrates. The importance of predator-prey interactions and chemical defenses in mediating community-wide trophic interactions makes the western Antarctic Peninsula an excellent place to ask important questions about the functional and evolutionary significance of defensive compound diversity for marine communities. This project will focus on three main objectives which are a direct outcome of the past studies of the chemical ecology of shallow-water marine macroalgae and invertebrates on the Antarctic Peninsula by this group of investigators. The first objective is to expand the current understanding of a community-wide mutualism between macroalgae and their associated amphipods to include gastropods, which are also abundant on many macroalgae. The second objective focuses on the diversity of chemical compounds used to defend macroalgae from being consumed, particularly in the common red alga Plocamium cartilagineum. The third objective seeks to understand the relationship between P. cartilagineum and the amphipod Paradexamine fissicauda, including the ecological benefits and costs to P. fissicauda resulting from the ability to consume P. cartilagineum and other chemically defended red algae. The investigators will focus on the costs and benefits related to the ability of P. fissicauda to sequester defensive compounds from the alga P. cartilagineum and use those chemicals to defend itself from predation. The field components of this research will be performed during three expeditions to Palmer Station, Antarctica. During these expeditions, a variety of laboratory feeding bioassays, manipulative field and laboratory experiments, and on-site chemical analyses will be performed. Phylogenetic analyses, detailed secondary metabolite chemical analyses and purifications, and other data analyses will also be performed at the investigators\u0027 home institutions between and after their field seasons.", "east": -63.0, "geometry": "POINT(-64 -64.5)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "FIELD INVESTIGATION; Antarctica; BENTHIC; USAP-DC", "locations": "Antarctica", "north": -64.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems; Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Amsler, Charles; Baker, Bill; McClintock, James", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "Dryad; USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -65.0, "title": "Collaborative Research: The Chemical Ecology of Shallow-water Marine Macroalgae and Invertebrates on the Antarctic Peninsula - continuing", "uid": "p0010016", "west": -65.0}, {"awards": "1249631 Wilson, Terry; 1247518 Smalley, Robert; 1246712 Wiens, Douglas; 1246666 Huerta, Audrey; 1249513 Dalziel, Ian; 1419268 Aster, Richard; 1246776 Nyblade, Andrew", "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": "Network/Campaign: Antarctica POLENET - ANET; POLENET - Network YT", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "200011", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "UNAVCO", "science_program": null, "title": "Network/Campaign: Antarctica POLENET - ANET", "url": "https://www.unavco.org/data/gps-gnss/data-access-methods/dai2/app/dai2.html#grouping=Antarctica%20POLENET%20-%20ANET;scope=Station;sampleRate=normal;groupingMod=contains"}, {"dataset_uid": "200012", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "IRIS", "science_program": null, "title": "POLENET - Network YT", "url": "http://ds.iris.edu/mda/YT/?timewindow=2007-2018"}], "date_created": "Sun, 17 Feb 2019 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Intellectual Merit: The PIs propose to continue and expand GPS and seismic for ANET-POLENET Phase 2 to advance understanding of geodynamic processes and their influence on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. ANET-POLENET science themes include: 1) determining ice mass change since the last glacial maximum, including modern ice mass balance; 2) solid earth influence on ice sheet dynamics; and 3) tectonic evolution of West Antarctica and feedbacks with ice sheet evolution. Nine new remote continuous GPS stations, to be deployed in collaboration with U.K. and Italian partners, will augment ANET-POLENET instrumentation deployed during Phase 1. Siting is designed to better constrain uplift centers predicted by GIA models and indicated by Phase 1 results. ANET-POLENET Phase 2 builds on Phase 1 scientific, technological, and logistical achievements including 1) seismic images of crust and mantle structure that resolve the highly heterogeneous thermal and viscosity structure of the Antarctic lithosphere and underlying mantle; 2) newly identified intraplate glacial, volcanic, and tectonic seismogenic processes; 3) improved estimates of intraplate vertical and horizontal crustal motions and refinement of the Antarctic GPS reference frame; and 4) elucidation of controls on glacial isostatic adjustment-induced crustal motions due to laterally varying earth structure. The PIs present a nominal plan to reduce ANET by approximately half to a longer-term community \"backbone network\" in the final 2 years of this project. Broader impacts: Monitoring and understanding mass change and dynamic behavior of the Antarctic ice sheet using in situ GPS and seismological studies will help improve understanding of how Antarctic ice sheets respond to a warming world and how will this response impacts sea-level and other global changes. Seismic and geodetic data collected by the backbone ANET-POLENET network are openly available to the scientific community. ANET-POLENET is integral in the development and realization of technological and logistical innovations for year-round operation of instrumentation at remote polar sites, helping to advance scientifically and geographically broad studies of the polar regions. The ANET-POLENET team will establish a training initiative to mentor young polar scientists in complex, multidisciplinary and internationally collaborative research. ANET-POLENET will continue the broad public outreach to the public about polar science through the polenet.org website, university lectures, and K-12 school visits. This research involves multiple international partners.", "east": 180.0, "geometry": "POINT(0 -89.999)", "instruments": "NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Geodesy; USAP-DC; SEISMIC SURFACE WAVES; CRUSTAL MOTION; TECTONICS; Broadband Seismic; NOT APPLICABLE; Antarctica", "locations": "Antarctica", "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences; Antarctic Earth Sciences; Antarctic Earth Sciences; Antarctic Earth Sciences; Antarctic Earth Sciences; Antarctic Earth Sciences; Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Wilson, Terry; Dalziel, Ian W.; Bevis, Michael; Aster, Richard; Huerta, Audrey D.; Winberry, Paul; Anandakrishnan, Sridhar; Nyblade, Andrew; Wiens, Douglas; Smalley, Robert", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE", "repo": "UNAVCO", "repositories": "IRIS; UNAVCO", "science_programs": "POLENET", "south": -90.0, "title": "Collaborative Research: POLENET-Antarctica: Investigating Links Between Geodynamics and Ice Sheets - Phase 2", "uid": "p0010013", "west": -180.0}, {"awards": "1543313 VanTongeren, Jill", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": "U-Pb ages and mineral compositions from Dufek Intrusion", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601132", "doi": "10.15784/601132", "keywords": "Antarctica; Chemical Composition; Chemistry:rock; Chemistry:Rock; Crystallization; Dufek Complex; Geochemistry; Magma Chamber Procesess; Mass Spectrometry; Rocks; Snow/ice; Snow/Ice; Solid Earth; TIMS; Volcanic Deposits", "people": "VanTongeren, Jill", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "U-Pb ages and mineral compositions from Dufek Intrusion", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601132"}], "date_created": "Mon, 29 Oct 2018 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "The solidified remnants of large magma bodies within the continental crust hold the key to understanding the chemical and physical evolution of volcanic provinces through time. These deposits also commonly contain some of the world\u0027s most important ore deposits. Exposed deposits in South Africa, Greenland, USA, Canada, and Antarctica have led researchers to propose that the bigger the magma body, the faster it will crystallize. While this might seem counter-intuitive (typically it is thought that more magma = hotter = harder to cool), the comparison of these exposures show that bigger magma chambers maintain a molten top that is always in contact with the colder crust; whereas smaller magma chambers insulate themselves by crystallizing at the margins. The process is similar to the difference between a large cup of coffee with no lid, and a smaller cup of coffee held in a thermos. The large unprotected cup of coffee will cool down much faster than that held in the thermos. This research project of VanTongeren and Schoene will use previously collected rocks from the large (~8-9 km thick) Dufek Intrusion in Antarctica to precisely quantify how fast the magma chamber crystallized, and compare that rate to the much smaller magma chamber exposed in the Skaergaard Intrusion of E. Greenland. The work is an important step towards improving our understanding of time-scales associated with the thermal and chemical evolution of nearly all magma chambers on Earth, which will ultimately lead to better predictions of volcanic hazards globally. The work will also yield important insights into the timescales and conditions necessary for developing vast magmatic ore deposits, which is essential to the platinum and steel industries in the USA and abroad. Based on observations of solidification fronts in six of the world\u0027s most completely exposed layered mafic intrusions, it was recently proposed that bigger magma chambers must crystallize faster than small magma chambers. While this is initially counter-intuitive, the hypothesis falls out of simple heat balance equations and the observation that the thickness of cumulates at the roofs of such intrusions is negatively proportional to the size of the intrusion. In this study, VanTongeren and Schoene will directly test the hypothesis that bigger magma chambers crystallize faster by applying high precision U-Pb zircon geochronology on 5-10 samples throughout the large Dufek Intrusion of Antarctica. Due to uncertainties in even the highest-precision ID-TIMS analyses, the Dufek Intrusion of Antarctica is the only large layered mafic intrusion on Earth where this research can be accomplished. VanTongeren and Schoene will place the geochronological measurements of the Dufek Intrusion into a comprehensive petrologic framework by linking zircon crystallization to other liquidus phases using mineral geochemistry, zircon saturation models, and petrologic models for intrusion crystallization. The research has the potential to radically change the way that we understand the formation and differentiation of large magma bodies within the shallow crust. Layered intrusions are typically thought to cool and crystallize over very long timescales allowing for significant differentiation of the magmas and reorganization of the cumulate rocks. If the \u0027bigger magma chambers crystallize faster hypothesis\u0027 holds this could reduce the calculated solidification time scales of the early earth and lunar magma oceans and have important implications for magma chamber dynamics of active intraplate volcanism and long-lived continental arcs. Furthermore, while the Dufek Intrusion is one of only two large layered intrusions exposed on Earth, very little is known about its petrologic evolution. The detailed geochemical and petrologic work of VanTongeren and Schoene based on analyses of previously collected samples will provide important observations with which to compare the Dufek and other large magma chambers.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": "NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "NOT APPLICABLE; USAP-DC", "locations": null, "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "VanTongeren, Jill", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "Collaborative Research: Testing the Hypothesis that Bigger Magma Chambers Crystallize Faster", "uid": "p0000135", "west": null}, {"awards": "1141916 Aster, Richard", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": "Dynamic Response of the Ross Ice Shelf to Ocean Waves and Structure and Dynamics of the Ross Sea", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "002573", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "IRIS", "science_program": null, "title": "Dynamic Response of the Ross Ice Shelf to Ocean Waves and Structure and Dynamics of the Ross Sea", "url": "http://www.iris.washington.edu/mda/XH?timewindow=2014-2017"}], "date_created": "Mon, 22 Oct 2018 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Intellectual Merit: The PIs propose to establish an ice shelf network of 18 broadband seismographs deployed for two years to obtain high-resolution, mantle-scale images of Earth structure underlying the Ross Sea Embayment. Prior marine geophysical work provides good crustal velocity models for the region seaward of the ice shelf but mantle structure is constrained by only low-resolution images due to the lack of prior seismic deployments. The proposed stations would be established between Ross Island and Marie Byrd Land. These stations would fill a major geological gap within this extensional continental province and would link data sets collected in the Transantarctic Mountain transition/Plateau region (TAMSEIS) and in West Antarctica (POLENET) to improve resolution of mantle features beneath Antarctica. The proposed deployment would allow the PIs to collect seismic data without the expense, logistical complexity, and iceberg hazards associated with ocean bottom seismograph deployments. Tomographic models developed from the proposed data will be used to choose between competing models for the dynamics of the Ross Sea. In particular, the PIs will investigate whether a broad region of hot mantle, including the Eastern Ross Sea, indicates distributed recent tectonic activity, which would call into question models proposing that Eastern Ross extension ceased during the Mesozoic. These data will also allow the PIs to investigate the deeper earth structure to evaluate the possible role of mantle plumes and/or small-scale convection in driving regional volcanism and tectonism across the region. Broader impacts: Data from this deployment will be of broad interdisciplinary use. This project will support three graduate and two undergraduate students. At least one student will be an underrepresented minority student. The PIs will interact with the media and include K-12 educators in their fieldwork.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": "NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "NOT APPLICABLE; USAP-DC", "locations": null, "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences; Antarctic Instrumentation and Support", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Aster, Richard", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE", "repo": "IRIS", "repositories": "IRIS", "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "Collaborative Research: Mantle Structure and Dynamics of the Ross Sea from a Passive Seismic Deployment on the Ross Ice Shelf", "uid": "p0000761", "west": null}, {"awards": "1143981 Domack, Eugene", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-69.9517 -52.7581,-69.02971 -52.7581,-68.10772 -52.7581,-67.18573 -52.7581,-66.26374 -52.7581,-65.34175 -52.7581,-64.41976 -52.7581,-63.49777 -52.7581,-62.57578 -52.7581,-61.65379 -52.7581,-60.7318 -52.7581,-60.7318 -54.31551,-60.7318 -55.87292,-60.7318 -57.43033,-60.7318 -58.98774,-60.7318 -60.54515,-60.7318 -62.10256,-60.7318 -63.65997,-60.7318 -65.21738,-60.7318 -66.77479,-60.7318 -68.3322,-61.65379 -68.3322,-62.57578 -68.3322,-63.49777 -68.3322,-64.41976 -68.3322,-65.34175 -68.3322,-66.26374 -68.3322,-67.18573 -68.3322,-68.10772 -68.3322,-69.02971 -68.3322,-69.9517 -68.3322,-69.9517 -66.77479,-69.9517 -65.21738,-69.9517 -63.65997,-69.9517 -62.10256,-69.9517 -60.54515,-69.9517 -58.98774,-69.9517 -57.43033,-69.9517 -55.87292,-69.9517 -54.31551,-69.9517 -52.7581))", "dataset_titles": "Expedition Data; Processed Camera Images acquired during the Laurence M. Gould expedition LMG1311", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "001366", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "Expedition Data", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/LMG1702"}, {"dataset_uid": "000402", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "Expedition Data", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/LMG1702"}, {"dataset_uid": "601311", "doi": "10.15784/601311", "keywords": "Antarctica; Antarctic Peninsula; Benthic Images; Camera; LARISSA; LMG1311; Marine Geoscience; Photo; Photo/video; Photo/Video; R/v Laurence M. Gould", "people": "Domack, Eugene Walter", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "LARISSA", "title": "Processed Camera Images acquired during the Laurence M. Gould expedition LMG1311", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601311"}], "date_created": "Fri, 29 Dec 2017 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This project aims to identify which portions of the glacial cover in the Antarctic Peninsula are losing mass to the ocean. This is an important issue to resolve because the Antarctic Peninsula is warming at a faster rate than any other region across the earth. Even though glaciers across the Antarctic Peninsula are small, compared to the continental ice sheet, defining how rapidly they respond to both ocean and atmospheric temperature rise is critical. It is critical because it informs us about the exact mechanisms which regulate ice flow and melting into the ocean. For instance, after the break- up of the Larsen Ice Shelf in 2002 many glaciers began to flow rapidly into the sea. Measuring how much ice was involved is difficult and depends upon accurate estimates of volume and area. One way to increase the accuracy of our estimates is to measure how fast the Earth\u0027s crust is rebounding or bouncing back, after the ice has been removed. This rebound effect can be measured with very precise techniques using instruments locked into ice free bedrock surrounding the area of interest. These instruments are monitored by a set of positioning satellites (the Global Positioning System or GPS) in a continuous fashion. Of course the movement of the Earth\u0027s bedrock relates not only to the immediate response but also the longer term rate that reflects the long vanished ice masses that once covered the entire Antarctic Peninsula?at the time of the last glaciation. These rebound measurements can, therefore, also tell us about the amount of ice which covered the Antarctic Peninsula thousands of years ago. Glacial isostatic rebound is one of the complicating factors in allowing us to understand how much the larger ice sheets are losing today, something that can be estimated by satellite techniques but only within large errors when the isostatic (rebound) correction is unknown. The research proposed consists of maintaining a set of six rebound stations until the year 2016, allowing for a longer time series and thus more accurate estimates of immediate elastic and longer term rebound effects. It also involves the establishment of two additional GPS stations that will focus on constraining the \"bull\u0027s eye\" of rebound suggested by measurements over the past two years. In addition, several more geologic data points will be collected that will help to reconstruct the position of the ice sheet margin during its recession from the full ice sheet of the last glacial maximum. These will be based upon the coring of marine sediment sequences now recognized to have been deposited along the margins of retreating ice sheets and outlets. Precise dating of the ice margin along with the new and improved rebound data will help to constrain past ice sheet configurations and refine geophysical models related to the nature of post glacial rebound. Data management will be under the auspices of the UNAVCO polar geophysical network or POLENET and will be publically available at the time of station installation. This project is a small scale extension of the ongoing LARsen Ice Shelf, Antarctica Project (LARISSA), an IPY (International Polar Year)-funded interdisciplinary study aimed at understanding earth system connections related to the Larsen Ice Shelf and the northern Antarctic Peninsula.", "east": -60.7318, "geometry": "POINT(-65.34175 -60.54515)", "instruments": "EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e PHOTON/OPTICAL DETECTORS \u003e CAMERAS \u003e CAMERAS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e SEISMIC REFLECTION PROFILERS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e CTD; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e CHEMICAL METERS/ANALYZERS \u003e FLUOROMETERS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e RECORDERS/LOGGERS \u003e AWS; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e POSITIONING/NAVIGATION \u003e GPS \u003e GPS; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e ACTIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e ACOUSTIC SOUNDERS \u003e ECHO SOUNDERS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e THERMOSALINOGRAPHS", "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "LMG1702; R/V LMG", "locations": null, "north": -52.7581, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Integrated System Science", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Kohut, Josh; Domack, Eugene Walter", "platforms": "WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e VESSELS \u003e SURFACE \u003e R/V LMG", "repo": "R2R", "repositories": "R2R; USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -68.3322, "title": "Continuation of the LARISSA Continuous GPS Network in View of Observed Dynamic Response to Antarctic Peninsula Ice Mass Balance and Required Geologic Constraints", "uid": "p0000233", "west": -69.9517}, {"awards": "1148982 Hansen, Samantha", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((153.327 -73.032547,154.5063012 -73.032547,155.6856024 -73.032547,156.8649036 -73.032547,158.0442048 -73.032547,159.223506 -73.032547,160.4028072 -73.032547,161.5821084 -73.032547,162.7614096 -73.032547,163.9407108 -73.032547,165.120012 -73.032547,165.120012 -73.3530275,165.120012 -73.673508,165.120012 -73.9939885,165.120012 -74.314469,165.120012 -74.6349495,165.120012 -74.95543,165.120012 -75.2759105,165.120012 -75.596391,165.120012 -75.9168715,165.120012 -76.237352,163.9407108 -76.237352,162.7614096 -76.237352,161.5821084 -76.237352,160.4028072 -76.237352,159.223506 -76.237352,158.0442048 -76.237352,156.8649036 -76.237352,155.6856024 -76.237352,154.5063012 -76.237352,153.327 -76.237352,153.327 -75.9168715,153.327 -75.596391,153.327 -75.2759105,153.327 -74.95543,153.327 -74.6349495,153.327 -74.314469,153.327 -73.9939885,153.327 -73.673508,153.327 -73.3530275,153.327 -73.032547))", "dataset_titles": "Crustal Structure beneath the Northern Transantarctic Mountains and Wilkes Subglacial Basin: Implications for Tectonic Origins; Shear Wave Splitting Analysis and Seismic Anisotropy beneath the Northern Transantarctic Mountains; Upper Mantle Seismic Structure beneath the Northern Transantarctic Mountains from Regional P- and S-wave Tomography; Upper Mantle Shear Wave Velocity Structure beneath the Northern Transantarctic Mountains", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601018", "doi": "10.15784/601018", "keywords": "Antarctica; Geology/Geophysics - Other; Model; Seismology; Solid Earth; Tomography; Transantarctic Mountains", "people": "Hansen, Samantha", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Upper Mantle Shear Wave Velocity Structure beneath the Northern Transantarctic Mountains", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601018"}, {"dataset_uid": "601017", "doi": "10.15784/601017", "keywords": "Antarctica; Geology/Geophysics - Other; Model; Seismology; Solid Earth; Tomography; Transantarctic Mountains", "people": "Hansen, Samantha", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Upper Mantle Seismic Structure beneath the Northern Transantarctic Mountains from Regional P- and S-wave Tomography", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601017"}, {"dataset_uid": "601194", "doi": "10.15784/601194", "keywords": "Antarctica; Transantarctic Mountains", "people": "Hansen, Samantha", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Crustal Structure beneath the Northern Transantarctic Mountains and Wilkes Subglacial Basin: Implications for Tectonic Origins", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601194"}, {"dataset_uid": "601019", "doi": "10.15784/601019", "keywords": "Antarctica; Geology/Geophysics - Other; GPS; Sample/collection Description; Sample/Collection Description; Seismology; Shearwave Spitting; Solid Earth; Transantarctic Mountains", "people": "Hansen, Samantha", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Shear Wave Splitting Analysis and Seismic Anisotropy beneath the Northern Transantarctic Mountains", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601019"}], "date_created": "Sun, 04 Jun 2017 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Intellectual Merit: To understand Antarctica\u0027s geodynamic development, origin of the Transantarctic Mountains (TAMs) and the Wilkes Subglacial Basin (WSB) must be determined. Current constraints on the crustal thickness and seismic velocity structure beneath the TAMs and the WSB are limited, leading to uncertainties over competing geologic models that have been suggested to explain their formation. The PI proposes to broaden the investigation of this region with a new seismic deployment, the Transantarctic Mountains Northern Network (TAMNNET), a 15-station array across the northern TAMs and the WSB that will fill a major gap in seismic coverage. Data from TAMNNET will be combined with that from other previous and ongoing seismic initiatives and will be analyzed using proven modeling techniques to generate a detailed image of the seismic structure beneath the TAMs and the WSB. These data will be used to test three fundamental hypotheses: the TAMs are underlain by thickened crust, the WSB is characterized by thin crust and thick sedimentary layers, and slow seismic velocities are prevalent along strike beneath the TAMs. Results from the proposed study will provide new information about the nature and formation of the Antarctic continent and will help to advance our understanding of important global processes, such as mountain building and basin formation. The proposed research also has important implications for other fields of Antarctic science. Constraints on the origin of the TAMs uplift are critical for climate and ice sheet models, and new information acquired about variations in the thermal and lithospheric structure beneath the TAMs and the WSB will be used to estimate critical ice sheet boundary conditions. Broader impacts: This project incorporates three educational strategies to promote the integration of teaching and research. Graduate students will be trained in Antarctic tectonics and seismic processing through hands-on fieldwork and data analysis techniques. Through NSF\u0027s PolarTREC program, the PI will work with K-12 educators. The PI will develop a three-week summer field program for recent high school graduates and early-career undergraduate students from Minority-Serving Institutions in Alabama. Teaching materials and participant experiences will be shared with individuals outside the program via a course website. Following the summer program, participants who were particularly engaged will be offered internship opportunities to analyze TAMNNET data. In successive years, the students could assist with fieldwork and could be recruited into the graduate program under the PI\u0027s supervision. Ultimately, this program would not only serve to educate undergraduates but would also generate a pipeline of underrepresented students into the geosciences.", "east": 165.120012, "geometry": "POINT(159.223506 -74.6349495)", "instruments": "NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "NOT APPLICABLE; USAP-DC", "locations": null, "north": -73.032547, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Hansen, Samantha", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -76.237352, "title": "CAREER: Deciphering the Tectonic History of the Transantarctic Mountains and the Wilkes Subglacial Basin", "uid": "p0000300", "west": 153.327}, {"awards": "0539232 Cuffey, Kurt; 0539578 Alley, Richard", "bounds_geometry": "POINT(112.083 -79.467)", "dataset_titles": "Grain Size Full Population Dataset from WDC06A Core; Temperature Profile of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide Deep Borehole; Temperature Reconstruction at the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide; Updated (2017) bubble number-density, size, shape, and modeled paleoclimate data; WAIS Divide Ice Core Vertical Thin Section Low-resolution Digital Imagery; WAIS Divide Surface and Snow-pit Data, 2009-2013; WDC 06A Mean Grain Size Data", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "609656", "doi": "10.7265/N5MC8X08", "keywords": "Antarctica; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Grain Size; Ice Core Records; WAIS Divide; WAIS Divide Ice Core", "people": "Fitzpatrick, Joan; Cravens, Eric D.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "WDC 06A Mean Grain Size Data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/609656"}, {"dataset_uid": "601079", "doi": "10.15784/601079", "keywords": "Antarctica; Atmosphere; AWS; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Core Records; Meteorology; Physical Properties; Snow Pit; Temperature; WAIS Divide; WAIS Divide Ice Core; Weatherstation", "people": "Alley, Richard; Fegyveresi, John", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "WAIS Divide Ice Core", "title": "WAIS Divide Surface and Snow-pit Data, 2009-2013", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601079"}, {"dataset_uid": "600377", "doi": "10.15784/600377", "keywords": "Antarctica; Chemistry:fluid; Chemistry:Fluid; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Core Records; Nitrogen; Paleoclimate; Temperature; WAIS Divide; WAIS Divide Ice Core", "people": "Cuffey, Kurt M.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "WAIS Divide Ice Core", "title": "Temperature Reconstruction at the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/600377"}, {"dataset_uid": "609550", "doi": "10.7265/N5V69GJW", "keywords": "Antarctica; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Core Records; Temperature; WAIS Divide; WAIS Divide Ice Core", "people": "Cuffey, Kurt M.; Clow, Gary D.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Temperature Profile of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide Deep Borehole", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/609550"}, {"dataset_uid": "601224", "doi": "10.15784/601224", "keywords": "Antarctic; Antarctica; Bubble Number Density; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice; Ice Core Data; Ice Core Records; NSF-ICF Microtome and Photography Stage; Paleoclimate; Physical Properties; Snow/ice; Snow/Ice; WAIS Divide Ice Core; West Antarctic Ice Sheet", "people": "Voigt, Donald E.; Alley, Richard; Fegyveresi, John; Fitzpatrick, Joan; Spencer, Matthew", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "WAIS Divide Ice Core", "title": "Updated (2017) bubble number-density, size, shape, and modeled paleoclimate data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601224"}, {"dataset_uid": "609654", "doi": "10.7265/N5GM858X", "keywords": "Antarctica; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Ice Core Records; Photo/video; Photo/Video; Thin Sections; WAIS Divide; WAIS Divide Ice Core", "people": "Cravens, Eric D.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "WAIS Divide Ice Core", "title": "WAIS Divide Ice Core Vertical Thin Section Low-resolution Digital Imagery", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/609654"}, {"dataset_uid": "609655", "doi": "10.7265/N5VX0DG0", "keywords": "Antarctica; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Grain Size; Ice Core Records; WAIS Divide; WAIS Divide Ice Core", "people": "Cravens, Eric D.; Fitzpatrick, Joan", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Grain Size Full Population Dataset from WDC06A Core", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/609655"}], "date_created": "Thu, 12 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "0539578\u003cbr/\u003eAlley \u003cbr/\u003eThis award supports a five-year collaborative project to study the physical-properties of the planned deep ice core and the temperature of the ice in the divide region of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. The intellectual merit of the proposed research is to provide fundamental information on the state of the ice sheet, to validate the integrity of the climate record, to help reconstruct the climate record, and to understand the flow state and history of the ice sheet. This information will initially be supplied to other investigators and then to the public and to appropriate databases, and will be published in the refereed scientific literature. The objectives of the proposed research are to aid in dating of the core through counting of annual layers, to identify any exceptionally warm intervals in the past through counting of melt layers, to learn as much as possible about the flow state and history of the ice through measurement of size, shape and arrangements of bubbles, clathrate inclusions, grains and their c-axes, to identify any flow disturbances through these indicators, and to learn the history of snow accumulation and temperature from analyses of bubbles and borehole temperatures combined with flow modeling and use of data from other collaborators. These results will then be synthesized and communicated. Failure to examine cores can lead to erroneous identification of flow features as climate changes, so careful examination is required. Independent reconstruction of accumulation rate provides important data on climate change, and improves confidence in interpretation of other climate indicators. Borehole temperatures are useful recorders of temperature history. Flow state and history are important in understanding climate history and potential contribution of ice to sea-level change. By contributing to all of these and additional issues, the proposed research will be of considerable value. The broader impacts of the research include making available to the public improved knowledge on societally central questions involving abrupt climate change and sea-level rise. The project will also contribute to the education of advanced students, will utilize results in education of introductory students, and will make vigorous efforts in outreach, informal science education, and supplying information to policy-makers as requested, thus contributing to a more-informed society.", "east": 112.083, "geometry": "POINT(112.083 -79.467)", "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PHOTON/OPTICAL DETECTORS \u003e CAMERAS \u003e CAMERA; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e TEMPERATURE/HUMIDITY SENSORS \u003e THERMISTORS \u003e THERMISTORS", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "LABORATORY; WAIS Divide; Ice Core; Temperature Profiles; FIELD SURVEYS; Bubble Number Density; GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS; Wais Divide-project", "locations": "WAIS Divide", "north": -79.467, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology; Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Fitzpatrick, Joan; Alley, Richard; Fegyveresi, John; Clow, Gary D.; Cuffey, Kurt M.; Cravens, Eric D.", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD SURVEYS; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e PERMANENT LAND SITES \u003e GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS; OTHER \u003e PHYSICAL MODELS \u003e LABORATORY", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": "WAIS Divide Ice Core", "south": -79.467, "title": "Collaborative Research: Physical Properties of the WAIS Divide Deep Core", "uid": "p0000038", "west": 112.083}, {"awards": "1043750 Chen, Jianli", "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": "Long-Term and Interannual Variability of Antarctic Ice Sheet Mass Balance From Satellite Gravimetry and Other Geodetic Measurements", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "600159", "doi": "10.15784/600159", "keywords": "Antarctica; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; GPS; GRACE; Potential Field; Satellite Data", "people": "Chen, Jianli", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Long-Term and Interannual Variability of Antarctic Ice Sheet Mass Balance From Satellite Gravimetry and Other Geodetic Measurements", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/600159"}], "date_created": "Fri, 13 May 2016 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "1043750/Chen This award supports a project to improve the estimate of long-term and inter-annual variability of Antarctic ice sheet mass balance at continental, regional, and catchment scales, using satellite gravity measurements from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and other geodetic measurements. The work will improve the quantification of long-term mass change rates over Antarctica using GRACE gravity data with a longer record and newer generation(s) of products and will develop advanced numerical forward modeling techniques that can accurately correct leakage effects associated with GRACE data processing, and significantly improve spatial resolution of GRACE mass rate estimates over Antarctica. The work will also contribute to a better understanding of crustal uplift rates due to postglacial rebound (PGR) and present day ice load change over Antarctica via PGR models, GPS measurements, and combined analysis of GRACE and ICESat elevation changes. Inter-annual variations of ice mass over Antarctica will be investigated at continental and catchment scales and connections to regional climate change will be studied. The major deliverables from this study will be improved assessments of ice mass balance for the entire Antarctic ice sheet and potential contribution to global mean sea level rise. The work will also provide estimates of regional ice mass change rates over Antarctica, with a focus along the coast in the Amundsen Sea Embayment, the Peninsula in West Antarctica, and in Wilkes Land and Victoria Land in East Antarctica. Estimates of inter-annual ice mass change over Antarctica at various spatial scales, and assessments of uncertainty of GRACE ice rate estimates and PGR models errors over Antarctica will also be made. The intellectual merits of the proposed investigation include 1) providing improved assessments of Antarctic ice mass balance at different temporal and spatial scales with unprecedented accuracy, an important contribution to broad areas of polar science research; 2) combining high accuracy GPS vertical uplift measurements and PGR models to better quantify long-term crust uplift effects that are not distinguishable from ice mass changes by GRACE; and 3) unifying the work of several investigations at the forefront of quantifying ice sheet and glacier mass balance and crustal uplift based on a variety of modern space geodetic observations. The broader impacts include the fact that the project will actively involve student participation and training, through the support of two graduate students. In addition the project will contribute to general education and public outreach (E/PO) activities and the results from this investigation will help inspire future geoscientists and promote public awareness of significant manifestations of climate change.", "east": 180.0, "geometry": "POINT(0 -89.999)", "instruments": "EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e POSITIONING/NAVIGATION \u003e LASER RANGING \u003e GRACE LRR", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "SATELLITES; GRACE; Not provided", "locations": null, "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Chen, Jianli; Wilson, Clark; Blankenship, Donald D.; Tapley, Byron", "platforms": "Not provided; SPACE-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e EARTH OBSERVATION SATELLITES \u003e NASA EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE PATHFINDER \u003e GRACE; SPACE-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e EARTH OBSERVATION SATELLITES \u003e SATELLITES", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "Collaborative Research: Long-Term and Interannual Variability of Antarctic Ice Sheet Mass Balance From Satellite Gravimetry and Other Geodetic Measurements", "uid": "p0000415", "west": -180.0}, {"awards": "1043152 Cottle, John", "bounds_geometry": "POINT(162.66667 -78.16667)", "dataset_titles": "EarthChem Library #925.", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "000167", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "EarthChem", "science_program": null, "title": "EarthChem Library #925.", "url": "http://www.earthchem.org/"}], "date_created": "Tue, 01 Mar 2016 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Intellectual Merit: Magmas generated during subduction of oceanic lithosphere beneath active continental margins typically have a calc-alkaline chemistry. However, igneous rocks with signatures usually associated with anorogenic magmatism are increasingly being found with calc-alkaline rocks in subduction zones. These enigmatic rocks provide insight into a variety of magmatic and structural processes that are fundamental to subduction zone dynamics but processes that lead to their petrogenesis remain a matter of debate. This project will investigate the Koettlitz Glacier Alkaline Province (KGAP) in the Transantarctic Mountains, which is a section through a Na-alkaline province bounded to the north and south by calc-alkaline magmatism. This province potentially contains key information on the thermo-mechanical processes leading to generation of Na-alkaline rocks in subduction systems. The PI will examine structures that bound the KGAP as well as intrusives and metasedimentary rocks contained within it to determine the tectonomagmatic history in the framework of two end-member hypotheses: the KGAP represents a crustal-scale extensional or transtensional domain in a subduction setting; or the KGAP formed in response to ridge subduction. Broader impacts: This study will train three graduate and three undergraduate students incorporating hands-on experience with state of the art instrumentation. Each summer, four high school students will be incorporated into various aspects of the laboratory-based research through the UCSB research mentorship program. This project will stimulate refinement of in-situ LA-ICPMS methods and development of collaborative linkages with Antarctic geologists at GNS Science in New Zealand. Results will be disseminated via papers and presentations at international conferences.", "east": 162.66667, "geometry": "POINT(162.66667 -78.16667)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Not provided", "locations": null, "north": -78.16667, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Cottle, John", "platforms": "Not provided", "repo": "EarthChem", "repositories": "EarthChem", "science_programs": null, "south": -78.16667, "title": "Exploring the Significance of Na-Alkaline Magmatism in Subduction Systems, a Case Study From the Ross Orogen, Antarctica", "uid": "p0000331", "west": 162.66667}, {"awards": "1043761 Young, Duncan", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-145 -74,-141.6 -74,-138.2 -74,-134.8 -74,-131.4 -74,-128 -74,-124.6 -74,-121.2 -74,-117.8 -74,-114.4 -74,-111 -74,-111 -74.6,-111 -75.2,-111 -75.8,-111 -76.4,-111 -77,-111 -77.6,-111 -78.2,-111 -78.8,-111 -79.4,-111 -80,-114.4 -80,-117.8 -80,-121.2 -80,-124.6 -80,-128 -80,-131.4 -80,-134.8 -80,-138.2 -80,-141.6 -80,-145 -80,-145 -79.4,-145 -78.8,-145 -78.2,-145 -77.6,-145 -77,-145 -76.4,-145 -75.8,-145 -75.2,-145 -74.6,-145 -74))", "dataset_titles": "AGASEA 4.7 ka Englacial Isochron over the Thwaites Glacier Catchment; Geophysical Investigations of Marie Byrd Land Lithospheric Evolution (GIMBLE) Airborne VHF Radar Transects: 2012/2013 and 2014/2015; Gravity disturbance data over central Marie Byrd Land, West Antarctica (GIMBLE.GGCMG2); Ice thickness and related data over central Marie Byrd Land, West Antarctica (GIMBLE.GR2HI2); Magnetic anomaly data over central Marie Byrd Land, West Antarctica (GIMBLE.GMGEO2)", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601002", "doi": "10.15784/601002", "keywords": "Antarctica; Gimble; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Magnetic; Marie Byrd Land; Navigation; Potential Field; Solid Earth", "people": "Blankenship, Donald D.; Young, Duncan A.; Holt, John W.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Magnetic anomaly data over central Marie Byrd Land, West Antarctica (GIMBLE.GMGEO2)", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601002"}, {"dataset_uid": "601003", "doi": "10.15784/601003", "keywords": "Antarctica; Gimble; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Gravity; Marie Byrd Land; Navigation; Potential Field; Solid Earth", "people": "Young, Duncan A.; Blankenship, Donald D.; Holt, John W.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Gravity disturbance data over central Marie Byrd Land, West Antarctica (GIMBLE.GGCMG2)", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601003"}, {"dataset_uid": "601001", "doi": "10.15784/601001", "keywords": "Airborne Radar; Antarctica; Gimble; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Thickness; Marie Byrd Land; Navigation; Radar", "people": "Blankenship, Donald D.; Young, Duncan A.; Holt, John W.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Ice thickness and related data over central Marie Byrd Land, West Antarctica (GIMBLE.GR2HI2)", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601001"}, {"dataset_uid": "200407", "doi": "10.18738/T8/BMXUHX", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "Texas Data Repository", "science_program": null, "title": "Geophysical Investigations of Marie Byrd Land Lithospheric Evolution (GIMBLE) Airborne VHF Radar Transects: 2012/2013 and 2014/2015", "url": "https://doi.org/10.18738/T8/BMXUHX"}, {"dataset_uid": "601673", "doi": "10.15784/601673", "keywords": "Antarchitecture; Antarctica; Ice Penetrating Radar; Isochron; Layers; Radar; Radioglaciology; Thwaites Glacier", "people": "Blankenship, Donald D.; Young, Duncan A.; Jackson, Charles; Muldoon, Gail R.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "AGASEA 4.7 ka Englacial Isochron over the Thwaites Glacier Catchment", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601673"}], "date_created": "Tue, 01 Dec 2015 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Intellectual Merit: The PIs propose to use airborne geophysics to provide detailed geophysical mapping over the Marie Byrd Land dome of West Antarctica. They will use a Basler equipped with advanced ice penetrating radar, a magnetometer, an airborne gravimeter and laser altimeter. They will test models of Marie Byrd Land lithospheric evolution in three ways: 1) constrain bedrock topography and crustal structure of central Marie Byrd Land for the first time; 2) map subglacial geomorphology of Marie Byrd Land to constrain landscape evolution; and 3) map the distribution of subglacial volcanic centers and identify active sources. Marie Byrd Land is one of the few parts of West Antarctica whose bedrock lies above sea level; as such, it has a key role to play in the formation and decay of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS), and thus on eustatic sea level change during the Neogene. Several lines of evidence suggest that the topography of Marie Byrd Land has changed over the course of the Cenozoic, with significant implications for the origin and evolution of the ice sheet. Broader impacts: This work will have important implications for both the cryospheric and geodynamic communities. These data will also leverage results from the POLENET project. The PIs will train both graduate and undergraduate students in the interpretation of large geophysical datasets providing them with the opportunity to co-author peer-reviewed papers and present their work to the broader science community. This research will also support a young female researcher. The PIs will conduct informal education using their Polar Studies website and contribute formally to K-12 curriculum development. The research will incorporate microblogging and data access to allow the project?s first-order hypothesis to be confirmed or denied in public.", "east": -111.0, "geometry": "POINT(-128 -77)", "instruments": "EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e ACTIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e RADAR SOUNDERS \u003e HICARS1; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e ACTIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e ALTIMETERS \u003e LIDAR/LASER ALTIMETERS \u003e LIDAR ALTIMETERS; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e MAGNETIC FIELD/ELECTRIC FIELD INSTRUMENTS \u003e NUCLEAR PRECESSION MAGNETOMETER; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e MAGNETIC/MOTION SENSORS \u003e GRAVIMETERS \u003e CMG-GT-1A", "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "BT-67; Marie Byrd Land; ICE SHEETS", "locations": "Marie Byrd Land", "north": -74.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Young, Duncan A.; Holt, John W.; Blankenship, Donald D.", "platforms": "AIR-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e PROPELLER \u003e BT-67", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "Texas Data Repository; USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -80.0, "title": "Geophysical Investigations of Marie Byrd Land Lithospheric Evolution (GIMBLE)", "uid": "p0000435", "west": -145.0}, {"awards": "1142156 Marschall, Horst", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-6.44 -71.93,-5.378 -71.93,-4.316 -71.93,-3.254 -71.93,-2.192 -71.93,-1.13 -71.93,-0.068 -71.93,0.994 -71.93,2.056 -71.93,3.118 -71.93,4.18 -71.93,4.18 -71.998,4.18 -72.066,4.18 -72.134,4.18 -72.202,4.18 -72.27,4.18 -72.338,4.18 -72.406,4.18 -72.474,4.18 -72.542,4.18 -72.61,3.118 -72.61,2.056 -72.61,0.994 -72.61,-0.068 -72.61,-1.13 -72.61,-2.192 -72.61,-3.254 -72.61,-4.316 -72.61,-5.378 -72.61,-6.44 -72.61,-6.44 -72.542,-6.44 -72.474,-6.44 -72.406,-6.44 -72.338,-6.44 -72.27,-6.44 -72.202,-6.44 -72.134,-6.44 -72.066,-6.44 -71.998,-6.44 -71.93))", "dataset_titles": "Zircon Hf Isotopes and the Continental Evolution of Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "600135", "doi": "10.15784/600135", "keywords": "Antarctica; Chemistry:rock; Chemistry:Rock; Dronning Maud Land; Geochemistry; Geochronology; Solid Earth", "people": "Marschall, Horst", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Zircon Hf Isotopes and the Continental Evolution of Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/600135"}], "date_created": "Fri, 23 Oct 2015 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Geochemical studies of single mineral grains in rocks can be probed to reconstruct the history of our planet. The mineral zircon (ZrSiO4) is of unique importance in that respect because of its reliability as a geologic clock due to its strong persistence against weathering, transport and changes in temperature and pressure. Uranium-Lead (U-Pb) dating of zircon grains is, perhaps, the most frequently employed method of extracting time information on geologic processes that shaped the continental crust, and has been used to constrain the evolution of continents and mountain belts through time. In addition, the isotopic composition of the element Hafnium (Hf) in zircon is used to date when the continental crust was generated by extraction of magma from the underlying mantle. Melting of rocks in the mantle and deep in the continental crust are key processes in the evolution of the continents, and they are recorded in the Hf isotopic signatures of zircon. Although the analytical procedures for U-Pb dating and Hf isotope analyses of zircon are robust now, our understanding of zircon growth and its exchange of elements and isotopes with its surrounding rock or magma are still underdeveloped. The focus of the proposed study, therefore, is to unravel the evolution of zircon Hf isotopes in rocks that were formed deep in the Earth?s crust, and more specifically, to apply these isotopic methods to rocks collected in Dronning Maud Land (DML), East Antarctica. Dronning Maud Land (DML) occupied a central location during the formation of supercontinents ? large landmasses made up of all the continents that exist today - more than 500 million years ago. It is currently thought that supercontinents were formed and dismembered five or six times throughout Earth?s history. The area of DML is key for understanding the formation history of the last two supercontinents. The boundaries of continents that were merged to form those supercontinents are most likely hidden in DML. In this study, the isotopic composition of zircon grains recovered from DML rocks will be employed to identify these boundaries across an extensive section through the area. The rock samples were collected by the investigator during a two-month expedition to Antarctica in the austral summer of 2007?2008. The results of dating and isotope analyses of zircon of the different DML crustal domains will deliver significant insight into the regional geology of East Antarctica and its previous northern extension into Africa. This has significance for the reconstruction of the supercontinents and defining the continental boundaries in DML.", "east": 4.18, "geometry": "POINT(-1.13 -72.27)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Not provided", "locations": null, "north": -71.93, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Marschall, Horst", "platforms": "Not provided", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -72.61, "title": "Zircon Hf Isotopes and the Continental Evolution of Dronning Maud Land, East Antacrtica", "uid": "p0000448", "west": -6.44}, {"awards": "0944645 Goodge, John", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Wed, 11 Feb 2015 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Intellectual Merit: \u003cbr/\u003eBecause of extensive ice cover and sparse remote-sensing data, the geology of the Precambrian East Antarctic Shield (EAS) remains largely unexplored with information limited to coastal outcrops from the African, Indian and Australian sectors. The East Antarctic lithosphere is globally important: as one of the largest coherent Precambrian shields, including rocks as old as ~3.8 Ga, it played an important role in global crustal growth; it is a key piece in assembly of the Rodinia and Gondwana supercontinents; it is the substrate to Earth?s major ice cap, including numerous sub-glacial lakes, and influences its thermal state and mechanical stability; and its geotectonic association with formerly adjacent continental blocks in South Africa, India and Australia suggest that it might harbor important mineral resources. This project will increase understanding of the age and composition of the western EAS lithosphere underlying and adjacent to the Transantarctic Mountains (TAM) using U-Pb ages, and Hf- and O-isotope analysis of zircon in early Paleozoic granitoids and Pleistocene glacial tills. TAM granites of the early Paleozoic Ross Orogen represent an areally extensive continental-margin arc suite that can provide direct information about the EAS crust from which it melted and/or through which it passed. Large rock clasts of igneous and metamorphic lithologies entrained in glacial tills at the head of major outlet glaciers traversing the TAM provide eroded samples of the proximal EAS basement. Zircons in these materials will provide data about age and inheritance (U-Pb), crustal vs. mantle origin (O isotopes), and crustal sources and evolution (Hf isotopes). Integrated along a significant part of the TAM, these data will help define broader crustal provinces that can be correlated with geophysical data and used to test models of crustal assembly. \u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eBroader impacts: \u003cbr/\u003eThis project will provide a research opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students. Undergraduates will be involved as Research Assistants in sample preparation, imaging, and analytical procedures, and conducting their own independent research. The two main elements of this project will form the basis of MS thesis projects for two graduate students at UMD. Through this project they will gain a good understanding of petrology, isotope geochemistry, and analytical methods. The broader scientific impacts of this work are that it will help develop a better understanding of the origin and evolution of East Antarctic lithosphere underlying and adjacent to the TAM, which will be of value to the broader earth science and glaciological community. Furthermore, knowledge of East Antarctic geology is of continuing interest to the general public because of strong curiosity about past supercontinents, what?s under the ice, and the impact of global warming on ice-sheet stability.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "Transantarctic Mountains; Not provided", "locations": "Transantarctic Mountains", "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Goodge, John", "platforms": "Not provided", "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "Age and Composition of the East Antarctic Shield by Isotopic Analysis of Granite and Glacial Till", "uid": "p0000258", "west": null}, {"awards": "0944615 Brown, Michael; 0944600 Siddoway, Christine", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-146.5 -76,-145.95 -76,-145.4 -76,-144.85 -76,-144.3 -76,-143.75 -76,-143.2 -76,-142.65 -76,-142.1 -76,-141.55 -76,-141 -76,-141 -76.15,-141 -76.3,-141 -76.45,-141 -76.6,-141 -76.75,-141 -76.9,-141 -77.05,-141 -77.2,-141 -77.35,-141 -77.5,-141.55 -77.5,-142.1 -77.5,-142.65 -77.5,-143.2 -77.5,-143.75 -77.5,-144.3 -77.5,-144.85 -77.5,-145.4 -77.5,-145.95 -77.5,-146.5 -77.5,-146.5 -77.35,-146.5 -77.2,-146.5 -77.05,-146.5 -76.9,-146.5 -76.75,-146.5 -76.6,-146.5 -76.45,-146.5 -76.3,-146.5 -76.15,-146.5 -76))", "dataset_titles": "Rock Samples collected from bedrock exposures, Ford Ranges, MBL", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "200415", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "Polar Rock Repository", "science_program": null, "title": "Rock Samples collected from bedrock exposures, Ford Ranges, MBL", "url": "https://prr.osu.edu/"}], "date_created": "Thu, 09 Oct 2014 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Intellectual Merit: \u003cbr/\u003eThe northern Ford ranges in Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica, record events and processes that transformed a voluminous succession of Lower Paleozoic turbidites intruded by calc-alkaline plutonic rocks into differentiated continental crust along the margin of Gondwana. In this study the Fosdick migmatite?granite complex will be used to investigate crustal evolution through an integrated program of fieldwork, structural geology, petrology, mineral equilibria modeling, geochronology and geochemistry. The PIs propose detailed traverses at four sites within the complex to investigate Paleozoic and Mesozoic orogenic cycles. They will use petrological associations, structural geometry, and microstructures of host gneisses and leucogranites to distinguish the migration and coalescence patterns for remnant melt flow networks, and carry out detailed sampling for geochronology, geochemistry and isotope research. Mafic plutonic phases will be sampled to acquire information about mantle contributions at the source. Mineral equilibria modeling of source rocks and granite products, combined with in situ mineral dating, will be employed to resolve the P?T?t trajectories arising from thickening/thinning of crust during orogenic cycles and to investigate melting and melt loss history. \u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eBroader impacts: \u003cbr/\u003eThis work involves research and educational initiatives for an early career female scientist, as well as Ph.D. and undergraduate students. Educational programs for high school audiences and undergraduate courses on interdisciplinary Antarctic science will be developed.", "east": -141.0, "geometry": "POINT(-143.75 -76.75)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Tectonic; TECTONICS; Transcurrent Faults; MAJOR ELEMENTS; Migmatite; Structural Geology; Gneiss Dome; Geochronology; AGE DETERMINATIONS; Detachment Faults; Marie Byrd Land", "locations": "Marie Byrd Land", "north": -76.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences; Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Siddoway, Christine; Brown, Mike", "platforms": null, "repo": "Polar Rock Repository", "repositories": "Polar Rock Repository", "science_programs": null, "south": -77.5, "title": "Collaborative research: Polyphase Orogenesis and Crustal Differentiation in West Antarctica", "uid": "p0000259", "west": -146.5}, {"awards": "1043700 Harry, Dennis", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-180 -70,-176.5 -70,-173 -70,-169.5 -70,-166 -70,-162.5 -70,-159 -70,-155.5 -70,-152 -70,-148.5 -70,-145 -70,-145 -71,-145 -72,-145 -73,-145 -74,-145 -75,-145 -76,-145 -77,-145 -78,-145 -79,-145 -80,-148.5 -80,-152 -80,-155.5 -80,-159 -80,-162.5 -80,-166 -80,-169.5 -80,-173 -80,-176.5 -80,180 -80,177.5 -80,175 -80,172.5 -80,170 -80,167.5 -80,165 -80,162.5 -80,160 -80,157.5 -80,155 -80,155 -79,155 -78,155 -77,155 -76,155 -75,155 -74,155 -73,155 -72,155 -71,155 -70,157.5 -70,160 -70,162.5 -70,165 -70,167.5 -70,170 -70,172.5 -70,175 -70,177.5 -70,-180 -70))", "dataset_titles": "Geodynamic Models of Subsidence and Lithospheric Flexure at the ANDRILL Drill Sites: Implications for Cenozoic Tectonics and Ice Sheet History; Ross Sea post-middle Miocene seismic interpretation", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "600128", "doi": "10.15784/600128", "keywords": "Andrill; Antarctica; Continental Rift; Geology/Geophysics - Other; Lithosphere; Model; Ross Sea; Solid Earth; Tectonic; Transantarctic Mountains", "people": "Harry, Dennis L.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "ANDRILL", "title": "Geodynamic Models of Subsidence and Lithospheric Flexure at the ANDRILL Drill Sites: Implications for Cenozoic Tectonics and Ice Sheet History", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/600128"}, {"dataset_uid": "601227", "doi": "10.15784/601227", "keywords": "Andrill; Antarctica; Marine Geoscience; Ross Sea; Seismic Interpretation; Seismic Reflection; Stratigraphy; Subsidence; Victoria Land Basin", "people": "Harry, Dennis L.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "ANDRILL", "title": "Ross Sea post-middle Miocene seismic interpretation", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601227"}], "date_created": "Sun, 31 Aug 2014 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Intellectual Merit: This research will place the subsidence history of the southern Victoria Land Basin into a quantitative geodynamic context and will assess the influence of flexure associated with late Neogene volcanic loading of the crust by the Erebus Volcanic Group. This will be done by extending geodynamic models of extension in the West Antarctic Rift System to include extensional hiatuses hypothesized to have occurred during the Late Paleogene and Miocene, and by developing a new geodynamic model of volcanic loading and associated lithosphere flexure. Finite element and finite difference modeling methods will be used. In the first phase of the project, a series of extensional geodynamic models will be developed to examine the effect that proposed extensional hiatuses have on the style of extension, with emphasis placed on developing a process based understanding of the change in rift style from diffuse during the Late Cretaceous to more focused during the Cenozoic. The models will test the hypotheses that extensional hiatuses led to the change in rifting style, and will place constraints on the timing and duration of the hiatuses. The second phase of the project will use the thermal and rheological properties of the previous models to constrain the flexural rigidity of the lithosphere in order to model the flexural response to volcanic loading to test the hypotheses that flexural subsidence contributed to cyclic changes between grounded and floating ice at the ANDRILL AND-1A site, complicating interpretations of the climatic record from this core, and that flexure contributes to the stress orientation at the AND-2B site, which is inconsistent with the expected regional extensional stress orientation. Broader impacts: The project will train an undergraduate student and an M.S. student. Outreach activities include a planned series of talks at regional high schools, junior colleges, and 4-year colleges that have geology programs.", "east": -145.0, "geometry": "POINT(-175 -75)", "instruments": "NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "USAP-DC; MARINE GEOPHYSICS; Antarctica; NOT APPLICABLE", "locations": "Antarctica", "north": -70.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Harry, Dennis L.", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": "ANDRILL", "south": -80.0, "title": "Geodynamic Models of Subsidence and Lithospheric Flexure at the ANDRILL Drill Sites: Implications for Cenozoic Tectonics and Ice Sheet History", "uid": "p0000467", "west": 155.0}, {"awards": "1043690 Scherer, Reed", "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": "Southern Ocean Diatom Taphonomy and Paleoproductivity: A Laboratory Study of Silica Degradation and Export", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "600127", "doi": "10.15784/600127", "keywords": "Antarctica; Biota; Diatom; Marine Sediments; Oceans; Sediment Core; Southern Ocean", "people": "Scherer, Reed Paul; Haji-Sheikh, Michael", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Southern Ocean Diatom Taphonomy and Paleoproductivity: A Laboratory Study of Silica Degradation and Export", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/600127"}], "date_created": "Fri, 14 Feb 2014 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Intellectual Merit: Diatom abundance in sediment cores is typically used as a proxy for paleo primary productivity. This record is complicated by variable preservation, with most loss occurring in the water column via dissolution and zooplankton grazing. This study will investigate preservational biases via a series of controlled experiments to create proxies of original productivity based on morphological changes associated with diatom dissolution and fracture. The PIs will utilize fresh diatoms from culture. Specific objectives include: (1) Linking changes in diatom morphology to availability of dissolved silica and other physical and chemical parameters; (2) Documenting the dissolution process under controlled conditions; (3) Assessment of changes in morphology and diatom surface roughness with increased dissolution; (4) Documenting the physical effects of grazing and fecal pellet formation on diatom fragmentation and dissolution; and (5) Analyzing the impact of diatom dissolution on silica and carbon export. These objectives will be achieved by growing Southern Ocean diatom species in the laboratory under differing physical and chemical conditions; controlled serial dissolution experiments on cultured diatoms; analysis of the dissolution process by imaging frustules under scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and with micro-analysis of surface texture by atomic force microscopy (AFM); making the cultures available to krill and other live zooplankton crustaceans in order to analyze the specific effects of grazing and pelletization on diatom morphology; and comparing experimental results with natural plankton, sediment trap material, and selected Holocene, Pleistocene and Pliocene sediment core material. Broader impacts: This work will contribute to understanding of the use of diatom abundance as an indicator of paleoproductivity. The proposed experiments are multi-disciplinary in nature. Importantly, the project was designed, and the proposal largely written, by a Ph.D. candidate. The research proposed here will lead to peer-reviewed publications and provide a base for future studies over the course of an extremely promising scientific career. The project will also support an undergraduate research student at NIU. The PI is heavily involved in science outreach, including classroom visits, museum events and webinars related to evolution and climate change, and is active with NSF-funded outreach activities linked to the ANDRILL and WISSARD programs. He will continue these efforts with this project.", "east": 180.0, "geometry": "POINT(0 -89.999)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Not provided", "locations": null, "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Haji-Sheikh, Michael; Scherer, Reed Paul", "platforms": "Not provided", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "Southern Ocean Diatom Taphonomy and Paleoproductivity: A Laboratory Study of Silica Degradation and Export", "uid": "p0000360", "west": -180.0}, {"awards": "0944662 Elliot, David; 0944532 Isbell, John", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((158.9 -83,159.583 -83,160.266 -83,160.949 -83,161.632 -83,162.315 -83,162.998 -83,163.681 -83,164.364 -83,165.047 -83,165.73 -83,165.73 -83.21,165.73 -83.42,165.73 -83.63,165.73 -83.84,165.73 -84.05,165.73 -84.26,165.73 -84.47,165.73 -84.68,165.73 -84.89,165.73 -85.1,165.047 -85.1,164.364 -85.1,163.681 -85.1,162.998 -85.1,162.315 -85.1,161.632 -85.1,160.949 -85.1,160.266 -85.1,159.583 -85.1,158.9 -85.1,158.9 -84.89,158.9 -84.68,158.9 -84.47,158.9 -84.26,158.9 -84.05,158.9 -83.84,158.9 -83.63,158.9 -83.42,158.9 -83.21,158.9 -83))", "dataset_titles": "Rock Samples (full data link not provided)", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "000171", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "PRR", "science_program": null, "title": "Rock Samples (full data link not provided)", "url": "https://prr.osu.edu/"}], "date_created": "Thu, 05 Dec 2013 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Intellectual Merit: \u003cbr/\u003eThe goal of this project is to address relationships between foreland basins and their tectonic settings by combining detrital zircon isotope characteristics and sedimentological data. To accomplish this goal the PIs will develop a detailed geochronology and analyze Hf- and O-isotopes of detrital zircons in sandstones of the Devonian Taylor Group and the Permian-Triassic Victoria Group. These data will allow them to better determine provenance and basin fill, and to understand the nature of the now ice covered source regions in East and West Antarctica. The PIs will document possible unexposed/unknown crustal terrains in West Antarctica, investigate sub-glacial terrains of East Antarctica that were exposed to erosion during Devonian to Triassic time, and determine the evolving provenance and tectonic history of the Devonian to Triassic Gondwana basins in the central Transantarctic Mountains. Detrital zircon data will be interpreted in the context of fluvial dispersal/drainage patterns, sandstone petrology, and sequence stratigraphy. This interpretation will identify source terrains and evolving sediment provenances. Paleocurrent analysis and sequence stratigraphy will determine the timing and nature of changing tectonic conditions associated with development of the depositional basins and document the tectonic history of the Antarctic sector of Gondwana. Results from this study will answer questions about the Panthalassan margin of Gondwana, the Antarctic craton, and the Beacon depositional basin and their respective roles in global tectonics and the geologic and biotic history of Antarctica. The Beacon basin and adjacent uplands played an important role in the development and demise of Gondwanan glaciation through modification of polar climates, development of peat-forming mires, colonization of the landscape by plants, and were a migration route for Mesozoic vertebrates into Antarctica. \u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eBroader impacts: \u003cbr/\u003eThis proposal includes support for two graduate students who will participate in the fieldwork, and also support for other students to participate in laboratory studies. Results of the research will be incorporated in classroom teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels and will help train the next generation of field geologists. Interactions with K-12 science classes will be achieved by video/computer conferencing and satellite phone connections from Antarctica. Another outreach effort is the developing cooperation between the Byrd Polar Research Center and the Center of Science and Industry in Columbus.", "east": 165.73, "geometry": "POINT(162.315 -84.05)", "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e SPECTROMETERS/RADIOMETERS \u003e ICP-MS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e SPECTROMETERS/RADIOMETERS \u003e XRF", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Not provided; LABORATORY", "locations": null, "north": -83.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences; Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Elliot, David; Isbell, John", "platforms": "Not provided; OTHER \u003e PHYSICAL MODELS \u003e LABORATORY", "repo": "PRR", "repositories": "PRR", "science_programs": null, "south": -85.1, "title": "Collaborative Research:Application of Detrital Zircon Isotope Characteristics and Sandstone Analysis of Beacon Strata to the Tectonic Evolution of the Antarctic Sector of Gondwana", "uid": "p0000312", "west": 158.9}, {"awards": "0537371 Nyblade, Andrew", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((40 -76,50 -76,60 -76,70 -76,80 -76,90 -76,100 -76,110 -76,120 -76,130 -76,140 -76,140 -76.8,140 -77.6,140 -78.4,140 -79.2,140 -80,140 -80.8,140 -81.6,140 -82.4,140 -83.2,140 -84,130 -84,120 -84,110 -84,100 -84,90 -84,80 -84,70 -84,60 -84,50 -84,40 -84,40 -83.2,40 -82.4,40 -81.6,40 -80.8,40 -80,40 -79.2,40 -78.4,40 -77.6,40 -76.8,40 -76))", "dataset_titles": "Data at IRIS Data Management Center (full data link not provided)", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "000233", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "IRIS", "science_program": null, "title": "Data at IRIS Data Management Center (full data link not provided)", "url": "http://www.iris.edu/dms/"}], "date_created": "Wed, 04 Dec 2013 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Abstract\u003cbr/\u003eThis award supports a seismological study of the Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains (GSM), a Texas-sized mountain range buried beneath the ice sheets of East Antarctica. The project will perform a passive seismic experiment deploying twenty-three seismic stations over the GSM to characterize the structure of the crust and upper mantle, and determine the processes driving uplift. The outcomes will also offer constraints on the terrestrial heat flux, a key variable in modeling ice sheet formation and behavior. Virtually unexplored, the GSM represents the largest unstudied area of crustal uplift on earth. As well, the region is the starting point for growth of the Antarctic ice sheets. \u003cbr/\u003eBecause of these outstanding questions, the GSM has been identified by the international Antarctic science community as a research focus for the International Polar Year (2007-2009). In addition to this seismic experiment, NSF is also supporting an aerogeophysical survey of the GSM under award number 0632292. Major international partners in the project include Germany, China, Australia, and the United Kingdom. For more information see IPY Project #67 at IPY.org. In terms of broader impacts, this project also supports postdoctoral and graduate student research, and various forms of outreach.", "east": 140.0, "geometry": "POINT(90 -80)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Not provided", "locations": null, "north": -76.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Nyblade, Andrew", "platforms": "Not provided", "repo": "IRIS", "repositories": "IRIS", "science_programs": null, "south": -84.0, "title": "Collaborative Research: A Broadband Seismic Experiment to Image the Lithosphere Beneath the Gamburtsev Mountains and Surrounding Areas, East Antarctica", "uid": "p0000657", "west": 40.0}, {"awards": "1240707 Fahnestock, Mark; 0632292 Bell, Robin", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((65 -77.5,67.4 -77.5,69.8 -77.5,72.2 -77.5,74.6 -77.5,77 -77.5,79.4 -77.5,81.8 -77.5,84.2 -77.5,86.6 -77.5,89 -77.5,89 -78.25,89 -79,89 -79.75,89 -80.5,89 -81.25,89 -82,89 -82.75,89 -83.5,89 -84.25,89 -85,86.6 -85,84.2 -85,81.8 -85,79.4 -85,77 -85,74.6 -85,72.2 -85,69.8 -85,67.4 -85,65 -85,65 -84.25,65 -83.5,65 -82.75,65 -82,65 -81.25,65 -80.5,65 -79.75,65 -79,65 -78.25,65 -77.5))", "dataset_titles": "Data Access Tool; Ice Thickness Picks from Radar from the Gamburtsev Mountains in Antarctica acquired during GAMBIT; Processed Gravity data from the Gamburtsev Mountains in Antarctica acquired during GAMBIT; Processed Ice Penetrating Radar Altimeter data (SEGY format) from the Gamburtsev Mountains in Antarctica acquired during GAMBIT; Processed Ice Penetrating Radar Data (jpeg images) from the Gamburtsev Mountains in Antarctica acquired during GAMBIT ; Processed Ice Penetrating Radar Data (Matlab format) from the Gamburtsev Mountains in Antarctica acquired during GAMBIT ; Processed Ice Penetrating Radar Data (Netcdf format) from the Gamburtsev Mountains in Antarctica acquired during GAMBIT ; Processed LiDAR data from the Gamburtsev Mountains in Antarctica acquired during GAMBIT; Processed Magnetics data from the Gamburtsev Mountains in Antarctica acquired during GAMBIT", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601286", "doi": "10.15784/601286", "keywords": "AGAP; Airborne Radar; Airplane; Antarctica; East Antarctica; Gamburtsev Mountains; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Sheet; Radar; Radar Echo Sounder", "people": "Bell, Robin; Studinger, Michael S.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Processed Ice Penetrating Radar Data (jpeg images) from the Gamburtsev Mountains in Antarctica acquired during GAMBIT ", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601286"}, {"dataset_uid": "001489", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "MGDS", "science_program": null, "title": "Data Access Tool", "url": "http://www.marine-geo.org/tools/search/entry.php?id=AGAP_GAMBIT"}, {"dataset_uid": "601284", "doi": null, "keywords": "Airborne Radar; Airplane; Antarctica; East Antarctica; Gamburtsev Mountains; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Sheet; Radar; Radar Echo Sounder", "people": "Studinger, Michael S.; Bell, Robin", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Processed Ice Penetrating Radar Data (Matlab format) from the Gamburtsev Mountains in Antarctica acquired during GAMBIT ", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601284"}, {"dataset_uid": "602051", "doi": "10.15784/602051", "keywords": "AGAP; Airborne Radar; Airplane; Antarctica; Cryosphere; East Antarctica; Gamburtsev Mountains; Glaciology; Ice Sheet; Ice Thickness; Radar; Radar Echo Sounder", "people": "Bell, Robin; Frearson, Nicholas; Studinger, Michael S.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Ice Thickness Picks from Radar from the Gamburtsev Mountains in Antarctica acquired during GAMBIT", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/602051"}, {"dataset_uid": "601283", "doi": "10.1594/IEDA/318208", "keywords": "Aerogeophysics; AGAP; Airborne Radar; Airplane; Antarctica; East Antarctica; Gamburtsev Mountains; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Sheet; Radar; Radar Echo Sounder", "people": "Bell, Robin", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Processed Ice Penetrating Radar Altimeter data (SEGY format) from the Gamburtsev Mountains in Antarctica acquired during GAMBIT", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601283"}, {"dataset_uid": "602052", "doi": "10.15784/602052", "keywords": "AGAP; Airborne Laser Altimetry; Airplane; Antarctica; Cryosphere; East Antarctica; Gamburtsev Mountains; Glaciology; Ice Sheet; Ice Surface Elevation", "people": "Bell, Robin; Studinger, Michael S.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Processed LiDAR data from the Gamburtsev Mountains in Antarctica acquired during GAMBIT", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/602052"}, {"dataset_uid": "602054", "doi": "10.15784/602054", "keywords": "Aeromagnetic Data; AGAP; Airborne Magnetic; Antarctica; Cryosphere; East Antarctica; Gamburtsev Mountains; Ice Sheet", "people": "Bell, Robin; Finn, Carol A.; Burton, Beth; Studinger, Michael S.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Processed Magnetics data from the Gamburtsev Mountains in Antarctica acquired during GAMBIT", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/602054"}, {"dataset_uid": "602053", "doi": "10.15784/602053", "keywords": "AGAP; Airborne Gravity; Airplane; Antarctica; Cryosphere; East Antarctica; Gamburtsev Mountains; Glaciology", "people": "Studinger, Michael S.; Bell, Robin", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Processed Gravity data from the Gamburtsev Mountains in Antarctica acquired during GAMBIT", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/602053"}, {"dataset_uid": "601285", "doi": null, "keywords": "Airborne Radar; Airplane; Antarctica; East Antarctica; Gamburtsev Mountains; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Sheet; Radar Echo Sounder", "people": "Bell, Robin; Studinger, Michael S.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Processed Ice Penetrating Radar Data (Netcdf format) from the Gamburtsev Mountains in Antarctica acquired during GAMBIT ", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601285"}], "date_created": "Sun, 29 Sep 2013 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award supports an aerogeophysical study of the Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains (GSM), a Texas-sized mountain range buried beneath the ice sheets of East Antarctica. The project would perform a combined gravity, magnetics, and radar study to achieve a range of goals including: advancing our understanding of the origin and evolution of the polar ice sheets and subglacial lakes; defining the crustal architecture of East Antarctica, a key question in the earth\u0027s history; and locating the oldest ice in East Antarctica, which may ultimately help find ancient climate records. Virtually unexplored, the GSM represents the largest unstudied area of crustal uplift on earth. As well, the region is the starting point for growth of the Antarctic ice sheets. Because of these outstanding questions, the GSM has been identified by the international Antarctic science community as a research focus for the International Polar Year (2007-2009). In addition to this study, NSF is also supporting a seismological survey of the GSM under award number 0537371. Major international partners in the project include Germany, China, Australia, and the United Kingdom. For more information see IPY Project #67 at IPY.org. In terms of broader impacts, this project also supports postdoctoral and graduate student research, and various forms of outreach including a focus on groups underrepresented in the earth sciences.", "east": 89.0, "geometry": "POINT(77 -81.25)", "instruments": "EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e ACTIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e ALTIMETERS \u003e LIDAR/LASER ALTIMETERS \u003e AIRBORNE LASER SCANNER; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e MAGNETIC/MOTION SENSORS \u003e GRAVIMETERS \u003e GRAVIMETERS; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e ACTIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e RADAR SOUNDERS \u003e RADAR ECHO SOUNDERS", "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "GRAVITY; East Antarctica; GLACIERS/ICE SHEETS; ICE SHEETS; DHC-6; MAGNETIC FIELD; Gamburtsev Mountains", "locations": "East Antarctica; Gamburtsev Mountains", "north": -77.5, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences; Antarctic Glaciology; Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Bell, Robin; Studinger, Michael S.; Fahnestock, Mark", "platforms": "AIR-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e PROPELLER \u003e DHC-6", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "MGDS; USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -85.0, "title": "Collaborative Research: IPY: GAMBIT: Gamburtsev Aerogeophysical Mapping of Bedrock and Ice Targets - 0632292", "uid": "p0000114", "west": 65.0}, {"awards": "1142963 Warren, Stephen; 0739779 Warren, Stephen", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((157 -76,158.1 -76,159.2 -76,160.3 -76,161.4 -76,162.5 -76,163.6 -76,164.7 -76,165.8 -76,166.9 -76,168 -76,168 -76.2,168 -76.4,168 -76.6,168 -76.8,168 -77,168 -77.2,168 -77.4,168 -77.6,168 -77.8,168 -78,166.9 -78,165.8 -78,164.7 -78,163.6 -78,162.5 -78,161.4 -78,160.3 -78,159.2 -78,158.1 -78,157 -78,157 -77.8,157 -77.6,157 -77.4,157 -77.2,157 -77,157 -76.8,157 -76.6,157 -76.4,157 -76.2,157 -76))", "dataset_titles": "Ice on the Oceans of Snowball Earth Project Data", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "000183", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "PI website", "science_program": null, "title": "Ice on the Oceans of Snowball Earth Project Data", "url": "https://digital.lib.washington.edu/researchworks/handle/1773/37320"}], "date_created": "Wed, 10 Jul 2013 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "The climatic changes of late Precambrian time, 600-800 million years ago, included episodes of extreme glaciation, during which ice may have covered nearly the entire ocean for several million years, according to the Snowball Earth hypothesis. These episodes would hold an important place in Earth?s evolutionary history; they could have encouraged biodiversity by trapping life forms in small isolated ice-free areas, or they could have caused massive extinctions that cleared the path for new life forms to fill empty niches. What caused the Earth to become iced over, and what later caused the ice to melt? Scientific investigation of these questions will result in greater understanding of the climatic changes that the Earth can experience, and will enable better predictions of future climate. This project involves Antarctic field observations as well as laboratory studies and computer modeling. The aim of this project is not to prove or disprove the Snowball Earth hypothesis but rather to quantify processes that are important for simulating snowball events in climate models. The principal goal is to identify the types of ice that would have been present on the frozen ocean, and to determine how much sunlight they would reflect back to space. Reflection of sunlight by bright surfaces of snow and ice is what would maintain the cold climate at low latitudes. The melting of the ocean required buildup of greenhouse gases, but it was probably aided by deposition of desert dust and volcanic ash darkening the snow and ice. With so much ice on the Earth?s surface, even small differences in the amount of light that the ice absorbed or reflected could cause significant changes in climate. The properties of the ice would also determine where, and in what circumstances, photosynthetic life could have survived. Some kinds of ice that are rare on the modern Earth may have been pivotal in allowing the tropical ocean to freeze. The ocean surfaces would have included some ice types that now exist only in Antarctica: bare cold sea ice with precipitated salts, and \"blue ice\" areas of the Transantarctic Mountains that were exposed by sublimation and have not experienced melting. Field expeditions were mounted to examine these ice types, and the data analysis is underway. A third ice type, sea ice with a salt crust, is being studied in a freezer laboratory. Modeling will show how sunlight would interact with ice containing light-absorbing dust and volcanic ash. Aside from its reflection of sunlight, ice on the Snowball ocean would have been thick enough to flow under its own weight, invading all parts of the ocean. Yet evidence for the survival of photosynthetic life indicates that some regions of liquid water were maintained at the ocean surface. One possible refuge for photosynthetic organisms is a bay at the far end of a nearly enclosed tropical sea, formed by continental rifting and surrounded by desert, such as the modern Red Sea. A model of glacier flow is being developed to determine the dimensions of the channel, connecting the sea to the ocean, necessary to prevent invasion by the flowing ice yet maintain a water supply to replenish evaporation.", "east": 168.0, "geometry": "POINT(162.5 -77)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Not provided", "locations": null, "north": -76.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Integrated System Science; Antarctic Integrated System Science", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Warren, Stephen; Light, Bonnie; Campbell, Adam; Carns, Regina; Dadic, Ruzica; Mullen, Peter; Brandt, Richard; Waddington, Edwin D.", "platforms": "Not provided", "repo": "PI website", "repositories": "PI website", "science_programs": null, "south": -78.0, "title": "Ocean Surfaces on Snowball Earth", "uid": "p0000402", "west": 157.0}, {"awards": "0838973 Nyblade, Andrew; 0838934 Wiens, Douglas", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((40 -76,50 -76,60 -76,70 -76,80 -76,90 -76,100 -76,110 -76,120 -76,130 -76,140 -76,140 -76.8,140 -77.6,140 -78.4,140 -79.2,140 -80,140 -80.8,140 -81.6,140 -82.4,140 -83.2,140 -84,130 -84,120 -84,110 -84,100 -84,90 -84,80 -84,70 -84,60 -84,50 -84,40 -84,40 -83.2,40 -82.4,40 -81.6,40 -80.8,40 -80,40 -79.2,40 -78.4,40 -77.6,40 -76.8,40 -76))", "dataset_titles": "Seismological Record ID# ZM 2007-12; Seismological Record Network Code# ZM (full data link not provided)", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "000152", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "IRIS", "science_program": null, "title": "Seismological Record Network Code# ZM (full data link not provided)", "url": "http://www.iris.edu/"}, {"dataset_uid": "000149", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "IRIS", "science_program": null, "title": "Seismological Record ID# ZM 2007-12", "url": "http://www.iris.edu/"}], "date_created": "Mon, 21 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). The high elevations of East Antarctica are critical in localizing the initial Cenozoic glaciation and stabilizing it with respect to melting during warm interglacials. However, the geological history for this region and the geophysical mechanism for maintaining the highlands are poorly understood. In 2007-2009, an array of 24 broadband seismographs (named GAMSEIS) was installed across the Gamburtsev Mountains area of the East Antarctic Plateau as part of the Antarctica?s Gamburtsev Province (AGAP) International Polar Year project. The IPY AGAP/GAMSEIS program included plans by other international partners to install seismographs at locations along the flanks of the Gamburtsev Mountains and in other East Antarctic regions. The proposed project will continue operating six of the deployed AGAP/GAMSEIS stations for two more years together with two new broadband seismic stations added to broaden the geographic scope of the array. Most stations will be located at the existing U.S. Autonomous Geophysical Observatories and the USAP fuel cache locations in order to minimize logistical support. This array, combined with seismographs deployed by China and Japan (and possibly Australia, France, and Italy in near future) will provide a sparse but large-scale network of seismometers for the longer-term studies of the crustal and upper mantle structures underneath the East Antarctic Plateau. Continued reliance on students provides a broader impact to this proposed research and firmly grounds this effort in its educational mission.", "east": 140.0, "geometry": "POINT(90 -80)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Not provided", "locations": null, "north": -76.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences; Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Wiens, Douglas; Nyblade, Andrew", "platforms": "Not provided", "repo": "IRIS", "repositories": "IRIS", "science_programs": null, "south": -84.0, "title": "Collaborative Research: Polenet East: An International Seismological Network for East Antarctica", "uid": "p0000504", "west": 40.0}, {"awards": "0838914 Wannamaker, Philip", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((141.01732 -82.13,144.910279 -82.13,148.803238 -82.13,152.696197 -82.13,156.589156 -82.13,160.482115 -82.13,164.375074 -82.13,168.268033 -82.13,172.160992 -82.13,176.053951 -82.13,179.94691 -82.13,179.94691 -82.351835,179.94691 -82.57367,179.94691 -82.795505,179.94691 -83.01734,179.94691 -83.239175,179.94691 -83.46101,179.94691 -83.682845,179.94691 -83.90468,179.94691 -84.126515,179.94691 -84.34835,176.053951 -84.34835,172.160992 -84.34835,168.268033 -84.34835,164.375074 -84.34835,160.482115 -84.34835,156.589156 -84.34835,152.696197 -84.34835,148.803238 -84.34835,144.910279 -84.34835,141.01732 -84.34835,141.01732 -84.126515,141.01732 -83.90468,141.01732 -83.682845,141.01732 -83.46101,141.01732 -83.239175,141.01732 -83.01734,141.01732 -82.795505,141.01732 -82.57367,141.01732 -82.351835,141.01732 -82.13))", "dataset_titles": "Agglutinated Foraminifera, genome sequencing data; Rift Mechanisms and Thermal Regime of the Lithosphere across Beardmore Glacier Region, Central Transantarctic Mountains, from Magnetotelluric Measurements", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "600102", "doi": "10.15784/600102", "keywords": "Antarctica; Magnetotelluric; Potential Field; Solid Earth; Transantarctic Mountains", "people": "Wannamaker, Philip", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Rift Mechanisms and Thermal Regime of the Lithosphere across Beardmore Glacier Region, Central Transantarctic Mountains, from Magnetotelluric Measurements", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/600102"}, {"dataset_uid": "000211", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "NCBI GenBank", "science_program": null, "title": "Agglutinated Foraminifera, genome sequencing data", "url": "http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/myncbi/collections/public/1vwfrm7rJme2hrzl6smGVhpk-/"}], "date_created": "Mon, 12 Nov 2012 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). The investigators will examine competing hypotheses for the mechanism of extension and creation of the Transantarctic Mountains, and evolution of the thermal regimes of rifted West Antarctica and stable East Antarctica using magnetotelluric (MT) profiles. Surrounded almost entirely by ocean ridges, Antarctica is a special tectonic situation because of the need to make accommodation space for rifting in the Transantarctic region. In the MT method, temporal variations in the Earth\u0027s natural electromagnetic field are used as source fields to probe the electrical resistivity structure in the depth range of 1 to 200 km, or more. Geophysical methods, such as MT, are appropriate in Antarctica because of the predominance of thick ice cover over most of the Continent and the difficult operating environment. The proposed effort will consist of approximately 50 sites over a distance approaching 500 km with a 10 km average spacing, oriented normal to the Transantarctic Mountains (TAM), in the Beardmore glacier area. High quality MT soundings will be collected over thick ice sheets using a custom electrode preamp design, updated from previous Antarctic projects. Data acquisition will take place over two field seasons. The primary goals are three-fold: to establish the location of the deeper tectonic transition between East and West Antarctica that may be offset from the physiographic transition at the surface, using deep resistivity structure distinguish between modes of extensional upwelling and magmatism that may be vertically non-uniform, depth and magnitude of quasi-layered deep crustal low resistivity, particularly below West Antarctica, will be used to estimate crustal heat flux into the ice sheet base.", "east": 179.94691, "geometry": "POINT(160.482115 -83.239175)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Not provided", "locations": null, "north": -82.13, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences; Antarctic Instrumentation and Support", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Bowser, Samuel; Wannamaker, Philip", "platforms": "Not provided", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "NCBI GenBank; USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -84.34835, "title": "Rift Mechanisms and Thermal Regime of the Lithosphere across Beardmore Glacier Region, Central Transantarctic Mountains, from Magnetotelluric Measurements", "uid": "p0000247", "west": 141.01732}, {"awards": "1043528 Alley, Richard; 1043313 Spencer, Matthew", "bounds_geometry": "POINT(112.1166 -79.4666)", "dataset_titles": "Average Annual Layer Thickness of the WAIS Divide Ice Core from Visual Stratigraphy; C-axis Fabric from Physical Properties Samples of the WAIS Divide Ice Core; Updated (2017) bubble number-density, size, shape, and modeled paleoclimate data; WAIS Divide 580m Bubble and Grain Hybrid Data; WAIS Divide Surface and Snow-pit Data, 2009-2013", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "609603", "doi": "10.7265/N53J39X3", "keywords": "Antarctica; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Core Records; WAIS Divide; WAIS Divide Ice Core", "people": "Spencer, Matthew", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "WAIS Divide Ice Core", "title": "Average Annual Layer Thickness of the WAIS Divide Ice Core from Visual Stratigraphy", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/609603"}, {"dataset_uid": "601087", "doi": "10.15784/601087", "keywords": "Air Bubbles; Antarctica; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Core Records; Ice Strain; Physical Ice Properties; Snow/ice; Snow/Ice; Strain", "people": "Alley, Richard; Fegyveresi, John", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "WAIS Divide Ice Core", "title": "WAIS Divide 580m Bubble and Grain Hybrid Data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601087"}, {"dataset_uid": "609605", "doi": "10.7265/N5W093VM", "keywords": "Antarctica; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Core Records; Physical Properties; WAIS Divide; WAIS Divide Ice Core", "people": "Alley, Richard; Fitzpatrick, Joan; Voigt, Donald E.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "WAIS Divide Ice Core", "title": "C-axis Fabric from Physical Properties Samples of the WAIS Divide Ice Core", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/609605"}, {"dataset_uid": "601224", "doi": "10.15784/601224", "keywords": "Antarctic; Antarctica; Bubble Number Density; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice; Ice Core Data; Ice Core Records; NSF-ICF Microtome and Photography Stage; Paleoclimate; Physical Properties; Snow/ice; Snow/Ice; WAIS Divide Ice Core; West Antarctic Ice Sheet", "people": "Voigt, Donald E.; Alley, Richard; Fegyveresi, John; Fitzpatrick, Joan; Spencer, Matthew", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "WAIS Divide Ice Core", "title": "Updated (2017) bubble number-density, size, shape, and modeled paleoclimate data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601224"}, {"dataset_uid": "601079", "doi": "10.15784/601079", "keywords": "Antarctica; Atmosphere; AWS; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Core Records; Meteorology; Physical Properties; Snow Pit; Temperature; WAIS Divide; WAIS Divide Ice Core; Weatherstation", "people": "Alley, Richard; Fegyveresi, John", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "WAIS Divide Ice Core", "title": "WAIS Divide Surface and Snow-pit Data, 2009-2013", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601079"}], "date_created": "Tue, 19 Jun 2012 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "1043528/Alley This award supports a project to complete the physical-properties studies of the WAIS Divide deep ice core, now being collected in West Antarctica. Ongoing work funded by NSF, under a grant that is ending, has produced visible stratigraphy dating, inspection of the core for any melt layers, volcanic horizons, flow disturbances or other features, analysis of bubble number-densities allowing reconstruction of a two-millennial cooling trend in the latter Holocene at the site, characterization of other bubble characteristics (size, etc.), density studies, characterization of snow-surface changes at the site, preliminary c-axis studies, and more. The current proposal seeks to complete this work, once the rest of the core is recovered. The intellectual merit of the proposed activity starts with quality assurance for the core, by visual detection of any evidence of flow disturbances that would disrupt the integrity of the climate record. Inspection will also reveal any melt layers, volcanic horizons, etc. Annual-layer dating will be conducted; thus far, the visible strata have not been as useful as some other indicators, but the possibility (based on experience in Greenland) that visible examination will allow detection of thinner annual layers than other techniques motivates the effort. Bubble number-density will be used to reconstruct temperature changes through the rest of the bubbly part of the core, providing important paleoclimatic data for earlier parts of the Holocene. Coordinated interpretation of c-axis fabrics, grain sizes and shapes, and bubble characteristics will be used to learn about the history of ice flow, the processes of ice flow, and the softness of the ice for additional deformation. Analysis of surface data already collected will improve interpretation of the layering of the core. It is possible that the annual-layer dating will not be sufficiently successful, and that the core will be undisturbed with no melt layers; if so, then these efforts will not yield major publications. However, success of the other efforts should produce improved understanding of the history and stability of the ice sheet, and key processes controlling these, and the quality assurance provided by the visual examination is important for the project as a whole. The broader impacts of the proposed activity include education of a PhD student and multiple undergraduates, and research opportunities for a junior faculty member at an undergraduate institution. The proposed activity will help support an especially vigorous education and outreach effort providing undergraduate instruction for over 1000 students per year, reaching thousands more citizens and many policymakers, and preparing educational materials used at many levels.", "east": 112.1166, "geometry": "POINT(112.1166 -79.4666)", "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PHOTON/OPTICAL DETECTORS \u003e VISUAL OBSERVATIONS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PHOTON/OPTICAL DETECTORS \u003e MICROSCOPES; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PHOTON/OPTICAL DETECTORS \u003e SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPES; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e CHEMICAL METERS/ANALYZERS \u003e ACFA; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e CORERS \u003e CORING DEVICES; NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE; NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Antarctic; Antarctica; Annual Layer Thickness; Ice Core; Visual Observations; Bubble; LABORATORY; Bubble Density; FIELD INVESTIGATION; Physical Properties; Stratigraphy; Climate Record; Annual Layers; Ice Fabric; C-axis; Model; WAIS Divide; GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS; FIELD SURVEYS; Melt Layers; Wais Divide-project; Not provided", "locations": "WAIS Divide; Antarctica; Antarctic", "north": -79.4666, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology; Antarctic Earth Sciences; Antarctic Earth Sciences; Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Spencer, Matthew; Alley, Richard; Fitzpatrick, Joan; Voigt, Donald E.", "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 PHYSICAL MODELS \u003e LABORATORY", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": "WAIS Divide Ice Core", "south": -79.4666, "title": "Collaborative Research: Continued Study of Physical Properties of the WAIS Divide Deep Core", "uid": "p0000027", "west": 112.1166}, {"awards": "0538580 Hemming, Sidney", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((60 -60,72 -60,84 -60,96 -60,108 -60,120 -60,132 -60,144 -60,156 -60,168 -60,180 -60,180 -61,180 -62,180 -63,180 -64,180 -65,180 -66,180 -67,180 -68,180 -69,180 -70,168 -70,156 -70,144 -70,132 -70,120 -70,108 -70,96 -70,84 -70,72 -70,60 -70,60 -69,60 -68,60 -67,60 -66,60 -65,60 -64,60 -63,60 -62,60 -61,60 -60))", "dataset_titles": "Antarctica\u0027s Geological History Reflected in Sedimentary Radiogenic Isotopes", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "600056", "doi": "10.15784/600056", "keywords": "Antarctica; Chemistry:sediment; Chemistry:Sediment; Geochemistry; Geochronology; Isotope Data; Marine Sediments; Oceans; Prydz Bay; Solid Earth; Southern Ocean; Weddell Sea; Wilkes Land", "people": "Goldstein, Steven L.; van de Flierdt, Tina; Hemming, Sidney R.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Antarctica\u0027s Geological History Reflected in Sedimentary Radiogenic Isotopes", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/600056"}], "date_created": "Sat, 20 Nov 2010 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This project studies sediment from the ocean floor to understand Antarctica\u0027s geologic history. Glacially eroded from the Antarctic continent, these sediments may offer insight into the 99% Antarctica covered by ice. The work\u0027s central focus is determining crust formation ages and thermal histories for three key areas of East Antarctica--Prydz Bay, eastern Weddell Sea, and Wilkes Land--through a combination of petrography, bulk sediment geochemistry and radiogenic isotopes, as well as isotope chronology of individual mineral grains. One specific objective is characterizing the composition of the Gamburtsev Mountains through studies of Eocene fluvial sediments from Prydz Bay. In addition to furthering our understanding of the hidden terrains of Antarctica, these terrigenous sediments will also serve as a natural laboratory to evaluate the effects of continental weathering on the Hf/Nd isotope systematics of seawater. An important broader impact of the project is providing exciting research projects for graduate and postdoctoral students using state of the art techniques in geochemistry.", "east": 180.0, "geometry": "POINT(120 -65)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Not provided", "locations": null, "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Van De Flierdt, Christina-Maria; Goldstein, Steven L.; Hemming, Sidney R.", "platforms": "Not provided", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -70.0, "title": "Antarctica\u0027s Geological History Reflected in Sedimentary Radiogenic Isotopes", "uid": "p0000524", "west": 60.0}, {"awards": "0442769 McClintock, James; 0838776 Baker, Bill; 0442857 Baker, Bill; 0838773 McClintock, James", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-65 -63,-64.8 -63,-64.6 -63,-64.4 -63,-64.2 -63,-64 -63,-63.8 -63,-63.6 -63,-63.4 -63,-63.2 -63,-63 -63,-63 -63.2,-63 -63.4,-63 -63.6,-63 -63.8,-63 -64,-63 -64.2,-63 -64.4,-63 -64.6,-63 -64.8,-63 -65,-63.2 -65,-63.4 -65,-63.6 -65,-63.8 -65,-64 -65,-64.2 -65,-64.4 -65,-64.6 -65,-64.8 -65,-65 -65,-65 -64.8,-65 -64.6,-65 -64.4,-65 -64.2,-65 -64,-65 -63.8,-65 -63.6,-65 -63.4,-65 -63.2,-65 -63))", "dataset_titles": "The Chemical Ecology of Shallow-water Marine Macroalgae and Invertebrates on the Antarctic Peninsula - 2010 experimental data; The Chemical Ecology of Shallow-water Marine Macroalgae and Invertebrates on the Antarctic Peninsula - 2010 field data; The Chemical Ecology of Shallow-water Marine Macroalgae and Invertebrates on the Antarctic Peninsula - 2011 Clad Outplant; The Chemical Ecology of Shallow-water Marine Macroalgae and Invertebrates on the Antarctic Peninsula - 2013 Chemo Phylo data", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "600095", "doi": "10.15784/600095", "keywords": "Algae; Antarctica; Antarctic Peninsula; Biota; Oceans; Southern Ocean", "people": "McClintock, James; Amsler, Charles", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "The Chemical Ecology of Shallow-water Marine Macroalgae and Invertebrates on the Antarctic Peninsula - 2011 Clad Outplant", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/600095"}, {"dataset_uid": "600047", "doi": "10.15784/600047", "keywords": "Antarctica; Biota; Oceans; Southern Ocean", "people": "Baker, Bill", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "The Chemical Ecology of Shallow-water Marine Macroalgae and Invertebrates on the Antarctic Peninsula - 2010 experimental data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/600047"}, {"dataset_uid": "600046", "doi": "10.15784/600046", "keywords": "Antarctica; Biota; Oceans; Southern Ocean", "people": "McClintock, James; Amsler, Charles", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "The Chemical Ecology of Shallow-water Marine Macroalgae and Invertebrates on the Antarctic Peninsula - 2010 field data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/600046"}, {"dataset_uid": "600096", "doi": "10.15784/600096", "keywords": "Algae; Antarctica; Antarctic Peninsula; Biota; Oceans; Southern Ocean", "people": "Baker, Bill", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "The Chemical Ecology of Shallow-water Marine Macroalgae and Invertebrates on the Antarctic Peninsula - 2013 Chemo Phylo data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/600096"}], "date_created": "Sun, 07 Nov 2010 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThe near shore environments of the western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) harbor extremely high densities of mesograzers (small invertebrate predators approximately 1-25 mm in length) such as benthic amphipods, as well as rich assemblages of macroalgae, endophytes, and macroinvertebrates. Unlike temperate and tropical shallow marine environments, where fish and sea urchins are key grazers structuring the community, mesograzers appear to be much more important in the WAP. Accordingly, the proposed research has two main objectives: (1) To further investigate the interactions between the ecologically dominant large macrophytes, filamentous epi/endophytes, and mesograzers and (2) To determine the nature of interactions between mesograzers and sessile invertebrates. Specifically, the research will examine the following hypotheses: 1: The effects of endophytes on macrophytes are often negative, and consequently macrophytes defend against endophytic infection. 2: Mesoherbivores prevent filamentous algal species, common in the intertidal, from dominating subtidal assemblages. 3: Mesograzer predation pressure on sessile benthic macroinvertebrates, primarily sponges and tunicates, is greatest in shallow habitats dominated by macrophytes, and this impacts depth distributions of macroinvertebrate species. 4: Benthic macroinvertebrates may defend against mesograzers with secondary metabolites which effect molting and/or deter feeding.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eBroader impacts include involvement of undergraduates, including minorities, in research; training of graduate students, and continuation of the highly successful UAB IN ANTARCTICA interactive web program (two time recipient of awards of excellence from the US Council for Advancement and Support of Education). The researchers also will share their scientific endeavors with teachers, K-12 students, and other members of the community at large while in residence in Antarctica. In addition, the investigators will request the participation of a PolarTREC teacher.", "east": -63.0, "geometry": "POINT(-64 -64)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Not provided", "locations": null, "north": -63.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems; Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems; Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems; Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Baker, Bill; Amsler, Charles; McClintock, James", "platforms": "Not provided", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -65.0, "title": "Collaborative Research: The Chemical Ecology of Shallow-water Marine Macroalgae and Invertebrates on the Antarctic Peninsula", "uid": "p0000475", "west": -65.0}, {"awards": "0538494 Meese, Debra", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": "Microstructural Location and Composition of Impurities in Polar Ice Cores", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "609436", "doi": "10.7265/N5DF6P5P", "keywords": "Antarctica; Arctic; Byrd Glacier; Byrd Ice Core; Chemistry:ice; Chemistry:Ice; Geochemistry; GISP2; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Core Records; Lake Vostok; Paleoclimate; Vostok Ice Core", "people": "Baker, Ian; Obbard, Rachel", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Microstructural Location and Composition of Impurities in Polar Ice Cores", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/609436"}], "date_created": "Thu, 03 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "0538494\u003cbr/\u003eMeese\u003cbr/\u003eThis award supports a project for physical properties research on snow pits and firn/ice cores with specific objectives that include stratigraphic analysis including determination of accumulation rates, annual layers, depth hoar, ice and wind crusts and rates of grain growth with depth. Studies of firn densification rates and how these parameters relate to the meteorology and climatology over the last 200 years of snow accumulation in Antarctica will also be investigated. The project will also determine the seasonality of accumulation by co-registration of stratigraphy and chemistry and determination of chemical species at the grain boundaries, how these may change with depth/densification (and therefore temperature), precipitation, and may affect grain growth. Fabric analyses will be made, including variation with depth, location on undulations and if any variation exists with climate/chemistry. The large spatial coverage of the US ITASE program offers the opportunity to determine how these parameters are affected by a large range of temperature, precipitation and topographic effects. The intellectual merit of the project includes the fact that ITASE is the terrestrial equivalent of a polar research vessel that provides a unique, logistically efficient, multi-dimensional (x, y, z and time) view of the atmosphere, ice sheet and their histories. Physical properties measurements/ analyses are an integral part of understanding the dynamic processes to which the accumulated snow is subjected. Recent advancements in the field along with multiple core sites provide an excellent opportunity to gain a much broader understanding of the spatial, temporal and physical variables that impact firnification and the possible resultant impact on climatic interpretation. In terms of broader impacts, the data collected by US ITASE and its international ITASE partners is available to a broad scientific community. US ITASE has an extensive program of public outreach and provides significant opportunities for many students to experience multidisciplinary Antarctic research. A graduate student, a post-doctoral fellow and at least one undergraduate would be funded by this work. Dr. Meese is also a member of the New England Science Collaborative, an organization that educates the public on climate change based on recent scientific advancements.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PHOTON/OPTICAL DETECTORS \u003e MICROSCOPES; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PHOTON/OPTICAL DETECTORS \u003e SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPES", "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "LABORATORY; Grain Growth; FIELD SURVEYS; Accumulation Rate; Firn Core; FIELD INVESTIGATION; Chemistry; Snow Pit; Depth Hoar; Firn Density; Ice Core; Not provided; Stratigraphic Analysis; Firn; US ITASE; Annual Layers", "locations": null, "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Meese, Deb; MEESE, DEBRA", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD SURVEYS; Not provided; OTHER \u003e PHYSICAL MODELS \u003e LABORATORY", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "The Physical Properties of the US ITASE Firn and Ice Cores from South Pole to Taylor Dome", "uid": "p0000289", "west": null}, {"awards": "0538148 Huber, Bruce", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": "Expedition Data; Expedition data of NBP0801; Processed CurrentMeter Data from the Adare Basin near Antarctica acquired during the Nathaniel B. Palmer expedition NBP1101 ; Processed CurrentMeter Data from the Ross Sea near Antarctica acquired during the Nathaniel B. Palmer expedition NBP0801", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "002647", "doi": null, "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "Expedition data of NBP0801", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/NBP0801"}, {"dataset_uid": "001517", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "Expedition Data", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/NBP0801"}, {"dataset_uid": "601343", "doi": null, "keywords": "Antarctica; Mooring; NBP1101; Ross Sea; Salinity; Southern Ocean; Temperature", "people": "Huber, Bruce; Gordon, Arnold", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Processed CurrentMeter Data from the Adare Basin near Antarctica acquired during the Nathaniel B. Palmer expedition NBP1101 ", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601343"}, {"dataset_uid": "601344", "doi": null, "keywords": "Antarctica; Cape Adare; Mooring; NBP0801; Physical Oceanography; Ross Sea; R/v Nathaniel B. Palmer; Salinity; Southern Ocean; Temperature", "people": "Gordon, Arnold; Huber, Bruce", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Processed CurrentMeter Data from the Ross Sea near Antarctica acquired during the Nathaniel B. Palmer expedition NBP0801", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601344"}], "date_created": "Tue, 04 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "An array of moorings will be deployed and maintained east of Cape Adare, Antarctica, at the northwestern corner of the Ross Sea to observe the properties of Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) exiting the Ross Sea. This location has been identified from recent studies as an ideal place to make such measurements. Antarctic Bottom Water has the highest density of the major global water masses, and fills the deepest parts of the world\u0027s oceans. Because it obtains many of its characteristics during its contact with the atmosphere and with glacial ice along the continental margins of Antarctica, it is expected that changes in newly-formed AABW may represent an effective indicator for abrupt climate change. The heterogeneous nature of the source regions around Antarctica complicates the observation of newly-formed AABW properties. The two most important source regions for AABW are within the Weddell and the Ross Seas, with additional sources drawn from the east Antarctic margins. In the northwestern Weddell Sea, several programs have been undertaken in the last decade to monitor the long term variability of Weddell Sea Deep and Bottom Water, precursors of AABW originating from the Weddell Sea, however no such systematic efforts have yet been undertaken to make longterm measurements of outflow from the Ross Sea. The proposed study will significantly improve our knowledge of the long term variability in the outflow of deep and bottom water from the Ross Sea, and will provide the beginnings of a long-term monitoring effort which ultimately will allow detection of changes in the ocean in the context of global climate change. When joined with similar efforts ongoing in the Weddell Sea, long-term behavior and possible coupling of these two important sources of the ocean\u0027s deepest water mass can be examined in detail.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e CTD; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e MAGNETIC/MOTION SENSORS \u003e GRAVIMETERS \u003e GRAVIMETERS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PRESSURE/HEIGHT METERS \u003e PRESSURE SENSORS; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e POSITIONING/NAVIGATION \u003e GPS \u003e GPS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e ACOUSTIC SOUNDERS \u003e ADCP; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e ACOUSTIC SOUNDERS \u003e MSBS", "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "R/V NBP", "locations": null, "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Caron, Bruce", "platforms": "WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e VESSELS \u003e SURFACE \u003e R/V NBP", "repo": "R2R", "repositories": "R2R; USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "Cape Adare Long-term Mooring (CALM)", "uid": "p0000838", "west": null}, {"awards": "0126279 Lawver, Lawrence; 0125624 Wilson, Terry", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((163.69456 -75.04911,164.525266 -75.04911,165.355972 -75.04911,166.186678 -75.04911,167.017384 -75.04911,167.84809 -75.04911,168.678796 -75.04911,169.509502 -75.04911,170.340208 -75.04911,171.170914 -75.04911,172.00162 -75.04911,172.00162 -75.3293,172.00162 -75.60949,172.00162 -75.88968,172.00162 -76.16987,172.00162 -76.45006,172.00162 -76.73025,172.00162 -77.01044,172.00162 -77.29063,172.00162 -77.57082,172.00162 -77.85101,171.170914 -77.85101,170.340208 -77.85101,169.509502 -77.85101,168.678796 -77.85101,167.84809 -77.85101,167.017384 -77.85101,166.186678 -77.85101,165.355972 -77.85101,164.525266 -77.85101,163.69456 -77.85101,163.69456 -77.57082,163.69456 -77.29063,163.69456 -77.01044,163.69456 -76.73025,163.69456 -76.45006,163.69456 -76.16987,163.69456 -75.88968,163.69456 -75.60949,163.69456 -75.3293,163.69456 -75.04911))", "dataset_titles": "Expedition Data; NBP0401 data", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "000106", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "NBP0401 data", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/NBP0401"}, {"dataset_uid": "001664", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "Expedition Data", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/NBP0401"}], "date_created": "Tue, 04 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award, provided by the Antarctic Geology and Geophysics Program of the Office of Polar Programs, provides funds for a study to investigate the tectonic development of the southwestern Ross Sea region. Displacements between East and West Antarctica have long been proposed based on global plate circuits, apparent hot spot motions, interpretations of seafloor magnetic anomalies, paleomagnetism, and on geologic grounds. Such motions require plate boundaries crossing Antarctica, yet these boundaries have never been explicitly defined. This project will attempt to delineate the late Cenozoic - active boundary between East and West Antarctica along the Terror Rift in the western Ross Sea, where young structures have been identified, continuity between active extension and intracontinental structures can be established, and where accessibility via ship will allow new key data sets to be acquired. We will use multi-source marine and airborne geophysical data to map the fault patterns and volcanic structure along the eastern margin of the Terror Rift. The orientations of volcanic fissures and seamount alignments on the seafloor will be mapped using multibeam bathymetry. The volcanic alignments will show the regional extension or shear directions across the Terror Rift and the orientations of associated crustal stresses. Swath bathymetry and single channel seismic data will be used to document neotectonic fault patterns and the eastern limit of recent faulting. Delineation of neotectonic fault patterns will demonstrate whether the eastern margin of the Terror Rift forms a continuous boundary and whether the rift itself can be linked with postulated strike-slip faults in the northwestern Ross Sea. Seafloor findings from this project will be combined with fault kinematic and stress field determinations from the surrounding volcanic islands and the Transantarctic Mountains. The integrated results will test the propositions that the eastern boundary of the Terror Rift forms the limit of the major, late Cenozoic -active structures through the Ross Sea and that Terror Rift kinematics involve dextral transtension linked to the right-lateral strike-slip faulting to the north. These results will help constrain the kinematic and dynamic links between the West Antarctic rift system and Southern Ocean structures and any related motions between East and West Antarctica. In the first year, a collaborative structural analysis of existing multichannel and single channel seismic profiles and aeromagnetic data over the Terror Rift will be conducted. The location of volcanic vents or fissures and any fault scarps on the sea floor will be identified and a preliminary interpretation of the age and kinematics of deformation in the Terror Rift will be produced. Late in the second year, a one-month cruise on RVIB N.B. Palmer will carry out multibeam bathymetric and sidescan sonar mapping of selected portions of the seafloor of Terror Rift. Gravity, magnetics, seismic reflection and Bathy2000 3.5 kHz sub-bottom profile data will also be collected across the rift. In the third year, we will use these multisource data to map the orientations and forms of volcanic bodies and the extent and geometry of neotectonic faulting associated with the Terror Rift. The project will: 1) complete a map of neotectonic faults and volcanic structures in the Terror Rift; 2) interpret the structural pattern to derive the motions and stresses associated with development of the rift; 3) compare Terror Rift structures with faults and lineaments mapped in the Transantarctic Mountains to improve age constraints on the structures; and 4) integrate the late Cenozoic structural interpretations from the western Ross Sea with Southern Ocean plate boundary kinematics.", "east": 172.00162, "geometry": "POINT(167.84809 -76.45006)", "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e CTD; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e MAGNETIC/MOTION SENSORS \u003e GRAVIMETERS \u003e GRAVIMETERS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PHOTON/OPTICAL DETECTORS \u003e TURBIDITY METERS; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e POSITIONING/NAVIGATION \u003e GPS \u003e GPS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e ACOUSTIC SOUNDERS \u003e ADCP; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e ACOUSTIC SOUNDERS \u003e MSBS", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "R/V NBP", "locations": null, "north": -75.04911, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences; Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Wilson, Terry", "platforms": "WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e VESSELS \u003e SURFACE \u003e R/V NBP", "repo": "R2R", "repositories": "R2R", "science_programs": null, "south": -77.85101, "title": "Collaborative Research: Neotectonic Structure of Terror Rift, Western Ross Sea", "uid": "p0000111", "west": 163.69456}, {"awards": "0126472 Taylor, Frederick", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": "Expedition Data; Expedition data of LMG0209", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "001743", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "Expedition Data", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/LMG0209"}, {"dataset_uid": "002672", "doi": null, "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "Expedition data of LMG0209", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/LMG0209"}], "date_created": "Tue, 04 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award, provided by the Antarctic Geology and Geophysics Program of the Office of Polar Programs, provides funds and field support to continue a study of plate motions in the Antarctic Peninsula and Scotia Sea region. The principal aim of the original \"Scotia Arc GPS Project (SCARP)\" was to determine motions of the Scotia Plate relative to adjacent plates and to measure crustal deformation along its margins with special attention to the South Sandwich microplate and Bransfield Strait extension. The focus of the present proposal is confined to the part of the SCARP project that includes GPS sites at Elephant Island, the South Shetland Islands and on the Antarctic Peninsula. The British Antarctic Survey provides data from two sites on the Scotia arc for this project. The northern margin of the Scotia Plate is not included herein because that region is not covered under Polar Programs. A separate proposal will request support for re-measuring SCARP GPS stations in South America. With regard to the Antarctic Peninsula area, continuously operating GPS stations were established at Frei Base, King George Island (in 1996) and at the Argentine Base, South Orkney Islands (in 1998). A number of monumented sites were established in the Antarctic Peninsula region in 1997 to support campaign-style GPS work in December 1997 and December 1998. Because of the expected slow crustal motion in the Bransfield Strait and expiration of the initial grant, no further data collection will be done until enough time has passed so that new measurements can be expected to yield precise results.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThe primary aim of this work is to complete the measurements required to quantify crustal deformation related to opening of the Bransfield Strait, the South Shetland microplate, and to identify any other independent tectonic blocks that the GPS data may reveal. The measurements to be completed under this award will be done using ship support during the 2002-2003 season. This would be five years after the first measurements and would provide quite precise horizontal velocities. This project will complete the acquisition, processing, and interpretation of a single data set to continue this initial phase of the NSF-funded project to measure crustal motions along the southern margin of the Scotia plate. A principal investigator and one graduate student from the University of Texas will perform fieldwork. A graduate student from the University of Hawaii will process the new data consistent with previous data, and all of the SCARP investigators (Bevis, Dalziel, Smalley, Taylor: from U. Texas, U. Hawaii, and U. Memphis) will participate in interpreting the data. The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) also recognized the importance of the Scotia plate and the Bransfield system in both global and local plate tectonic frameworks. They, too, have used GPS to measure crustal motions in this region and duplicate a number of our sites. They began earlier than we, have taken data more recently, presumably will continue taking data, and they have published some results. The collaboration between SCARP, BAS, and AWI begun earlier, will continue into this new work. Joint and separate publications are anticipated. The existing SCARP network has several advantages that justify collection and analysis of another set of data. One is that SCARP has established and measured GPS sites on Smith, Low, and Livingston Islands, where other groups have not. These sites significantly extend the dimensions of the South Shetland microplate so that we can determine a more precise pole of rotation and recognize any sub-blocks within the South Shetland arc. Smith and Low Islands are near the end of the Bransfield Basin where relative motion between the South Shetland Microplate must somehow terminate, perhaps by faulting along an extension of the Hero fracture zone. Another advantage is that measurements under SCARP were made using fixed-height masts that eliminate all but a fraction of a millimeter of vertical error in exactly re-occupying each site. Vertical motion associated with postglacial rebound should be on the order of several mm/yr, which will eventually be measurable. Mid-Holocene shorelines that emerged to more than 20m on some South Shetland arc islands suggest that vertical motion is significant. Thus, this work will contribute to understanding both plate motions and post-glacial rebound from ice mass loss in the region.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "R/V LMG", "locations": null, "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Taylor, Frederick", "platforms": "WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e VESSELS \u003e SURFACE \u003e R/V LMG", "repo": "R2R", "repositories": "R2R", "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "The Scotia Arc GPS Project: Focus on the Antarctic Peninsula and South Shetland Islands", "uid": "p0000855", "west": null}, {"awards": "0003619 Dalziel, Ian", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": "Expedition Data; Expedition data of LMG9810", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "002678", "doi": null, "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "Expedition data of LMG9810", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/LMG9810"}, {"dataset_uid": "002092", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "Expedition Data", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/LMG9810"}], "date_created": "Tue, 04 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award, provided by the Antarctic Geology and Geophysics Program of the Office of Polar Programs, supports a collaborative research program to initiate a Global Positioning System (GPS) network to measure crustal motions in the bedrock surrounding and underlying the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS). Evaluation of the role of both tectonic and ice-induced crustal motions of the WAIS bedrock is a critical goal for understanding past, present, and future dynamics of WAIS and its potential role in future global change scenarios, as well as improving our understanding of the role of Antarctica in global plate motions. The extent of active tectonism in West Antarctica is largely speculative, as few data exist that constrain its geographic distribution, directions, or rates of deformation. Active tectonism and the influence of bedrock on the WAIS have been highlighted recently by geophysical data indicating active subglacial volcanism and control of ice streaming by the presence of sedimentary basins. The influence of bedrock crustal motion on the WAIS and its future dynamics is a fundamental issue. Existing GPS projects are located only on the fringe of the ice sheet and do not address the regional picture. It is important that baseline GPS measurements on the bedrock around and within the WAIS be started so that a basis is established for detecting change.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eTo measure crustal motions, this project will build a West Antarctica GPS Network (WAGN) of at least 15 GPS sites across the interior of West Antarctica (approximately the size of the contiguous United States from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific coast) over a two-year period beginning in the Antarctic field season 2001-2002. The planned network is designed using the Multi-modal Occupation Strategy (MOST), in which a small number of independent GPS \"roving\" receivers make differential measurements against a network of continuous GPS stations for comparatively short periods at each site. This experimental strategy, successfully implemented by a number of projects in California, S America, the SW Pacific and Central Asia, minimizes logistical requirements, an essential element of application of GPS geodesy in the scattered and remote outcrops of the WAIS bedrock.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThe WAGN program will be integrated with the GPS network that has been established linking the Antarctic Peninsula with South America through the Scotia arc (Scotia Arc GPS Project (SCARP)). It will also interface with stations currently measuring motion across the Ross Embayment, and with the continent-wide GIANT program of the Working Group on Geodesy and Geographic Information Systems of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR). The GPS network will be based on permanent monuments set in solid rock outcrops that will have near-zero set-up error for roving GPS occupations, and that can be directly converted to a continuous GPS site when future technology makes autonomous operation and satellite data linkage throughout West Antarctica both reliable and economical. The planned network both depends on and complements the existing and planned continuous networks. It is presently not practical, for reasons of cost and logistics, to accomplish the measurements proposed herein with either a network of continuous stations or traditional campaigns.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThe proposed WAGN will complement existing GPS projects by filling a major gap in coverage among several discrete crustal blocks that make up West Antarctica, a critical area of potential bedrock movements. If crustal motions are relatively slow, meaningful results will only begin to emerge within the five-year maximum period of time for an individual funded project. Hence this proposal is only to initiate the network and test precision and velocities at the most critical sites. Once built, however, the network will yield increasingly meaningful results with the passage of time. Indeed, the slower the rates turn out to be, the more important an early start to measuring. It is anticipated that the results of this project will initiate an iterative process that will gradually resolve into an understanding of the contributions from plate rotations and viscoelastic and elastic motions resulting from deglaciation and ice mass changes. Velocities obtained from initial reoccupation of the most critical sites will dictate the timing of a follow-up proposal for reoccupation of the entire network when detectable motions have occurred.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "R/V LMG", "locations": null, "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Dalziel, Ian W.", "platforms": "WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e VESSELS \u003e SURFACE \u003e R/V LMG", "repo": "R2R", "repositories": "R2R", "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "Collaborative Research: A GPS Network to Determine Crustal Motions in the Bedrock of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet: Phase I - Installation", "uid": "p0000859", "west": null}, {"awards": "0542111 Lonsdale, Darcy; 0542456 Caron, David", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-179.9999 -43.5663,-143.99993 -43.5663,-107.99996 -43.5663,-71.99999 -43.5663,-36.00002 -43.5663,-0.000050000000016 -43.5663,35.99992 -43.5663,71.99989 -43.5663,107.99986 -43.5663,143.99983 -43.5663,179.9998 -43.5663,179.9998 -46.99537,179.9998 -50.42444,179.9998 -53.85351,179.9998 -57.28258,179.9998 -60.71165,179.9998 -64.14072,179.9998 -67.56979,179.9998 -70.99886,179.9998 -74.42793,179.9998 -77.857,143.99983 -77.857,107.99986 -77.857,71.99989 -77.857,35.99992 -77.857,-0.000049999999987 -77.857,-36.00002 -77.857,-71.99999 -77.857,-107.99996 -77.857,-143.99993 -77.857,-179.9999 -77.857,-179.9999 -74.42793,-179.9999 -70.99886,-179.9999 -67.56979,-179.9999 -64.14072,-179.9999 -60.71165,-179.9999 -57.28258,-179.9999 -53.85351,-179.9999 -50.42444,-179.9999 -46.99537,-179.9999 -43.5663))", "dataset_titles": "Do Crustacean Zooplankton Play a Pivotal Role in Structuring Heterotrophic Plankton Communities in the Ross Sea?; Expedition Data; NBP0802 data; Processed CurrentMeter Data from the Ross Sea near Antarctica acquired during the Nathaniel B. Palmer expedition NBP0801", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "000122", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "NBP0802 data", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/NBP0802"}, {"dataset_uid": "601344", "doi": null, "keywords": "Antarctica; Cape Adare; Mooring; NBP0801; Physical Oceanography; Ross Sea; R/v Nathaniel B. Palmer; Salinity; Southern Ocean; Temperature", "people": "Gordon, Arnold; Huber, Bruce", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Processed CurrentMeter Data from the Ross Sea near Antarctica acquired during the Nathaniel B. Palmer expedition NBP0801", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601344"}, {"dataset_uid": "001517", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "Expedition Data", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/NBP0801"}, {"dataset_uid": "600059", "doi": "10.15784/600059", "keywords": "Antarctica; Biota; Crustacea; Oceans; Phytoplankton; Ross Sea; Southern Ocean", "people": "Lonsdale, Darcy", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Do Crustacean Zooplankton Play a Pivotal Role in Structuring Heterotrophic Plankton Communities in the Ross Sea?", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/600059"}], "date_created": "Tue, 04 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Recent studies of marine ecosystems show conflicting evidence for trophic cascades, and in particular the relative strength of the crustacean zooplankton-phytoplankton link. The Ross Sea is a natural laboratory for investigating this apparent conflict. It is a site of seasonally high abundances of phytoplankton, characterized by regions of distinct phytoplankton taxa; the southcentral polynya is strongly dominated by the colony-forming prymnesiophyte Phaeocystis antarctica, while coastal regions of this sea are typically dominated by diatoms or flagellate species. Recent studies indicate that, while the south-central polynya exhibits a massive phytoplankton bloom, the poor food quality of P. antarctica for many crustacean zooplankton prevents direct utilization of much of this phytoplankton bloom. Rather, evidence suggests that indirect utilization of this production may be the primary mechanism by which carbon and energy become available to those higher trophic levels. Specifically, we hypothesize that nano and microzooplankton constitute an important food source for crustacean zooplankton (largely copepods and juvenile euphausiids) during the summer period in the Ross Sea where the phytoplankton assemblage is dominated by the prymnesiophyte. In turn, we also hypothesize that predation by copepods (and other Crustacea) controls and structures the species composition of these protistan assemblages. We will occupy stations in the south-central Ross Sea Polynya (RSP) and Terra Nova Bay (TNB) during austral summer to test these hypotheses. We hypothesize that the diatom species that dominate the phytoplankton assemblage in TNB constitute a direct source of nutrition to herbivorous/omnivorous zooplankton (relative to the situation in the south-central RSP). That is, the contribution of heterotrophic protists to crustacean diets will be reduced in TNB. Our research will address fundamental gaps in our knowledge of food web structure and trophic cascades, and provide better understanding of the flow of carbon and energy within the biological community of this perennially cold sea. The PIs will play active roles in public education (K-12) via curriculum development (on Antarctic biology) and teacher trainer activities in the Centers for Ocean Science Education Excellence (COSEE-West), an innovative, NSF-funded program centered at USC and UCLA.", "east": 179.9998, "geometry": "POINT(0 -89.999)", "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e CTD; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e MAGNETIC/MOTION SENSORS \u003e GRAVIMETERS \u003e GRAVIMETERS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PRESSURE/HEIGHT METERS \u003e PRESSURE SENSORS; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e POSITIONING/NAVIGATION \u003e GPS \u003e GPS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e ACOUSTIC SOUNDERS \u003e ADCP; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e ACOUSTIC SOUNDERS \u003e MSBS", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "R/V NBP", "locations": null, "north": -43.5663, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems; Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Lonsdale, Darcy; Caron, Bruce", "platforms": "WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e VESSELS \u003e SURFACE \u003e R/V NBP", "repo": "R2R", "repositories": "R2R; USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -77.857, "title": "Collaborative Research: Do Crustacean Zooplankton Play a Pivotal Role in Structuring Heterotrophic Plankton Communities in the Ross Sea?", "uid": "p0000520", "west": -179.9999}, {"awards": "9814622 Wiens, Douglas", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-70.90604 -52.35474,-69.307306 -52.35474,-67.708572 -52.35474,-66.109838 -52.35474,-64.511104 -52.35474,-62.91237 -52.35474,-61.313636 -52.35474,-59.714902 -52.35474,-58.116168 -52.35474,-56.517434 -52.35474,-54.9187 -52.35474,-54.9187 -53.658393,-54.9187 -54.962046,-54.9187 -56.265699,-54.9187 -57.569352,-54.9187 -58.873005,-54.9187 -60.176658,-54.9187 -61.480311,-54.9187 -62.783964,-54.9187 -64.087617,-54.9187 -65.39127,-56.517434 -65.39127,-58.116168 -65.39127,-59.714902 -65.39127,-61.313636 -65.39127,-62.91237 -65.39127,-64.511104 -65.39127,-66.109838 -65.39127,-67.708572 -65.39127,-69.307306 -65.39127,-70.90604 -65.39127,-70.90604 -64.087617,-70.90604 -62.783964,-70.90604 -61.480311,-70.90604 -60.176658,-70.90604 -58.873005,-70.90604 -57.569352,-70.90604 -56.265699,-70.90604 -54.962046,-70.90604 -53.658393,-70.90604 -52.35474))", "dataset_titles": "Expedition Data; Expedition data of LMG0003A", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "002059", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "Expedition Data", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/NBP9905"}, {"dataset_uid": "001854", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "Expedition Data", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/NBP0106"}, {"dataset_uid": "002688", "doi": null, "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "Expedition data of LMG0003A", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/LMG0003A"}], "date_created": "Tue, 04 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award, provided jointly by the Antarctic Geology and Geophysics Program of the Office of Polar Programs, supports research to transform three temporary seismometers in the Antarctic Peninsula into semi-permanent stations and to continue basic research using these data. During 1997 and 1998, a network of 11 broadband seismographs in the Antarctic Peninsula region and southernmost Chilean Patagonia were installed and maintained. Data return from this project has been excellent and interesting initial results have been produced. The continued operation of these instruments over a longer time period would be highly beneficial because the number of larger magnitude regional earthquakes is small and so a longer time is needed to acquire data. However, instruments from this project are borrowed from the IRIS-PASSCAL instrument pool and must be returned to PASSCAL in April, 1999. This award provides funds to convert three stations at permanent Chilean bases in the Antarctic to permanent stations, and to continue the seismological investigation of the region for a period of four years. As part of this project, a fourth station, in Chilean Patagonia, will continue to be operated using Washington University equipment. The funding of this project will enable continued collaboration between Washington University and the Universidad de Chile in the operation of these stations, and the data will be forwarded to the IRIS data center as well as to other international seismological collaborators. Mutual data exchanges with other national groups with Antarctic seismology research programs will provide access to broadband data from a variety of other proprietary broadband stations in the region. The data will be used to study the seismicity and upper mantle velocity structure of several complicated tectonic regions in the area, including the South Shetland subduction zone, the Bransfield backarc rift, and diffuse plate boundaries in Patagonia, Drake Passage, and along the South Scotia Ridge. In particular, the operation of these stations over a longer time period will allow a better understanding of the seismicity of the South Shetland Trench, an unusual subduction zone showing very slow subduction of young lithosphere. These seismometers will also be used to record airgun shots during a geophysical cruise in the Bransfield Strait that is being planned by the University of Texas for April, 2000. These data will provide important constraints on the crustal structure beneath the stations, and the improved structural models will enable implementation of more precise earthquake location procedures in support of a seismological understanding of the region.", "east": -54.9187, "geometry": "POINT(-62.91237 -58.873005)", "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e MAGNETIC/MOTION SENSORS \u003e GRAVIMETERS \u003e GRAVIMETERS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e ACOUSTIC SOUNDERS \u003e MSBS", "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "R/V LMG; R/V NBP", "locations": null, "north": -52.35474, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Wiens, Douglas; Visbeck, Martin", "platforms": "WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e VESSELS \u003e SURFACE \u003e R/V LMG; WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e VESSELS \u003e SURFACE \u003e R/V NBP", "repo": "R2R", "repositories": "R2R", "science_programs": null, "south": -65.39127, "title": "Acquisition and Operation of Broadband Seismograph Equipment at Chilean Bases in the Antarctic Peninsula Region", "uid": "p0000604", "west": -70.90604}, {"awards": "9019247 Lawver, Lawrence", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-70.9123 -52.3523,-68.4947 -52.3523,-66.0771 -52.3523,-63.6595 -52.3523,-61.2419 -52.3523,-58.8243 -52.3523,-56.4067 -52.3523,-53.9891 -52.3523,-51.5715 -52.3523,-49.1539 -52.3523,-46.7363 -52.3523,-46.7363 -53.791011,-46.7363 -55.229722,-46.7363 -56.668433,-46.7363 -58.107144,-46.7363 -59.545855,-46.7363 -60.984566,-46.7363 -62.423277,-46.7363 -63.861988,-46.7363 -65.300699,-46.7363 -66.73941,-49.1539 -66.73941,-51.5715 -66.73941,-53.9891 -66.73941,-56.4067 -66.73941,-58.8243 -66.73941,-61.2419 -66.73941,-63.6595 -66.73941,-66.0771 -66.73941,-68.4947 -66.73941,-70.9123 -66.73941,-70.9123 -65.300699,-70.9123 -63.861988,-70.9123 -62.423277,-70.9123 -60.984566,-70.9123 -59.545855,-70.9123 -58.107144,-70.9123 -56.668433,-70.9123 -55.229722,-70.9123 -53.791011,-70.9123 -52.3523))", "dataset_titles": "Expedition Data", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "002294", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "Expedition Data", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/NBP9301"}], "date_created": "Tue, 04 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Major progress has been made with respect to our understanding of the tectonic evolution of the Antarctic Plate. Paleomagnetic data, marine magnetic anomaly identifications, Geosat-derived tectonic lineations, heat flow derived seafloor ages and mathematical solutions for plate motions around triple junctions have all contributed to a better model for the tectonic evolution of the circum- Antarctic region. Even so, major problems still exist with respect to the Mesozoic to Recent tectonic evolution of the Antarctic continental margin which can be tackled using heat flow measurements. This award supports the study of a tectonic problem that heat flow can address, the determination of the age of the Powell Basin at the end of the West Antarctic Peninsula and its relationship to the opening of Drake\u0027s Passage. Specifically, heat flow measurement will be used to study the age and mode of crustal extension of the Powell Basin, where standard age determination fails and heat flow is the only method that can be used to date its opening.", "east": -46.7363, "geometry": "POINT(-58.8243 -59.545855)", "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e MAGNETIC/MOTION SENSORS \u003e GRAVIMETERS \u003e GRAVIMETERS", "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "R/V NBP", "locations": null, "north": -52.3523, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Lawver, Lawrence", "platforms": "WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e VESSELS \u003e SURFACE \u003e R/V NBP", "repo": "R2R", "repositories": "R2R", "science_programs": null, "south": -66.73941, "title": "Antarctic Marine Heat Flow", "uid": "p0000652", "west": -70.9123}, {"awards": "9814041 Austin, Jr., James", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-70.90616 -52.35281,-69.390587 -52.35281,-67.875014 -52.35281,-66.359441 -52.35281,-64.843868 -52.35281,-63.328295 -52.35281,-61.812722 -52.35281,-60.297149 -52.35281,-58.781576 -52.35281,-57.266003 -52.35281,-55.75043 -52.35281,-55.75043 -53.463301,-55.75043 -54.573792,-55.75043 -55.684283,-55.75043 -56.794774,-55.75043 -57.905265,-55.75043 -59.015756,-55.75043 -60.126247,-55.75043 -61.236738,-55.75043 -62.347229,-55.75043 -63.45772,-57.266003 -63.45772,-58.781576 -63.45772,-60.297149 -63.45772,-61.812722 -63.45772,-63.328295 -63.45772,-64.843868 -63.45772,-66.359441 -63.45772,-67.875014 -63.45772,-69.390587 -63.45772,-70.90616 -63.45772,-70.90616 -62.347229,-70.90616 -61.236738,-70.90616 -60.126247,-70.90616 -59.015756,-70.90616 -57.905265,-70.90616 -56.794774,-70.90616 -55.684283,-70.90616 -54.573792,-70.90616 -53.463301,-70.90616 -52.35281))", "dataset_titles": "Expedition Data", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "001987", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "Expedition Data", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/NBP0002"}, {"dataset_uid": "001810", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "Expedition Data", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/NBP0007A"}], "date_created": "Tue, 04 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award, provided by the Antarctic Geology and Geophysics Program of the Office of Polar Programs, supports research to study the deep crustal structure of the Bransfield Strait region. Bransfield Strait, in the northern Antarctic Peninsula, is one of a small number of modern basins that may be critical for understanding ancient mountain-building processes. The Strait is an actively-extending marginal basin in the far southeast Pacific, between the Antarctic Peninsula and the South Shetland Islands, an inactive volcanic arc. Widespread crustal extension, accompanied by volcanism along the Strait\u0027s axis, may be associated with slow underthrusting of oceanic crust at the South Shetland Trench; similar \"back-arc\" extension occurred along the entire Pacific margin (now western South America/West Antarctica) of the supercontinent known as Gondwanaland during the Jurassic-Early Cretaceous. Mid-Cretaceous deformation of these basins some 100 million years ago initiated uplift of the Andes. By understanding the deep structure and evolution of Bransfield rift, it should be possible to evaluate the crustal precursor to the Andes, and thereby understand more fully the early evolution of this globally important mountain chain. Years of international earth sciences research in Bransfield Strait has produced consensus on important aspects of its geologic environment: (1) It is probably a young (probably ~4 million years old) rift in preexisting Antarctic Peninsula crust; continued stretching of this crust results in complex fault patterns and associated volcanism. The volcanism, high heat flow, and mapped crustal trends are all consistent with the basin\u0027s continuing evolution as a rift; (2) The volcanism, which is recent and continuing, occurs along a \"neovolcanic\" zone centralized along the basin\u0027s axis. Multichannel seismic data collected aboard R/V Maurice Ewing in 1991 illustrate the following basin-wide characteristics of Bransfield Strait - a) widespread extension and faulting, b) the rise of crustal diapirs or domes associated with flower-shaped normal-fault structures, and c) a complicated system of fault-bounded segments across strike. The geophysical evidence also suggests NE-to-SW propagation of the rift, with initial crustal inflation/doming followed by deflation/subsidence, volcanism, and extension along normal faults. Although Bransfield Strait exhibits geophysical and geologic evidence for extension and volcanism, continental crust fragmentation does not appear to have gone to completion in this \"back-arc\" basin and ocean crust is not yet being generated. Instead, Bransfield rift lies near the critical transition from intracontinental rifting to seafloor-spreading. The basin\u0027s asymmetry, and seismic evidence for shallow intracrustal detachment faulting, suggest that it may be near one end-member of the spectrum of models proposed for continental break-up. Therefore, this basin is a \"natural lab\" for studying diverse processes involved in forming continental margins. Understanding Bransfield rift\u0027s deep crustal structure is the key to resolving its stage of evolution, and should also provide a starting point for models of Andean mountain-building. This work will define the deep structure by collecting and analyzing high-quality, high-density ocean bottom seismometer (OBS) profiles both along and across the Strait\u0027s strike. Scientific objectives are as follows: (1) to develop a detailed seismic velocity model for this rift; (2) to calibrate velocity structure and crustal thickness changes associated with presumed NE-to-SW rift propagation, as deduced from the multichannel seismic interpretations; (3) to document the degree to which deep velocity structure corresponds to along- and across-strike crustal segmentation; and (4) to assess structural relationships between the South Shetland Islands \"arc\" and Bransfield rift. The proposed OBS data, integrated with interpretations of both Ewing profiles and those from other high-quality geophysical coverage in Bransfield Strait, will complement ongoing deep seismic analysis of Antarctic Peninsula crust to the southwest and additional OBS monitoring for deep earthquakes, in order to understand the complex plate tectonic evolution of this region.", "east": -55.75043, "geometry": "POINT(-63.328295 -57.905265)", "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e MAGNETIC/MOTION SENSORS \u003e GRAVIMETERS \u003e GRAVIMETERS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e ACOUSTIC SOUNDERS \u003e MSBS", "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "R/V NBP", "locations": null, "north": -52.35281, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Austin, James; Austin, James Jr.", "platforms": "WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e VESSELS \u003e SURFACE \u003e R/V NBP", "repo": "R2R", "repositories": "R2R", "science_programs": null, "south": -63.45772, "title": "The Young Marginal Basin as a Key to Understanding the Rift-Drift Transition and Andean Orogenesis: OBS Refraction Profiling for Crustal Structure in Bransfield Strait", "uid": "p0000615", "west": -70.90616}, {"awards": "0732995 Barbeau, David", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-67.9988 -52.7596,-66.83756 -52.7596,-65.67632 -52.7596,-64.51508 -52.7596,-63.35384 -52.7596,-62.1926 -52.7596,-61.03136 -52.7596,-59.87012 -52.7596,-58.70888 -52.7596,-57.54764 -52.7596,-56.3864 -52.7596,-56.3864 -54.15258,-56.3864 -55.54556,-56.3864 -56.93854,-56.3864 -58.33152,-56.3864 -59.7245,-56.3864 -61.11748,-56.3864 -62.51046,-56.3864 -63.90344,-56.3864 -65.29642,-56.3864 -66.6894,-57.54764 -66.6894,-58.70888 -66.6894,-59.87012 -66.6894,-61.03136 -66.6894,-62.1926 -66.6894,-63.35384 -66.6894,-64.51508 -66.6894,-65.67632 -66.6894,-66.83756 -66.6894,-67.9988 -66.6894,-67.9988 -65.29642,-67.9988 -63.90344,-67.9988 -62.51046,-67.9988 -61.11748,-67.9988 -59.7245,-67.9988 -58.33152,-67.9988 -56.93854,-67.9988 -55.54556,-67.9988 -54.15258,-67.9988 -52.7596))", "dataset_titles": "Expedition Data", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "001520", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "Expedition Data", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/LMG0717"}], "date_created": "Tue, 04 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This project studies the relationship between opening of the Drake Passage and formation of the Antarctic ice sheet. Its goal is to answer the question: What drove the transition from a greenhouse to icehouse world thirty-four million years ago? Was it changes in circulation of the Southern Ocean caused by the separation of Antarctica from South America or was it a global effect such as decreasing atmospheric CO2 content? This study constrains the events and timing through fieldwork in South America and Antarctica and new work on marine sediment cores previously collected by the Ocean Drilling Program. It also involves an extensive, multidisciplinary analytical program. Compositional analyses of sediments and their sources will be combined with (U-Th)/He, fission-track, and Ar-Ar thermochronometry to constrain uplift and motion of the continental crust bounding the Drake Passage. Radiogenic isotope studies of fossil fish teeth found in marine sediment cores will be used to trace penetration of Pacific seawater into the Atlantic. Oxygen isotope and trace metal measurements on foraminifera will provide additional information on the timing and magnitude of ice volume changes. \u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThe broader impacts include graduate and undergraduate education; outreach to the general public through museum exhibits and presentations, and international collaboration with scientists from Argentina, Ukraine, UK and Germany.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThe project is supported under NSF\u0027s International Polar Year (IPY) research emphasis area on \"Understanding Environmental Change in Polar Regions\". This project is also a key component of the IPY Plates \u0026 Gates initiative (IPY Project #77), focused on determining the role of tectonic gateways in instigating polar environmental change.", "east": -56.3864, "geometry": "POINT(-62.1926 -59.7245)", "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e CTD; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e POSITIONING/NAVIGATION \u003e GPS \u003e GPS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e ACOUSTIC SOUNDERS \u003e ADCP", "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "R/V LMG", "locations": null, "north": -52.7596, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "MacPhee, Ross", "platforms": "WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e VESSELS \u003e SURFACE \u003e R/V LMG", "repo": "R2R", "repositories": "R2R", "science_programs": null, "south": -66.6894, "title": "Collaborative Research: IPY: Testing the Polar Gateway Hypothesis: An Integrated Record of Drake Passage Opening \u0026 Antarctic Glaciation", "uid": "p0000120", "west": -67.9988}, {"awards": "9317588 Lawver, Lawrence", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": "Expedition Data; Expedition data of NBP9507", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "002590", "doi": null, "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "Expedition data of NBP9507", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/NBP9507"}, {"dataset_uid": "002227", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "Expedition Data", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/NBP9507"}], "date_created": "Tue, 04 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award supports a marine geophysical investigation of the Bransfield Strait and the Shackleton Fracture Zone and environs in the Scotia Sea in an effort to understand the neotectonic evolution of the region. Multibeam swath mapping and sidescan sonar mapping will be used along with multichannel seismic imaging. The main goal of this proposal is to collect multibeam and sidescan sonar data to map the structural character and tectonic fabric of the evolving plate boundary in Southwest Scotia Sea, Shackleton Fracture Zone, and Bransfield Strait. Follow up multichannel seismic surveys will be done in the Southwest Scotia Sea. The secondary goal is to use sidescan sonar reflectivity images to generate detailed structural maps of the seafloor of these regions and to integrate the new data with existing seismic reflection, Geosat gravity, Hydrosweep and Seabeam bathymetric data. Once the base maps are produced they can be used by other researchers to help interpret multichannel and single channel seismic reflection records. The neotectonic evolution of the Antarctic Peninsula and Scotia Sea is extremely complex. Understanding the recent evolution of the Drake-Scotia-Antarctic-South America plate intersections will provide important information as to how major plate boundaries reorganize after demise of a long-lived spreading center and the consequential reduction in the number of plates. The plate reorganization probably resulted in the uplift of the Shackleton Ridge which may have effected the sedimentary patterns in both the Scotia Sea and possibly the Weddell Sea. If the break of the Shackleton transform fault can be traced with multibeam and sidescan sonar as it intersects the southern end of South America then the orientation and geometry of the faults, fractures and deformation as the transform fault intersects the South American continent will help to interpret the structures in that complex region. Bransfield Strait is presently undergoing extensi on based on high heat flow, active volcanoes and inferences from seismic reflection work. Seismic refraction indicates thick crust similar to the East African Rift or passive volcanic margins of continents. In contrast, analysis of isotopes and rare earth elements of the recent volcanics shows seemingly no continental contamination. The active extension in Bransfield Strait must be related to the plate reorganization but it is unclear exactly what tectonic processes are occurring. Besides elucidating the tectonic fabric of Bransfield Strait, the multibeam and sidescan sonar survey will identify potential dredge targets and DSRV Alvin dive sites.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e MAGNETIC/MOTION SENSORS \u003e GRAVIMETERS \u003e GRAVIMETERS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e ACOUSTIC SOUNDERS \u003e MSBS", "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "R/V NBP", "locations": null, "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Klinkhammer, Gary", "platforms": "WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e VESSELS \u003e SURFACE \u003e R/V NBP", "repo": "R2R", "repositories": "R2R", "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "Neotectonic Evolution of Antarctic Peninsula/Scotia Sea Region: Multi-Beam, Sidescan Sonar, Seismic, Magnetics and Gravity Studies", "uid": "p0000809", "west": null}, {"awards": "9316710 Bartek, Louis", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-179.9993 -75.77948,-143.99945 -75.77948,-107.9996 -75.77948,-71.99975 -75.77948,-35.9999 -75.77948,-0.000049999999987 -75.77948,35.9998 -75.77948,71.99965 -75.77948,107.9995 -75.77948,143.99935 -75.77948,179.9992 -75.77948,179.9992 -76.012273,179.9992 -76.245066,179.9992 -76.477859,179.9992 -76.710652,179.9992 -76.943445,179.9992 -77.176238,179.9992 -77.409031,179.9992 -77.641824,179.9992 -77.874617,179.9992 -78.10741,143.99935 -78.10741,107.9995 -78.10741,71.99965 -78.10741,35.9998 -78.10741,-0.000050000000016 -78.10741,-35.9999 -78.10741,-71.99975 -78.10741,-107.9996 -78.10741,-143.99945 -78.10741,-179.9993 -78.10741,-179.9993 -77.874617,-179.9993 -77.641824,-179.9993 -77.409031,-179.9993 -77.176238,-179.9993 -76.943445,-179.9993 -76.710652,-179.9993 -76.477859,-179.9993 -76.245066,-179.9993 -76.012273,-179.9993 -75.77948))", "dataset_titles": "Expedition Data", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "002168", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "Expedition Data", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/NBP9601"}], "date_created": "Tue, 04 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award supports a collaborative marine geological and geophysical project between the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the University of Alabama to study the glacial and tectonic history of the eastern Ross Sea and the Marie Byrd Land margin of West Antarctica. The goals of the project are (1) to conduct seismic imaging and piston coring to begin unraveling the history of the West Antarctic ice Sheet as recorded in the recent sediments of the continental shelf of the region, and (2) to acquire seismic images of the acoustic basement beneath the Cenozoic glacial deposits toward an understanding of the relationship between rift structure of the continental crust and Cenozoic glacial deposits of the region. This research will result in bathymetric, structural, sediment isopach, gravity and magnetic maps of the eastern Ross Sea and the Marie Byrd Land margin. This information will be integrated into an interpretation of the major glacial and structural features of the region. This project will result in a better understanding of the glacio-marine stratigraphy and glacial history of the eastern Ross Sea and Marie Byrd Land margin and, consequently, it will represent a significant contribution to the goals of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet initiative.", "east": 179.9992, "geometry": "POINT(0 -89.999)", "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e MAGNETIC/MOTION SENSORS \u003e GRAVIMETERS \u003e GRAVIMETERS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e ACOUSTIC SOUNDERS \u003e MSBS", "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "R/V NBP", "locations": null, "north": -75.77948, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Bartek, Louis; Luyendyk, Bruce P.", "platforms": "WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e VESSELS \u003e SURFACE \u003e R/V NBP", "repo": "R2R", "repositories": "R2R", "science_programs": null, "south": -78.10741, "title": "Collaborative Research: Glacial Marine Stratigraphy in the Eastern Ross Sea and Western Marie Byrd Land, and Shallow Structure of the West Antarctic Rift", "uid": "p0000639", "west": -179.9993}, {"awards": "0338290 Kremer, Patricia; 0338090 Madin, Laurence", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-69.9083 -52.7624,-68.96368 -52.7624,-68.01906 -52.7624,-67.07444 -52.7624,-66.12982 -52.7624,-65.1852 -52.7624,-64.24058 -52.7624,-63.29596 -52.7624,-62.35134 -52.7624,-61.40672 -52.7624,-60.4621 -52.7624,-60.4621 -54.01423,-60.4621 -55.26606,-60.4621 -56.51789,-60.4621 -57.76972,-60.4621 -59.02155,-60.4621 -60.27338,-60.4621 -61.52521,-60.4621 -62.77704,-60.4621 -64.02887,-60.4621 -65.2807,-61.40672 -65.2807,-62.35134 -65.2807,-63.29596 -65.2807,-64.24058 -65.2807,-65.1852 -65.2807,-66.12982 -65.2807,-67.07444 -65.2807,-68.01906 -65.2807,-68.96368 -65.2807,-69.9083 -65.2807,-69.9083 -64.02887,-69.9083 -62.77704,-69.9083 -61.52521,-69.9083 -60.27338,-69.9083 -59.02155,-69.9083 -57.76972,-69.9083 -56.51789,-69.9083 -55.26606,-69.9083 -54.01423,-69.9083 -52.7624))", "dataset_titles": "Data at U.S. JGOFS Data System; Expedition Data", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "001573", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "Expedition Data", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/LMG0602"}, {"dataset_uid": "001565", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "Expedition Data", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/LMG0414"}, {"dataset_uid": "000118", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "JGOF", "science_program": null, "title": "Data at U.S. JGOFS Data System", "url": "http://usjgofs.whoi.edu/jg/dir/jgofs/"}], "date_created": "Tue, 04 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Salps are planktonic grazers that have a life history, feeding biology and population dynamic strikingly different from krill, copepods or other crustacean zooplankton. Salps can occur in very dense population blooms that cover large areas and have been shown to have major impacts due to the their grazing and the production of fast-sinking fecal pellets. Although commonly acknowledged as a major component of the Southern Ocean zooplankton community, often comparable in biomass and distribution to krill, salps have received relatively little attention. Although extensive sampling has documented the seasonal abundance of salps in the Southern Ocean, there is a paucity of data on important rates that determine population growth and the role of this species in grazing and vertical flux of particulates. This proposed study will include: measurements of respiration and excretion rates for solitary and aggregate salps of all sizes; measurements of ingestion rates, including experiments to determine the size or concentration of particulates that can reduce ingestion; and determination of growth rates of solitaries and aggregates. In addition to the various rate measurements, this study will include quantitative surveys of salp horizontal and vertical distribution to determine their biomass and spatial distribution, and to allow a regional assessment of their effects. Measurements of the physical characteristics of the water column and the quantity and quality of particulate food available for the salps at each location will also be made. Satellite imagery and information on sea-ice cover will be used to test hypotheses about conditions that result in high densities of salps. Results will be used to construct a model of salp population dynamics, and both experimental and modeling results will be interpreted within the context of the physical and nutritional conditions to which the salps are exposed. This integrated approach will provide a good basis for understanding the growth dynamics of salp blooms in the Southern Ocean. Two graduate students will be trained on this project, and cruise and research experience will be provided for two undergraduate students. A portion of a website allowing students to be a virtual participant in the research will be created to strengthen students\u0027 quantitative skills. Both PI\u0027s will participate in teacher-researcher workshops, and collaboration with a regional aquarium will be developed in support of public education.", "east": -60.4621, "geometry": "POINT(-65.1852 -59.02155)", "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e CTD; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PRESSURE/HEIGHT METERS \u003e PRESSURE SENSORS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PHOTON/OPTICAL DETECTORS \u003e TURBIDITY METERS; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e POSITIONING/NAVIGATION \u003e GPS \u003e GPS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e ACOUSTIC SOUNDERS \u003e ADCP", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Not provided; R/V LMG", "locations": null, "north": -52.7624, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems; Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Kremer, Patricia; Madin, Larry; Halanych, Kenneth", "platforms": "Not provided; WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e VESSELS \u003e SURFACE \u003e R/V LMG", "repo": "R2R", "repositories": "JGOF; R2R", "science_programs": null, "south": -65.2807, "title": "Collaborative Research: Salpa Thompsoni in the Southern Ocean: Bioenergetics, Population Dynamics and Biogeochemical Impact", "uid": "p0000227", "west": -69.9083}, {"awards": "0230285 Wilson, Terry", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((152.833 -75.317,154.4897 -75.317,156.1464 -75.317,157.8031 -75.317,159.4598 -75.317,161.1165 -75.317,162.7732 -75.317,164.4299 -75.317,166.0866 -75.317,167.7433 -75.317,169.4 -75.317,169.4 -75.9186,169.4 -76.5202,169.4 -77.1218,169.4 -77.7234,169.4 -78.325,169.4 -78.9266,169.4 -79.5282,169.4 -80.1298,169.4 -80.7314,169.4 -81.333,167.7433 -81.333,166.0866 -81.333,164.4299 -81.333,162.7732 -81.333,161.1165 -81.333,159.4598 -81.333,157.8031 -81.333,156.1464 -81.333,154.4897 -81.333,152.833 -81.333,152.833 -80.7314,152.833 -80.1298,152.833 -79.5282,152.833 -78.9266,152.833 -78.325,152.833 -77.7234,152.833 -77.1218,152.833 -76.5202,152.833 -75.9186,152.833 -75.317))", "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Sat, 12 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "OPP-0230285/OPP-0230356\u003cbr/\u003ePIs: Wilson, Terry J./Hothem, Larry D.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThis award, provided by the Antarctic Geology and Geophysics Program of the Office of Polar Programs, supports a project to conduct GPS measurements of bedrock crustal motions in an extended Transantarctic Mountains Deformation network (TAMDEF) to document neotectonic displacements due to tectonic deformation within the West Antarctic rift and/or to mass change of the Antarctic ice sheets. Horizontal displacements related to active neotectonic rifting, strike-slip translations, and volcanism will be tightly constrained by monitoring the combined TAMDEF and Italian VLNDEF networks of bedrock GPS stations along the Transantarctic Mountains and on offshore islands in the Ross Sea. Glacio-isostatic adjustments due to deglaciation since the Last Glacial Maximum and to modern mass change of the ice sheets will be modeled from GPS-derived crustal motions together with new information from other programs on the configurations, thicknesses, deglaciation history and modern mass balance of the ice sheets. Tectonic and rheological information from ongoing structural and seismic investigations in the Victoria Land region will also be integrated in the modeling. The integrative and iterative modeling will yield a holistic interpretation of neotectonics and ice sheet history that will help us to discriminate tectonic crustal displacements from viscoelastic/elastic glacio-isostatic motions. These results will provide key information to interpret broad, continental-scale crustal motion patterns detected by sparse, regionally distributed GPS continuous trackers and by spaceborne instruments. This study will contribute to international programs focused on Antarctic neotectonic and global change issues.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eStrategies to meet these science objectives include repeat surveys of key sites in the existing TAMDEF network, extension of the array of TAMDEF sites southward about 250 km along the Transantarctic Mountains, linked measurements with the VLNDEF network, and integration of quasi-continuous trackers within the campaign network. By extending the array of bedrock sites southward, these measurements will cross gradients in predicted vertical motion due to viscoelastic rebound. The southward extension will also allow determination of the southern limit of the active Terror Rift and will provide a better baseline for constraints on any ongoing tectonic displacements across the West Antarctic rift system as a whole that might be possible using GPS data collected by the West Antarctic GPS Network. This project will also investigate unique aspects of GPS geodesy in Antarctica to determine how the error spectrum compares to mid-latitude regions and to identify the optimum measurement and data processing schemes for Antarctic conditions. The geodetic research will improve position accuracies within our network and will also yield general recommendations for deformation monitoring networks in polar regions.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eAn education and outreach program is planned and will be targeted at non-science-major undergraduate students taking Earth System Science at Ohio State University. The objective will be to illuminate the research process for nonscientists. This effort will educate students on the process of science and inform them about Antarctica and how it relates to global science issues.", "east": 169.4, "geometry": "POINT(161.1165 -78.325)", "instruments": "EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e POSITIONING/NAVIGATION \u003e GPS \u003e GPS", "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "GPS", "locations": null, "north": -75.317, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Wilson, Terry", "platforms": "SPACE-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e NAVIGATION SATELLITES \u003e GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM (GPS) \u003e GPS", "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": -81.333, "title": "Collaborative Research: Transantarctic Mountains Deformation Network: GPS Measurements of Neotectonic Motion in the Antarctic Interior", "uid": "p0000574", "west": 152.833}, {"awards": "0536526 Le Masurier, Wesley", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-136 -73,-133.4 -73,-130.8 -73,-128.2 -73,-125.6 -73,-123 -73,-120.4 -73,-117.8 -73,-115.2 -73,-112.6 -73,-110 -73,-110 -73.425,-110 -73.85,-110 -74.275,-110 -74.7,-110 -75.125,-110 -75.55,-110 -75.975,-110 -76.4,-110 -76.825,-110 -77.25,-112.6 -77.25,-115.2 -77.25,-117.8 -77.25,-120.4 -77.25,-123 -77.25,-125.6 -77.25,-128.2 -77.25,-130.8 -77.25,-133.4 -77.25,-136 -77.25,-136 -76.825,-136 -76.4,-136 -75.975,-136 -75.55,-136 -75.125,-136 -74.7,-136 -74.275,-136 -73.85,-136 -73.425,-136 -73))", "dataset_titles": "Geochemistry and Petrologic Evolution of Felsic Volcanoes in Western Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "600051", "doi": "10.15784/600051", "keywords": "Antarctica; Chemistry:rock; Chemistry:Rock; Geochemistry; Intracontinental Magmatism; IntraContinental Magmatism; Marie Byrd Land; Solid Earth", "people": "Le Masurier, Wesley", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Geochemistry and Petrologic Evolution of Felsic Volcanoes in Western Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/600051"}], "date_created": "Wed, 24 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This project uses geochemical studies to determine the origin of volcanic rocks from Marie Byrd Land (MBL), Antarctica. Surprisingly, adjacent volcanoes in the MBL have dramatically different compositions, ranging from phonolite to trachyte to rhyolite. This diversity offers an opportunity to constrain the processes responsible for generating silica oversaturated and undersaturated magmas in a single geologic setting. Previous work suggests that the most obvious and simplest explanation--crustal contamination--is not a significant factor, and that polybaric fractional crystallization is the major cause. This study evaluates these factors through analyses and interpretation of trace and rare earth element abundances, as well as Sr and Nd isotopic ratios. \u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThe broader impacts include outreach programs to the Girl Scouts of America, and dissemination of results through publications and meetings.", "east": -110.0, "geometry": "POINT(-123 -75.125)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "FIELD SURVEYS", "locations": null, "north": -73.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Le Masurier, Wesley", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD SURVEYS", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -77.25, "title": "Geochemistry and Petrologic Evolution of Felsic Volcanoes in Western Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica", "uid": "p0000534", "west": -136.0}, {"awards": "0228842 Grew, Edward", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((76 -69.3,76.05 -69.3,76.1 -69.3,76.15 -69.3,76.2 -69.3,76.25 -69.3,76.3 -69.3,76.35 -69.3,76.4 -69.3,76.45 -69.3,76.5 -69.3,76.5 -69.32,76.5 -69.34,76.5 -69.36,76.5 -69.38,76.5 -69.4,76.5 -69.42,76.5 -69.44,76.5 -69.46,76.5 -69.48,76.5 -69.5,76.45 -69.5,76.4 -69.5,76.35 -69.5,76.3 -69.5,76.25 -69.5,76.2 -69.5,76.15 -69.5,76.1 -69.5,76.05 -69.5,76 -69.5,76 -69.48,76 -69.46,76 -69.44,76 -69.42,76 -69.4,76 -69.38,76 -69.36,76 -69.34,76 -69.32,76 -69.3))", "dataset_titles": "Boron in Antarctic granulite-facies rocks: under what conditions is boron retained in the middle crust?", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "600030", "doi": "10.15784/600030", "keywords": "Antarctica; Chemistry:rock; Chemistry:Rock; Geochemistry; Geochronology; Solid Earth", "people": "Grew, Edward", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Boron in Antarctic granulite-facies rocks: under what conditions is boron retained in the middle crust?", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/600030"}], "date_created": "Tue, 10 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award, provided by the Antarctic Geology and Geophysics Program of the Office of Polar Programs, supports a project to investigate the role and fate of Boron in high-grade metamorphic rocks of the Larsemann Hills region of Antarctica. Trace elements provide valuable information on the changes sedimentary rocks undergo as temperature and pressure increase during burial. One such element, boron, is particularly sensitive to increasing temperature because of its affinity for aqueous fluids, which are lost as rocks are buried. Boron contents of unmetamorphosed pelitic sediments range from 20 to over 200 parts per million, but rarely exceed 5 parts per million in rocks subjected to conditions of the middle and lower crust, that is, temperatures of 700 degrees C or more in the granulite-facies, which is characterized by very low water activities at pressures of 5 to 10 kbar (18-35 km burial). Devolatization reactions with loss of aqueous fluid and partial melting with removal of melt have been cited as primary causes for boron depletion under granulite-facies conditions. Despite the pervasiveness of both these processes, rocks rich in boron are locally found in the granulite-facies, that is, there are mechanisms for retaining boron during the metamorphic process. The Larsemann Hills, Prydz Bay, Antarctica, are a prime example. More than 20 lenses and layered bodies containing four borosilicate mineral species crop out over a 50 square kilometer area, which thus would be well suited for research on boron-rich granulite-facies metamorphic rocks. \u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eWhile most investigators have focused on the causes for loss of boron, this work will investigate how boron is retained during high-grade metamorphism. Field observations and mapping in the Larsemann Hills, chemical analyses of minerals and their host rocks, and microprobe age dating will be used to identify possible precursors and deduce how the precursor materials recrystallized into borosilicate rocks under granulite-facies conditions. The working hypothesis is that high initial boron content facilitates retention of boron during metamorphism because above a certain threshold boron content, a mechanism \"kicks in\" that facilitates retention of boron in metamorphosed rocks. For example, in a rock with large amounts of the borosilicate tourmaline, such as stratabound tourmalinite, the breakdown of tourmaline to melt could result in the formation of prismatine and grandidierite, two borosilicates found in the Larsemann Hills. This situation is rarely observed in rocks with modest boron content, in which breakdown of tourmaline releases boron into partial melts, which in turn remove boron when they leave the system. Stratabound tourmalinite is associated with manganese-rich quartzite, phosphorus-rich rocks and sulfide concentrations that could be diagnostic for recognizing a tourmalinite protolith in a highly metamorphosed complex where sedimentary features have been destroyed by deformation. Because partial melting plays an important role in the fate of boron during metamorphism, our field and laboratory research will focus on the relationship between the borosilicate units, granite pegmatites and other granitic intrusives. The results of our study will provide information on cycling of boron at deeper levels in the Earth\u0027s crust and on possible sources of boron for granites originating from deep-seated rocks.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eAn undergraduate student will participate in the electron microprobe age-dating of monazite and xenotime as part of a senior project, thereby integrating the proposed research into the educational mission of the University of Maine. In response to a proposal for fieldwork, the Australian Antarctic Division, which maintains Davis station near the Larsemann Hills, has indicated that they will support the Antarctic fieldwork.", "east": 76.5, "geometry": "POINT(76.25 -69.4)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "FIELD INVESTIGATION", "locations": null, "north": -69.3, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Grew, Edward", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -69.5, "title": "Boron in Antarctic granulite-facies rocks: under what conditions is boron retained in the middle crust?", "uid": "p0000431", "west": 76.0}, {"awards": "0338279 Siddoway, Christine", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-157 -75,-155.3 -75,-153.6 -75,-151.9 -75,-150.2 -75,-148.5 -75,-146.8 -75,-145.1 -75,-143.4 -75,-141.7 -75,-140 -75,-140 -75.3,-140 -75.6,-140 -75.9,-140 -76.2,-140 -76.5,-140 -76.8,-140 -77.1,-140 -77.4,-140 -77.7,-140 -78,-141.7 -78,-143.4 -78,-145.1 -78,-146.8 -78,-148.5 -78,-150.2 -78,-151.9 -78,-153.6 -78,-155.3 -78,-157 -78,-157 -77.7,-157 -77.4,-157 -77.1,-157 -76.8,-157 -76.5,-157 -76.2,-157 -75.9,-157 -75.6,-157 -75.3,-157 -75))", "dataset_titles": "Bedrock sample data, Ford Ranges region (Marie Byrd Land)", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601829", "doi": "10.15784/601829", "keywords": "Antarctica; Cryosphere; Gondwana; Marie Byrd Land; Migmatite", "people": "Siddoway, Christine", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Bedrock sample data, Ford Ranges region (Marie Byrd Land)", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601829"}], "date_created": "Wed, 09 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This project will study migmatite domes found in the Fosdick Mountains of the Ford Ranges, western Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica. This area offers unique, three-dimensional exposures that may offer new insight into dome formation, which is a fundamental process of mountain building. These domes are derived from sedimentary and plutonic protoliths that are complexly interfolded at decimeter to kilometer scales. Preliminary findings from geobarometry and U-Pb monazite dating of anatexite suggest that peak metamorphism was underway at 105 Ma at crustal depths of ~25 km, followed by decompression as the Fosdick dome was emplaced to 16-17 km, or possibly as low as 8.5 km, in the crust by 99 Ma. Near-isothermal conditions were maintained during ascent, favorable for producing substantial volumes of melt through biotite-dehydration melting. This dome has been interpreted as a product of extensional exhumation. This is a viable interpretation from the regional standpoint, because the dome was emplaced in mid-Cretaceous time during the rapid onset of divergent tectonics along the proto- Pacific margin of Gondwana. However, the complex internal structures of the Fosdick Mountains have yet to be considered and may be more consistent with alternative intepretations such as upward extrusion within a contractional setting or lateral flow within a transcurrent attachment zone. This proposal is for detailed structural analysis, paired with geothermobarometry and geochronology, to determine the flow behavior and structural style that produced the internal architecture of the Fosdick dome. The results will improve our general understanding of the role of gneiss domes in transferring material and heat during mountain-building, and will characterize the behavior of the middle crust during a time of rapid transition from divergent to convergent tectonics along the active margin of Gondwana. In terms of broader impacts, this work will train undergraduate and graduate students, and involve them as collaborators in the development of curricular materials. It will also foster mentoring relationships between graduate and undergraduate students.", "east": -140.0, "geometry": "POINT(-148.5 -76.5)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "Transcurrent Faults; Geochronology; Tectonic; Detachment Faults; Structural Geology; Not provided; Gneiss Dome; Migmatite", "locations": null, "north": -75.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Siddoway, Christine; Teyssier, Christian", "platforms": "Not provided", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -78.0, "title": "Gneiss Dome architecture: Investigation of Form and Process in the Fosdick Mountains, W. Antarctica", "uid": "p0000744", "west": -157.0}, {"awards": "9615398 Encarnacion, John", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Wed, 11 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Encarnaci_n OPP 9615398 Abstract Basement rocks of the Transantarctic Mountains are believed to record a change in the paleo-Pacific margin of Gondwana from a rifted passive margin to a tectonically active margin (Ross orogen). Recent hypothesis suggest that the passive margin phase resulted from Neoproterozoic rifting of Laurentia from Antarctica (\"SWEAT\" hypothesis). The succeeding active margin phase (Ross orogeny) was one of several tectonic events (\"Pan African\" events) that resulted from plate convergence/transpression that was probably a consequence of the assembly of components of the Gondwana supercontinent. Although these basement units provide one of the keys for understanding the break up and assembly of these major continental masses, few precise ages are available to address the following important issues: (1) Is there any pre-rift high-grade cratonal basement exposed along the Transantarctic Mountains, and what is/are its precise age? Is this age compatible with a Laurentia connection? (2) What is the age of potential rift/passive margin sediments (Beardmore Group) along the Queen Maud Mountains sector of the orogen? (3) What is the relative and absolute timing of magmatism and contractional deformation of supracrustal units in the orogen? Was deformation diachronous and thus possibly related to transpressional tectonics, or did it occur in a discrete pulse that is more compatible with a collision? How does contraction of the orogen fit in with emplacement of voluminous plutonic and volcanic rocks? The answers to these questions are central to understanding the kinematic evolution of this major orogenic belt and its role in Neoproterozoic-Early Paleozoic continental reconstructions and plate kinematics. Hence, this award supports funding for precise U-Pb dating, using zircon, monazite, baddeleyite, and/or titanite from a variety of magmatic rocks in the Queen Ma ud Mountains, which can address the foregoing problems. In addition to the issues above, precise dating of volcanics that are interbedded with carbonates containing probable Middle Cambrian fauna could potentially provide a calibration point for the Middle Cambrian, which will fill a gap in the absolute time scale for the early Paleozoic.", "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": "Encarnacion, John", "platforms": "Not provided", "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "Constraints on the Tectonomagmatic Evolution of the Pacific Margin of Gondwana from U-Pb Geochronology of Magmatic Rocks in the Transantarctic Basement", "uid": "p0000277", "west": null}, {"awards": "0337858 Goodge, John", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Tue, 05 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This work will determine the age and provenance of glacially derived marine sediments from the coastal regions of Wilkes Land, Antarctica. These deposits may offer insight into the history of the East Antarctic Shield (EAS), which is amongst the oldest sections of continental crust on Earth, but cannot be studied directly because of nearly complete ice sheet coverage. The study will use Australian National University\u0027s SHRIMP ion microprobe to date zircon and monazite found in the sediments. Samples of interest include polymictic pebble and cobble clasts obtained from dredge hauls of tills, as well as sand-matrix fractions from cores of glacial diamicts on the continental margin. Individual clasts of igneous and metamorphic rocks from tills will be selected for zircon and/or monazite age dating, whereas detrital zircons from stratified and non-stratified diamictons will be analyzed for composite zircon provenance analysis. In addition, detrital zircon ages will be determined for Beacon Supergroup sandstones to evaluate recycling of zircon in Phanerozoic basins. Integration of ages obtained from both sources will provide a good representation of the EAS terrains underlying the Wilkes Land ice sheet. This project will allow us to learn more about the remote continental interior and improve our ability to interpret past ice-flow patterns without further environmental impact on Antarctica. The results will improve our understanding of Precambrian tectonics and crustal evolution, and help target future over-ice geophysical surveys and basement drilling projects currently under consideration. In terms of broader impacts, the project will provide educational and training opportunities for undergraduate students in Earth science.", "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": "Goodge, John", "platforms": "Not provided", "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "Glacial proxies of East Antarctic shield basement in Wilkes Land, Antarctica", "uid": "p0000725", "west": null}, {"awards": "0408475 Harry, Dennis", "bounds_geometry": "POINT(-175 -85)", "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Tue, 06 Mar 2007 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award, provided by the Antarctic Geology and Geophysics Program of the Office of Polar Programs, supports research to apply numerical modeling to constrain the uplift and exhumation history of the Transantarctic Mountains. The Transantarctic Mountains (TAM) are an anomalously high (\u003e4500 m) and relatively broad (up to 200 km) rift-flank uplift demarcating the boundary between East and West Antarctica. Dynamics of the East Antarctic ice-sheet and the climate are affected by the mountain range, and an understanding of the uplift history of the mountain range is critical to understanding these processes. This project will constrain the uplift and denudation history of the Transantarctic Mountains based on thermo-mechanical modeling held faithful to thermochronological, geological, and geophysical data. The research will be the primary responsibility of post-doctoral researcher Audrey Huerta, working in collaboration with Dennis Harry, 1 undergraduate student, and 1 graduate student.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThermochronologic evidence of episodic Cretaceous through Cenozoic rapid cooling within the TAM indicates distinct periods of uplift and exhumation. However, a more detailed interpretation of the uplift history is difficult without an understanding of the evolving thermal structure and topography of the TAM prior to and during uplift. These aspects of the mountain range can best be constrained by an understanding of the evolving regional tectonic setting. Proximity of the TAM to the West Antarctic Rift System (WARS) suggests a link between uplift of the TAM and extension within the WARS.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThe project will integrate two techniques: lithospheric-scale geodynamic modeling and crustal-scale thermal modeling. The lithospheric-scale deformational and thermal evolution of TAM will be modeled by a finite element model designed to track the thermal and deformational response of the Antarctic lithosphere to a protracted extensional environment. Previous investigators have linked the high elevation and broad width of the TAM to a deep level of necking in which mantle thinning is offset from the location of crustal extension. In this study, a three-dimensional dynamic model will be used to track the uplift and thermal evolution of the TAM in a setting in which necking is at a deep level, and in which extension within the crust and extension within the mantle are offset. Velocity boundary conditions applied to the edges of the model will vary through time to simulate the extensional and transtensional evolution of the WARS. Because the model is dynamic, the thermal structure, strength, and strain field, evolve naturally in response to these initial and boundary conditions.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eDynamic models are uniquely suited to understanding lithospheric deformational and thermal evolution, however kinematic models are best suited for addressing the detailed thermal and exhumation history of crustal uplifts. Thus, a 2-dimensional kinematic-thermal model will be designed to simulate the uplift history of the TAM and the resulting erosional, topographic, and thermal evolution. Uplift will be modeled as normal-fault movement on a set of discrete fault planes with uplift rate varying through time. Erosion will be modeled as a diffusive process in which erosion rates can be varied through time (simulating climate changes), and vary spatially as a linear function of gradient and distance from the drainage divide. Synthetic time-temperature (t-T) histories will be calculated to compare model results to thermochronologic data.", "east": -175.0, "geometry": "POINT(-175 -85)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "Not provided", "locations": null, "north": -85.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": "PHANEROZOIC \u003e CENOZOIC; PHANEROZOIC \u003e MESOZOIC \u003e CRETACEOUS; PHANEROZOIC \u003e CENOZOIC \u003e PALEOGENE", "persons": "Huerta, Audrey D.", "platforms": "Not provided", "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": -85.0, "title": "Uplift and Exhumation of the Transantarctic Mountains and Relation to Rifting in West Antarctica", "uid": "p0000728", "west": -175.0}, {"awards": "0232042 Finn, Carol", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((139.27539 -82.35733,142.369695 -82.35733,145.464 -82.35733,148.558305 -82.35733,151.65261 -82.35733,154.746915 -82.35733,157.84122 -82.35733,160.935525 -82.35733,164.02983 -82.35733,167.124135 -82.35733,170.21844 -82.35733,170.21844 -82.516831,170.21844 -82.676332,170.21844 -82.835833,170.21844 -82.995334,170.21844 -83.154835,170.21844 -83.314336,170.21844 -83.473837,170.21844 -83.633338,170.21844 -83.792839,170.21844 -83.95234,167.124135 -83.95234,164.02983 -83.95234,160.935525 -83.95234,157.84122 -83.95234,154.746915 -83.95234,151.65261 -83.95234,148.558305 -83.95234,145.464 -83.95234,142.369695 -83.95234,139.27539 -83.95234,139.27539 -83.792839,139.27539 -83.633338,139.27539 -83.473837,139.27539 -83.314336,139.27539 -83.154835,139.27539 -82.995334,139.27539 -82.835833,139.27539 -82.676332,139.27539 -82.516831,139.27539 -82.35733))", "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Tue, 16 Aug 2005 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award, provided by the Antarctic Geology and Geophysics Program of the Office of Polar Programs, supports a project to investigate the Transantarctic Mountains and an adjacent region of East Antarctica. The East Antarctic shield is one of Earth\u0027s oldest and largest cratonic assemblies, with a long-lived Archean to early Paleozoic history. Long-standing interest in the geologic evolution of this shield has been rekindled over the past decade by tectonic models linking East Antarctica with other Precambrian crustal elements in the Rodinia and Gondwanaland supercontinents. It is postulated that the Pacific margin of East Antarctica was rifted from Laurentia during late Neoproterozoic breakup of Rodinia, and it then developed as an active plate boundary during subsequent amalgamation of Gondwanaland in the earliest Paleozoic. If true, the East Antarctic shield played a key role in supercontinent transformation at a time of global changes in plate configuration, terrestrial surficial process, sea level, and marine geochemistry and biota. A better understanding of the geological evolution of the East Antarctic shield is therefore critical for studying Precambrian crustal evolution in general, as well as resource distribution, biosphere evolution, and glacial and climate history during later periods of Earth history. Because of nearly complete coverage by the polar ice cap, however, Antarctica remains the single most geologically unexplored continent. Exposures of cratonic basement are largely limited to coastal outcrops in George V Land and Terre Adelie (Australian sector), the Prince Charles Mountains and Enderby Land (Indian sector), and Queen Maud Land (African sector), where the geology is reasonably well-known. By contrast, little is known about the composition and structure of the shield interior. Given the extensive ice cover, collection of airborne geophysical data is the most cost-effective method to characterize broad areas of sub-ice basement and expand our knowledge of the East Antarctic shield interior. \u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThis project will conduct an airborne magnetic survey (coupled with ground-based gravity measurements) across an important window into the shield where it is exposed in the Nimrod Glacier area of the central Transantarctic Mountains. Specific goals are to:\u003cbr/\u003e1. Characterize the magnetic and gravity signature of East Antarctic crustal basement exposed at the Ross margin (Nimrod Group),\u003cbr/\u003e2. Extend the magnetic data westward along a corridor across the polar ice cap in order to image the crust in ice-covered areas,\u003cbr/\u003e3. Obtain magnetic data over the Ross Orogen in order to image the ice-covered boundary between basement and supracrustal rocks, allowing us to better constrain the geometry of fundamental Ross structures, and\u003cbr/\u003e4. Use the shape, trends, wavelengths, and amplitudes of magnetic anomalies to define magnetic domains in the shield, common building blocks for continent-scale studies of Precambrian geologic structure and evolution.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eHigh-resolution airborne magnetic data will be collected along a transect extending from exposed rocks of the Nimrod Group across the adjacent polar ice cap. The Nimrod Group represents the only bona fide Archean-Proterozoic shield basement exposed for over 2500 km of the Pacific margin of Antarctica. This survey will characterize the geologically well-known shield terrain in this sector using geophysical methods for the first time. This baseline over the exposed shield will allow for better interpretation of geophysical patterns in other ice-covered regions and can be used to target future investigations. In collaboration with colleagues from the BGR (Germany), a tightly-spaced, \"draped\" helicopter magnetic survey will be flown during the 2003-04 austral summer, to be complemented by ground measurements of gravity over the exposed basement. Data reduction, interpretation and geological correlation will be completed in the second year. This project will enhance the education of students, the advancement of under-represented groups, the research instrumentation of the U.S. Antarctic Program, partnerships between the federal government and institutions of higher education, and cooperation between national research programs. It will benefit society through the creation of new basic knowledge about the Antarctic continent, which in turn may help with applied research in other fields such as the glacial history of Antarctica.", "east": 170.21844, "geometry": "POINT(154.746915 -83.154835)", "instruments": "SOLAR/SPACE OBSERVING INSTRUMENTS \u003e MAGNETIC FIELD/ELECTRIC FIELD INSTRUMENTS \u003e MAM", "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "Central Transantarctic Mountains; Aeromagnetic Data; HELICOPTER; DHC-6; Not provided", "locations": "Central Transantarctic Mountains", "north": -82.35733, "nsf_funding_programs": null, "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Finn, Carol A.; Finn, Carol A.", "platforms": "AIR-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e PROPELLER \u003e DHC-6; AIR-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e ROTORCRAFT/HELICOPTER \u003e HELICOPTER; Not provided", "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": -83.95234, "title": "Collaborative Research: Geophysical Mapping of the East Antarctic Shield Adjacent to the Transantarctic Mountains", "uid": "p0000249", "west": 139.27539}, {"awards": "0088054 Goldstein, Steven", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-180 -39.57,-144 -39.57,-108 -39.57,-72 -39.57,-36 -39.57,0 -39.57,36 -39.57,72 -39.57,108 -39.57,144 -39.57,180 -39.57,180 -42.967,180 -46.364,180 -49.761,180 -53.158,180 -56.555,180 -59.952,180 -63.349,180 -66.746,180 -70.143,180 -73.54,144 -73.54,108 -73.54,72 -73.54,36 -73.54,0 -73.54,-36 -73.54,-72 -73.54,-108 -73.54,-144 -73.54,-180 -73.54,-180 -70.143,-180 -66.746,-180 -63.349,-180 -59.952,-180 -56.555,-180 -53.158,-180 -49.761,-180 -46.364,-180 -42.967,-180 -39.57))", "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Tue, 26 Apr 2005 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award, provided by the Antarctic Geology and Geophysics Program of the Office of Polar Programs, supports a project to investigate the sediment core from the Southern Ocean for paleoenvironmental research. The polar regions are susceptible to the largest changes in climate and are among the least accessible places on Earth. Current concern about the instability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet has heightened awareness of the vulnerability of polar regions. This proposal seeks to gain a basic understanding of the isotopic characteristics of terrigenous sediment sources derived from Antarctica in the Holocene and Last Glacial Maximum, and their dispersal into the Southern Ocean. Terrigenous clastic sediments are brought to the ocean from continental sources via rivers, ice and wind, and distributed within the ocean by surface and deep currents. At present there are virtually no isotopic data on circumpolar detritus, save a few strontium (Sr) isotopic ratios in the Atlantic sector. This project will fill part of this gap. From the large range in geological ages of crustal provinces of Antarctica, we would predict that there are large isotopic differences in detritus around the continent. The main objectives are to (1) characterize the strontium-neodymium-lead-argon (Sr-Nd-Pb-Ar) isotope compositions of sediment sources derived from Antarctica, (2) to identify the composition and source ages of major ice rafted detritus (IRD) contributions by analyzing individual grains of hornblende and feldspar in conjunction with bulk isotopic analysis, and (3) track sediment dispersal into the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) during the Holocene and Last Glacial Maximum.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eBecause of the paucity of circumpolar data, this research necessarily has a large exploratory component. Consequently, it will provide a basic database for future studies. Nevertheless there are important hypothesis-driven questions that will be addressed in this primary pass. Can lessons learned in North Atlantic IRD studies be applied toward understanding the history of Antarctic ice sheets? Can the large geological variability around the Antarctic margin be treated as a series of natural tracer injections into the ACC, and thus characterize its trajectory, speed, and interaction with other current systems today and in the past? The proposed study is motivated by an exciting set of results from the South Atlantic, showing that detrital Sr isotope ratios are a sensitive current tracer in that region. This research should serve a basic need across many Earth Science disciplines if the use of long-lived radiogenic isotopes (Sr-Nd-Pb-Ar) as tracers of marine sediment sources is successful in elucidating processes related to changing climatic conditions. The results of this study will fill a basic gap in our knowledge of an important region of the Earth. At the same time, it will provide an essential basis for attempting reconstruction of the ACC during the LGM, as well as for future studies of Antarctic geology, ice sheet history, and the Southern Ocean circulation.", "east": 180.0, "geometry": "POINT(0 -89.999)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "Not provided", "locations": null, "north": -39.57, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Roy, Martin; Hemming, Sidney R.; Goldstein, Steven L.; Van De Flierdt, Christina-Maria", "platforms": "Not provided", "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": -73.54, "title": "Establishing the Pattern of Holocene-LGM Changes in Sediment Contributions from Antarctica to the Southern Ocean", "uid": "p0000724", "west": -180.0}, {"awards": "0087235 Grew, Edward", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((42 -64,43.2 -64,44.4 -64,45.6 -64,46.8 -64,48 -64,49.2 -64,50.4 -64,51.6 -64,52.8 -64,54 -64,54 -64.4,54 -64.8,54 -65.2,54 -65.6,54 -66,54 -66.4,54 -66.8,54 -67.2,54 -67.6,54 -68,52.8 -68,51.6 -68,50.4 -68,49.2 -68,48 -68,46.8 -68,45.6 -68,44.4 -68,43.2 -68,42 -68,42 -67.6,42 -67.2,42 -66.8,42 -66.4,42 -66,42 -65.6,42 -65.2,42 -64.8,42 -64.4,42 -64))", "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Mon, 09 Aug 2004 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "0087235\u003cbr/\u003eGrew\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThis award, provided by the Antarctic Geology and Geophysics Program of the Office of Polar Programs, supports a project to investigate the role of beryllium in lower crustal partial melting events. The formation of granitic liquids by partial melting deep in the Earth\u0027s crust is one of the major topics of research in igneous and metamorphic petrology today. One aspect of this sphere of research is the beginning of the process, specifically, the geochemical interaction between melts and source rocks before the melt has left the source area. One example of anatexis in metamorphic rocks affected by conditions found deep in the Earth\u0027s crust is pegmatite in the Archean ultrahigh temperature granulite-facies Napier Complex of Enderby Land, East Antarctica. Peak conditions for this granulite-facies metamorphism are estimated to have reached nearly 1100 Degrees Celsius and 11 kilobar, that is, conditions in the Earth\u0027s lower crust in Archean time. The proposed research is a study of the Napier Complex pegmatites with an emphasis on the minerals and geochemistry of beryllium. This element, which is estimated to constitute 3 ppm of the Earth\u0027s upper crust, is very rarely found in any significant concentrations in metamorphic rocks subjected to conditions of the Earth\u0027s lower crust. Structural, geochronological, and mineralogical studies will be carried out to test the hypothesis that the beryllium pegmatites resulted from anatexis of their metapelitic host rocks during the ultrahigh-temperature metamorphic event in the late Archean. Host rocks will be analyzed for major and trace elements. Minerals will be analyzed by the electron microprobe for major constituents including fluorine and by the ion microprobe for lithium, beryllium and boron. The analytical data will be used to determine how beryllium and other trace constituents were extracted from host rocks under ultrahigh-temperature conditions and subsequently concentrated in the granitic melt, eventually to crystallize out in a pegmatite as beryllian sapphirine and khmaralite, minerals not found in pegmatites elsewhere. Mineral compositions and assemblages will be used to determine the evolution and conditions of crystallization and recrystallization of the pegmatites and their host rocks during metamorphic episodes following the ultrahigh-temperature event. Monazite will be analyzed for lead, thorium and uranium to date the ages of these events. Because fluorine is instrumental in mobilizing beryllium, an undergraduate student will study the magnesium fluorphosphate wagnerite in the pegmatites in order to estimate fluorine activity in the melt as part of a senior project. The results of the present project will provide important insights on the melting process in general and on the geochemical behavior of beryllium in particular under the high temperatures and low water activities characteristic of the Earth\u0027s lower crust.", "east": 54.0, "geometry": "POINT(48 -66)", "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROBES \u003e ELECTRON MICROPROBES; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROBES \u003e ION MICROPROBES", "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "Metamorphism; Li; Be; Pegmatitic Leucosomes; Partial Melting; Lithium; Granulites; Napier Complex; Boron; Beryllium; Mineralogy; Not provided; Continental Crust", "locations": "Napier Complex", "north": -64.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Grew, Edward", "platforms": "Not provided", "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": -68.0, "title": "Beryllium in Antarctic Ultrahigh-Temperature Granulite-Facies Rocks and its Role in Partial Melting of the Lower Continental Crust", "uid": "p0000370", "west": 42.0}, {"awards": "9977306 Ryan, Jeffrey", "bounds_geometry": "POINT(167.16 -77.5)", "dataset_titles": "B-Be-Li Abundance and Isotope Data: Mt. Erebus-McMurdo Volcanics", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "600020", "doi": "", "keywords": "B; Be; Beryllium; Boron; Isotope; Li; Lithium; Mcmurdo Volcanic Group; Mount Erebus", "people": "Ryan, Jeffrey", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "B-Be-Li Abundance and Isotope Data: Mt. Erebus-McMurdo Volcanics", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/600020"}], "date_created": "Thu, 19 Jun 2003 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Subduction zones are the one place on Earth where materials from the surface (water, sediments and crustal rocks) can be carried into our planet\u0027s deep interior. To quantify this process of subduction-zone recycling, we need to understand both the input of sediments and crust to trenches, and all geochemical outputs related to the subduction process. While the chemical outputs represented by magmatism at volcanic arcs and in back-arc settings have been widely studied, little is known about possible subduction-related outfluxes through the shallow forearc, between the arc and the trench. We are attempting to characterize the \"forearc flux\" by examining serpentinites which are rising diapirically through the forearc mantle and crust in the Mariana arc-trench system. Our work will complete efforts begun (with NSF support) several years ago, and will characterize these samples (and the slab-derived fluids which helped to create them) for radiogenic isotopes, lithium and oxygen isotopes, and the \"fluid-mobile\" elements Cs, Rb, U, As, Pb, and Sb. Our work will allow us to characterize both the chemical inventories of species that are released from subducting slabs beneath forearcs, and the magnitude of this flux, for comparison with results for trench inputs (being collected as part of ODP Leg 125), and existing data for arc volcanic outputs in the Mariana system.", "east": 167.16, "geometry": "POINT(167.16 -77.5)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "Mount Erebus; Mcmurdo Volcanic Group; Not provided; Crary Mountains", "locations": "Crary Mountains; Mount Erebus", "north": -77.5, "nsf_funding_programs": "Marine Geology and Geophysics", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Ryan, Jeffrey", "platforms": "Not provided", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -77.5, "title": "The Role of the Forearc in Subduction Zone Chemical Cycles: Elemental and Isotopic Signatures of Forearc Serpentinites, ODP Leg 125", "uid": "p0000244", "west": 167.16}, {"awards": "9222121 Dalziel, Ian", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": "Concentration and Isotopic Composition of O2 and N2 in Trapped Gases of the Vostok Ice Core", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "609107", "doi": "10.7265/N5862DCW", "keywords": "Antarctica; Chemistry:fluid; Chemistry:Fluid; Geochemistry; Glaciology; Ice Core Records; Lake Vostok; Paleoclimate; UPLC-Q-TOF; Vostok Ice Core", "people": "Bender, Michael", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Concentration and Isotopic Composition of O2 and N2 in Trapped Gases of the Vostok Ice Core", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/609107"}], "date_created": "Tue, 01 Jan 2002 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award supports an in situ and short traverse seismic reflection/refraction and magnetotelluric experiment in West Antarctica. This collaborative experiment involves four awards at four institutions. The four-fold purpose is 1) to investigate part of the Byrd Subglacial Basin, 2) to test techniques for this work that could be done in a long traverse, 3) to determine the viability of the magnetotelluric method on a thick (electrically resistive) ice sheet, and 4) to evaluate the relative merits of refraction with wide reflection versus reflection with narrow refraction seismic studies in imaging the lithosphere. The geophysical techniques that will be employed are capable of imaging the ice sheet, the continental lithosphere, and the upper mantle, as well as determining physical properties of parts of the lithosphere and mantle. Investigations of outcrop geology over the last thirty years in West Antarctica and the Transantarctic Mountains have lead to recent interpretations that the crust is made up of many different lithospheric blocks. Seismic reflection work is the only way to image the crust in detail and the refraction work is the only way to determine physical properties of the layers and blocks defined by the reflection work. The magnetotelluric work is scientifically risky because it may not yield useful information when used over the electrically resistive ice sheet; however, if it works it has the potential to image molten rock in the crust and upper mantle. In a continental rift region such as West Antarctica, the presence of melt in the lithosphere is likely and, if documented, has very important ramifications to ice sheet dynamics. Research work supported by this award is expected to provide constraints to models of a range of crustal processes from models of ice sheet dynamics to tectonic and kinematic models of lithospheric thinning and rifting.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e SPECTROMETERS/RADIOMETERS \u003e MASS SPECTROMETERS", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Isotope; Vostok; USAP-DC; Antarctica; Trapped Gases; Ice Core; Glaciology; Nitrogen; GROUND STATIONS", "locations": "Antarctica; Vostok", "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Bender, Michael; Dalziel, Ian W.", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e PERMANENT LAND SITES \u003e GROUND STATIONS", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "Collaborative Research: Seismic Traverse of the Byrd Subglacial Basin-Field Test", "uid": "p0000150", "west": null}]
X
X
Help on the Results MapX
This window can be dragged by its header, and can be resized from the bottom right corner.
The Results Map and the Results Table
The Results Map displays the centroids of the geographic bounds of all the results returned by the search.
Results that are displayed in the current map view will be highlighted in blue and brought to the top of the Results Table.
As the map is panned or zoomed, the highlighted rows in the table will update.
If you click on a centroid on the map, it will turn yellow and display a popup with details for that project/dataset - including a link to the landing page.
The bounds for the project(s)/dataset(s) selected will be displayed in red.
The selected result(s) will be highlighted in red and brought to the top of the table.
The default table sorting order is: Selected, Visible, Date (descending), but this can be changed by clicking on column headers in the table.
Selecting Show on Map for an individual row will both display the geographic bounds for that result on a mini map, and also display the bounds
and highlight the centroid on the Results Map.
Clicking the 'Show boundaries' checkbox at the top of the Results Map will display all the bounds for the filtered results.
Defining a search area on the Results Map
If you click on the Rectangle or Polygon icons in the top right of the Results Map, you can define a search area which will be added to any other
search criteria already selected.
After you have drawn a polygon, you can edit it using the Edit Geometry dropdown in the search form at the top.
Clicking Clear in the map will clear any drawn polygon.
Clicking Search in the map, or Search on the form will have the same effect.
The returned results will be any projects/datasets with bounds that intersect the polygon.
Use the Exclude project/datasets checkbox to exclude any projects/datasets that cover the whole Antarctic region.
Viewing map layers on the Results Map
Clicking the Layers button - the blue square in the top left of the Results Map - will display a list of map layers you can add or remove
from the currently displayed map view.
Older retrieved projects from AMD. Warning: many have incomplete information.
To sort the table of search results, click the header of the column you wish to search by. To sort by multiple columns, hold down the shift key whilst selecting the sort columns in order.
This project provides Antarctic crustal and uppermost-mantle models from ambient-noise tomography. The radial-anisotropy dataset contains shear-wave velocity, radial anisotropy, Moho depth, sediment thickness and uncertainty fields. The azimuthal-anisotropy dataset contains anisotropy amplitudes, fast-axis directions, uncertainties, reference structure and node misfit values. Both datasets are archived on Zenodo as NetCDF grids and text tables with a README describing fields and units. Related papers: https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JB022857 and https://doi.org/10.1029/2023JB027556.
Given the imminent threat posed by rising sea levels across much of the globe, there is a critical need to better understand past, present, and future Antarctic ice mass change and the resulting solid Earth deformation. The latter process is referred to as glacial isostatic adjustment. A key parameter that determines the rate of this deformation is the viscosity of the deforming material. To date, the vast majority of global glacial isostatic adjustment models assume that Earth's viscosity structure varies with depth alone. However, there exists extensive geological and geophysical evidence for significant lateral variations in viscosity and for the existence of low viscosity regions in the Earths mantle below Antarctica that deform rapidly on decadal or faster time scales. This variability in viscosity causes regions of the solid mantle to deform differently and thus a model of three-dimensional viscosity structure is needed to better measure the changing weight of the Antarctic ice sheet, to accurately model ice sheet dynamics, and to better project future sea level changes in response to Antarctic ice melt. The research conducted here will construct a first-generation reference three-dimensional viscosity model for the solid Earth underlying Antarctica. The analysis will use horizontal and vertical deformations measured by the Global Navigation Satellite System over the last few decades at sites across Antarctica, a state-of-the-art seismic model of the Antarctic mantle, coupled simulations of glacial isostatic adjustment and ice sheet stability, and a novel, observationally driven and mathematically rigorous approach to calculating the glacial isostatic adjustment parameters that cannot be directly observed. This project supports two early-career researchers and two graduate students. Funding will be used to support the participation of U.S. graduate students and instructors in a glacial isostatic adjustment training school, which will be organized by the principal investigator and leadership of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research initiative Instabilities and Thresholds in Antarctica. Quantifying the magnitude of modern ice mass loss from Antarctica is a key element in efforts to constrain future sea level change. Although satellite gravimetry and changes in ice surface elevation are used to estimate ice mass change, these observations cannot provide a direct estimate because they also record changes in the solid Earth. Similarly, modeling of past and future ice sheet dynamics and sea level change require an accurate model of solid earth deformation. Thus, the contribution from the ongoing response of the viscoelastic Earth to ice sheet evolution across the ice age and into the modern world, termed glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA), must be accurately quantified. Although the signal from GIA is widely recognized as being a significant component of modern Antarctic deformation, our incomplete knowledge of earths three-dimensional viscosity structure and the appropriate rheological model for the solid Earth deformation leads to large uncertainties in estimates of present-day ice mass change and modeling of future ice dynamics and sea level change. Fortunately, direct observations of solid Earth deformation have been made over the last few decades by Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) stations installed on bedrock across Antarctica. These observations have been used in forward modeling to infer regional one-dimensional viscosity structure, but they have not been directly used to image the continents three-dimensional viscosity structure. This will be addressed through four key tasks: (1) Inferring plausible steady-state diffusion creep viscosity models from the seismic shear wave speeds determined with the latest ANT-20 seismic tomography model using an inverse calibration scheme based on experimental results from mineral physics and a suite of geophysical constraints; (2) Determining ice histories that span from the Last Glacial Maximum to present from a coupled GIA/ice sheet model, which explores the range of inferred three-dimensional viscosity models and plausible parameters governing ice dynamics. These ice histories will be merged with modern estimates of ice mass change; (3) Exploring and characterizing the spatiotemporal sensitivities of vertical and horizontal GNSS deformation and relative sea level observations to the three-dimensional viscosity structure and ice history produced in tasks 1 and 2 using the adjoint method; and (4) Inverting observations of GNSS crustal deformation rates and relative sea level using the adjoint method to derive a new three-dimensional map of mantle viscosity below Antarctica. These inversions will use the models from task 1 and 2 and intuition gained from task 3 to further refine the three-dimensional viscosity structure and to explore whether observations include signals of transient or non-linear deformation. 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.
Cimino, Megan; William , Sydeman; Brian, Hoover; Moffat, Carlos
No dataset link provided
Use and reuse of long-term ecological data is needed for understanding how biological communities are responding to a changing world. In marine environments, key data includes large-scale patterns such as El Niño, ocean conditions such as sea surface temperature and winds, and biological data such as the distribution and abundance of food resources and marine wildlife. These core data are often collected in non-standardized ways, which makes it a challenge to compare patterns of biological response across different regions or marine ecosystems. The Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) network provides an opportunity to make comparisons between sites as they share similarities in conceptual design and data collection procedures. In this ULTRA-Data project, a team of scientists is harmonizing ecological data from three different LTER sites representing temperate (California Current), subpolar (Northern Gulf of Alaska) and polar (Antarctic Peninsula) marine ecosystems. These three sites are influenced by global-scale processes and each provides comparable local data on ocean conditions, lower trophic level planktonic food resources (euphausiid crustaceans, also known as “krill”), and upper trophic level consumers (seabirds). The investigators are testing the idea that seabird populations and community structure are affected by local ocean conditions (habitat quality) and food resource availability, affected by larger-scale processes as observed during El Niño. Results from this study are helping scientists and marine stakeholders understand how changing ocean conditions and food availability affect marine biological communities. This study is revealing whether large-scale environmental variability is affecting disparate marine ecosystems similarly or if response mechanisms differ between regions. This research is supplying cross-ecosystem knowledge to help inform management and conservation. The scientists are also training younger researchers, including early-career scientists, graduate students, and an undergraduate intern. This project addresses a gap in our understanding of how marine biological communities respond to environmental change by conducting cross-ecosystem syntheses on the climate responses of geographically disparate but functionally analogous prey and predator communities. Seabird communities are an ideal metric for regional comparisons, as their local distribution and abundance can reflect both short-term and long-term ecosystem dynamics, and geographically unrelated seabird communities retain similar functional compositions (e.g. divers vs. fliers, planktivores vs. piscivores, etc.). By leveraging data available from three different Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) sites, this project is testing how local ocean conditions affect seabird abundance, diversity, and community composition across the California Current Ecosystem (CCE), Northern Gulf of Alaska (NGA), and Antarctic Peninsula (PAL). These three regions represent temperate, subpolar and polar ecosystems, yet are structurally linked by large-scale Pacific climate modes including the El Niño Southern Oscillation, Pacific Decadal Oscillation, and Southern Annular Mode. The three LTER sites have collected similar long-term datasets on oceanography (hydrographic casts), prey (net-sampled euphausiids), and seabirds (at-sea visual observation surveys). Data are thus being harmonized into 30+ year datasets to investigate bottom-up linkages between climate modes, local oceanographic patterns, and local prey/predator variability. Generalized Additive Mixed Models (GAMMs) and Hierarchical Modeling of Species Communities (HMSC) are being used to test biophysical relationships, including the evaluation of temporal effects such as direct and lagged effects of climate mode variability. The integrative and cross-ecosystem framework utilizes valuable data provided by LTER sites, identifies unknown dynamics underlying ecosystem synchrony and divergence, and provides mechanistic perspectives on how regional biophysical processes contribute to productive and globally important ecosystems. 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.
Nontechnical Understanding the subsurface structure near the South Pole will answer some of the most exciting scientific questions in Antarctic Earth Science, ranging from the origin of the high subglacial mountains and the southernmost volcanic rocks to the existence of nearby subglacial lakes. However, it has been difficult to answer these questions since the area is remote and the ice cover is thick. Using seismic stations deployed on top of the ice sheet provides an alternative tool to image the continent through the ice, as seismic signals record sensitive information about the geology of the crust below. For example, crustal rocks with more radioactive elements may have caused the ice sheet to melt, creating subglacial lakes, and these rocks can be identified by their unique seismic signatures. This project plans to fill a knowledge gap by deploying new seismic sensors in the South Pole area and collecting data to perform a suite of modern seismic data analyses to produce a variety of seismic observables. These observables will be translated into maps illustrating the physical properties and chemical composition of the underlying crust, and further help determine the thermal properties of the underlying crust near the South Pole. These observations will provide a first-order assessment of the sub-ice geology and insights into the origins of the features such as the Transantarctic Mountains and numerous subglacial lakes. The project will collaborate with K-12 school districts and community colleges in Long Island and provide free geoscience tutoring, public lectures, and inviting K-12 educators to teach students from the field. These efforts will highlight the importance of polar geosciences in a changing climate and elevate the awareness of earth science as a viable career path for high school students. Technical The area within 300 km of the South Pole and its sub-ice structures are equally, if not more, critical in studying Antarctic earth sciences. Given its gateway locality between the high southern Transantarctic Mountains and East Antarctic craton, the area is critical for studying geological history and modern tectonism of the continent, modeling continental dynamics, and developing more accurate ice sheet dynamic models to predict their response to the global climate change. However, these properties have not been systematically studied due to both the remoteness of the continent and its thick ice coverage. In this proposed study, the team will deploy ~ 180 high-frequency 3-component portable seismic nodes and eight broadband sensors near the South Pole, encompassing the nearby southern Transantarctic Mountains and the polar subglacial basins. A combination of linear nodal arrays and 2-dimensional broadband arrays will provide both spatial coverage and the capability to resolve high-resolution subsurface structural variations. Once the data are collected the team will apply a suite of data processing schemes tailored for the array and study area, including 1) a comprehensive surface wave analysis that determines both the isotropic and anisotropic structure of its crust and uppermost mantle; 2) 2-layer receiver function analysis that measures sub-ice layering and Poisson’s ratio; 3) a joint surface wave and receive function inversion that builds seismic models with uncertainties; 4) a novel crustal compositional analysis which uses the seismic attributes to quantify the silica content of the crust, and 5) a joint Monte Carlo thermal inversion that combines Curie-depth measurements with seismologically constrained crustal heat generation to construct a self-consistent, uniform crustal geotherms. This research is complemented by a comprehensive educational component that provides high-quality earth science education to graduate students, as well as to high-need K-12 school districts and community colleges in Long Island. 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 the origins and nature of heat available at the base of the cryosphere is essential in deciphering the extent and residence time of the ice in Antarctica and its oceans. Constraints on parameters that control ice-sheet stability, response of the crust to ice loading and unloading, and the effects of volcanism and heat from Earth’s interior on overlying ice is of broad interest to the global climate change community. The goal of this study is to identify and to document the distribution of heat source and heat flux within the seafloor of the southwestern Ross Sea. Geothermal heat flux is one of the basic parameters that shape and control ice flow, ocean circulation, and ecosystem, connecting with subglacial hydrology and its influence on the ability of the ice sheet to slide and internally deform. Despite the importance, particularly in the Antarctic environments, there have been few investigations made in the Ross Sea on how lithospheric heat flux contributes to cryospheric dynamics over time. The project study site in the western Ross Sea seafloor comprises the Terror Rift, which represents the youngest phase of extension within the West Antarctic Rift System, one of the world’s largest rifts and the only one covered by continental ice sheets. The thinned western Ross Sea lithosphere and Terror Rift encompasses active volcanism that range from 5 million years to present-day, suggesting that Pliocene-Quaternary fault movement and dynamic changes in ice sheet extent and thickness over this period are concurrent with magmatic activities. This project will conduct a shipboard survey of the western Ross Sea seafloor. The datasets to be collected include seafloor heatflow/conductivity measurements, real-time seafloor visualization, water-column hydrothermal signal acquisition, and rock sampling via dredging. Heat flow and direct seafloor observations will provide an unprecedented context for seafloor-ocean interactions, addressing some of the biogeochemical cycles in the water column (e.g., chemical and nutrients contributions to the water column from seafloor volcanism and resultant hydrothermal systems) in constraining Ross Sea ecosystems. The compilation of all the data will enable the testing of hypotheses that magmatic intrusion and volcanism in the western Ross Sea is the primary lithospheric heat source that has influenced the dynamics of the ocean-cryosphere system in this region. Data collected will also allow us to refine current timeseries and geodynamics that drive one of the world’s major continental rift systems. Deliverables from this project will be new geospatial information data, including all the underway geophysics grids of the area, publicly available via NSF funded data repositories. After acquiring geochemistry and geochronology, the remaining rock samples will be archived at the Polar Rock Repository. The project will also train 1 postdoc, 2 graduate students, and at least 3 undergraduate students. 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.
Part I: Non-Technical Geothermal heat flux is an important geodynamic indicator throughout the world but is uniquely important in the home of the world’s largest ice cap, Antarctica. Subglacial heat flux strongly influences basal ice temperatures, the volume of ice at its melting point, the extent and distribution of liquid water, the properties of glacial bed material, the formation of subglacial lakes, and, crucially, whether the ice is frozen to or slides along its interface with the solid earth. Ultimately, it determines the thermal state and mechanical stability of the ice sheet. Nevertheless, subglacial heat flux remains poorly known across Antarctica. Over the past 15 years, researchers have introduced a variety of indirect measures to estimate heat flux across Antarctica. The proposed research aims to refine and improve one of these methods by leveraging recent improvements in seismic models and heat flow data bases. The goal is to deliver better basal heat flux estimates and their uncertainties across much of Antarctica. If successful, this promises to be an important and timely upgrade for Antarctic ice-sheet and ice-stream modelers and may affect the assessment of the impact of global climate change and sea level rise in the 21st century.
Part II: Technical Spatially extended information about subglacial heat flux across Antarctica derives mainly from indirect or proxy methods that aim to infer heat flux from properties of the solid earth or glacial ice. Past work by the PI has been based on the extrapolation of heat flux measurements obtained elsewhere in the world guided by a global seismic model of the crust and upper mantle. The proposed work is an update, refinement, and extension of the earlier method designed to address two principal challenges: improving continental-scale accuracy and regional-scale resolution of basal heat flux across a large fraction of Antarctica. The proposed refinements are based on recent improvements in regional-scale seismic models and heat flow data bases. Better and notably higher-resolution seismic models of the crust and uppermost mantle have been developed in the past few years across the US, China, Europe, and Canada, as well as across much of Antarctica, that can be used to guide the extrapolation of heat flux measurements to Antarctica from the US, China, Europe, and Canada. The critical test for the refined method will be validating it to infer heat flux across regions of the earth where such measurements exist, notably the US, China, Canada, and Europe. Such validation experiments will provide crucial tests of the proposed methods to infer heat flux across Antarctica as well as quantitative information about the accuracy of the inferences. The final product will be a regional-scale heat flux map with attendant uncertainty information across central and West Antarctica. The map will be composed of the means and standard deviations of the proposed inferred heat flux distributions across central and western Antarctica with a grid-spacing of about 100 km.
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.
Voluminous outpourings of iron-rich molten rock (magma), which can initiate from deep within the earth, occur regularly throughout geologic time. Understanding volcanic eruptions requires knowledge of the magmatic plumbing systems and magma chambers that feed eruptions. While many magma chambers are typically emplaced in the shallow subsurface of the earth, only rarely are the entirety of the solidified remnants of these chambers later exposed at the surface of the earth for study. One such magma chamber, the Dufek Intrusion, exists in Antarctica. The Dufek Intrusion is part of the Ferrar magmatic event, which was triggered by the separation or rifting of South America, Africa and Antarctic continents approximately 182 million years ago. The research objectives focus on analyzing existing samples to understand the thermal and chemical evolution of the magma in the Dufek Intrusion magma chamber and deciphering whether the exposed sections are part of the same magma chamber or represent two separate magma chambers. Results from this study may result in the research community questioning the assumption that small intrusions crystallized faster than larger layered intrusions such as the Dufek Intrusion. This project supports multiple early career researchers and provides laboratory training for undergraduate students. Preliminary high-precision U-Pb ages from zircon throughout the Dufek Intrusion show that rocks thought to represent the lowermost section of stratigraphy (the Dufek Massif) are younger than the rocks thought to represent the uppermost section (the Forrestal Range). This study tests whether the zircon ages represent a cooling profile of a single large layered intrusion, or whether the Dufek Massif and Forrestal Range are two separate smaller intrusions. Crystallization temperatures of the cumulus phases (plagioclase and clinopyroxene) and the zircons, as well as cooling rates from the cumulus phases will be obtained to test the cooling profile hypothesis. The research team will construct thermal models of emplacement and cooling to compare with the laboratory analyses. In order to test the two intrusions hypothesis, the team will analyze zircon Hf isotopic compositions and whole rock Sr, Nd, Pb isotopes from samples of the two intrusions to determine whether they are similar and therefore genetically related. Results will provide important constraints on the duration of magmatism associated with continental breakup and present a coherent picture of the construction of (possibly) one of the largest magmatic intrusions exposed on earth today. 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.
Technical Abstract This research evaluates whether the small Coats Land crustal block of East Antarctica is a tectonic tracer linking Kalahari and southern Laurentia within the Neoproterozoic supercontinent of Rodinia across an orogenic suture. A Pan-African (~600 Ma) suture separates the small Coats Land block from the main Mawson Craton indicating that this crustal block had an independent pre-Pan-African history. Existing data from the miniscule outcrops of bedrock in Coats Land provide critical clues to that paleogeography, suggesting that Laurentia collided with Kalahari across the Grenville-Namaqua/Natal-Maud orogen. The Coats Land block has only three small groups of bedrock exposures, two form nunataks and the third occurs in a cliff face. The two nunataks comprise granophyre and rhyolite contemporaneous with the ca. 1.1 Ga Keweenawan, mid-continent rift, volcanics of Laurentia and its proposed southwestern extension in El Paso, TX. Moreover, the Pb isotopes of the Coats Land and Keweenawan rocks are identical, and paleomagnetic data are broadly supportive of the Coats Land block having been located adjacent to the present southern margin of the Laurentian craton. Metamorphic rocks from the cliff face exposure lithologically resemble basement rocks of the El Paso, TX. The proposed research will further existing geochemical and geochronologic studies of specimens previously collected from Coats Land and new and existing samples of rocks collected near El Paso, Texas for detailed comparison. Analyses include zircon U-Pb dating and Hf and O isotope analysis, and whole rock geochemistry and Pb, Sm-Nd and Rb-Sr isotope analysis. This research will make maximum use of existing material from this extremely remote part of Antarctica to test this hypothesis. Researchers will collaborate with 2 well-established education-outreach programs in the Jackson School of Geosciences at The University of Texas at Austin. Undergraduate research assistants will be recruited from the Jackson Scholars Program (JSP). Researchers will provide a field- and lab-based seminar on reconstructing Rodinia for the JSP and will conduct research with high school students during GeoFORCE 12th grade summer academy. Non-technical Abstract This research evaluates whether the small Coats Land crustal block of East Antarctica is a piece of ancestral North America (Laurentia) that was transferred to southern Africa (Kalahari) during ~ 1 Ga collision, and subsequent breakup, of the two continents during the formation of the ancient supercontinent of Rodinia. Coats Land is separated from the adjacent Mawson Craton of Antarctica by ~600 Ma continental sutures indicating that Coats Land had an independent history prior to 600 Ma. Existing data from the miniscule outcrops of bedrock in Coats Land provide critical clues to that paleogeography, suggesting that Laurentia collided with Kalahari. The Coats Land block has only three small groups of bedrock exposures, two form nunataks and the third occurs in a cliff face. The two nunataks comprise granophyre and rhyolite contemporaneous with the ca. 1.1 Ga Keweenawan, mid-continent rift, volcanics of Laurentia and its proposed southwestern extension in El Paso, TX. Moreover, the Pb isotopes of the Coats Land and Keweenawan rocks are identical, and paleomagnetic data are broadly supportive of the Coats Land block having been located adjacent to the present southern margin of the Laurentian craton. Metamorphic rocks from the cliff face exposure lithologically resemble basement rocks of the El Paso, TX. The proposed research will further existing geochemical and geochronologic studies of specimens previously collected from Coats Land and new and existing samples of rocks collected near El Paso, Texas for detailed comparison. Analyses include zircon U-Pb dating and Hf and O isotope analysis, and whole rock geochemistry and Pb, Sm-Nd and Rb-Sr isotope analysis. This research will make maximum use of existing material from this extremely remote part of Antarctica to test this hypothesis. Researchers will collaborate with 2 well-established education-outreach programs in the Jackson School of Geosciences at The University of Texas at Austin. Undergraduate research assistants will be recruited from the Jackson Scholars Program (JSP). Researchers will provide a field- and lab-based seminar on reconstructing Rodinia for the JSP and will conduct research with high school students during GeoFORCE 12th grade summer academy. 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.
One of the fundamental processes in plate tectonics is the rifting or separating of continental crust creating new seafloors which can widen and ultimately form new ocean basins, the latter is a process known as seafloor spreading. The Bransfield Strait, separating the West Antarctic Peninsula from the South Shetland Islands, formed and is presently widening as a result of the separation of continental crust. What is unique is that the system appears to be approaching the transition to seafloor spreading making this an ideal site to study the transitional process. Previous seafloor mapping and field surveys provide the regional structure of the basin; however, there exists a paucity of regional seismic studies documenting the tectonic and volcanic activity in the basin as a result of the rifting. This would be the first local-scale study of the seismicity and structure of the volcanoes in the center of the basin where crustal separation is most active. The new seismic data will enable scientists to compare current patterns of crustal separation and volcanism at the Bransfield Strait to other well-studied seafloor spreading centers. This collaborative international project, led by the Spanish and involving scientists from the U.S., Germany and other European countries, will monitor seismicity for one year on land and on the seafloor. An active seismic study conducted by the Spanish will image fault and volcanic structures that can be related to the distribution of earthquakes. Back-arc basins are found in subduction settings and form in two stages, an initial interval of continental rifting that transitions to a later stage of seafloor spreading. Studying the transitional process is important for understanding the dynamics and evolution of subduction zones, and in locations where back-arc rifting breaks continental crust, it is relevant to understanding the formation of passive continental margins. The Central Bransfield Basin is unusual in that the South Shetland Islands have lacked recent arc volcanism and it appears subduction is ceasing, but this system has broad significant because it appears to be nearing the transition from rifting to seafloor spreading. This award will support the U.S. component of an international initiative led by the Spanish Polar Committee to conduct a study of the seismicity and volcanic structure of the Central Bransfield Basin. The objective is to characterize the distribution of active extension across the basin and determine whether the volcanic structure and deformation of the rift are consistent with a back-arc basin that is transitioning from rifting to seafloor spreading. The U.S. component of the experiment will contribute a network of six hydroacoustic moorings to monitor regional seismicity and 15 short-period seismometers to study the distribution of tectonic and volcanic seismicity on Orca volcano, one of the most active volcanoes in the basin. An active seismic study across closely spaced multichannel seismic lines across the rift will provide the data necessary to link earthquakes with fault structures enabling a tomography study of Orca volcano and provide insight into how the volcano's structure relates to rifting. This research will constrain the distribution of active rifting across the Central Bransfield Basin and determine whether the patterns of faulting and the structure of volcanic portion of the rift are consistent with a diffuse zone of rifting or a single spreading center that is transitioning to the production of oceanic crust. The Bransfield Basin is an ideal site for a comparative study of seismic and hydroacoustic earthquake locations that will improve the understanding of the generation and propagation of T-wave signals and contribute to efforts to compare the result of T-wave studies with data from traditional solid-earth seismic studies. 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.
Goodge, John; Kylander-Clark, Andrew; Bell, Elizabeth; Pecha, Mark
No dataset link provided
Non-Technical Abstract This project will examine ancient Antarctic rocks to understand the continent’s early history, including how Antarctica was once connected to other continents. By studying rock samples from the Nimrod Complex, the project will gather data on the age and makeup of these rocks, showing how Antarctica's crust formed and changed over time. This work will not only expand scientific knowledge about Earth's history but also provide valuable training for college students at multiple universities, helping to grow a diverse community of researchers who can tackle big questions in Earth science. Technical Abstract This project seeks to unravel the origin, evolution, and geological significance of the Nimrod Complex in Antarctica’s East Antarctic craton through detailed age and isotopic analysis of its igneous and metamorphic rocks. Using U-Pb zircon geochronology along with O-isotope, Hf-isotope, and trace element analyses, we will construct a comprehensive petrochronological profile of these Mesoarchean to Paleoproterozoic rocks to reveal their magmatic sources, metamorphic history, and role in the broader tectonic framework. The project aims to trace sediment sources and tectonic influences across sedimentary units spanning the Paleoproterozoic to lower Paleozoic eras, adding crucial data to supercontinent reconstructions (Columbia, Rodinia, and Gondwana) and Antarctic tectonic models. Broader impacts include collaborations between universities to develop a diverse STEM workforce, inter-laboratory partnerships, and a robust isotopic dataset that will contribute to models of Antarctic crustal evolution and its implications for ice sheet stability. 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.
Non-technical abstract Earth’s climatic changes have been recorded in the ice core collected from the Antarctic ice sheet. While these records provide a high resolution view of how polar temperatures changed through time, it is not always clear what Earth process influence Antarctic climate. One likely contributor to Antarctic temperature changes is the cyclic changes in Earth’s orientation as it orbits the sun. These so-called Milankovitch cycles control the amount and pattern of sunlight reaching the polar regions, that in turn result in periods of climatic warming or cooling. While the orbital variations and control on incoming solar energy remain well understood, how they influence Antarctic climate remains unresolved. It is the goal of this project to determine how variations in Earth’s orbit may be locally influencing Antarctic temperatures. The researchers on this project are pursing this goal by identifying periods of past ice melting on the surface of Antarctica using minerals that precipitate from the meltwaters that resulted from past warm periods. The timing of this past melting will be determined by radioisotopic dating of the minerals using the natural radioactive decay of uranium to thorium. By dating numerous samples, collected in past scientific expeditions throughout the Antarctic continent, these researchers aim to reconstruct the frequency and spatial pattern of past warming and in doing so, determine what aspect of Earth’s orbital variations influences Antarctic ice loss. Technical abstract Antarctic ice cores provide high resolution records of Pleistocene Southern Hemisphere temperatures that show an overall coherence with Northern Hemisphere temperature variations. One explanation for this bi-hemispheric temperature covariance relies on changes in atmospheric CO2 that result from varying northern hemisphere insolation. An alternative posits that the apparent coherence of polar temperatures is due to the misleading covariance between northern hemisphere summer insolation and, the southern hemisphere summer duration. At present there is an insufficient understanding of the role that local insolation plays in Antarctic climate. The goal of this research project is to identify the temporal spatial patterns of solar forcing in Antarctica. To reach this goal, the project team will: 1) develop a way to identify periods of past surface melt production in Antarctica using U-Th dating of pedogenic carbonates; and 2) utilize the evidence of past surface melting to calibrate energy balance models and interrogate past Antarctic surface temperatures and; 3) compare the timing of Antarctic warm periods to potential solar forcing mechanisms such as peak summer insolation or summer duration. A means of identifying the spatial and temporal pattern at which local insolation influences Antarctic temperature would provide a transformative solution to the contradiction in current climate records. 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.
Part 1: Nontechnical Unlike other locations on the globe Antarctica is not known for having large earthquakes and the remote nature and harsh conditions make it difficult to install and maintain seismometers for earthquake detection. Some researchers believe the lack of large earthquakes is due to the continent being surrounded by inactive tectonic margins. However, in the last two decades, scientists have discovered that more earthquakes occur in the interior of the continent than previously observed. This suggests that there are many earthquakes missing from historic earthquake catalogs. This study aims to find the missing earthquakes using novel earthquake detection and location techniques from seismic data collected from temporary and permanent seismic stations in Antarctica over the last 25 years. Locating these earthquakes will help understand if and where earthquakes are located in Antarctica and will help in planning future seismic deployments. As part of the project broader impacts, a field expedition with the Girls on Rock program will be conducted to teach high school age girls, and especially those from underrepresented backgrounds, data visualization techniques using scientific data. Part 2: Technical The spatial distribution of seismicity and the number of moderate magnitude earthquakes in Antarctica is not well-defined. The current catalog of earthquakes may be biased by uneven and sparse seismograph distribution on the continent. We will mine existing broadband seismic data from both permanent and temporary deployments to lower the earthquake detection threshold across Interior Antarctica, with a focus on tectonic earthquakes. The hypothesis is that Interior Antarctica has abundant moderate magnitude earthquakes, previously undetected. These earthquakes are likely collocated with major tectonic features such as the Transantarctic Mountains, the suspected Vostok collision zone, the West Antarctic Rift System, the crustal compositional boundary between East and West Antarctica, and the Cretaceous East Antarctic Rift. Previous seismic deployments have recorded earthquakes in the Antarctic interior, suggesting there are many earthquakes missing from the current catalog. We propose to use novel earthquake location techniques designed for automated detection and location using 25 years of continuous data archived at IRIS from PASSCAL experiments and permanent stations. The approach will use STA/LTA detectors on the first arrival P-wave to 90 degrees distance, Reverse Time Imaging to locate events, and beamforming at dense arrays strategically located on cratons for enhanced detection and location. The combination of detection and location techniques used in this work has not been used on teleseismic body waves, although similar methods have worked well for surface wave studies. If successful the project would provide an excellent training dataset for future scrutiny of newly discovered Antarctic seismicity with machine learning approaches and/or new targeted data collection. We plan to collaborate with Girls on Rock, a local and international organization committed to building a culturally diverse community in science, art, and wilderness exploration, in a summer field expedition and integrating computer coding into post-field scientific projects. 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.
General Description: This project is intended to reveal the magma source regions, staging areas, and eruptive pathways within the active volcano Mount Erebus. This volcano is an end-member type known as phonolitic, which refers to the lava composition, and is almost purely carbon-dioxide-bearing and occurs in continental rift settings. It is in contrast to the better known water-bearing volcanoes which occur at plate boundary settings (such as Mount St Helens or Mount Fuji). Phonolitic volcanic eruptions elsewhere such as Tamboro or Vesuvius have caused more than 50,000 eruption related fatalities. Phonolites are also associated with rare earth element deposits, giving them economic interest. To illuminate the inner workings of Mount Erebus, we will cover the volcano with a dense network of geophysical probes based on magnetotelluric (MT) measurements. MT makes use of naturally occurring electromagnetic (EM) waves generated mainly by the sun as sources to provide images of the electrical conductivity structure of the Earth's interior. Conductivity is sensitive to the presence of fluids and melts in the Earth and so is well suited to understanding volcanic processes. The project is a cooperative effort between scientists from the United States, New Zealand, Japan and Canada. It implements new technology developed by the lead investigator and associates that allows such measurements to be taken on snow-covered terrains. This has applicability for frozen environments generally, such as resource exploration in the Arctic. The project supports a new post-doctoral researcher, and leverages imaging and measurement methods developed through support by other agencies and interfaced with commercial platforms. Technical Description: The investigators propose to test magmatic evolution models for Mount Erebus volcano, Antarctica, using the magnetotelluric (MT) method. The phonolite lava flow compositions on Mount Erebus are uncommon, but provide a window into the range of upper mantle source compositions and melt differentiation paths. Explosive phonolite eruptions have been known worldwide for devastating eruptions such as Tambora and Vesuvius, and commonly host rare earth element deposits. In the MT method, temporal variations in the Earth's natural electromagnetic (EM) field are used as source fields to probe the electrical resistivity structure in the depth range of 1 to 100 kilometers. This effort will consist of approximately 100 MT sites, with some concentration in the summit area. Field acquisition will take place over two field seasons. The main goals are to 1) confirm the existence and the geometry of the uppermost magma chamber thought to reside at 5-10 kilometer depths; 2) attempt to identify, in the deeper resistivity structure, the magma staging area near the crust-mantle boundary; 3) image the steep, crustal-scale, near-vertical conduit carrying magma from the mantle; 4) infer the physical and chemical state from geophysical properties of a CO2-dominated mafic shield volcano; and 5) constrain the relationships between structural and magmatic/ hydrothermal activity related to the Terror Rift. Tomographic imaging of the interior resistivity will be performed using a new inversion platform developed at Utah, based on the deformable edge finite element method, that is the best available for accommodating the steep topography of the study area. The project is an international cooperation between University of Utah, GNS Science Wellington New Zealand (G. Hill, Co-I), and Tokyo Institute of Technology Japan (Y. Ogawa, Co-I), plus participation by University of Alberta (M. Unsworth) and Missouri State University (K. Mickus). Instrument deployments will be made exclusively by helicopter. The project implements new technology that allows MT measurements to be taken on snow-covered terrains. The project supports a new post-doctoral researcher, and leverages imaging and measurement methods developed through support by other agencies and interfaced with commercial platforms.
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.
Sediment records off the coast of Marie Byrd Land (MBL), Antarctica suggest frequent and dramatic changes in the size of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) over short (tens of thousands of years) and long (millions of years) time frames in the past. WAIS currently overrides much of MBL and covers the rugged and scoured bedrock landscape. The ice sheet carved narrow linear troughs that reach depths of two to three thousand meters below sea level as outlet glaciers flowed from the interior of the continent to the oceans. As a result, large volumes of fragmented continental bedrock were carried out to the seabed. The glaciers cut downward into a region of crystalline rocks (i.e. granite) whose temperature change as a function of rock depth happens to be significant. This strong geothermal gradient in the bedrock is favorable for determining when the bedrock experienced rapid exhumation or "uncovering". Analyzing the chemistry of minerals (zircon and apatite) within the eroded rocks will provide information about the rate and timing of the glacier removal of bedrock from the Antarctic continent. The research addresses the following questions: When did the land become high enough for a large ice sheet to form? What was the regional pre-glacial topography? Under what climate conditions, and at what point in the growth of an ice sheet, did glaciers begin to cut sharply into bedrock to form the narrow troughs that flow seaward? The research will lead to greater understanding of past Antarctic ice sheet fluctuations and identify precise timing of glacial incision. These results will refine ice sheet history and aid the international societal response to contemporary ice sheet change and its global consequences. The project will contribute to the training of two graduate and two undergraduate students in STEM. The objective is to clarify the onset of WAIS glacier incision and assess the evolution of Cenozoic paleo-topography. Low-temperature (T) thermochronology and Pecube 3-D thermo-kinematic modeling will be applied to date and characterize episodes of glacial erosional incision. Single-grain double- and triple-dating of zircon and apatite will reveal the detailed crustal thermal evolution of the region enabling the research team to determine the comparative topographic influences on glaciation versus bedrock uplift induced by Eocene to present tectonism/magmatism. High-T mineral thermochronometers across Marie Byrd Land (MBL) record rapid extension-related cooling at ~100 Ma from temperatures of >800 degrees C to ≤ 300 degrees C. This signature forms a reference horizon, or paleogeotherm, through which the Cenozoic landscape history using low-T thermochronometers can be explored. MBL's elevated geothermal gradient, sustained during the Cenozoic, created favorable conditions for sensitive apatite and zircon low-T thermochronometers to record bedrock cooling related to glacial incision. Students will be trained to use state-of-the-art analytical facilities in Arizona and Minnesota, expanding the geo- and thermochronologic history of MBL from bedrock samples and offshore sedimentary deposits. The temperature and time data they acquire will provide constraints on paleotopography, isostasy, and the thermal evolution of MBL that will be modeled in 3D using Pecube model simulations. Within hot crust, less incision is required to expose bedrock containing the distinct thermochronometric profile; a prediction that will be tested with inverse Pecube 3-D models of the thermal field through which bedrock and detrital samples cooled. Using results from Pecube, the ICI-Hot team will examine time-varying topography formed in response to changes in erosion rates, topographic relief, geothermal gradient and/or flexural isostatic rigidity. These effects are manifestations of dynamic processes in the WAIS, including ice sheet loading, ice volume fluctuations, relative motion upon crustal faults, and magmatism-related elevation increase across the MBL dome. The project makes use of pre-existing sample collections housed at the US Polar Rock Repository, IODP's Gulf Coast Core Repository, and the Antarctic Marine Geology Research Facility. 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.
Part I: General description Cumaceans are small crustaceans, commonly known as comma shrimp, that live in muddy or sandy bottom environments in marine waters. Cumaceans are important for the diet of fish, birds, and even grey whales. This research program is assessing cumacean diversity and adaptation in different regions of Antarctica and evaluate this organisms adaptations using molecular methods to a changing Antarctic region. The research stands to significantly advance understanding of invertebrate adaptations to cold, stable habitats and responses to changes in those habitats. In addition, this project is advancing understanding of the biology of Cumacea, a globally diverse and biologically important group of animals. Targeted training of early career students and professionals in cumacean biology, molecular techniques, and bioinformatics is included as part of the program. A workshop at the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum will also train 10 additional graduate students, with a focus on training for underrepresented groups. Project outreach also includes social media, outreach to schools in very diverse school districts in Anchorage, AK, and creation of museum events and an exhibit at the Alabama Museum of Natural History. Finally, engagement by the team in activities related to the National Ocean Science Bowl promotes broad engagement with high school students for Antarctic science learning. Part II: Technical Description The overarching goal of this research is to use cumaceans as a model system to explore invertebrate adaptations to the changing Antarctic. This project is leveraging integrative taxonomy, functional, comparative and evolutionary genomics, and phylogenetic comparative methods to understand the true diversity of Cumacea in the Antarctic. The team is identifying genes and gene families experiencing expansions, selection, or significant differential expression, generating a broadly sampled and robust phylogenetic framework for the Antarctic Cumacea based on transcriptomes and genomes, and exploring rates and timing of diversification. The project is providing important information related to gene gain/loss, positive selection, and differential gene expression as a function of adaptation of organisms to Antarctic habitats. Phylogenomic analyses is providing a robust phylogenetic framework for understudied Southern Ocean Cumacea. At the start of this project, only one Antarctic transcriptome was published for this organism. This project is generating sequenced genomes from 8 species, about 250 transcriptomes from about 70 species, and approximately 470 COI and 16S amplicon barcodes from about 100 species. Curated morphological reference collections will be deposited at the Smithsonian, Los Angeles County Natural History Museum and in the New Zealand National Water and Atmospheric Research collection at Greta Point to assist future researchers in identification of Antarctic cumaceans. Beyond the immediate scope of the current project, the genomic resources will be able to be leveraged by members of the polar biology and invertebrate zoology communities for diverse other uses ranging from PCR primer development to inference of ancestral population sizes. 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 western portion of the Antarctic continent is very active in terms of plate tectonic processes that can produce significant variations in the Earths mantle temperature as well as partial melting of the mantle. In addition to these internal processes, the ice sheet in western Antarctica is melting due to Earths warming climate and adding water to the ocean. These changes in ice mass cause adjustments in rocks within the Earth's crust, allowing the surface to rebound in some locations and fall in others, altering the geographical pattern of sea-level change. However, the solid Earth response depends strongly on the strength of the rocks at a wide range of timescales which is not well-known and varies with temperature and other rock properties. This project has three primary goals. (1) It will assess how processes such as rifting, mantle upwelling and lithospheric instability have altered the lithosphere and underlying asthenosphere of western Antarctica, contributing to a planet-wide understanding of these processes. (2) It will use new measurements of mantle and crust properties to estimate the rate at which heat from the solid Earth flows into the base of the ice, which is important for modeling the rates at which the ice melts and flows. (3) It will places bounds on mantle viscosity, which is key for modeling the interaction of the solid Earth with changing ice and water masses and their implications for sea-level rise. To accomplish these goals, new resolution of crust and mantle structure will be obtained by analyzing seismic waves from distant earthquakes that have been recorded at numerous seismic stations in Antarctica. These analyses will include new combinations of seismic wave data that provide complementary information about mantle temperature, heat flow and viscosity. This project will provide educational and career opportunities to a Brown University graduate student, undergraduates from groups underrepresented in science who will come to Brown University for a summer research program, and other undergraduates. The project will bring together faculty and students for a seminar at Brown that explores the connections between the solid Earth and ice processes in Antarctica. Project research will be incorporated in outreach to local public elementary schools and high schools. This research addresses key questions about mantle processes and properties in western Antarctica. What are the relative impacts of rifting, mantle plumes, and lithospheric delamination in the evolution of the lithosphere and asthenosphere? Where is topography isostatically compensated, and where are dynamic processes such as plate flexure or tractions from 3-D mantle flow required? What are the bounds on heat flow and mantle viscosity, which represent important inputs to models of ice sheet evolution and its feedback from the solid Earth? To address these questions, this project will measure mantle and crust properties using seismic tools that have not yet been applied in Antarctica: regional-scale measurement of mantle attenuation from surface waves; Sp body wave phases to image mantle velocity gradients such as the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary; and surface wave amplification and ellipticity. The resulting models of seismic attenuation and velocity will be jointly interpreted to shed new light on temperature, bulk composition, volatile content, and partial melt, using a range of laboratory-derived constitutive laws, while considering data from mantle xenoliths. To test the relative roles of rifting, mantle plumes, and delamination, and to assess isostatic support for Antarctic topography, the predictions of these processes will be compared to the new models of crust and mantle properties. To improve bounds on western Antarctic heat flow, seismic attenuation and velocity will be used in empirical comparisons and in direct modeling of vertical temperature gradients. To better measure mantle viscosity at the timescales of glacial isostatic adjustment, frequency-dependent viscosity will be estimated from the inferred mantle conditions. This project will contribute to the education and career development of the following: a Brown University Ph.D. student, Brown undergraduates, and undergraduates from outside the university will be involved through the Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences (DEEPS) Leadership Alliance NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Site which focuses on geoscience summer research experiences for underrepresented students. The project will be the basis for a seminar at Brown that explores the connections between the solid Earth and cryosphere in Antarctica and will contribute to outreach in local public elementary and high schools. 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.
Cores drilled through the Antarctic ice sheet provide a remarkable window on the evolution of Earth’s climate and unique samples of the ancient atmosphere. The clear link between greenhouse gases and climate revealed by ice cores underpins much of the scientific understanding of climate change. Unfortunately, the existing data do not extend far enough back in time to reveal key features of climates warmer than today. COLDEX, the Center for Oldest Ice Exploration, will solve this problem by exploring Antarctica for sites to collect the oldest possible record of past climate recorded in the ice sheet. COLDEX will provide critical information for understanding how Earth’s near-future climate may evolve and why climate varies over geologic time. New technologies will be developed for exploration and analysis that will have a long legacy for future research. An archive of old ice will stimulate new research for the next generations of polar scientists. COLDEX programs will galvanize that next generation of polar researchers, bring new results to other scientific disciplines and the public, and help to create a more inclusive and diverse scientific community. Knowledge of Earth’s climate history is grounded in the geologic record. This knowledge is gained by measuring chemical, biological and physical properties of geologic materials that reflect elements of climate. Ice cores retrieved from polar ice sheets play a central role in this science and provide the best evidence for a strong link between atmospheric carbon dioxide and climate on geologic timescales. The goal of COLDEX is to extend the ice-core record of past climate to at least 1.5 million years by drilling and analyzing a continuous ice core in East Antarctica, and to much older times using discontinuous ice sections at the base and margin of the ice sheet. COLDEX will develop and deploy novel radar and melt-probe tools to rapidly explore the ice, use ice-sheet models to constrain where old ice is preserved, conduct ice coring, develop new analytical systems, and produce novel paleoclimate records from locations across East Antarctica. The search for Earth’s oldest ice also provides a compelling narrative for disseminating information about past and future climate change and polar science to students, teachers, the media, policy makers and the public. COLDEX will engage and incorporate these groups through targeted professional development workshops, undergraduate research experiences, a comprehensive communication program, annual scientific meetings, scholarships, and broad collaboration nationally and internationally. COLDEX will provide a focal point for efforts to increase diversity in polar science by providing field, laboratory, mentoring and networking experiences for students and early career scientists from groups underrepresented in STEM, and by continuous engagement of the entire COLDEX community in developing a more inclusive scientific culture. 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.
This award supports a project to investigate the sensitivity of the Antarctic ice sheet (AIS) to global climate change over the last two Glacial/Interglacial cycles. The intellectual merit of the project is that despite its importance to Earth's climate system, we currently lack a full understanding of AIS sensitivity to global climate change. This project will reconstruct and precisely date the history of marine-based ice in the Ross Sea sector over the last two glacial/interglacial cycles, which will enable a better understanding of the potential driving mechanisms (i.e., sea-level rise, ice dynamics, ocean temperature variations) for ice fluctuations. This will also help to place present ice?]sheet behavior in a long-term context. During the last glacial maximum (LGM), the AIS is known to have filled the Ross Embayment and although much has been done both in the marine and terrestrial settings to constrain its extent, the chronology of the ice sheet, particularly the timing and duration of the maximum and the pattern of initial recession, remains uncertain. In addition, virtually nothing is known of the penultimate glaciation, other than it is presumed to have been generally similar to the LGM. These shortcomings greatly limit our ability to understand AIS evolution and the driving mechanisms behind ice sheet fluctuations. This project will develop a detailed record of ice extent and chronology in the western Ross Embayment for not only the LGM, but also for the penultimate glaciation (Stage 6), from well-dated glacial geologic data in the Royal Society Range. Chronology will come primarily from high-precision Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) Carbon-14 (14C) and multi-collector Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP)-Mass Spectrometry (MS) 234Uranium/230Thorium dating of lake algae and carbonates known to be widespread in the proposed field area.
Hall/1643248 This award supports a project to reconstruct the behavior of a portion of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (the Ross Ice Sheet), using glacial geologic mapping and radiocarbon dating of algal deposits contained in glacial moraines, at the end of the last glacial period. The results will be compared with other dating methods that will be used on alpine glaciers that terminated in the mountains of the Royal Society Range in East Antarctica during the last glacial maximum and whose landforms intersect with those of the Ross Ice Sheet. Results from this comparison will contribute to a better understanding of the Antarctic ice sheet during the most recent global warming that ended the last ice age. This period is of interest since it will help inform our understanding of Antarctic ice sheet behavior in a future climate warming. Such data also will help inform models that attempt to simulate not only the behavior of the ice sheet during the end of the last ice age, but also its future response to elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide. The work will contribute to the education and training of both graduate and undergraduate students and results from the work will be incorporated in classes at the University of Maine. Results derived from the research will be disseminated to the public through lectures and visits to K-12 classrooms and data from this project will be downloadable from a University of Maine web site, as well as from public data repositories. The Antarctic Ice Sheet exerts a key control on global sea levels, both past and future, and strongly influences Southern Hemisphere and even global climate and ocean circulation. And yet a complete understanding of the evolution of the ice sheet over the last glacial cycle and of the mechanisms that caused it to advance and retreat is still lacking. Of particular interest is the response of the Antarctic Ice Sheet to the global warming that ended the last ice age, because it yields important clues about likely future ice-sheet behavior under a warming climate. In this project, scientists will reconstruct the thinning history of the Antarctic Ice Sheet in the Ross Sea sector during the last glacial/interglacial transition on the headlands of the southern Royal Society Range. They will use a combination of glacial geomorphological mapping and radiocarbon dating of algal deposits enclosed within recessional moraines. Finally, this record will be compared with a beryllium- and radiocarbon-dated chronology that will be produced of adjacent independent alpine glaciers that terminated on land during the last glacial maximum and whose deposits show cross-cutting relationships with those of the ice sheet. Results from this comparison will bear on the behavior of the Antarctic Ice Sheet during the termination of the last ice age. This work will support six students, including at least three undergraduates, and involves field work in the Antarctic.
Nontechnical Abstract Mount Erebus volcano on Ross Island, Antarctica, is the southernmost active volcano on the planet. It provides a natural laboratory to study a volcanic system that has been in a continuous state of activity with a persistent lava lake over at least the last 40 years. Worldwide only four other volcanoes with such long-lived lava lakes exist: Erta Ale, Ethiopia; Kilauea, Hawaii; Nyiragongo, Congo; and Ambrym, Vanuatu. These volcanoes are a rare anomaly that provide a window into the underlying magmatic system and behavior. Erebus is of particular interest as it cycles through phases of very explosive activity every 20 thousand years. This project will investigate interactions between the magmatic system, the rift it is located in, and the impact of the gravitational load the volcano imposes on the underlying crust and its own magmatic system. Possible interactions between these factors may explain the changes in activity. The project will analyze geophysical data that have been collected at Erebus over at least the last two decades. The results of this work will be available to the public and scientific community and inform geodynamic models in this region. The project funds an early-career scientist and a graduate student at New Mexico Tech and contributes to the development of the next generation of scientists. Technical Abstract The proposed work targets scientific questions recently formulated by the community during the 2016 NSF-sponsored Scientific Drivers and Future of Mount Erebus Volcano Observatory workshop. The location and geometry of the magmatic plumbing from vent to lower crust system remain poorly constrained, particularly below 1 km depth. The style and causes for changes in volcanic and magmatic activity over the short term (minutes to hours) and on the decadal scale remains enigmatic. Two decades of campaign and continuous GPS data on Ross Island will inform about the longer term dynamics of both, Ross Island growing within the Terror Rift, and Erebus? deeper magmatic system. This project will organize and analyze all existing GPS data for Ross Island, and interpret any anomalies in the resulting time series. These activities require organization, consistent processing and interpretation/modeling of the existing ~20 years of GPS data, which include campaign, continuous, and high-rate GPS observations. We will generate these position time series in a consistent local reference frame and make the results, including models of transient deformation available to the community. Volcanic, tectonic and isostatic adjustment related deformation will be modeled to place Erebus in a broad volcano-tectonic framework of West Antarctica. During the data analysis phase, the utility of existing GPS data for reflection studies of snow and sea-level dynamics will also be evaluated.
Part I: Non-technical description: Methane is one of the more effective atmospheric gases at retaining heat in the lower atmosphere and the earth’s crust contains large quantities of methane. Research that identifies the factors that control methane’s release into the atmosphere is critical to understanding and mitigating climate change. One of the most effective natural processes that inhibits the release of methane from aquatic habitats is a community of bacteria and Archaea (microbes) that use the chemical energy stored in methane, transforming methane into less-climate-sensitive compounds. The amount of methane that may be released in Antarctica is unknown, and it is unclear which microbes consume the methane before it is released from the ocean in Antarctica. This project will study one of the few methane seeps known in Antarctica to advance our understanding of which microbes inhibit the release of methane in marine environments. The research will also identify if methane is a source of energy for other Antarctic organisms. The researchers will analyze the microbial species associated with methane consumption over several years of field and laboratory research based at an Antarctic US station, McMurdo. This project clearly expands the fundamental knowledge of Antarctic systems, biota, and processes outlined as a goal in the Antarctic solicitation. This research communicates and produces educational material for K-12, college, and graduate students to inspire and inform the public about the role Antarctic ecosystems play in the global environment. This project also provides a young professor an opportunity to establish himself as an expert in the field of Antarctic microbial ecology to help solidify his academic career. Part II: Technical description: Microbes act as filter to methane release from the ocean into the atmosphere, where microbial chemosynthetic production harvests the chemical energy stored in this greenhouse gas. In spite of methane reservoirs in Antarctica being as large as Arctic permafrost, we know only a little about the taxa or dominant processes involved in methane consumption in Antarctica. The principal investigator will undertake a genomic and transcriptomic study of microbial communities developed and still developing after initiation of methane seepage in McMurdo Sound. An Antarctic methane seep was discovered at this location in 2012 after it began seeping in 2011. Five years after it began releasing methane, the methane-oxidizing microbial community was underdeveloped and methane was still escaping from the seafloor. This project will be essential in elucidating the response of microbial communities to methane release and identify how methane oxidation occurs within the constraints of the low polar temperatures. This investigation is based on 4 years of field sampling and will establish a time series of the development of cold seep microbial communities in Antarctica. A genome-to-ecosystem approach will establish how the Southern Ocean microbial community is adapted to prevent methane release into the ocean. As methane is an organic carbon source, results from this study will have implications for the Southern Ocean carbon cycle. Two graduate students will be trained and supported with undergraduates participating in laboratory activities. The researcher aims to educate, inspire and communicate about Antarctic methane seeps to a broad community. A mixed-media approach, with videos, art and education in schools will be supported in collaboration with a filmmaker, teachers and a visual artist. Students will be trained in filmmaking and K-12 students from under-represented communities will be introduced to Antarctic science through visual arts. 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.
This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2). The geologic record reveals that volcanic activity increases when glaciers retreat and major ice sheets thin. This relationship produces a positive feedback mechanism where the uptick in volcanism increases greenhouse gasses concentrations, leading to climate warming and further deglaciation. Although the pattern between volcanism and deglaciation is observed in the geologic record, the exact mechanism(s) by which glaciers impact a volcanic plumbing system is unknown. This project focuses on Mount Waesche, a volcano in West Antarctica, that frequently erupts during warm, interglacial periods and undergoes a period of less activity during cold, glacial periods. This project will examine compositions of the rocks and minerals from Mount Waesche to determine magma storage depths, allowing the investigators to understand how magma plumbing systems change in response to glacial cycles. These results will be compared with geodynamic simulations to understand the physics behind the effects of deglaciation on the magmatic plumbing systems within Earth’s crust. The investigators will additionally partner with Mentoring Kids Works to develop several Polar and Earth Science Educational Modules aimed at improving reading skills in third grade students in New Mexico. The proposed Polar and Earth Science program consists of modules that include readings of books introducing students to Earth and Polar science themes, paired with Earth and Polar Science activities, followed by simple experiments, where students make predictions and collect data. Information required to implement our Polar and Earth Science curriculum will be made available online. Isotopic and sedimentary datasets reveal that volcanic activity typically increases during interglacial periods. However, the physical mechanisms through which changes in the surface loading affect volcanic magmatic plumbing systems remain unconstrained. Recently generated 40Ar/39Ar eruption ages indicate that 86% of the dated samples from Mt. Waesche, a late Quaternary volcano in Marie Byrd land, correlate with interglacial periods, suggesting this volcano uniquely responds to changes in the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. We propose to combine the petrology of Mount Waesche’s volcanic record, constraints on changing ice loads through time, and geodynamic modelling to: (1) Determine how pre-eruptive storage conditions change during glacial and interglacial periods using whole rock and mineral compositions of volcanic rocks; (2) Conduct geodynamic modeling to elucidate the relationship between lithospheric structure, temporal variations in ice sheet thickness, and subsequent changes in crustal stresses and magmatic transport and, therefore, the mechanism(s) by which deglaciation impacts magmatic plumbing systems; (3) Use the outcomes of objectives (1) and (2) to provide new constraints on the changes in ice sheet thickness through time that could plausibly trigger future volcanic and magmatic activity in West Antarctica. This collaborative approach will provide a novel methodology to determine prior magnitudes and rates of ice load changes within the Marie Byrd Land region of Antarctica. Lastly, estimates of WAIS elevation changes from this study will be compared to ongoing studies at Mount Waesche focused on constraining last interglacial ice sheet draw down using cosmogenic exposure ages obtained from shallow drilling. The scope of work also includes a partnership with Mentoring Kids Works to develop several Polar and Earth Science Educational Modules aimed at improving reading skills in third grade students in New Mexico. The proposed Polar and Earth Science program consists of modules that include readings of books introducing students to Earth and Polar science themes, paired with Earth and Polar Science activities, followed by simple experiments, where students make predictions and collect data. Information required to implement our Polar and Earth Science curriculum will be made available online. 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.
This EAGER award will explore the Distributed Acoustic Sensing emerging technology that transforms a single optical fiber into a massively multichannel seismic array. This technology may provide a scalable and affordable way to deploy dense seismic networks. Experimental Distributed Acoustic Sensing equipment will be tested in the Antarctic exploiting unused (dark) strands in the existing fiber-optic cable that connects the U.S. Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station to the Remote Earth Science and Seismological Observatory (SPRESSO) located about 7.5-km from the main station. Upon processing the seismic signals, the Distributed Acoustic Sensing may provide a new tool to structurally image firn, glacial ice, and glacial bedrock. Learning how Distributed Acoustic Sensing would work on the ice sheet, scientists can then check seismological signals propagating through the Earth's crust and mantle variously using natural icequakes and earthquakes events in the surrounding area. The investigators propose to convert at least 8 km of pre-existing fiber optic cable at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole station into more than 8000 sensors to explore the potential of Distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) as a breakthrough data engine for polar seismology. The DAS array will operate for about one year, allowing them to (1) evaluate and calibrate the performance of the DAS technology in the extreme cold, very low noise (including during the exceptionally quiet austral winter) polar plateau environment; (2) record and analyze local ambient and transient signals from ice, anthropogenic signals, ocean microseism, atmospheric and other processes, as well as to study local, regional, and teleseismic tectonic events; (3) structurally image the firn, glacial ice, glacial bed, crust, and mantle, variously using active sources, ambient seismic noise, and natural icequake and earthquake events. 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.
Undersea forests of seaweeds dominate the shallow waters of the central and northern coast of the western Antarctic Peninsula and provide critical structural habitat and carbon resources (food) for a host of marine organisms. Most of the seaweeds are chemically defended against herbivores yet support very high densities of herbivorous shrimp-like grazers (crustaceans, primarily amphipods) which greatly benefit their hosts by consuming filamentous and microscopic algae that otherwise overgrow the seaweeds. The amphipods benefit from the association with the chemically defended seaweeds by gaining an associational refuge from fish predation. The project builds on recent work that has demonstrated that several species of amphipods that are key members of crustacean assemblages associated with the seaweeds suffer significant mortality when chronically exposed to increased seawater acidity (reduced pH) and elevated temperatures representative of near-future oceans. By simulating these environmental conditions in the laboratory at Palmer Station, Antarctica, the investigators will test the overall hypothesis that ocean acidification and ocean warming will play a significant role in structuring crustacean assemblages associated with seaweeds. Broader impacts include expanding fundamental knowledge of the impacts of global climate change by focusing on a geographic region of the earth uniquely susceptible to climate change. This project will also further the NSF goals of training new generations of scientists and of making scientific discoveries available to the general public. This includes training graduate students and early career scientists with an emphasis on diversity, presentations to K-12 groups and the general public, and a variety of social media-based outreach programs. The project will compare population and assemblage-wide impacts of natural (ambient), carbon dioxide enriched, and elevated temperature seawater on assemblages of seaweed-associated crustacean grazers. Based on prior results, it is likely that some species will be relative "winners" and some will be relative "losers" under the changed conditions. The project will then aim to carry out measurements of growth, calcification, mineralogy, the incidence of molts, and biochemical and energetic body composition for two key amphipod "winners" and two key amphipod "losers". These measurements will allow an assessment of what factors drive species-specific enhanced or diminished performance under conditions of ocean acidification and sea surface warming. The project will expand on what little is known about prospective impacts of changing conditions on benthic marine Crustacea, in Antarctica, a taxonomic group that faces the additional physiological stressor of molting. The project is likely to provide additional insight on the indirect regulation of the seaweeds that comprise Antarctic undersea forests that provide key architectural components of the coastal marine ecosystem. 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 continent of Antarctica has approximately the same surface area as the continental United States, though we know significantly less about its underlying geology and seismic activity. Multinational investments in geophysical infrastructure over the last few decades, especially broadband seismometers operating for several years, are allowing us to observe many interesting natural phenomena, including iceberg calving, ice stream slip, and tectonic earthquakes. To specifically leverage those past investments, we will analyze past and current data to gain a better understanding of Antarctic seismicity. Our recent research revealed that certain large earthquakes occurring elsewhere in the world triggered ice movement near various stations throughout Antarctica. We plan to conduct an exhaustive search of the terabytes of available data, using cutting-edge computational techniques, to uncover additional evidence for ice crevassing, ice stream slip, and earth movement during earthquakes. One specific focus of our research will include investigating whether some of these phenomena may be triggered by external influences, including passing surface waves from distant earthquakes, ocean tides, or seasonal melt. We plan to produce a catalog of the identified activity and share it publicly, so the public and researchers can easily access it. To reach a broader audience, we will present talks to high school classes, including Advanced Placement classes, in the Austin, Texas and Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan areas with emphasis on general aspects of seismic hazard, climate variability, and the geographies of Antarctica. This project will provide research opportunities for undergraduates, training for graduate students, and support for an early-career scientist. In recent years, a new generation of geodetic and seismic instrumentation has been deployed as permanent stations throughout Antarctica (POLENET), in addition to stations deployed for shorter duration (less than 3 years) experiments (e.g. AGAP/TAMSEIS). These efforts are providing critical infrastructure needed to address fundamental questions about both crustal-scale tectonic structures and ice sheets, and their interactions. We plan to conduct a systematic detection of tectonic and icequake activities in Antarctica, focusing primarily on background seismicity, remotely-triggered seismicity, and glacier slip events. Our proposed tasks include: (1) Identification of seismicity throughout the Antarctic continent for both tectonic and ice sources. (2) An exhaustive search for additional triggered events in Antarctica during the last ~15 years of global significant earthquakes. (3) Determination of triggered source mechanisms and whether those triggered events also occur at other times, by analyzing years of data using a matched-filter analysis (where the triggered local event is used to detect similar events). (4) Further analysis of GPS measurements over a ~5.5 year period from Whillans Ice Plain, which suggests that triggering of stick-slip events occurred after the largest earthquakes. An improved knowledge of how the Antarctic ice sheet responds to external perturbations such as dynamic stresses from large distant earthquakes and recent ice unloading could lead to a better understanding of ice failure and related dynamic processes. By leveraging the vast logistical investment to install seismometers in Antarctica over the last decade, our project will build an exhaustive catalog of tectonic earthquakes, icequakes, calving events, and any other detectable near-surface seismic phenomena.
Non-technical description: Global sea-level rise is a significant long-term risk for human population and infrastructure. To mitigate and properly react to this threat, society needs accurate predictions of future sea-level variations. The largest uncertainty in these predictions comes from estimating the amount of ice that melts from polar ice sheets, especially from the West Antarctica ice sheet. Right now, scientists estimate the mass variations of ice sheets in two ways. The first way is using airplanes and repeated flybys to monitor the variation of ice sheet topography and estimate the gain or loss of ice. The second way is using satellite measurements to track gravity fluctuations that correlate with the variation of ice sheet volume. Both techniques work, but both have limitations including cost and resolution. This project uses a passive seismic monitoring method to estimate the change in weight of the ice pressing on the Earth's crust. One advantage of this seismic method is that vibrations are recorded continuously; therefore, it is possible to monitor the changes of the ice sheet with better temporal resolution. The sensitivity of the seismic waves also provides a picture of the structure of the interface between the ice and the rocks beneath the ice, where most of the dynamics and changes of the ice sheet take place. This information is difficult to obtain with other methods. In this project, the researchers will process and analyze previously acquired seismic data from the POLENET-ANET array, measuring variations in seismic wave speed through time to assess the amount of ice lost or gained. They will also determine important information about the mechanical properties at the ice-rock interface. The project will support a postdoctoral scholar to develop this new branch of seismological research and more generally the field of environmental seismology. This project will also support the education of a PhD student who will work in close collaboration with the postdoctoral scholar and the two researchers. Technical description: The researchers plan to monitor ice-mass variations in the West-Antarctic ice sheet by measuring and interpreting seismic velocity changes in crust beneath the ice sheet. This project will extend similar work already completed on the Greenland ice sheet, where ice-mass fluctuations were found to lead to poroelastic changes in the crust and modify the seismic-wave velocity. This investigation uses a passive seismology method, whereby repetitive seismic noise correlation functions are computed from records of Earth's ambient seismic noise field. Measurements of the temporal changes in the correlation functions are made and then related to variations of the poroelastic properties of the crust. The physical model for the relationship between ice-mass change and surface-wave velocity change has previously been verified using GRACE satellite data in Greenland. This project will specifically focus on the recent rapid ice loss in Western Antarctica using data from the POLENET-ANET seismic network. A comparison between the ice-sheet behaviors in Greenland and Antarctica will provide clarification about the underlying physical processes responsible for the observed seismic velocity changes. This new method will be a transformative approach to monitor ice sheets with the potential for much higher spatial and temporal resolution than existing methods. The fact that this method relies on seismic waves makes the approach completely independent from other modern ice-sheet monitoring techniques.
Predictions of future sea level rise require better understanding of the changing dynamics of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. One way to better understand the past history of the ice sheets is to obtain records from inland ice for past geological periods, particularly in Antarctica, the world?s largest remaining ice sheet. Such records are exceedingly rare, and can be acquired at volcanic outcrops in the La Gorce Mountains of the central Transantarctic Mountains. Volcanoes now exposed within the La Gorce Mountains erupted beneath the East Antarctic ice sheet and the data collected will record how thick the ice sheet was in the past. In addition, information will be used to determine the thermal conditions at the base of the ice sheet, which impacts ice sheet stability. The project will also investigate the origin of volcanic activity in Antarctica and links to the West Antarctic Rift System (WARS). The WARS is a broad area of extended (i.e. stretched) continental crust, similar to that found in East Africa, and volcanism is wide spread and long-lived (65 million years to currently active) and despite more than 50 years of research, the fundamental cause of volcanism and rifting in Antarctica is still vigorously debated. The results of this award therefore also potentially impact the study of oceanic volcanism in the entire southwestern Pacific region (e.g., New Zealand and Australia), where volcanic fields of similar composition and age have been linked by common magma sources and processes. The field program includes a graduate student who will work on the collection, analysis, and interpretation of petrological data as part of his/her Masters project. The experience and specialized analytical training being offered will improve the quality of the student?s research and optimize their opportunities for their future. The proposed work fosters faculty and student national and international collaboration, including working with multi-user facilities that provide advanced technological mentoring of science students. Results will be broadly disseminated in peer-reviewed journals, public presentations at science meetings, and in outreach activities. Petrologic and geochemical data will be disseminated to be the community through the Polar Rock Repository. The study of subglacially erupted volcanic rocks has been developed to the extent that it is now the most powerful proxy methodology for establishing precise ?snapshots? of ice sheets, including multiple critical ice parameters. Such data should include measurements of ice thickness, surface elevation and stability, which will be used to verify, or reject, published semi-empirical models relating ice dynamics to sea level changes. In addition to establishing whether East Antarctic ice was present during the formation of the volcanoes, data will be used to derive the coeval ice thicknesses, surface elevations and basal thermal regime(s) in concert with a precise new geochronology using the 40Ar/39Ar dating method. Inferences from measurement of standard geochemical characteristics (major, trace elements and Sr, Nd, Pb, O isotopes) will be used to investigate a possible relationship between the volcanoes and the recently discovered subglacial ridge under the East Antarctic ice, which may be a rift flank uplift. The ridge has never been sampled, is undated and its significance is uncertain. The data will provide important new information about the deep Earth and geodynamic processes beneath this mostly ice covered and poorly understood sector of the Antarctic continent.
The geological structure and history of Antarctica remains poorly understood because much of the continental crust is covered by ice. Here, the PIs will analyze over 15 years of seismic data recorded by numerous projects in Antarctica to develop seismic structural models of the continent. The seismic velocity models will reveal features including crustal thinning due to rifting in West Antarctica, the structures associated with mountain building, and the boundaries between different tectonic blocks. The models will be compared to continents that are better understood geologically to constrain the tectonic evolution of Antarctica. In addition, the work will provide better insight into how the solid earth interacts with and influences the development of the ice sheet. Surface heat flow will be mapped and used to identify regions in Antarctica with potential melting at the base of the ice sheet. This melt can lead to reduced friction and lower resistance to ice sheet movement. The models will help to determine whether the earth response to ice mass changes occurs over decades, hundreds, or thousands of years. Estimates of mantle viscosity calculated from the seismic data will be used to better understand the pattern and timescales of the response of the solid earth to changes in ice mass in various parts of Antarctica. The study will advance our knowledge of the structure of Antarctica by constructing two new seismic models and a thermal model using different but complementary methodologies. Because of the limitations of different seismic analysis methods, efforts will be divided between a model seeking the highest possible resolution within the upper 200 km depth in the well instrumented region (Bayesian Monte-Carlo joint inversion), and another model determining the structure of the entire continent and surrounding oceans extending through the mantle transition zone (adjoint full waveform inversion). The Monte-Carlo inversion will jointly invert Rayleigh wave group and phase velocities from earthquakes and ambient noise correlation along with P-wave receiver functions and Rayleigh H/V ratios. The inversion will be done in a Bayesian framework that provides uncertainty estimates for the structural model. Azimuthal anisotropy will be determined from Rayleigh wave velocities, providing constraints on mantle fabric and flow patterns. The seismic data will also be inverted for temperature structure, providing estimates of lithospheric thickness and surface heat flow. The larger-scale model will cover the entire continent as well as the surrounding oceans, and will be constructed using an adjoint inversion of phase differences between three component seismograms and synthetic seismograms calculated in a 3D earth model using the spectral element method. This model will fit the entire waveforms, including body waves and both fundamental and higher mode surface waves. Higher resolution results will be obtained by using double-difference methods and by incorporating Green's functions from ambient noise cross-correlation, and solving for both radial and azimuthal anisotropy. 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 9615281 Luyendyk OPP 9615282 Siddoway Abstract This award supports a collaborative project that combines air and ground geological-geophysical investigations to understand the tectonic and geological development of the boundary between the Ross Sea Rift and the Marie Byrd Land (MBL) volcanic province. The project will determine the Cenozoic tectonic history of the region and whether Neogene structures that localized outlet glacier flow developed within the context of Cenozoic rifting on the eastern Ross Embayment margin, or within the volcanic province in MBL. The geological structure at the boundary between the Ross Embayment and western MBL may be a result of: 1) Cenozoic extension on the eastern shoulder of the Ross Sea rift; 2) uplift and crustal extension related to Neogene mantle plume activity in western MBL; or a combination of the two. Faulting and volcanism, mountain uplift, and glacier downcutting appear to now be active in western MBL, where generally East-to-West-flowing outlet glaciers incise Paleozoic and Mesozoic bedrock, and deglaciated summits indicate a previous North-South glacial flow direction. This study requires data collection using SOAR (Support Office for Aerogeophysical Research, a facility supported by Office of Polar Programs which utilizes high precision differential GPS to support a laser altimeter, ice-penetrating radar, a towed proton magnetometer, and a Bell BGM-3 gravimeter). This survey requires data for 37,000 square kilometers using 5.3 kilometer line spacing with 15.6 kilometer tie lines, and 86,000 square kilometers using a grid of 10.6 by 10.6 kilometer spacing. Data will be acquired over several key features in the region including, among other, the eastern edge of the Ross Sea rift, over ice stream OEO, the transition from the Edward VII Peninsula plateau to the Ford Ranges, the continuation to the east of a gravity high known from previous reconnaissance mapping over the Fosdick Metamorphic Complex, an d the extent of the high-amplitude magnetic anomalies (volcanic centers?) detected southeast of the northern Ford Ranges by other investigators. SOAR products will include glaciology data useful for studying driving stresses, glacial flow and mass balance in the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS). The ground program is centered on the southern Ford Ranges. Geologic field mapping will focus on small scale brittle structures for regional kinematic interpretation, on glaciated surfaces and deposits, and on datable volcanic rocks for geochronologic control. The relative significance of fault and joint sets, the timing relationships between them, and the probable context of their formation will also be determined. Exposure ages will be determined for erosion surfaces and moraines. Interpretation of potential field data will be aided by on ground sampling for magnetic properties and density as well as ground based gravity measurements. Oriented samples will be taken for paleomagnetic studies. Combined airborne and ground investigations will obtain basic data for describing the geology and structure at the eastern boundary of the Ross Embayment both in outcrop and ice covered areas, and may be used to distinguish between Ross Sea rift- related structural activity from uplift and faulting on the perimeter of the MBL dome and volcanic province. Outcrop geology and structure will be extrapolated with the aerogeophysical data to infer the geology that resides beneath the WAIS. The new knowledge of Neogene tectonics in western MBL will contribute to a comprehensive model for the Cenozoic Ross rift and to understanding of the extent of plume activity in MBL. Both are important for determining the influence of Neogene tectonics on the ice streams and WAIS.
Bell and Buck: OPP 9615704 Blankenship: OPP 9615832 Abstract Continental extension produces a great variety of structures from the linear narrow rifts of the East African Rift to the diffuse extension of the Basin and Range Province of the Western U.S. Rift shoulder uplift varies dramatically between rift flanks. The cause of variable rift width and crustal thinning is fairly well explained by variable initial heat flow and crustal thickness. Mechanical stretching of the lithosphere has been linked to rift shoulder uplift but the cause of variable rift flank uplift remains poorly understood. The Transantarctic Mountains (TAM) are an extreme example of rift flank uplift, extending over 3500 km across Antarctica and reaching elevations up to 4500 m and thus constitute a unique feature of EarthOs crust. The range was formed in the extensional environment associated with the Mesozoic and Cenozoic breakup of Gondwanaland. Geological and geophysical work has shown that the TAM developed along the long-lived lithospheric boundary between East and West Antarctica reactivated by a complex history of extensional and translational microplate motions. The TAM are not uniform along strike. Along the OWilkes FrontO, the northern segment of the rift extends from North Victoria Land to Byrd Glacier. The Wilkes Front architecture consists of (1) thin, extended crust forming the Victoria Land Basin in the Ross Sea, (2) the TAM rift shoulder, and (3) a long-wavelength down- ward forming the Wilkes Basin. Contrasting structures are mapped along the OPensacola/PoleO Front, the southern segment of the rift extending from the Nimrod Glacier to the Pensacola Mountains. Along this southern section no rift basin has been mapped to date and the down-ward along the East Antarctic, or ObacksideO, edge of the mountains is less pronounced. A flexural model linking the extension in the Ross Sea to the formation of both the mountains and the Wilkes Basin has been considered as a me chanism for uplift of the entire mountain range. The variability in fundamental architecture along the TAM indicates that neither a single event nor a sequence of identical events produced the rift flank uplift. The observation of variable architecture suggests complex mechanisms and possibly a fundamental limitation in maximum sustainable rift flank elevation. The motivation for studying the TAM is to try to understand the geodynamics of this extreme elevation rift flank. Are the geodynamics of the area unique, or does the history of glaciation and related erosion contribute to the extreme uplift? With the existing data sets it is difficult to confidently constrain the geological architecture across representative sections of the TAM. Any effort to refine geodynamic mechanisms requires this basic understanding of the TAM architecture. The goal of this project is to (1) constrain the architecture of the rift system as well as the distribution and structure of sedimentary basins, glacial erosion and mafic igneous rocks surrounding the rift flank by acquiring three long wavelength geophysical transects with integrated gravity, magnetics, ice- penetrating radar, and ice surface measurements, (2) quantify the contribution of various geodynamic mechanisms to understand the geological conditions which can lead to extreme rift flank uplift, and (3) use the improved understanding of architecture and geophysical data to test geodynamic models in order to improve our understanding both of the TAM geodynamics and the general problem of the geodynamics of rift flank uplift worldwide. This project will allow development of a generalized framework for understanding the development of rift flank uplift as well as address the question of the specific geodynamic evolution of the TAM.
Blankenship: 9319369 Bell: 9319854 Behrendt: 9319877 This award supports a project to conduct an integrated geophysical survey over a large portion of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) toward an understanding of the dynamic behavior of the ice sheet and the nature of the lithosphere beneath the ice sheet. West Antarctica is characterized by two kinds of the Earth s most dynamic systems, a continental rift (the West Antarctic Rift System) and a marine based ice sheet (the WAIS). Active continental rift systems, caused by divergent plate motions, result in thinned continental crust. Associated with the thin crust are fault-bounded sedimentary basins, active volcanism, and elevated heat flow. Marine ice sheets are characterized by rapidly moving streams of ice, penetrating and draining a slowly moving ice reservoir. Evidence left by past marine ice sheets indicates that they may have a strongly non- linear response to long-term climate change which results in massive and rapid discharges of ice. Understanding the evolution of the ice stream system and its interaction with the interior ice is the key to understanding this non-linear response. Subglacial geology and ice dynamics are generally studied in isolation, but evidence is mounting that the behavior of the West Antarctic ice streams may be closely linked to the nature of the underlying West Antarctic rift system. The fast moving ice streams appear to glide on a lubricating layer of water-saturated till. This till requires easily eroded sediment and a source of water, both of which may be controlled by the geology of the rift system; the sediments from the fault-bounded basins and the water from the elevated heat flux associated with active lithospheric extension. This project represents an interdisciplinary aerogeophysical study to characterize the lithosphere of the West Antarctic rift system beneath critical regions of the WAIS. The objective is to determine the effects of the rift architect ure, as manifested by the distribution of sedimentary basins and volcanic constructs, on the ice stream system. The research tool is a unique geophysical aircraft with laser altimetry, ice penetrating radar, aerogravity, and aeromagnetic systems integrated with a high precision kinematic GPS navigation system. It is capable of imaging both the surface and bed of the ice sheet while simultaneously measuring the gravity and magnetic signature of the subglacial lithosphere. Work to be done under this award will build on work already completed in the southern sector of central West Antarctica and it will focus on the region of the Byrd Subglacial Basin and Ice Stream D. The ice sheet in these regions is completely covered by satellite imagery and so this project will be integrated with remote sensing studies of the ice stream. The changing dynamics of Ice Stream D, as with other West Antarctic ice streams, seem to be correlated with changes in the morphological provinces of the underlying rift system. The experimental targets proceed from the divide of the interior ice, downstream through the onset of streaming to the trunk of Ice Stream D. This study will be coordinated with surface glaciological investigations of Ice Stream D and will be used to guide cooperative over-snow seismic investigations of the central West Antarctic rift system. The data will also be used to select a site for future deep ice coring along the crest of the WAIS. These data represent baseline data for long term global change monitoring work and represent crucial boundary conditions for ice sheet modeling efforts.
Many animals, from crustaceans to humans, engage in long-term relationships. The demographic consequences of divorce or widowhood for monogamous species are poorly understood. This research seeks to advance understanding of the drivers of partner loss and quantify its resulting effects on individual fitness and population dynamics in polar species that form life-long relationships. The project will focus on pair disruption in two seabirds that form long-last pair bonds: the wandering albatross and the snow petrel. Unique long-term individual mark-recapture data sets exist for these iconic polar species, allowing for a comprehensive study of the rates, causes and consequences of pair disruption and how they may differ among Antarctic species. Insights might be gained regarding the effects of changing environmental regimes as well as by direct and indirect effects of fisheries as a by-product of this research. The aim of the project is to better understand the implications of different drivers of pair disruption and quantify its resulting effects on individual fitness components and population growth rate and structure for two procellariiformes breeding in the Southern Ocean. The project will focus on the wandering albatross and the snow petrel, which both form long-lasting pair bonds. The unique long-term individual mark-recapture data sets allow for a study of the rates, causes and consequences of pair disruption and how they differ among species with different life histories as well as expected differences in mechanisms and rates of pair disruptions. The study will result in a detailed analysis of the impact of social monogamy and long-term pair bonds on individual fitness components (vital rates: survival, recruitment and fecundity; life-history outcomes: life expectancy, age at 1st breeding and lifetime reproductive success; and occupancy times: duration of pair bond or widowhood) and population growth and structure (e.g, sex ratio of individuals available for mating). Specifically, the project will assess: 1. Variations in pair disruption rates, and if they are related to global change (by-catch in the case of albatross widowing, and climate in the case of petrel divorce) by developing a statistical multievent mark-recapture model. 2. Impacts of pair disruption on vital rates, specifically whether i) greater familiarity and better coordination within pairs improves breeding performance and survival, ii) mating costs reduce the probability of breeding and iii) divorce is more likely to occur after a breeding failure. 3. Impacts of pair disruption on life-history outcomes and occupancy times using Markov chain stochastic life cycle models. 4. Impacts of pair disruption on population dynamics by developing a novel non-linear two-sex matrix population model. The research will include sensitivity and Life Table Response Experiment analyses to examine the respective effects of fisheries, climate, vital rates, and pair-disruption rates on life-history outcomes, occupancy times, and population growth and structure, and their variations among year and species 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.
Nontechnical project description Globally, 500 million people live near and are threatened by active volcanoes. An important step in mitigating volcanic hazards is understanding the variables that influence the explosivity of eruptions. The rate at which a magma ascends from the reservoir within the Earth to the surface is one such variable. However, magma ascent rates are particularly difficult to determine because of the lack of reliable methods for investigating the process. This research applies a new approach to study magma storage depths and ascent rates at the Erebus volcanic province of Antarctica, one of Earth's largest alkaline volcanic centers. Small pockets of magma that become trapped within growing olivine crystals are called melt inclusions. The concentrations of water and carbon dioxide in these melt inclusions preserve information on the depth of magma reservoirs. Changes to the concentration and isotopic composition of water in the inclusions provide information on how long it took for the host magma to rise to the surface. In combination, these data from samples of olivine-rich volcanic deposits in the Erebus volcanic province will be used to determine the depths at which magmas are stored and their ascent rates. The project results will provide a framework for understanding volcanic hazards associated with alkaline volcanism worldwide. In addition, this project facilitates collaboration among three institutions, and provides an important educational opportunity for a postdoctoral researcher. Technical project description The depths at which magmas are stored, their pre-eruptive volatile contents, and the rates at which they ascend to the Earth's surface are important controls on the dynamics of volcanic eruptions. Basaltic magmas are likely to be vapor undersaturated as they begin their ascent from the mantle through the crust, but volatile solubility drops with decreasing pressure. Once vapor saturation is achieved and the magma begins to degas, its pre-eruptive volatile content is determined largely by the depth at which it resides within the crust. Magma stored in deeper reservoirs tend to experience less pre-eruptive degassing and to be richer in volatiles than magma shallower reservoirs. Eruptive style is influenced by the rate at which a magma ascends from the reservoir to the surface through its effect on the efficiency of vapor bubble nucleation, growth, and coalescence. The proposed work will advance our understanding of pre-eruptive storage conditions and syn-eruptive ascent rates through a combined field and analytical research program. Volatile measurements from olivine-hosted melt inclusions will be used to systematically investigate magma storage depths and ascent rates associated with alkaline volcanism in the Erebus volcanic province. A central goal of the project is to provide a spatial and temporal framework for interpreting results from studies of present-day volcanic processes at Mt Erebus volcano. The Erebus volcanic province of Antarctica is especially well suited to this type of investigation because: (1) there are many exposed mafic scoria cones, fissure vents, and hyaloclastites (exposed in sea cliffs) that produced rapidly quenched, olivine-rich tephra; (2) existing volatile data for Ross Island MIs show that magma storage was relatively deep compared to many mafic volcanic systems; (3) some of the eruptive centers ejected mantle xenoliths, allowing for comparison of ascent rates for xenolith-bearing and xenolith-free eruptions, and comparison of ascent rates for those bearing xenoliths with times estimated from settling velocities; and (4) the cold, dry conditions in Antarctica result in excellent tephra preservation compared to tropical and even many temperate localities. The project provides new tools for assessing volcanic hazards, facilitates collaboration involving researchers from three different institutions (WHOI, U Wyoming, and U Oregon), supports the researchers' involvement in teaching, advising, and outreach, and provides an educational opportunity for a promising young postdoctoral researcher. Understanding the interrelationships among magma volatile contents, reservoir depths, and ascent rates is vital for assessing volcanic hazards associated with alkaline volcanism across the globe.
Collapse of the West Antarctic ice sheet (WAIS) could raise global sea level by up to 3 meters, at a rate of up to ~1 meter per century, yielding major societal impacts. The goal of this project is to determine if such a collapse occurred in the recent past. This will include development of new geochemical tools to evaluate the sedimentary geologic record around the WAIS to evaluate WAIS behavior during past warm periods. The primary activities to be carried out by the research team are to: 1) characterize the chemistry and magnetic properties of sediments being discharged from different portions of the WAIS and use these properties to ?fingerprint? inputs from different sources on the continent; 2) measure these same properties in a marine sediment core to document major changes in the WAIS over the last 150,000 years. Determining if the WAIS has collapsed in the recent past can provide important information on WAIS potential to grow unstable in the future. The tools to be developed here can then be used on older records around the WAIS to examine the frequency of ice sheet instability in the past. The project will support a postdoctoral researcher as well as undergraduate students. This project will develop sediment provenance proxies to trace the sources of sediment discharged by the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) to the continental rise. Specific questions to be addressed are: 1) the degree that sediment from different WAIS terranes can be geochemically and magnetically differentiated; 2) the ability of terrane provenance proxies to detect WAIS collapse in the late Quaternary. The WAIS erodes sediments from various West Antarctic geologic terranes that are deposited in adjacent drift sites. The geochemistry and magnetic properties of drift sediments reflect the tectonic and metamorphic history of their source terranes. Deglaciation of a terrane during WAIS collapse should be detectable by the loss of the terrane?s geochemical and magnetic signature in continental-rise detrital sediments. Continental shelf late-Holocene sediments from near the current WAIS groundling line will be analyzed for silt- and clay-size Sr-Nd-Pb isotopes, magnetic properties, and major-trace elements. The suite of cores includes the eastern Ross Sea to the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula and will establish provenance signatures of the Ross and Amundsen Provinces of Marie Byrd Land, Pine Island Bay, Thurston Island/Eight Coast Block, Ellsworth-Whitmore Crustal Block, and Antarctic Peninsula terranes. Many of these terranes have similar tectonic and metamorphic histories but Sr-Nd isotope data from detrital sediments suggest at least 3 distinct provenance signatures. An initial down core study of Ocean Drilling Program Site 1096 in the Bellingshausen Sea will be conducted to detect if the WAIS was unstable during the last interglacial period.
Subduction takes place at convergent plate boundaries and involves sinking of one tectonic plate underneath another. Although this process is a key aspect of plate tectonics that shapes the planet over geologic time, and is a primary cause of earthquakes, it is not known what causes subduction to cease, and what effect it has on the deepest portions of the crust and the upper part of the mantle. By studying the age and composition of igneous rocks emplaced at the very end of the subduction cycle, this project seeks to understand what causes subduction to cease, and how this changes the composition and structure of the crust and upper mantle. Because this process occurs deep within the earth, the project will focus on rocks in the root of an ancient subduction zone, now exposed in the Transantarctic Mountains of Antarctica. In addition, Antarctica remains relatively poorly understood, and this project will contribute directly to increasing our understanding of the geologic history of this region. The project will focus on training graduate and undergraduate students - incorporating hands-on experience with an array of state-of-the-art analytical instrumentation. Students will also gain a range of more general skills including Geographic Information Systems (GIS), written and oral communication, and data management - strengths that are highly relevant to careers both in the academic and Geosciences industry. Each summer, high school students will be incorporated into aspects of the laboratory-based research through the UCSB research mentorship program. The PI and graduate students will engage the general public through a purpose-built iPhone App and multimedia website. Activities will include live phone and video conversations from the field between elementary school students and members of the team in Antarctica. The mechanisms by which the deep crustal delaminates or "founders" and is returned to the mantle remains a fundamental problem in earth science. Specifically, little is known about the temporal and spatial scales over which this process occurs or the mechanisms that trigger such catastrophic events. Igneous rocks highly enriched in potassium, called lamprophyres, are often emplaced during, and immediately after, termination of subduction and therefore potentially provide direct insight into foundering. These enigmatic rocks are important because they represent near-primary mantle melt compositions and therefore their age, geochemistry and petrologic evolution reveal key information on both the composition of the upper mantle and its thermal state. Of equal importance, they reveal how these key parameters vary through both space and time. By evaluating lamprophyres along a subduction zone margin it is possible to extract: 1) local-scale information, such as the timing and duration of melting and the role of igneous crystallization processes in generation of isotopic heterogeneities; 2) along-strike variations in mantle source composition, temperature, and depth of melting 3) the plate-scale forces that control foundering and termination of subduction. This project will study a suite of lamprophyres along the axis of the Transantarctic Mountains, emplaced during the latest stages of the Neoproterozoic - Ordovician Ross orogeny, Antarctica (roughly 505 to 470 million years before present). High-precision geochronology (age determinations) will be combined with geochemical measurements on the rocks and minerals to understand the mechanisms and timing of deep crustal foundering/delamination.
The coastal environments of the western Antarctic Peninsula harbor rich assemblages of marine animals and algae. The importance of the interactions between these groups of organisms in the ecology of coastal Antarctica are well known and often mediated by chemical defenses in the tissues of the algae. These chemicals are meant to deter feeding by snails and other marine animals making the Antarctic Peninsula an excellent place to ask important questions about the functional and evolutionary significance of chemical compound diversity for marine communities. This project will focus on three main objectives: the first objective is to expand the current understanding of the relationship between algae and their associated marine animals. The second objective focuses on the diversity of chemical compounds used to defend algae from being consumed. The third objective seeks to understand how marine animals can benefit from these compounds by consuming the algae that contain them, and then using those compounds to chemically deter predators. The field components of this research will be performed during three expeditions to the US Palmer Station, Antarctica. During these expeditions, a variety of laboratory feeding bioassays, manipulative field and laboratory experiments, and on-site chemical analyses will be performed. The investigators will also foster opportunities to integrate their NSF research with a variety of educational activities. As in the past they will support undergraduate research, both through NSF programs as well as home, university-based, programs, and they will also continue to support and foster graduate education. Through their highly successful University of Alabama in Antarctica interactive web program (two time recipient of awards of excellence from the US Council for Advancement and Support of Education), they will continue to involve large numbers of teachers, K-12 students, and other members of the community at large in their scientific endeavors in Antarctica. In addition, the investigators have hosted K-12 teachers on their Antarctic field teams through the former NSF Teachers Experiencing Antarctica and the Arctic program and will pursue participation in PolarTREC, the successor to this valuable program. Moreover, they will actively participate in outreach efforts by presenting numerous talks on their research to local school and community groups. The near shore environments of the western Antarctic Peninsula harbor rich assemblages of macroalgae and macroinvertebrates. The importance of predator-prey interactions and chemical defenses in mediating community-wide trophic interactions makes the western Antarctic Peninsula an excellent place to ask important questions about the functional and evolutionary significance of defensive compound diversity for marine communities. This project will focus on three main objectives which are a direct outcome of the past studies of the chemical ecology of shallow-water marine macroalgae and invertebrates on the Antarctic Peninsula by this group of investigators. The first objective is to expand the current understanding of a community-wide mutualism between macroalgae and their associated amphipods to include gastropods, which are also abundant on many macroalgae. The second objective focuses on the diversity of chemical compounds used to defend macroalgae from being consumed, particularly in the common red alga Plocamium cartilagineum. The third objective seeks to understand the relationship between P. cartilagineum and the amphipod Paradexamine fissicauda, including the ecological benefits and costs to P. fissicauda resulting from the ability to consume P. cartilagineum and other chemically defended red algae. The investigators will focus on the costs and benefits related to the ability of P. fissicauda to sequester defensive compounds from the alga P. cartilagineum and use those chemicals to defend itself from predation. The field components of this research will be performed during three expeditions to Palmer Station, Antarctica. During these expeditions, a variety of laboratory feeding bioassays, manipulative field and laboratory experiments, and on-site chemical analyses will be performed. Phylogenetic analyses, detailed secondary metabolite chemical analyses and purifications, and other data analyses will also be performed at the investigators' home institutions between and after their field seasons.
Intellectual Merit: The PIs propose to continue and expand GPS and seismic for ANET-POLENET Phase 2 to advance understanding of geodynamic processes and their influence on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. ANET-POLENET science themes include: 1) determining ice mass change since the last glacial maximum, including modern ice mass balance; 2) solid earth influence on ice sheet dynamics; and 3) tectonic evolution of West Antarctica and feedbacks with ice sheet evolution. Nine new remote continuous GPS stations, to be deployed in collaboration with U.K. and Italian partners, will augment ANET-POLENET instrumentation deployed during Phase 1. Siting is designed to better constrain uplift centers predicted by GIA models and indicated by Phase 1 results. ANET-POLENET Phase 2 builds on Phase 1 scientific, technological, and logistical achievements including 1) seismic images of crust and mantle structure that resolve the highly heterogeneous thermal and viscosity structure of the Antarctic lithosphere and underlying mantle; 2) newly identified intraplate glacial, volcanic, and tectonic seismogenic processes; 3) improved estimates of intraplate vertical and horizontal crustal motions and refinement of the Antarctic GPS reference frame; and 4) elucidation of controls on glacial isostatic adjustment-induced crustal motions due to laterally varying earth structure. The PIs present a nominal plan to reduce ANET by approximately half to a longer-term community "backbone network" in the final 2 years of this project. Broader impacts: Monitoring and understanding mass change and dynamic behavior of the Antarctic ice sheet using in situ GPS and seismological studies will help improve understanding of how Antarctic ice sheets respond to a warming world and how will this response impacts sea-level and other global changes. Seismic and geodetic data collected by the backbone ANET-POLENET network are openly available to the scientific community. ANET-POLENET is integral in the development and realization of technological and logistical innovations for year-round operation of instrumentation at remote polar sites, helping to advance scientifically and geographically broad studies of the polar regions. The ANET-POLENET team will establish a training initiative to mentor young polar scientists in complex, multidisciplinary and internationally collaborative research. ANET-POLENET will continue the broad public outreach to the public about polar science through the polenet.org website, university lectures, and K-12 school visits. This research involves multiple international partners.
The solidified remnants of large magma bodies within the continental crust hold the key to understanding the chemical and physical evolution of volcanic provinces through time. These deposits also commonly contain some of the world's most important ore deposits. Exposed deposits in South Africa, Greenland, USA, Canada, and Antarctica have led researchers to propose that the bigger the magma body, the faster it will crystallize. While this might seem counter-intuitive (typically it is thought that more magma = hotter = harder to cool), the comparison of these exposures show that bigger magma chambers maintain a molten top that is always in contact with the colder crust; whereas smaller magma chambers insulate themselves by crystallizing at the margins. The process is similar to the difference between a large cup of coffee with no lid, and a smaller cup of coffee held in a thermos. The large unprotected cup of coffee will cool down much faster than that held in the thermos. This research project of VanTongeren and Schoene will use previously collected rocks from the large (~8-9 km thick) Dufek Intrusion in Antarctica to precisely quantify how fast the magma chamber crystallized, and compare that rate to the much smaller magma chamber exposed in the Skaergaard Intrusion of E. Greenland. The work is an important step towards improving our understanding of time-scales associated with the thermal and chemical evolution of nearly all magma chambers on Earth, which will ultimately lead to better predictions of volcanic hazards globally. The work will also yield important insights into the timescales and conditions necessary for developing vast magmatic ore deposits, which is essential to the platinum and steel industries in the USA and abroad. Based on observations of solidification fronts in six of the world's most completely exposed layered mafic intrusions, it was recently proposed that bigger magma chambers must crystallize faster than small magma chambers. While this is initially counter-intuitive, the hypothesis falls out of simple heat balance equations and the observation that the thickness of cumulates at the roofs of such intrusions is negatively proportional to the size of the intrusion. In this study, VanTongeren and Schoene will directly test the hypothesis that bigger magma chambers crystallize faster by applying high precision U-Pb zircon geochronology on 5-10 samples throughout the large Dufek Intrusion of Antarctica. Due to uncertainties in even the highest-precision ID-TIMS analyses, the Dufek Intrusion of Antarctica is the only large layered mafic intrusion on Earth where this research can be accomplished. VanTongeren and Schoene will place the geochronological measurements of the Dufek Intrusion into a comprehensive petrologic framework by linking zircon crystallization to other liquidus phases using mineral geochemistry, zircon saturation models, and petrologic models for intrusion crystallization. The research has the potential to radically change the way that we understand the formation and differentiation of large magma bodies within the shallow crust. Layered intrusions are typically thought to cool and crystallize over very long timescales allowing for significant differentiation of the magmas and reorganization of the cumulate rocks. If the 'bigger magma chambers crystallize faster hypothesis' holds this could reduce the calculated solidification time scales of the early earth and lunar magma oceans and have important implications for magma chamber dynamics of active intraplate volcanism and long-lived continental arcs. Furthermore, while the Dufek Intrusion is one of only two large layered intrusions exposed on Earth, very little is known about its petrologic evolution. The detailed geochemical and petrologic work of VanTongeren and Schoene based on analyses of previously collected samples will provide important observations with which to compare the Dufek and other large magma chambers.
Intellectual Merit: The PIs propose to establish an ice shelf network of 18 broadband seismographs deployed for two years to obtain high-resolution, mantle-scale images of Earth structure underlying the Ross Sea Embayment. Prior marine geophysical work provides good crustal velocity models for the region seaward of the ice shelf but mantle structure is constrained by only low-resolution images due to the lack of prior seismic deployments. The proposed stations would be established between Ross Island and Marie Byrd Land. These stations would fill a major geological gap within this extensional continental province and would link data sets collected in the Transantarctic Mountain transition/Plateau region (TAMSEIS) and in West Antarctica (POLENET) to improve resolution of mantle features beneath Antarctica. The proposed deployment would allow the PIs to collect seismic data without the expense, logistical complexity, and iceberg hazards associated with ocean bottom seismograph deployments. Tomographic models developed from the proposed data will be used to choose between competing models for the dynamics of the Ross Sea. In particular, the PIs will investigate whether a broad region of hot mantle, including the Eastern Ross Sea, indicates distributed recent tectonic activity, which would call into question models proposing that Eastern Ross extension ceased during the Mesozoic. These data will also allow the PIs to investigate the deeper earth structure to evaluate the possible role of mantle plumes and/or small-scale convection in driving regional volcanism and tectonism across the region. Broader impacts: Data from this deployment will be of broad interdisciplinary use. This project will support three graduate and two undergraduate students. At least one student will be an underrepresented minority student. The PIs will interact with the media and include K-12 educators in their fieldwork.
This project aims to identify which portions of the glacial cover in the Antarctic Peninsula are losing mass to the ocean. This is an important issue to resolve because the Antarctic Peninsula is warming at a faster rate than any other region across the earth. Even though glaciers across the Antarctic Peninsula are small, compared to the continental ice sheet, defining how rapidly they respond to both ocean and atmospheric temperature rise is critical. It is critical because it informs us about the exact mechanisms which regulate ice flow and melting into the ocean. For instance, after the break- up of the Larsen Ice Shelf in 2002 many glaciers began to flow rapidly into the sea. Measuring how much ice was involved is difficult and depends upon accurate estimates of volume and area. One way to increase the accuracy of our estimates is to measure how fast the Earth's crust is rebounding or bouncing back, after the ice has been removed. This rebound effect can be measured with very precise techniques using instruments locked into ice free bedrock surrounding the area of interest. These instruments are monitored by a set of positioning satellites (the Global Positioning System or GPS) in a continuous fashion. Of course the movement of the Earth's bedrock relates not only to the immediate response but also the longer term rate that reflects the long vanished ice masses that once covered the entire Antarctic Peninsula?at the time of the last glaciation. These rebound measurements can, therefore, also tell us about the amount of ice which covered the Antarctic Peninsula thousands of years ago. Glacial isostatic rebound is one of the complicating factors in allowing us to understand how much the larger ice sheets are losing today, something that can be estimated by satellite techniques but only within large errors when the isostatic (rebound) correction is unknown. The research proposed consists of maintaining a set of six rebound stations until the year 2016, allowing for a longer time series and thus more accurate estimates of immediate elastic and longer term rebound effects. It also involves the establishment of two additional GPS stations that will focus on constraining the "bull's eye" of rebound suggested by measurements over the past two years. In addition, several more geologic data points will be collected that will help to reconstruct the position of the ice sheet margin during its recession from the full ice sheet of the last glacial maximum. These will be based upon the coring of marine sediment sequences now recognized to have been deposited along the margins of retreating ice sheets and outlets. Precise dating of the ice margin along with the new and improved rebound data will help to constrain past ice sheet configurations and refine geophysical models related to the nature of post glacial rebound. Data management will be under the auspices of the UNAVCO polar geophysical network or POLENET and will be publically available at the time of station installation. This project is a small scale extension of the ongoing LARsen Ice Shelf, Antarctica Project (LARISSA), an IPY (International Polar Year)-funded interdisciplinary study aimed at understanding earth system connections related to the Larsen Ice Shelf and the northern Antarctic Peninsula.
Intellectual Merit: To understand Antarctica's geodynamic development, origin of the Transantarctic Mountains (TAMs) and the Wilkes Subglacial Basin (WSB) must be determined. Current constraints on the crustal thickness and seismic velocity structure beneath the TAMs and the WSB are limited, leading to uncertainties over competing geologic models that have been suggested to explain their formation. The PI proposes to broaden the investigation of this region with a new seismic deployment, the Transantarctic Mountains Northern Network (TAMNNET), a 15-station array across the northern TAMs and the WSB that will fill a major gap in seismic coverage. Data from TAMNNET will be combined with that from other previous and ongoing seismic initiatives and will be analyzed using proven modeling techniques to generate a detailed image of the seismic structure beneath the TAMs and the WSB. These data will be used to test three fundamental hypotheses: the TAMs are underlain by thickened crust, the WSB is characterized by thin crust and thick sedimentary layers, and slow seismic velocities are prevalent along strike beneath the TAMs. Results from the proposed study will provide new information about the nature and formation of the Antarctic continent and will help to advance our understanding of important global processes, such as mountain building and basin formation. The proposed research also has important implications for other fields of Antarctic science. Constraints on the origin of the TAMs uplift are critical for climate and ice sheet models, and new information acquired about variations in the thermal and lithospheric structure beneath the TAMs and the WSB will be used to estimate critical ice sheet boundary conditions. Broader impacts: This project incorporates three educational strategies to promote the integration of teaching and research. Graduate students will be trained in Antarctic tectonics and seismic processing through hands-on fieldwork and data analysis techniques. Through NSF's PolarTREC program, the PI will work with K-12 educators. The PI will develop a three-week summer field program for recent high school graduates and early-career undergraduate students from Minority-Serving Institutions in Alabama. Teaching materials and participant experiences will be shared with individuals outside the program via a course website. Following the summer program, participants who were particularly engaged will be offered internship opportunities to analyze TAMNNET data. In successive years, the students could assist with fieldwork and could be recruited into the graduate program under the PI's supervision. Ultimately, this program would not only serve to educate undergraduates but would also generate a pipeline of underrepresented students into the geosciences.
0539578<br/>Alley <br/>This award supports a five-year collaborative project to study the physical-properties of the planned deep ice core and the temperature of the ice in the divide region of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. The intellectual merit of the proposed research is to provide fundamental information on the state of the ice sheet, to validate the integrity of the climate record, to help reconstruct the climate record, and to understand the flow state and history of the ice sheet. This information will initially be supplied to other investigators and then to the public and to appropriate databases, and will be published in the refereed scientific literature. The objectives of the proposed research are to aid in dating of the core through counting of annual layers, to identify any exceptionally warm intervals in the past through counting of melt layers, to learn as much as possible about the flow state and history of the ice through measurement of size, shape and arrangements of bubbles, clathrate inclusions, grains and their c-axes, to identify any flow disturbances through these indicators, and to learn the history of snow accumulation and temperature from analyses of bubbles and borehole temperatures combined with flow modeling and use of data from other collaborators. These results will then be synthesized and communicated. Failure to examine cores can lead to erroneous identification of flow features as climate changes, so careful examination is required. Independent reconstruction of accumulation rate provides important data on climate change, and improves confidence in interpretation of other climate indicators. Borehole temperatures are useful recorders of temperature history. Flow state and history are important in understanding climate history and potential contribution of ice to sea-level change. By contributing to all of these and additional issues, the proposed research will be of considerable value. The broader impacts of the research include making available to the public improved knowledge on societally central questions involving abrupt climate change and sea-level rise. The project will also contribute to the education of advanced students, will utilize results in education of introductory students, and will make vigorous efforts in outreach, informal science education, and supplying information to policy-makers as requested, thus contributing to a more-informed society.
1043750/Chen This award supports a project to improve the estimate of long-term and inter-annual variability of Antarctic ice sheet mass balance at continental, regional, and catchment scales, using satellite gravity measurements from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and other geodetic measurements. The work will improve the quantification of long-term mass change rates over Antarctica using GRACE gravity data with a longer record and newer generation(s) of products and will develop advanced numerical forward modeling techniques that can accurately correct leakage effects associated with GRACE data processing, and significantly improve spatial resolution of GRACE mass rate estimates over Antarctica. The work will also contribute to a better understanding of crustal uplift rates due to postglacial rebound (PGR) and present day ice load change over Antarctica via PGR models, GPS measurements, and combined analysis of GRACE and ICESat elevation changes. Inter-annual variations of ice mass over Antarctica will be investigated at continental and catchment scales and connections to regional climate change will be studied. The major deliverables from this study will be improved assessments of ice mass balance for the entire Antarctic ice sheet and potential contribution to global mean sea level rise. The work will also provide estimates of regional ice mass change rates over Antarctica, with a focus along the coast in the Amundsen Sea Embayment, the Peninsula in West Antarctica, and in Wilkes Land and Victoria Land in East Antarctica. Estimates of inter-annual ice mass change over Antarctica at various spatial scales, and assessments of uncertainty of GRACE ice rate estimates and PGR models errors over Antarctica will also be made. The intellectual merits of the proposed investigation include 1) providing improved assessments of Antarctic ice mass balance at different temporal and spatial scales with unprecedented accuracy, an important contribution to broad areas of polar science research; 2) combining high accuracy GPS vertical uplift measurements and PGR models to better quantify long-term crust uplift effects that are not distinguishable from ice mass changes by GRACE; and 3) unifying the work of several investigations at the forefront of quantifying ice sheet and glacier mass balance and crustal uplift based on a variety of modern space geodetic observations. The broader impacts include the fact that the project will actively involve student participation and training, through the support of two graduate students. In addition the project will contribute to general education and public outreach (E/PO) activities and the results from this investigation will help inspire future geoscientists and promote public awareness of significant manifestations of climate change.
Intellectual Merit: Magmas generated during subduction of oceanic lithosphere beneath active continental margins typically have a calc-alkaline chemistry. However, igneous rocks with signatures usually associated with anorogenic magmatism are increasingly being found with calc-alkaline rocks in subduction zones. These enigmatic rocks provide insight into a variety of magmatic and structural processes that are fundamental to subduction zone dynamics but processes that lead to their petrogenesis remain a matter of debate. This project will investigate the Koettlitz Glacier Alkaline Province (KGAP) in the Transantarctic Mountains, which is a section through a Na-alkaline province bounded to the north and south by calc-alkaline magmatism. This province potentially contains key information on the thermo-mechanical processes leading to generation of Na-alkaline rocks in subduction systems. The PI will examine structures that bound the KGAP as well as intrusives and metasedimentary rocks contained within it to determine the tectonomagmatic history in the framework of two end-member hypotheses: the KGAP represents a crustal-scale extensional or transtensional domain in a subduction setting; or the KGAP formed in response to ridge subduction. Broader impacts: This study will train three graduate and three undergraduate students incorporating hands-on experience with state of the art instrumentation. Each summer, four high school students will be incorporated into various aspects of the laboratory-based research through the UCSB research mentorship program. This project will stimulate refinement of in-situ LA-ICPMS methods and development of collaborative linkages with Antarctic geologists at GNS Science in New Zealand. Results will be disseminated via papers and presentations at international conferences.
Intellectual Merit: The PIs propose to use airborne geophysics to provide detailed geophysical mapping over the Marie Byrd Land dome of West Antarctica. They will use a Basler equipped with advanced ice penetrating radar, a magnetometer, an airborne gravimeter and laser altimeter. They will test models of Marie Byrd Land lithospheric evolution in three ways: 1) constrain bedrock topography and crustal structure of central Marie Byrd Land for the first time; 2) map subglacial geomorphology of Marie Byrd Land to constrain landscape evolution; and 3) map the distribution of subglacial volcanic centers and identify active sources. Marie Byrd Land is one of the few parts of West Antarctica whose bedrock lies above sea level; as such, it has a key role to play in the formation and decay of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS), and thus on eustatic sea level change during the Neogene. Several lines of evidence suggest that the topography of Marie Byrd Land has changed over the course of the Cenozoic, with significant implications for the origin and evolution of the ice sheet. Broader impacts: This work will have important implications for both the cryospheric and geodynamic communities. These data will also leverage results from the POLENET project. The PIs will train both graduate and undergraduate students in the interpretation of large geophysical datasets providing them with the opportunity to co-author peer-reviewed papers and present their work to the broader science community. This research will also support a young female researcher. The PIs will conduct informal education using their Polar Studies website and contribute formally to K-12 curriculum development. The research will incorporate microblogging and data access to allow the project?s first-order hypothesis to be confirmed or denied in public.
Geochemical studies of single mineral grains in rocks can be probed to reconstruct the history of our planet. The mineral zircon (ZrSiO4) is of unique importance in that respect because of its reliability as a geologic clock due to its strong persistence against weathering, transport and changes in temperature and pressure. Uranium-Lead (U-Pb) dating of zircon grains is, perhaps, the most frequently employed method of extracting time information on geologic processes that shaped the continental crust, and has been used to constrain the evolution of continents and mountain belts through time. In addition, the isotopic composition of the element Hafnium (Hf) in zircon is used to date when the continental crust was generated by extraction of magma from the underlying mantle. Melting of rocks in the mantle and deep in the continental crust are key processes in the evolution of the continents, and they are recorded in the Hf isotopic signatures of zircon. Although the analytical procedures for U-Pb dating and Hf isotope analyses of zircon are robust now, our understanding of zircon growth and its exchange of elements and isotopes with its surrounding rock or magma are still underdeveloped. The focus of the proposed study, therefore, is to unravel the evolution of zircon Hf isotopes in rocks that were formed deep in the Earth?s crust, and more specifically, to apply these isotopic methods to rocks collected in Dronning Maud Land (DML), East Antarctica. Dronning Maud Land (DML) occupied a central location during the formation of supercontinents ? large landmasses made up of all the continents that exist today - more than 500 million years ago. It is currently thought that supercontinents were formed and dismembered five or six times throughout Earth?s history. The area of DML is key for understanding the formation history of the last two supercontinents. The boundaries of continents that were merged to form those supercontinents are most likely hidden in DML. In this study, the isotopic composition of zircon grains recovered from DML rocks will be employed to identify these boundaries across an extensive section through the area. The rock samples were collected by the investigator during a two-month expedition to Antarctica in the austral summer of 2007?2008. The results of dating and isotope analyses of zircon of the different DML crustal domains will deliver significant insight into the regional geology of East Antarctica and its previous northern extension into Africa. This has significance for the reconstruction of the supercontinents and defining the continental boundaries in DML.
Intellectual Merit: <br/>Because of extensive ice cover and sparse remote-sensing data, the geology of the Precambrian East Antarctic Shield (EAS) remains largely unexplored with information limited to coastal outcrops from the African, Indian and Australian sectors. The East Antarctic lithosphere is globally important: as one of the largest coherent Precambrian shields, including rocks as old as ~3.8 Ga, it played an important role in global crustal growth; it is a key piece in assembly of the Rodinia and Gondwana supercontinents; it is the substrate to Earth?s major ice cap, including numerous sub-glacial lakes, and influences its thermal state and mechanical stability; and its geotectonic association with formerly adjacent continental blocks in South Africa, India and Australia suggest that it might harbor important mineral resources. This project will increase understanding of the age and composition of the western EAS lithosphere underlying and adjacent to the Transantarctic Mountains (TAM) using U-Pb ages, and Hf- and O-isotope analysis of zircon in early Paleozoic granitoids and Pleistocene glacial tills. TAM granites of the early Paleozoic Ross Orogen represent an areally extensive continental-margin arc suite that can provide direct information about the EAS crust from which it melted and/or through which it passed. Large rock clasts of igneous and metamorphic lithologies entrained in glacial tills at the head of major outlet glaciers traversing the TAM provide eroded samples of the proximal EAS basement. Zircons in these materials will provide data about age and inheritance (U-Pb), crustal vs. mantle origin (O isotopes), and crustal sources and evolution (Hf isotopes). Integrated along a significant part of the TAM, these data will help define broader crustal provinces that can be correlated with geophysical data and used to test models of crustal assembly. <br/><br/>Broader impacts: <br/>This project will provide a research opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students. Undergraduates will be involved as Research Assistants in sample preparation, imaging, and analytical procedures, and conducting their own independent research. The two main elements of this project will form the basis of MS thesis projects for two graduate students at UMD. Through this project they will gain a good understanding of petrology, isotope geochemistry, and analytical methods. The broader scientific impacts of this work are that it will help develop a better understanding of the origin and evolution of East Antarctic lithosphere underlying and adjacent to the TAM, which will be of value to the broader earth science and glaciological community. Furthermore, knowledge of East Antarctic geology is of continuing interest to the general public because of strong curiosity about past supercontinents, what?s under the ice, and the impact of global warming on ice-sheet stability.
Intellectual Merit: <br/>The northern Ford ranges in Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica, record events and processes that transformed a voluminous succession of Lower Paleozoic turbidites intruded by calc-alkaline plutonic rocks into differentiated continental crust along the margin of Gondwana. In this study the Fosdick migmatite?granite complex will be used to investigate crustal evolution through an integrated program of fieldwork, structural geology, petrology, mineral equilibria modeling, geochronology and geochemistry. The PIs propose detailed traverses at four sites within the complex to investigate Paleozoic and Mesozoic orogenic cycles. They will use petrological associations, structural geometry, and microstructures of host gneisses and leucogranites to distinguish the migration and coalescence patterns for remnant melt flow networks, and carry out detailed sampling for geochronology, geochemistry and isotope research. Mafic plutonic phases will be sampled to acquire information about mantle contributions at the source. Mineral equilibria modeling of source rocks and granite products, combined with in situ mineral dating, will be employed to resolve the P?T?t trajectories arising from thickening/thinning of crust during orogenic cycles and to investigate melting and melt loss history. <br/><br/>Broader impacts: <br/>This work involves research and educational initiatives for an early career female scientist, as well as Ph.D. and undergraduate students. Educational programs for high school audiences and undergraduate courses on interdisciplinary Antarctic science will be developed.
Intellectual Merit: This research will place the subsidence history of the southern Victoria Land Basin into a quantitative geodynamic context and will assess the influence of flexure associated with late Neogene volcanic loading of the crust by the Erebus Volcanic Group. This will be done by extending geodynamic models of extension in the West Antarctic Rift System to include extensional hiatuses hypothesized to have occurred during the Late Paleogene and Miocene, and by developing a new geodynamic model of volcanic loading and associated lithosphere flexure. Finite element and finite difference modeling methods will be used. In the first phase of the project, a series of extensional geodynamic models will be developed to examine the effect that proposed extensional hiatuses have on the style of extension, with emphasis placed on developing a process based understanding of the change in rift style from diffuse during the Late Cretaceous to more focused during the Cenozoic. The models will test the hypotheses that extensional hiatuses led to the change in rifting style, and will place constraints on the timing and duration of the hiatuses. The second phase of the project will use the thermal and rheological properties of the previous models to constrain the flexural rigidity of the lithosphere in order to model the flexural response to volcanic loading to test the hypotheses that flexural subsidence contributed to cyclic changes between grounded and floating ice at the ANDRILL AND-1A site, complicating interpretations of the climatic record from this core, and that flexure contributes to the stress orientation at the AND-2B site, which is inconsistent with the expected regional extensional stress orientation. Broader impacts: The project will train an undergraduate student and an M.S. student. Outreach activities include a planned series of talks at regional high schools, junior colleges, and 4-year colleges that have geology programs.
Intellectual Merit: Diatom abundance in sediment cores is typically used as a proxy for paleo primary productivity. This record is complicated by variable preservation, with most loss occurring in the water column via dissolution and zooplankton grazing. This study will investigate preservational biases via a series of controlled experiments to create proxies of original productivity based on morphological changes associated with diatom dissolution and fracture. The PIs will utilize fresh diatoms from culture. Specific objectives include: (1) Linking changes in diatom morphology to availability of dissolved silica and other physical and chemical parameters; (2) Documenting the dissolution process under controlled conditions; (3) Assessment of changes in morphology and diatom surface roughness with increased dissolution; (4) Documenting the physical effects of grazing and fecal pellet formation on diatom fragmentation and dissolution; and (5) Analyzing the impact of diatom dissolution on silica and carbon export. These objectives will be achieved by growing Southern Ocean diatom species in the laboratory under differing physical and chemical conditions; controlled serial dissolution experiments on cultured diatoms; analysis of the dissolution process by imaging frustules under scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and with micro-analysis of surface texture by atomic force microscopy (AFM); making the cultures available to krill and other live zooplankton crustaceans in order to analyze the specific effects of grazing and pelletization on diatom morphology; and comparing experimental results with natural plankton, sediment trap material, and selected Holocene, Pleistocene and Pliocene sediment core material. Broader impacts: This work will contribute to understanding of the use of diatom abundance as an indicator of paleoproductivity. The proposed experiments are multi-disciplinary in nature. Importantly, the project was designed, and the proposal largely written, by a Ph.D. candidate. The research proposed here will lead to peer-reviewed publications and provide a base for future studies over the course of an extremely promising scientific career. The project will also support an undergraduate research student at NIU. The PI is heavily involved in science outreach, including classroom visits, museum events and webinars related to evolution and climate change, and is active with NSF-funded outreach activities linked to the ANDRILL and WISSARD programs. He will continue these efforts with this project.
Intellectual Merit: <br/>The goal of this project is to address relationships between foreland basins and their tectonic settings by combining detrital zircon isotope characteristics and sedimentological data. To accomplish this goal the PIs will develop a detailed geochronology and analyze Hf- and O-isotopes of detrital zircons in sandstones of the Devonian Taylor Group and the Permian-Triassic Victoria Group. These data will allow them to better determine provenance and basin fill, and to understand the nature of the now ice covered source regions in East and West Antarctica. The PIs will document possible unexposed/unknown crustal terrains in West Antarctica, investigate sub-glacial terrains of East Antarctica that were exposed to erosion during Devonian to Triassic time, and determine the evolving provenance and tectonic history of the Devonian to Triassic Gondwana basins in the central Transantarctic Mountains. Detrital zircon data will be interpreted in the context of fluvial dispersal/drainage patterns, sandstone petrology, and sequence stratigraphy. This interpretation will identify source terrains and evolving sediment provenances. Paleocurrent analysis and sequence stratigraphy will determine the timing and nature of changing tectonic conditions associated with development of the depositional basins and document the tectonic history of the Antarctic sector of Gondwana. Results from this study will answer questions about the Panthalassan margin of Gondwana, the Antarctic craton, and the Beacon depositional basin and their respective roles in global tectonics and the geologic and biotic history of Antarctica. The Beacon basin and adjacent uplands played an important role in the development and demise of Gondwanan glaciation through modification of polar climates, development of peat-forming mires, colonization of the landscape by plants, and were a migration route for Mesozoic vertebrates into Antarctica. <br/><br/>Broader impacts: <br/>This proposal includes support for two graduate students who will participate in the fieldwork, and also support for other students to participate in laboratory studies. Results of the research will be incorporated in classroom teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels and will help train the next generation of field geologists. Interactions with K-12 science classes will be achieved by video/computer conferencing and satellite phone connections from Antarctica. Another outreach effort is the developing cooperation between the Byrd Polar Research Center and the Center of Science and Industry in Columbus.
Abstract<br/>This award supports a seismological study of the Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains (GSM), a Texas-sized mountain range buried beneath the ice sheets of East Antarctica. The project will perform a passive seismic experiment deploying twenty-three seismic stations over the GSM to characterize the structure of the crust and upper mantle, and determine the processes driving uplift. The outcomes will also offer constraints on the terrestrial heat flux, a key variable in modeling ice sheet formation and behavior. Virtually unexplored, the GSM represents the largest unstudied area of crustal uplift on earth. As well, the region is the starting point for growth of the Antarctic ice sheets. <br/>Because of these outstanding questions, the GSM has been identified by the international Antarctic science community as a research focus for the International Polar Year (2007-2009). In addition to this seismic experiment, NSF is also supporting an aerogeophysical survey of the GSM under award number 0632292. Major international partners in the project include Germany, China, Australia, and the United Kingdom. For more information see IPY Project #67 at IPY.org. In terms of broader impacts, this project also supports postdoctoral and graduate student research, and various forms of outreach.
This award supports an aerogeophysical study of the Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains (GSM), a Texas-sized mountain range buried beneath the ice sheets of East Antarctica. The project would perform a combined gravity, magnetics, and radar study to achieve a range of goals including: advancing our understanding of the origin and evolution of the polar ice sheets and subglacial lakes; defining the crustal architecture of East Antarctica, a key question in the earth's history; and locating the oldest ice in East Antarctica, which may ultimately help find ancient climate records. Virtually unexplored, the GSM represents the largest unstudied area of crustal uplift on earth. As well, the region is the starting point for growth of the Antarctic ice sheets. Because of these outstanding questions, the GSM has been identified by the international Antarctic science community as a research focus for the International Polar Year (2007-2009). In addition to this study, NSF is also supporting a seismological survey of the GSM under award number 0537371. Major international partners in the project include Germany, China, Australia, and the United Kingdom. For more information see IPY Project #67 at IPY.org. In terms of broader impacts, this project also supports postdoctoral and graduate student research, and various forms of outreach including a focus on groups underrepresented in the earth sciences.
The climatic changes of late Precambrian time, 600-800 million years ago, included episodes of extreme glaciation, during which ice may have covered nearly the entire ocean for several million years, according to the Snowball Earth hypothesis. These episodes would hold an important place in Earth?s evolutionary history; they could have encouraged biodiversity by trapping life forms in small isolated ice-free areas, or they could have caused massive extinctions that cleared the path for new life forms to fill empty niches. What caused the Earth to become iced over, and what later caused the ice to melt? Scientific investigation of these questions will result in greater understanding of the climatic changes that the Earth can experience, and will enable better predictions of future climate. This project involves Antarctic field observations as well as laboratory studies and computer modeling. The aim of this project is not to prove or disprove the Snowball Earth hypothesis but rather to quantify processes that are important for simulating snowball events in climate models. The principal goal is to identify the types of ice that would have been present on the frozen ocean, and to determine how much sunlight they would reflect back to space. Reflection of sunlight by bright surfaces of snow and ice is what would maintain the cold climate at low latitudes. The melting of the ocean required buildup of greenhouse gases, but it was probably aided by deposition of desert dust and volcanic ash darkening the snow and ice. With so much ice on the Earth?s surface, even small differences in the amount of light that the ice absorbed or reflected could cause significant changes in climate. The properties of the ice would also determine where, and in what circumstances, photosynthetic life could have survived. Some kinds of ice that are rare on the modern Earth may have been pivotal in allowing the tropical ocean to freeze. The ocean surfaces would have included some ice types that now exist only in Antarctica: bare cold sea ice with precipitated salts, and "blue ice" areas of the Transantarctic Mountains that were exposed by sublimation and have not experienced melting. Field expeditions were mounted to examine these ice types, and the data analysis is underway. A third ice type, sea ice with a salt crust, is being studied in a freezer laboratory. Modeling will show how sunlight would interact with ice containing light-absorbing dust and volcanic ash. Aside from its reflection of sunlight, ice on the Snowball ocean would have been thick enough to flow under its own weight, invading all parts of the ocean. Yet evidence for the survival of photosynthetic life indicates that some regions of liquid water were maintained at the ocean surface. One possible refuge for photosynthetic organisms is a bay at the far end of a nearly enclosed tropical sea, formed by continental rifting and surrounded by desert, such as the modern Red Sea. A model of glacier flow is being developed to determine the dimensions of the channel, connecting the sea to the ocean, necessary to prevent invasion by the flowing ice yet maintain a water supply to replenish evaporation.
This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). The high elevations of East Antarctica are critical in localizing the initial Cenozoic glaciation and stabilizing it with respect to melting during warm interglacials. However, the geological history for this region and the geophysical mechanism for maintaining the highlands are poorly understood. In 2007-2009, an array of 24 broadband seismographs (named GAMSEIS) was installed across the Gamburtsev Mountains area of the East Antarctic Plateau as part of the Antarctica?s Gamburtsev Province (AGAP) International Polar Year project. The IPY AGAP/GAMSEIS program included plans by other international partners to install seismographs at locations along the flanks of the Gamburtsev Mountains and in other East Antarctic regions. The proposed project will continue operating six of the deployed AGAP/GAMSEIS stations for two more years together with two new broadband seismic stations added to broaden the geographic scope of the array. Most stations will be located at the existing U.S. Autonomous Geophysical Observatories and the USAP fuel cache locations in order to minimize logistical support. This array, combined with seismographs deployed by China and Japan (and possibly Australia, France, and Italy in near future) will provide a sparse but large-scale network of seismometers for the longer-term studies of the crustal and upper mantle structures underneath the East Antarctic Plateau. Continued reliance on students provides a broader impact to this proposed research and firmly grounds this effort in its educational mission.
This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). The investigators will examine competing hypotheses for the mechanism of extension and creation of the Transantarctic Mountains, and evolution of the thermal regimes of rifted West Antarctica and stable East Antarctica using magnetotelluric (MT) profiles. Surrounded almost entirely by ocean ridges, Antarctica is a special tectonic situation because of the need to make accommodation space for rifting in the Transantarctic region. In the MT method, temporal variations in the Earth's natural electromagnetic field are used as source fields to probe the electrical resistivity structure in the depth range of 1 to 200 km, or more. Geophysical methods, such as MT, are appropriate in Antarctica because of the predominance of thick ice cover over most of the Continent and the difficult operating environment. The proposed effort will consist of approximately 50 sites over a distance approaching 500 km with a 10 km average spacing, oriented normal to the Transantarctic Mountains (TAM), in the Beardmore glacier area. High quality MT soundings will be collected over thick ice sheets using a custom electrode preamp design, updated from previous Antarctic projects. Data acquisition will take place over two field seasons. The primary goals are three-fold: to establish the location of the deeper tectonic transition between East and West Antarctica that may be offset from the physiographic transition at the surface, using deep resistivity structure distinguish between modes of extensional upwelling and magmatism that may be vertically non-uniform, depth and magnitude of quasi-layered deep crustal low resistivity, particularly below West Antarctica, will be used to estimate crustal heat flux into the ice sheet base.
1043528/Alley This award supports a project to complete the physical-properties studies of the WAIS Divide deep ice core, now being collected in West Antarctica. Ongoing work funded by NSF, under a grant that is ending, has produced visible stratigraphy dating, inspection of the core for any melt layers, volcanic horizons, flow disturbances or other features, analysis of bubble number-densities allowing reconstruction of a two-millennial cooling trend in the latter Holocene at the site, characterization of other bubble characteristics (size, etc.), density studies, characterization of snow-surface changes at the site, preliminary c-axis studies, and more. The current proposal seeks to complete this work, once the rest of the core is recovered. The intellectual merit of the proposed activity starts with quality assurance for the core, by visual detection of any evidence of flow disturbances that would disrupt the integrity of the climate record. Inspection will also reveal any melt layers, volcanic horizons, etc. Annual-layer dating will be conducted; thus far, the visible strata have not been as useful as some other indicators, but the possibility (based on experience in Greenland) that visible examination will allow detection of thinner annual layers than other techniques motivates the effort. Bubble number-density will be used to reconstruct temperature changes through the rest of the bubbly part of the core, providing important paleoclimatic data for earlier parts of the Holocene. Coordinated interpretation of c-axis fabrics, grain sizes and shapes, and bubble characteristics will be used to learn about the history of ice flow, the processes of ice flow, and the softness of the ice for additional deformation. Analysis of surface data already collected will improve interpretation of the layering of the core. It is possible that the annual-layer dating will not be sufficiently successful, and that the core will be undisturbed with no melt layers; if so, then these efforts will not yield major publications. However, success of the other efforts should produce improved understanding of the history and stability of the ice sheet, and key processes controlling these, and the quality assurance provided by the visual examination is important for the project as a whole. The broader impacts of the proposed activity include education of a PhD student and multiple undergraduates, and research opportunities for a junior faculty member at an undergraduate institution. The proposed activity will help support an especially vigorous education and outreach effort providing undergraduate instruction for over 1000 students per year, reaching thousands more citizens and many policymakers, and preparing educational materials used at many levels.
This project studies sediment from the ocean floor to understand Antarctica's geologic history. Glacially eroded from the Antarctic continent, these sediments may offer insight into the 99% Antarctica covered by ice. The work's central focus is determining crust formation ages and thermal histories for three key areas of East Antarctica--Prydz Bay, eastern Weddell Sea, and Wilkes Land--through a combination of petrography, bulk sediment geochemistry and radiogenic isotopes, as well as isotope chronology of individual mineral grains. One specific objective is characterizing the composition of the Gamburtsev Mountains through studies of Eocene fluvial sediments from Prydz Bay. In addition to furthering our understanding of the hidden terrains of Antarctica, these terrigenous sediments will also serve as a natural laboratory to evaluate the effects of continental weathering on the Hf/Nd isotope systematics of seawater. An important broader impact of the project is providing exciting research projects for graduate and postdoctoral students using state of the art techniques in geochemistry.
This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).<br/><br/>The near shore environments of the western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) harbor extremely high densities of mesograzers (small invertebrate predators approximately 1-25 mm in length) such as benthic amphipods, as well as rich assemblages of macroalgae, endophytes, and macroinvertebrates. Unlike temperate and tropical shallow marine environments, where fish and sea urchins are key grazers structuring the community, mesograzers appear to be much more important in the WAP. Accordingly, the proposed research has two main objectives: (1) To further investigate the interactions between the ecologically dominant large macrophytes, filamentous epi/endophytes, and mesograzers and (2) To determine the nature of interactions between mesograzers and sessile invertebrates. Specifically, the research will examine the following hypotheses: 1: The effects of endophytes on macrophytes are often negative, and consequently macrophytes defend against endophytic infection. 2: Mesoherbivores prevent filamentous algal species, common in the intertidal, from dominating subtidal assemblages. 3: Mesograzer predation pressure on sessile benthic macroinvertebrates, primarily sponges and tunicates, is greatest in shallow habitats dominated by macrophytes, and this impacts depth distributions of macroinvertebrate species. 4: Benthic macroinvertebrates may defend against mesograzers with secondary metabolites which effect molting and/or deter feeding.<br/><br/>Broader impacts include involvement of undergraduates, including minorities, in research; training of graduate students, and continuation of the highly successful UAB IN ANTARCTICA interactive web program (two time recipient of awards of excellence from the US Council for Advancement and Support of Education). The researchers also will share their scientific endeavors with teachers, K-12 students, and other members of the community at large while in residence in Antarctica. In addition, the investigators will request the participation of a PolarTREC teacher.
0538494<br/>Meese<br/>This award supports a project for physical properties research on snow pits and firn/ice cores with specific objectives that include stratigraphic analysis including determination of accumulation rates, annual layers, depth hoar, ice and wind crusts and rates of grain growth with depth. Studies of firn densification rates and how these parameters relate to the meteorology and climatology over the last 200 years of snow accumulation in Antarctica will also be investigated. The project will also determine the seasonality of accumulation by co-registration of stratigraphy and chemistry and determination of chemical species at the grain boundaries, how these may change with depth/densification (and therefore temperature), precipitation, and may affect grain growth. Fabric analyses will be made, including variation with depth, location on undulations and if any variation exists with climate/chemistry. The large spatial coverage of the US ITASE program offers the opportunity to determine how these parameters are affected by a large range of temperature, precipitation and topographic effects. The intellectual merit of the project includes the fact that ITASE is the terrestrial equivalent of a polar research vessel that provides a unique, logistically efficient, multi-dimensional (x, y, z and time) view of the atmosphere, ice sheet and their histories. Physical properties measurements/ analyses are an integral part of understanding the dynamic processes to which the accumulated snow is subjected. Recent advancements in the field along with multiple core sites provide an excellent opportunity to gain a much broader understanding of the spatial, temporal and physical variables that impact firnification and the possible resultant impact on climatic interpretation. In terms of broader impacts, the data collected by US ITASE and its international ITASE partners is available to a broad scientific community. US ITASE has an extensive program of public outreach and provides significant opportunities for many students to experience multidisciplinary Antarctic research. A graduate student, a post-doctoral fellow and at least one undergraduate would be funded by this work. Dr. Meese is also a member of the New England Science Collaborative, an organization that educates the public on climate change based on recent scientific advancements.
An array of moorings will be deployed and maintained east of Cape Adare, Antarctica, at the northwestern corner of the Ross Sea to observe the properties of Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) exiting the Ross Sea. This location has been identified from recent studies as an ideal place to make such measurements. Antarctic Bottom Water has the highest density of the major global water masses, and fills the deepest parts of the world's oceans. Because it obtains many of its characteristics during its contact with the atmosphere and with glacial ice along the continental margins of Antarctica, it is expected that changes in newly-formed AABW may represent an effective indicator for abrupt climate change. The heterogeneous nature of the source regions around Antarctica complicates the observation of newly-formed AABW properties. The two most important source regions for AABW are within the Weddell and the Ross Seas, with additional sources drawn from the east Antarctic margins. In the northwestern Weddell Sea, several programs have been undertaken in the last decade to monitor the long term variability of Weddell Sea Deep and Bottom Water, precursors of AABW originating from the Weddell Sea, however no such systematic efforts have yet been undertaken to make longterm measurements of outflow from the Ross Sea. The proposed study will significantly improve our knowledge of the long term variability in the outflow of deep and bottom water from the Ross Sea, and will provide the beginnings of a long-term monitoring effort which ultimately will allow detection of changes in the ocean in the context of global climate change. When joined with similar efforts ongoing in the Weddell Sea, long-term behavior and possible coupling of these two important sources of the ocean's deepest water mass can be examined in detail.
This award, provided by the Antarctic Geology and Geophysics Program of the Office of Polar Programs, provides funds for a study to investigate the tectonic development of the southwestern Ross Sea region. Displacements between East and West Antarctica have long been proposed based on global plate circuits, apparent hot spot motions, interpretations of seafloor magnetic anomalies, paleomagnetism, and on geologic grounds. Such motions require plate boundaries crossing Antarctica, yet these boundaries have never been explicitly defined. This project will attempt to delineate the late Cenozoic - active boundary between East and West Antarctica along the Terror Rift in the western Ross Sea, where young structures have been identified, continuity between active extension and intracontinental structures can be established, and where accessibility via ship will allow new key data sets to be acquired. We will use multi-source marine and airborne geophysical data to map the fault patterns and volcanic structure along the eastern margin of the Terror Rift. The orientations of volcanic fissures and seamount alignments on the seafloor will be mapped using multibeam bathymetry. The volcanic alignments will show the regional extension or shear directions across the Terror Rift and the orientations of associated crustal stresses. Swath bathymetry and single channel seismic data will be used to document neotectonic fault patterns and the eastern limit of recent faulting. Delineation of neotectonic fault patterns will demonstrate whether the eastern margin of the Terror Rift forms a continuous boundary and whether the rift itself can be linked with postulated strike-slip faults in the northwestern Ross Sea. Seafloor findings from this project will be combined with fault kinematic and stress field determinations from the surrounding volcanic islands and the Transantarctic Mountains. The integrated results will test the propositions that the eastern boundary of the Terror Rift forms the limit of the major, late Cenozoic -active structures through the Ross Sea and that Terror Rift kinematics involve dextral transtension linked to the right-lateral strike-slip faulting to the north. These results will help constrain the kinematic and dynamic links between the West Antarctic rift system and Southern Ocean structures and any related motions between East and West Antarctica. In the first year, a collaborative structural analysis of existing multichannel and single channel seismic profiles and aeromagnetic data over the Terror Rift will be conducted. The location of volcanic vents or fissures and any fault scarps on the sea floor will be identified and a preliminary interpretation of the age and kinematics of deformation in the Terror Rift will be produced. Late in the second year, a one-month cruise on RVIB N.B. Palmer will carry out multibeam bathymetric and sidescan sonar mapping of selected portions of the seafloor of Terror Rift. Gravity, magnetics, seismic reflection and Bathy2000 3.5 kHz sub-bottom profile data will also be collected across the rift. In the third year, we will use these multisource data to map the orientations and forms of volcanic bodies and the extent and geometry of neotectonic faulting associated with the Terror Rift. The project will: 1) complete a map of neotectonic faults and volcanic structures in the Terror Rift; 2) interpret the structural pattern to derive the motions and stresses associated with development of the rift; 3) compare Terror Rift structures with faults and lineaments mapped in the Transantarctic Mountains to improve age constraints on the structures; and 4) integrate the late Cenozoic structural interpretations from the western Ross Sea with Southern Ocean plate boundary kinematics.
This award, provided by the Antarctic Geology and Geophysics Program of the Office of Polar Programs, provides funds and field support to continue a study of plate motions in the Antarctic Peninsula and Scotia Sea region. The principal aim of the original "Scotia Arc GPS Project (SCARP)" was to determine motions of the Scotia Plate relative to adjacent plates and to measure crustal deformation along its margins with special attention to the South Sandwich microplate and Bransfield Strait extension. The focus of the present proposal is confined to the part of the SCARP project that includes GPS sites at Elephant Island, the South Shetland Islands and on the Antarctic Peninsula. The British Antarctic Survey provides data from two sites on the Scotia arc for this project. The northern margin of the Scotia Plate is not included herein because that region is not covered under Polar Programs. A separate proposal will request support for re-measuring SCARP GPS stations in South America. With regard to the Antarctic Peninsula area, continuously operating GPS stations were established at Frei Base, King George Island (in 1996) and at the Argentine Base, South Orkney Islands (in 1998). A number of monumented sites were established in the Antarctic Peninsula region in 1997 to support campaign-style GPS work in December 1997 and December 1998. Because of the expected slow crustal motion in the Bransfield Strait and expiration of the initial grant, no further data collection will be done until enough time has passed so that new measurements can be expected to yield precise results.<br/><br/>The primary aim of this work is to complete the measurements required to quantify crustal deformation related to opening of the Bransfield Strait, the South Shetland microplate, and to identify any other independent tectonic blocks that the GPS data may reveal. The measurements to be completed under this award will be done using ship support during the 2002-2003 season. This would be five years after the first measurements and would provide quite precise horizontal velocities. This project will complete the acquisition, processing, and interpretation of a single data set to continue this initial phase of the NSF-funded project to measure crustal motions along the southern margin of the Scotia plate. A principal investigator and one graduate student from the University of Texas will perform fieldwork. A graduate student from the University of Hawaii will process the new data consistent with previous data, and all of the SCARP investigators (Bevis, Dalziel, Smalley, Taylor: from U. Texas, U. Hawaii, and U. Memphis) will participate in interpreting the data. The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) also recognized the importance of the Scotia plate and the Bransfield system in both global and local plate tectonic frameworks. They, too, have used GPS to measure crustal motions in this region and duplicate a number of our sites. They began earlier than we, have taken data more recently, presumably will continue taking data, and they have published some results. The collaboration between SCARP, BAS, and AWI begun earlier, will continue into this new work. Joint and separate publications are anticipated. The existing SCARP network has several advantages that justify collection and analysis of another set of data. One is that SCARP has established and measured GPS sites on Smith, Low, and Livingston Islands, where other groups have not. These sites significantly extend the dimensions of the South Shetland microplate so that we can determine a more precise pole of rotation and recognize any sub-blocks within the South Shetland arc. Smith and Low Islands are near the end of the Bransfield Basin where relative motion between the South Shetland Microplate must somehow terminate, perhaps by faulting along an extension of the Hero fracture zone. Another advantage is that measurements under SCARP were made using fixed-height masts that eliminate all but a fraction of a millimeter of vertical error in exactly re-occupying each site. Vertical motion associated with postglacial rebound should be on the order of several mm/yr, which will eventually be measurable. Mid-Holocene shorelines that emerged to more than 20m on some South Shetland arc islands suggest that vertical motion is significant. Thus, this work will contribute to understanding both plate motions and post-glacial rebound from ice mass loss in the region.
This award, provided by the Antarctic Geology and Geophysics Program of the Office of Polar Programs, supports a collaborative research program to initiate a Global Positioning System (GPS) network to measure crustal motions in the bedrock surrounding and underlying the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS). Evaluation of the role of both tectonic and ice-induced crustal motions of the WAIS bedrock is a critical goal for understanding past, present, and future dynamics of WAIS and its potential role in future global change scenarios, as well as improving our understanding of the role of Antarctica in global plate motions. The extent of active tectonism in West Antarctica is largely speculative, as few data exist that constrain its geographic distribution, directions, or rates of deformation. Active tectonism and the influence of bedrock on the WAIS have been highlighted recently by geophysical data indicating active subglacial volcanism and control of ice streaming by the presence of sedimentary basins. The influence of bedrock crustal motion on the WAIS and its future dynamics is a fundamental issue. Existing GPS projects are located only on the fringe of the ice sheet and do not address the regional picture. It is important that baseline GPS measurements on the bedrock around and within the WAIS be started so that a basis is established for detecting change.<br/><br/>To measure crustal motions, this project will build a West Antarctica GPS Network (WAGN) of at least 15 GPS sites across the interior of West Antarctica (approximately the size of the contiguous United States from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific coast) over a two-year period beginning in the Antarctic field season 2001-2002. The planned network is designed using the Multi-modal Occupation Strategy (MOST), in which a small number of independent GPS "roving" receivers make differential measurements against a network of continuous GPS stations for comparatively short periods at each site. This experimental strategy, successfully implemented by a number of projects in California, S America, the SW Pacific and Central Asia, minimizes logistical requirements, an essential element of application of GPS geodesy in the scattered and remote outcrops of the WAIS bedrock.<br/><br/>The WAGN program will be integrated with the GPS network that has been established linking the Antarctic Peninsula with South America through the Scotia arc (Scotia Arc GPS Project (SCARP)). It will also interface with stations currently measuring motion across the Ross Embayment, and with the continent-wide GIANT program of the Working Group on Geodesy and Geographic Information Systems of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR). The GPS network will be based on permanent monuments set in solid rock outcrops that will have near-zero set-up error for roving GPS occupations, and that can be directly converted to a continuous GPS site when future technology makes autonomous operation and satellite data linkage throughout West Antarctica both reliable and economical. The planned network both depends on and complements the existing and planned continuous networks. It is presently not practical, for reasons of cost and logistics, to accomplish the measurements proposed herein with either a network of continuous stations or traditional campaigns.<br/><br/>The proposed WAGN will complement existing GPS projects by filling a major gap in coverage among several discrete crustal blocks that make up West Antarctica, a critical area of potential bedrock movements. If crustal motions are relatively slow, meaningful results will only begin to emerge within the five-year maximum period of time for an individual funded project. Hence this proposal is only to initiate the network and test precision and velocities at the most critical sites. Once built, however, the network will yield increasingly meaningful results with the passage of time. Indeed, the slower the rates turn out to be, the more important an early start to measuring. It is anticipated that the results of this project will initiate an iterative process that will gradually resolve into an understanding of the contributions from plate rotations and viscoelastic and elastic motions resulting from deglaciation and ice mass changes. Velocities obtained from initial reoccupation of the most critical sites will dictate the timing of a follow-up proposal for reoccupation of the entire network when detectable motions have occurred.
Recent studies of marine ecosystems show conflicting evidence for trophic cascades, and in particular the relative strength of the crustacean zooplankton-phytoplankton link. The Ross Sea is a natural laboratory for investigating this apparent conflict. It is a site of seasonally high abundances of phytoplankton, characterized by regions of distinct phytoplankton taxa; the southcentral polynya is strongly dominated by the colony-forming prymnesiophyte Phaeocystis antarctica, while coastal regions of this sea are typically dominated by diatoms or flagellate species. Recent studies indicate that, while the south-central polynya exhibits a massive phytoplankton bloom, the poor food quality of P. antarctica for many crustacean zooplankton prevents direct utilization of much of this phytoplankton bloom. Rather, evidence suggests that indirect utilization of this production may be the primary mechanism by which carbon and energy become available to those higher trophic levels. Specifically, we hypothesize that nano and microzooplankton constitute an important food source for crustacean zooplankton (largely copepods and juvenile euphausiids) during the summer period in the Ross Sea where the phytoplankton assemblage is dominated by the prymnesiophyte. In turn, we also hypothesize that predation by copepods (and other Crustacea) controls and structures the species composition of these protistan assemblages. We will occupy stations in the south-central Ross Sea Polynya (RSP) and Terra Nova Bay (TNB) during austral summer to test these hypotheses. We hypothesize that the diatom species that dominate the phytoplankton assemblage in TNB constitute a direct source of nutrition to herbivorous/omnivorous zooplankton (relative to the situation in the south-central RSP). That is, the contribution of heterotrophic protists to crustacean diets will be reduced in TNB. Our research will address fundamental gaps in our knowledge of food web structure and trophic cascades, and provide better understanding of the flow of carbon and energy within the biological community of this perennially cold sea. The PIs will play active roles in public education (K-12) via curriculum development (on Antarctic biology) and teacher trainer activities in the Centers for Ocean Science Education Excellence (COSEE-West), an innovative, NSF-funded program centered at USC and UCLA.
This award, provided jointly by the Antarctic Geology and Geophysics Program of the Office of Polar Programs, supports research to transform three temporary seismometers in the Antarctic Peninsula into semi-permanent stations and to continue basic research using these data. During 1997 and 1998, a network of 11 broadband seismographs in the Antarctic Peninsula region and southernmost Chilean Patagonia were installed and maintained. Data return from this project has been excellent and interesting initial results have been produced. The continued operation of these instruments over a longer time period would be highly beneficial because the number of larger magnitude regional earthquakes is small and so a longer time is needed to acquire data. However, instruments from this project are borrowed from the IRIS-PASSCAL instrument pool and must be returned to PASSCAL in April, 1999. This award provides funds to convert three stations at permanent Chilean bases in the Antarctic to permanent stations, and to continue the seismological investigation of the region for a period of four years. As part of this project, a fourth station, in Chilean Patagonia, will continue to be operated using Washington University equipment. The funding of this project will enable continued collaboration between Washington University and the Universidad de Chile in the operation of these stations, and the data will be forwarded to the IRIS data center as well as to other international seismological collaborators. Mutual data exchanges with other national groups with Antarctic seismology research programs will provide access to broadband data from a variety of other proprietary broadband stations in the region. The data will be used to study the seismicity and upper mantle velocity structure of several complicated tectonic regions in the area, including the South Shetland subduction zone, the Bransfield backarc rift, and diffuse plate boundaries in Patagonia, Drake Passage, and along the South Scotia Ridge. In particular, the operation of these stations over a longer time period will allow a better understanding of the seismicity of the South Shetland Trench, an unusual subduction zone showing very slow subduction of young lithosphere. These seismometers will also be used to record airgun shots during a geophysical cruise in the Bransfield Strait that is being planned by the University of Texas for April, 2000. These data will provide important constraints on the crustal structure beneath the stations, and the improved structural models will enable implementation of more precise earthquake location procedures in support of a seismological understanding of the region.
Major progress has been made with respect to our understanding of the tectonic evolution of the Antarctic Plate. Paleomagnetic data, marine magnetic anomaly identifications, Geosat-derived tectonic lineations, heat flow derived seafloor ages and mathematical solutions for plate motions around triple junctions have all contributed to a better model for the tectonic evolution of the circum- Antarctic region. Even so, major problems still exist with respect to the Mesozoic to Recent tectonic evolution of the Antarctic continental margin which can be tackled using heat flow measurements. This award supports the study of a tectonic problem that heat flow can address, the determination of the age of the Powell Basin at the end of the West Antarctic Peninsula and its relationship to the opening of Drake's Passage. Specifically, heat flow measurement will be used to study the age and mode of crustal extension of the Powell Basin, where standard age determination fails and heat flow is the only method that can be used to date its opening.
This award, provided by the Antarctic Geology and Geophysics Program of the Office of Polar Programs, supports research to study the deep crustal structure of the Bransfield Strait region. Bransfield Strait, in the northern Antarctic Peninsula, is one of a small number of modern basins that may be critical for understanding ancient mountain-building processes. The Strait is an actively-extending marginal basin in the far southeast Pacific, between the Antarctic Peninsula and the South Shetland Islands, an inactive volcanic arc. Widespread crustal extension, accompanied by volcanism along the Strait's axis, may be associated with slow underthrusting of oceanic crust at the South Shetland Trench; similar "back-arc" extension occurred along the entire Pacific margin (now western South America/West Antarctica) of the supercontinent known as Gondwanaland during the Jurassic-Early Cretaceous. Mid-Cretaceous deformation of these basins some 100 million years ago initiated uplift of the Andes. By understanding the deep structure and evolution of Bransfield rift, it should be possible to evaluate the crustal precursor to the Andes, and thereby understand more fully the early evolution of this globally important mountain chain. Years of international earth sciences research in Bransfield Strait has produced consensus on important aspects of its geologic environment: (1) It is probably a young (probably ~4 million years old) rift in preexisting Antarctic Peninsula crust; continued stretching of this crust results in complex fault patterns and associated volcanism. The volcanism, high heat flow, and mapped crustal trends are all consistent with the basin's continuing evolution as a rift; (2) The volcanism, which is recent and continuing, occurs along a "neovolcanic" zone centralized along the basin's axis. Multichannel seismic data collected aboard R/V Maurice Ewing in 1991 illustrate the following basin-wide characteristics of Bransfield Strait - a) widespread extension and faulting, b) the rise of crustal diapirs or domes associated with flower-shaped normal-fault structures, and c) a complicated system of fault-bounded segments across strike. The geophysical evidence also suggests NE-to-SW propagation of the rift, with initial crustal inflation/doming followed by deflation/subsidence, volcanism, and extension along normal faults. Although Bransfield Strait exhibits geophysical and geologic evidence for extension and volcanism, continental crust fragmentation does not appear to have gone to completion in this "back-arc" basin and ocean crust is not yet being generated. Instead, Bransfield rift lies near the critical transition from intracontinental rifting to seafloor-spreading. The basin's asymmetry, and seismic evidence for shallow intracrustal detachment faulting, suggest that it may be near one end-member of the spectrum of models proposed for continental break-up. Therefore, this basin is a "natural lab" for studying diverse processes involved in forming continental margins. Understanding Bransfield rift's deep crustal structure is the key to resolving its stage of evolution, and should also provide a starting point for models of Andean mountain-building. This work will define the deep structure by collecting and analyzing high-quality, high-density ocean bottom seismometer (OBS) profiles both along and across the Strait's strike. Scientific objectives are as follows: (1) to develop a detailed seismic velocity model for this rift; (2) to calibrate velocity structure and crustal thickness changes associated with presumed NE-to-SW rift propagation, as deduced from the multichannel seismic interpretations; (3) to document the degree to which deep velocity structure corresponds to along- and across-strike crustal segmentation; and (4) to assess structural relationships between the South Shetland Islands "arc" and Bransfield rift. The proposed OBS data, integrated with interpretations of both Ewing profiles and those from other high-quality geophysical coverage in Bransfield Strait, will complement ongoing deep seismic analysis of Antarctic Peninsula crust to the southwest and additional OBS monitoring for deep earthquakes, in order to understand the complex plate tectonic evolution of this region.
This project studies the relationship between opening of the Drake Passage and formation of the Antarctic ice sheet. Its goal is to answer the question: What drove the transition from a greenhouse to icehouse world thirty-four million years ago? Was it changes in circulation of the Southern Ocean caused by the separation of Antarctica from South America or was it a global effect such as decreasing atmospheric CO2 content? This study constrains the events and timing through fieldwork in South America and Antarctica and new work on marine sediment cores previously collected by the Ocean Drilling Program. It also involves an extensive, multidisciplinary analytical program. Compositional analyses of sediments and their sources will be combined with (U-Th)/He, fission-track, and Ar-Ar thermochronometry to constrain uplift and motion of the continental crust bounding the Drake Passage. Radiogenic isotope studies of fossil fish teeth found in marine sediment cores will be used to trace penetration of Pacific seawater into the Atlantic. Oxygen isotope and trace metal measurements on foraminifera will provide additional information on the timing and magnitude of ice volume changes. <br/><br/><br/><br/>The broader impacts include graduate and undergraduate education; outreach to the general public through museum exhibits and presentations, and international collaboration with scientists from Argentina, Ukraine, UK and Germany.<br/><br/><br/><br/>The project is supported under NSF's International Polar Year (IPY) research emphasis area on "Understanding Environmental Change in Polar Regions". This project is also a key component of the IPY Plates & Gates initiative (IPY Project #77), focused on determining the role of tectonic gateways in instigating polar environmental change.
This award supports a marine geophysical investigation of the Bransfield Strait and the Shackleton Fracture Zone and environs in the Scotia Sea in an effort to understand the neotectonic evolution of the region. Multibeam swath mapping and sidescan sonar mapping will be used along with multichannel seismic imaging. The main goal of this proposal is to collect multibeam and sidescan sonar data to map the structural character and tectonic fabric of the evolving plate boundary in Southwest Scotia Sea, Shackleton Fracture Zone, and Bransfield Strait. Follow up multichannel seismic surveys will be done in the Southwest Scotia Sea. The secondary goal is to use sidescan sonar reflectivity images to generate detailed structural maps of the seafloor of these regions and to integrate the new data with existing seismic reflection, Geosat gravity, Hydrosweep and Seabeam bathymetric data. Once the base maps are produced they can be used by other researchers to help interpret multichannel and single channel seismic reflection records. The neotectonic evolution of the Antarctic Peninsula and Scotia Sea is extremely complex. Understanding the recent evolution of the Drake-Scotia-Antarctic-South America plate intersections will provide important information as to how major plate boundaries reorganize after demise of a long-lived spreading center and the consequential reduction in the number of plates. The plate reorganization probably resulted in the uplift of the Shackleton Ridge which may have effected the sedimentary patterns in both the Scotia Sea and possibly the Weddell Sea. If the break of the Shackleton transform fault can be traced with multibeam and sidescan sonar as it intersects the southern end of South America then the orientation and geometry of the faults, fractures and deformation as the transform fault intersects the South American continent will help to interpret the structures in that complex region. Bransfield Strait is presently undergoing extensi on based on high heat flow, active volcanoes and inferences from seismic reflection work. Seismic refraction indicates thick crust similar to the East African Rift or passive volcanic margins of continents. In contrast, analysis of isotopes and rare earth elements of the recent volcanics shows seemingly no continental contamination. The active extension in Bransfield Strait must be related to the plate reorganization but it is unclear exactly what tectonic processes are occurring. Besides elucidating the tectonic fabric of Bransfield Strait, the multibeam and sidescan sonar survey will identify potential dredge targets and DSRV Alvin dive sites.
This award supports a collaborative marine geological and geophysical project between the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the University of Alabama to study the glacial and tectonic history of the eastern Ross Sea and the Marie Byrd Land margin of West Antarctica. The goals of the project are (1) to conduct seismic imaging and piston coring to begin unraveling the history of the West Antarctic ice Sheet as recorded in the recent sediments of the continental shelf of the region, and (2) to acquire seismic images of the acoustic basement beneath the Cenozoic glacial deposits toward an understanding of the relationship between rift structure of the continental crust and Cenozoic glacial deposits of the region. This research will result in bathymetric, structural, sediment isopach, gravity and magnetic maps of the eastern Ross Sea and the Marie Byrd Land margin. This information will be integrated into an interpretation of the major glacial and structural features of the region. This project will result in a better understanding of the glacio-marine stratigraphy and glacial history of the eastern Ross Sea and Marie Byrd Land margin and, consequently, it will represent a significant contribution to the goals of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet initiative.
Salps are planktonic grazers that have a life history, feeding biology and population dynamic strikingly different from krill, copepods or other crustacean zooplankton. Salps can occur in very dense population blooms that cover large areas and have been shown to have major impacts due to the their grazing and the production of fast-sinking fecal pellets. Although commonly acknowledged as a major component of the Southern Ocean zooplankton community, often comparable in biomass and distribution to krill, salps have received relatively little attention. Although extensive sampling has documented the seasonal abundance of salps in the Southern Ocean, there is a paucity of data on important rates that determine population growth and the role of this species in grazing and vertical flux of particulates. This proposed study will include: measurements of respiration and excretion rates for solitary and aggregate salps of all sizes; measurements of ingestion rates, including experiments to determine the size or concentration of particulates that can reduce ingestion; and determination of growth rates of solitaries and aggregates. In addition to the various rate measurements, this study will include quantitative surveys of salp horizontal and vertical distribution to determine their biomass and spatial distribution, and to allow a regional assessment of their effects. Measurements of the physical characteristics of the water column and the quantity and quality of particulate food available for the salps at each location will also be made. Satellite imagery and information on sea-ice cover will be used to test hypotheses about conditions that result in high densities of salps. Results will be used to construct a model of salp population dynamics, and both experimental and modeling results will be interpreted within the context of the physical and nutritional conditions to which the salps are exposed. This integrated approach will provide a good basis for understanding the growth dynamics of salp blooms in the Southern Ocean. Two graduate students will be trained on this project, and cruise and research experience will be provided for two undergraduate students. A portion of a website allowing students to be a virtual participant in the research will be created to strengthen students' quantitative skills. Both PI's will participate in teacher-researcher workshops, and collaboration with a regional aquarium will be developed in support of public education.
OPP-0230285/OPP-0230356<br/>PIs: Wilson, Terry J./Hothem, Larry D.<br/><br/>This award, provided by the Antarctic Geology and Geophysics Program of the Office of Polar Programs, supports a project to conduct GPS measurements of bedrock crustal motions in an extended Transantarctic Mountains Deformation network (TAMDEF) to document neotectonic displacements due to tectonic deformation within the West Antarctic rift and/or to mass change of the Antarctic ice sheets. Horizontal displacements related to active neotectonic rifting, strike-slip translations, and volcanism will be tightly constrained by monitoring the combined TAMDEF and Italian VLNDEF networks of bedrock GPS stations along the Transantarctic Mountains and on offshore islands in the Ross Sea. Glacio-isostatic adjustments due to deglaciation since the Last Glacial Maximum and to modern mass change of the ice sheets will be modeled from GPS-derived crustal motions together with new information from other programs on the configurations, thicknesses, deglaciation history and modern mass balance of the ice sheets. Tectonic and rheological information from ongoing structural and seismic investigations in the Victoria Land region will also be integrated in the modeling. The integrative and iterative modeling will yield a holistic interpretation of neotectonics and ice sheet history that will help us to discriminate tectonic crustal displacements from viscoelastic/elastic glacio-isostatic motions. These results will provide key information to interpret broad, continental-scale crustal motion patterns detected by sparse, regionally distributed GPS continuous trackers and by spaceborne instruments. This study will contribute to international programs focused on Antarctic neotectonic and global change issues.<br/><br/>Strategies to meet these science objectives include repeat surveys of key sites in the existing TAMDEF network, extension of the array of TAMDEF sites southward about 250 km along the Transantarctic Mountains, linked measurements with the VLNDEF network, and integration of quasi-continuous trackers within the campaign network. By extending the array of bedrock sites southward, these measurements will cross gradients in predicted vertical motion due to viscoelastic rebound. The southward extension will also allow determination of the southern limit of the active Terror Rift and will provide a better baseline for constraints on any ongoing tectonic displacements across the West Antarctic rift system as a whole that might be possible using GPS data collected by the West Antarctic GPS Network. This project will also investigate unique aspects of GPS geodesy in Antarctica to determine how the error spectrum compares to mid-latitude regions and to identify the optimum measurement and data processing schemes for Antarctic conditions. The geodetic research will improve position accuracies within our network and will also yield general recommendations for deformation monitoring networks in polar regions.<br/><br/>An education and outreach program is planned and will be targeted at non-science-major undergraduate students taking Earth System Science at Ohio State University. The objective will be to illuminate the research process for nonscientists. This effort will educate students on the process of science and inform them about Antarctica and how it relates to global science issues.
This project uses geochemical studies to determine the origin of volcanic rocks from Marie Byrd Land (MBL), Antarctica. Surprisingly, adjacent volcanoes in the MBL have dramatically different compositions, ranging from phonolite to trachyte to rhyolite. This diversity offers an opportunity to constrain the processes responsible for generating silica oversaturated and undersaturated magmas in a single geologic setting. Previous work suggests that the most obvious and simplest explanation--crustal contamination--is not a significant factor, and that polybaric fractional crystallization is the major cause. This study evaluates these factors through analyses and interpretation of trace and rare earth element abundances, as well as Sr and Nd isotopic ratios. <br/><br/>The broader impacts include outreach programs to the Girl Scouts of America, and dissemination of results through publications and meetings.
This award, provided by the Antarctic Geology and Geophysics Program of the Office of Polar Programs, supports a project to investigate the role and fate of Boron in high-grade metamorphic rocks of the Larsemann Hills region of Antarctica. Trace elements provide valuable information on the changes sedimentary rocks undergo as temperature and pressure increase during burial. One such element, boron, is particularly sensitive to increasing temperature because of its affinity for aqueous fluids, which are lost as rocks are buried. Boron contents of unmetamorphosed pelitic sediments range from 20 to over 200 parts per million, but rarely exceed 5 parts per million in rocks subjected to conditions of the middle and lower crust, that is, temperatures of 700 degrees C or more in the granulite-facies, which is characterized by very low water activities at pressures of 5 to 10 kbar (18-35 km burial). Devolatization reactions with loss of aqueous fluid and partial melting with removal of melt have been cited as primary causes for boron depletion under granulite-facies conditions. Despite the pervasiveness of both these processes, rocks rich in boron are locally found in the granulite-facies, that is, there are mechanisms for retaining boron during the metamorphic process. The Larsemann Hills, Prydz Bay, Antarctica, are a prime example. More than 20 lenses and layered bodies containing four borosilicate mineral species crop out over a 50 square kilometer area, which thus would be well suited for research on boron-rich granulite-facies metamorphic rocks. <br/><br/>While most investigators have focused on the causes for loss of boron, this work will investigate how boron is retained during high-grade metamorphism. Field observations and mapping in the Larsemann Hills, chemical analyses of minerals and their host rocks, and microprobe age dating will be used to identify possible precursors and deduce how the precursor materials recrystallized into borosilicate rocks under granulite-facies conditions. The working hypothesis is that high initial boron content facilitates retention of boron during metamorphism because above a certain threshold boron content, a mechanism "kicks in" that facilitates retention of boron in metamorphosed rocks. For example, in a rock with large amounts of the borosilicate tourmaline, such as stratabound tourmalinite, the breakdown of tourmaline to melt could result in the formation of prismatine and grandidierite, two borosilicates found in the Larsemann Hills. This situation is rarely observed in rocks with modest boron content, in which breakdown of tourmaline releases boron into partial melts, which in turn remove boron when they leave the system. Stratabound tourmalinite is associated with manganese-rich quartzite, phosphorus-rich rocks and sulfide concentrations that could be diagnostic for recognizing a tourmalinite protolith in a highly metamorphosed complex where sedimentary features have been destroyed by deformation. Because partial melting plays an important role in the fate of boron during metamorphism, our field and laboratory research will focus on the relationship between the borosilicate units, granite pegmatites and other granitic intrusives. The results of our study will provide information on cycling of boron at deeper levels in the Earth's crust and on possible sources of boron for granites originating from deep-seated rocks.<br/><br/>An undergraduate student will participate in the electron microprobe age-dating of monazite and xenotime as part of a senior project, thereby integrating the proposed research into the educational mission of the University of Maine. In response to a proposal for fieldwork, the Australian Antarctic Division, which maintains Davis station near the Larsemann Hills, has indicated that they will support the Antarctic fieldwork.
This project will study migmatite domes found in the Fosdick Mountains of the Ford Ranges, western Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica. This area offers unique, three-dimensional exposures that may offer new insight into dome formation, which is a fundamental process of mountain building. These domes are derived from sedimentary and plutonic protoliths that are complexly interfolded at decimeter to kilometer scales. Preliminary findings from geobarometry and U-Pb monazite dating of anatexite suggest that peak metamorphism was underway at 105 Ma at crustal depths of ~25 km, followed by decompression as the Fosdick dome was emplaced to 16-17 km, or possibly as low as 8.5 km, in the crust by 99 Ma. Near-isothermal conditions were maintained during ascent, favorable for producing substantial volumes of melt through biotite-dehydration melting. This dome has been interpreted as a product of extensional exhumation. This is a viable interpretation from the regional standpoint, because the dome was emplaced in mid-Cretaceous time during the rapid onset of divergent tectonics along the proto- Pacific margin of Gondwana. However, the complex internal structures of the Fosdick Mountains have yet to be considered and may be more consistent with alternative intepretations such as upward extrusion within a contractional setting or lateral flow within a transcurrent attachment zone. This proposal is for detailed structural analysis, paired with geothermobarometry and geochronology, to determine the flow behavior and structural style that produced the internal architecture of the Fosdick dome. The results will improve our general understanding of the role of gneiss domes in transferring material and heat during mountain-building, and will characterize the behavior of the middle crust during a time of rapid transition from divergent to convergent tectonics along the active margin of Gondwana. In terms of broader impacts, this work will train undergraduate and graduate students, and involve them as collaborators in the development of curricular materials. It will also foster mentoring relationships between graduate and undergraduate students.
Encarnaci_n OPP 9615398 Abstract Basement rocks of the Transantarctic Mountains are believed to record a change in the paleo-Pacific margin of Gondwana from a rifted passive margin to a tectonically active margin (Ross orogen). Recent hypothesis suggest that the passive margin phase resulted from Neoproterozoic rifting of Laurentia from Antarctica ("SWEAT" hypothesis). The succeeding active margin phase (Ross orogeny) was one of several tectonic events ("Pan African" events) that resulted from plate convergence/transpression that was probably a consequence of the assembly of components of the Gondwana supercontinent. Although these basement units provide one of the keys for understanding the break up and assembly of these major continental masses, few precise ages are available to address the following important issues: (1) Is there any pre-rift high-grade cratonal basement exposed along the Transantarctic Mountains, and what is/are its precise age? Is this age compatible with a Laurentia connection? (2) What is the age of potential rift/passive margin sediments (Beardmore Group) along the Queen Maud Mountains sector of the orogen? (3) What is the relative and absolute timing of magmatism and contractional deformation of supracrustal units in the orogen? Was deformation diachronous and thus possibly related to transpressional tectonics, or did it occur in a discrete pulse that is more compatible with a collision? How does contraction of the orogen fit in with emplacement of voluminous plutonic and volcanic rocks? The answers to these questions are central to understanding the kinematic evolution of this major orogenic belt and its role in Neoproterozoic-Early Paleozoic continental reconstructions and plate kinematics. Hence, this award supports funding for precise U-Pb dating, using zircon, monazite, baddeleyite, and/or titanite from a variety of magmatic rocks in the Queen Ma ud Mountains, which can address the foregoing problems. In addition to the issues above, precise dating of volcanics that are interbedded with carbonates containing probable Middle Cambrian fauna could potentially provide a calibration point for the Middle Cambrian, which will fill a gap in the absolute time scale for the early Paleozoic.
This work will determine the age and provenance of glacially derived marine sediments from the coastal regions of Wilkes Land, Antarctica. These deposits may offer insight into the history of the East Antarctic Shield (EAS), which is amongst the oldest sections of continental crust on Earth, but cannot be studied directly because of nearly complete ice sheet coverage. The study will use Australian National University's SHRIMP ion microprobe to date zircon and monazite found in the sediments. Samples of interest include polymictic pebble and cobble clasts obtained from dredge hauls of tills, as well as sand-matrix fractions from cores of glacial diamicts on the continental margin. Individual clasts of igneous and metamorphic rocks from tills will be selected for zircon and/or monazite age dating, whereas detrital zircons from stratified and non-stratified diamictons will be analyzed for composite zircon provenance analysis. In addition, detrital zircon ages will be determined for Beacon Supergroup sandstones to evaluate recycling of zircon in Phanerozoic basins. Integration of ages obtained from both sources will provide a good representation of the EAS terrains underlying the Wilkes Land ice sheet. This project will allow us to learn more about the remote continental interior and improve our ability to interpret past ice-flow patterns without further environmental impact on Antarctica. The results will improve our understanding of Precambrian tectonics and crustal evolution, and help target future over-ice geophysical surveys and basement drilling projects currently under consideration. In terms of broader impacts, the project will provide educational and training opportunities for undergraduate students in Earth science.
This award, provided by the Antarctic Geology and Geophysics Program of the Office of Polar Programs, supports research to apply numerical modeling to constrain the uplift and exhumation history of the Transantarctic Mountains. The Transantarctic Mountains (TAM) are an anomalously high (>4500 m) and relatively broad (up to 200 km) rift-flank uplift demarcating the boundary between East and West Antarctica. Dynamics of the East Antarctic ice-sheet and the climate are affected by the mountain range, and an understanding of the uplift history of the mountain range is critical to understanding these processes. This project will constrain the uplift and denudation history of the Transantarctic Mountains based on thermo-mechanical modeling held faithful to thermochronological, geological, and geophysical data. The research will be the primary responsibility of post-doctoral researcher Audrey Huerta, working in collaboration with Dennis Harry, 1 undergraduate student, and 1 graduate student.<br/><br/>Thermochronologic evidence of episodic Cretaceous through Cenozoic rapid cooling within the TAM indicates distinct periods of uplift and exhumation. However, a more detailed interpretation of the uplift history is difficult without an understanding of the evolving thermal structure and topography of the TAM prior to and during uplift. These aspects of the mountain range can best be constrained by an understanding of the evolving regional tectonic setting. Proximity of the TAM to the West Antarctic Rift System (WARS) suggests a link between uplift of the TAM and extension within the WARS.<br/><br/>The project will integrate two techniques: lithospheric-scale geodynamic modeling and crustal-scale thermal modeling. The lithospheric-scale deformational and thermal evolution of TAM will be modeled by a finite element model designed to track the thermal and deformational response of the Antarctic lithosphere to a protracted extensional environment. Previous investigators have linked the high elevation and broad width of the TAM to a deep level of necking in which mantle thinning is offset from the location of crustal extension. In this study, a three-dimensional dynamic model will be used to track the uplift and thermal evolution of the TAM in a setting in which necking is at a deep level, and in which extension within the crust and extension within the mantle are offset. Velocity boundary conditions applied to the edges of the model will vary through time to simulate the extensional and transtensional evolution of the WARS. Because the model is dynamic, the thermal structure, strength, and strain field, evolve naturally in response to these initial and boundary conditions.<br/><br/>Dynamic models are uniquely suited to understanding lithospheric deformational and thermal evolution, however kinematic models are best suited for addressing the detailed thermal and exhumation history of crustal uplifts. Thus, a 2-dimensional kinematic-thermal model will be designed to simulate the uplift history of the TAM and the resulting erosional, topographic, and thermal evolution. Uplift will be modeled as normal-fault movement on a set of discrete fault planes with uplift rate varying through time. Erosion will be modeled as a diffusive process in which erosion rates can be varied through time (simulating climate changes), and vary spatially as a linear function of gradient and distance from the drainage divide. Synthetic time-temperature (t-T) histories will be calculated to compare model results to thermochronologic data.
This award, provided by the Antarctic Geology and Geophysics Program of the Office of Polar Programs, supports a project to investigate the Transantarctic Mountains and an adjacent region of East Antarctica. The East Antarctic shield is one of Earth's oldest and largest cratonic assemblies, with a long-lived Archean to early Paleozoic history. Long-standing interest in the geologic evolution of this shield has been rekindled over the past decade by tectonic models linking East Antarctica with other Precambrian crustal elements in the Rodinia and Gondwanaland supercontinents. It is postulated that the Pacific margin of East Antarctica was rifted from Laurentia during late Neoproterozoic breakup of Rodinia, and it then developed as an active plate boundary during subsequent amalgamation of Gondwanaland in the earliest Paleozoic. If true, the East Antarctic shield played a key role in supercontinent transformation at a time of global changes in plate configuration, terrestrial surficial process, sea level, and marine geochemistry and biota. A better understanding of the geological evolution of the East Antarctic shield is therefore critical for studying Precambrian crustal evolution in general, as well as resource distribution, biosphere evolution, and glacial and climate history during later periods of Earth history. Because of nearly complete coverage by the polar ice cap, however, Antarctica remains the single most geologically unexplored continent. Exposures of cratonic basement are largely limited to coastal outcrops in George V Land and Terre Adelie (Australian sector), the Prince Charles Mountains and Enderby Land (Indian sector), and Queen Maud Land (African sector), where the geology is reasonably well-known. By contrast, little is known about the composition and structure of the shield interior. Given the extensive ice cover, collection of airborne geophysical data is the most cost-effective method to characterize broad areas of sub-ice basement and expand our knowledge of the East Antarctic shield interior. <br/><br/>This project will conduct an airborne magnetic survey (coupled with ground-based gravity measurements) across an important window into the shield where it is exposed in the Nimrod Glacier area of the central Transantarctic Mountains. Specific goals are to:<br/>1. Characterize the magnetic and gravity signature of East Antarctic crustal basement exposed at the Ross margin (Nimrod Group),<br/>2. Extend the magnetic data westward along a corridor across the polar ice cap in order to image the crust in ice-covered areas,<br/>3. Obtain magnetic data over the Ross Orogen in order to image the ice-covered boundary between basement and supracrustal rocks, allowing us to better constrain the geometry of fundamental Ross structures, and<br/>4. Use the shape, trends, wavelengths, and amplitudes of magnetic anomalies to define magnetic domains in the shield, common building blocks for continent-scale studies of Precambrian geologic structure and evolution.<br/><br/>High-resolution airborne magnetic data will be collected along a transect extending from exposed rocks of the Nimrod Group across the adjacent polar ice cap. The Nimrod Group represents the only bona fide Archean-Proterozoic shield basement exposed for over 2500 km of the Pacific margin of Antarctica. This survey will characterize the geologically well-known shield terrain in this sector using geophysical methods for the first time. This baseline over the exposed shield will allow for better interpretation of geophysical patterns in other ice-covered regions and can be used to target future investigations. In collaboration with colleagues from the BGR (Germany), a tightly-spaced, "draped" helicopter magnetic survey will be flown during the 2003-04 austral summer, to be complemented by ground measurements of gravity over the exposed basement. Data reduction, interpretation and geological correlation will be completed in the second year. This project will enhance the education of students, the advancement of under-represented groups, the research instrumentation of the U.S. Antarctic Program, partnerships between the federal government and institutions of higher education, and cooperation between national research programs. It will benefit society through the creation of new basic knowledge about the Antarctic continent, which in turn may help with applied research in other fields such as the glacial history of Antarctica.
Roy, Martin; Hemming, Sidney R.; Goldstein, Steven L.; Van De Flierdt, Christina-Maria
No dataset link provided
This award, provided by the Antarctic Geology and Geophysics Program of the Office of Polar Programs, supports a project to investigate the sediment core from the Southern Ocean for paleoenvironmental research. The polar regions are susceptible to the largest changes in climate and are among the least accessible places on Earth. Current concern about the instability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet has heightened awareness of the vulnerability of polar regions. This proposal seeks to gain a basic understanding of the isotopic characteristics of terrigenous sediment sources derived from Antarctica in the Holocene and Last Glacial Maximum, and their dispersal into the Southern Ocean. Terrigenous clastic sediments are brought to the ocean from continental sources via rivers, ice and wind, and distributed within the ocean by surface and deep currents. At present there are virtually no isotopic data on circumpolar detritus, save a few strontium (Sr) isotopic ratios in the Atlantic sector. This project will fill part of this gap. From the large range in geological ages of crustal provinces of Antarctica, we would predict that there are large isotopic differences in detritus around the continent. The main objectives are to (1) characterize the strontium-neodymium-lead-argon (Sr-Nd-Pb-Ar) isotope compositions of sediment sources derived from Antarctica, (2) to identify the composition and source ages of major ice rafted detritus (IRD) contributions by analyzing individual grains of hornblende and feldspar in conjunction with bulk isotopic analysis, and (3) track sediment dispersal into the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) during the Holocene and Last Glacial Maximum.<br/><br/>Because of the paucity of circumpolar data, this research necessarily has a large exploratory component. Consequently, it will provide a basic database for future studies. Nevertheless there are important hypothesis-driven questions that will be addressed in this primary pass. Can lessons learned in North Atlantic IRD studies be applied toward understanding the history of Antarctic ice sheets? Can the large geological variability around the Antarctic margin be treated as a series of natural tracer injections into the ACC, and thus characterize its trajectory, speed, and interaction with other current systems today and in the past? The proposed study is motivated by an exciting set of results from the South Atlantic, showing that detrital Sr isotope ratios are a sensitive current tracer in that region. This research should serve a basic need across many Earth Science disciplines if the use of long-lived radiogenic isotopes (Sr-Nd-Pb-Ar) as tracers of marine sediment sources is successful in elucidating processes related to changing climatic conditions. The results of this study will fill a basic gap in our knowledge of an important region of the Earth. At the same time, it will provide an essential basis for attempting reconstruction of the ACC during the LGM, as well as for future studies of Antarctic geology, ice sheet history, and the Southern Ocean circulation.
0087235<br/>Grew<br/><br/>This award, provided by the Antarctic Geology and Geophysics Program of the Office of Polar Programs, supports a project to investigate the role of beryllium in lower crustal partial melting events. The formation of granitic liquids by partial melting deep in the Earth's crust is one of the major topics of research in igneous and metamorphic petrology today. One aspect of this sphere of research is the beginning of the process, specifically, the geochemical interaction between melts and source rocks before the melt has left the source area. One example of anatexis in metamorphic rocks affected by conditions found deep in the Earth's crust is pegmatite in the Archean ultrahigh temperature granulite-facies Napier Complex of Enderby Land, East Antarctica. Peak conditions for this granulite-facies metamorphism are estimated to have reached nearly 1100 Degrees Celsius and 11 kilobar, that is, conditions in the Earth's lower crust in Archean time. The proposed research is a study of the Napier Complex pegmatites with an emphasis on the minerals and geochemistry of beryllium. This element, which is estimated to constitute 3 ppm of the Earth's upper crust, is very rarely found in any significant concentrations in metamorphic rocks subjected to conditions of the Earth's lower crust. Structural, geochronological, and mineralogical studies will be carried out to test the hypothesis that the beryllium pegmatites resulted from anatexis of their metapelitic host rocks during the ultrahigh-temperature metamorphic event in the late Archean. Host rocks will be analyzed for major and trace elements. Minerals will be analyzed by the electron microprobe for major constituents including fluorine and by the ion microprobe for lithium, beryllium and boron. The analytical data will be used to determine how beryllium and other trace constituents were extracted from host rocks under ultrahigh-temperature conditions and subsequently concentrated in the granitic melt, eventually to crystallize out in a pegmatite as beryllian sapphirine and khmaralite, minerals not found in pegmatites elsewhere. Mineral compositions and assemblages will be used to determine the evolution and conditions of crystallization and recrystallization of the pegmatites and their host rocks during metamorphic episodes following the ultrahigh-temperature event. Monazite will be analyzed for lead, thorium and uranium to date the ages of these events. Because fluorine is instrumental in mobilizing beryllium, an undergraduate student will study the magnesium fluorphosphate wagnerite in the pegmatites in order to estimate fluorine activity in the melt as part of a senior project. The results of the present project will provide important insights on the melting process in general and on the geochemical behavior of beryllium in particular under the high temperatures and low water activities characteristic of the Earth's lower crust.
Subduction zones are the one place on Earth where materials from the surface (water, sediments and crustal rocks) can be carried into our planet's deep interior. To quantify this process of subduction-zone recycling, we need to understand both the input of sediments and crust to trenches, and all geochemical outputs related to the subduction process. While the chemical outputs represented by magmatism at volcanic arcs and in back-arc settings have been widely studied, little is known about possible subduction-related outfluxes through the shallow forearc, between the arc and the trench. We are attempting to characterize the "forearc flux" by examining serpentinites which are rising diapirically through the forearc mantle and crust in the Mariana arc-trench system. Our work will complete efforts begun (with NSF support) several years ago, and will characterize these samples (and the slab-derived fluids which helped to create them) for radiogenic isotopes, lithium and oxygen isotopes, and the "fluid-mobile" elements Cs, Rb, U, As, Pb, and Sb. Our work will allow us to characterize both the chemical inventories of species that are released from subducting slabs beneath forearcs, and the magnitude of this flux, for comparison with results for trench inputs (being collected as part of ODP Leg 125), and existing data for arc volcanic outputs in the Mariana system.
This award supports an in situ and short traverse seismic reflection/refraction and magnetotelluric experiment in West Antarctica. This collaborative experiment involves four awards at four institutions. The four-fold purpose is 1) to investigate part of the Byrd Subglacial Basin, 2) to test techniques for this work that could be done in a long traverse, 3) to determine the viability of the magnetotelluric method on a thick (electrically resistive) ice sheet, and 4) to evaluate the relative merits of refraction with wide reflection versus reflection with narrow refraction seismic studies in imaging the lithosphere. The geophysical techniques that will be employed are capable of imaging the ice sheet, the continental lithosphere, and the upper mantle, as well as determining physical properties of parts of the lithosphere and mantle. Investigations of outcrop geology over the last thirty years in West Antarctica and the Transantarctic Mountains have lead to recent interpretations that the crust is made up of many different lithospheric blocks. Seismic reflection work is the only way to image the crust in detail and the refraction work is the only way to determine physical properties of the layers and blocks defined by the reflection work. The magnetotelluric work is scientifically risky because it may not yield useful information when used over the electrically resistive ice sheet; however, if it works it has the potential to image molten rock in the crust and upper mantle. In a continental rift region such as West Antarctica, the presence of melt in the lithosphere is likely and, if documented, has very important ramifications to ice sheet dynamics. Research work supported by this award is expected to provide constraints to models of a range of crustal processes from models of ice sheet dynamics to tectonic and kinematic models of lithospheric thinning and rifting.