{"dp_type": "Project", "free_text": "Densification"}
[{"awards": "1935438 McCarthy, Christine", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Thu, 03 Jun 2021 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "The ice sheets of Antarctica and Greenland are losing mass and contributing to accelerating global sea-level rise. Satellite altimetry provides precise measurement of ice-sheet volume change, but computing ice-sheet mass change the quantity relevant for estimating the ice sheets sea-level contribution requires knowing the density of the ice sheet. The density near the ice-sheet surface also affects age estimates of air bubbles recovered in ice cores, which are a key source of information on past climate changes. Ice-sheet density is primarily controlled by the rate at which firn (snow that has persisted for a year or more on ice sheets) compacts into ice, but there is currently no widely accepted theory of how this compaction occurs. The goal of this project is thus to advance understanding of how firn densifies. The team will conduct laboratory experiments and analyze ice-penetrating radar and ice-core data from Antarctica. A key desired outcome of the project is a new model of firn densification that can be used to improve satellite-based altimetry measurements of present-day ice-sheet change and reconstructions of past climate changes from ice cores.\r\n\r\nThis project will combine laboratory experiments, numerical modeling, and geophysical techniques to determine the rheology of firn as it compacts to form ice. The team will use two methods to measure firn compaction: (1) lab-based experiments and (2) analysis of ice-core and radar data. For the lab-based work, the team will conduct a suite of compaction experiments on synthetic firn samples under uni-axial strain and constant temperature and axial stress. They will also measure the grain-size evolution. By running a large number of experiments (\u003e 25), the team will constrain key parameters that determine how firn compaction rate depends on density, temperature, grain size, and axial stress. The experiments will be conducted in a table-top apparatus at temperatures as low as -40 degrees C and axial stresses up to 4 MPa. For the field-data-based component, the team will analyze ice-core and ice-penetrating radar data to produce the first coincident set of radar-derived firn compaction rates, borehole temperatures, firn densities, and firn grain sizes. Results from lab and field data will be tied together using a numerical firn compaction model. This model is formulated using conservation of mass, momentum, and energy, along with an explicit description of firn rheology and grain-size evolution. Constraints on firn rheology will be incorporated into this model and the team will use it to examine fundamental questions about how changes in the climate affect firn density. This is a crucial unknown that contributes significant measurement uncertainty in estimates of past and present climate change.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "AMD; LABORATORY; USA/NSF; COMPUTERS; USAP-DC; FIRN; Antarctic Ice Sheet; Amd/Us", "locations": "Antarctic Ice Sheet", "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology; Arctic Natural Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "McCarthy, Christine M.; Kingslake, Jonathan", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e MODELS \u003e COMPUTERS; OTHER \u003e PHYSICAL MODELS \u003e LABORATORY", "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "Understanding Firn Rheology Through Laboratory Compaction Experiments and Radar Data", "uid": "p0010185", "west": null}, {"awards": "1643394 Buizert, Christo; 1643355 Steig, Eric", "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": "Antarctica 40,000 Year Temperature and Elevation Reconstructions; Layer and Thinning based Accumulation Rate Reconstructions; WAIS Divide 67-6ka nssS Data and EDML, EDC and TALDICE Volcanic Tie Points", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "200219", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "NCEI", "science_program": null, "title": "Antarctica 40,000 Year Temperature and Elevation Reconstructions", "url": "https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo-search/study/32632"}, {"dataset_uid": "200220", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "NCEI", "science_program": null, "title": "WAIS Divide 67-6ka nssS Data and EDML, EDC and TALDICE Volcanic Tie Points", "url": "https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/study/24530"}, {"dataset_uid": "601448", "doi": "10.15784/601448", "keywords": "Antarctica; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Core Records; Snow/ice; Snow/Ice", "people": "Fudge, T. J.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Layer and Thinning based Accumulation Rate Reconstructions", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601448"}], "date_created": "Fri, 28 May 2021 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "The main objectives of the proposed work are twofold: (1) to fully characterize the timing and spatial pattern of millennial-scale Antarctic climate change during the deglaciation and Dansgaard-Oeschger (DO) cycles using multiple synchronized Antarctic ice cores; (2) to provide state-of-the-art, internally-consistent ice core chronologies for all US Antarctic ice cores. The WAIS Divide, Siple Dome, Byrd, Taylor Dome and South Pole ice cores will be synchronized using volcanic, dust and gas (CH4 and d18Oatm) markers; this synchronization will be combined with ice-flow and firn densification modeling to create gas-age and ice-age scales for these ice cores, consistent with the highly accurate WAIS Divide chronology. The grant will support ongoing efforts to synchronize the WAIS Divide core to the Dome C and Dronning Maud Land cores, which in turn have been synchronized to several East Antarctic ice cores. Using this chronological framework, the interpolar phasing of millennial-scale climate change will be investigated during the DO cycles using 6 Antarctic ice cores, and during the last deglaciation using 11 ice cores. The relationship between accumulation rate and site temperature during the natural warming of the last deglaciation will be investigated for all the Antarctic ice cores included in the framework.", "east": 180.0, "geometry": "POINT(0 -89.999)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "GLACIERS/ICE SHEETS; Antarctica", "locations": "Antarctica", "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology; Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Fudge, T. J.; Steig, Eric J.; Buizert, Christo", "platforms": null, "repo": "NCEI", "repositories": "NCEI; USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "Collaborative Research: The Timing and Spatial Expression of the Bipolar Seesaw", "uid": "p0010183", "west": -180.0}, {"awards": "1643722 Brook, Edward J.", "bounds_geometry": "POINT(0 -90)", "dataset_titles": "South Pole Ice Core Methane Data and Gas Age Time Scale; South Pole ice core (SPC14) total air content (TAC)", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601329", "doi": "10.15784/601329", "keywords": "Antarctica; Gas Chromatography; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Core Records; Methane; South Pole", "people": "Brook, Edward J.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "SPICEcore", "title": "South Pole Ice Core Methane Data and Gas Age Time Scale", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601329"}, {"dataset_uid": "601546", "doi": "10.15784/601546", "keywords": "Antarctica; South Pole", "people": "Epifanio, Jenna", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "SPICEcore", "title": "South Pole ice core (SPC14) total air content (TAC)", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601546"}], "date_created": "Tue, 02 Jun 2020 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award supports a project to measure the concentration of the gas methane in air trapped in an ice core collected from the South Pole. The data will provide an age scale (age as a function of depth) by matching the South Pole methane changes with similar data from other ice cores for which the age vs. depth relationship is well known. The ages provided will allow all other gas measurements made on the South Pole core (by the PI and other NSF supported investigators) to be interpreted accurately as a function of time. This is critical because a major goal of the South Pole coring project is to understand the history of rare gases in the atmosphere like carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, ethane, propane, methyl chloride, and methyl bromide. Relatively little is known about what controls these gases in the atmosphere despite their importance to atmospheric chemistry and climate. Undergraduate assistants will work on the project and be introduced to independent research through their work. The PI will continue visits to local middle schools to introduce students to polar science, and other outreach activities (e.g. laboratory tours, talks to local civic or professional organizations) as part of the project. \u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eMethane concentrations from a major portion (2 depth intervals, excluding the brittle ice-zone which is being measured at Penn State University) of the new South Pole ice core will be used to create a gas chronology by matching the new South Pole ice core record with that from the well-dated WAIS Divide ice core record. In combination with measurements made at Penn State, this will provide gas dating for the entire 50,000-year record. Correlation will be made using a simple but powerful mid-point method that has been previously demonstrated, and other methods of matching records will be explored. The intellectual merit of this work is that the gas chronology will be a fundamental component of this ice core project, and will be used by the PI and other investigators for dating records of atmospheric composition, and determining the gas age-ice age difference independently of glaciological models, which will constrain processes that affected firn densification in the past. The methane data will also provide direct stratigraphic markers of important perturbations to global biogeochemical cycles (e.g., rapid methane variations synchronous with abrupt warming and cooling in the Northern Hemisphere) that will tie other ice core gas records directly to those perturbations. A record of the total air content will also be produced as a by-product of the methane measurements and will contribute to understanding of this parameter. The broader impacts include that the work will provide a fundamental data set for the South Pole ice core project and the age scale (or variants of it) will be used by all other investigators working on gas records from the core. The project will employ an undergraduate assistant(s) in both years who will conduct an undergraduate research project which will be part of the student\u0027s senior thesis or other research paper. The project will also offer at least one research position for the Oregon State University Summer REU site program. Visits to local middle schools, and other outreach activities (e.g. laboratory tours, talks to local civic or professional organizations) will also be part of the project.", "east": 0.0, "geometry": "POINT(0 -90)", "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e CHEMICAL METERS/ANALYZERS \u003e GAS CHROMATOGRAPHS", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "AMD; LABORATORY; METHANE; ICE CORE RECORDS; Gas Chromatography; South Pole; USAP-DC", "locations": "South Pole", "north": -90.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Brook, Edward J.", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e PHYSICAL MODELS \u003e LABORATORY", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": "SPICEcore", "south": -90.0, "title": "A High Resolution Atmospheric Methane Record from the South Pole Ice Core", "uid": "p0010102", "west": 0.0}, {"awards": "1443105 Steig, Eric", "bounds_geometry": "POINT(0 -90)", "dataset_titles": "Continuous-flow measurements of the complete water isotope ratios (D/H, 17O/16O, 18O/16) from the South Pole ice core; South Pole high resolution ice core water stable isotope record for dD, d18O; South Pole Ice Core Holocene Major Ion Dataset; SP19 Gas Chronology; Temperature, accumulation rate, and layer thinning from the South Pole ice core (SPC14)", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601429", "doi": "10.15784/601429", "keywords": "Antarctica; Climate; Deuterium; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Hydrogen; Ice; Ice Core; Ice Core Chemistry; Oxygen; Paleoclimate; Snow/ice; Snow/Ice; South Pole; Stable Isotopes", "people": "White, James; Morris, Valerie; Vaughn, Bruce; Steig, Eric J.; Jones, Tyler R.; Kahle, Emma; Schauer, Andrew", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "SPICEcore", "title": "Continuous-flow measurements of the complete water isotope ratios (D/H, 17O/16O, 18O/16) from the South Pole ice core", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601429"}, {"dataset_uid": "601239", "doi": "10.15784/601239", "keywords": "Antarctica; Cavity Ring Down Spectrometers; Delta 18O; Delta Deuterium; Deuterium Isotopes; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice; Ice Core; Ice Core Chemistry; Ice Core Data; Oxygen Isotope; Snow/ice; Snow/Ice; Stable Isotopes", "people": "Schauer, Andrew; Steig, Eric J.; White, James; Morris, Valerie; Jones, Tyler R.; Vaughn, Bruce; Kahle, Emma", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "SPICEcore", "title": "South Pole high resolution ice core water stable isotope record for dD, d18O", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601239"}, {"dataset_uid": "601396", "doi": "10.15784/601396", "keywords": "Accumulation; Antarctica; Diffusion Length; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Core Records; Ice Dynamic; Layer Thinning; Oxygen Isotope; South Pole; SPICEcore; Temperature", "people": "Koutnik, Michelle; Kahle, Emma; Epifanio, Jenna; Steig, Eric J.; Jones, Tyler R.; Fudge, T. J.; Buizert, Christo; Waddington, Edwin D.; Conway, Howard; Stevens, Max; Schauer, Andrew; White, James; Vaughn, Bruce; Morris, Valerie", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "SPICEcore", "title": "Temperature, accumulation rate, and layer thinning from the South Pole ice core (SPC14)", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601396"}, {"dataset_uid": "601380", "doi": "10.15784/601380", "keywords": "Antarctica; Ch4; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Core Records; Ice Core Stratigraphy; Methane; South Pole; SPICEcore", "people": "Epifanio, Jenna", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "SPICEcore", "title": "SP19 Gas Chronology", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601380"}, {"dataset_uid": "601399", "doi": "10.15784/601399", "keywords": "Antarctica; Glaciology; Ice Core; Ice Core Chemistry; Ice Core Records; Major Ion; Sea Ice; Sea Salt; Sodium; South Pole; SPICEcore", "people": "Winski, Dominic A.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "SPICEcore", "title": "South Pole Ice Core Holocene Major Ion Dataset", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601399"}], "date_created": "Sun, 17 Nov 2019 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This project will develop a record of the stable-isotope ratios of water from an ice core at the South Pole, Antarctica. Water-isotope ratio measurements provide a means to determine variability in temperature through time. South Pole is distinct from most other locations in Antarctica in showing no warming in recent decades, but little is known about temperature variability in this location prior to the installation of weather stations in 1957. The measurements made as part of this project will result in a much longer temperature record, extending at least 40,000 years, aiding our ability to understand what controls Antarctic climate, and improving projections of future Antarctic climate change. Data from this project will be critical to other investigators working on the South Pole ice core, and of general interest to other scientists and the public. Data will be provided rapidly to other investigators and made public as soon as possible.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThis project will obtain records of the stable-isotope ratios of water on the ice core currently being obtained at South Pole. The core will reach a depth of 1500 m and an age of 40,000 years. The project will use laser spectroscopy to obtain both an ultra-high-resolution record of oxygen 18/16 and deuterium-hydrogen ratios, and a lower-resolution record of oxygen 17/16 ratios. The high-resolution measurements will be used to aid in dating the core, and to provide estimates of isotope diffusion that constrain the process of firn densification. The novel 17/16 measurement provides additional constraints on the isotope fractionation due to the temperature-dependent supersaturation ratio, which affects the fractionation of water during the liquid-solid condensate transition. Together, these techniques will allow for improved accuracy in the use of the water isotope ratios as proxies for ice-sheet temperature, sea-surface temperature, and atmospheric circulation. The result will be a record of decadal through centennial and millennial scale climate change in a climatically distinct region in East Antarctica that has not been previously sampled by deep ice coring. The project will support a graduate student who will be co-advised by faculty at the University of Washington and the University of Colorado, and will be involved in all aspects of the work.", "east": 0.0, "geometry": "POINT(0 -90)", "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e SPECTROMETERS/RADIOMETERS \u003e MASS SPECTROMETERS", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "SPICEcore; D18O; LABORATORY; OXYGEN ISOTOPE ANALYSIS; Oxygen Isotope; South Pole; USAP-DC; GLACIERS/ICE SHEETS; Antarctica; AMD; FIELD INVESTIGATION; Ice Core", "locations": "Antarctica; South Pole", "north": -90.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": "PHANEROZOIC \u003e CENOZOIC \u003e QUATERNARY \u003e HOLOCENE", "persons": "Steig, Eric J.; White, James", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION; OTHER \u003e PHYSICAL MODELS \u003e LABORATORY", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": "SPICEcore", "south": -90.0, "title": "Collaborative Research: Record of the Triple-oxygen Isotope and Hydrogen Isotope Composition of Ice from an Ice Core at South Pole", "uid": "p0010065", "west": 0.0}, {"awards": "1443464 Sowers, Todd; 1443472 Brook, Edward J.; 1443710 Severinghaus, Jeffrey", "bounds_geometry": "POINT(0 -90)", "dataset_titles": "South Pole CH4 data for termination; South Pole Ice Core Isotopes of N2 and Ar; South Pole ice core (SPC14) discrete methane data; South Pole ice core total air content; South Pole (SPICECORE) 15N, 18O, O2/N2 and Ar/N2; SP19 Gas Chronology", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601152", "doi": "10.15784/601152", "keywords": "Antarctica; Antarctic Ice Sheet; Chemistry:gas; Chemistry:Gas; Chemistry:ice; Chemistry:Ice; Delta 18O; Dole Effect; Firn Thickness; Gas Isotopes; Geochemistry; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Gravitational Settling; Ice; Ice Core Chemistry; Ice Core Data; Ice Core Gas Records; Ice Core Records; Inert Gases; Nitrogen; Nitrogen Isotopes; Oxygen; Oxygen Isotope; Snow/ice; Snow/Ice; South Pole; SPICEcore", "people": "Severinghaus, Jeffrey P.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "SPICEcore", "title": "South Pole (SPICECORE) 15N, 18O, O2/N2 and Ar/N2", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601152"}, {"dataset_uid": "601381", "doi": "10.15784/601381", "keywords": "Antarctica; Ch4; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Core Data; Ice Core Records; Methane; South Pole; SPICEcore", "people": "Severinghaus, Jeffrey P.; Hood, Ekaterina; Fudge, T. J.; Kahle, Emma; Steig, Eric J.; Epifanio, Jenna; Kennedy, Joshua A.; Brook, Edward J.; Buizert, Christo; Ferris, David G.; Kreutz, Karl; Aydin, Murat; Edwards, Jon S.; Kalk, Michael; Osterberg, Erich; Winski, Dominic A.; Sowers, Todd A.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "SPICEcore", "title": "South Pole ice core (SPC14) discrete methane data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601381"}, {"dataset_uid": "601380", "doi": "10.15784/601380", "keywords": "Antarctica; Ch4; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Core Records; Ice Core Stratigraphy; Methane; South Pole; SPICEcore", "people": "Epifanio, Jenna", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "SPICEcore", "title": "SP19 Gas Chronology", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601380"}, {"dataset_uid": "601517", "doi": "10.15784/601517", "keywords": "Antarctica; Argon; Argon Isotopes; Firn; Firn Temperature Gradient; Firn Thickness; Gas Isotopes; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Core; Ice Core Records; Nitrogen; Nitrogen Isotopes; South Pole; SPICEcore", "people": "Severinghaus, Jeffrey P.; Morgan, Jacob", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "SPICEcore", "title": "South Pole Ice Core Isotopes of N2 and Ar", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601517"}, {"dataset_uid": "601231", "doi": "10.15784/601231", "keywords": "Air Content; Antarctica; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Core Data; Ice Core Records; Snow/ice; Snow/Ice; South Pole; SPICEcore", "people": "Sowers, Todd A.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "SPICEcore", "title": "South Pole ice core total air content", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601231"}, {"dataset_uid": "601230", "doi": "10.15784/601230", "keywords": "Antarctica; Atmospheric CH4; Ch4; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Core; Ice Core Chemistry; Ice Core Data; Methane; Methane Concentration; Snow/ice; Snow/Ice; South Pole; SPICEcore", "people": "Sowers, Todd A.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "SPICEcore", "title": "South Pole CH4 data for termination", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601230"}], "date_created": "Sat, 02 Feb 2019 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Gases trapped in ice cores have revealed astonishing things about the greenhouse gas composition of the past atmosphere, including the fact that carbon dioxide concentrations never rose above 300 parts per million during the last 800,000 years. This places today\u0027s concentration of 400 parts per million in stark contrast. Furthermore, these gas records show that natural sources of greenhouse gas such as oceans and ecosystems act as amplifiers of climate change by increasing emissions of gases during warmer periods. Such amplification is expected to occur in the future, adding to the human-produced gas burden. The South Pole ice core will build upon these prior findings by expanding the suite of gases to include, for the first time, those potent trace gases that both trapped heat and depleted ozone during the past 40,000 years. The present project on inert gases and methane in the South Pole ice core will improve the dating of this crucial record, to unprecedented precision, so that the relative timing of events can be used to learn about the mechanism of trace gas production and destruction, and consequent climate change amplification. Ultimately, this information will inform predictions of future atmospheric chemical cleansing mechanisms and climate in the context of our rapidly changing atmosphere. This award also engages young people in the excitement of discovery and polar research, helping to entrain the next generations of scientists and educators. Education of graduate students, a young researcher (Buizert), and training of technicians, will add to the nation?s human resource base. \u003cbr/\u003e \u003cbr/\u003eThis award funds the construction of the gas chronology for the South Pole 1500m ice core, using measured inert gases (d15N and d40Ar--Nitrogen and Argon isotope ratios, respectively) and methane in combination with a next-generation firn densification model that treats the stochastic nature of air trapping and the role of impurities on densification. The project addresses fundamental gaps in scientific understanding that limit the accuracy of gas chronologies, specifically a poor knowledge of the controls on ice-core d15N and the possible role of layering and impurities in firn densification. These gaps will be addressed by studying the gas enclosure process in modern firn at the deep core site. The work will comprise the first-ever firn air pumping experiment that has tightly co-located measurements of firn structural properties on the core taken from the same borehole.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThe project will test the hypothesis that the lock-in horizon as defined by firn air d15N, CO2, and methane is structurally controlled by impermeable layers, which are in turn created by high-impurity content horizons in which densification is enhanced. Thermal signals will be sought using the inert gas measurements, which improve the temperature record with benefits to the firn densification modeling. Neon, argon, and oxygen will be measured in firn air and a limited number of deep core samples to test whether glacial period layering was enhanced, which could explain low observed d15N in the last glacial period. Drawing on separate volcanic and methane synchronization to well-dated ice cores to create independent ice and gas tie points, independent empirical estimates of the gas age-ice age difference will be made to check the validity of the firn densification model-inert gas approach to calculating the gas age-ice age difference. These points will also be used to test whether the anomalously low d15N seen during the last glacial period in east Antarctic ice cores is due to deep air convection in the firn, or a missing impurity dependence in the firn densification models. \u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThe increased physical understanding gained from these studies, combined with new high-precision measurements, will lead to improved accuracy of the gas chronology of the South Pole ice core, which will enhance the overall science return from this gas-oriented core. This will lead to clarification of timing of atmospheric gas variations and temperature, and aid in efforts to understand the biogeochemical feedbacks among trace gases. These feedbacks bear on the future response of the Earth System to anthropogenic forcing. Ozone-depleting substances will be measured in the South Pole ice core record, and a precise gas chronology will add value. Lastly, by seeking a better understanding of the physics of gas entrapment, the project aims to have an impact on ice-core science in general.", "east": 0.0, "geometry": "POINT(0 -90)", "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e CORERS \u003e CORING DEVICES", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "USAP-DC; AMD; LABORATORY; Antarctica; NITROGEN ISOTOPES; USA/NSF; METHANE; Amd/Us; FIELD INVESTIGATION", "locations": "Antarctica", "north": -90.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology; Antarctic Glaciology; Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Severinghaus, Jeffrey P.; Sowers, Todd A.; Brook, Edward J.", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION; OTHER \u003e PHYSICAL MODELS \u003e LABORATORY", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": "SPICEcore", "south": -90.0, "title": "Collaborative Research: Inert Gas and Methane Based Climate Records throughout the South Pole Deep Ice Core", "uid": "p0010005", "west": 0.0}, {"awards": "1443263 Higgins, John; 1443306 Mayewski, Paul", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": "Carbon dioxide concentration and its stable carbon isotope composition in Allan Hills ice cores; Elemental and isotopic composition of heavy noble gases in Allan Hills ice cores; Elemental and isotopic composition of nitrogen, oxygen, and argon in Allan Hills ice cores; Greenhouse gas composition in the Allan Hills S27 ice core; Methane concentration in Allan Hills ice cores; Stable isotope composition of the trapped air in the Allan Hills S27 ice core; Stable water isotope data for the AH-1502 ice core drilled at the Allan Hills Blue ice area; Stable water isotope data for the AH-1503 ice core drilled at the Allan Hills Blue ice area; Stable water isotope data for the surface samples collected at the Allan Hills Blue ice area", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601512", "doi": "10.15784/601512", "keywords": "Allan Hills; Antarctica; Blue Ice; Ice Core; Ice Core Gas Records; Isotope; Nitrogen; Oxygen", "people": "Yan, Yuzhen; Higgins, John; Bender, Michael", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "Allan Hills", "title": "Stable isotope composition of the trapped air in the Allan Hills S27 ice core", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601512"}, {"dataset_uid": "601130", "doi": "10.15784/601130", "keywords": "Allan Hills; Allan Hills Project; Antarctica; Blue Ice; Chemistry:ice; Chemistry:Ice; Delta 18O; Delta Deuterium; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Core Gas Records; Ice Core Records; Oxygen; Snow/ice; Snow/Ice; Stable Water Isotopes; Transantarctic Mountains", "people": "Introne, Douglas; Yan, Yuzhen; Kurbatov, Andrei V.; Mayewski, Paul A.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "Allan Hills", "title": "Stable water isotope data for the surface samples collected at the Allan Hills Blue ice area", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601130"}, {"dataset_uid": "601483", "doi": "10.15784/601483", "keywords": "Allan Hills; Antarctica; Argon; Ice; Ice Core Data; Ice Core Gas Records; Isotope; Mass Spectrometry; Nitrogen; Oxygen", "people": "Bender, Michael; Yan, Yuzhen; Higgins, John", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "Allan Hills", "title": "Elemental and isotopic composition of nitrogen, oxygen, and argon in Allan Hills ice cores", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601483"}, {"dataset_uid": "601425", "doi": "10.15784/601425", "keywords": "Allan Hills; Antarctica; Blue Ice; Carbon Dioxide; Ice Core; Methane", "people": "Yan, Yuzhen; Brook, Edward J.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "Allan Hills", "title": "Greenhouse gas composition in the Allan Hills S27 ice core", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601425"}, {"dataset_uid": "601201", "doi": "10.15784/601201", "keywords": "Allan Hills; Allan Hills Project; Antarctica; Argon; Chemistry:ice; Chemistry:Ice; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Core; Ice Core Data; Ice Core Gas Records; Krypton; Mass Spectrometer; Noble Gas; Snow/ice; Snow/Ice; Xenon", "people": "Bender, Michael; Higgins, John; Severinghaus, Jeffrey P.; Ng, Jessica; Yan, Yuzhen", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "Allan Hills", "title": "Elemental and isotopic composition of heavy noble gases in Allan Hills ice cores", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601201"}, {"dataset_uid": "601202", "doi": "10.15784/601202", "keywords": "Allan Hills; Allan Hills Project; Antarctica; Carbon Dioxide; Carbon Isotopes; Chemistry:ice; Chemistry:Ice; CO2; Gas Chromatography; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice; Ice Core Data; Ice Core Gas Records; Ice Core Records; Mass Spectrometer; Mass Spectrometry; Methane; Snow/ice; Snow/Ice", "people": "Higgins, John; Bender, Michael; Yan, Yuzhen; Brook, Edward J.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "Allan Hills", "title": "Carbon dioxide concentration and its stable carbon isotope composition in Allan Hills ice cores", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601202"}, {"dataset_uid": "601129", "doi": "10.15784/601129", "keywords": "Allan Hills; Allan Hills Project; Antarctica; Blue Ice; Delta 18O; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Core; Ice Core Chemistry; Ice Core Records; Isotope Data; Oxygen; Snow/ice; Snow/Ice; Stable Water Isotopes; Transantarctic Mountains", "people": "Yan, Yuzhen; Kurbatov, Andrei V.; Mayewski, Paul A.; Introne, Douglas", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "Allan Hills", "title": "Stable water isotope data for the AH-1502 ice core drilled at the Allan Hills Blue ice area", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601129"}, {"dataset_uid": "601128", "doi": "10.15784/601128", "keywords": "Allan Hills; Antarctica; Blue Ice; Chemistry:ice; Chemistry:Ice; Delta 18O; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Core Records; Isotope Record; Mass Spectrometry; Stable Water Isotopes", "people": "Kurbatov, Andrei V.; Mayewski, Paul A.; Introne, Douglas; Yan, Yuzhen", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "Allan Hills", "title": "Stable water isotope data for the AH-1503 ice core drilled at the Allan Hills Blue ice area", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601128"}, {"dataset_uid": "601203", "doi": "10.15784/601203", "keywords": "Allan Hills; Allan Hills Project; Antarctica; Chemistry:ice; Chemistry:Ice; Gas Chromatography; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Greenhouse Gas; Ice; Ice Core Data; Ice Core Gas Records; Methane; Snow/ice; Snow/Ice", "people": "Bender, Michael; Brook, Edward J.; Higgins, John; Yan, Yuzhen", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "Allan Hills", "title": "Methane concentration in Allan Hills ice cores", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601203"}], "date_created": "Thu, 18 Oct 2018 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Bubbles of ancient air trapped in ice cores permit the direct reconstruction of atmospheric composition and allow us to link greenhouse gases and global climate over the last 800,000 years. Previous field expeditions to the Allan Hills blue ice area, Antarctica, have recovered ice cores that date to one million years, the oldest ice cores yet recovered from Antarctica. These records have revealed that interglacial CO2 concentrations decreased by 800,000 years ago and that, in the warmer world 1 million years ago, CO2 and Antarctic temperature were linked as during the last 800,000 years. This project will return to the Allan Hills blue ice area to recover additional ice cores that date to 1 million years or older. The climate records developed from the drilled ice cores will provide new insights into the chemical composition of the atmosphere and Antarctic climate during times of comparable or even greater warmth than the present day. Our results will help answer questions about issues associated with anthropogenic change. These include the relationship between temperature change and the mass balance of Antarctic ice; precipitation and aridity variations associated with radiatively forced climate change; and the climate significance of sea ice extent. The project will entrain two graduate students and a postdoctoral scholar, and will conduct outreach including workshops to engage teachers in carbon science and ice cores.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eBetween about 2.8-0.9 million years ago, Earth\u0027s climate was characterized by 40,000-year cycles, driven or paced by changes in the tilt of Earth\u0027s spin axis. Much is known about the \"40,000-year\" world from studies of deep-sea sediments, but our understanding of climate change during this period is incomplete because we lack records of Antarctic climate and direct records of atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations. We propose to address these issues by building on our recent studies of ancient ice from the Main Ice Field, Allan Hills, Antarctica. During previous field seasons we recovered ice extending, discontinuously, from 0.1-1.0 million years old. Ice was dated by measuring the 40Ar/38Ar (Argon) ratio of the trapped gases. Our discovery of million year-old ice demonstrates that there is gas-record-quality ice from the 40,000-year world in the Allan Hills Main Ice Field. We have identified two different sites, each overlying bedrock at ~ 200 m depth, that are attractive targets for coring ice dating to 1 million years and older. This project aims to core the ice at these two sites, re-occupy a previous site with million year-old ice and drill it down to the bedrock, and generate 10-20 short (~10-meter) cores in areas where our previous work and terrestrial meteorite ages suggest ancient surface ice. We plan to date the ice using the 40Ar/38Ar ages of trapped Argon. We also plan to characterize the continuity of our cores by measuring the deuterium and oxygen isotope ratios in the ice, methane, ratios of Oxygen and Argon to Nitrogen in trapped gas, the Nitrogen-15 isotope (d15N) of Nitrogen, and the Oxygen-18 isotope (d18O) of Oxygen. As the ice may be stratigraphically disturbed, these measurements will provide diagnostic properties for assessing the continuity of the ice-core records. Successful retrieval of ice older than one million years will provide the opportunity for follow-up work to measure the CO2 concentration and other properties within the ice to inform on the temperature history of the Allan Hills region, dust sources and source-area aridity, moisture sources, densification conditions, global average ocean temperature, and greenhouse gas concentrations. We will analyze the data in the context of leading hypotheses of the 40,000-year world and the Mid-Pleistocene Transition to the 100,000-year world. We expect to advance understanding of climate dynamics during these periods.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e CORERS \u003e CORING DEVICES", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Amd/Us; AMD; Allan Hills; USA/NSF; FIELD INVESTIGATION; USAP-DC; Ice Core; LABORATORY", "locations": "Allan Hills", "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology; Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Mayewski, Paul A.; Kurbatov, Andrei V.; Higgins, John; Bender, Michael", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION; OTHER \u003e PHYSICAL MODELS \u003e LABORATORY", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": "Allan Hills", "south": null, "title": "Collaborative Research: Window into the World with 40,000-year Glacial Cycles from Climate Records in Million Year-old Ice from the Allan Hills Blue Ice Area", "uid": "p0000760", "west": null}, {"awards": "1443341 Hawley, Robert; 1443471 Koutnik, Michelle", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((110 -89,117 -89,124 -89,131 -89,138 -89,145 -89,152 -89,159 -89,166 -89,173 -89,180 -89,180 -89.1,180 -89.2,180 -89.3,180 -89.4,180 -89.5,180 -89.6,180 -89.7,180 -89.8,180 -89.9,180 -90,173 -90,166 -90,159 -90,152 -90,145 -90,138 -90,131 -90,124 -90,117 -90,110 -90,110 -89.9,110 -89.8,110 -89.7,110 -89.6,110 -89.5,110 -89.4,110 -89.3,110 -89.2,110 -89.1,110 -89))", "dataset_titles": "7MHz radar in the vicinity of South Pole; Firn density and compaction rates 50km upstream of South Pole; Firn temperatures 50km upstream of South Pole; Shallow radar near South Pole; South Pole area GPS velocities; SPICEcore Advection", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601099", "doi": "10.15784/601099", "keywords": "Antarctica; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Radar; Snow Accumulation; Snow/ice; Snow/Ice", "people": "Koutnik, Michelle; Waddington, Edwin D.; Lilien, David; Fudge, T. J.; Conway, Howard", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "SPICEcore", "title": "Shallow radar near South Pole", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601099"}, {"dataset_uid": "601680", "doi": "10.15784/601680", "keywords": "Antarctica; Firn; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Snow/ice; Snow/Ice; South Pole; Temperature", "people": "Waddington, Edwin D.; Koutnik, Michelle; Fudge, T. J.; Stevens, Christopher Max; Lilien, David; Conway, Howard", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Firn density and compaction rates 50km upstream of South Pole", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601680"}, {"dataset_uid": "601525", "doi": "10.15784/601525", "keywords": "Antarctica; Firn; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Core Data; Ice Core Records; Snow/ice; Snow/Ice; South Pole; SPICEcore; Temperature", "people": "Stevens, Christopher Max; Fudge, T. J.; Waddington, Edwin D.; Koutnik, Michelle; Conway, Howard; Lilien, David", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "SPICEcore", "title": "Firn temperatures 50km upstream of South Pole", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601525"}, {"dataset_uid": "601369", "doi": "10.15784/601369", "keywords": "Antarctica; Ice Sheet", "people": "Conway, Howard; Fudge, T. J.; Waddington, Edwin D.; Koutnik, Michelle; Stevens, Max; Lilien, David", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "SPICEcore", "title": "7MHz radar in the vicinity of South Pole", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601369"}, {"dataset_uid": "601266", "doi": "10.15784/601266", "keywords": "Antarctica; Ice Core Data; South Pole; SPICEcore", "people": "Fudge, T. J.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "SPICEcore", "title": "SPICEcore Advection", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601266"}, {"dataset_uid": "601100", "doi": "10.15784/601100", "keywords": "Antarctica; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; GPS; Ice Velocity", "people": "Conway, Howard; Lilien, David; Fudge, T. J.; Koutnik, Michelle; Waddington, Edwin D.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "SPICEcore", "title": "South Pole area GPS velocities", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601100"}], "date_created": "Thu, 14 Jun 2018 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Ice-core records are critical to understanding past climate variations. An Antarctic ice core currently being drilled at the South Pole will allow detailed investigation of atmospheric gases and fill an important gap in understanding the pattern of climate variability across Antarctica. Critical to the interpretation of any ice core are: 1) accurate chronologies for both the ice and the trapped gas and 2) demonstration that records from the ice core reliably reflect climate. The proposed research will improve the ice and gas chronologies by making measurements of snow compaction in the upstream catchment in order to constrain age models of the ice. These measurements will be a key data set needed for better understanding and predicting time-varying conditions in the upper part of the ice sheet. The research team will measure the modern spatial gradients in accumulation rate, surface temperature, and water stable isotopes from shallow ice cores in the upstream catchment in order to determine the climate history from the ice-core record. The new ice-flow measurements will make it possible to define the path of ice from upstream to the South Pole ice-core drill site to assess spatial gradients in snowfall and to infer histories of snowfall from internal layers within the ice sheet. The project will be led by an early-career scientist, provide broad training to graduate students, and engage in public outreach on polar science.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eIce-core records of stable isotopes, aerosol-born particles, and atmospheric gases are critical to understanding past climate variations. The proposed research will improve the ice and gas chronologies in the South Pole ice core by making in situ measurements of firn compaction in the upstream catchment to constrain models of the gas-age ice-age difference. The firn measurements will be a key data set needed to form a constitutive relationship for firn, and will drive better understanding and prediction of transient firn evolution. The research team will measure the modern gradients in accumulation rate, surface temperature, and water stable isotopes in the upstream catchment to separate spatial (advection) variations from temporal (climate) variations in the ice-core records. The ice-flow measurements will define the flowline upstream of the drill site, assess spatial gradients in accumulation, and infer histories of accumulation from radar-observed internal layers. Results will directly enhance interpretation of South Pole ice-core records, and also advance understanding of firn densification and drive next-generation firn models.", "east": 180.0, "geometry": "POINT(145 -89.5)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "FIRN; Firn; USAP-DC; South Pole; Radar; FIELD SURVEYS; ICE CORE RECORDS", "locations": "South Pole", "north": -89.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology; Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Koutnik, Michelle; Conway, Howard; Waddington, Edwin D.; Fudge, T. J.; Hawley, Robert L.; Osterberg, Erich", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD SURVEYS", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": "SPICEcore", "south": -90.0, "title": "Collaborative Research: Characterization of Upstream Ice and Firn Dynamics affecting the South Pole Ice Core", "uid": "p0000200", "west": 110.0}, {"awards": "1043657 Cassano, John", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((163 -74.5,163.9 -74.5,164.8 -74.5,165.7 -74.5,166.6 -74.5,167.5 -74.5,168.4 -74.5,169.3 -74.5,170.2 -74.5,171.1 -74.5,172 -74.5,172 -74.9,172 -75.3,172 -75.7,172 -76.1,172 -76.5,172 -76.9,172 -77.3,172 -77.7,172 -78.1,172 -78.5,171.1 -78.5,170.2 -78.5,169.3 -78.5,168.4 -78.5,167.5 -78.5,166.6 -78.5,165.7 -78.5,164.8 -78.5,163.9 -78.5,163 -78.5,163 -78.1,163 -77.7,163 -77.3,163 -76.9,163 -76.5,163 -76.1,163 -75.7,163 -75.3,163 -74.9,163 -74.5))", "dataset_titles": "Ocean-Ice-Atmosphere Interactions in the Terra Nova Bay Polynya, Antarctica", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "600125", "doi": "10.15784/600125", "keywords": "Antarctica; Atmosphere; Meteorology; Navigation; Oceans; Southern Ocean; Unmanned Aircraft", "people": "Cassano, John; Palo, Scott", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Ocean-Ice-Atmosphere Interactions in the Terra Nova Bay Polynya, Antarctica", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/600125"}], "date_created": "Thu, 22 Oct 2015 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Antarctic coastal polynas are, at the same time, sea-ice free sites and \u0027sea-ice factories\u0027. They are open water surface locations where water mass transformation and densification occurs, and where atmospheric exchanges with the deep ocean circulation are established. Various models of the formation and persistence of these productive and diverse ocean ecosystems are hampered by the relative lack of in situ meteorological and physical oceanographic observations, especially during the inhospitable conditions of their formation and activity during the polar night. \u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eCharacterization of the lower atmosphere properties, air-sea surface heat fluxes and corresponding ocean hydrographic profiles of Antarctic polynyas, especially during strong wind events, is sought for a more detailed understanding of the role of polynyas in the production of latent-heat type sea ice and the formation, through sea ice brine rejection, of dense ocean bottom waters\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eA key technological innovation in this work continues to be the use of instrumented unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), to enable the persistent and safe observation of the interaction of light and strong katabatic wind fields, and mesocale cyclones in the Terra Nova Bay (Victoria Land, Antarctica) polynya waters during late winter and early summer time frames.", "east": 172.0, "geometry": "POINT(167.5 -76.5)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Not provided", "locations": null, "north": -74.5, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Cassano, John; Palo, Scott", "platforms": "Not provided", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -78.5, "title": "Collaborative Research: Ocean-Ice-Atmosphere Interactions in the Terra Nova Bay Polynya, Antarctica", "uid": "p0000417", "west": 163.0}, {"awards": "0636997 Waddington, Edwin", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Tue, 20 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Waddington/0636997\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThis award supports a project to integrate three lines of glaciology research, previously treated independently. First, internal layers in ice sheets, detected by ice-penetrating radar, retain information about past spatial and temporal patterns of ice accumulation. Ice-flow modelers can recover this information, using geophysical inverse methods; however, the ages of the layers must be known, through interpolation where they intersect a well-dated ice core. \u003cbr/\u003eSecond, concentrations of methane and some other atmospheric constituents vary through time as climate changes. However, the atmosphere is always well mixed, and concentrations are similar world-wide at any one time, so gas variations from an undated core can be correlated with those in a well-dated core such as GISP2. Because air in near-surface firn mixes readily with the atmosphere above, the air that is trapped in bubbles deep in the firn is typically hundreds to thousands of years younger than that firn. Gas geochemists must calculate this age difference, called delta-age, with a firn-densification model before the ice enclosing the gas can be dated accurately. To calculate delta-age, they must know the temperature and the snow accumulation rate at the time and place where the snow fell. Third, gases can be correlated between cores only at times when the atmosphere changed, so ice-core dates must be interpolated at depths between the sparse dated points. Simplistic interpolation schemes can create undesirable artifacts in the depth-age profile. The intellectual merit of this project is that it will develop new interpolation methods that calculate layer thinning over time due to ice-flow mechanics. Accurate interpolation also requires a spatial and temporal accumulation history. These three issues are coupled through accumulation patterns and ice-core dates. This project will develop an integrated inversion procedure to solve all three problems simultaneously. The new method will incorporate ice-penetrating radar profile data and ice-core data, and will find self-consistent: spatial/temporal accumulation patterns; delta-age profiles for ice cores; and reliably interpolated depth-age profiles. The project will then: recalculate the depth-age profile at Byrd Station, Antarctica; provide a preliminary depth-age at the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) in the initial stages of drilling, using radar layers with estimated ages traced from Byrd Station; and generate a self-consistent depth-age relationship for Taylor Dome, Antarctica over the past 20ka, where low accumulation has created uncertainty in dating, accumulation, and controversy over delta-age estimates. The broader impacts of the project are that it will support the PhD research of a female graduate student, and her continued outreach work with Making Connections, a non-profit program through the University of Washington Women\u0027s Center, which matches professional women mentors with minority high-school women interested in mathematics and science, disciplines where they are traditionally under-represented. The graduate student will also work with Girls on Ice, a ten-day glacier field program, taught by women scientist instructors, emphasizing scientific observation through immersion, leadership skills and safety awareness.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "Internal Layers; LABORATORY; Ice Core; FIELD SURVEYS; Firn; FIELD INVESTIGATION; Accumulation; Glaciology; Climate Change; Ice Sheet", "locations": null, "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Carns, Regina; Hay, Mike; Waddington, Edwin D.", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD SURVEYS; OTHER \u003e PHYSICAL MODELS \u003e LABORATORY", "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "Self-consistent Ice Dynamics, Accumulation, Delta-age, and Interpolation of Sparse Age Data using an Inverse Approach", "uid": "p0000376", "west": null}, {"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": "9909374 Fairbanks, Richard", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((140.21983 -45.80239,141.197867 -45.80239,142.175904 -45.80239,143.153941 -45.80239,144.131978 -45.80239,145.110015 -45.80239,146.088052 -45.80239,147.066089 -45.80239,148.044126 -45.80239,149.022163 -45.80239,150.0002 -45.80239,150.0002 -47.983436,150.0002 -50.164482,150.0002 -52.345528,150.0002 -54.526574,150.0002 -56.70762,150.0002 -58.888666,150.0002 -61.069712,150.0002 -63.250758,150.0002 -65.431804,150.0002 -67.61285,149.022163 -67.61285,148.044126 -67.61285,147.066089 -67.61285,146.088052 -67.61285,145.110015 -67.61285,144.131978 -67.61285,143.153941 -67.61285,142.175904 -67.61285,141.197867 -67.61285,140.21983 -67.61285,140.21983 -65.431804,140.21983 -63.250758,140.21983 -61.069712,140.21983 -58.888666,140.21983 -56.70762,140.21983 -54.526574,140.21983 -52.345528,140.21983 -50.164482,140.21983 -47.983436,140.21983 -45.80239))", "dataset_titles": "Expedition Data; Summer Oceanographic Measurements near the Mertz Polynya NBP0008", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "001885", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "Expedition Data", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/NBP0008"}, {"dataset_uid": "601161", "doi": "10.15784/601161 ", "keywords": "Antarctica; CTD; CTD Data; Mertz Polynya; NBP0008; Oceans; Oxygen; Physical Oceanography; R/v Nathaniel B. Palmer; Salinity; Southern Ocean; Temperature", "people": "Smethie, William M; Jacobs, Stanley; Mele, Phil; Mortlock, R. A.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Summer Oceanographic Measurements near the Mertz Polynya NBP0008", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601161"}], "date_created": "Tue, 04 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This study will investigate how the formation of dense water masses on the antarctic continental shelves is affected by the periodic flushing by relatively warm circumpolar deep water, and whether the intrusion of warm water cna enhance the rate of formation of dense antarctic water. The study involves the observation of water mass modification processes on the continental shelf off the Adelie Coast in East Antarctica, near a quasi-permanent area of open water in the vicinity of the Mertz and Ninnis Glacier tongues - the so-called Mertz polynya.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eAntarctic coastal polynyas, formed by strong offshore winds, are often referred to as major sea ice and salt \"factories\" because the newly formed ice is blown seaward, allowing more ice to be formed along the coast, and because the freezing process increases the salinity of the continental shelf water. The thin ice, or even open water, implies significant heat losses from the ocean to the atmosphere, which also increases the density of the shelf water. The shelf water sinks, fills any depressions in the bottom, and is gravitationally driven down the continental slope. An additional process is identified for this study and is expected to be at work in this area: the intrusion of relatively warm water onto the continental shelf, overriding the shelf water and essentially shutting down the densification processes.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e The study will make use of the RVIB Nathaniel B. Palmer to obtain a closely spaced array of hydrographic stations over the continental shelf and slope along the George V Coast in the austral summer. The dat obtained here will complement a similar winter study by the Australian National Antarctic Program.\u003cbr/\u003e***", "east": 150.0002, "geometry": "POINT(145.110015 -56.70762)", "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": -45.80239, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Fairbanks, Richard; Jacobs, Stanley", "platforms": "WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e VESSELS \u003e SURFACE \u003e R/V NBP", "repo": "R2R", "repositories": "R2R; USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -67.61285, "title": "Shelf and Bottom Water Formation Near East Antarctic Polynyas and Glaciers", "uid": "p0000612", "west": 140.21983}, {"awards": "0230316 White, James; 0230348 Dunbar, Nelia; 0230021 Sowers, Todd", "bounds_geometry": "POINT(135.1333 -76.05)", "dataset_titles": "Mount Moulton Isotopes and Other Ice Core Data", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "609640", "doi": "10.7265/N5FT8J0N", "keywords": "Antarctica; Chemistry:ice; Chemistry:Ice; Epica Dome C; Geochemistry; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Core Records; Isotope; Lake Vostok; Mount Moulton; Paleoclimate; Talos Dome; Taylor Dome", "people": "Steig, Eric J.; Popp, Trevor; White, James", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Mount Moulton Isotopes and Other Ice Core Data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/609640"}], "date_created": "Tue, 01 Aug 2006 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "The summit crater of Mt. Moulton, in West Antarctica, contains a 600-m thick horizontally-exposed section of ice with intercalated tephra layers from nearby Mt Berlin. Argon-40/Argon-39 dating of the thick, near-source tephra indicates that the age of the horizontal ice section ranges between 15,000 and 492,000 years. Thus, the Mt Moulton site offers an unparalleled repository of ancient West Antarctic snow and trapped air that can be used to investigate West Antarctic climate over much of the past 500,000 years. The planar nature and consistent dips of the tephra layers suggests that, although the ice section has thinned, it is otherwise undeformed. The Mt. Moulton site was visited during the 1999/2000 field season, at which time a horizontal ice core representing approximately 400 meters of ice was collected, ranging in age from 15,000 to older than 480,000 years. In addition to this horizontal core, samples of ice at a range of depths were collected in order to test the quality of the climate record in the ice. Forty tephra layers intercalated in the ice were also collected in order to provide chronology for the ice section. The results of this first effort are extremely encouraging. Based on the d?18 O of ice, for example, there is clearly a useable record of past climate at Mt. Moulton extending back beyond 140,000 years. There is work to do, however, to realize the full potential of this horizontal ice core. The elemental and isotopic composition of trapped gases suggest some contamination with modern air, for example. As gas cross-dating of ice cores is the current standard by which climate records are intercompared, we need to understand why and how the gas record is compromised before adding Moulton to our arsenal of ice core paleoclimate records. This award supports a collaborative effort between three institutions with following objectives: 1) to evaluate more thoroughly the integrity of the climatic record through shallow drilling of the blue ice area, as well as the snow field upslope from the blue ice; 2) to improve the radioisotopic dating of specific tephra layers; 3) to obtain baseline information about modern snowfall deposition, mean annual temperature, and wind pumping around the summit of Mt. Moulton; and 4) to study how firn densification differs when surface accumulation changes from net accumulation to net ablation.", "east": 135.1333, "geometry": "POINT(135.1333 -76.05)", "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e SPECTROMETERS/RADIOMETERS \u003e MASS SPECTROMETERS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e CORERS \u003e CORING DEVICES; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROBES \u003e ELECTRON MICROPROBES", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "LABORATORY; Climate; Argon-40; 40Ar; Argon-39; FIELD SURVEYS; Chronology; Ice Core Gas Age; Gas Record; Ice Core; FIELD INVESTIGATION; Tephra; Mount Moulton; Not provided; Caldera; 39Ar; Stratigraphy; Ice Core Depth", "locations": "Mount Moulton", "north": -76.05, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology; Antarctic Glaciology; Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "White, James; Popp, Trevor; Dunbar, Nelia; Sowers, Todd A.; Steig, Eric J.", "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": -76.05, "title": "Collaborative Research: Refining a 500-kry Climate Record From the Moulton Blue Ice Field in West Antarctica", "uid": "p0000755", "west": 135.1333}, {"awards": "9526979 White, James", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": "Siple Dome Core Date from Measurement of the d18O of Paleoatmospheric Oxygen", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "609123", "doi": "10.7265/N5TX3C95", "keywords": "Antarctica; Chemistry:ice; Chemistry:Ice; Geochemistry; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Core Records; Paleoclimate; Siple Dome; Siple Dome Ice Core; WAISCORES", "people": "White, James; Bender, Michael", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "Siple Dome Ice Core", "title": "Siple Dome Core Date from Measurement of the d18O of Paleoatmospheric Oxygen", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/609123"}], "date_created": "Mon, 16 Jun 2003 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award is for support for a program to measure the stable isotope (deuterium to hydrogen and oxygen-18 to oxygen-16) concentrations of ice cores retrieved from Siple Dome as part of the West Antarctic ice sheet program. In addition, the deuterium excess of samples from the Taylor Dome ice core will be determined. This project will approach the question of rapid climate change using ice cores to determine the history of temperature changes, moisture source changes, and elevational changes in the West Antarctic ice sheet. Results from ice cores taken to date in the interior of Antarctica (East and West) are surprisingly lacking in indications of abrupt climate changes, such as those that have been observed in the GISP2 ice core from Summit, Greenland. This work will address the question of whether rapid climate changes, which are known to have occurred in other parts of the southern hemi-sphere, may have also occurred in the coastal regions of West Antarctica. There is some indication from existing records of isotopes in ice cores that the West Antarctic ice sheet may have flushed ice in the past (as evidenced by large changes in elevation of the ice sheet).", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e CORERS \u003e CORING DEVICES", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Antarctica; LABORATORY; WAISCORES; GROUND STATIONS; Siple Coast; Glaciology; Snow; D18O; Isotope; Thermometry; Ice Sheet; Siple; Accumulation; Ice Core; Siple Dome; Stratigraphy; Densification; GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS; Not provided", "locations": "Antarctica; Siple; Siple Coast; Siple Dome", "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "White, James; Bender, Michael", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e PERMANENT LAND SITES \u003e GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e PERMANENT LAND SITES \u003e GROUND STATIONS; Not provided; OTHER \u003e PHYSICAL MODELS \u003e LABORATORY", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": "Siple Dome Ice Core", "south": null, "title": "Isotopic Measurements on the WAIS/Siple Dome Ice Cores", "uid": "p0000063", "west": null}, {"awards": "9615347 Conway, Howard", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": "Roosevelt Island Bedrock and Surface Elevations; Roosevelt Island Ice Core Density and Beta Count Data", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "609140", "doi": "10.7265/N51J97NB", "keywords": "Antarctica; Elevation; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; GPR; Roosevelt Island; Solid Earth", "people": "Conway, Howard", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Roosevelt Island Bedrock and Surface Elevations", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/609140"}, {"dataset_uid": "609139", "doi": "10.7265/N55718ZW", "keywords": "Antarctica; Beta Count; Density; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Core Records; Physical Properties; Roosevelt Island", "people": "Conway, Howard", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Roosevelt Island Ice Core Density and Beta Count Data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/609139"}], "date_created": "Fri, 23 May 2003 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award is for two years of support to perform radar investigations across former shear margins at Roosevelt Island and Ice Stream C in order to measure changes in the configuration and continuity of internal layers and the bed. The broad goal of these investigations is to gain an understanding of ice stream flow and the timing and mechanisms of ice stream shutdown. A high-resolution short-pulse radar system will be used for detailed examination of the uppermost hundred meters of the firn and ice, and a monopulse sounding-radar system will be used to image the rest of the ice column (including internal layers) and the bed. Changes in the shape and continuity of layers will be used to interpret mechanisms and modes of ice stream flow including the possible migration of stagnation fronts and rates of shut-down. Variations in bed reflectivity will be used to deduce basal hydrology conditions across lineations. Accumulation rates deduced from snow pits and shallow cores will be used to estimate near-surface depth-age profiles. Improved understanding of ice stream history opens the possibility of linking changes in the West Antarctic ice sheet with the geologic evidence from Northern Victoria Land and the ocean record of the retreat of the grounding line in the Ross Sea.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": "EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e ACTIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e ALTIMETERS \u003e RADAR ALTIMETERS \u003e RA; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e ACTIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e RADAR SOUNDERS \u003e RADAR; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e ACTIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e RADAR SOUNDERS \u003e RADAR ECHO SOUNDERS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e CORERS \u003e CORING DEVICES", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Radioactive Decay; Radar Echo Sounder; Antarctica; Radar Altimetry; Densification; Bedrock Elevation; Ice Sheet Elevation; Satellite Radar Data; GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS; Radar; Ice Core; Snow Stratigraphy; Terrain Elevation; Antarctic Ice Sheet; Stable Isotopes; Ice Surface Elevation; Surface Elevation; Glaciology; Snow Densification; Ice Core Data; GROUND STATIONS; Not provided; Altimetry; Antarctic; Ice Core Stratigraphy; Ice Stratigraphy", "locations": "Antarctic; Antarctica; Antarctic Ice Sheet", "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Conway, Howard", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e PERMANENT LAND SITES \u003e GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e PERMANENT LAND SITES \u003e GROUND STATIONS; Not provided", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "Radar Investigations of Former Shear Margins: Roosevelt Island and Ice Stream C", "uid": "p0000164", "west": null}, {"awards": "9526420 Taylor, Kendrick", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": "Siple Dome Cores Electrical Measurement Data", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "609133", "doi": "10.7265/N5DR2SDN", "keywords": "Antarctica; Electrical Conductivity; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Core Records; Physical Properties; Siple Dome; Siple Dome Ice Core; WAISCORES", "people": "Taylor, Kendrick C.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "Siple Dome Ice Core", "title": "Siple Dome Cores Electrical Measurement Data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/609133"}], "date_created": "Thu, 08 May 2003 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award is for support for the measurement of electrical and optical properties of the Siple Dome ice core. The electrical methods can be used to determine the concentration of the hydrogen ions and the concentration of a weighted sum of all ions. The electrical measurements can resolve features as small as 1 cm. The albedo of the core is also measured with a laser system that can resolve features as small as 0.5 cm. The high spatial resolution of these methods makes them ideal for resolving narrow features in the core, which can be missed in larger composite samples. The measurements will be particularly useful for assisting to date the core and to identify short duration features in the record, such as volcanic eruptions. These measurements will also provide useful information for assessing the temporal variability of Holocene accumulation rate and atmospheric circulation.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e CORERS \u003e CORING DEVICES", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Densification; Siple Dome; Glaciology; Snow; Thermometry; WAISCORES; Electrical; Isotope; GROUND STATIONS; GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS; Not provided; Ice Sheet; Siple Coast; Ice Core; Siple; Antarctica", "locations": "Antarctica; Siple; Siple Coast; Siple Dome", "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Taylor, Kendrick C.", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e PERMANENT LAND SITES \u003e GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e PERMANENT LAND SITES \u003e GROUND STATIONS; Not provided", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": "Siple Dome Ice Core", "south": null, "title": "Electrical and Optical Measurements on the Siple Dome Ice Core", "uid": "p0000163", "west": null}, {"awards": "9526374 Alley, Richard", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": "Visible Stratigraphic Dating, Siple Dome and Upstream C Cores", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "609121", "doi": "10.7265/N53F4MHS", "keywords": "Antarctica; Geochemistry; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Core Records; Paleoclimate; Sample/collection Description; Sample/Collection Description; Siple Dome; Siple Dome Ice Core; WAISCORES", "people": "Alley, Richard", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "Siple Dome Ice Core", "title": "Visible Stratigraphic Dating, Siple Dome and Upstream C Cores", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/609121"}], "date_created": "Wed, 01 Jan 1997 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award is for support for a program of physical and visible studies on the shallow and deep ice cores to be retrieved from Siple Dome, West Antarctica. Visible examination of ice cores has proven to be a powerful technique for dating and paleoclimatic interpretation. Recent examination of a shallow core from Siple Dome indicates that annual-layer dating is possible and that visible examination will contribute significantly to the dating effort at Siple Dome. Once ages are obtained, distances between layers provide snow accumulation after correction for density variations and ice flow thinning. Thin- section examination of the core will contribute to understanding the visible stratigraphy, and will reveal c-axis fabrics which are related to past ice deformation. The results of this study should include a better understanding of rapid climate change in the Antarctic and should contribute to knowledge of the stability of the West Antarctic ice sheet.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e CORERS \u003e CORING DEVICES", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Ice Core; GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS; Siple; Ice Sheet; Isotope; Stratigraphy; GROUND STATIONS; Accumulation; Siple Dome; WAISCORES; Densification; Antarctica; Siple Coast; Thermometry; Snow; Not provided; Bubble; Glaciology", "locations": "Antarctica; Siple; Siple Coast; Siple Dome", "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Alley, Richard", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e PERMANENT LAND SITES \u003e GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e PERMANENT LAND SITES \u003e GROUND STATIONS; Not provided", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": "Siple Dome Ice Core", "south": null, "title": "Physical Properties of the Siple Dome Deep Ice Core", "uid": "p0000059", "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.
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.
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
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.
Project Title/Abstract/Map | NSF Award(s) | Date Created | PIs / Scientists | Dataset Links and Repositories | Abstract | Bounds Geometry | Geometry | Selected | Visible | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Understanding Firn Rheology Through Laboratory Compaction Experiments and Radar Data
|
1935438 |
2021-06-03 | McCarthy, Christine M.; Kingslake, Jonathan | No dataset link provided | The ice sheets of Antarctica and Greenland are losing mass and contributing to accelerating global sea-level rise. Satellite altimetry provides precise measurement of ice-sheet volume change, but computing ice-sheet mass change the quantity relevant for estimating the ice sheets sea-level contribution requires knowing the density of the ice sheet. The density near the ice-sheet surface also affects age estimates of air bubbles recovered in ice cores, which are a key source of information on past climate changes. Ice-sheet density is primarily controlled by the rate at which firn (snow that has persisted for a year or more on ice sheets) compacts into ice, but there is currently no widely accepted theory of how this compaction occurs. The goal of this project is thus to advance understanding of how firn densifies. The team will conduct laboratory experiments and analyze ice-penetrating radar and ice-core data from Antarctica. A key desired outcome of the project is a new model of firn densification that can be used to improve satellite-based altimetry measurements of present-day ice-sheet change and reconstructions of past climate changes from ice cores. This project will combine laboratory experiments, numerical modeling, and geophysical techniques to determine the rheology of firn as it compacts to form ice. The team will use two methods to measure firn compaction: (1) lab-based experiments and (2) analysis of ice-core and radar data. For the lab-based work, the team will conduct a suite of compaction experiments on synthetic firn samples under uni-axial strain and constant temperature and axial stress. They will also measure the grain-size evolution. By running a large number of experiments (> 25), the team will constrain key parameters that determine how firn compaction rate depends on density, temperature, grain size, and axial stress. The experiments will be conducted in a table-top apparatus at temperatures as low as -40 degrees C and axial stresses up to 4 MPa. For the field-data-based component, the team will analyze ice-core and ice-penetrating radar data to produce the first coincident set of radar-derived firn compaction rates, borehole temperatures, firn densities, and firn grain sizes. Results from lab and field data will be tied together using a numerical firn compaction model. This model is formulated using conservation of mass, momentum, and energy, along with an explicit description of firn rheology and grain-size evolution. Constraints on firn rheology will be incorporated into this model and the team will use it to examine fundamental questions about how changes in the climate affect firn density. This is a crucial unknown that contributes significant measurement uncertainty in estimates of past and present climate change. | None | None | false | false | |||||
Collaborative Research: The Timing and Spatial Expression of the Bipolar Seesaw
|
1643394 1643355 |
2021-05-28 | Fudge, T. J.; Steig, Eric J.; Buizert, Christo | The main objectives of the proposed work are twofold: (1) to fully characterize the timing and spatial pattern of millennial-scale Antarctic climate change during the deglaciation and Dansgaard-Oeschger (DO) cycles using multiple synchronized Antarctic ice cores; (2) to provide state-of-the-art, internally-consistent ice core chronologies for all US Antarctic ice cores. The WAIS Divide, Siple Dome, Byrd, Taylor Dome and South Pole ice cores will be synchronized using volcanic, dust and gas (CH4 and d18Oatm) markers; this synchronization will be combined with ice-flow and firn densification modeling to create gas-age and ice-age scales for these ice cores, consistent with the highly accurate WAIS Divide chronology. The grant will support ongoing efforts to synchronize the WAIS Divide core to the Dome C and Dronning Maud Land cores, which in turn have been synchronized to several East Antarctic ice cores. Using this chronological framework, the interpolar phasing of millennial-scale climate change will be investigated during the DO cycles using 6 Antarctic ice cores, and during the last deglaciation using 11 ice cores. The relationship between accumulation rate and site temperature during the natural warming of the last deglaciation will be investigated for all the Antarctic ice cores included in the framework. | 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)) | POINT(0 -89.999) | false | false | ||||||
A High Resolution Atmospheric Methane Record from the South Pole Ice Core
|
1643722 |
2020-06-02 | Brook, Edward J. |
|
This award supports a project to measure the concentration of the gas methane in air trapped in an ice core collected from the South Pole. The data will provide an age scale (age as a function of depth) by matching the South Pole methane changes with similar data from other ice cores for which the age vs. depth relationship is well known. The ages provided will allow all other gas measurements made on the South Pole core (by the PI and other NSF supported investigators) to be interpreted accurately as a function of time. This is critical because a major goal of the South Pole coring project is to understand the history of rare gases in the atmosphere like carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, ethane, propane, methyl chloride, and methyl bromide. Relatively little is known about what controls these gases in the atmosphere despite their importance to atmospheric chemistry and climate. Undergraduate assistants will work on the project and be introduced to independent research through their work. The PI will continue visits to local middle schools to introduce students to polar science, and other outreach activities (e.g. laboratory tours, talks to local civic or professional organizations) as part of the project. <br/><br/>Methane concentrations from a major portion (2 depth intervals, excluding the brittle ice-zone which is being measured at Penn State University) of the new South Pole ice core will be used to create a gas chronology by matching the new South Pole ice core record with that from the well-dated WAIS Divide ice core record. In combination with measurements made at Penn State, this will provide gas dating for the entire 50,000-year record. Correlation will be made using a simple but powerful mid-point method that has been previously demonstrated, and other methods of matching records will be explored. The intellectual merit of this work is that the gas chronology will be a fundamental component of this ice core project, and will be used by the PI and other investigators for dating records of atmospheric composition, and determining the gas age-ice age difference independently of glaciological models, which will constrain processes that affected firn densification in the past. The methane data will also provide direct stratigraphic markers of important perturbations to global biogeochemical cycles (e.g., rapid methane variations synchronous with abrupt warming and cooling in the Northern Hemisphere) that will tie other ice core gas records directly to those perturbations. A record of the total air content will also be produced as a by-product of the methane measurements and will contribute to understanding of this parameter. The broader impacts include that the work will provide a fundamental data set for the South Pole ice core project and the age scale (or variants of it) will be used by all other investigators working on gas records from the core. The project will employ an undergraduate assistant(s) in both years who will conduct an undergraduate research project which will be part of the student's senior thesis or other research paper. The project will also offer at least one research position for the Oregon State University Summer REU site program. Visits to local middle schools, and other outreach activities (e.g. laboratory tours, talks to local civic or professional organizations) will also be part of the project. | POINT(0 -90) | POINT(0 -90) | false | false | |||||
Collaborative Research: Record of the Triple-oxygen Isotope and Hydrogen Isotope Composition of Ice from an Ice Core at South Pole
|
1443105 |
2019-11-17 | Steig, Eric J.; White, James | This project will develop a record of the stable-isotope ratios of water from an ice core at the South Pole, Antarctica. Water-isotope ratio measurements provide a means to determine variability in temperature through time. South Pole is distinct from most other locations in Antarctica in showing no warming in recent decades, but little is known about temperature variability in this location prior to the installation of weather stations in 1957. The measurements made as part of this project will result in a much longer temperature record, extending at least 40,000 years, aiding our ability to understand what controls Antarctic climate, and improving projections of future Antarctic climate change. Data from this project will be critical to other investigators working on the South Pole ice core, and of general interest to other scientists and the public. Data will be provided rapidly to other investigators and made public as soon as possible.<br/><br/>This project will obtain records of the stable-isotope ratios of water on the ice core currently being obtained at South Pole. The core will reach a depth of 1500 m and an age of 40,000 years. The project will use laser spectroscopy to obtain both an ultra-high-resolution record of oxygen 18/16 and deuterium-hydrogen ratios, and a lower-resolution record of oxygen 17/16 ratios. The high-resolution measurements will be used to aid in dating the core, and to provide estimates of isotope diffusion that constrain the process of firn densification. The novel 17/16 measurement provides additional constraints on the isotope fractionation due to the temperature-dependent supersaturation ratio, which affects the fractionation of water during the liquid-solid condensate transition. Together, these techniques will allow for improved accuracy in the use of the water isotope ratios as proxies for ice-sheet temperature, sea-surface temperature, and atmospheric circulation. The result will be a record of decadal through centennial and millennial scale climate change in a climatically distinct region in East Antarctica that has not been previously sampled by deep ice coring. The project will support a graduate student who will be co-advised by faculty at the University of Washington and the University of Colorado, and will be involved in all aspects of the work. | POINT(0 -90) | POINT(0 -90) | false | false | ||||||
Collaborative Research: Inert Gas and Methane Based Climate Records throughout the South Pole Deep Ice Core
|
1443464 1443472 1443710 |
2019-02-02 | Severinghaus, Jeffrey P.; Sowers, Todd A.; Brook, Edward J. | Gases trapped in ice cores have revealed astonishing things about the greenhouse gas composition of the past atmosphere, including the fact that carbon dioxide concentrations never rose above 300 parts per million during the last 800,000 years. This places today's concentration of 400 parts per million in stark contrast. Furthermore, these gas records show that natural sources of greenhouse gas such as oceans and ecosystems act as amplifiers of climate change by increasing emissions of gases during warmer periods. Such amplification is expected to occur in the future, adding to the human-produced gas burden. The South Pole ice core will build upon these prior findings by expanding the suite of gases to include, for the first time, those potent trace gases that both trapped heat and depleted ozone during the past 40,000 years. The present project on inert gases and methane in the South Pole ice core will improve the dating of this crucial record, to unprecedented precision, so that the relative timing of events can be used to learn about the mechanism of trace gas production and destruction, and consequent climate change amplification. Ultimately, this information will inform predictions of future atmospheric chemical cleansing mechanisms and climate in the context of our rapidly changing atmosphere. This award also engages young people in the excitement of discovery and polar research, helping to entrain the next generations of scientists and educators. Education of graduate students, a young researcher (Buizert), and training of technicians, will add to the nation?s human resource base. <br/> <br/>This award funds the construction of the gas chronology for the South Pole 1500m ice core, using measured inert gases (d15N and d40Ar--Nitrogen and Argon isotope ratios, respectively) and methane in combination with a next-generation firn densification model that treats the stochastic nature of air trapping and the role of impurities on densification. The project addresses fundamental gaps in scientific understanding that limit the accuracy of gas chronologies, specifically a poor knowledge of the controls on ice-core d15N and the possible role of layering and impurities in firn densification. These gaps will be addressed by studying the gas enclosure process in modern firn at the deep core site. The work will comprise the first-ever firn air pumping experiment that has tightly co-located measurements of firn structural properties on the core taken from the same borehole.<br/><br/>The project will test the hypothesis that the lock-in horizon as defined by firn air d15N, CO2, and methane is structurally controlled by impermeable layers, which are in turn created by high-impurity content horizons in which densification is enhanced. Thermal signals will be sought using the inert gas measurements, which improve the temperature record with benefits to the firn densification modeling. Neon, argon, and oxygen will be measured in firn air and a limited number of deep core samples to test whether glacial period layering was enhanced, which could explain low observed d15N in the last glacial period. Drawing on separate volcanic and methane synchronization to well-dated ice cores to create independent ice and gas tie points, independent empirical estimates of the gas age-ice age difference will be made to check the validity of the firn densification model-inert gas approach to calculating the gas age-ice age difference. These points will also be used to test whether the anomalously low d15N seen during the last glacial period in east Antarctic ice cores is due to deep air convection in the firn, or a missing impurity dependence in the firn densification models. <br/><br/>The increased physical understanding gained from these studies, combined with new high-precision measurements, will lead to improved accuracy of the gas chronology of the South Pole ice core, which will enhance the overall science return from this gas-oriented core. This will lead to clarification of timing of atmospheric gas variations and temperature, and aid in efforts to understand the biogeochemical feedbacks among trace gases. These feedbacks bear on the future response of the Earth System to anthropogenic forcing. Ozone-depleting substances will be measured in the South Pole ice core record, and a precise gas chronology will add value. Lastly, by seeking a better understanding of the physics of gas entrapment, the project aims to have an impact on ice-core science in general. | POINT(0 -90) | POINT(0 -90) | false | false | ||||||
Collaborative Research: Window into the World with 40,000-year Glacial Cycles from Climate Records in Million Year-old Ice from the Allan Hills Blue Ice Area
|
1443263 1443306 |
2018-10-18 | Mayewski, Paul A.; Kurbatov, Andrei V.; Higgins, John; Bender, Michael | Bubbles of ancient air trapped in ice cores permit the direct reconstruction of atmospheric composition and allow us to link greenhouse gases and global climate over the last 800,000 years. Previous field expeditions to the Allan Hills blue ice area, Antarctica, have recovered ice cores that date to one million years, the oldest ice cores yet recovered from Antarctica. These records have revealed that interglacial CO2 concentrations decreased by 800,000 years ago and that, in the warmer world 1 million years ago, CO2 and Antarctic temperature were linked as during the last 800,000 years. This project will return to the Allan Hills blue ice area to recover additional ice cores that date to 1 million years or older. The climate records developed from the drilled ice cores will provide new insights into the chemical composition of the atmosphere and Antarctic climate during times of comparable or even greater warmth than the present day. Our results will help answer questions about issues associated with anthropogenic change. These include the relationship between temperature change and the mass balance of Antarctic ice; precipitation and aridity variations associated with radiatively forced climate change; and the climate significance of sea ice extent. The project will entrain two graduate students and a postdoctoral scholar, and will conduct outreach including workshops to engage teachers in carbon science and ice cores.<br/><br/>Between about 2.8-0.9 million years ago, Earth's climate was characterized by 40,000-year cycles, driven or paced by changes in the tilt of Earth's spin axis. Much is known about the "40,000-year" world from studies of deep-sea sediments, but our understanding of climate change during this period is incomplete because we lack records of Antarctic climate and direct records of atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations. We propose to address these issues by building on our recent studies of ancient ice from the Main Ice Field, Allan Hills, Antarctica. During previous field seasons we recovered ice extending, discontinuously, from 0.1-1.0 million years old. Ice was dated by measuring the 40Ar/38Ar (Argon) ratio of the trapped gases. Our discovery of million year-old ice demonstrates that there is gas-record-quality ice from the 40,000-year world in the Allan Hills Main Ice Field. We have identified two different sites, each overlying bedrock at ~ 200 m depth, that are attractive targets for coring ice dating to 1 million years and older. This project aims to core the ice at these two sites, re-occupy a previous site with million year-old ice and drill it down to the bedrock, and generate 10-20 short (~10-meter) cores in areas where our previous work and terrestrial meteorite ages suggest ancient surface ice. We plan to date the ice using the 40Ar/38Ar ages of trapped Argon. We also plan to characterize the continuity of our cores by measuring the deuterium and oxygen isotope ratios in the ice, methane, ratios of Oxygen and Argon to Nitrogen in trapped gas, the Nitrogen-15 isotope (d15N) of Nitrogen, and the Oxygen-18 isotope (d18O) of Oxygen. As the ice may be stratigraphically disturbed, these measurements will provide diagnostic properties for assessing the continuity of the ice-core records. Successful retrieval of ice older than one million years will provide the opportunity for follow-up work to measure the CO2 concentration and other properties within the ice to inform on the temperature history of the Allan Hills region, dust sources and source-area aridity, moisture sources, densification conditions, global average ocean temperature, and greenhouse gas concentrations. We will analyze the data in the context of leading hypotheses of the 40,000-year world and the Mid-Pleistocene Transition to the 100,000-year world. We expect to advance understanding of climate dynamics during these periods. | None | None | false | false | ||||||
Collaborative Research: Characterization of Upstream Ice and Firn Dynamics affecting the South Pole Ice Core
|
1443341 1443471 |
2018-06-14 | Koutnik, Michelle; Conway, Howard; Waddington, Edwin D.; Fudge, T. J.; Hawley, Robert L.; Osterberg, Erich | Ice-core records are critical to understanding past climate variations. An Antarctic ice core currently being drilled at the South Pole will allow detailed investigation of atmospheric gases and fill an important gap in understanding the pattern of climate variability across Antarctica. Critical to the interpretation of any ice core are: 1) accurate chronologies for both the ice and the trapped gas and 2) demonstration that records from the ice core reliably reflect climate. The proposed research will improve the ice and gas chronologies by making measurements of snow compaction in the upstream catchment in order to constrain age models of the ice. These measurements will be a key data set needed for better understanding and predicting time-varying conditions in the upper part of the ice sheet. The research team will measure the modern spatial gradients in accumulation rate, surface temperature, and water stable isotopes from shallow ice cores in the upstream catchment in order to determine the climate history from the ice-core record. The new ice-flow measurements will make it possible to define the path of ice from upstream to the South Pole ice-core drill site to assess spatial gradients in snowfall and to infer histories of snowfall from internal layers within the ice sheet. The project will be led by an early-career scientist, provide broad training to graduate students, and engage in public outreach on polar science.<br/><br/>Ice-core records of stable isotopes, aerosol-born particles, and atmospheric gases are critical to understanding past climate variations. The proposed research will improve the ice and gas chronologies in the South Pole ice core by making in situ measurements of firn compaction in the upstream catchment to constrain models of the gas-age ice-age difference. The firn measurements will be a key data set needed to form a constitutive relationship for firn, and will drive better understanding and prediction of transient firn evolution. The research team will measure the modern gradients in accumulation rate, surface temperature, and water stable isotopes in the upstream catchment to separate spatial (advection) variations from temporal (climate) variations in the ice-core records. The ice-flow measurements will define the flowline upstream of the drill site, assess spatial gradients in accumulation, and infer histories of accumulation from radar-observed internal layers. Results will directly enhance interpretation of South Pole ice-core records, and also advance understanding of firn densification and drive next-generation firn models. | POLYGON((110 -89,117 -89,124 -89,131 -89,138 -89,145 -89,152 -89,159 -89,166 -89,173 -89,180 -89,180 -89.1,180 -89.2,180 -89.3,180 -89.4,180 -89.5,180 -89.6,180 -89.7,180 -89.8,180 -89.9,180 -90,173 -90,166 -90,159 -90,152 -90,145 -90,138 -90,131 -90,124 -90,117 -90,110 -90,110 -89.9,110 -89.8,110 -89.7,110 -89.6,110 -89.5,110 -89.4,110 -89.3,110 -89.2,110 -89.1,110 -89)) | POINT(145 -89.5) | false | false | ||||||
Collaborative Research: Ocean-Ice-Atmosphere Interactions in the Terra Nova Bay Polynya, Antarctica
|
1043657 |
2015-10-22 | Cassano, John; Palo, Scott |
|
Antarctic coastal polynas are, at the same time, sea-ice free sites and 'sea-ice factories'. They are open water surface locations where water mass transformation and densification occurs, and where atmospheric exchanges with the deep ocean circulation are established. Various models of the formation and persistence of these productive and diverse ocean ecosystems are hampered by the relative lack of in situ meteorological and physical oceanographic observations, especially during the inhospitable conditions of their formation and activity during the polar night. <br/><br/><br/>Characterization of the lower atmosphere properties, air-sea surface heat fluxes and corresponding ocean hydrographic profiles of Antarctic polynyas, especially during strong wind events, is sought for a more detailed understanding of the role of polynyas in the production of latent-heat type sea ice and the formation, through sea ice brine rejection, of dense ocean bottom waters<br/><br/>A key technological innovation in this work continues to be the use of instrumented unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), to enable the persistent and safe observation of the interaction of light and strong katabatic wind fields, and mesocale cyclones in the Terra Nova Bay (Victoria Land, Antarctica) polynya waters during late winter and early summer time frames. | POLYGON((163 -74.5,163.9 -74.5,164.8 -74.5,165.7 -74.5,166.6 -74.5,167.5 -74.5,168.4 -74.5,169.3 -74.5,170.2 -74.5,171.1 -74.5,172 -74.5,172 -74.9,172 -75.3,172 -75.7,172 -76.1,172 -76.5,172 -76.9,172 -77.3,172 -77.7,172 -78.1,172 -78.5,171.1 -78.5,170.2 -78.5,169.3 -78.5,168.4 -78.5,167.5 -78.5,166.6 -78.5,165.7 -78.5,164.8 -78.5,163.9 -78.5,163 -78.5,163 -78.1,163 -77.7,163 -77.3,163 -76.9,163 -76.5,163 -76.1,163 -75.7,163 -75.3,163 -74.9,163 -74.5)) | POINT(167.5 -76.5) | false | false | |||||
Self-consistent Ice Dynamics, Accumulation, Delta-age, and Interpolation of Sparse Age Data using an Inverse Approach
|
0636997 |
2012-03-20 | Carns, Regina; Hay, Mike; Waddington, Edwin D. | No dataset link provided | Waddington/0636997<br/><br/>This award supports a project to integrate three lines of glaciology research, previously treated independently. First, internal layers in ice sheets, detected by ice-penetrating radar, retain information about past spatial and temporal patterns of ice accumulation. Ice-flow modelers can recover this information, using geophysical inverse methods; however, the ages of the layers must be known, through interpolation where they intersect a well-dated ice core. <br/>Second, concentrations of methane and some other atmospheric constituents vary through time as climate changes. However, the atmosphere is always well mixed, and concentrations are similar world-wide at any one time, so gas variations from an undated core can be correlated with those in a well-dated core such as GISP2. Because air in near-surface firn mixes readily with the atmosphere above, the air that is trapped in bubbles deep in the firn is typically hundreds to thousands of years younger than that firn. Gas geochemists must calculate this age difference, called delta-age, with a firn-densification model before the ice enclosing the gas can be dated accurately. To calculate delta-age, they must know the temperature and the snow accumulation rate at the time and place where the snow fell. Third, gases can be correlated between cores only at times when the atmosphere changed, so ice-core dates must be interpolated at depths between the sparse dated points. Simplistic interpolation schemes can create undesirable artifacts in the depth-age profile. The intellectual merit of this project is that it will develop new interpolation methods that calculate layer thinning over time due to ice-flow mechanics. Accurate interpolation also requires a spatial and temporal accumulation history. These three issues are coupled through accumulation patterns and ice-core dates. This project will develop an integrated inversion procedure to solve all three problems simultaneously. The new method will incorporate ice-penetrating radar profile data and ice-core data, and will find self-consistent: spatial/temporal accumulation patterns; delta-age profiles for ice cores; and reliably interpolated depth-age profiles. The project will then: recalculate the depth-age profile at Byrd Station, Antarctica; provide a preliminary depth-age at the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) in the initial stages of drilling, using radar layers with estimated ages traced from Byrd Station; and generate a self-consistent depth-age relationship for Taylor Dome, Antarctica over the past 20ka, where low accumulation has created uncertainty in dating, accumulation, and controversy over delta-age estimates. The broader impacts of the project are that it will support the PhD research of a female graduate student, and her continued outreach work with Making Connections, a non-profit program through the University of Washington Women's Center, which matches professional women mentors with minority high-school women interested in mathematics and science, disciplines where they are traditionally under-represented. The graduate student will also work with Girls on Ice, a ten-day glacier field program, taught by women scientist instructors, emphasizing scientific observation through immersion, leadership skills and safety awareness. | None | None | false | false | |||||
The Physical Properties of the US ITASE Firn and Ice Cores from South Pole to Taylor Dome
|
0538494 |
2010-06-03 | Meese, Deb; MEESE, DEBRA |
|
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. | None | None | false | false | |||||
Shelf and Bottom Water Formation Near East Antarctic Polynyas and Glaciers
|
9909374 |
2010-05-04 | Fairbanks, Richard; Jacobs, Stanley |
|
This study will investigate how the formation of dense water masses on the antarctic continental shelves is affected by the periodic flushing by relatively warm circumpolar deep water, and whether the intrusion of warm water cna enhance the rate of formation of dense antarctic water. The study involves the observation of water mass modification processes on the continental shelf off the Adelie Coast in East Antarctica, near a quasi-permanent area of open water in the vicinity of the Mertz and Ninnis Glacier tongues - the so-called Mertz polynya.<br/><br/>Antarctic coastal polynyas, formed by strong offshore winds, are often referred to as major sea ice and salt "factories" because the newly formed ice is blown seaward, allowing more ice to be formed along the coast, and because the freezing process increases the salinity of the continental shelf water. The thin ice, or even open water, implies significant heat losses from the ocean to the atmosphere, which also increases the density of the shelf water. The shelf water sinks, fills any depressions in the bottom, and is gravitationally driven down the continental slope. An additional process is identified for this study and is expected to be at work in this area: the intrusion of relatively warm water onto the continental shelf, overriding the shelf water and essentially shutting down the densification processes.<br/><br/> The study will make use of the RVIB Nathaniel B. Palmer to obtain a closely spaced array of hydrographic stations over the continental shelf and slope along the George V Coast in the austral summer. The dat obtained here will complement a similar winter study by the Australian National Antarctic Program.<br/>*** | POLYGON((140.21983 -45.80239,141.197867 -45.80239,142.175904 -45.80239,143.153941 -45.80239,144.131978 -45.80239,145.110015 -45.80239,146.088052 -45.80239,147.066089 -45.80239,148.044126 -45.80239,149.022163 -45.80239,150.0002 -45.80239,150.0002 -47.983436,150.0002 -50.164482,150.0002 -52.345528,150.0002 -54.526574,150.0002 -56.70762,150.0002 -58.888666,150.0002 -61.069712,150.0002 -63.250758,150.0002 -65.431804,150.0002 -67.61285,149.022163 -67.61285,148.044126 -67.61285,147.066089 -67.61285,146.088052 -67.61285,145.110015 -67.61285,144.131978 -67.61285,143.153941 -67.61285,142.175904 -67.61285,141.197867 -67.61285,140.21983 -67.61285,140.21983 -65.431804,140.21983 -63.250758,140.21983 -61.069712,140.21983 -58.888666,140.21983 -56.70762,140.21983 -54.526574,140.21983 -52.345528,140.21983 -50.164482,140.21983 -47.983436,140.21983 -45.80239)) | POINT(145.110015 -56.70762) | false | false | |||||
Collaborative Research: Refining a 500-kry Climate Record From the Moulton Blue Ice Field in West Antarctica
|
0230316 0230348 0230021 |
2006-08-01 | White, James; Popp, Trevor; Dunbar, Nelia; Sowers, Todd A.; Steig, Eric J. |
|
The summit crater of Mt. Moulton, in West Antarctica, contains a 600-m thick horizontally-exposed section of ice with intercalated tephra layers from nearby Mt Berlin. Argon-40/Argon-39 dating of the thick, near-source tephra indicates that the age of the horizontal ice section ranges between 15,000 and 492,000 years. Thus, the Mt Moulton site offers an unparalleled repository of ancient West Antarctic snow and trapped air that can be used to investigate West Antarctic climate over much of the past 500,000 years. The planar nature and consistent dips of the tephra layers suggests that, although the ice section has thinned, it is otherwise undeformed. The Mt. Moulton site was visited during the 1999/2000 field season, at which time a horizontal ice core representing approximately 400 meters of ice was collected, ranging in age from 15,000 to older than 480,000 years. In addition to this horizontal core, samples of ice at a range of depths were collected in order to test the quality of the climate record in the ice. Forty tephra layers intercalated in the ice were also collected in order to provide chronology for the ice section. The results of this first effort are extremely encouraging. Based on the d?18 O of ice, for example, there is clearly a useable record of past climate at Mt. Moulton extending back beyond 140,000 years. There is work to do, however, to realize the full potential of this horizontal ice core. The elemental and isotopic composition of trapped gases suggest some contamination with modern air, for example. As gas cross-dating of ice cores is the current standard by which climate records are intercompared, we need to understand why and how the gas record is compromised before adding Moulton to our arsenal of ice core paleoclimate records. This award supports a collaborative effort between three institutions with following objectives: 1) to evaluate more thoroughly the integrity of the climatic record through shallow drilling of the blue ice area, as well as the snow field upslope from the blue ice; 2) to improve the radioisotopic dating of specific tephra layers; 3) to obtain baseline information about modern snowfall deposition, mean annual temperature, and wind pumping around the summit of Mt. Moulton; and 4) to study how firn densification differs when surface accumulation changes from net accumulation to net ablation. | POINT(135.1333 -76.05) | POINT(135.1333 -76.05) | false | false | |||||
Isotopic Measurements on the WAIS/Siple Dome Ice Cores
|
9526979 |
2003-06-16 | White, James; Bender, Michael |
|
This award is for support for a program to measure the stable isotope (deuterium to hydrogen and oxygen-18 to oxygen-16) concentrations of ice cores retrieved from Siple Dome as part of the West Antarctic ice sheet program. In addition, the deuterium excess of samples from the Taylor Dome ice core will be determined. This project will approach the question of rapid climate change using ice cores to determine the history of temperature changes, moisture source changes, and elevational changes in the West Antarctic ice sheet. Results from ice cores taken to date in the interior of Antarctica (East and West) are surprisingly lacking in indications of abrupt climate changes, such as those that have been observed in the GISP2 ice core from Summit, Greenland. This work will address the question of whether rapid climate changes, which are known to have occurred in other parts of the southern hemi-sphere, may have also occurred in the coastal regions of West Antarctica. There is some indication from existing records of isotopes in ice cores that the West Antarctic ice sheet may have flushed ice in the past (as evidenced by large changes in elevation of the ice sheet). | None | None | false | false | |||||
Radar Investigations of Former Shear Margins: Roosevelt Island and Ice Stream C
|
9615347 |
2003-05-23 | Conway, Howard |
|
This award is for two years of support to perform radar investigations across former shear margins at Roosevelt Island and Ice Stream C in order to measure changes in the configuration and continuity of internal layers and the bed. The broad goal of these investigations is to gain an understanding of ice stream flow and the timing and mechanisms of ice stream shutdown. A high-resolution short-pulse radar system will be used for detailed examination of the uppermost hundred meters of the firn and ice, and a monopulse sounding-radar system will be used to image the rest of the ice column (including internal layers) and the bed. Changes in the shape and continuity of layers will be used to interpret mechanisms and modes of ice stream flow including the possible migration of stagnation fronts and rates of shut-down. Variations in bed reflectivity will be used to deduce basal hydrology conditions across lineations. Accumulation rates deduced from snow pits and shallow cores will be used to estimate near-surface depth-age profiles. Improved understanding of ice stream history opens the possibility of linking changes in the West Antarctic ice sheet with the geologic evidence from Northern Victoria Land and the ocean record of the retreat of the grounding line in the Ross Sea. | None | None | false | false | |||||
Electrical and Optical Measurements on the Siple Dome Ice Core
|
9526420 |
2003-05-08 | Taylor, Kendrick C. |
|
This award is for support for the measurement of electrical and optical properties of the Siple Dome ice core. The electrical methods can be used to determine the concentration of the hydrogen ions and the concentration of a weighted sum of all ions. The electrical measurements can resolve features as small as 1 cm. The albedo of the core is also measured with a laser system that can resolve features as small as 0.5 cm. The high spatial resolution of these methods makes them ideal for resolving narrow features in the core, which can be missed in larger composite samples. The measurements will be particularly useful for assisting to date the core and to identify short duration features in the record, such as volcanic eruptions. These measurements will also provide useful information for assessing the temporal variability of Holocene accumulation rate and atmospheric circulation. | None | None | false | false | |||||
Physical Properties of the Siple Dome Deep Ice Core
|
9526374 |
1997-01-01 | Alley, Richard |
|
This award is for support for a program of physical and visible studies on the shallow and deep ice cores to be retrieved from Siple Dome, West Antarctica. Visible examination of ice cores has proven to be a powerful technique for dating and paleoclimatic interpretation. Recent examination of a shallow core from Siple Dome indicates that annual-layer dating is possible and that visible examination will contribute significantly to the dating effort at Siple Dome. Once ages are obtained, distances between layers provide snow accumulation after correction for density variations and ice flow thinning. Thin- section examination of the core will contribute to understanding the visible stratigraphy, and will reveal c-axis fabrics which are related to past ice deformation. The results of this study should include a better understanding of rapid climate change in the Antarctic and should contribute to knowledge of the stability of the West Antarctic ice sheet. | None | None | false | false |