[{"awards": "2418105 Zoet, Lucas", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Thu, 10 Oct 2024 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Glaciers move in response to gravity pulling them downhill and much of the resistance to this motion is supplied by the bedrock that they sit on. For fast moving glaciers this motion is largely the result of basal ice sliding over and around bedrock bumps, and the specific processes at the ice-bed interface that facilitate this sliding play a dominant role in setting the glacier speed. Sliding atop the ice-bed interface is known to create cavities (pockets of water) downstream of bedrock bumps. These cavities facilitate water flow, control areas of ice-bed contact, regulate basal drag, dictate subglacial erosion, and affect ice mechanics in general. Thus, the length and shape of cavities (geometry) as they separate from the bed is of fundamental importance in glaciology. This project will determine the fundamental processes that set the shapes of those cavities. This work will benefit the scientific community by producing improved estimates to basal sliding and subglacial hydrology which are two of the main uncertainties in glacier-flow modeling. It will also lead to a better understanding of subglacial erosion which effectively controls the basal bump geometries. This in turn will lead to improved understanding of the fundamentals of glacier and ice-sheet dynamics. Therefore, the outcome of the project could ultimately improve future projections of sea-level rise, benefitting society at large. In addition, this project will train a postdoctoral researcher and undergraduate students from tribal institutions. This project will: 1) Use a novel experimental device to generate a cavity geometry data set for a range of independent controls; and 2) Use the results from part one to constrain numerical models that will allow for the exploration of a greater range of parameter space than is possible in the physical experiments alone. Using a novel cryogenic ring-shear device, this project will systematically assess three likely controls on cavity geometry: effective stress, sliding speed, and bump geometry, while simultaneously tracking strain indicators within the ice and the geometry of the cavity through the transparent walls of the device. These experiments will be conducted with the University of Wisconsin-Madison, state-of-the-art ring-shear device and represent the first instance where all three parameters\u2019 effects on the resultant cavity geometry can be measured simultaneously. The lab experiment findings of cavity geometry and strain rates within the ice will be used to help constrain the process-based numerical modeling of cavity formation. The numerical simulations of ice flow around obstacles will provide information about the stress and strain distribution within the ice, and from this data we can explore the ability of existing theories to predict cavity geometry for fast-flowing ice. The physics within the numerical model will be updated as needed to incorporate processes such as a stress dependent ice rheology or changes in the ice-bed contact physics that are currently unaccounted for. Outcomes will be 1) a detailed understanding of the physics that govern cavity geometry and 2) a simple parameterization of the lab and modeling results that can be easily incorporated into glaciological models for improved estimates of subglacial sliding, hydrology, and erosion. This award reflects NSF\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "GLACIER MOTION/ICE SHEET MOTION; Madison, WI", "locations": "Madison, WI", "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Zoet, Lucas", "platforms": null, "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "Determining the Controls on Subglacial Cavity Geometry", "uid": "p0010481", "west": null}, {"awards": "2336328 Larochelle, Stacy", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Tue, 08 Oct 2024 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Ice sheets lose ice mass through gravity-driven flow to the ocean where ice breaks into icebergs and melts, contributing to global sea level rise. Water commonly found at the base of ice sheets facilitates this process by lubricating the ice-rock interface. The recent discovery of vast, kilometer-thick groundwater reservoirs beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet thus raises important questions about the potential impact of groundwater on ice flow. It has been hypothesized that groundwater flow to the ice-sheet bed may accelerate ice flow as the ice sheet shrinks in response to global warming. Evaluating this hypothesis is challenging due to poorly understood interactions between water, ice, and rock, but is crucial for anticipating the response of ice sheets and sea level to climate change. Understanding how groundwater responds to a changing ice sheet also has important implications for the heat, chemical elements, and microorganisms it stores and transports. To assess the impact of groundwater processes on ice dynamics, a new idealized modeling framework will be developed, incorporating several novel hydromechanical couplings between ice sheets, subglacial drainage systems, and groundwater aquifers. This framework will enable testing the hypotheses that (1) aquifers decelerate ice mass loss in the absence of a well-developed subglacial drainage system, but that (2) an efficient, channelized drainage system can reduce and even reverse this decelerating effect, and that (3) the impact of these phenomena is most pronounced for steep ice flowing rapidly over thick sedimentary basins and depends in a complex way on aquifer permeability. Existing geodetic, seismic, and other geophysical datasets at well-studied Thwaites Glacier and Whillans Ice Stream will be used to constrain model parameters and investigate the impact of groundwater processes in contrasting glaciologic settings. This work will help rule out or highlight subglacial groundwater as one of the next major challenges for efforts to predict the future of the Antarctic Ice Sheet and sea-level rise on decadal to millennial timescales. The project will contribute to educating the next generation of scientists by supporting an early-career PI and a graduate student, as well as participation in a field and research educational program in Alaska and the production of chapters for an online, open-source, free interactive textbook. This award reflects NSF\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "GROUND WATER; GLACIERS/ICE SHEETS; Antarctica", "locations": "Antarctica", "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Larochelle, Stacy; Kingslake, Jonathan", "platforms": null, "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "Modeling the Coupled Dynamics of Groundwater, Subglacial Hydrology and Ice Sheets", "uid": "p0010479", "west": null}, {"awards": "0087144 Conway, Howard", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-150 -83.5,-148 -83.5,-146 -83.5,-144 -83.5,-142 -83.5,-140 -83.5,-138 -83.5,-136 -83.5,-134 -83.5,-132 -83.5,-130 -83.5,-130 -83.65,-130 -83.8,-130 -83.95,-130 -84.1,-130 -84.25,-130 -84.4,-130 -84.55,-130 -84.7,-130 -84.85,-130 -85,-132 -85,-134 -85,-136 -85,-138 -85,-140 -85,-142 -85,-144 -85,-146 -85,-148 -85,-150 -85,-150 -84.85,-150 -84.7,-150 -84.55,-150 -84.4,-150 -84.25,-150 -84.1,-150 -83.95,-150 -83.8,-150 -83.65,-150 -83.5))", "dataset_titles": "Impulse HF radar data from Conway Ridge", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601810", "doi": null, "keywords": "Antarctica; Cryosphere; Siple Coast", "people": "Christianson, Knut; Conway, Howard; Hoffman, Andrew", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Impulse HF radar data from Conway Ridge", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601810"}], "date_created": "Mon, 22 Jul 2024 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Marine ice sheets are low-pass filters of climate variability that take centuries to adjust to interior and near-terminus changes in mass balance. Constraining these century-scale changes from satellite observations that span only the last 40 years is challenging. Here, we take a different approach of carefully synthesizing different data sets to infer changes in the configurations of van der Veen and Mercer Ice Streams on the Siple Coast over the past 3000 years from englacial features encoded in ice-penetrating radar data. Englacial radar data from Conway Ridge reveal smooth, surface conformal layers overlying disrupted stratigraphy that suggest the van der Veen Ice Stream was 40 km wider over 3000 years ago. Englacial layer dating indicates that the ice stream narrowed to its present configuration between $\\sim3000$ and $\\sim1000$ years ago. Similarly disrupted stratigraphy and buried crevasses suggest that ice flowing from Mercer to Whillans Ice Stream across the northwestern tip of the ridge slowed shortly after. Using an ice-flow model capable of simulating shear margin migration, we evaluate whether small changes in ice thickness can lead to large changes in shear margin location. Our results suggest that the tip of Conway Ridge is sensitive to thinning and thickening, and that when the basal strength at the tip of the ridge increases with the height above flotation, the ice sheet shear margins can change quickly.", "east": -130.0, "geometry": "POINT(-140 -84.25)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "GLACIER ELEVATION/ICE SHEET ELEVATION; Siple Coast", "locations": "Siple Coast", "north": -83.5, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Hoffman, Andrew; Conway, Howard", "platforms": null, "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -85.0, "title": "Glacial History of Ridge AB, West Antarctica", "uid": "p0010470", "west": -150.0}, {"awards": "2053169 Kingslake, Jonathan", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Fri, 15 Sep 2023 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "When ice sheets and glaciers lose ice faster than it accumulates from snowfall, they shrink and contribute to sea-level rise. This has consequences for coastal communities around the globe by, for example, increasing the frequency of damaging storm surges. Sea-level rise is already underway and a major challenge for the geoscience community is improving predictions of how this will evolve. The Antarctic Ice Sheet is the largest potential contributor to sea-level rise and its future is highly uncertain. It loses ice through two main mechanisms: the formation of icebergs and melting at the base of floating ice shelves on its periphery. Ice flows under gravity towards the ocean and the rate of ice flow controls how fast ice sheets and glaciers shrink. In Greenland and Antarctica, ice flow is focused into outlet glaciers and ice streams, which flow much faster than surrounding areas. Moreover, parts of the Greenland Ice Sheet speed up and slow down substantially on hourly to seasonal time scales, particularly where meltwater from the surface reaches the base of the ice. Meltwater reaching the base changes ice flow by altering basal water pressure and consequently the friction exerted on the ice by the rock and sediment beneath. This phenomenon has been observed frequently in Greenland but not in Antarctica. Recent satellite observations suggest this phenomenon also occurs on outlet glaciers in the Antarctic Peninsula. Meltwater reaching the base of the Antarctic Ice Sheet is likely to become more common as air temperature and surface melting are predicted to increase around Antarctica this century. This project aims to confirm the recent satellite observations, establish a baseline against which to compare future changes, and improve understanding of the direct influence of meltwater on Antarctic Ice Sheet dynamics. This is a project jointly funded by the National Science Foundation\u2019s Directorate for Geosciences (NSF/GEO) and the National Environment Research Council (NERC) of the United Kingdom (UK) via the NSF/GEO-NERC Lead Agency Agreement. This Agreement allows a single joint US/UK proposal to be submitted and peer-reviewed by the Agency whose investigator has the largest proportion of the budget. Upon successful joint determination of an award recommendation, each Agency funds the proportion of the budget that supports scientists at institutions in their respective countries. This project will include a field campaign on Flask Glacier, an Antarctic Peninsula outlet glacier, and a continent-wide remote sensing survey. These activities will allow the team to test three hypotheses related to the Antarctic Ice Sheet\u2019s dynamic response to surface meltwater: (1) short-term changes in ice velocity indicated by satellite data result from surface meltwater reaching the bed, (2) this is widespread in Antarctica today, and (3) this results in a measurable increase in mean annual ice discharge. The project is a collaboration between US- and UK-based researchers and will be supported logistically by the British Antarctic Survey. The project aims to provide insights into both the drivers and implications of short-term changes in ice flow velocity caused by surface melting. For example, showing conclusively that meltwater directly influences Antarctic ice dynamics would have significant implications for understanding the response of Antarctica to atmospheric warming, as it did in Greenland when the phenomenon was first detected there twenty years ago. This work will also potentially influence other fields, as surface meltwater reaching the bed of the Antarctic Ice Sheet may affect ice rheology, subglacial hydrology, submarine melting, calving, ocean circulation, and ocean biogeochemistry. The project aims to have broader impacts on science and society by supporting early-career scientists, UK-US collaboration, education and outreach, and adoption of open data science approaches within the glaciological community. This award reflects NSF\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "ICE SHEETS; GLACIER MOTION/ICE SHEET MOTION; Antarctic Peninsula; BASAL SHEAR STRESS", "locations": "Antarctic Peninsula", "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Kingslake, Jonathan; Sole, Andrew; Livingstone, Stephen; Winter, Kate; Ely, Jeremy", "platforms": null, "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "NSFGEO-NERC: Investigating the Direct Influence of Meltwater on Antarctic Ice Sheet Dynamics", "uid": "p0010436", "west": null}, {"awards": "2317263 Cross, Andrew", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Mon, 14 Aug 2023 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "The seaward motion of ice sheets and glaciers is primarily controlled by basal sliding at the base of the ice sheet and internal viscous flow within the ice mass. The latter of these \u2014 viscous flow \u2014 is dependent on various factors, including temperature, stress, grain size, and the alignment of ice crystals during flow to produce a \"crystal orientation fabric\" (COF). Historically, ice flow has been modeled using an equation, termed \u201cGlen\u2019s law\u201d, that describes ice-flow rate as a function of temperature and stress. Glen\u2019s law was constrained under relatively high-stress conditions and is often attributed to the motion of crystal defects within ice grains. More recently, however, grain boundary sliding (GBS) has been invoked as the rate-controlling process under low-stress, \u201csuperplastic\u201d conditions. The grain boundary sliding hypothesis is contentious because GBS is not thought to produce a COF, whereas geophysical measurements and polar ice cores demonstrate strong COFs in polar ice masses. However, very few COF measurements have been conducted on ice samples subjected to superplastic flow conditions in the laboratory. This project would measure the evolution of ice COF across the transition from superplastic to Glen-type creep. Results will be used to interrogate the role of superplastic GBS creep within polar ice masses, and thereby provide constraints on polar ice discharge models. Polycrystalline ice samples with grain sizes ranging from 5 \u00b5m to 1000 \u00b5m will be fabricated and deformed in a laboratory, using a 1-atm cryogenic axial-torsion apparatus. Experiments will be conducted at temperatures of -30\u00b0C to -10\u00b0C, and at a constant uniaxial strain rate. Under these conditions, 5% to 99.99% of strain should be accommodated by superplastic, GBS-limited creep, depending on the sample grain size. The deformed samples will then be imaged using cryogenic electron backscatter diffraction (cryo-EBSD) and high-angular-resolution electron backscatter diffraction (HR-EBSD) to quantify COF, grain size, grain shape, and crystal defect (dislocation) densities, among other microstructural properties. These measurements will be used to decipher the rate-controlling mechanisms operating within different thermomechanical regimes, and resolve a long-standing debate over whether superplastic creep can produce a COF in ice. In addition to the polycrystal experiments, ice bicrystals will be fabricated and deformed to investigate the micromechanical behavior of individual grain boundaries under superplastic conditions. Ultimately, these results will be used to provide a microstructural toolbox for identifying superplastic creep using geophysical (e.g., seismic, radar) and glaciological (e.g., ice core) observations. This project will support one graduate student, one or more undergraduate summer students, and an early-career researcher. In addition, this project will support a workshop aimed at bringing together experimentalists, glaciologists, and ice modelers to facilitate cross-disciplinary knowledge sharing and collaborative problem solving. This award reflects NSF\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "United States Of America; Rheology; ROCKS/MINERALS/CRYSTALS; GLACIERS/ICE SHEETS", "locations": "United States Of America", "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Cross, Andrew", "platforms": null, "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "Microstructural Evolution during Superplastic Ice Creep", "uid": "p0010430", "west": null}, {"awards": "2317927 Hills, Benjamin", "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": "Radar Reflectivity at Whillans Ice Plain", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "200401", "doi": "10.5281/zenodo.11201199", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "Zenodo", "science_program": null, "title": "Radar Reflectivity at Whillans Ice Plain", "url": "https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11201199"}], "date_created": "Mon, 07 Aug 2023 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Ice flow is resisted by frictional forces that keep a glacier from immediately sliding into the ocean. Friction comes in two varieties: internal friction within the ice column which resists ice deformation and basal friction which resists ice sliding over its bedrock substrate. Partitioning between internal and basal friction is difficult since both have similar expressions at the most common target for data collection\u2014the ice-sheet surface. However, understanding this partitioning is important because the physical processes that control internal and basal friction act and evolve at different timescales. This project combines spaceborne remote sensing observations from the ice-sheet surface with ice-penetrating radar data that images the internal structure of the ice sheet in order to partition the contribution of each source of friction. Results will advance the fundamental understanding of ice flow and will strengthen projections of future sea-level rise. Broader Impacts of the project include facilitating data reuse for the ice-sheet research community; the strategy for distributing the software toolkit includes student mentorship and hackathon teaching. The researcher will expand the impact of existing ice-penetrating datasets by 1) developing new open-source algorithms for extraction of englacial stratigraphy; 2) creating stratigraphy data products that can be assimilated into future studies of ice motion; and 3) using statistical analyses to integrate radar datasets into larger-scale interpretations with remote sensing datasets of ice-surface velocity, altimetry, climate variables, and model-derived basal friction. The computational tools developed as part of this effort will be integrated and released as a reusable software toolkit for ice-penetrating radar data analysis. The toolkit will be validated and tested by deployment to cloud-hosted JupyterHub instances, which will serve as a singular interface to access radar and remote sensing data, load them into a unified framework, step through a predefined processing flow, and carry out statistical analyses. In some areas, the imaged englacial stratigraphy will deviate from the ice-dynamic setting expected based on surface measurements alone. There, the internal dynamics (or ice-dynamic history) are inconsistent with the surface dynamics, likely because internal friction is poorly constrained and misattributed to basal friction instead. This work will develop the data and statistical tools for constraining internal friction from ice-penetrating radar, making those data products and tools available for future work. This award reflects NSF\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": 180.0, "geometry": "POINT(0 -89.999)", "instruments": "EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e ACTIVE REMOTE SENSING; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e ACTIVE REMOTE SENSING", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "GLACIER MOTION/ICE SHEET MOTION; BT-67; Antarctica; GLACIER TOPOGRAPHY/ICE SHEET TOPOGRAPHY; DHC-6; ICE SHEETS", "locations": "Antarctica", "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Post Doc/Travel", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Hills, Benjamin", "platforms": "AIR-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e PROPELLER \u003e BT-67; AIR-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e PROPELLER \u003e DHC-6", "repo": "Zenodo", "repositories": "Zenodo", "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "Postdoctoral Fellowship: OPP-PRF: Disentangling Ice-sheet Internal and Basal Processes through Novel Ice-penetrating Radar Integration Built on Scalable, Cloud-based Infrastructure", "uid": "p0010428", "west": -180.0}, {"awards": "2152622 Morlighem, Mathieu", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-110 -74,-109 -74,-108 -74,-107 -74,-106 -74,-105 -74,-104 -74,-103 -74,-102 -74,-101 -74,-100 -74,-100 -74.3,-100 -74.6,-100 -74.9,-100 -75.2,-100 -75.5,-100 -75.8,-100 -76.1,-100 -76.4,-100 -76.7,-100 -77,-101 -77,-102 -77,-103 -77,-104 -77,-105 -77,-106 -77,-107 -77,-108 -77,-109 -77,-110 -77,-110 -76.7,-110 -76.4,-110 -76.1,-110 -75.8,-110 -75.5,-110 -75.2,-110 -74.9,-110 -74.6,-110 -74.3,-110 -74))", "dataset_titles": "Sliding-Law Parameter and Airborne Radar-Derived Basal Reflectivity Data Underneath Thwaites Glacier, Antarctica", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601658", "doi": "10.15784/601658", "keywords": "Airborne Radar; Antarctica; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Thwaites; Thwaites Glacier", "people": "Das, Indrani", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "Thwaites (ITGC)", "title": "Sliding-Law Parameter and Airborne Radar-Derived Basal Reflectivity Data Underneath Thwaites Glacier, Antarctica", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601658"}], "date_created": "Tue, 20 Dec 2022 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This project contributes to the joint initiative launched by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.K. Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) to substantially improve decadal and longer-term projections of ice loss and sea-level rise originating from Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica. Thwaites Glacier has been accelerating and widening over the past three decades. How fast Thwaites will disintegrate or how quickly it will find a new stable state have become some of the most important questions of the future of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and its contribution to sea-level rise over the next decades to centuries and beyond. This project will rely on three independent numerical models of ice flow, coupled to an ocean circulation model to (1) improve our understanding of the interactions between the ice and the underlying bedrock, (2) analyze how sensitive the glacier is to external changes, (3) assess the processes that may lead to a collapse of Thwaites, and, most importantly, (4) forecast future ice loss of Thwaites. By providing predictions based on a suite of coupled ice-ocean models, this project will also assess the uncertainty in model projections. The project will use three independent ice-sheet models: Ice Sheet System Model, Ua, and STREAMICE, coupled to the ocean circulation model of the MIT General Circulation Model. The team will first focus on the representation of key physical processes of calving, ice damage, and basal slipperiness that have either not been included, or are poorly represented, in previous ice-flow modelling work. The team will then quantify the relative role of different proposed external drivers of change (e.g., ocean-induced ice-shelf thinning, loss of ice-shelf pinning points) and explore the stability regime of Thwaites Glacier with the aim of identifying internal thresholds separating stable and unstable grounding-line retreat. Using inverse methodology, the project will produce new physically consistent high-resolution (300-m) data sets on ice-thicknesses from available radar measurements. Furthermore, the team will generate new remote sensing data sets on ice velocities and rates of elevation change. These will be used to constrain and validate the numerical models, and will also be valuable stand-alone data sets. This process will allow the numerical models to be constrained more tightly by data than has previously been possible. The resultant more robust model predictions of near-future impact of Thwaites Glacier on global sea levels can inform policy-relevant decision-making. This award reflects NSF\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": -100.0, "geometry": "POINT(-105 -75.5)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "COMPUTERS; Amundsen Sea; ICE SHEETS", "locations": "Amundsen Sea", "north": -74.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": "NOT APPLICABLE", "persons": "Morlighem, Mathieu; Das, Indrani", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e MODELS \u003e COMPUTERS", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -77.0, "title": "NSF-NERC: PROcesses, drivers, Predictions: Modeling the response of Thwaites Glacier over the next Century using Ice/Ocean Coupled Models (PROPHET)", "uid": "p0010400", "west": -110.0}, {"awards": "1542756 Koutnik, Michelle", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-180 -77,-179.5 -77,-179 -77,-178.5 -77,-178 -77,-177.5 -77,-177 -77,-176.5 -77,-176 -77,-175.5 -77,-175 -77,-175 -77.9,-175 -78.8,-175 -79.7,-175 -80.6,-175 -81.5,-175 -82.4,-175 -83.3,-175 -84.2,-175 -85.1,-175 -86,-175.5 -86,-176 -86,-176.5 -86,-177 -86,-177.5 -86,-178 -86,-178.5 -86,-179 -86,-179.5 -86,180 -86,177.5 -86,175 -86,172.5 -86,170 -86,167.5 -86,165 -86,162.5 -86,160 -86,157.5 -86,155 -86,155 -85.1,155 -84.2,155 -83.3,155 -82.4,155 -81.5,155 -80.6,155 -79.7,155 -78.8,155 -77.9,155 -77,157.5 -77,160 -77,162.5 -77,165 -77,167.5 -77,170 -77,172.5 -77,175 -77,177.5 -77,-180 -77))", "dataset_titles": "Beardmore Glacier model in \u0027icepack\u0027", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "200339", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "GitHub", "science_program": null, "title": "Beardmore Glacier model in \u0027icepack\u0027", "url": "https://github.com/danshapero/beardmore"}], "date_created": "Mon, 12 Dec 2022 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Reconstructions of past changes in thickness and extent of the Antarctic ice sheet are important for evaluating past and present sea-level change, and for validating numerical models necessary to make realistic predictions of changes under future climate and ocean conditions. Models estimate that the Ross Sea sector was one of the largest contributors to sea-level rise from Antarctica as the ice sheet adjusted during the past ten thousand years from the glacial period to the Holocene. In this sector, ice flow into the embayment comes through West Antarctic ice streams and through East Antarctic outlet glaciers that flow through the Transantarctic Mountains. Observational data constrain the last glacial maximum and the Holocene retreat, but models are necessary to understand the environmental conditions needed for outlet glaciers to reach observed high stands, to fit the observed patterns of retreat, and to understand how the contribution of ice from West Antarctica and from East Antarctica changed over time. The investigators will use available geological and geophysical data in combination with forward ice-flow models and inverse models to investigate the evolution of the four Transantarctic outlet glaciers where sufficient data exist. The objectives of this new modeling are to constrain the glaciological conditions necessary for these glaciers to thicken during the last glacial, thin during the Holocene, and reach their present-day state. By testing specific hypotheses this work contributes to an interdisciplinary effort to understand Holocene deglaciation of the Ross Sea Embayment. In addition, the modeling will address the resolving power of the available data to answer key questions for each target glacier. Broader impacts include mentoring a graduate student, public outreach, incorporation of research into high-school and university classes, and support of an early-career investigator.", "east": -175.0, "geometry": "POINT(170 -81.5)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "GLACIERS; Transantarctic Mountains; GLACIER THICKNESS/ICE SHEET THICKNESS", "locations": "Transantarctic Mountains", "north": -77.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Koutnik, Michelle; Smith, Ben; Conway, Howard; Shapero, Daniel", "platforms": null, "repo": "GitHub", "repositories": "GitHub", "science_programs": null, "south": -86.0, "title": "Holocene Deglaciation of the Western Ross Embayment: Constraints from East Antarctic Outlet Glaciers", "uid": "p0010398", "west": 155.0}, {"awards": "1543530 van der Veen, Cornelis; 1543533 Johnson, Jesse", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-180 -60,-144 -60,-108 -60,-72 -60,-36 -60,0 -60,36 -60,72 -60,108 -60,144 -60,180 -60,180 -63,180 -66,180 -69,180 -72,180 -75,180 -78,180 -81,180 -84,180 -87,180 -90,144 -90,108 -90,72 -90,36 -90,0 -90,-36 -90,-72 -90,-108 -90,-144 -90,-180 -90,-180 -87,-180 -84,-180 -81,-180 -78,-180 -75,-180 -72,-180 -69,-180 -66,-180 -63,-180 -60))", "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Wed, 19 Oct 2022 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Van der Veen/1543530 The objective of this research is to gain better understanding of the West Antarctic ice flow in the transition region from grounded ice to floating ice shelves and investigate the conditions that can initiate and sustain major retreat of these glaciers. Several major Antarctic outlet glaciers and ice streams will be investigated using a suite of observational techniques and modeling tools. Glaciers include Thwaites Glacier, which has become a focal point in the discussion of West Antarctic retreat, Whillans Ice Stream as an example of the archetype ice stream, and Byrd Glacier, a major outlet glacier draining East Antarctica through the Transantarctic Mountains into the Ross Ice Shelf. This study will investigate whether the ongoing changes in these glaciers will lead to long-term mass loss (the onset of ice sheet collapse), or whether these glaciers will quickly stabilize with a new geometry. To adequately incorporate the dynamic behavior of outlet glaciers and ice streams requires inclusion of the relevant physical processes, and the development of regional models that employ a numerical grid with a horizontal grid spacing sufficiently refined to capture smaller-scale bed topographic features that may control the flow of these glaciers. This award revisits the issue of stability of marine-terminating glaciers whose grounding line is located on a retrograded bed slope. In particular, an attempt will be made to resolve the question whether observed rapid changes are the result of perturbations at the terminus or grounding line, or whether these changes reflect ice-dynamical forcing over the grounded reaches. High-resolution satellite imagery will be used to investigate ice-flow perturbations on smaller spatial scales than has been done before, to evaluate the importance of localized sites of high basal resistance on grounding-line stability. This collaborative project involves a range of modeling strategies including force-budget analysis, flow-band modeling, Full Stokes modeling for local studies, and using the Ice Sheet System Model developed at JPL for regional modeling. Broader Impacts include training two graduate students in computer simulations and ice sheet modeling algorithms. The work will also expand on a web-based interactive flowline model, so that it includes more realistic grounding line dynamics.", "east": 180.0, "geometry": "POINT(0 -89.999)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Ice Sheet Dynamics; MODELS; Iceberg Calving; GLACIERS/ICE SHEETS; Numerical Glacier Modeling; Basal Sliding; Antarctica", "locations": "Antarctica", "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology; Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "van der Veen, Cornelis; Stearns, Leigh; Paden, John", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e MODELS", "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "Collaborative Research: Stability and Dynamics of Antarctic Marine Outlet Glaciers", "uid": "p0010387", "west": -180.0}, {"awards": "1842542 Morgan, Daniel", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((160 -77,160.4 -77,160.8 -77,161.2 -77,161.6 -77,162 -77,162.4 -77,162.8 -77,163.2 -77,163.6 -77,164 -77,164 -77.1,164 -77.2,164 -77.3,164 -77.4,164 -77.5,164 -77.6,164 -77.7,164 -77.8,164 -77.9,164 -78,163.6 -78,163.2 -78,162.8 -78,162.4 -78,162 -78,161.6 -78,161.2 -78,160.8 -78,160.4 -78,160 -78,160 -77.9,160 -77.8,160 -77.7,160 -77.6,160 -77.5,160 -77.4,160 -77.3,160 -77.2,160 -77.1,160 -77))", "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Tue, 09 Aug 2022 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "The goal of this study is to identify and distinguish different source areas of glacial sediment in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica to determine past glacial flow direction. Understanding ice flow is critical for determining how the Antarctic Ice Sheets have behaved in the past. Such insight is fundamental for allowing scientists to predict how the Antarctic Ice Sheets will evolve and, in turn, forecast how much and how fast sea level may rise. The project study site, the McMurdo Dry Valleys, contain a tremendous record of glacial deposits on land that extends back at least 14 million years. Chemistry of the rocks within the glacial deposits hold clues to the sources of ice that deposited the material. The chemical analyses of the glacial deposits will allow mapping of the former extent of glaciations providing a better understand of ice flow history. The mapping of the largest ice sheet expansion of the past 14 million years in the McMurdo Dry Valleys is of broad interest to the global climate change community. Undergraduate students comprise the majority of the field teams and will be responsible for sample preparation and analysis in the laboratory. This project utilizes new geochemical techniques to test hypotheses about the source, extent, and flow patterns of the glacier ice that deposited glacial tills in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica (MDV). The MDV contain an unparalleled terrestrial archive of glacial deposits, which record multiple sources of ice that deposited them. These include the northeast flowing ice that overrode the Transantarctic Mountains, the eastward expansion of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, the westward extension of the Ross Ice Shelf representing an expansion of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, and the growth of local alpine glaciers. The glacial tills and drifts in the Antarctic are typically isolated in patches or disjointed outcrop patterns making it difficult to correlate tills and determine their source. This project will undertake a systematic study of the tills in the McMurdo Dry Valleys to determine their provenance with a variety of geochemical techniques including major and minor element analyses with X-ray fluorescence, heavy mineral composition, soil salt concentration, and determining the uranium-lead (U-Pb) ages of zircon sands contained in these tills. The primary tool will be the age distribution of the population of detrital zircon in a glacial drift because it reflects the source of the tills and provides a unique geochemical \"fingerprint\" used to distinguish source areas while correlating units across different sites. A deliverable from this project will be a community available library of zircon fingerprints for mapped glacial tills from archived samples at the Polar Rock Repository and the systematic collection of samples in the MDV. This award reflects NSF\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": 164.0, "geometry": "POINT(162 -77.5)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "GLACIATION; Dry Valleys", "locations": "Dry Valleys", "north": -77.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Morgan, Daniel", "platforms": null, "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": -78.0, "title": "Unlocking the Glacial History of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica by Fingerprinting Glacial Tills with Detrital Zircon U-Pb Age Populations", "uid": "p0010368", "west": 160.0}, {"awards": "1744649 Christianson, Knut", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-120 -85.5,-117.5 -85.5,-115 -85.5,-112.5 -85.5,-110 -85.5,-107.5 -85.5,-105 -85.5,-102.5 -85.5,-100 -85.5,-97.5 -85.5,-95 -85.5,-95 -85.62,-95 -85.74,-95 -85.86,-95 -85.98,-95 -86.1,-95 -86.22,-95 -86.34,-95 -86.46000000000001,-95 -86.58,-95 -86.7,-97.5 -86.7,-100 -86.7,-102.5 -86.7,-105 -86.7,-107.5 -86.7,-110 -86.7,-112.5 -86.7,-115 -86.7,-117.5 -86.7,-120 -86.7,-120 -86.58,-120 -86.46000000000001,-120 -86.34,-120 -86.22,-120 -86.1,-120 -85.98,-120 -85.86,-120 -85.74,-120 -85.62,-120 -85.5))", "dataset_titles": "Hercules Dome ApRES Data; Hercules Dome High-Frequency Impulse Ice-Penetrating Radar Data; Hercules Dome Ice-Penetrating Radar Swath Topographies; Ice Dynamics at the Intersection of the West and East Antarctic Ice Sheets; ITASE Impulse Radar Hercules Dome to South Pole", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601606", "doi": "10.15784/601606", "keywords": "Antarctica; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; GPR; Ice Penetrating Radar; Snow/ice; Snow/Ice", "people": "Christianson, Knut", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Ice Dynamics at the Intersection of the West and East Antarctic Ice Sheets", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601606"}, {"dataset_uid": "601712", "doi": "10.15784/601712", "keywords": "Antarctica; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; GPR; Hercules Dome; Ice Penetrating Radar; Snow/ice; Snow/Ice", "people": "Jacobel, Robert; Christianson, Knut; Welch, Brian; Hoffman, Andrew", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "Hercules Dome Ice Core", "title": "ITASE Impulse Radar Hercules Dome to South Pole", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601712"}, {"dataset_uid": "601711", "doi": "10.15784/601711", "keywords": "Antarctica; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; GPR; Hercules Dome; Ice Penetrating Radar; Snow/ice; Snow/Ice", "people": "Paden, John; Christianson, Knut; Hoffman, Andrew; Holschuh, Nicholas", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "Hercules Dome Ice Core", "title": "Hercules Dome Ice-Penetrating Radar Swath Topographies", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601711"}, {"dataset_uid": "601710", "doi": "10.15784/601710", "keywords": "Antarctica; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; GPR; Hercules Dome; Ice Penetrating Radar; Snow/ice; Snow/Ice", "people": "Christian, John; Holschuh, Nicholas; O\u0027Connor, Gemma; Hoffman, Andrew; Christianson, Knut; Horlings, Annika; Hills, Benjamin", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "Hercules Dome Ice Core", "title": "Hercules Dome High-Frequency Impulse Ice-Penetrating Radar Data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601710"}, {"dataset_uid": "601739", "doi": "10.15784/601739", "keywords": "Antarctica; Apres; Crystal Orientation Fabric; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Hercules Dome; Ice Dynamic; Ice Penetrating Radar; Radar Interferometry; Radar Polarimetry", "people": "Hills, Benjamin; Hoffman, Andrew; Holschuh, Nicholas; Christianson, Knut; Steig, Eric J.; Erwin, Emma; Horlings, Annika; Fudge, Tyler J", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "Hercules Dome Ice Core", "title": "Hercules Dome ApRES Data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601739"}], "date_created": "Tue, 02 Aug 2022 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "The response of the Antarctic ice sheet to climate change is a central issue in projecting global sea-level rise. While much attention is focused on the ongoing rapid changes at the coastal margin of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, obtaining records of past ice-sheet and climate change is the only way to constrain how an ice sheet changes over millennial timescales. Whether the West Antarctic Ice Sheet collapsed during the last interglacial period (~130,000 to 116,000 years ago), when temperatures were slightly warmer than today, remains a major unsolved problem in Antarctic glaciology. Hercules Dome is an ice divide located at the intersection of the East Antarctic and West Antarctic ice sheets. It is ideally situated to record the glaciological and climatic effects of changes in the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. This project will establish whether Hercules Dome experienced major changes in flow due to changes in the elevation of the two ice sheets. The project will also ascertain whether Hercules Domes is a suitable site from which to recover climate records from the last interglacial period. These records could be used to determine whether the West Antarctic Ice Sheet collapsed during that period. The project will support two early-career researchers and train students at the University of Washington. Results will be communicated through outreach programs in coordination the Ice Drilling Project Office, the University of Washington\u0027s annual Polar Science Weekend in Seattle, and art-science collaboration. This project will develop a history of ice dynamics at the intersection of the East and West Antarctic ice sheets, and ascertain whether the site is suitable for a deep ice-coring operation. Ice divides provide a unique opportunity to assess the stability of past ice flow. The low deviatoric stresses and non-linearity of ice flow causes an arch (a \"Raymond Bump\") in the internal layers beneath a stable ice divide. This information can be used to determine the duration of steady ice flow. Due to the slow horizontal ice-flow velocities, ice divides also preserve old ice with internal layering that reflects past flow conditions caused by divide migration. Hercules Dome is an ice divide that is well positioned to retain information of past variations in the geometry of both the East and West Antarctic Ice Sheets. This dome is also the most promising location at which to recover an ice core that can be used to determine whether the West Antarctic Ice Sheet collapsed during the last interglacial period. Limited ice-penetrating radar data collected along a previous scientific surface traverse indicate well-preserved englacial stratigraphy and evidence suggestive of a Raymond Bump, but the previous survey was not sufficiently extensive to allow thorough characterization or determination of past changes in ice dynamics. This project will conduct a dedicated survey to map the englacial stratigraphy and subglacial topography as well as basal properties at Hercules Dome. The project will use ground-based ice-penetrating radar to 1) image internal layers and the ice-sheet basal interface, 2) accurately measure englacial attenuation, and 3) determine englacial vertical strain rates. The radar data will be combined with GPS observations for detailed topography and surface velocities and ice-flow modeling to constrain the basal characteristics and the history of past ice flow. This award reflects NSF\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": -95.0, "geometry": "POINT(-107.5 -86.1)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "West Antarctica; ICE DEPTH/THICKNESS; East Antarctica", "locations": "West Antarctica; East Antarctica", "north": -85.5, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Christianson, Knut; Hoffman, Andrew; Holschuh, Nicholas", "platforms": null, "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -86.7, "title": "Ice Dynamics at the Intersection of the West and East Antarctic Ice Sheets", "uid": "p0010359", "west": -120.0}, {"awards": "2114502 Tinto, Kirsteen", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-180 -60,-144 -60,-108 -60,-72 -60,-36 -60,0 -60,36 -60,72 -60,108 -60,144 -60,180 -60,180 -63,180 -66,180 -69,180 -72,180 -75,180 -78,180 -81,180 -84,180 -87,180 -90,144 -90,108 -90,72 -90,36 -90,0 -90,-36 -90,-72 -90,-108 -90,-144 -90,-180 -90,-180 -87,-180 -84,-180 -81,-180 -78,-180 -75,-180 -72,-180 -69,-180 -66,-180 -63,-180 -60))", "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Tue, 19 Jul 2022 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2). An important part of understanding future climate change is predicting changes in how fast the ice in Antarctica is moving. If ice flows more quickly towards the ocean, it will have a direct impact on sea level rise. One of the things that can influence the ice flow is the type of rock below the ice coverage in Antarctica. Sedimentary basins are large regions where sedimentary rocks accumulated in the past, often under ancient seas. It has been observed that where there are sediments below the ice, the ice can flow faster. This project seeks to understand what is below the ice and how the underlying rock influences the ice flow. Is it hard, crystalline rock? Is it a sedimentary basin? What is the relationship between sediments and ice flow? The answers to these questions will be addressed by using a combination of available data and geophysical methods. Information from well-known rock-types will be used to train the computer to recognize these features by using an application of artificial intelligence known as machine learning, which will help the characterization and identification of unknown sedimentary basins beneath the ice. The results of this project will be disseminated to a broad audience by holding workshops for teacher and students to explain our findings under the ice and to introduce the machine learning technique. Open-source codes used during this project will be made available for use in higher-level classrooms as well as in further studies. To date, no comprehensive distribution of onshore and offshore sedimentary basins over Antarctica has been developed. A combination of large-scale datasets will be used to characterize known basins and identify new sedimentary basins to produce the first continent-wide mapping of sedimentary basins and provide improved basal parametrizations conditions that have the potential to support more realistic ice sheet models. Available geophysical compilations of data and the location of well-known sedimentary basins will be used to apply an ensemble machine learning algorithm. The machine learning algorithm will learn complex relationships by voting among a collection of randomized decision trees. The gravity signal related to sedimentary basins known from other (e.g. seismic) techniques will be evaluated and unknown basins from aerogravity data regression analyses will be proposed by calculating a gravity residual that reflects density inhomogeneities. The gravimetric sedimentary basins identified from the regression analyses will be compared with an independent method of identifying sedimentary distribution, the Werner deconvolution method of estimating depth to magnetic sources. The hypothesis, which is sedimentary basins are correlated to fast ice flow behavior, will be tested by comparing the location of the sedimentary basins with locations of high ice flow by using available ice velocity observations. A relationship between sedimentary basins and ice streams will be defined qualitatively and quantitatively, aiming to evaluate if there are ice streams where no sedimentary basins are reported, or sedimentary basins with no ice streams related. The findings of these project can confirm if the presence of abundant sediments is a pre-requisite for ice streaming. Analyzing previously known sedimentary basins and identifying new ones in Antarctica is central to evaluating the influence of subglacial sediments on the ice sheet flow. This award reflects NSF\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": 180.0, "geometry": "POINT(0 -89.999)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "GRAVITY ANOMALIES; ICE SHEETS; Antarctica", "locations": "Antarctica", "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Constantino, Renata", "platforms": null, "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "Pan-Antarctic Assessment of Sedimentary Basins and the Onset of Streaming Ice Flow from Machine Learning and Aerogravity Regression Analyses", "uid": "p0010351", "west": -180.0}, {"awards": "2139002 Huth, Alexander", "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": "Simulations of ice-shelf rifting on Larsen C Ice Shelf", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601718", "doi": "10.15784/601718", "keywords": "Antarctica; Glaciology; Iceberg; Ice Shelf Dynamics; Larsen C Ice Shelf; Model Data; Modeling", "people": "Huth, Alexander", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Simulations of ice-shelf rifting on Larsen C Ice Shelf", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601718"}], "date_created": "Fri, 05 Nov 2021 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Icebergs influence climate by controlling how freshwater from ice sheets is distributed into the ocean, where roughly half of ice sheet mass loss is attributed to iceberg calving in the current climate. The freshwater deposited by icebergs as they drift and melt can affect ocean circulation, sea-ice formation, and biological primary productivity. Furthermore, calving of icebergs from ice shelves, the floating extensions of ice sheets, can influence ice sheet evolution and sea-level rise by reducing the resistive stresses provided by ice shelves on the seaward flow of upstream grounded ice. The majority of mass calved from ice shelves occurs in the form of tabular icebergs, which are typically hundreds of meters thick and on the order of tens to hundreds of kilometers in length and width. Tabular calving occurs when full-thickness ice shelf fractures known as rifts propagate to the edges of the ice shelf. These calving events are infrequent, often with decades between events on an individual ice shelf. Changes in tabular calving behavior, i.e., the size and frequency of calving events, can strongly influence climate and ice sheet evolution. However, tabular calving behavior, and how it responds to changes in climate, is neither well understood nor accurately represented in climate models. In this project, a tabular calving parameterization for climate models will be developed. The parameterization will be derived according to data generated from a series of realistic and idealized century-scale tabular calving simulations, which will be performed with a novel ice flow and damage framework that can be applied at the scale of individual ice sheet-ice shelf systems: the CD-MPM-SSA (Continuum Damage Material Point Method for Shelfy-Stream Approximation). During these simulations, the geometry of the ice shelf, mechanical/rheological properties of the ice, and climate forcings such as ocean temperature will be varied to determine the rifting and calving response. The calving parameterization derived from these experiments will be implemented in a Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) climate model, where it will be coupled with a bonded-particle iceberg model. Then, experiments will be run to study the feedback between changes in iceberg calving behavior and climate. Success of this project will improve our understanding and representation of the ice mass budget, ice sheet evolution, and ocean freshwater fluxes, and will improve projections of climate change and sea-level rise. This award reflects NSF\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": 180.0, "geometry": "POINT(0 -89.999)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "USAP-DC; ICEBERGS; AMD; Antarctic Ice Sheet; USA/NSF; GLACIERS/ICE SHEETS; Amd/Us; MODELS", "locations": "Antarctic Ice Sheet", "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Post Doc/Travel", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Huth, Alex", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e MODELS \u003e MODELS", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "OPP-PRF Calving, Icebergs, and Climate", "uid": "p0010276", "west": -180.0}, {"awards": "1745055 Stearns, Leigh; 1745043 Simkins, Lauren", "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": "Circum-Antarctic grounding-line sinuosity; Elevation transects from Pine Island Bay; Pennell Trough, Ross Sea bathymetry and glacial landforms", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601474", "doi": "10.15784/601474", "keywords": "Antarctica; Bathymetry; Elevation; Geomorphology; Glacial History; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Marine Geoscience; NBP1502; Pennell Trough; Ross Sea; R/v Nathaniel B. Palmer", "people": "Munevar Garcia, Santiago; Greenwood, Sarah; Eareckson, Elizabeth; Anderson, John; Prothro, Lindsay; Simkins, Lauren", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Pennell Trough, Ross Sea bathymetry and glacial landforms", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601474"}, {"dataset_uid": "601484", "doi": "10.15784/601484", "keywords": "Antarctica; Bed Roughness; Bed Slope; Elevation; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Pinning Points", "people": "Riverman, Kiya; Stearns, Leigh; Simkins, Lauren", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Circum-Antarctic grounding-line sinuosity", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601484"}, {"dataset_uid": "601774", "doi": "10.15784/601774", "keywords": "Antarctica; Bed Roughness; Cryosphere; Geomorphology; Pine Island Bay", "people": "Munevar Garcia, Santiago", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Elevation transects from Pine Island Bay", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601774"}], "date_created": "Tue, 28 Sep 2021 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Current ice mass loss in Antarctica is largely driven by changes at glacier grounding lines, where inland ice transitions from being grounded to floating in the ocean. The rate and pattern of glacier retreat in these circumstances is thought to be controlled by the terrain under the ice. This project incorporates evidence of past ice-retreat events and other field data, such as grounding-line positions and dates, subglacial topography, and meltwater features, into numerical models of ice flow to investigate the influence that grounding-line processes and subglacial topography have on glacier retreat rates over the past 15,000 years. Recent observations suggest that Antarctic ice mass loss is largely driven by perturbations at or near the grounding line. However, the lack of information on subglacial and grounding-line environments causes large uncertainties in projections of mass loss and sea-level rise. This project will integrate geologic data from the deglaciated continental shelf into numerical models of varying complexity from one to three-dimensions. Rarely do numerical ice-sheet models of Antarctica have multiple constraints on dynamics over the past ~15,000 years (a period that spans the deglaciation of the Antarctic continental shelf since the Last Glacial Maximum). The geologic constraints include grounding-line positions, deglacial chronologies, and information on grounding line-ice shelf processes. The models will be used to investigate necessary perturbations and controls that meet the geological constraints. The multidisciplinary approach of merging geologic reconstructions of paleo-ice behavior with numerical models of ice response will allow the research team to test understanding of subglacial controls on grounding-line dynamics and assess the stability of modern grounding lines. This award reflects NSF\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": 180.0, "geometry": "POINT(0 -89.999)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "MARINE SEDIMENTS; USAP-DC; Amd/Us; GLACIERS; BATHYMETRY; GLACIAL LANDFORMS; Antarctica; AMD; USA/NSF; R/V NBP", "locations": "Antarctica", "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences; Antarctic Earth Sciences; Antarctic Glaciology; Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Simkins, Lauren; Stearns, Leigh; Anderson, John; van der Veen, Cornelis", "platforms": "WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e VESSELS \u003e SURFACE \u003e R/V NBP", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "Collaborative Research: Topographic controls on Antarctic Ice Sheet grounding line retreat - integrating models and observations", "uid": "p0010269", "west": -180.0}, {"awards": "1947882 Robel, Alexander", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Thu, 01 Jul 2021 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Uncertainty in projections of future sea level rise comes, in part, from ice-sheet melting under the influence of unpredictable variations in ocean and atmospheric temperature near ice sheets. Using state-of-the-art modeling techniques, the Antarctic Ice Sheet Large Ensemble (AISLENS) Project will estimate the range of possible Antarctic Ice Sheet melt during the recent past and over the next several centuries that could result from such climate variations. The AISLENS Project will also facilitate research by providing modeling output as an open product to the broader climate and glaciology communities. The project will support an early career faculty member, and interdisciplinary training for a graduate student, postdoctoral fellow and undergraduate student. As a part of this project, an undergraduate course on \"Sea Level Rise and Coastal Engineering\" will be also developed, bringing together Earth Science and Civil Engineering students in an interdisciplinary setting and contributing to their education in sea level science and coastal adaptation. This will be done in the geographic context of the Southeastern US, the region of most concentrated vulnerability to sea-level rise in the US. The primary goal of the proposed research is to understand and quantify the role of internal climate variability in driving ice loss from the Antarctic Ice Sheet over the recent past and into the future. The AISLENS Project will encompass hundreds of simulations of Antarctic ice sheet evolution from 1950 to 2300 forced by realistic variations in climate, including snowfall and melt from fluctuating oceanic and atmospheric temperatures. Plausible realizations of Antarctic climate forcing will be generated from stochastic emulation of output from the Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM) under past and future emissions scenarios. These realizations of variable climate will be used to force the MPAS Albany Land Ice (MALI) model, a state-of-the-art model of ice flow in the Antarctic Ice Sheet. In this project, AISLENS will be used to conduct uncertainty and attribution analyses. In the uncertainty analysis, the evolution of ensemble spread in simulations of the future evolution of the Antarctic Ice Sheet will be systematically decomposed to determine which temporal and spatial scales of climate variability contribute the most to future ice-sheet projection uncertainty. In the attribution analysis, a range of satellite-based observations of recent Antarctic ice loss will be compared to the envelope of internal variability of Antarctic ice loss simulated in AISLENS simulations encompassing the recent past. This analysis will provide context to recent observations indicating significant variability of Antarctic climate forcing and provide a possible path forward for conducting robust statistical inference studies for observed ice-sheet changes. This award reflects NSF\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "ICE SHEETS; Antarctica; Antarctic Ice Sheet; AMD; USAP-DC; USA/NSF; MODELS; Amd/Us", "locations": "Antarctic Ice Sheet; Antarctica", "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology; Antarctic Integrated System Science", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Robel, Alexander", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e MODELS \u003e MODELS", "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "The Antarctic Ice Sheet Large Ensemble (AISLENS) Project: Assessing the Role of Climate Variability in Past and Future Ice Sheet Mass Loss", "uid": "p0010223", "west": null}, {"awards": "2027615 Paden, John", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Wed, 30 Jun 2021 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This project will develop a new ice-penetrating radar system that can simultaneously map glacier geometry and glacier flow along repeat profiles. Forecasting an ice-sheet\u2019s contribution to sea level requires an estimate for the initial ice-sheet geometry and the parameters that govern ice flow and slip across bedrock. Existing ice-sheet models cannot independently determine this information from conventional observations of ice-surface velocities and glacier geometry. This introduces substantial uncertainty into simulations of past and future ice-sheet behavior. Thus, this new radar capability is conceived to provide the needed data to support higher-fidelity simulations of past and future ice-sheet behavior and more accurate projections of future sea level. The new radar system will integrate two existing radars (the multi-channel coherent radio-echo depth sounder and the accumulation radar) developed by the Center for the Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets, as well as adding new capabilities. An eight-element very high frequency (VHF; 140-215 MHz) array will have sufficient cross-track aperture to swath map internal layers and the ice-sheet base in three dimensions. A single ultra high frequency (UHF; 600-900 MHz) antenna will have the range and phase resolution to map internal layer displacement with 0.25-mm precision. The VHF array will create 3D mappings of layer geometry that enable measurements of vertical velocities by accounting for spatial offsets between repeat profiles and changing surface conditions. The vertical displacement measurement will then be made by determining the difference in radar phase response recorded by the UHF antenna for radar profiles collected at the same locations at different times. The UHF antenna will be dual-polarized and thus capable of isolating both components of complex internal reflections. This should enable inferences of ice crystal orientation fabric and widespread mapping of ice viscosity. Initial field testing of the radar will occur on the McMurdo Ice Shelf and then progress to Thwaites Glacier, Antarctica. The dual-band radar system technology and processing algorithms will be developed with versatile extensible hardware and user-friendly software so that this system will serve as a prototype for a future community radar system. This award reflects NSF\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": "EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e ACTIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e IMAGING RADARS \u003e IMAGING RADAR SYSTEMS", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Amd/Us; USA/NSF; Airborne Radar; AMD; ICE SHEETS; Thwaites Glacier; USAP-DC", "locations": "Thwaites Glacier", "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Instrumentation and Facilities", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Paden, John; Rodriguez-Morales, Fernando ", "platforms": null, "repositories": null, "science_programs": "Thwaites (ITGC)", "south": null, "title": "Collaborative Research: EAGER: A Dual-Band Radar for Measuring Internal Ice Deformation: a Multipass Ice-Penetrating Radar Experiment on Thwaites Glacier and the McMurdo Ice Shelf", "uid": "p0010215", "west": null}, {"awards": "1851094 Baker, Ian; 1851022 Fudge, Tyler", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": "Code for calculating mean gradient for EDC sulfate data; EPICA Dome C Sulfate Data 7-3190m; Forward Diffusion Model used to calculate widening of volcanic layer widths; Volcanic Widths in Dome C Interglacials and Glacials", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601855", "doi": null, "keywords": "Antarctica; Cryosphere", "people": "Fudge, T. J.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Volcanic Widths in Dome C Interglacials and Glacials", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601855"}, {"dataset_uid": "601857", "doi": null, "keywords": "Antarctica; Cryosphere", "people": "Fudge, T. J.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Forward Diffusion Model used to calculate widening of volcanic layer widths", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601857"}, {"dataset_uid": "601759", "doi": "10.15784/601759", "keywords": "Antarctica", "people": "Fudge, T. J.; Severi, Mirko", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "COLDEX", "title": "EPICA Dome C Sulfate Data 7-3190m", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601759"}, {"dataset_uid": "601856", "doi": null, "keywords": "Antarctica; Cryosphere", "people": "Fudge, T. J.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Code for calculating mean gradient for EDC sulfate data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601856"}], "date_created": "Mon, 28 Jun 2021 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "The ice of the polar ice sheets is among the purest substances on Earth, yet the small amount of impurities --such as acids-- are important to how the ice flows and what can be learned from ice cores about past climate. The goal of this project is to understand the role of such acids on the deformation of polycrystalline ice by comparing the deformation behavior of pure and sulfuric acid-doped samples. Sulfuric acid was chosen both because of its importance for interpreting past climate and because it can lead to water veins in ice at low temperatures. This work will focus on the location, movement, and impact of acids in polycrystalline ice that are more complex than in single crystals of ice. By deforming samples and performing microstructural characterization, the role of acids on deformation rate, grain evolution, and the movement of the acids themselves, will be assessed. The work will lead to the education of a Ph.D. student at Dartmouth College, introduce undergraduate students to research at both the University of Washington and Dartmouth College. Despite the ubiquitous use of the constitutive relation for ice commonly referred to as \"Glen\u0027s Flow Law\", significant uncertainty exists particularly with regard to the role of impurities and the development of oriented fabrics. The aim of this project is to improve the constitutive relationship for ice by performing deformation tests and microstructural characterization of pure and sulfuric acid-doped ice. The project will focus on sulfuric acid\u0027s impact on ice viscosity, fabric evolution, and diffusivity. Sulfuric acid can have both direct and indirect effects on the mechanical properties of polycrystalline ice. The direct effects change the dislocation velocity and/or density, and the indirect effects change the grain size and fabric. The complexity and interaction of these effects means that it is not possible to understand the effects of sulfuric acid by simply examining ice core specimens. In this project, the team will deform four types of ice: lab-grown ice samples doped with similar-to-natural concentrations of sulfuric acid, lab-grown high-purity ice, layered doped and pure ice, and natural ice from Antarctic ice cores. Deformation will be performed in both uniaxial compression and simple shear. The addition of simple shear tests is critical for relating the laboratory-observed deformation behavior to the behavior of polar ice sheets where the shear strain dominates ice motion in basal ice. After deformation to strains from 5 percent up to 25 percent, the microstructural development will be assessed with methods including a variety of scanning electron microscope techniques, Raman microscopy, synchrotron-based Nano-X-ray fluorescence, and ion chromatography. These analysis techniques will allow the determination of 1) the segregation and movement of impurities, 2) the rate of grain-boundary migration, 3) the number of recrystallized grains; and 4) the full orientation of the ice crystals. The results will enable both microstructural modeling of the effects of sulfuric acid and numerical modeling of diffusion in ice cores. The net result will be a better understanding of ice deformation that improves ice-core interpretation and ice-sheet modeling. This award reflects NSF\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "AMD; Polycrystalline Ice; LABORATORY; Epica Dome C; SNOW/ICE; USA/NSF; USAP-DC; Ice Core; Amd/Us", "locations": "Epica Dome C", "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Science and Technology; Antarctic Glaciology; Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Baker, Ian; Fudge, T. J.", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e PHYSICAL MODELS \u003e LABORATORY", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "Collaborative Research: The Impact of Impurities and Stress State on Polycrystalline Ice Deformation", "uid": "p0010211", "west": null}, {"awards": "1739027 Tulaczyk, Slawek", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-125 -73,-122.1 -73,-119.2 -73,-116.3 -73,-113.4 -73,-110.5 -73,-107.6 -73,-104.7 -73,-101.8 -73,-98.9 -73,-96 -73,-96 -73.7,-96 -74.4,-96 -75.1,-96 -75.8,-96 -76.5,-96 -77.2,-96 -77.9,-96 -78.6,-96 -79.3,-96 -80,-98.9 -80,-101.8 -80,-104.7 -80,-107.6 -80,-110.5 -80,-113.4 -80,-116.3 -80,-119.2 -80,-122.1 -80,-125 -80,-125 -79.3,-125 -78.6,-125 -77.9,-125 -77.2,-125 -76.5,-125 -75.8,-125 -75.1,-125 -74.4,-125 -73.7,-125 -73))", "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Thu, 24 Jun 2021 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This project contributes to the joint initiative launched by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.K. Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) to substantially improve decadal and longer-term projections of ice loss and sea-level rise originating from Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica. Collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) could raise the global sea level by about 5 meters (16 feet) and the scientific community considers it the most significant risk for coastal environments and cities. The risk arises from the deep, marine setting of WAIS. Although scientists have been aware of the precarious setting of this ice sheet since the early 1970s, it is only now that the flow of ice in several large drainage basins is undergoing dynamic change consistent with a potentially irreversible disintegration. Understanding WAIS stability and enabling more accurate prediction of sea-level rise through computer simulation are two of the key objectives facing the polar science community today. This project will directly address both objectives by: (1) using state-of-the-art technologies to observe rapidly deforming parts of Thwaites Glacier that may have significant control over the future evolution of WAIS, and (2) using these new observations to improve ice-sheet models used to predict future sea-level rise. This project brings together a multidisciplinary team of UK and US scientists. This international collaboration will result in new understanding of natural processes that may lead to the collapse of the WAIS and will boost infrastructure for research and education by creating a multidisciplinary network of scientists. This team will mentor three postdoctoral researchers, train four Ph.D. students and integrate undergraduate students in this research project. The project will test the overarching hypothesis that shear-margin dynamics may exert powerful control on the future evolution of ice flow in Thwaites Drainage Basin. To test the hypothesis, the team will set up an ice observatory at two sites on the eastern shear margin of Thwaites Glacier. The team argues that weak topographic control makes this shear margin susceptible to outward migration and, possibly, sudden jumps in response to the drawdown of inland ice when the grounding line of Thwaites retreats. The ice observatory is designed to produce new and comprehensive constraints on englacial properties, including ice deformation rates, ice crystal fabric, ice viscosity, ice temperature, ice water content and basal melt rates. The ice observatory will also establish basal conditions, including thickness and porosity of the till layer and the deeper marine sediments, if any. Furthermore, the team will develop new knowledge with an emphasis on physical processes, including direct assessment of the spatial and temporal scales on which these processes operate. Seismic surveys will be carried out in 2D and 3D using wireless geophones. A network of broadband seismometers will identify icequakes produced by crevassing and basal sliding. Autonomous radar systems with phased arrays will produce sequential images of rapidly deforming internal layers in 3D while potentially also revealing the geometry of a basal water system. Datasets will be incorporated into numerical models developed on different spatial scales. One will focus specifically on shear-margin dynamics, the other on how shear-margin dynamics can influence ice flow in the whole drainage basin. Upon completion, the project aims to have confirmed whether the eastern shear margin of Thwaites Glacier can migrate rapidly, as hypothesized, and if so what the impacts will be in terms of sea-level rise in this century and beyond. This award reflects NSF\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": -96.0, "geometry": "POINT(-110.5 -76.5)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "FIELD INVESTIGATION; GLACIER MOTION/ICE SHEET MOTION; Thwaites Glacier; USAP-DC; USA/NSF; Magmatic Volatiles; AMD; GLACIER MASS BALANCE/ICE SHEET MASS BALANCE; ICE SHEETS; Amd/Us", "locations": "Thwaites Glacier", "north": -73.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Instrumentation and Support; Antarctic Integrated System Science; Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Tulaczyk, Slawek", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION", "repositories": null, "science_programs": "Thwaites (ITGC)", "south": -80.0, "title": "NSF-NERC: Thwaites Interdisciplinary Margin Evolution (TIME): The Role of Shear Margin Dynamics in the Future Evolution of the Thwaites Drainage Basin", "uid": "p0010199", "west": -125.0}, {"awards": "1738992 Pettit, Erin C; 1929991 Pettit, Erin C", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-114 -74,-113 -74,-112 -74,-111 -74,-110 -74,-109 -74,-108 -74,-107 -74,-106 -74,-105 -74,-104 -74,-104 -74.2,-104 -74.4,-104 -74.6,-104 -74.8,-104 -75,-104 -75.2,-104 -75.4,-104 -75.6,-104 -75.8,-104 -76,-105 -76,-106 -76,-107 -76,-108 -76,-109 -76,-110 -76,-111 -76,-112 -76,-113 -76,-114 -76,-114 -75.8,-114 -75.6,-114 -75.4,-114 -75.2,-114 -75,-114 -74.8,-114 -74.6,-114 -74.4,-114 -74.2,-114 -74))", "dataset_titles": "AMIGOS-IIIa \"Cavity\" Aquadopp current data Jan 2020 - Mar 2021; AMIGOS-IIIa \"Cavity\" Seabird CTD data Jan 2020 - Dec 2021; AMIGOS-III Cavity and Channel Snow Height and Thermistor Snow Temperature Data; AMIGOS-IIIc \"Channel\" Aquadopp current data Jan 2020 - Mar 2021; AMIGOS-IIIc \"Channel\" Seabird CTD data Jan 2020 - Dec 2021; CTD data from the NBP 19/02 cruise as part of the TARSAN project in the Amundsen Sea during austral summer 2018/2019; Dotson-Crosson Ice Shelf data from a tale of two ice shelves paper; Pinning-point shear-zone fractures in Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf (2002 - 2022); Sentinel-1-derived monthly-averaged velocity components from Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf, 2016 - 2022; SIIOS Temporary Deployment; Sub-ice-shelf seafloor elevation derived from point-source active-seismic data on Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf and Dotson Ice Shelf, December 2019 and January 2020; Thwaites Glacier grounding lines for 2014 and 2019/20 from height above flotation; Two-year velocity and strain-rate averages from the Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf, 2001-2020; Visala WXT520 weather station data at the Cavity and Channel AMIGOS-III sites; Yearly velocity and strain-rate averages from the Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf, 2013-2022", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601552", "doi": "10.15784/601552", "keywords": "Amundsen Sea; Antarctica; Ice Shelf; Pine Island Bay; Snow Accumulation; Snow Temperature; Thwaites Glacier", "people": "Scambos, Ted", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "Thwaites (ITGC)", "title": "AMIGOS-III Cavity and Channel Snow Height and Thermistor Snow Temperature Data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601552"}, {"dataset_uid": "200321", "doi": "10.5285/e338af5d-8622-05de-e053-6c86abc06489", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "British Oceanographic Data Centre", "science_program": null, "title": "CTD data from the NBP 19/02 cruise as part of the TARSAN project in the Amundsen Sea during austral summer 2018/2019", "url": "https://www.bodc.ac.uk/data/published_data_library/catalogue/10.5285/e338af5d-8622-05de-e053-6c86abc06489/"}, {"dataset_uid": "601549", "doi": "10.15784/601549", "keywords": "Amundsen Sea; Antarctica; Ice Shelf; Pine Island Bay; Thwaites Glacier", "people": "Scambos, Ted", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "Thwaites (ITGC)", "title": "Visala WXT520 weather station data at the Cavity and Channel AMIGOS-III sites", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601549"}, {"dataset_uid": "601548", "doi": "10.15784/601548", "keywords": "Amundsen Sea; Antarctica; Ice Shelf; Mooring; Pine Island Bay; Pressure; Temperature; Thwaites Glacier", "people": "Scambos, Ted", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "Thwaites (ITGC)", "title": "AMIGOS-IIIc \"Channel\" Aquadopp current data Jan 2020 - Mar 2021", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601548"}, {"dataset_uid": "601547", "doi": "10.15784/601547", "keywords": "Amundsen Sea; Antarctica; Ice Shelf; Mooring; Pine Island Bay; Pressure; Temperature; Thwaites Glacier", "people": "Scambos, Ted", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "Thwaites (ITGC)", "title": "AMIGOS-IIIa \"Cavity\" Aquadopp current data Jan 2020 - Mar 2021", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601547"}, {"dataset_uid": "601499", "doi": "10.15784/601499", "keywords": "Amundsen Sea; Antarctica; Glaciology; Grounding Line; Ice Shelf; Thwaites Glacier", "people": "Truffer, Martin; Muto, Atsu; Pettit, Erin; Alley, Karen; Wild, Christian; Scambos, Ted", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "Thwaites (ITGC)", "title": "Thwaites Glacier grounding lines for 2014 and 2019/20 from height above flotation", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601499"}, {"dataset_uid": "601827", "doi": "10.15784/601827", "keywords": "Antarctica; Cryosphere; Dotson Ice Shelf; Thwaites Glacier", "people": "Wallin, Bruce; Pettit, Erin; Truffer, Martin; Scambos, Ted; Wild, Christian; Pomraning, Dale; Muto, Atsuhiro; Alley, Karen; Roccaro, Alexander", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "Thwaites (ITGC)", "title": "Sub-ice-shelf seafloor elevation derived from point-source active-seismic data on Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf and Dotson Ice Shelf, December 2019 and January 2020", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601827"}, {"dataset_uid": "601545", "doi": "10.15784/601545", "keywords": "Amundsen Sea; Antarctica; Ice Shelf; Mooring; Pine Island Bay; Pressure; Salinity; Temperature; Thwaites Glacier", "people": "Scambos, Ted", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "Thwaites (ITGC)", "title": "AMIGOS-IIIc \"Channel\" Seabird CTD data Jan 2020 - Dec 2021", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601545"}, {"dataset_uid": "601544", "doi": "10.15784/601544", "keywords": "Amundsen Sea; Antarctica; Ice Shelf; Mooring; Pine Island Bay; Pressure; Salinity; Temperature; Thwaites Glacier", "people": "Scambos, Ted", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "Thwaites (ITGC)", "title": "AMIGOS-IIIa \"Cavity\" Seabird CTD data Jan 2020 - Dec 2021", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601544"}, {"dataset_uid": "601478", "doi": "10.15784/601478", "keywords": "Antarctica; Glaciology; Ice Shelf; Ice Velocity; Strain Rate; Thwaites Glacier", "people": "Truffer, Martin; Alley, Karen; Wild, Christian; Scambos, Ted; Muto, Atsu; Pettit, Erin; Wallin, Bruce; Klinger, Marin", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "Thwaites (ITGC)", "title": "Two-year velocity and strain-rate averages from the Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf, 2001-2020", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601478"}, {"dataset_uid": "601914", "doi": null, "keywords": "Antarctica; Cryosphere; Glaciology; Ice Shelf; Thwaites Glacier; Velocity", "people": "Lilien, David; Banerjee, Debangshu; Scambos, Ted; Muto, Atsuhiro; Truffer, Martin; Wild, Christian; Pettit, Erin; Alley, Karen; Luckman, Adrian", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "Thwaites (ITGC)", "title": "Sentinel-1-derived monthly-averaged velocity components from Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf, 2016 - 2022", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601914"}, {"dataset_uid": "601578", "doi": "10.15784/601578", "keywords": "Antarctica; Dotson Ice Shelf; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology", "people": "Wild, Christian; Segabinazzi-Dotto, Tiago", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "Thwaites (ITGC)", "title": "Dotson-Crosson Ice Shelf data from a tale of two ice shelves paper", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601578"}, {"dataset_uid": "200204", "doi": "https://doi.org/10.7914/SN/1L_2019", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "International Federation of Digital Seismograph Networks", "science_program": null, "title": "SIIOS Temporary Deployment", "url": "http://www.fdsn.org/networks/detail/1L_2019/"}, {"dataset_uid": "601904", "doi": "10.15784/601904", "keywords": "Antarctica; Cryosphere; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Glaciology; Ice Shelf; Remote Sensing; Satellite Imagery; Thwaites; Thwaites Glacier; Velocity", "people": "Wild, Christian; Banerjee, Debangshu; Lilien, David; Truffer, Martin; Luckman, Adrian; Alley, Karen; Muto, Atsuhiro; Scambos, Ted; Pettit, Erin", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "Thwaites (ITGC)", "title": "Yearly velocity and strain-rate averages from the Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf, 2013-2022", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601904"}, {"dataset_uid": "601903", "doi": "10.15784/601903", "keywords": "Antarctica; Cryosphere; Fractures; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Shelf; Thwaites", "people": "Banerjee, Debangshu; Pettit, Erin; Wild, Christian; Luckman, Adrian; Alley, Karen; Muto, Atsuhiro; Scambos, Ted; Truffer, Martin; Lilien, David", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "Thwaites (ITGC)", "title": "Pinning-point shear-zone fractures in Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf (2002 - 2022)", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601903"}], "date_created": "Mon, 22 Feb 2021 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This project contributes to the joint initiative launched by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.K. Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) to substantially improve decadal and longer-term projections of ice loss and sea-level rise originating from Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica. Thwaites and neighboring glaciers in the Amundsen Sea Embayment are rapidly losing mass in response to recent climate warming and related changes in ocean circulation. Mass loss from the Amundsen Sea Embayment could lead to the eventual collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, raising the global sea level by up to 2.5 meters (8 feet) in as short as 500 years. The processes driving the loss appear to be warmer ocean circulation and changes in the width and flow speed of the glacier, but a better understanding of these changes is needed to refine predictions of how the glacier will evolve. One highly sensitive process is the transitional flow of glacier ice from land onto the ocean to become a floating ice shelf. This flow of ice from grounded to floating is affected by changes in air temperature and snowfall at the surface; the speed and thickness of ice feeding it from upstream; and the ocean temperature, salinity, bathymetry, and currents that the ice flows into. The project team will gather new measurements of each of these local environmental conditions so that it can better predict how future changes in air, ocean, or the ice will affect the loss of ice to the ocean in this region. Current and anticipated near-future mass loss from Thwaites Glacier and nearby Amundsen Sea Embayment region is mainly attributed to reduction in ice-shelf buttressing due to sub-ice-shelf melting by intrusion of relatively warm Circumpolar Deep Water into sub-ice-shelf cavities. Such predictions for mass loss, however, still lack understanding of the dominant processes at and near grounding zones, especially their spatial and temporal variability, as well as atmospheric and oceanic drivers of these processes. This project aims to constrain and compare these processes for the Thwaites and the Dotson Ice Shelves, which are connected through upstream ice dynamics, but influenced by different submarine troughs. The team\u0027s specific objectives are to: 1) install atmosphere-ice-ocean multi-sensor remote autonomous stations on the ice shelves for two years to provide sub-daily continuous observations of concurrent oceanic, glaciologic, and atmospheric conditions; 2) measure ocean properties on the continental shelf adjacent to ice-shelf fronts (using seal tagging, glider-based and ship-based surveys, and existing moored and conductivity-temperature-depth-cast data), 3) measure ocean properties into sub-ice-shelf cavities (using autonomous underwater vehicles) to detail ocean transports and heat fluxes; and 4) constrain current ice-shelf and sub-ice-shelf cavity geometry, ice flow, and firn properties for the ice-shelves (using radar, active-source seismic, and gravimetric methods) to better understand the impact of ocean and atmosphere on the ice-sheet change. The team will also engage the public and bring awareness to this rapidly changing component of the cryosphere through a \"Live from the Ice\" social media campaign in which the public can follow the action and data collection from the perspective of tagged seals and autonomous stations. This award reflects NSF\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": -104.0, "geometry": "POINT(-109 -75)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Thwaites Glacier; FIELD SURVEYS; GLACIERS/ICE SHEETS", "locations": "Thwaites Glacier", "north": -74.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences; Antarctic Glaciology; Antarctic Integrated System Science; Antarctic Glaciology; Antarctic Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences; Antarctic Integrated System Science", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Truffer, Martin; Scambos, Ted; Muto, Atsu; Heywood, Karen; Boehme, Lars; Hall, Robert; Wahlin, Anna; Lenaerts, Jan; Pettit, Erin", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD SURVEYS", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "British Oceanographic Data Centre; International Federation of Digital Seismograph Networks; USAP-DC", "science_programs": "Thwaites (ITGC)", "south": -76.0, "title": "NSF-NERC: Thwaites-Amundsen Regional Survey and Network (TARSAN) Integrating Atmosphere-Ice-Ocean Processes affecting the Sub-Ice-Shelf Environment", "uid": "p0010162", "west": -114.0}, {"awards": "1643301 Gerbi, Christopher; 1643353 Christianson, Knut", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": "ImpDAR: an impulse radar processor; SeidarT; South Pole Lake ApRES Radar; South Pole Lake GNSS; South Pole Lake: ground-based ice-penetrating radar", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601503", "doi": "10.15784/601503", "keywords": "Antarctica; Apres; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; South Pole; Subglacial Lakes; Vertical Velocity", "people": "Hills, Benjamin", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "South Pole Lake ApRES Radar", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601503"}, {"dataset_uid": "200202", "doi": "http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3833057", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "GitHub", "science_program": null, "title": "ImpDAR: an impulse radar processor", "url": "https://www.github.com/dlilien/ImpDAR"}, {"dataset_uid": "200203", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "Uni. Washington ResearchWorks Archive", "science_program": null, "title": "South Pole Lake: ground-based ice-penetrating radar", "url": "http://hdl.handle.net/1773/45293"}, {"dataset_uid": "601502", "doi": "10.15784/601502", "keywords": "Antarctica; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; GNSS; GPS; GPS Data; South Pole; Subglacial Lakes", "people": "Hills, Benjamin", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "South Pole Lake GNSS", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601502"}, {"dataset_uid": "200244", "doi": " https://zenodo.org/badge/latestdoi/382590632", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "GitHub", "science_program": null, "title": "SeidarT", "url": "https://github.com/UMainedynamics/SeidarT"}], "date_created": "Wed, 17 Feb 2021 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Gerbi/1643301 This award supports a project to develop software that will allow researchers considering seismic or radar field surveys to test, ahead of time, whether the data they plan to collect will have sufficient resolution to measure the natural variations in the mechanical properties of ice, which determine the response of flowing ice to changing climatic conditions. The mechanical properties of ice depend largely on the temperature and the orientation of the crystals that make up the ice. The most accurate method for measuring ice crystal orientation and temperature is through drilling and direct analysis of an ice core. However, this method is very costly, time-consuming, and limited in spatial coverage. Geophysical techniques, such as seismic and radar, can cover much more area, but we have little knowledge about the practical limitations of these techniques as they relate to calculating mechanical properties. This project addresses that knowledge gap through construction of a computational toolbox that will allow accurate assessment of the ability of geophysical surveys to image crystal orientation and ice temperature. Researchers can then use these tools to adjust the field survey plans to maximize the return on investment. By working to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of future geophysical work related to glacial flow, this proposal will improve scientists? ability to quantify sea-level variations within the larger context of climate change. The project includes building new user-friendly, publicly accessible software and instructional modules. The work will provide training for graduate and undergraduate students, who will play a role in research and develop instructional materials. Ice viscosity, the resistance of ice to flow, exerts significant control over ice velocity. Therefore, mapping ice viscosity is important for understanding the current and future behavior of glaciers and ice sheets. To do so, scientists must determine the temperature and crystal orientation fabric throughout the ice. Seismic and radar techniques can survey large areas quickly, and thus are promising, yet not fully tested, methods to efficiently measure the thermal and mechanical structure of flowing ice. As part of this project, scientists will develop and use a computational framework to quantify the degree to which seismic and radar techniques can resolve the crystal orientation fabric and temperature of streaming ice, and then test how sensitive ice flow is to the attendant uncertainty. To meet these goals, a numerical toolbox will be built which will allow the glacier/ice stream geometry and physical properties (temperature, crystal orientation fabric, density and acidity) to be varied. The toolbox will be capable of both creating synthetic radar and seismic profiles through forward modeling and inverting synthetic profiles to allow evaluation of how well geophysical techniques can image the original thermal and mechanical structure. These simulated radar and seismic data will allow scientists to better quantify the influence of the variability in mechanical properties of the ice on flow velocities and patterns. The results of this work will guide planning for future field campaigns, making them more effective and efficient. This project does not require fieldwork in the Antarctic.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "United States Of America; GLACIERS/ICE SHEETS; USAP-DC; GLACIER MOTION/ICE SHEET MOTION; GLACIER THICKNESS/ICE SHEET THICKNESS; ICE SHEETS; South Pole; USA/NSF; AMD; GLACIER TOPOGRAPHY/ICE SHEET TOPOGRAPHY; FIELD SURVEYS; Amd/Us", "locations": "South Pole; United States Of America", "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology; Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Christianson, Knut; Gerbi, Christopher; Campbell, Seth; Vel, Senthil", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD SURVEYS", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "GitHub; Uni. Washington ResearchWorks Archive; USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "Collaborative Research: Computational Methods Supporting Joint Seismic and Radar Inversion for Ice Fabric and Temperature in Streaming Flow", "uid": "p0010160", "west": null}, {"awards": "1443525 Schwartz, Susan", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-165 -83.8,-163 -83.8,-161 -83.8,-159 -83.8,-157 -83.8,-155 -83.8,-153 -83.8,-151 -83.8,-149 -83.8,-147 -83.8,-145 -83.8,-145 -83.92,-145 -84.04,-145 -84.16,-145 -84.28,-145 -84.4,-145 -84.52,-145 -84.64,-145 -84.76,-145 -84.88,-145 -85,-147 -85,-149 -85,-151 -85,-153 -85,-155 -85,-157 -85,-159 -85,-161 -85,-163 -85,-165 -85,-165 -84.88,-165 -84.76,-165 -84.64,-165 -84.52,-165 -84.4,-165 -84.28,-165 -84.16,-165 -84.04,-165 -83.92,-165 -83.8))", "dataset_titles": "YD (2012-2017): Whillians Ice Stream Subglacial Access Research Drilling", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "200201", "doi": "https://doi.org/10.7914/SN/YD_2012", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "IRIS", "science_program": null, "title": "YD (2012-2017): Whillians Ice Stream Subglacial Access Research Drilling", "url": "http://www.fdsn.org/networks/detail/YD_2012/"}], "date_created": "Fri, 12 Feb 2021 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This project evaluates the role that water and rock/ice properties at the base of a fast moving glacier, or ice stream, play in controlling its motion. In Antarctica, where surface melting is limited, the speed of ice flow through the grounding zone (where ice on land detaches, and begins to float on ocean water) controls the rate at which glaciers contribute to sea level rise. The velocity of the ice stream is strongly dependent on resistance from the bed, so understanding the processes that control resistance to flow is critical in predicting ice sheet mass balance. In fact, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recognized this and stated in their 4th assessment report that reliable predictions of future global sea-level rise require improved understanding of ice sheet dynamics, which include basal controls on fast ice motion. Drilling to obtain direct observations of basal properties over substantial regions is prohibitively expensive. This project uses passive source seismology to \"listen to\" and analyze sounds generated by water flow and/or sticky spots at the ice/bed interface to evaluate the role that basal shear stress plays in ice flow dynamics. Because polar science is captivating to both scientists and the general public, it serves as an excellent topic to engage students at all levels with important scientific concepts and processes. In conjunction with this research, polar science educational materials will be developed to be used by students spanning middle school through the University level. Starting in summer 2015, a new polar science class for high school students in the California State Summer School for Mathematics and Science (COSMOS) will be offered at the University of California-Santa Cruz. This curriculum will be shared with the MESA Schools Program, a Santa Cruz and Monterey County organization that runs after-school science clubs led by teachers at several local middle and high schools with largely minority and underprivileged populations. This proposal extends the period of borehole and surface geophysical monitoring of the Whillians Ice Stream (WIS) established under a previous award for an additional 2 years. Data from the WIS network demonstrated that basal heterogeneity, revealed by microseismicity, shows variation over scales of 100\u0027s of meters. An extended observation period will allow detailed seismic characterization of ice sheet bed properties over a crucial length scale comparable to the local ice thickness. Due to the fast ice velocity (\u003e300 m/year), a single instrumented location will move approximately 1 km during the extended 3 year operational period, allowing continuous monitoring of seismic emissions as the ice travels over sticky spots and other features in the bed (e.g., patches of till or subglacial water bodies). Observations over ~1km length scales will help to bridge a crucial gap in current observations of basal conditions between extremely local observations made in boreholes and remote observations of basal shear stress inferred from inversions of ice surface velocity data.", "east": -145.0, "geometry": "POINT(-155 -84.4)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Whillans Ice Stream; GLACIERS/ICE SHEETS; FIELD INVESTIGATION", "locations": "Whillans Ice Stream", "north": -83.8, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Integrated System Science", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Tulaczyk, Slawek; Schwartz, Susan", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION", "repo": "IRIS", "repositories": "IRIS", "science_programs": "WISSARD", "south": -85.0, "title": "High Resolution Heterogeneity at the Base of Whillans Ice Stream and its Control on Ice Dynamics", "uid": "p0010159", "west": -165.0}, {"awards": "1842021 Campbell, Seth", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-168 -82,-162.3 -82,-156.6 -82,-150.9 -82,-145.2 -82,-139.5 -82,-133.8 -82,-128.1 -82,-122.4 -82,-116.7 -82,-111 -82,-111 -82.5,-111 -83,-111 -83.5,-111 -84,-111 -84.5,-111 -85,-111 -85.5,-111 -86,-111 -86.5,-111 -87,-116.7 -87,-122.4 -87,-128.1 -87,-133.8 -87,-139.5 -87,-145.2 -87,-150.9 -87,-156.6 -87,-162.3 -87,-168 -87,-168 -86.5,-168 -86,-168 -85.5,-168 -85,-168 -84.5,-168 -84,-168 -83.5,-168 -83,-168 -82.5,-168 -82))", "dataset_titles": "2017 GPR Observations of the Whillans and Mercer Ice Streams; Whillans and Mercer Shear Margin Ice Flow simulation in ISSM", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601404", "doi": "10.15784/601404", "keywords": "Antarctica; Glaciology; Ice Sheet Flow Model; Ice Shelf Dynamics; Mercer Ice Stream; Model Data; Snow/ice; Snow/Ice; Whillans Ice Stream", "people": "Kaluzienski, Lynn", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Whillans and Mercer Shear Margin Ice Flow simulation in ISSM", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601404"}, {"dataset_uid": "601403", "doi": "10.15784/601403", "keywords": "Antarctica; Crevasses; Glaciology; GPR; GPS; Ice Sheet Flow Model; Ice Shelf Dynamics; Snow/ice; Snow/Ice; Whillans Ice Stream", "people": "Kaluzienski, Lynn", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "2017 GPR Observations of the Whillans and Mercer Ice Streams", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601403"}], "date_created": "Mon, 14 Dec 2020 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "The Siple Coast in West Antarctica has undergone significant glacier changes over the last millenium. Several ice streams--rapidly moving streams of ice bordered by slow-moving ice--exist in this region that feeds into the Ross Ice Shelf. A long-term slowdown of Whillans Ice Stream appears to be occurring, and this is affecting the zone between the Whillans and Mercer Ice Streams. However, the consistency of this slowdown and resulting changes to the shear margin between the two ice streams are unknown. The goal of this project is to quantify the observed changes over the past decade and understand the dynamic processes that cause them. A collateral benefit of and driver for this as a RAPID project is to test a method for assessing where crevassing will develop in this zone of steep velocity gradients. Such a method may benefit not only near-term field-project planning in the 2018-19 field season, but also planning for future fieldwork and traverses. The team will use remote sensing feature-tracking techniques to determine transient velocity patterns and shifts in the shear-zone location over the last 10-plus years. This velocity time series will be incorporated into a large-scale ice-sheet model to estimate ice-sheet susceptibility to changing boundary conditions over the next century based on likely regional ice-flux scenarios. This approach is an extension of recent work conducted by the team that shows promise for predicting areas of changing high strain rates indicative of an active glacier shear margin. The ultimate objectives are to characterize the flow field of merging ice streams over time and investigate lateral boundary migration. This will provide a better understanding of shear-margin control on ice-shelf and up-glacier stability. This award reflects NSF\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": -111.0, "geometry": "POINT(-139.5 -84.5)", "instruments": "EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e POSITIONING/NAVIGATION \u003e GPS \u003e GPS", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "FIELD SURVEYS; Whillans Ice Stream; USAP-DC; Amd/Us; USA/NSF; GLACIER MOTION/ICE SHEET MOTION; MODELS; AMD", "locations": "Whillans Ice Stream", "north": -82.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology; Polar Special Initiatives", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Campbell, Seth; Koons, Peter", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD SURVEYS; OTHER \u003e MODELS \u003e MODELS", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -87.0, "title": "RAPID Proposal: Constraining kinematics of the Whillans/Mercer Ice Stream Confluence", "uid": "p0010145", "west": -168.0}, {"awards": "1542885 Dunham, Eric", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": "Earthquake Sequence Dynamics at the Interface Between an Elastic Layer and Underlying Half-Space in Antiplane Shear", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601320", "doi": "10.15784/601320", "keywords": "Antarctica; Computer Model; Glaciology; Model Data; Shear Stress; Solid Earth; Whillans Ice Stream", "people": "Abrahams, Lauren", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Earthquake Sequence Dynamics at the Interface Between an Elastic Layer and Underlying Half-Space in Antiplane Shear", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601320"}], "date_created": "Fri, 09 Oct 2020 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This project investigates a rapidly moving section of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet known as the Whillans Ice Stream. Ice streams and outlet glaciers are the major pathways for ice discharge from ice sheets into the ocean. Consequently, understanding ice stream dynamics, specifically the processes controlling the frictional resistance of ice sliding on sediments at its base, is essential for predictive modeling of how Earth\u0027s ice sheets will respond to a changing climate. Rather than flowing smoothly, Whillans Ice Stream advances in stick-slip cycles: brief periods of rapid sliding, equivalent to magnitude 7 earthquakes, alternating with much longer periods of repose. The PIs will perform simulations of these stick-slip cycles using computer codes originally developed for modeling tectonic earthquakes. By matching observed ice motions, the PIs will constrain the range of frictional processes acting at the base of the ice stream. An additional focus of the project is on brittle fracture processes in ice, expressed through seismic waves radiated by faulting and/or crevassing episodes that accompany the large-scale sliding events. An understanding of ice fracture provides a basis for assessing the susceptibility of ice shelves to rifting and catastrophic disintegration. Project results will be incorporated into outreach activities (from elementary school to community college events) as well as a polar science class for the California State Summer School for Mathematics and Science (COSMOS) program for high school students. Simulations of the stick-slip cycle will employ 3D dynamic rupture models that simultaneously solve for the seismic wavefield and rupture process, consistent with elastodynamic material response and friction laws on the ice stream bed. Stresses and frictional properties will be varied to achieve consistency with surface GPS and broadband seismic data as well as borehole seismograms from the WISSARD project. The results will be interpreted using laboratory till friction experiments, which link velocity-weakening/strengthening behavior to temperature and water content, and to related experiments quantifying basal drag from ice flow over rough beds. The source mechanism of seismicity accompanying the slip events (shear faulting versus crevassing) will be determined using 3D waveform modeling in conjunction with mechanical models of the seismic source processes. This proposal does not require fieldwork in the Antarctic.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e MAGNETIC/MOTION SENSORS \u003e SEISMOMETERS \u003e SEISMOGRAPHS", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "SEISMIC PROFILE; AMD; Antarctica; GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS; USA/NSF; USAP-DC; Amd/Us", "locations": "Antarctica", "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Dunham, Eric", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e PERMANENT LAND SITES \u003e GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "Collaborative Research: Characterizing Brittle Failure and Fracture Propagation in Fast Ice Sliding with Dynamic Rupture Models based on Whillans Ice Stream Seismic/Geodetic Data", "uid": "p0010138", "west": null}, {"awards": "1443213 Kaplan, Michael; 1443433 Licht, Kathy", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((159 -83.8,159.5 -83.8,160 -83.8,160.5 -83.8,161 -83.8,161.5 -83.8,162 -83.8,162.5 -83.8,163 -83.8,163.5 -83.8,164 -83.8,164 -83.87,164 -83.94,164 -84.01,164 -84.08,164 -84.15,164 -84.22,164 -84.29,164 -84.36,164 -84.43,164 -84.5,163.5 -84.5,163 -84.5,162.5 -84.5,162 -84.5,161.5 -84.5,161 -84.5,160.5 -84.5,160 -84.5,159.5 -84.5,159 -84.5,159 -84.43,159 -84.36,159 -84.29,159 -84.22,159 -84.15,159 -84.08,159 -84.01,159 -83.94,159 -83.87,159 -83.8))", "dataset_titles": "10Be and 26Al cosmogenic nuclide surface exposure data; 3He input data", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601375", "doi": "10.15784/601375", "keywords": "Antarctica; Cosmogenic Dating; Transantarctic Mountains", "people": "Kaplan, Michael; Winckler, Gisela; Schaefer, Joerg", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "10Be and 26Al cosmogenic nuclide surface exposure data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601375"}, {"dataset_uid": "601376", "doi": "10.15784/601376", "keywords": "Antarctica; Transantarctic Mountains", "people": "Kaplan, Michael; Winckler, Gisela; Schaefer, Joerg", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "3He input data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601376"}], "date_created": "Tue, 29 Sep 2020 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Licht/1443433 Sediments deposited by the Antarctic ice sheet are an archive of its history with time and help geologists to determine how the remote interior of the ice sheet has changed over the past several hundred thousand years. This project will focus on the formation and dynamics of moraines (accumulations of dirt and rocks that are incorporated in the glacier surface or have been pushed along by the glacier as it moves) near the blue ice area of Mt. Achernar in the central Transantarctic Mountains in Antarctica.. The study will improve basic understanding of the formation of these moraines. Fieldwork at the site will focus on imaging the internal structure of the moraine to determine the processes by which it, and others like it, form over time. Additional analyses will include measurements of ice flow and collection of rock samples to determine the timing of debris deposition and the changes in the sources of sediments from deep within the Antarctic continent. The project will provide both graduate and undergraduate students training in paleoclimate studies, geology, and numerical modeling approaches. The broader impacts of the proposed work include hands on training in the Earth Sciences for graduate and undergraduate students, collaboration with colleagues in New Zealand and Sweden to provide an international research experience for students from the US, and three educational modules to be delivered by student researchers regarding Antarctica\u0027s role in global environments. The research is societally relevant and multidisciplinary and the topics are ideal for sharing with the public. All research findings will be made publicly available to others via timely publication in high-impact, peer-reviewed journals and all data will be submitted to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, and excess samples will be provided to the U.S. Polar Rock Repository. Direct observations of ice sheet history from the margins of Antarctica\u0027s polar plateau are essential for testing numerical ice sheet models, and the laterally extensive, blue-ice moraines of the Mt. Achernar Moraine complex in the central Transantarctic Mountains contain a unique and nearly untapped direct, quasi-continuous record of ice sheet change over multiple glacial cycles. The project objectives include improved understanding of processes and rates of blue ice moraine formation, as well as identifying the topographic, glaciological, and climatic controls on their evolution. Data to be collected with fieldwork in Antarctica include: imaging of internal ice structure with ground-penetrating radar, measurement of ice flow velocity and direction with a global positioning system (GPS) array, analysis of debris concentration and composition in glacier ice, state-of-the-art cosmogenic multi-nuclide analyses to determine exposure ages of moraine debris, mapping of trimlines and provenance analysis. Numerical model simulations, constrained by field data, will be used to evaluate the factors influencing changes in glacier flow that potentially impact the accumulation of the moraine debris. All together, the new data and modeling efforts will improve conceptual models of blue ice moraine formation, and thereby make them a more valuable proxy for developing a better understanding of the history of the ice sheet.", "east": 164.0, "geometry": "POINT(161.5 -84.15)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "SEDIMENTS; GLACIAL PROCESSES; Mt. Achernar; ABLATION ZONES/ACCUMULATION ZONES; GLACIER ELEVATION/ICE SHEET ELEVATION; Antarctica; Antarctic Ice Sheet; Transantarctic Mountains; GLACIATION; USAP-DC; ICE MOTION; AMD; LABORATORY; Amd/Us", "locations": "Transantarctic Mountains; Antarctic Ice Sheet; Mt. Achernar; Antarctica", "north": -83.8, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences; Antarctic Glaciology; Antarctic Glaciology; Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Kaplan, Michael; Schaefer, Joerg; Winckler, Gisela; Licht, Kathy", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e PHYSICAL MODELS \u003e LABORATORY", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -84.5, "title": "Collaborative Research: Multidisciplinary Analysis of Antarctic Blue Ice Moraine Formation and their Potential as Climate Archives over Multiple Glacial Cycles", "uid": "p0010131", "west": 159.0}, {"awards": "1745049 Tyler, Scott", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": "Ice Diver Madison Run #1 March 1, 2020", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601368", "doi": "10.15784/601368", "keywords": "Antarctica; North America; Temperature", "people": "Tyler, Scott W.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Ice Diver Madison Run #1 March 1, 2020", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601368"}], "date_created": "Mon, 03 Aug 2020 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Nontechnical Abstract Studies in Antarctica are, at present, severely limited by the costs of placing measurement instruments within and beneath thousands of meters of ice. Our aim is to enable dense, widespread measurement-networks by advancing development of low-cost ice melt probe technology to deploy instruments. Ice melt probes use electrical energy to descend through thick ice with little support structure on the ice surface. We are extending previous technology by using anti-freeze to maintain a partially open melt-hole above a descending probe, deploying as we go a new a new fiber-optic technology to measure ice temperature. Ice temperature measurements will reveal spatial patterns of heat welling up from the Earth beneath the ice, which in turn will contribute greatly to finding ancient ice that contains global climate records, and to understanding how ice flow may raise sea levels. Our immediate objective in this 1-year project is to test and refine our anti-freeze-based method in a 15 meter-tall ice column at the University of Wisconsin, so as to reduce technical risk in future field tests. Technical Abstract The overarching aim of our development is to enable widespread, spatially dense deployments of instruments within and beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet for a variety of investigations, beginning with observations of basal temperature and geothermal flux at the base of the ice sheet. Dense, widespread deployment requires logistical costs far below current costs for ice drilling and coring. Our approach is to extend ice melt probe technology (which is inherently light, logistically) to allow the progressive deployment of cable for Distributed Temperature Sensing (DTS) from the ice surface as the probe descends, without greatly increasing logistical costs. Our extension is based on arresting refreezing of the melt-hole above the probe (at a diameter a few times the cable diameter) by injecting anti-freeze - specifically, ethanol at temperature near 0C - a few meters above the probe during descent. After thermal equilibration of the liquid ethanol/water column with the ice, DTS measurements yield the depth-profile of ice sheet temperature, from which basal temperature and (over frozen beds) geothermal flux can be inferred. We have carried out initial trials of our approach in a cold-room laboratory, but field work based only on such small-scale tests may still involve unnecessary risk. We therefore propose further testing at a facility of the Ice Drilling Design and Operations (IDDO) facility in Madison, WI. The new trials will test our approaches to melt-hole control and probe recovery in the taller column, will test cable and cable-tension-management methods more nearly approximating those needed to work on ice sheets, and will demonstrate the Distributed Temperature Sensing in its field configuration. This award reflects NSF\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "GLACIERS/ICE SHEETS; North America; ICE DEPTH/THICKNESS; NOT APPLICABLE", "locations": "North America", "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Instrumentation and Facilities; Antarctic Instrumentation and Support", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Tyler, Scott W.", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "Collaborative Research: Toward Dense Observation of Geothermal Fluxes in Antarctica Via Logistically Light Instrument Deployment", "uid": "p0010121", "west": null}, {"awards": "1142167 Pettit, Erin; 1142035 Obbard, Rachel", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-112.3 -79.2,-112.2 -79.2,-112.1 -79.2,-112 -79.2,-111.9 -79.2,-111.8 -79.2,-111.7 -79.2,-111.6 -79.2,-111.5 -79.2,-111.4 -79.2,-111.3 -79.2,-111.3 -79.23,-111.3 -79.26,-111.3 -79.29,-111.3 -79.32,-111.3 -79.35,-111.3 -79.38,-111.3 -79.41,-111.3 -79.44,-111.3 -79.47,-111.3 -79.5,-111.4 -79.5,-111.5 -79.5,-111.6 -79.5,-111.7 -79.5,-111.8 -79.5,-111.9 -79.5,-112 -79.5,-112.1 -79.5,-112.2 -79.5,-112.3 -79.5,-112.3 -79.47,-112.3 -79.44,-112.3 -79.41,-112.3 -79.38,-112.3 -79.35,-112.3 -79.32,-112.3 -79.29,-112.3 -79.26,-112.3 -79.23,-112.3 -79.2))", "dataset_titles": "ApRES Firn Density Study; ApRES Vertical Strain Study; GPS Horizontal Strain Network; South Pole (SPICEcore) Borehole Deformation; WAIS Divide Borehole Deformation", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601323", "doi": "10.15784/601323", "keywords": "Antarctica; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Penetrating Radar; Ice Strain; Phase Sensitive Radar; Radar; Snow/ice; Snow/Ice; WAIS Divide", "people": "Pettit, Erin", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "WAIS Divide Ice Core", "title": "ApRES Vertical Strain Study", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601323"}, {"dataset_uid": "200141", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "UNAVCO", "science_program": null, "title": "GPS Horizontal Strain Network", "url": ""}, {"dataset_uid": "601322", "doi": "10.15784/601322", "keywords": "Antarctica; Firn; Firn Density; Glaciology; Ice Penetrating Radar; Phase Sensitive Radar; Radar; Snow/ice; Snow/Ice; WAIS Divide", "people": "Pettit, Erin", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "WAIS Divide Ice Core", "title": "ApRES Firn Density Study", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601322"}, {"dataset_uid": "601314", "doi": "10.15784/601314", "keywords": "Acoustic Televiewer; Anisotropy; Antarctica; Borehole Logging; Deformation; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Flow; WAIS Divide; WAIS Divide Ice Core", "people": "Pettit, Erin", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "WAIS Divide Ice Core", "title": "WAIS Divide Borehole Deformation", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601314"}, {"dataset_uid": "601315", "doi": "10.15784/601315", "keywords": "Acoustic Televiewer; Anisotropy; Antarctica; Borehole Logging; Deformation; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Core Records; Ice Flow; Snow/ice; Snow/Ice; South Pole; SPICEcore", "people": "Pettit, Erin", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "SPICEcore", "title": "South Pole (SPICEcore) Borehole Deformation", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601315"}], "date_created": "Fri, 15 May 2020 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "1142167/Pettit This award supports a project to develop a better understanding of the relation between ice microstructure, impurities, and ice flow and their connection to climate history for the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) ice core site. This work builds on several ongoing studies at Siple Dome in West Antarctica and Dome C in East Antarctica. It is well known that the microstructure of ice evolves with depth and time in an ice sheet. This evolution of microstructure depends on the ice flow field, temperature, and impurity content. The ice flow field, in turn, depends on microstructure, leading to feedbacks that create layered variation in microstructure that relates to climate and flow history. The research proposed here focuses on developing a better understanding of: 1) how ice microstructure evolves with time and stress in an ice sheet and how that relates to impurity content, temperature, and strain rate; 2) how variations in ice microstructure and impurity content affect ice flow patterns near ice divides (on both small (1cm to 1m) and large (1m to 100km) scales); and 3) in what ways is the spatial variability of ice microstructure and its effect on ice flow important for interpretation of climate history in the WAIS Divide ice core. The study will integrate existing ice core and borehole data with a detailed study of ice microstructure using Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD) techniques and measurements of borehole deformation through time using Acoustic Televiewers. This will be the first study to combine these two novel techniques for studying the relation between microstructure and deformation and it will build on other data being collected as part of other WAIS Divide borehole logging projects (e.g. sonic velocity, optical dust logging, temperature and other measurements on the ice core including fabric measurements from thin section analyses as well as studies of ice chemistry and stable isotopes. The intellectual merit of the work is that it will improve interpretation of ice core data (especially information on past accumulation) and overall understanding of ice flow. The broader impacts are that the work will ultimately contribute to a better interpretation of ice core records for both paleoclimate studies and for ice flow history, both of which connect to the broader questions of the role of ice in the climate system. The work will also advance the careers of two early-career female scientists, including one with a hearing impairment disability. This project will support a PhD student at the UAF and provide research and field experience for two or three undergraduates at Dartmouth. The PIs plan to include a teacher on their field team and collaborate with UAF\u0027s \"From STEM to STEAM\" toward enhancing the connection between art and science.", "east": -111.3, "geometry": "POINT(-111.8 -79.35)", "instruments": "EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e ACTIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e RADAR SOUNDERS \u003e RADAR", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "FIELD INVESTIGATION; GLACIERS/ICE SHEETS; WAIS Divide; ICE CORE RECORDS; USAP-DC; GLACIER MOTION/ICE SHEET MOTION; Radar", "locations": "WAIS Divide", "north": -79.2, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology; Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Pettit, Erin; Obbard, Rachel", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "UNAVCO; USAP-DC", "science_programs": "WAIS Divide Ice Core; SPICEcore", "south": -79.5, "title": "Collaborative Research: VeLveT Ice - eVoLution of Fabric and Texture in Ice at WAIS Divide, West Antarctica", "uid": "p0010098", "west": -112.3}, {"awards": "1443566 Bay, Ryan", "bounds_geometry": "POINT(90 -90)", "dataset_titles": "Laser Dust Logging of the South Pole Ice Core (SPICE)", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601222", "doi": "10.15784/601222", "keywords": "Antarctica; Dust; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice; Ice Core Data; Ice Core Records; Paleoclimate; Snow/ice; Snow/Ice; SPICEcore", "people": "Bay, Ryan", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "SPICEcore", "title": "Laser Dust Logging of the South Pole Ice Core (SPICE)", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601222"}], "date_created": "Thu, 31 Oct 2019 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Bay/1443566 This award supports the deployment and analysis of data from an oriented laser dust logger in the South Pole ice core borehole to complement study of the ice core record. Before the core is even processed, data from the borehole probe will immediately determine the depth-age relationship, augment 3D mapping of South Pole stratigraphy, aid in searches for the oldest ice in Antarctica, and reveal layers of volcanic or extraterrestrial fallout. Regarding the intellectual merit, the oriented borehole log will be essential for investigating features in the ice sheet that may have implications for ice core chronology, ice flow, ice sheet physical properties and stability in response to climate change. The tools and techniques developed in this program have applications in glaciology, biogeoscience and exploration of other planetary bodies. The program aims for a deeper understanding of the consequences and causes of abrupt climate change. The broader impacts of the project are that it will include outreach and education, providing a broad training ground for students and post-docs. Data and metadata will be made available through data centers and repositories such as the National Snow and Ice Data Center web portal. The laser dust logger detects reproducible paleoclimate features at sub-centimeter depth scale. Dust logger data are being used for synchronizing records and dating any site on the continent, revealing accumulation anomalies and episodes of rapid ice sheet thinning, and discovering particulate horizons of special interest. In this project we will deploy a laser dust logger equipped with a magnetic compass to find direct evidence of preferentially oriented dust. Using optical scattering measurements from IceCube calibration studies at South Pole and borehole logs at WAIS Divide, we have detected a persistent anisotropy correlated with flow and crystal fabric which suggests that the majority of insoluble particulates must be located within ice grains. With typical concentrations of parts-per-billion, little is known about the location of impurities within the polycrystalline structure of polar ice. While soluble impurities are generally thought to concentrate at inter-grain boundaries and determine electrical conductivity, the fate of insoluble particulates is much less clear, and microscopic examinations are extremely challenging. These in situ borehole measurements will help to unravel intimate relationships between impurities, flow, and crystal fabric. Data from this project will further develop a unique record of South Pole surface roughness as a proxy for paleowind and provide new insights for understanding glacial radar propagation. This project has field work in Antarctica.", "east": 90.0, "geometry": "POINT(90 -90)", "instruments": "NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "NOT APPLICABLE; Antarctica; ICE CORE RECORDS; USAP-DC", "locations": "Antarctica", "north": -90.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Bay, Ryan", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "Laser Dust Logging of a South Pole Ice Core", "uid": "p0010061", "west": 90.0}, {"awards": "1443190 Parizek, Byron", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-130 -73,-125.5 -73,-121 -73,-116.5 -73,-112 -73,-107.5 -73,-103 -73,-98.5 -73,-94 -73,-89.5 -73,-85 -73,-85 -73.9,-85 -74.8,-85 -75.7,-85 -76.6,-85 -77.5,-85 -78.4,-85 -79.3,-85 -80.2,-85 -81.1,-85 -82,-89.5 -82,-94 -82,-98.5 -82,-103 -82,-107.5 -82,-112 -82,-116.5 -82,-121 -82,-125.5 -82,-130 -82,-130 -81.1,-130 -80.2,-130 -79.3,-130 -78.4,-130 -77.5,-130 -76.6,-130 -75.7,-130 -74.8,-130 -73.9,-130 -73))", "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Mon, 16 Sep 2019 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Accurate reconstructions and predictions of glacier movement on timescales of human interest require a better understanding of available observations and the ability to model the key processes that govern ice flow. The fact that many of these processes are interconnected, are loosely constrained by data, and involve not only the ice, but also the atmosphere, ocean, and solid Earth, makes this a challenging endeavor, but one that is essential for Earth-system modeling and the resulting climate and sea-level forecasts that are provided to policymakers worldwide. Based on the amount of ice present in the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and its ability to flow and/or melt into the ocean, its complete collapse would result in a global sea-level rise of 3.3 to 5 meters, making its stability and rate of change scientific questions of global societal significance. Whether or not a collapse eventually occurs, a better understanding of the potential West Antarctic contribution to sea level over the coming decades and centuries is necessary when considering the fate of coastal population centers. Recent observations of the Amundsen Sea Embayment of West Antarctica indicate that it is experiencing faster mass loss than any other region of the continent. At present, the long-term stability of this embayment is unknown, with both theory and observations suggesting that collapse is possible. This study is focused on this critical region. We will test an ice-sheet model against existing observations, improve treatment of key processes in the model, and make projections with uncertainty assessments. This is a three-year modeling study using the open-source Ice Sheet System Model in coordination with other models to improve projections of future sea-level change. Project goals are to: 1. hindcast the past two-to-three decades of evolution of the Amundsen Sea Embayment sector to determine controlling processes, incorporate and test parameterizations, and assess and improve model initialization, spinup, and performance; 2. improve the model by utilizing sensitivity studies with regional process-oriented models to create numerically efficient parameterizations for key sub-grid-scale processes; 3. project a range of likely evolutions of the Amundsen Sea Embayment sector and their respective contributions to sea level in the next several centuries; 4. attribute sources of errors in the hindcast and provide an assessment of the uncertainties in the projections, including a range of likely outcomes given various forcings and inclusion or omission of physical processes in the model. At present, the long-term stability of the Amundsen Sea Embayment is unknown, with both theory (the \"marine ice sheet instability hypothesis\") and observations (rapid thinning and grounding-line retreat approaching regions where the bed deepens inland) suggesting that collapse is possible. But incompletely understood physical processes (e.g., basal hydrology, rheology, and sliding; tidal effects; ice-ocean interaction along the shelf and within the grounding zone) and lack of resolution in basal topography datasets making the ultimate outcome uncertain. Thus, there is a pressing need for high-resolution simulations of this region that include numerical representations of controlling physical processes (many of which are applicable elsewhere) within a higher-order ice-sheet model capable of assimilating recent observations and providing uncertainty analyses associated with model and data limitations. By focusing on the Amundsen Sea Embayment as a connected region across the 10-10,000-meter scales using a hierarchy of one, two, and three-dimensional models along with the sensitivity analysis tools built into the Ice Sheet System Model, this project aims to produce (1) the most reliable results to date when compared with studies that consider only one ice stream or the entire ice sheet and (2) estimates of differing dynamic responses arising from errors in data, model parameterizations, and forcings. Given the uncertainties, the project will produce a range of predictions with characteristic trends that can be recognized within future observational data sets. As new data become available, some predicted rates of change could be culled from the predictive paths generated by this study.", "east": -85.0, "geometry": "POINT(-107.5 -77.5)", "instruments": "NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "USAP-DC; Antarctica; GLACIER MOTION/ICE SHEET MOTION; NOT APPLICABLE", "locations": "Antarctica", "north": -73.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Pollard, David; Parizek, Byron R.", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE", "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": -82.0, "title": "Collaborative Research: Evaluating Retreat in the Amundsen Sea Embayment: Assessing Controlling Processes, Uncertainties, and Projections", "uid": "p0010054", "west": -130.0}, {"awards": "1443394 Pollard, David; 1443347 Condron, Alan", "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": "Antarctic Ice Sheet simulations for role of freshwater in future warming scenarios; Future climate response to Antarctic Ice Sheet melt caused by anthropogenic warming; Simulated changes in Southern Ocean salinity", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601154", "doi": "10.15784/601154 ", "keywords": "Antarctic; Antarctica; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Sheet; Ice Sheet Model; Meltwater; Model Data; Modeling; Model Output", "people": "Pollard, David", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Antarctic Ice Sheet simulations for role of freshwater in future warming scenarios", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601154"}, {"dataset_uid": "601449", "doi": "10.15784/601449", "keywords": "Antarctica; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Meltwater", "people": "Condron, Alan", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Future climate response to Antarctic Ice Sheet melt caused by anthropogenic warming", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601449"}, {"dataset_uid": "601442", "doi": "10.15784/601442", "keywords": "Antarctica; Computer Model; Freshwater; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Model Data; Ocean Model; Oceans; Salinity", "people": "Condron, Alan", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Simulated changes in Southern Ocean salinity", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601442"}], "date_created": "Mon, 04 Feb 2019 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "There is compelling historical evidence that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) is vulnerable to rapid retreat and collapse. Recent observations, compared to observations made 20-30 years before, indicate that both ice shelves (thick ice with ocean below) and land ice (thick ice with land below), are now melting at a much faster rate. Some numerical models suggest that significant ice retreat may begin within many of our lifetimes, starting with the abrupt collapse of Pine Island and Thwaites Glaciers in the next 50 years. This may be followed by retreat of much of the WAIS and then the collapse of parts of the East Antarctic ice sheet (EAIS). This research project will assess the extent to which global ocean circulation and climate will be impacted if enormous volumes of fresh water and ice flow into the Southern Ocean. It will establish whether a rapid collapse of WAIS in the near-future poses any significant threat to the stability of modern-day climate and human society. This is a topic that has so far received little attention as most prior research has focused on the response of climate to melting the Greenland ice sheet. Yet model simulations predict that the volumes of fresh water and ice released from Antarctica in the next few centuries could be up at least ten-times larger than from Greenland. The Intellectual Merit of this project stems from its ability to establish a link between the physical Antarctic system (ice sheet dynamics, fresh water discharge and iceberg calving) and global climate. The PIs (Principal Investigators) will assess the sensitivity of ocean circulation and climate to increased ice sheet melt using a combination of ocean, iceberg, ice sheet and climate models. Results from this study will help identify areas of the ice sheet that are vulnerable to collapse and also regions of the ocean where a significant freshening will have a considerable impact on climate, and serve to guide the deployment of an observational monitoring system capable of warning us when ice and fresh water discharge start to approach levels capable of disrupting ocean circulation and global climate. This project will support and train two graduate students, and each PI will be involved with local primary and secondary schools, making presentations, mentoring science fair projects, and contributing to curriculum development. A novel, web-based, interactive, cryosphere learning tool will be developed to help make school children more aware of the importance of the Polar Regions in global climate, and this software will be introduced to science teachers at a half day workshop organized by the UMass STEM Education Institute. Recent numerical simulations using a continental ice sheet/shelf model show the potential for more rapid and greater Antarctic ice sheet retreat in the next 50-300 years (under the full range of IPCC RCP (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Representative Concentration Pathways) future warming scenarios) than previously projected. Exactly how the release of enormous volumes of ice and fresh water to the Southern Ocean will impact global ocean circulation and climate has yet to be accurately assessed. This is in part because previous model simulations were too coarse to accurately resolve narrow coastal boundary currents, shelf breaks, fronts, and mesoscale eddies that are all very important for realistically simulating fresh water transport in the ocean. In this award, future projections of fresh water discharge and iceberg calving from Antarctic will be used to force a high resolution eddy-resolving ocean model (MITgcm) coupled to a new iceberg module and a fully-coupled global climate model (CCSM4). High resolution ocean/iceberg simulations will determine the role of mesoscale eddies in freshwater transport and give new insight into how fresh water is advected to far-field locations, including deep water formation sites in the North Atlantic. These simulations will provide detailed information about subsurface temperatures and changes in ocean circulation close to the ice front and grounding line. An accompanying set of fully coupled climate model simulations (NCAR CCSM4) will identify multidecadal-to-centennial changes in the climate system triggered by increased high-latitude Southern Ocean freshwater forcing. Particular attention will be given to changes in the strength of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), wind stress, sea ice formation, and global temperatures. In doing so, this project will more accurately determine whether abrupt and potentially catastrophic changes in global climate are likely to be triggered by changes in the Antarctic system in the near-future.", "east": 180.0, "geometry": "POINT(0 -89.999)", "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e DATA ANALYSIS \u003e ENVIRONMENTAL MODELING \u003e COMPUTER", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "USAP-DC; USA/NSF; AMD; MODELS; Amd/Us; Antarctica; GLACIERS/ICE SHEETS", "locations": "Antarctica", "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Integrated System Science; Antarctic Integrated System Science", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Pollard, David; Condron, Alan; DeConto, Robert", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e MODELS \u003e MODELS", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "Collaborative Research: Assessing the Global Climate Response to Melting of the Antarctic Ice Sheet", "uid": "p0010007", "west": -180.0}, {"awards": "0838855 Jacobel, Robert; 0838764 Anandakrishnan, Sridhar; 0838763 Anandakrishnan, Sridhar; 0839142 Tulaczyk, Slawek; 0839107 Powell, Ross; 0838947 Tulaczyk, Slawek; 0839059 Powell, Ross", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": "Basal melt rates of the Ross Ice Shelf near the Whillans Ice Stream grounding line; Integrative Study of Marine Ice Sheet Stability and Subglacial Life Habitats in W Antarctica - Lake and Ice Stream Subglacial Access Research Drilling (LISSARD); Integrative Study of Marine Ice Sheet Stability and Subglacial Life Habitats - Robotic Access to Grounding-zones for Exploration and Science (RAGES); IRIS ID#s 201035, 201162, 201205; IRIS offers free and open access to a comprehensive data store of raw geophysical time-series data collected from a large variety of sensors, courtesy of a vast array of US and International scientific networks, including seismometers (permanent and temporary), tilt and strain meters, infrasound, temperature, atmospheric pressure and gravimeters, to support basic research aimed at imaging the Earth\u0027s interior.; Paleogene marine and terrestrial development of the West Antarctic Rift System: Biomarker Data Set; Paleogene marine and terrestrial development of the West Antarctic Rift System: Palynomorph Data Set; Radar Studies of Subglacial Lake Whillans and the Whillans Ice Stream Grounding Zone; The IRIS DMC archives and distributes data to support the seismological research community.; UNAVCO ID#s WHL1, WHL2, LA02, LA09 (full data link not provided)", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601234", "doi": "10.15784/601234", "keywords": "ACL; Antarctica; Biomarker; BIT Index; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Ice Stream; Whillans Ice Stream; WISSARD", "people": "Warny, Sophie; Baudoin, Patrick; Scherer, Reed Paul; Askin, Rosemary; Casta\u00f1eda, Isla; Coenen, Jason", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "WISSARD", "title": "Paleogene marine and terrestrial development of the West Antarctic Rift System: Biomarker Data Set", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601234"}, {"dataset_uid": "601122", "doi": "10.15784/601122", "keywords": "Antarctica; Flexure Zone; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Shelf; Ice-Shelf Basal Melting; Ice-Shelf Strain Rate", "people": "Begeman, Carolyn", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "WISSARD", "title": "Basal melt rates of the Ross Ice Shelf near the Whillans Ice Stream grounding line", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601122"}, {"dataset_uid": "609594", "doi": "10.7265/N54J0C2W", "keywords": "Antarctica; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; GPR; GPS; Radar; Whillans Ice Stream", "people": "Jacobel, Robert", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Radar Studies of Subglacial Lake Whillans and the Whillans Ice Stream Grounding Zone", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/609594"}, {"dataset_uid": "600154", "doi": "10.15784/600154", "keywords": "Antarctica; Biota; Diatom; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Core Records; Lake Whillans; Paleoclimate; Ross Sea; Southern Ocean; Subglacial Lake; WISSARD", "people": "Powell, Ross", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Integrative Study of Marine Ice Sheet Stability and Subglacial Life Habitats in W Antarctica - Lake and Ice Stream Subglacial Access Research Drilling (LISSARD)", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/600154"}, {"dataset_uid": "000148", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "IRIS", "science_program": null, "title": "IRIS ID#s 201035, 201162, 201205", "url": "http://ds.iris.edu/"}, {"dataset_uid": "001406", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "IRIS", "science_program": null, "title": "The IRIS DMC archives and distributes data to support the seismological research community.", "url": "http://ds.iris.edu/ds/nodes/dmc/"}, {"dataset_uid": "001405", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "IRIS", "science_program": null, "title": "IRIS offers free and open access to a comprehensive data store of raw geophysical time-series data collected from a large variety of sensors, courtesy of a vast array of US and International scientific networks, including seismometers (permanent and temporary), tilt and strain meters, infrasound, temperature, atmospheric pressure and gravimeters, to support basic research aimed at imaging the Earth\u0027s interior.", "url": "http://www.iris.edu/hq/data_and_software"}, {"dataset_uid": "000150", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "UNAVCO", "science_program": null, "title": "UNAVCO ID#s WHL1, WHL2, LA02, LA09 (full data link not provided)", "url": "http://www.unavco.org/"}, {"dataset_uid": "601245", "doi": "10.15784/601245", "keywords": "Antarctica; Pollen; West Antarctica; WISSARD", "people": "Baudoin, Patrick; Warny, Sophie; Askin, Rosemary; Scherer, Reed Paul; Casta\u00f1eda, Isla; Coenen, Jason", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "WISSARD", "title": "Paleogene marine and terrestrial development of the West Antarctic Rift System: Palynomorph Data Set", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601245"}, {"dataset_uid": "600155", "doi": "10.15784/600155", "keywords": "Antarctica; Glaciology; Oceans; Southern Ocean; WISSARD", "people": "Powell, Ross", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Integrative Study of Marine Ice Sheet Stability and Subglacial Life Habitats - Robotic Access to Grounding-zones for Exploration and Science (RAGES)", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/600155"}], "date_created": "Mon, 10 Sep 2018 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). The LISSARD project (Lake and Ice Stream Subglacial Access Research Drilling) is one of three research components of the WISSARD integrative initiative (Whillans Ice Stream Subglacial Access Research Drilling) that is being funded by the Antarctic Integrated System Science Program of NSF\u0027s Office of Polar Programs, Antarctic Division. The overarching scientific objective of WISSARD is to assess the role of water beneath a West Antarctic ice stream in interlinked glaciological, geological, microbiological, geochemical, and oceanographic systems. The LISSARD component of WISSARD focuses on the role of active subglacial lakes in determining how fast the West Antarctic ice sheet loses mass to the global ocean and influences global sea level changes. The importance of Antarctic subglacial lakes has only been recently recognized, and the lakes have been identified as high priority targets for scientific investigations because of their unknown contributions to ice sheet stability under future global warming scenarios. LISSARD has several primary science goals: A) To provide an observational basis for improving treatments of subglacial hydrological and mechanical processes in models of ice sheet mass balance and stability; B) To reconstruct the past history of ice stream stability by analyzing archives of past basal water and ice flow variability contained in subglacial sediments, porewater, lake water, and basal accreted ice; C) To provide background understanding of subglacial lake environments to benefit RAGES and GBASE (the other two components of the WISSARD project); and D) To synthesize data and concepts developed as part of this project to determine whether subglacial lakes play an important role in (de)stabilizing Antarctic ice sheets. We propose an unprecedented synthesis of approaches to studying ice sheet processes, including: (1) satellite remote sensing, (2) surface geophysics, (3) borehole observations and measurements and, (4) basal and subglacial sampling. \u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eINTELLECTUAL MERIT: The latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recognized that the greatest uncertainties in assessing future global sea-level change stem from a poor understanding of ice sheet dynamics and ice sheet vulnerability to oceanic and atmospheric warming. Disintegration of the WAIS (West Antarctic Ice Sheet) alone would contribute 3-5 m to global sea-level rise, making WAIS a focus of scientific concern due to its potential susceptibility to internal or ocean-driven instability. The overall WISSARD project will test the overarching hypothesis that active water drainage connects various subglacial environments and exerts major control on ice sheet flow, geochemistry, metabolic and phylogenetic diversity, and biogeochemical transformations. \u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eBROADER IMPACTS: Societal Relevance: Global warming, melting of ice sheets and consequential sea-level rise are of high societal relevance. Science Resource Development: After a 9-year hiatus WISSARD will provide the US-science community with a renewed capability to access and study sub-ice sheet environments. Developing this technological infrastructure will benefit the broader science community and assets will be accessible for future use through the NSF-OPP drilling contractor. Furthermore, these projects will pioneer an approach implementing recommendations from the National Research Council committee on Principles of Environmental Stewardship for the Exploration and Study of Subglacial Environments (2007). Education and Outreach (E/O): These activities are grouped into four categories: i) increasing student participation in polar research by fully integrating them in our research programs; ii) introducing new investigators to the polar sciences by incorporating promising young investigators in our programs, iii) promotion of K-12 teaching and learning programs by incorporating various teachers and NSTA programs, and iv) reaching a larger public audience through such venues as popular science magazines, museum based activities and videography and documentary films. In summary, WISSARD will promote scientific exploration of Antarctica by conveying to the public the excitement of accessing and studying what may be some of the last unexplored aquatic environments on Earth, and which represent a potential analogue for extraterrestrial life habitats on Europa and Mars.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": "NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e CORERS \u003e CORING DEVICES; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e ACTIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e RADAR SOUNDERS \u003e RADAR; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e MAGNETIC/MOTION SENSORS \u003e SEISMOMETERS \u003e SEISMOGRAPHS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e MAGNETIC/MOTION SENSORS \u003e SEISMOMETERS \u003e SEISMOMETERS", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "USAP-DC; Ice Penetrating Radar; Antarctic; Subglacial Lake; Subglacial Hydrology; Grounding Line; Sea Level Rise; Bed Reflectivity; Ice Sheet Stability; Stability; Radar; Sub-Ice-Shelf; Geophysics; Biogeochemical; LABORATORY; Sediment; Sea Floor Sediment; Ice Thickness; Model; Ice Stream Stability; Basal Ice; SATELLITES; Ice Sheet Thickness; Subglacial; Antarctica; NOT APPLICABLE; Antarctic Ice Sheet; Ice Sheet; FIELD SURVEYS; Surface Elevation; Geochemistry; FIELD INVESTIGATION; Not provided", "locations": "Antarctic; Antarctica; Antarctic Ice Sheet", "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Integrated System Science; Antarctic Integrated System Science; Antarctic Integrated System Science; Antarctic Integrated System Science; Antarctic Integrated System Science; Antarctic Integrated System Science; Antarctic Integrated System Science", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Tulaczyk, Slawek; Fisher, Andrew; Powell, Ross; Anandakrishnan, Sridhar; Jacobel, Robert; Scherer, Reed Paul", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD SURVEYS; Not provided; OTHER \u003e NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE; OTHER \u003e PHYSICAL MODELS \u003e LABORATORY; SPACE-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e EARTH OBSERVATION SATELLITES \u003e SATELLITES", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "IRIS; UNAVCO; USAP-DC", "science_programs": "WISSARD", "south": null, "title": "Collaborative Research: Integrative Study of Marine Ice Sheet Stability \u0026 Subglacial Life Habitats in W Antarctica - Lake \u0026 Ice Stream Subglacial Access Research Drilling (LISSARD)", "uid": "p0000105", "west": null}, {"awards": "1443126 MacAyeal, Douglas", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((166.1631 -77.9007,166.19736 -77.9007,166.23162 -77.9007,166.26588 -77.9007,166.30014 -77.9007,166.3344 -77.9007,166.36866 -77.9007,166.40292 -77.9007,166.43718 -77.9007,166.47144 -77.9007,166.5057 -77.9007,166.5057 -77.90423,166.5057 -77.90776,166.5057 -77.91129,166.5057 -77.91482,166.5057 -77.91835,166.5057 -77.92188,166.5057 -77.92541,166.5057 -77.92894,166.5057 -77.93247,166.5057 -77.936,166.47144 -77.936,166.43718 -77.936,166.40292 -77.936,166.36866 -77.936,166.3344 -77.936,166.30014 -77.936,166.26588 -77.936,166.23162 -77.936,166.19736 -77.936,166.1631 -77.936,166.1631 -77.93247,166.1631 -77.92894,166.1631 -77.92541,166.1631 -77.92188,166.1631 -77.91835,166.1631 -77.91482,166.1631 -77.91129,166.1631 -77.90776,166.1631 -77.90423,166.1631 -77.9007))", "dataset_titles": "McMurdo Ice Shelf AWS data; McMurdo Ice Shelf GPS survey of vertical motion; Supraglacial Lake Depths on McMurdo Ice Shelf, Antarctica; Time-lapse video of McMurdo Ice Shelf surface melting and hydrology", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601113", "doi": "10.15784/601113", "keywords": "Antarctica; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Shelf; Photo/video; Photo/Video; Supraglacial Meltwater", "people": "MacAyeal, Douglas; Banwell, Alison", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Time-lapse video of McMurdo Ice Shelf surface melting and hydrology", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601113"}, {"dataset_uid": "601106", "doi": "10.15784/601106", "keywords": "Antarctica; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Hydrology; Ice Shelf; Snow/ice; Snow/Ice; Surface Hydrology; Surface Mass Balance; Weather Station Data", "people": "MacAyeal, Douglas; Banwell, Alison", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "McMurdo Ice Shelf AWS data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601106"}, {"dataset_uid": "601116", "doi": "10.15784/601116", "keywords": "Antarctica; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Shelf; Snow/ice; Snow/Ice; Subglacial And Supraglacial Water Depth; Supraglacial Lake; Supraglacial Meltwater; Water Depth", "people": "MacAyeal, Douglas; Banwell, Alison", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Supraglacial Lake Depths on McMurdo Ice Shelf, Antarctica", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601116"}, {"dataset_uid": "601107", "doi": "10.15784/601107", "keywords": "Antarctica; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; GPS; Ice Flow Velocity; Ice Shelf; Ice-Shelf Flexure; Snow/ice; Snow/Ice; Surface Melt", "people": "Banwell, Alison; MacAyeal, Douglas", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "McMurdo Ice Shelf GPS survey of vertical motion", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601107"}], "date_created": "Tue, 24 Jul 2018 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Meltwater lakes that sit on top of Antarctica\u0027s floating ice shelves have likely contributed to the dramatic changes seen in Antarctica\u0027s glacial ice cover over the past two decades. In 2002, the 1,600-square-kilometer Larsen B Ice Shelf located on the Eastern side of the Antarctic Peninsula, for example, broke into thousands of small icebergs, which subsequently floated away as a result of the formation of more than 2,000 meltwater lakes on its surface over the prior decade. Our research project addresses the reasons why surface lakes form on Antarctic ice shelves and how these surface lakes subsequently contribute to the forces that may contribute to ice-shelf breakup like that of the Larsen B. Our project focuses primarily on making precise global positioning system (GPS) measurements of ice-shelf bending in response to the filling and draining of a surface lake on the McMurdo Ice Shelf. The observed vertical displacements (on the order of tens of centimeters) in response to lake filling will be used to calibrate and test computer simulation models that predict the response of ice shelves to surface lakes more generally and in a variety of future climate conditions. Our project will make hourly measurements of both vertical ice-shelf movements (using GPS surveying instruments) and of temperature and sunlight conditions (that drive melting) around a surface lake located close to the McMurdo Station airfield. Following this initial data-gathering effort, computer simulations and other more theoretical analysis will be undertaken to determine the suitability of the chosen McMurdo Ice Shelf surface lake as a field-laboratory for continued study. Ultimately, the research will contribute to understanding of the glaciological processes that link climate change to rising sea level. A successful outcome of the research will allow glaciologists to better assess the processes that promote or erode the influence Antarctic ice shelves have in controlling the transfer of ice from the interior of Antarctica into the ocean. The project will undertake two outreach activities: (1) web-posting of a field-activity journal and (2) establishing an open-access glaciological teaching and outreach web-sharing site for the International Glaciological Society. The proposed project seeks to experimentally verify a theory of ice-shelf instability proposed to explain the explosive break-up of Larsen B Ice Shelf in 2002. This theory holds that the filling and draining of supraglacial lakes on floating ice shelves induces sufficient flexure stress within the ice to (a) induce upward/downward propagating fractures originating at the base/surface of the ice shelf that (b) dissect the ice shelf into fragments that tend to have widths less than about half the ice thickness. The significance of narrow widths is that they promote capsize of the ice-shelf fragments during the break-up process. This capsize releases large amounts of gravitational potential energy (comparable to thousands of kilotons of TNT for the Larsen B Ice Shelf) thereby promoting explosiveness of the Larsen B event. The observational motivation for experimentally verifying the surface-lake mechanism for ice-shelf breakup is based on the fact that \u003e2,000 surface lakes developed on the Larsen B Ice Shelf in the decade prior to its break up, and that these lakes were observed (via satellite imagery) to drain in a coordinated fashion during the day prior to the initiation of the break up. The field-observation component of the project will focus on a supraglacial lake on the McMurdo Ice Shelf where there is persistent summer season surface melting. The lake will be studied during a single provisional field season to determine whether grooming of surrounding surface streams and shorelines with heavy construction equipment will allow surface water to be manually encouraged to fill the lake. If successfully encouraged to develop, the McMurdo Ice Shelf surface lake will allow measurements of key ice-shelf flexure and stress variables needed to develop the theory of ice-shelf surface lakes without having to access the much more logistically demanding surface lakes of ice-shelves located elsewhere in Antarctica. Data to be gathered during the 6-week provisional field season include: energy- and water-balance parameters determining how the surface lake grows and fills, and various global positioning system measurements of the vertical bending of the ice sheet in response to the changing meltwater load contained within the surface lake. These data will be used to (1) constrain a computer model of viscoelastic flexure and possible fracture of the ice shelf in response to the increasing load of meltwater in the lake, and (2) determine whether continued study of the incipient surface-meltwater lake features on the McMurdo Ice Shelf provides a promising avenue for constraining the more-general behavior of surface meltwater lakes on other ice shelves located in warmer parts of Antarctica. Computer models constrained by the observational data obtained from the field project will inform energy- and water-balance models of ice shelves in general, and allow more accurate forecasts of changing ice-shelf conditions surrounding the inland ice of Antarctica. The project will create the first-ever ground-based observations useful for spawning the development of models capable of predicting viscoelastic and fracture behavior of ice shelves in response to supraglacial lake evolution, including slow changes due to energy balance effects, as well as fast changes due to filling and draining.", "east": 166.5057, "geometry": "POINT(166.3344 -77.91835)", "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e RECORDERS/LOGGERS \u003e AWS", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "USAP-DC; AWOS", "locations": null, "north": -77.9007, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "MacAyeal, Douglas", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e PERMANENT LAND SITES \u003e AWOS", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -77.936, "title": "Impact of Supraglacial Lakes on Ice-Shelf Stability", "uid": "p0000138", "west": 166.1631}, {"awards": "1246045 Waddington, Edwin", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-180 -70,-144 -70,-108 -70,-72 -70,-36 -70,0 -70,36 -70,72 -70,108 -70,144 -70,180 -70,180 -72,180 -74,180 -76,180 -78,180 -80,180 -82,180 -84,180 -86,180 -88,180 -90,144 -90,108 -90,72 -90,36 -90,0 -90,-36 -90,-72 -90,-108 -90,-144 -90,-180 -90,-180 -88,-180 -86,-180 -84,-180 -82,-180 -80,-180 -78,-180 -76,-180 -74,-180 -72,-180 -70))", "dataset_titles": "Code for inference of fabric from sonic velocity and thin-section measurements.; Code for models involving stochastic treatment of ice fabric", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "000243", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "GitHub", "science_program": null, "title": "Code for inference of fabric from sonic velocity and thin-section measurements.", "url": "https://github.com/mjhay/neem_sonic_model"}, {"dataset_uid": "000244", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "GitHub", "science_program": null, "title": "Code for models involving stochastic treatment of ice fabric", "url": "https://github.com/mjhay/stochastic_fabric"}], "date_created": "Mon, 02 Apr 2018 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Waddington/1246045 This award supports a project to investigate the onset and growth of folds and other disturbances seen in the stratigraphic layers of polar ice sheets. The intellectual merit of the work is that it will lead to a better understanding of the grain-scale processes that control the development of these stratigraphic features in the ice and will help answer questions such as what processes can initiate such disturbances. Snow is deposited on polar ice sheets in layers that are generally flat, with thicknesses that vary slowly along the layers. However, ice cores and ice-penetrating radar show that in some cases, after conversion to ice, and following lengthy burial, the layers can become folded, develop pinch-and-swell structures (boudinage), and be sheared by ice flow, at scales ranging from centimeters to hundreds of meters. The processes causing these disturbances are still poorly understood. Disturbances appear to develop first at the ice-crystal scale, then cascade up to larger scales with continuing ice flow and strain. Crystal-scale processes causing distortions of cm-scale layers will be modeled using Elle, a microstructure-modeling package, and constrained by fabric thin-sections and grain-elongation measurements from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet divide ice-core. A full-stress continuum anisotropic ice-flow model coupled to an ice-fabric evolution model will be used to study bulk flow of anisotropic ice, to understand evolution and growth of flow disturbances on the meter and larger scale. Results from this study will assist in future ice-core site selection, and interpretation of stratigraphy in ice cores and radar, and will provide improved descriptions of rheology and stratigraphy for ice-sheet flow models.The broader impacts are that it will bring greater understanding to ice dynamics responsible for stratigraphic disturbance. This information is valuable to constrain depth-age relationships in ice cores for paleoclimate study. This will allow researchers to put current climate change in a more accurate context. This project will provide three years of support for a graduate student as well as support and research experience for an undergraduate research assistant; this will contribute to development of talent needed to address important future questions in glaciology and climate change. The research will be communicated to the public through outreach events and results from the study will be disseminated through public and professional meetings as well as journal publications. The project does not require field work in Antarctica.", "east": 180.0, "geometry": "POINT(0 -89.999)", "instruments": "NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "NOT APPLICABLE; USAP-DC", "locations": null, "north": -70.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Waddington, Edwin D.", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE", "repo": "GitHub", "repositories": "GitHub", "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "Anisotropic Ice and Stratigraphic Disturbances", "uid": "p0000073", "west": -180.0}, {"awards": "0732655 Mosley-Thompson, Ellen; 0732711 Smith, Craig; 0732625 Leventer, Amy; 0732651 Gordon, Arnold; 0732983 Vernet, Maria; 0732602 Truffer, Martin", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-68 -57.8,-66.78 -57.8,-65.56 -57.8,-64.34 -57.8,-63.12 -57.8,-61.9 -57.8,-60.68 -57.8,-59.46 -57.8,-58.24 -57.8,-57.02 -57.8,-55.8 -57.8,-55.8 -58.8,-55.8 -59.8,-55.8 -60.8,-55.8 -61.8,-55.8 -62.8,-55.8 -63.8,-55.8 -64.8,-55.8 -65.8,-55.8 -66.8,-55.8 -67.8,-57.02 -67.8,-58.24 -67.8,-59.46 -67.8,-60.68 -67.8,-61.9 -67.8,-63.12 -67.8,-64.34 -67.8,-65.56 -67.8,-66.78 -67.8,-68 -67.8,-68 -66.8,-68 -65.8,-68 -64.8,-68 -63.8,-68 -62.8,-68 -61.8,-68 -60.8,-68 -59.8,-68 -58.8,-68 -57.8))", "dataset_titles": "Abrupt Environmental Change in the Larsen Ice Shelf System (LARISSA) - Marine Ecosystems; Biology Species Abundance from the Larsen Ice Shelf acquired during the Nathaniel B. Palmer expeditions NBP1001 and NBP1203; Bruce Plateau Accumulation O18 2009-1900; Easten Antarctic Peninsula Surface Sediment Diatom Data; LMG13-11 JKC-1 Paleoceanographic data; Macrofauna Species Abundance Raw Data from the Larsen Ice Shelf acquired during the Nathaniel B. Palmer expedition NBP1001; Megafauna Species Abundance Raw Data from the Larsen Ice Shelf acquired during the Nathaniel B. Palmer expedition NBP1001; NBP1001 cruise data; NBP1203 cruise data; Processed CTD Data from the Larsen Ice Shelf in Antarctica acquired during the Nathaniel B. Palmer expedition NBP1001; Processed CTD Data from the Larsen Ice Shelf near Antarctica acquired during the Nathaniel B. Palmer expedition NBP1203; Processed ship-based LADCP Sonar Data from the Larsen Ice Shelf in Antarctica acquired during the Nathaniel B. Palmer expedition NBP1001; Processed ship-based LADCP Sonar Data from the Larsen Ice Shelf near Antarctica acquired during the Nathaniel B. Palmer expedition NBP1203; Radioisotope data (C-14 and Pb-210) from bulk sediments, Larsen A Ice Shelf; Sediment samples (full data link not provided)", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601347", "doi": null, "keywords": "Antarctica; Antarctic Peninsula; Current Measurements; LADCP; LARISSA; Larsen Ice Shelf; NBP1203; Oceans; Physical Oceanography; R/v Nathaniel B. Palmer", "people": "Huber, Bruce; Gordon, Arnold", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Processed ship-based LADCP Sonar Data from the Larsen Ice Shelf near Antarctica acquired during the Nathaniel B. Palmer expedition NBP1203", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601347"}, {"dataset_uid": "601211", "doi": "10.15784/601211", "keywords": "Antarctica; Antarctic Peninsula; Benthos; Biota; Diatom; Geology/Geophysics - Other; LMG0502; Marine Geoscience; Marine Sediments; Microscope; NBP0003; NBP0107; NBP0603; NBP1203; R/v Nathaniel B. Palmer; Surface Sediment", "people": "Leventer, Amy", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "LARISSA", "title": "Easten Antarctic Peninsula Surface Sediment Diatom Data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601211"}, {"dataset_uid": "000142", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "NBP1001 cruise data", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/NBP1001"}, {"dataset_uid": "000143", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "NBP1203 cruise data", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/NBP1203"}, {"dataset_uid": "000145", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "AMGRF", "science_program": null, "title": "Sediment samples (full data link not provided)", "url": "http://arf.fsu.edu/"}, {"dataset_uid": "601305", "doi": null, "keywords": "Antarctica; Antarctic Peninsula; Biota; Box Corer; LARISSA; Larsen Ice Shelf; Macrofauna; Megafauna; NBP1001; Oceans; R/v Nathaniel B. Palmer; Seafloor Sampling; Species Abundance", "people": "Smith, Craig", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "LARISSA", "title": "Megafauna Species Abundance Raw Data from the Larsen Ice Shelf acquired during the Nathaniel B. Palmer expedition NBP1001", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601305"}, {"dataset_uid": "601306", "doi": null, "keywords": "Antarctica; Antarctic Peninsula; Biota; Box Corer; LARISSA; Larsen Ice Shelf; Macrofauna; NBP1001; Oceans; R/v Nathaniel B. Palmer; Seafloor Sampling; Species Abundance", "people": "Smith, Craig", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "LARISSA", "title": "Macrofauna Species Abundance Raw Data from the Larsen Ice Shelf acquired during the Nathaniel B. Palmer expedition NBP1001", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601306"}, {"dataset_uid": "601336", "doi": "10.15784/601336", "keywords": "Antarctica; Carbon-14; Larsen Ice Shelf; Lead-210; Marine Sediments; Radioisotope Analysis", "people": "Taylor, Richard; DeMaster, David", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "LARISSA", "title": "Radioisotope data (C-14 and Pb-210) from bulk sediments, Larsen A Ice Shelf", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601336"}, {"dataset_uid": "601345", "doi": null, "keywords": "Antarctica; Antarctic Peninsula; CTD; CTD Data; LARISSA; Larsen Ice Shelf; NBP1001; Oceans; Physical Oceanography; R/v Nathaniel B. Palmer; Salinity; Temperature", "people": "Huber, Bruce; Gordon, Arnold", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "LARISSA", "title": "Processed CTD Data from the Larsen Ice Shelf in Antarctica acquired during the Nathaniel B. Palmer expedition NBP1001", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601345"}, {"dataset_uid": "601346", "doi": null, "keywords": "Antarctica; Antarctic Peninsula; Current Measurements; LADCP; Larsen Ice Shelf; NBP1001; Oceans; Physical Oceanography; R/v Nathaniel B. Palmer", "people": "Huber, Bruce; Gordon, Arnold", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "LARISSA", "title": "Processed ship-based LADCP Sonar Data from the Larsen Ice Shelf in Antarctica acquired during the Nathaniel B. Palmer expedition NBP1001", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601346"}, {"dataset_uid": "601348", "doi": null, "keywords": "Antarctica; Antarctic Peninsula; CTD; CTD Data; LARISSA; Larsen Ice Shelf; NBP1203; Oceans; Physical Oceanography; R/v Nathaniel B. Palmer; Salinity; Temperature", "people": "Huber, Bruce; Gordon, Arnold", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Processed CTD Data from the Larsen Ice Shelf near Antarctica acquired during the Nathaniel B. Palmer expedition NBP1203", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601348"}, {"dataset_uid": "600167", "doi": "10.15784/600167", "keywords": "Antarctica; Antarctic Peninsula; Bruce Plateau; Glaciology; Ice Core Records; Isotope; LARISSA; Paleoclimate; Sample/collection Description; Sample/Collection Description; Snow Accumulation", "people": "Mosley-Thompson, Ellen; Thompson, Lonnie G.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "LARISSA", "title": "Bruce Plateau Accumulation O18 2009-1900", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/600167"}, {"dataset_uid": "601485", "doi": "10.15784/601485", "keywords": "Antarctica; Antarctic Peninsula; Delta 13C; Delta 18O; Paleoceanography; Temperature", "people": "Shevenell, Amelia", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "LARISSA", "title": "LMG13-11 JKC-1 Paleoceanographic data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601485"}, {"dataset_uid": "600073", "doi": "10.15784/600073", "keywords": "Antarctica; Antarctic Peninsula; Araon1304; Biota; LARISSA; Larsen B Ice Shelf; NBP1001; NBP1203; Oceans; Physical Oceanography; Southern Ocean; Weddell Sea", "people": "Vernet, Maria", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "LARISSA", "title": "Abrupt Environmental Change in the Larsen Ice Shelf System (LARISSA) - Marine Ecosystems", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/600073"}, {"dataset_uid": "000226", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "MGDS", "science_program": null, "title": "Biology Species Abundance from the Larsen Ice Shelf acquired during the Nathaniel B. Palmer expeditions NBP1001 and NBP1203", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1594/ieda/320821"}], "date_created": "Thu, 01 Feb 2018 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Like no other region on Earth, the northern Antarctic Peninsula represents a spectacular natural laboratory of climate change and provides the opportunity to study the record of past climate and ecological shifts alongside the present-day changes in one of the most rapidly warming regions on Earth. This award supports the cryospheric and oceano-graphic components of an integrated multi-disciplinary program to address these rapid and fundamental changes now taking place in Antarctic Peninsula (AP). By making use of a marine research platform (the RV NB Palmer and on-board helicopters) and additional logistical support from the Argentine Antarctic program, the project will bring glaciologists, oceanographers, marine geologists and biologists together, working collaboratively to address fundamentally interdisciplinary questions regarding climate change. The project will include gathering a new, high-resolution paleoclimate record from the Bruce Plateau of Graham Land, and using it to compare Holocene- and possibly glacial-epoch climate to the modern period; investigating the stability of the remaining Larsen Ice Shelf and rapid post-breakup glacier response ? in particular, the roles of surface melt and ice-ocean interactions in the speed-up and retreat; observing the contribution of, and response of, oceanographic systems to ice shelf disintegration and ice-glacier interactions. Helicopter support on board will allow access to a wide range of glacial and geological areas of interest adjacent to the Larsen embayment. At these locations, long-term in situ glacial monitoring, isostatic uplift, and ice flow GPS sites will be established, and high-resolution ice core records will be obtained using previously tested lightweight drilling equipment. Long-term monitoring of deep water outflow will, for the first time, be integrated into changes in ice shelf extent and thickness, bottom water formation, and multi-level circulation by linking near-source observations to distal sites of concentrated outflow. The broader impacts of this international, multidisciplinary effort are that it will significantly advance our understanding of linkages amongst the earth\u0027s systems in the Polar Regions, and are proposed with international participation (UK, Spain, Belgium, Germany and Argentina) and interdisciplinary engagement in the true spirit of the International Polar Year (IPY). It will also provide a means of engaging and educating the public in virtually all aspects of polar science and the effects of ongoing climate change. The research team has a long record of involving undergraduates in research, educating high-performing graduate students, and providing innovative and engaging outreach products to the K-12 education and public media forums. Moreover, forging the new links both in science and international Antarctic programs will provide a continuing legacy, beyond IPY, of improved understanding and cooperation in Antarctica.", "east": -55.8, "geometry": "POINT(-61.9 -62.8)", "instruments": "EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e POSITIONING/NAVIGATION \u003e GPS \u003e GPS; NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e CORERS \u003e BOX CORE; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e CORERS \u003e CORING DEVICES; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e CORERS \u003e ICE AUGERS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e CORERS \u003e SNOW DENSITY CUTTER", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Paleoclimate; Megafauna; USAP-DC; AMD; Amd/Us; Antarctica; Climate Change; LABORATORY; Climate Variability; Multi-Disciplinary; Cryosphere; NBP1001; FIELD SURVEYS; Not provided; Antarctic Peninsula; R/V NBP; FIELD INVESTIGATION; USA/NSF; Ice Core; Holocene", "locations": "Antarctica; Antarctic Peninsula", "north": -57.8, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Integrated System Science; Antarctic Integrated System Science; Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems; Antarctic Integrated System Science; Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems; Antarctic Integrated System Science; Antarctic Integrated System Science; Antarctic Integrated System Science", "paleo_time": "PHANEROZOIC \u003e CENOZOIC \u003e QUATERNARY \u003e HOLOCENE", "persons": "Truffer, Martin; Gordon, Arnold; Huber, Bruce; Mosley-Thompson, Ellen; Leventer, Amy; Vernet, Maria; Smith, Craig; Thompson, Lonnie G.", "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; WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e VESSELS \u003e SURFACE \u003e R/V NBP", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "AMGRF; MGDS; R2R; USAP-DC", "science_programs": "LARISSA", "south": -67.8, "title": "Collaborative Research in IPY: Abrupt Environmental Change in the Larsen Ice Shelf System, a Multidisciplinary Approach -- Cryosphere and Oceans", "uid": "p0000101", "west": -68.0}, {"awards": "1430550 Domack, Eugene; 1143836 Leventer, Amy; 1143833 Orsi, Alejandro; 1143834 Huber, Bruce", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((116 -65.2,116.5 -65.2,117 -65.2,117.5 -65.2,118 -65.2,118.5 -65.2,119 -65.2,119.5 -65.2,120 -65.2,120.5 -65.2,121 -65.2,121 -65.38,121 -65.56,121 -65.74,121 -65.92,121 -66.1,121 -66.28,121 -66.46,121 -66.64,121 -66.82,121 -67,120.5 -67,120 -67,119.5 -67,119 -67,118.5 -67,118 -67,117.5 -67,117 -67,116.5 -67,116 -67,116 -66.82,116 -66.64,116 -66.46,116 -66.28,116 -66.1,116 -65.92,116 -65.74,116 -65.56,116 -65.38,116 -65.2))", "dataset_titles": "AU1402 Final UCTD data; AU1402 mooring data; Bottom photos from the Southern Ocean acquired during R/V Nathaniel B. Palmer expedition NBP1402 ; NBP1402 diatom data; NBP1402 Final CTD data; NBP1402 Final UCTD data; NBP1402 JPC43 Diatom Data; NBP14-02 JPC-54 and JPC-55 Pollen Assemblage data; NBP14-02 JPC-55 Bulk Sediment Carbon and Nitrogen data; NBP14-02 JPC-55 foraminifer assemblage data; NBP1402 Lowered ADCP data; Near-bottom Videos from the Southern Ocean acquired during R/V Nathaniel B. Palmer expedition NBP1402; Sabrina Coast mooring data - sediment trap mooring 2014", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601148", "doi": "10.15784/601148", "keywords": "Antarctica; Au1402; Mooring; NBP1402; Oceans; Ocean Temperature; Physical Oceanography; R/v Aurora Australis; R/v Nathaniel B. Palmer; Sabrina Coast; Salinity; Southern Ocean; Temperature", "people": "Orsi, Alejandro", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "AU1402 mooring data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601148"}, {"dataset_uid": "601147", "doi": "10.15784/601147", "keywords": "Antarctica; CTD Data; NBP1402; Ocean Temperature; Physical Oceanography; Sabrina Coast; Salinity; Southern Ocean; Temperature; Underway CTD", "people": "Orsi, Alejandro", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "AU1402 Final UCTD data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601147"}, {"dataset_uid": "601146", "doi": "10.15784/601146", "keywords": "Antarctica; CTD Data; NBP1402; Oceans; Ocean Temperature; Physical Oceanography; R/v Nathaniel B. Palmer; Sabrina Coast; Salinity; Southern Ocean; Temperature", "people": "Orsi, Alejandro", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "NBP1402 Final UCTD data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601146"}, {"dataset_uid": "601069", "doi": "10.15784/601069", "keywords": "Antarctica; Mooring; NBP1402; Oceans; Physical Oceanography; Sabrina Coast; Sample/collection Description; Sample/Collection Description; Southern Ocean", "people": "Huber, Bruce", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Sabrina Coast mooring data - sediment trap mooring 2014", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601069"}, {"dataset_uid": "601068", "doi": "10.15784/601068", "keywords": "ADCP Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler; Antarctica; NBP1402; Oceans; Physical Oceanography; Sabrina Coast; Sample/collection Description; Sample/Collection Description; Southern Ocean", "people": "Huber, Bruce", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "NBP1402 Lowered ADCP data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601068"}, {"dataset_uid": "601067", "doi": "10.15784/601067", "keywords": "Antarctica; CTD Data; NBP1402; Oceans; Physical Oceanography; Sabrina Coast; Sample/collection Description; Sample/Collection Description; Southern Ocean", "people": "Huber, Bruce", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "NBP1402 Final CTD data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601067"}, {"dataset_uid": "601046", "doi": "10.15784/601046", "keywords": "Antarctica; Biota; Marine Sediments; NBP1402; Oceans; Paleoclimate; Pollen; Sabrina Coast; Sediment Core; Southern Ocean; Totten Glacier", "people": "Smith, Catherine; Shevenell, Amelia; Domack, Eugene Walter", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "NBP14-02 JPC-54 and JPC-55 Pollen Assemblage data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601046"}, {"dataset_uid": "601044", "doi": "10.15784/601044", "keywords": "Antarctica; Carbon; Chemistry:sediment; Chemistry:Sediment; Geochemistry; Marine Sediments; NBP1402; Nitrogen; Oceans; Sabrina Coast; Sediment Core; Southern Ocean; Totten Glacier", "people": "Smith, Catherine; Domack, Eugene Walter; Shevenell, Amelia", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "NBP14-02 JPC-55 Bulk Sediment Carbon and Nitrogen data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601044"}, {"dataset_uid": "601042", "doi": "10.15784/601042", "keywords": "Antarctica; Biota; Continental Margin; Foraminifera; NBP1402; Oceans; Paleoclimate; Sabrina Coast; Sample/collection Description; Sample/Collection Description; Southern Ocean; Totten Glacier", "people": "Leventer, Amy; Shevenell, Amelia", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "NBP14-02 JPC-55 foraminifer assemblage data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601042"}, {"dataset_uid": "601310", "doi": null, "keywords": "Antarctica; Benthic Images; Benthos; East Antarctica; Marine Geoscience; NBP1402; Photo; Photo/video; Photo/Video; R/v Nathaniel B. Palmer; Totten Glacier; Yoyo Camera", "people": "Huber, Bruce; Orsi, Alejandro; Leventer, Amy; Post, Alexandra; Domack, Eugene Walter; Gulick, Sean; Shevenell, Amelia", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Bottom photos from the Southern Ocean acquired during R/V Nathaniel B. Palmer expedition NBP1402 ", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601310"}, {"dataset_uid": "601312", "doi": null, "keywords": "Antarctica; Benthic Images; Camera; East Antarctica; Marine Geoscience; NBP1402; Photo/video; Photo/Video; R/v Nathaniel B. Palmer; Sabrina Coast; Totten Glacier; Video Data; Yoyo Camera", "people": "Gulick, Sean; Leventer, Amy; Shevenell, Amelia; Orsi, Alejandro; Huber, Bruce; Domack, Eugene Walter; Blankenship, Donald D.; Post, Alexandra", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Near-bottom Videos from the Southern Ocean acquired during R/V Nathaniel B. Palmer expedition NBP1402", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601312"}, {"dataset_uid": "601845", "doi": "10.15784/601845", "keywords": "Antarctica; Cryosphere; Diatom; NBP1402; Totten Glacier", "people": "Leventer, Amy; NBP1402 science party, ", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "NBP1402 diatom data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601845"}, {"dataset_uid": "601440", "doi": "10.15784/601440", "keywords": "Antarctica; Diatom; Holocene; Jumbo Piston Corer; NBP1402; R/v Nathaniel B. Palmer; Sabrina Coast; Sediment Core Data; Species Abundance; Totten Glacier", "people": "Leventer, Amy", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "NBP1402 JPC43 Diatom Data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601440"}], "date_created": "Fri, 26 Jan 2018 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This project will investigate the marine component of the Totten Glacier and Moscow University Ice Shelf, East Antarctica. This system is of critical importance because it drains one-eighth of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet and contains a volume equivalent to nearly 7 meters of potential sea level rise, greater than the entire West Antarctic Ice Sheet. This nearly completely unexplored region is the single largest and least understood marine glacial system that is potentially unstable. Despite intense scrutiny of marine based systems in the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, little is known about the Totten Glacier system. This study will add substantially to the meager oceanographic and marine geology and geophysics data available in this region, and will significantly advance understanding of this poorly understood glacial system and its potentially sensitive response to environmental change. Independent, space-based platforms indicate accelerating mass loss of the Totten system. Recent aerogeophysical surveys of the Aurora Subglacial Basin, which contains the deepest ice in Antarctica and drains into the Totten system, have provided the subglacial context for measured surface changes and show that the Totten Glacier has been the most significant drainage pathway for at least two previous ice flow regimes. However, the offshore context is far less understood. Limited physical oceanographic data from the nearby shelf/slope break indicate the presence of Modified Circumpolar Deep Water within a thick bottom layer at the mouth of a trough with apparent access to Totten Glacier, suggesting the possibility of sub-glacial bottom inflow of relatively warm water, a process considered to be responsible for West Antarctic Ice Sheet grounding line retreat. This project will conduct a ship-based marine geologic and geophysical survey of the region, combined with a physical oceanographic study, in order to evaluate both the recent and longer-term behavior of the glacial system and its relationship to the adjacent oceanographic system. This endeavor will complement studies of other Antarctic ice shelves, oceanographic studies near the Antarctic Peninsula, and ongoing development of ice sheet and other ocean models.", "east": 121.0, "geometry": "POINT(118.5 -66.1)", "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e CORERS \u003e CORING DEVICES; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e CTD; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e CTD", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Totten Glacier; NBP1402; Sabrina Coast; LABORATORY; Diatom; R/V NBP; Amd/Us; Bottom Photos; R/V AA; Not provided; USAP-DC; AMD; USA/NSF", "locations": "Sabrina Coast; Totten Glacier", "north": -65.2, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Integrated System Science; Antarctic Integrated System Science; Antarctic Integrated System Science; Antarctic Integrated System Science", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Orsi, Alejandro; Huber, Bruce; Leventer, Amy; Domack, Eugene Walter", "platforms": "Not provided; OTHER \u003e PHYSICAL MODELS \u003e LABORATORY; WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e VESSELS \u003e SURFACE \u003e R/V AA; WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e VESSELS \u003e SURFACE \u003e R/V NBP", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -67.0, "title": "Collaborative Research: Totten Glacier System and the Marine Record of Cryosphere - Ocean Dynamics", "uid": "p0000008", "west": 116.0}, {"awards": "0838735 Nitsche, Frank O.", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-140 -68,-136 -68,-132 -68,-128 -68,-124 -68,-120 -68,-116 -68,-112 -68,-108 -68,-104 -68,-100 -68,-100 -68.75,-100 -69.5,-100 -70.25,-100 -71,-100 -71.75,-100 -72.5,-100 -73.25,-100 -74,-100 -74.75,-100 -75.5,-104 -75.5,-108 -75.5,-112 -75.5,-116 -75.5,-120 -75.5,-124 -75.5,-128 -75.5,-132 -75.5,-136 -75.5,-140 -75.5,-140 -74.75,-140 -74,-140 -73.25,-140 -72.5,-140 -71.75,-140 -71,-140 -70.25,-140 -69.5,-140 -68.75,-140 -68))", "dataset_titles": "Bathymetry compilation of Pine Island Bay, Amundsen Sea, Antarctica; OSO0910 Expedition Data", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "000225", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "MGDS", "science_program": null, "title": "Bathymetry compilation of Pine Island Bay, Amundsen Sea, Antarctica", "url": "http://dx.doi.org/10.1594/IEDA/320080"}, {"dataset_uid": "000525", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "MGDS", "science_program": null, "title": "OSO0910 Expedition Data", "url": "https://www.marine-geo.org/tools/search/entry.php?id=OSO0910"}], "date_created": "Fri, 26 Jan 2018 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). The West Antarctic Ice Sheet is believed to be vulnerable to climate change as it is grounded below sea level, is drained by rapidly flowing ice streams and is fringed by floating ice shelves subject to melting by incursions of relatively warm Antarctic circumpolar water. Currently, the most rapidly thinning glaciers in Antarctica occur in the Amundsen and Bellingshausen Sea sectors. This study seeks to place the present day observations into a longer-term geological context over a broad scale by high-resolution swath bathymetric mapping of continental shelf sea floor features that indicate past ice presence and behavior. Gaps in existing survey coverage of glacial lineations and troughs indicating ice flow direction and paleo-grounding zone wedges over the Ross, Amundsen and Bellingshausen Sea sectors are targeted. The surveys will be conducted as part of the 2010 Icebreaker Oden science opportunity and will take advantage of the vessel?s state-of-the-art swath mapping system.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eBroader impacts:\u003cbr/\u003eThis activity will supplement and complement more focused regional studies by US, Swedish, UK, French, Japanese and Polish collaborators also sailing on the Oden. The PI will compile bathymetric data to be acquired by the Oden and other ships in the region over the duration of the project into the existing bathymetric data base. The compiled data set will be made publically available through the NSF founded Antarctic Multibeam Bathymetry and Geophysical Data Synthesis (AMBS) site. It will also be integrated into the GEBCO International Bathymetric Chart of the Southern Ocean (IBCSO) and so significantly improve the basis for ship navigation in the Pacific sector of the Southern Ocean. Undergraduate students will be involved in the research under supervision of the PI via the Lamont summer internship program. The PI is a young investigator and this will be his first NSF grant as a PI.", "east": -100.0, "geometry": "POINT(-120 -71.75)", "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e ACOUSTIC SOUNDERS \u003e MBES", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "BATHYMETRY; SHIPS; Southern Ocean; Antarctica; Polar; GLACIERS/ICE SHEETS; R/V NBP", "locations": "Polar; Southern Ocean; Antarctica", "north": -68.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Nitsche, Frank O.", "platforms": "WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e VESSELS \u003e SURFACE \u003e R/V NBP; WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e VESSELS \u003e SURFACE \u003e SHIPS", "repo": "MGDS", "repositories": "MGDS", "science_programs": null, "south": -75.5, "title": "Ice sheet Dynamics and Processes along the West Antarctic Continental Shelf", "uid": "p0010001", "west": -140.0}, {"awards": "1143981 Domack, Eugene", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-69.9517 -52.7581,-69.02971 -52.7581,-68.10772 -52.7581,-67.18573 -52.7581,-66.26374 -52.7581,-65.34175 -52.7581,-64.41976 -52.7581,-63.49777 -52.7581,-62.57578 -52.7581,-61.65379 -52.7581,-60.7318 -52.7581,-60.7318 -54.31551,-60.7318 -55.87292,-60.7318 -57.43033,-60.7318 -58.98774,-60.7318 -60.54515,-60.7318 -62.10256,-60.7318 -63.65997,-60.7318 -65.21738,-60.7318 -66.77479,-60.7318 -68.3322,-61.65379 -68.3322,-62.57578 -68.3322,-63.49777 -68.3322,-64.41976 -68.3322,-65.34175 -68.3322,-66.26374 -68.3322,-67.18573 -68.3322,-68.10772 -68.3322,-69.02971 -68.3322,-69.9517 -68.3322,-69.9517 -66.77479,-69.9517 -65.21738,-69.9517 -63.65997,-69.9517 -62.10256,-69.9517 -60.54515,-69.9517 -58.98774,-69.9517 -57.43033,-69.9517 -55.87292,-69.9517 -54.31551,-69.9517 -52.7581))", "dataset_titles": "Expedition Data; Processed Camera Images acquired during the Laurence M. Gould expedition LMG1311", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601311", "doi": "10.15784/601311", "keywords": "Antarctica; Antarctic Peninsula; Benthic Images; Camera; LARISSA; LMG1311; Marine Geoscience; Photo; Photo/video; Photo/Video; R/v Laurence M. Gould", "people": "Domack, Eugene Walter", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "LARISSA", "title": "Processed Camera Images acquired during the Laurence M. Gould expedition LMG1311", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601311"}, {"dataset_uid": "001366", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "Expedition Data", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/LMG1702"}, {"dataset_uid": "000402", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "Expedition Data", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/LMG1702"}], "date_created": "Fri, 29 Dec 2017 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This project aims to identify which portions of the glacial cover in the Antarctic Peninsula are losing mass to the ocean. This is an important issue to resolve because the Antarctic Peninsula is warming at a faster rate than any other region across the earth. Even though glaciers across the Antarctic Peninsula are small, compared to the continental ice sheet, defining how rapidly they respond to both ocean and atmospheric temperature rise is critical. It is critical because it informs us about the exact mechanisms which regulate ice flow and melting into the ocean. For instance, after the break- up of the Larsen Ice Shelf in 2002 many glaciers began to flow rapidly into the sea. Measuring how much ice was involved is difficult and depends upon accurate estimates of volume and area. One way to increase the accuracy of our estimates is to measure how fast the Earth\u0027s crust is rebounding or bouncing back, after the ice has been removed. This rebound effect can be measured with very precise techniques using instruments locked into ice free bedrock surrounding the area of interest. These instruments are monitored by a set of positioning satellites (the Global Positioning System or GPS) in a continuous fashion. Of course the movement of the Earth\u0027s bedrock relates not only to the immediate response but also the longer term rate that reflects the long vanished ice masses that once covered the entire Antarctic Peninsula?at the time of the last glaciation. These rebound measurements can, therefore, also tell us about the amount of ice which covered the Antarctic Peninsula thousands of years ago. Glacial isostatic rebound is one of the complicating factors in allowing us to understand how much the larger ice sheets are losing today, something that can be estimated by satellite techniques but only within large errors when the isostatic (rebound) correction is unknown. The research proposed consists of maintaining a set of six rebound stations until the year 2016, allowing for a longer time series and thus more accurate estimates of immediate elastic and longer term rebound effects. It also involves the establishment of two additional GPS stations that will focus on constraining the \"bull\u0027s eye\" of rebound suggested by measurements over the past two years. In addition, several more geologic data points will be collected that will help to reconstruct the position of the ice sheet margin during its recession from the full ice sheet of the last glacial maximum. These will be based upon the coring of marine sediment sequences now recognized to have been deposited along the margins of retreating ice sheets and outlets. Precise dating of the ice margin along with the new and improved rebound data will help to constrain past ice sheet configurations and refine geophysical models related to the nature of post glacial rebound. Data management will be under the auspices of the UNAVCO polar geophysical network or POLENET and will be publically available at the time of station installation. This project is a small scale extension of the ongoing LARsen Ice Shelf, Antarctica Project (LARISSA), an IPY (International Polar Year)-funded interdisciplinary study aimed at understanding earth system connections related to the Larsen Ice Shelf and the northern Antarctic Peninsula.", "east": -60.7318, "geometry": "POINT(-65.34175 -60.54515)", "instruments": "EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e PHOTON/OPTICAL DETECTORS \u003e CAMERAS \u003e CAMERAS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e SEISMIC REFLECTION PROFILERS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e CTD; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e CHEMICAL METERS/ANALYZERS \u003e FLUOROMETERS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e RECORDERS/LOGGERS \u003e AWS; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e POSITIONING/NAVIGATION \u003e GPS \u003e GPS; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e ACTIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e ACOUSTIC SOUNDERS \u003e ECHO SOUNDERS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e THERMOSALINOGRAPHS", "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "LMG1702; R/V LMG", "locations": null, "north": -52.7581, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Integrated System Science", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Kohut, Josh; Domack, Eugene Walter", "platforms": "WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e VESSELS \u003e SURFACE \u003e R/V LMG", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "R2R; USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -68.3322, "title": "Continuation of the LARISSA Continuous GPS Network in View of Observed Dynamic Response to Antarctic Peninsula Ice Mass Balance and Required Geologic Constraints", "uid": "p0000233", "west": -69.9517}, {"awards": "1542778 Alley, Richard", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": "c-Axis Fabric of the South Pole Ice Core, SPC14; South Pole Ice Core (SPC14) Bubble Number-Density Data; South Pole Ice Core (SPIcecore) Visual Observations", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601057", "doi": "10.15784/601057", "keywords": "Antarctica; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; South Pole; SPICEcore", "people": "Voigt, Donald E.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "SPICEcore", "title": "c-Axis Fabric of the South Pole Ice Core, SPC14", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601057"}, {"dataset_uid": "601880", "doi": "10.15784/601880", "keywords": "Antarctic; Antarctica; Bubble Number Density; Cryosphere; Glaciers; Glaciology; Ice; Ice Core Data; Ice Core Records; NSF-ICF Microtome and Photography Stage; Paleoclimate; Physical Properties; Snow; South Pole", "people": "Fegyveresi, John", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "SPICEcore", "title": "South Pole Ice Core (SPC14) Bubble Number-Density Data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601880"}, {"dataset_uid": "601088", "doi": "10.15784/601088", "keywords": "Antarctica; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Core; Ice Core Records; Physical Properties; Snow/ice; Snow/Ice; South Pole; Visual Observations", "people": "Alley, Richard; Fegyveresi, John", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "SPICEcore", "title": "South Pole Ice Core (SPIcecore) Visual Observations", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601088"}], "date_created": "Fri, 29 Sep 2017 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Alley/1542778 This award supports a three-year effort to study physical properties of the South Pole ice core to help provide a high-time-resolution history of trace gases and other paleoclimatic indicators from an especially cold site with high preservation potential for important signals. The physical-properties studies include visual inspection to identify any flow disturbances and for identifying annual layers and other features, and combined bubble, grain and ice crystal orientation studies to better understand the processes occurring in the ice that affect the climate record and the ice-sheet behavior. Success of these efforts will provide necessary support for dating and quality control to others studying the ice core, as well as determining the climate history of the site, flow state, and key physical processes in ice. The intellectual merits of the project include better understanding of physical processes, paleoclimatic reconstruction, dating of the ice, and quality assurance. Visual inspection of the core will help identify evidence of flow disturbances that would disrupt the integrity of the climate record and will reveal volcanic horizons and other features of interest. Annual layer counting will be conducted to help estimate accumulation rate over time as recorded in the ice core. Measurements of C-axis fabric, grain size and shapes, and bubble characteristics will provide information about processes occurring in the ice sheet as well as the history of ice flow, current flow state and how the ice is flowing and how easily it will flow in the future. Analysis of this data in conjunction with microCT data will help to reveal grain-scale processes. The broader impacts of the project include support for an early-career, post-doctoral researcher, and improved paleoclimatic data of societal relevance. The results will be incorporated into the active program of education and outreach which have educated many students, members of the public and policy makers through the sharing of information and educational materials about all aspects of ice core science and paleoclimate.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Not provided", "locations": null, "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Alley, Richard; Fegyveresi, John; Voigt, Donald E.", "platforms": "Not provided", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": "SPICEcore", "south": null, "title": "Climate History and Flow Processes from Physical Analyses of the SPICECORE South Pole Ice Core", "uid": "p0000141", "west": null}, {"awards": "1443260 Conway, Howard", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((159 -76.68,159.03 -76.68,159.06 -76.68,159.09 -76.68,159.12 -76.68,159.15 -76.68,159.18 -76.68,159.21 -76.68,159.24 -76.68,159.27 -76.68,159.3 -76.68,159.3 -76.697,159.3 -76.714,159.3 -76.731,159.3 -76.748,159.3 -76.765,159.3 -76.782,159.3 -76.799,159.3 -76.816,159.3 -76.833,159.3 -76.85,159.27 -76.85,159.24 -76.85,159.21 -76.85,159.18 -76.85,159.15 -76.85,159.12 -76.85,159.09 -76.85,159.06 -76.85,159.03 -76.85,159 -76.85,159 -76.833,159 -76.816,159 -76.799,159 -76.782,159 -76.765,159 -76.748,159 -76.731,159 -76.714,159 -76.697,159 -76.68))", "dataset_titles": "2015-2016 GPR Field Report for Allan Hills Shallow Ice Coring; Ground-based ice-penetrating radar profiles collected on the Allan Hills blue ice region", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601005", "doi": "10.15784/601005", "keywords": "Allan Hills; Antarctica; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; GPR; Navigation; Radar", "people": "Conway, Howard", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "Allan Hills", "title": "Ground-based ice-penetrating radar profiles collected on the Allan Hills blue ice region", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601005"}, {"dataset_uid": "601668", "doi": "10.15784/601668", "keywords": "Allan Hills; Antarctica; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; GPR; Ice Core; Report", "people": "MacKay, Sean; Brook, Edward J.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "Allan Hills", "title": "2015-2016 GPR Field Report for Allan Hills Shallow Ice Coring", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601668"}], "date_created": "Tue, 02 May 2017 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Marine paleoclimate archives show that approximately one million years ago Earth\u0027s climate transitioned from 40,000-year glacial /interglacial cycles to 100,000-year cycles. This award will support a study designed to map the distribution of one million year-old ice in the Allan Hills Blue Ice Area, Antarctica using state-of-the-art ground penetrating radar. The Allen Hills was demonstrated to contain a continuous record of the past 400,000 years and is also the collection location of the oldest ice samples (990,000 years) yet recovered. The maps resulting from this study will be used to select an ice-core drilling site at which a million-plus year-old continuous record of climate could be recovered. Ice cores contain the only kind of record to directly capture atmospheric gases and aerosols, but no ice-core-based climate record yet extends continuously beyond the past 800,000 years. A million-plus year-old record will allow better understanding of the major mechanisms and driving forces of natural climate variability in a world with 100,000-year glacial/interglacial cycles. The project will support two early career scientists in collaboration with senior scientists, as well as a graduate student, and will conduct outreach to schools and the public. The Allan Hills Blue Ice Area preserves a continuous climate record covering the last 400,000 years along an established glaciological flow line. Two kilometers to the east of this flow line, the oldest ice on Earth (~1 million years old) is found only 120 m below the surface. Meteorites collected in the area are reported to be as old as 1.8 million years, suggesting still older ice may be present. Combined, these data strongly suggest that the Allen Hills area could contain a continuous, well-resolved environmental record, spanning at least the last million years. As such, this area has been selected as an upcoming target for the new Intermediate Depth Ice Core Drill by the US Ice Core Working Group. This drill will recover a higher-quality core than previous dry drilling attempts. This project will conduct a comprehensive ground penetrating radar survey aimed at tracing the signature of the million-year-old ice layer throughout the region. The resulting map will be used to select a drill site from which an ice core containing the million-plus year-old continuous climate record will be collected. The proposed activities are a necessary precursor to the collection of the oldest known ice on Earth. Ice cores provide a robust reconstruction of past climate and extending this record beyond the 800,000 years currently available will open new opportunities to study the climate system. The data collected will also be used to investigate the bedrock and ice flow parameters favorable to the preservation of old ice, which may allow targeted investigation of other blue ice areas in Antarctica.", "east": 159.3, "geometry": "POINT(159.15 -76.765)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Allan Hills; FIELD SURVEYS; ICE SHEETS", "locations": "Allan Hills", "north": -76.68, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Conway, Howard", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD SURVEYS", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": "Allan Hills", "south": -76.85, "title": "Collaborative Research: Allan HILLs Englacial Site (AHILLES) Selection", "uid": "p0000385", "west": 159.0}, {"awards": "0948247 Pettit, Erin", "bounds_geometry": "POINT(-123.35 -75.1)", "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Wed, 06 Jan 2016 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Pettit/0948247\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThis award supports a project to study of the relationship between fabric and climate for the ice near the EPICA Dome C ice core site, East Antarctica. The work builds on an ongoing study at Siple Dome, West Antarctica and takes advantage of collaborations with European scientists and access to the Dome C borehole to make measurements of sonic velocity. The intellectual merit of the project is that a better understanding of how fabric preserves past climate information can improve models of the ice flow near ice core sites and the interpreta-tion of ice core data (particularly paleo-accumulation), and it may allow us to extract climate information directly from fabric data. In addition, because ice deformation is sensitive to the orientation of crystals, ice flow patterns are sensitive to the fabric. Thus, variations in the fabric between glacial and interglacial ice can affect how ice deforms and how fabric in the ice sheet develops. The Dome C site is particularly important for answering these questions, because the ice core shows evidence of eight glacial cycles, not just one as found at Siple Dome or the Greenland sites. The research will improve the understanding of the proxy relationship between sonic-velocity data and fabric; will help to model the pattern of ice flow caused by the fabric variation between glacial and interglacial time periods using these data, existing ice core chemistry and existing and new thin section data, improved surface strain data, and borehole deformation data; and will help to better understand the positive feedback mechanism that enhances fabric (and corresponding rheological) variability through a focused study of several climate transitions and the associated fabric changes. Borehole compressional-wave sonic-velocity will be measured which will complement the sonic-velocity data that already exist for boreholes in Greenland and West Antarctica. These will be the first sonic-velocity measurements in East Antarctica and the first measurements that extend for more than a single glacial/interglacial transition. The project will ultimately contribute to better interpretation of ice core records for both paleoclimate studies and for ice flow history, both of which connect to the broader questions of the role of ice in the climate system. This project will also strengthen the international collaborations within the paleoclimate and ice sheet modeling communities. This project will partially support a graduate student at the University of Alaska Fairbanks who is currently working on modeling ice including anisotropy and it will support the growth of a young scientist through a Post-Doc position. This Post Doc will gain important experience collaborating with the EPICA scientists in studying the climate-fabric relationship. Erin Pettit is active in field-science education for high school students, under-graduates, teachers, and adults. This project will help support the continued development and enhancement of Girls on Ice a program that encourages young women to explore science and the natural world.", "east": -123.35, "geometry": "POINT(-123.35 -75.1)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "LABORATORY; Crystals; Deformation; FIELD INVESTIGATION; Model; Sonic Logger; Ice Flow; Rheology; FIELD SURVEYS; Borehole; Climate; Ice Fabric; Antarctica; Interglacial", "locations": "Antarctica", "north": -75.1, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Pettit, Erin; Hansen, Sharon", "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": -75.1, "title": "The Relationship between Climate and Ice Rheology at Dome C, East Antarctica", "uid": "p0000708", "west": -123.35}, {"awards": "1142173 Bay, Ryan; 1142010 Talghader, Joseph", "bounds_geometry": "POINT(112.085 -79.467)", "dataset_titles": "Optical Fabric and Fiber Logging of Glacial Ice (1142010)", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "600172", "doi": "10.15784/600172", "keywords": "Antarctica; Ash Layer; Borehole Camera; Glaciology; Ice Core Records; WAIS Divide; WAIS Divide Ice Core", "people": "Talghader, Joseph", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Optical Fabric and Fiber Logging of Glacial Ice (1142010)", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/600172"}], "date_created": "Thu, 05 Nov 2015 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "1142010/Talghader This award supports a project to combine the expertise of both glaciologists and optical engineers to develop polarization- preserving optical scattering techniques for borehole tools to identify changes in high-resolution crystal structure (fabric) and dust content of glacial ice. The intellectual merit of this work is that the fabric and impurity content of the ice contain details on climate, volcanic activity and ice flow history. Such fabric measurements are currently taken by slicing an ice core into sections after it has started to depressurize which is an extremely time-intensive process that damages the core and does not always preserve the properties of ice in its in-situ state. In addition the ice core usually must be consumed in order to measure the components of the dust. The fabric measurements of this study utilize the concept that singly-scattered light in ice preserves most of its polarization when it is backscattered once from bubbles or dust; therefore, changes to the polarization of singly-backscattered light must originate with the birefringence. Measurements based on this concept will enable this program to obtain continuous records of fabric and correlate them to chronology and dust content. The project will also develop advanced borehole instruments to replace current logging tools, which require optical sources, detectors and power cables to be submerged in borehole fluid and lowered into the ice sheet at temperatures of -50oC. The use of telecommunications fiber will allow all sources and detectors to remain at the surface and enable low-noise signal processing techniques such as lock-in amplification that increase signal integrity and reduce needed power. Further, fiber logging systems would be much smaller and more flexible than current tools and capable of navigating most boreholes without a heavy winch. In order to assess fabric in situ and test fiber-optic borehole tools, field measurements will be made at WAIS Divide and a deep log will also be made at Siple Dome, both in West Antarctica. If successful, the broader impacts of the proposed research would include the development of new analytical methods and lightweight logging tools for ice drilling research that can operate in boreholes drilled in ice. Eventually the work could result in the development of better prehistoric records of glacier flow, atmospheric particulates, precipitation, and climate forcing. The project encompasses a broad base of theoretical, experimental, and design work, which makes it ideal for training graduate students and advanced undergraduates. Collaboration with schools and classroom teachers will help bring aspects of optics, climate, and polar science to an existing Middle School curriculum.", "east": 112.085, "geometry": "POINT(112.085 -79.467)", "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e CORERS \u003e CORING DEVICES; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e RECORDERS/LOGGERS \u003e OPTICAL DUST LOGGERS", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Fabric; Optical Scattering; Not provided; FIELD SURVEYS; Ice Core; Siple Dome; Antarctic; Dust; WAIS Divide; LABORATORY; Crystal Structure; Chronology; FIELD INVESTIGATION; Borehole", "locations": "Antarctic; WAIS Divide; Siple Dome", "north": -79.467, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology; Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Talghader, Joseph; Bay, Ryan", "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": -79.467, "title": "Optical Fabric and Fiber Logging of Glacial Ice", "uid": "p0000339", "west": 112.085}, {"awards": "0087345 Conway, Howard", "bounds_geometry": "POINT(112 79)", "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Fri, 15 Aug 2014 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award supports a program of ground-based geophysical measurements to map in detail the spatial variations of ice flow, accumulation rate, internal layering and ice thickness at the sites which have been identified as promising locations to drill the next deep ice core in West Antarctica. The main investigative tools are a high- and low-frequency ice penetrating radar to image the topography of internal layers and the bed, repeat GPS surveys to calculate the present day surface velocity field, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) interferometry to calculate the regional velocity field, and short firn cores to calculate present day accumulation rates. The data which will be collected will be used to as input to time-dependent ice flow and temperature models that will predict depth variation of age, layer thickness, and temperature. As well as yielding an estimate of expected conditions before drilling, the mismatch between the model prediction and data eventually recovered from the core will help infer thinning and climate (accumulation and temperature) histories for the region. The Western Divide, between the Ross Sea Embayment and the Amundsen Sea, has been identified as the region which best satisfies the criteria which have been established for a deep drilling site. Preliminary site selection using airborne geophysical methods has identified several potential drill sites on the Western Divide where the climate record should be best preserved. This work will contribute in a major way to the final site selection for the next deep ice core in West Antarctica.", "east": -112.0, "geometry": "POINT(-112 -79)", "instruments": "EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e ACTIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e RADAR SOUNDERS \u003e GPR; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e ACTIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e IMAGING RADARS \u003e SAR", "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "FIELD SURVEYS; Internal Layering; Radar; Accumulation Rate; FIELD INVESTIGATION; LABORATORY; Not provided; Internal Layers; Antarctica; Ice Flow; Interferometry; Ice Thickness", "locations": "Antarctica", "north": -79.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Conway, Howard; Waddington, Edwin D.", "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", "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": -79.0, "title": "Collaborative Research: Western Divide West Antarctic Ice Cores (WAISCORES) Site Selection", "uid": "p0000557", "west": -112.0}, {"awards": "0944475 Kaplan, Michael", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-149.7 -84.1,-118.61 -84.1,-87.52 -84.1,-56.43 -84.1,-25.34 -84.1,5.75 -84.1,36.84 -84.1,67.93 -84.1,99.02 -84.1,130.11 -84.1,161.2 -84.1,161.2 -84.43,161.2 -84.76,161.2 -85.09,161.2 -85.42,161.2 -85.75,161.2 -86.08,161.2 -86.41,161.2 -86.74,161.2 -87.07,161.2 -87.4,130.11 -87.4,99.02 -87.4,67.93 -87.4,36.84 -87.4,5.75 -87.4,-25.34 -87.4,-56.43 -87.4,-87.52 -87.4,-118.61 -87.4,-149.7 -87.4,-149.7 -87.07,-149.7 -86.74,-149.7 -86.41,-149.7 -86.08,-149.7 -85.75,-149.7 -85.42,-149.7 -85.09,-149.7 -84.76,-149.7 -84.43,-149.7 -84.1))", "dataset_titles": "Pleistocene East Antarctic Ice Sheet History as Recorded in Sediment Provenance and Chronology of High-elevation TAM Moraines", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "600115", "doi": "10.15784/600115", "keywords": "Antarctica; Cosmogenic Dating; Sample/collection Description; Sample/Collection Description; Solid Earth; Transantarctic Mountains", "people": "Kaplan, Michael", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Pleistocene East Antarctic Ice Sheet History as Recorded in Sediment Provenance and Chronology of High-elevation TAM Moraines", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/600115"}], "date_created": "Thu, 17 Jul 2014 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "The proposed work will investigate changes in the compositional variation of glacial tills over time across two concentric sequences of Pleistocene moraines located adjacent to the heads of East Antarctic outlet glaciers in the Transantarctic Mountains (TAM). The chronologic framework for this work will be generated from cosmogenic exposure ages of boulders on prominent morainal ridges. The PIs hypothesize that variations in till composition may indicate a change in ice flow direction or a change in the composition of the original source area, while ages of the moraines provide a long-term terrestrial perspective on ice sheet dynamics. Both results are vital for modeling experiments that aim to reconstruct the East Antarctic Ice Sheet and assess its role in the global climate system and its potential impact on global sea level rise. The variation of till compositions through time also allows for a more accurate interpretation of sediment cores from the Ross Sea and the Southern Ocean. Additionally, till exposures at the head of some East Antarctic outlet glaciers have been shown to contain subglacial material derived from East Antarctic bedrock, providing a window through the ice to view East Antarctica?s inaccessible bedrock. Till samples will be collected from two well-preserved sequences of moraine crests at Mt. Howe (head of Scott Glacier) and Mt. Achernar (between Beardmore and Nimrod Glaciers). Each size fraction in glacial till provides potentially valuable information, and the PIs will measure the petrography of the clast and sand fractions, quantitative X-ray diffraction on the crushed \u003c2mm fraction, elemental abundance of the silt/clay fraction, and U/Pb of detrital zircons in the sand fraction. Data collection will rely on established methods previously used in this region and the PIs will also explore new methods to assess their efficacy. On the same moraines crests sampled for provenance studies, the PIs will sample for cosmogenic surface exposure analyses to provide a chronologic framework at the sites for provenance changes through time. \u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eBroader Impact \u003cbr/\u003eThe proposed research involves graduate and undergraduate training in a diverse array of laboratory methods. Students and PIs will be make presentations to community and campus groups, as well as conduct interviews with local news outlets. The proposed work also establishes a new, potentially long-term, collaboration between scientists at IUPUI and LDEO and brings a new PI (Kaplan) into the field of Antarctic Earth Sciences.", "east": 161.2, "geometry": "POINT(5.75 -85.75)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "FIELD INVESTIGATION", "locations": null, "north": -84.1, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Kaplan, Michael", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -87.4, "title": "Collaborative Research: Pleistocene East Antarctic Ice Sheet History as Recorded in Sediment Provenance and Chronology of High-elevation TAM Moraines", "uid": "p0000459", "west": -149.7}, {"awards": "1043572 Licht, Kathy; 1043619 Hemming, Sidney", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-177.982 -63.997,-149.64107 -63.997,-121.30014 -63.997,-92.95921 -63.997,-64.61828 -63.997,-36.27735 -63.997,-7.93642 -63.997,20.40451 -63.997,48.74544 -63.997,77.08637 -63.997,105.4273 -63.997,105.4273 -66.3324,105.4273 -68.6678,105.4273 -71.0032,105.4273 -73.3386,105.4273 -75.674,105.4273 -78.0094,105.4273 -80.3448,105.4273 -82.6802,105.4273 -85.0156,105.4273 -87.351,77.08637 -87.351,48.74544 -87.351,20.40451 -87.351,-7.93642 -87.351,-36.27735 -87.351,-64.61828 -87.351,-92.95921 -87.351,-121.30014 -87.351,-149.64107 -87.351,-177.982 -87.351,-177.982 -85.0156,-177.982 -82.6802,-177.982 -80.3448,-177.982 -78.0094,-177.982 -75.674,-177.982 -73.3386,-177.982 -71.0032,-177.982 -68.6678,-177.982 -66.3324,-177.982 -63.997))", "dataset_titles": "East Antarctic outlet glacier contributions to the Ross Sea from chronology of detrital grains", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "600124", "doi": "10.15784/600124", "keywords": "Antarctica; East Antarctica; Geochemistry; Ross Sea; Sample/collection Description; Sample/Collection Description; Solid Earth; Southern Ocean; West Antarctica", "people": "Hemming, Sidney R.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "East Antarctic outlet glacier contributions to the Ross Sea from chronology of detrital grains", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/600124"}], "date_created": "Tue, 18 Feb 2014 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Intellectual Merit: The PIs proposed a provenance study of glacial deposits in the Ross Embayment that will provide a broad scale geochronologic survey of detrital minerals in till to help characterize bedrock beneath the East Antarctic ice sheet and constrain Antarctica?s glacial history. This project capitalizes on previous investments in field sampling. Analytical tools applied to single mineral grains extracted from existing collections of glacial till will generate ?fingerprints? of East Antarctic outlet glaciers and West Antarctic till to refine paleo-ice flow models for the Ross Embayment during the last glacial maximum, older records from ANDRILL cores, and to assess IRD sources in the Southern Ocean. New provenance tracers will include a suite of geochronological methods that together provide greater insights into the orogenic and erosional history the region. This project will include U/Pb of detrital zircons, (U-Th)/He on a subset of the U/Pb dated zircons, as well as Ar-Ar of detrital hornblende, mica and feldspars. Broader impacts: This research will train one M.S. student at IUPUI, a Ph.D. student at Columbia, and several undergraduates at both institutions. Graduate students involved in the project will be involved in mentoring undergraduate researchers. Incorporation of research discoveries will be brought into the classroom by providing concrete examples and exercises at the appropriate level. Licht and Columbia graduate student E. Pierce are developing outreach projects with local secondary school teachers to investigate the provenance of glacial materials in their local areas. The research will have broad applicability to many fields.", "east": 105.4273, "geometry": "POINT(-36.27735 -75.674)", "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e SPECTROMETERS/RADIOMETERS \u003e LA-ICP-MS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PHOTON/OPTICAL DETECTORS \u003e PETROGRAPHIC MICROSCOPES; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e SPECTROMETERS/RADIOMETERS \u003e ICP-MS", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Not provided; FIELD SURVEYS", "locations": null, "north": -63.997, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences; Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": "PHANEROZOIC \u003e CENOZOIC \u003e QUATERNARY", "persons": "Licht, Kathy; Hemming, Sidney R.", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD SURVEYS; Not provided", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -87.351, "title": "Collaborative Research: East Antarctic outlet glacier contributions to the Ross Sea from chronology of detrital grains", "uid": "p0000333", "west": -177.982}, {"awards": "0636883 Bell, Robin", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((20 -75,23 -75,26 -75,29 -75,32 -75,35 -75,38 -75,41 -75,44 -75,47 -75,50 -75,50 -76.5,50 -78,50 -79.5,50 -81,50 -82.5,50 -84,50 -85.5,50 -87,50 -88.5,50 -90,47 -90,44 -90,41 -90,38 -90,35 -90,32 -90,29 -90,26 -90,23 -90,20 -90,20 -88.5,20 -87,20 -85.5,20 -84,20 -82.5,20 -81,20 -79.5,20 -78,20 -76.5,20 -75))", "dataset_titles": "Data portal at Lamont for airborne data", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "000111", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "PI website", "science_program": null, "title": "Data portal at Lamont for airborne data", "url": "http://wonder.ldeo.columbia.edu/wordpress/"}], "date_created": "Tue, 02 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Bell/0636883\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThis award support a project to study the role that subglacial water plays in the overall stability of major ice sheets. An estimated 22,000 km3 of water is currently stored within Antarctica\u0027s subglacial lakes. Movement of this water occurs through a complex and largely inferred drainage system in both East and West Antarctica. Geomorphic evidence for the catastrophic drainage of subglacial lakes documents repeated events. These major flood events appear to have drained the largest subglacial lakes situated in the relatively stable interior of the East Antarctic ice sheet. Emerging evidence suggests there is a close connection between significant subglacial lakes and the onset of the Recovery Ice Stream one of the largest in East Antarctica. Our preliminary analysis of the Recovery Lakes region, East Antarctica suggests a direct linkage between lakes and streaming ice flow, specifically the 800 km long Recovery Ice Stream and its tributaries. Located just upslope of the Recovery Ice Stream, the Recovery Lakes Region is composed of 3 well-defined lakes and a fourth, ambiguous, \u0027lake-like\u0027 feature. While other large lakes have a localized impact on ice surface slope, the Recovery Lakes Region lakes are coincident with an abrupt regional change in the ice sheet surface slope. Satellite imagery demonstrates that the downslope margin of this lake area contains distinct flow strips and crevasses: both indicative of increasing ice velocities. The discovery of a series of large lakes coincident with the onset of rapid ice flow in East Antarctica clearly links subglacial lakes and ice sheet dynamics for the first time. The evidence linking the onset of streaming in the Recovery Drainage Ice Stream to the series of large subglacial lakes raises the fundamental question: How can subglacial lakes trigger the onset of ice streaming? We advance two possible mechanisms: (i) Subglacial lakes can produce accelerated ice flow through the drainage of lake water beneath the ice sheet downslope of the lakes. (ii) Subglacial lakes can produce accelerated ice flow accelerated ice flow by modifying the basal thermal gradient via basal accretion over the lakes so when the ice sheet regrounds basal melting dominates. To evaluate the contribution of lake water and the changing basal thermal gradient, we propose an integrated program incorporating satellite imagery analysis, a series of reconnaissance aerogeophysical profiles over the Recovery Lake Region and the installation of continuous GPS sites over the Recovery Lakes. This analysis and new data will enable us (1) to produce a velocity field over the Recovery Lakes Region, (2) to map the ice thickness changes over the lakes due to acceleration triggered thinning, basal melting and freezing, (3) determine the depth and possible the tectonic origin of the Recovery Lakes and (4) determine the stability of these lakes over time. These basic data sets will enable us to advance our understanding of how subglacial lakes trigger the onset of streaming. The intellectual merit of this project is that it will be the first systematic analysis of ice streams triggering the onset of ice streams. This work has profound implications for the modeling of ice sheet behavior in the future, the geologic record of abrupt climate changes and the longevity of subglacial lakes. The broader impacts of the project are programs that will reach students of all ages through undergraduates involved in the research, formal presentations in teacher education programs and ongoing public outreach efforts at major science museums. Subglacial Antarctic lake environments are emerging as a premier, major frontier for exploration during the IPY 2007-2009.", "east": 50.0, "geometry": "POINT(35 -82.5)", "instruments": "EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e AEM; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e POSITIONING/NAVIGATION \u003e GPS \u003e GPS RECEIVERS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e MAGNETIC/MOTION SENSORS \u003e GRAVIMETERS \u003e GRAVIMETERS; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e ACTIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e IMAGING RADARS \u003e IMAGING RADAR SYSTEMS; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e ACTIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e ALTIMETERS \u003e LIDAR/LASER ALTIMETERS \u003e LIDAR ALTIMETERS", "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "DHC-6; Basal Melting; Ice Stream; Ice Thickness; Velocity; Ice Stream Stability; Basal Freezing; Antarctica; Drainage; Aerogeophysical; Subglacial Lake; Flood Event", "locations": "Antarctica", "north": -75.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Bell, Robin; Studinger, Michael S.", "platforms": "AIR-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e PROPELLER \u003e DHC-6", "repo": "PI website", "repositories": "PI website", "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "Subglacial Lakes and the Onset of Ice Streaming: Recovery Lakes", "uid": "p0000702", "west": 20.0}, {"awards": "1043528 Alley, Richard; 1043313 Spencer, Matthew", "bounds_geometry": "POINT(112.1166 -79.4666)", "dataset_titles": "Average Annual Layer Thickness of the WAIS Divide Ice Core from Visual Stratigraphy; C-axis Fabric from Physical Properties Samples of the WAIS Divide Ice Core; Updated (2017) bubble number-density, size, shape, and modeled paleoclimate data; WAIS Divide 580m Bubble and Grain Hybrid Data; WAIS Divide Surface and Snow-pit Data, 2009-2013", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601079", "doi": "10.15784/601079", "keywords": "Antarctica; Atmosphere; AWS; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Core Records; Meteorology; Physical Properties; Snow Pit; Temperature; WAIS Divide; WAIS Divide Ice Core; Weatherstation", "people": "Alley, Richard; Fegyveresi, John", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "WAIS Divide Ice Core", "title": "WAIS Divide Surface and Snow-pit Data, 2009-2013", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601079"}, {"dataset_uid": "609605", "doi": "10.7265/N5W093VM", "keywords": "Antarctica; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Core Records; Physical Properties; WAIS Divide; WAIS Divide Ice Core", "people": "Voigt, Donald E.; Alley, Richard; Fitzpatrick, Joan", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "WAIS Divide Ice Core", "title": "C-axis Fabric from Physical Properties Samples of the WAIS Divide Ice Core", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/609605"}, {"dataset_uid": "609603", "doi": "10.7265/N53J39X3", "keywords": "Antarctica; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Core Records; WAIS Divide; WAIS Divide Ice Core", "people": "Spencer, Matthew", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "WAIS Divide Ice Core", "title": "Average Annual Layer Thickness of the WAIS Divide Ice Core from Visual Stratigraphy", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/609603"}, {"dataset_uid": "601224", "doi": "10.15784/601224", "keywords": "Antarctic; Antarctica; Bubble Number Density; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice; Ice Core Data; Ice Core Records; NSF-ICF Microtome and Photography Stage; Paleoclimate; Physical Properties; Snow/ice; Snow/Ice; WAIS Divide Ice Core; West Antarctic Ice Sheet", "people": "Spencer, Matthew; Alley, Richard; Fitzpatrick, Joan; Fegyveresi, John; Voigt, Donald E.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "WAIS Divide Ice Core", "title": "Updated (2017) bubble number-density, size, shape, and modeled paleoclimate data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601224"}, {"dataset_uid": "601087", "doi": "10.15784/601087", "keywords": "Air Bubbles; Antarctica; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Core Records; Ice Strain; Physical Ice Properties; Snow/ice; Snow/Ice; Strain", "people": "Fegyveresi, John; Alley, Richard", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "WAIS Divide Ice Core", "title": "WAIS Divide 580m Bubble and Grain Hybrid Data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601087"}], "date_created": "Tue, 19 Jun 2012 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "1043528/Alley This award supports a project to complete the physical-properties studies of the WAIS Divide deep ice core, now being collected in West Antarctica. Ongoing work funded by NSF, under a grant that is ending, has produced visible stratigraphy dating, inspection of the core for any melt layers, volcanic horizons, flow disturbances or other features, analysis of bubble number-densities allowing reconstruction of a two-millennial cooling trend in the latter Holocene at the site, characterization of other bubble characteristics (size, etc.), density studies, characterization of snow-surface changes at the site, preliminary c-axis studies, and more. The current proposal seeks to complete this work, once the rest of the core is recovered. The intellectual merit of the proposed activity starts with quality assurance for the core, by visual detection of any evidence of flow disturbances that would disrupt the integrity of the climate record. Inspection will also reveal any melt layers, volcanic horizons, etc. Annual-layer dating will be conducted; thus far, the visible strata have not been as useful as some other indicators, but the possibility (based on experience in Greenland) that visible examination will allow detection of thinner annual layers than other techniques motivates the effort. Bubble number-density will be used to reconstruct temperature changes through the rest of the bubbly part of the core, providing important paleoclimatic data for earlier parts of the Holocene. Coordinated interpretation of c-axis fabrics, grain sizes and shapes, and bubble characteristics will be used to learn about the history of ice flow, the processes of ice flow, and the softness of the ice for additional deformation. Analysis of surface data already collected will improve interpretation of the layering of the core. It is possible that the annual-layer dating will not be sufficiently successful, and that the core will be undisturbed with no melt layers; if so, then these efforts will not yield major publications. However, success of the other efforts should produce improved understanding of the history and stability of the ice sheet, and key processes controlling these, and the quality assurance provided by the visual examination is important for the project as a whole. The broader impacts of the proposed activity include education of a PhD student and multiple undergraduates, and research opportunities for a junior faculty member at an undergraduate institution. The proposed activity will help support an especially vigorous education and outreach effort providing undergraduate instruction for over 1000 students per year, reaching thousands more citizens and many policymakers, and preparing educational materials used at many levels.", "east": 112.1166, "geometry": "POINT(112.1166 -79.4666)", "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PHOTON/OPTICAL DETECTORS \u003e VISUAL OBSERVATIONS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PHOTON/OPTICAL DETECTORS \u003e MICROSCOPES; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PHOTON/OPTICAL DETECTORS \u003e SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPES; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e CHEMICAL METERS/ANALYZERS \u003e ACFA; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e CORERS \u003e CORING DEVICES; NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE; NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Antarctic; Antarctica; Annual Layer Thickness; Ice Core; Visual Observations; Bubble; LABORATORY; Bubble Density; FIELD INVESTIGATION; Physical Properties; Stratigraphy; Climate Record; Annual Layers; Ice Fabric; C-axis; Model; WAIS Divide; GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS; FIELD SURVEYS; Melt Layers; Wais Divide-project; Not provided", "locations": "WAIS Divide; Antarctica; Antarctic", "north": -79.4666, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology; Antarctic Earth Sciences; Antarctic Glaciology; Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Spencer, Matthew; Alley, Richard; Fitzpatrick, Joan; Voigt, Donald E.", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD SURVEYS; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e PERMANENT LAND SITES \u003e GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS; Not provided; OTHER \u003e PHYSICAL MODELS \u003e LABORATORY", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": "WAIS Divide Ice Core", "south": -79.4666, "title": "Collaborative Research: Continued Study of Physical Properties of the WAIS Divide Deep Core", "uid": "p0000027", "west": 112.1166}, {"awards": "0739654 Catania, Ginny; 0739372 Conway, Howard", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": "Coastal and Terminus History of the Eastern Amundsen Sea Embayment, West Antarctica, 1972 - 2011; Ice Flow History of the Thwaites Glacier, West Antarctica", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "609522", "doi": "10.7265/N5CC0XNK", "keywords": "Amundsen Sea; Antarctica; Climate Change; Coastline; GIS Data; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Satellite Data Interpretation", "people": "Andrews, Alan G.; Macgregor, Joseph A.; Catania, Ginny; Markowski, Michael", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Coastal and Terminus History of the Eastern Amundsen Sea Embayment, West Antarctica, 1972 - 2011", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/609522"}, {"dataset_uid": "609463", "doi": "10.7265/N5RR1W6X", "keywords": "Antarctica; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Flow Lines; Thwaites Glacier", "people": "Conway, Howard; Catania, Ginny; Fudge, T. J.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Ice Flow History of the Thwaites Glacier, West Antarctica", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/609463"}], "date_created": "Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Catania 0739654\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThis award supports a project to study the Amundsen Sea drainage system and improve understanding of the impact of recent glaciological changes as an aid to predicting how this region will change in the future. The intellectual merit of the work is that the Amundsen Sea drainage system has been a recent focus for glaciological research because of rapid changes occurring there as a result of grounding line retreat. The work will focus on the regions of flow transition and will map the internal stratigraphy of the ice sheet across the Thwaites Glacier shear margins and use the age and geometry of radar-detected internal layers to interpret ice flow history. Thwaites Glacier (one of the main pathways for ice drainage in the region) has recently widened and may continue to do so in the near future. Thwaites Glacier may be particularly vulnerable to grounding line retreat because it lacks a well-defined subglacial channel. The subglacial environment exerts strong control on ice flow and flow history will be mapped in the context of bed topography and bed reflectivity. The plan is to use existing ice-penetrating radar data and coordinate with planned upcoming surveys to reduce logistical costs. The work proposed here will take three years to complete but no additional fieldwork in Antarctica is required. More detailed ground-based geophysical (radar and seismic) experiments will be needed at key locations to achieve our overall goal and the work proposed here will aid in identifying those regions. The broader impacts of the project are that it will initiate a new collaboration among radar communities within the US including those that are on the forefront of radar systems engineering and those that are actively involved in radar-derived internal layer and bed analysis. The project will also provide support for a postdoctoral researcher and a graduate student, thus giving them exposure to a variety of methodologies and scientific issues. Finally, there are plans to further develop the \"Wired Antarctica\" website designed by Ginny Catania with the help of a student-teacher. This will allow for the existing lesson plans to be updated to Texas State standards so that they can be used more broadly within state middle and high schools.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": "EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e PHOTON/OPTICAL DETECTORS \u003e CAMERAS \u003e CAMERAS; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e ACTIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e IMAGING RADARS \u003e SAR; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e SPECTROMETERS/RADIOMETERS \u003e IMAGING SPECTROMETERS/RADIOMETERS \u003e TM; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e ACTIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e ALTIMETERS \u003e RADAR ALTIMETERS \u003e ALTIMETERS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e MAGNETIC/MOTION SENSORS \u003e GRAVIMETERS \u003e GRAVIMETERS; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e ACTIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e RADAR SOUNDERS \u003e RADAR; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e ACTIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e RADAR SOUNDERS \u003e RADAR ECHO SOUNDERS; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e ACTIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e RADAR SOUNDERS \u003e GPR", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "ERS-1; Coastal; Terminus; LABORATORY; Subglacial; Glacier; Not provided; Thwaites Glacier; Antarctica; LANDSAT; Internal Stratigraphy; West Antarctica; Internal Layers; Amundsen Sea; FIELD INVESTIGATION; FIELD SURVEYS; Glaciers; LANDSAT-5; Radar; Seismic", "locations": "Coastal; Antarctica; Thwaites Glacier; Amundsen Sea; West Antarctica", "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology; Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Conway, Howard; Catania, Ginny; Markowski, Michael; Macgregor, Joseph A.; Andrews, Alan G.; Fudge, T. 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; SPACE-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e EARTH OBSERVATION SATELLITES \u003e EUROPEAN REMOTE SENSING SATELLITE (ERS) \u003e ERS-1; SPACE-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e EARTH OBSERVATION SATELLITES \u003e LANDSAT \u003e LANDSAT; SPACE-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e EARTH OBSERVATION SATELLITES \u003e LANDSAT \u003e LANDSAT-5", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "Collaborative Research: Ice-flow history of the Thwaites Glacier, West Antarctica", "uid": "p0000143", "west": null}, {"awards": "0636996 Waddington, Edwin; 0940650 Pettit, Erin", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-165 -75,-159 -75,-153 -75,-147 -75,-141 -75,-135 -75,-129 -75,-123 -75,-117 -75,-111 -75,-105 -75,-105 -76,-105 -77,-105 -78,-105 -79,-105 -80,-105 -81,-105 -82,-105 -83,-105 -84,-105 -85,-111 -85,-117 -85,-123 -85,-129 -85,-135 -85,-141 -85,-147 -85,-153 -85,-159 -85,-165 -85,-165 -84,-165 -83,-165 -82,-165 -81,-165 -80,-165 -79,-165 -78,-165 -77,-165 -76,-165 -75))", "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Fri, 16 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Pettit/0636795\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThis award supports a project to constrain the accumulation rate, thickness, and temperature history for Siple Dome using a vertical velocity profile that includes the effects of an evolving fabric on deformation through time, to invert the depth-profile of fabric determined from sonic velocity measurements and grain size observed in thin sections in Siple Dome for the surface temperature and accumulation rate changes in the past, focusing on the apparent abrupt climate change events at 22ka and 15ka. The intellectual merit of the work is that it will extract past climate information from a number of physical properties of the deep ice using a coupled fabric evolution and ice-sheet flow model. The focus will be on the deep ice-age ice at Siple Dome, where the ice-core record shows puzzling signals and where modeling results imply intriguing deformation patterns. The method will also be applied to the records from Byrd Station and Taylor Dome to ultimately form a basis for future analysis of the West Antarctic Divide core. The broader impacts of the project are that it will ultimately contribute to our understanding of the effects of anisotropy on ice flow dynamics in West Antarctica. It will contribute to our understanding of the connection between ice flow and the paleoclimate record in ice cores, particularly with respect to the relationship between the chemical record and ice deformation. And it will contribute a new ice-flow model that includes the effects of anisotropy and fabric evolution. The project will also contribute to advancing the career of a new, young, female investigator and will support a couple of graduate students. Finally, the work will encouraging diversity in the physical sciences by directly helping to support the Girls on Ice a program that encourages young women to explore science and the natural world.", "east": -105.0, "geometry": "POINT(-135 -80)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "LABORATORY; FIELD SURVEYS; FIELD INVESTIGATION; Vertical Velocity; COMPUTERS; Ice Core; Firn; Accumulation Rate; Siple Dome; Ice Thickness; Abrupt Climate Change; Ice Temperature; Metamorphism; Anisotropy; Antarctica", "locations": "Siple Dome; Antarctica", "north": -75.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology; Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Pettit, Erin; Waddington, Edwin D.", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD SURVEYS; OTHER \u003e MODELS \u003e COMPUTERS; OTHER \u003e PHYSICAL MODELS \u003e LABORATORY", "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": -85.0, "title": "Collaborative Research: Anisotropy, Abrupt Climate Change, and the Deep Ice in West Antarctica", "uid": "p0000741", "west": -165.0}, {"awards": "9527571 Whillans, Ian", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((158.25 -76.66667,158.325 -76.66667,158.4 -76.66667,158.475 -76.66667,158.55 -76.66667,158.625 -76.66667,158.7 -76.66667,158.775 -76.66667,158.85 -76.66667,158.925 -76.66667,159 -76.66667,159 -76.683336,159 -76.700002,159 -76.716668,159 -76.733334,159 -76.75,159 -76.766666,159 -76.783332,159 -76.799998,159 -76.816664,159 -76.83333,158.925 -76.83333,158.85 -76.83333,158.775 -76.83333,158.7 -76.83333,158.625 -76.83333,158.55 -76.83333,158.475 -76.83333,158.4 -76.83333,158.325 -76.83333,158.25 -76.83333,158.25 -76.816664,158.25 -76.799998,158.25 -76.783332,158.25 -76.766666,158.25 -76.75,158.25 -76.733334,158.25 -76.716668,158.25 -76.700002,158.25 -76.683336,158.25 -76.66667))", "dataset_titles": "GPS Ice Flow Measurements, Allan Hills, Antarctica", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "609507", "doi": "10.7265/N5NS0RSX", "keywords": "Allan Hills; Antarctica; Geology/Geophysics - Other; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; GPS; Ice Flow Velocity", "people": "Spikes, Vandy Blue; Kurbatov, Andrei V.; Spaulding, Nicole; Hamilton, Gordon S.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "Allan Hills", "title": "GPS Ice Flow Measurements, Allan Hills, Antarctica", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/609507"}], "date_created": "Tue, 20 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Whillans, Wilson, Goad OPP 9527571 Abstract This award supports a project to initiate Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements for rock motions in South Victoria Land and vicinity. The results will be used to test some of the leading models for ice-sheet change and tectonism, in particular, whether the continent is rebounding due to reduced ice load from East or West Antarctica and whether there is tectonic motion due to Terror Rift or uplift of the Transantarctic Mountains. A modest program to measure ice motion will be conducted as well. The motive is to test models for ice flow in the Allan Hills meteorite concentration region and to determine whether small glaciers in the Dry Valleys are thickening or thinning. Monuments will be set into rock and ice and GPS receivers used to determine their locations. Repeats in later years will determine motion. Field activities will involve close cooperation with the USGS.", "east": 159.0, "geometry": "POINT(158.625 -76.75)", "instruments": "EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e POSITIONING/NAVIGATION \u003e GPS \u003e GPS", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "FIELD SURVEYS; LABORATORY; Not provided; Ice Movement; GPS Data; Vertical Motions; GPS; FIELD INVESTIGATION", "locations": null, "north": -76.66667, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Whillans, Ian; Spaulding, Nicole; Hamilton, Gordon S.; Spikes, Vandy Blue; Kurbatov, Andrei V.", "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": "Allan Hills", "south": -76.83333, "title": "GPS Measurements of Rock and Ice Motions in South Victoria Land", "uid": "p0000523", "west": 158.25}, {"awards": "0440847 Raymond, Charles", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": "GPS-Measured Ice Velocities and Strain Data from the Ross and Amundsen Sea Ice Flow Divide, West Antarctica; Polarimetric Radar Data from the Ross and Amundsen Sea Ice Flow Divide, West Antarctica", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "609496", "doi": "10.7265/N5TH8JNG", "keywords": "Antarctica; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; GPR; Radar; Ross-Amundsen Divide", "people": "Power, Donovan; Matsuoka, Kenichi; Fujita, Shuji; Raymond, Charles", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Polarimetric Radar Data from the Ross and Amundsen Sea Ice Flow Divide, West Antarctica", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/609496"}, {"dataset_uid": "609503", "doi": "10.7265/N5222RQ8", "keywords": "Antarctica; Geology/Geophysics - Other; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; GPS; Ice Flow Velocity; Ross-Amundsen Divide; Strain", "people": "Power, Donovan; Rasmussen, Al; Matsuoka, Kenichi", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "GPS-Measured Ice Velocities and Strain Data from the Ross and Amundsen Sea Ice Flow Divide, West Antarctica", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/609503"}], "date_created": "Mon, 29 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award supports a project to investigate fabrics with ground-based radar measurements near the Ross/Amundsen Sea ice-flow divide where a deep ice core will be drilled. The alignment of crystals in ice (crystal-orientation fabric) has an important effect on ice deformation. As ice deforms, anisotropic fabrics are produced, which, in turn, influence further deformation. Measurement of ice fabric variations can help reveal the deformation history of the ice and indicate how the ice will deform in the future. Ice cores provide opportunities to determine a vertical fabric profile, but horizontal variations of fabrics remain unknown. Remote sensing with ice-penetrating radar is the only way to do that over large areas. Preliminary results show that well-established polarimetric methods can detect the degree of horizontal anisotropy of fabrics and their orientation, even when they are nearly vertical-symmetric fabrics. In conjunction with ice deformation history, our first mapping of ice fabrics will contribute to modeling ice flow near the future ice core site. The project will train a graduate student and provide research experiences for two under graduate students both in field and laboratory. The project will contribute to ongoing West Antarctic ice sheet program efforts to better understand the impact of the ice sheet on global sea level rise. This project also supports an international collaboration between US and Japanese scientists.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": "EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e ACTIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e RADAR SOUNDERS \u003e RADAR; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e POSITIONING/NAVIGATION \u003e GPS \u003e GPS", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "GPS; FIELD SURVEYS; Antarctic; Radar; Antarctica; FIELD INVESTIGATION; Ice Sheet; Not provided; Ross-Amundsen Divide; West Antarctica; West Antarctic Ice Sheet", "locations": "Antarctica; Ross-Amundsen Divide; West Antarctica; Antarctic; West Antarctic Ice Sheet", "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Matsuoka, Kenichi; Power, Donovan; Fujita, Shuji; Raymond, Charles; Rasmussen, Al", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD SURVEYS; Not provided; SPACE-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e NAVIGATION SATELLITES \u003e GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM (GPS) \u003e GPS", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "Detection of Crystal Orientation Fabrics near the Ross/Amundsen Sea Ice-flow Divide and at the Siple Dome Ice Core Site using Polarimetric Radar Methods", "uid": "p0000024", "west": null}, {"awards": "9814692 Kellogg, Thomas", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-179.99342 -58.74225,-143.994734 -58.74225,-107.996048 -58.74225,-71.997362 -58.74225,-35.998676 -58.74225,0.000010000000003 -58.74225,35.998696 -58.74225,71.997382 -58.74225,107.996068 -58.74225,143.994754 -58.74225,179.99344 -58.74225,179.99344 -60.716231,179.99344 -62.690212,179.99344 -64.664193,179.99344 -66.638174,179.99344 -68.612155,179.99344 -70.586136,179.99344 -72.560117,179.99344 -74.534098,179.99344 -76.508079,179.99344 -78.48206,143.994754 -78.48206,107.996068 -78.48206,71.997382 -78.48206,35.998696 -78.48206,0.000010000000003 -78.48206,-35.998676 -78.48206,-71.997362 -78.48206,-107.996048 -78.48206,-143.994734 -78.48206,-179.99342 -78.48206,-179.99342 -76.508079,-179.99342 -74.534098,-179.99342 -72.560117,-179.99342 -70.586136,-179.99342 -68.612155,-179.99342 -66.638174,-179.99342 -64.664193,-179.99342 -62.690212,-179.99342 -60.716231,-179.99342 -58.74225))", "dataset_titles": "Expedition Data", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "001992", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "Expedition Data", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/NBP0001"}], "date_created": "Tue, 04 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award, provided by the Antarctic Geology and Geophysics Program of the Office of Polar Programs, supports a marine geological investigation of the Amundsen Sea region toward a better understanding of the deglaciation history of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS). The WAIS may be inherently unstable because it is the last marine-based ice sheet in the world. Unlike other embayments in West Antarctica, major ice streams draining into the Amundsen Sea from the interior of the WAIS lack buttressing ice shelves. Mass balance data for the distal portions of these ice streams (Pine Island and Thwaites glaciers) appear to be in balance or may be becoming negative. Because both ice streams have beds that slope downward toward the center of the ice sheet, grounding-line recession resulting from either continued thinning or sea-level rise could trigger irreversible grounding-line retreat, leading to ice-sheet disintegration and consequent global sea-level rise. The limited marine geological and geophysical data available from the Amundsen Sea suggest that grounded ice or an ice shelf occupied the inner Amundsen Sea embayment until perhaps as recently as 1000 to 2000 years ago, and this ice may have retreated rapidly in historic time. This project, a study of the marine geology and geophysics of the Amundsen Sea continental shelf from 100 degrees W to 130 degrees W, is designed to address the Amundsen Sea part of WAIS Science Plan Priority Goal H2: \"What is the deglaciation history in the eastern Ross, the Bellingshausen and Amundsen Seas?\" This project will examine bathymetric data of the Amundsen Sea continental shelf to determine the positions of former ice-steam channels, and to aid in choosing sites for sediment coring. Single-channel seismic reflection studies will be conducted in order to determine sediment-thickness patterns, to aid in choice of coring sites, and to locate and identify morphologic features indicative of former grounded ice (e.g., moraines, scours, flutes, striations, till wedges and deltas, etc.). Coring will be concentrated along former ice flow-lines. Core samples will be analyzed in the laboratory for sedimentology, to determine whether of not basal tills are present (indicating former grounded ice and its former extent), and for calcareous and siliceous microfossils. The chronology of grounding-line and ice-shelf retreat from a presumed Last Glacial Maximum position near the shelf break will be established using accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) carbon-14 dates of acid-insoluble particulate organic carbon. This project will share ship time in the Amundsen Sea with a physical oceanographic project. Marine geologic data and samples collected will be integrated with findings of other investigators toward developing a comprehensive interpretation of the history of the WAIS.", "east": 179.99344, "geometry": "POINT(0.000010000000003 -68.612155)", "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e ACOUSTIC SOUNDERS \u003e MSBS", "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "R/V NBP", "locations": null, "north": -58.74225, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Kellogg, Thomas; Jacobs, Stanley", "platforms": "WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e VESSELS \u003e SURFACE \u003e R/V NBP", "repo": "R2R", "repositories": "R2R", "science_programs": null, "south": -78.48206, "title": "Glacial History of the Amundsen Sea Shelf", "uid": "p0000620", "west": -179.99342}, {"awards": "9814349 Hall, Brenda", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-70.4838 -52.3532,-68.92937 -52.3532,-67.37494 -52.3532,-65.82051 -52.3532,-64.26608 -52.3532,-62.71165 -52.3532,-61.15722 -52.3532,-59.60279 -52.3532,-58.04836 -52.3532,-56.49393 -52.3532,-54.9395 -52.3532,-54.9395 -53.61625,-54.9395 -54.8793,-54.9395 -56.14235,-54.9395 -57.4054,-54.9395 -58.66845,-54.9395 -59.9315,-54.9395 -61.19455,-54.9395 -62.4576,-54.9395 -63.72065,-54.9395 -64.9837,-56.49393 -64.9837,-58.04836 -64.9837,-59.60279 -64.9837,-61.15722 -64.9837,-62.71165 -64.9837,-64.26608 -64.9837,-65.82051 -64.9837,-67.37494 -64.9837,-68.92937 -64.9837,-70.4838 -64.9837,-70.4838 -63.72065,-70.4838 -62.4576,-70.4838 -61.19455,-70.4838 -59.9315,-70.4838 -58.66845,-70.4838 -57.4054,-70.4838 -56.14235,-70.4838 -54.8793,-70.4838 -53.61625,-70.4838 -52.3532))", "dataset_titles": "Expedition Data", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "001743", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "Expedition Data", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/LMG0209"}], "date_created": "Tue, 04 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award supports a two year program to produce a new reconstruction of ice extent, elevation and thickness at the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) for the South Shetland Islands in the Antarctic Peninsula. One field season on Livingston Island will involve mapping the areal extent and geomorphology of glacial drift and determining the elevation and distribution of trimlines. In addition, ice flow direction will be determined by mapping and measuring the elevation of erosional features and the position of erratic boulders. One of the main goals of this work will be to demonstrate whether or not organic material suitable for radiocarbon dating exists in the South Shetland Islands. If so, the age of the deposits will be determined by measuring the carbon-14 age of plant, algal, and fungal remains preserved at the base of the deposits, as well as incorporated marine shells, seal skin and other organic material that may be found in raised beach deposits. Another goal will be to concentrate on the development of relative sea-level curves from 2-3 key areas to show whether or not construction of such curves for the South Shetland Islands is possible. The new reconstruction of ice extent, elevation and thickness at the Last Glacial Maximum for the South Shetland Islands which will be produced by this work will be useful in studies of ocean circulation and ice dynamics in the vicinity of the Drake Passage. It will also contribute to the production of a deglacial chronology which will afford important clues about the mechanisms controlling ice retreat in this region of the southern hemisphere.", "east": -54.9395, "geometry": "POINT(-62.71165 -58.66845)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "R/V LMG", "locations": null, "north": -52.3532, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Hall, Brenda; Taylor, Frederick", "platforms": "WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e VESSELS \u003e SURFACE \u003e R/V LMG", "repo": "R2R", "repositories": "R2R", "science_programs": null, "south": -64.9837, "title": "AMS Radiocarbon Chronology of Glacier Fluctuations in the South Shetland Islands During the Last Glacial/Interglacial Hemicycle:Implications for Global Climate Change", "uid": "p0000596", "west": -70.4838}, {"awards": "0440666 Waddington, Edwin", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": "Histories of Accumulation, Thickness, and WAIS Divide Location, Antarctica", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "609473", "doi": "10.7265/N5QR4V2J", "keywords": "Antarctica; Elevation; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; WAIS Divide; WAIS Divide Ice Core", "people": "Koutnik, Michelle; Waddington, Edwin D.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "WAIS Divide Ice Core", "title": "Histories of Accumulation, Thickness, and WAIS Divide Location, Antarctica", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/609473"}], "date_created": "Thu, 04 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award supports development of a new modeling approach that will extract information about past snow accumulation rate in both space and time in the vicinity of the future ice core near the Ross-Amundsen divide of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS). Internal layers, detected by ice-penetrating radar, are isochrones, or former ice-sheet surfaces that have been buried by subsequent snowfall, and distorted by ice flow. Extensive ice-penetrating radar data are available over the inland portion of the WAIS. Layers have been dated back to 17,000 years before present. The radar data add the spatial dimension to the temporally resolved accumulation record from ice cores. Accumulation rates are traditionally derived from the depths of young, shallow layers, corrected for strain using a local 1-D ice-flow model. Older, deeper layers have been more affected by flow over large horizontal distances. However, it is these deeper layers that contain information on longer-term climate patterns. This project will use geophysical inverse theory and a 2.5D flow-band ice-flow forward model comprising ice-surface and layer-evolution modules, to extract robust transient accumulation patterns by assimilating multiple deeper, more-deformed layers that have previously been intractable. Histories of divide migration, geothermal flux, and surface evolution will also be produced. The grant will support the PhD research of a female graduate student who is a mentor to female socio-economically disadvantaged high-school students interested in science, through the University of Washington Women\u0027s Center. It will also provide a research\u003cbr/\u003eexperience for an undergraduate student, and contribute to a freshman seminar on Scientific Research.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": "EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e POSITIONING/NAVIGATION \u003e GPS \u003e GPS RECEIVERS; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e ACTIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e RADAR SOUNDERS \u003e GPR; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e ACTIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e RADAR SOUNDERS \u003e GPR; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e POSITIONING/NAVIGATION \u003e GPS \u003e GPS RECEIVERS", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Ross-Amundsen Divide; FIELD SURVEYS; Internal Layers; Ice Flow Model; West Antarctic Ice Sheet; Accumulation; Glacier; Ice Penetrating Radar; Model; MODELS; Snow Accumulation; GPS; Antarctica; Isochron; Not provided; Snowfall; Radar", "locations": "West Antarctic Ice Sheet; Antarctica; Ross-Amundsen Divide", "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Koutnik, Michelle; Waddington, Edwin D.", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD SURVEYS; Not provided; OTHER \u003e MODELS \u003e MODELS; SPACE-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e NAVIGATION SATELLITES \u003e GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM (GPS) \u003e GPS", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": "WAIS Divide Ice Core", "south": null, "title": "Histories of accumulation, thickness and WAIS Divide location from radar layers using a new inverse approach", "uid": "p0000018", "west": null}, {"awards": "0440304 Jacobel, Robert", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": "U.S. International Trans Antarctic Scientific Expedition web pages", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "000108", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "Project website", "science_program": null, "title": "U.S. International Trans Antarctic Scientific Expedition web pages", "url": "http://www2.umaine.edu/USITASE/index.html"}], "date_created": "Tue, 13 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award supports a project to perform ice radar studies of bedrock topography and internal layers along the second US ITASE traverse corridor extending from Taylor Dome to South Pole on the inland side of the Transantarctic Mountains. The radar will provide information immediately available in the field on ice thickness and internal layer structure to help in the selection of core sites as the traverse proceeds. These data will also be useful in locating additional radar and surface studies to characterize the drainage divides between major outlet glaciers flowing through the mountains and possible changes in them through time. Information from the radar on bed roughness and basal reflectivity, together with images of internal layer deformation will enable us to study changes in the character of ice flow as tributaries merge to trunk flow and velocities increase. Areas where wind scour and sublimation have brought old ice close to the surface will be investigated. Based on our results from the first ITASE traverse, it is also likely that there will be findings of opportunity, phenomena we have not anticipated that are revealed by the radar as the result of a discovery-based traverse. The interdisciplinary science goals of US ITASE are designed to accommodate a variety of interactive research programs and data collected are available to a broad scientific community. US ITASE also supports an extensive program of public outreach and the education and training of future scientists will be central to all activities of this proposal. St. Olaf College is an undergraduate liberal arts institution that emphasizes student participation in scientific research. This award supports two undergraduate students as well as a research associate and a graduate student who will be part of the US ITASE field team.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": "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; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e ACTIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e RADAR SOUNDERS \u003e GPR", "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "US ITASE; Stratigraphy; Radar; Antarctica; FIELD SURVEYS; Us Itase Ii; Bed Topography; Not provided; Internal Layers; FIELD INVESTIGATION; Taylor Dome; Transantarctic Mountains; West Antarctica; Traverse", "locations": "Antarctica; West Antarctica; Transantarctic Mountains; Taylor Dome", "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Jacobel, Robert", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD SURVEYS; Not provided", "repo": "Project website", "repositories": "Project website", "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "Radar Studies of Internal Stratigraphy and Bed Topography along the US ITASE-II Traverse", "uid": "p0000116", "west": null}, {"awards": "0440447 Spencer, Matthew; 0917509 Spencer, Matthew", "bounds_geometry": "POINT(-148.81 -81.65)", "dataset_titles": "Firn depth and bubble density for Siple Ice Core and other sites", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601746", "doi": "10.15784/601746", "keywords": "Antarctica; Density; Firn; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Core; Ice Core Data; Ice Core Records; Siple Dome; Snow/ice; Snow/Ice", "people": "Spencer, Matthew", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "Siple Dome Ice Core", "title": "Firn depth and bubble density for Siple Ice Core and other sites", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601746"}], "date_created": "Mon, 19 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award supports a two-year collaborative effort to more fully understand the climatic history and physical properties of the Siple Dome, Antarctica deep ice core, to develop a new paleoclimatic technique based on bubble number-density, and to improve the U.S. capability to analyze ice-core physical properties rapidly and accurately. The Siple Dome ice core from West Antarctica is yielding important paleoclimatic insights, but has proven more difficult than some cores to interpret owing to the large iceflow effects on the paleoclimatic record. Paleoclimatic indicators that do not rely on iceflow corrections thus would be of value. The bubble number-density offers one such indicator, because it preserves information on mean temperature and accumulation rate during the transformation of firn to ice. We will focus on thin-section characteristics that are important to ice flow and the interpretation of the ice-core history, such as c-axis fabrics, and will use indicators that we have been developing, such as the correlation between grain elongation and the c-axis orientation, to gain additional information. To achieve this quickly and accurately, and to prepare for future projects, we propose to upgrade the automatic caxis- fabric analyzer that Wilen has built and housed at the National Ice Core Laboratory. The intellectual merit of the proposed activity includes improved estimates of paleoclimatic conditions in an important region, improved understanding of a new paleoclimatic research tool, greater understanding of ice flow and of linkages to physical properties, and a better instrument for further U.S. research in ice-core physical properties at the National Ice Core Laboratory. The broader impacts resulting from the proposed activity include providing better understanding of abrupt climate change and of ice flow, which eventually should help policy-makers, as well as an improved U.S. capability to analyze ice cores. The proposed research will assist the studies of two promising young scientists. Results of the research will be incorporated into courses and public outreach reaching at least hundreds or thousands of people per year.", "east": -148.81, "geometry": "POINT(-148.81 -81.65)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "Not provided; Ice Core; Ice Flow; Bubble Number Density; LABORATORY; Thin Sections; Paleoclimate; FIELD INVESTIGATION; Fabric; Siple Dome; Climate; Antarctica; Antarctic; FIELD SURVEYS", "locations": "Siple Dome; Antarctica; Antarctic", "north": -81.65, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology; Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Spencer, Matthew; Wilen, Larry", "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": -81.65, "title": "Collaborative Research: Combined Physical Property Measurements at Siple Dome", "uid": "p0000658", "west": -148.81}, {"awards": "9615502 Harrison, William", "bounds_geometry": "POINT(-148.822 -81.655)", "dataset_titles": "Vertical Strain at Siple Dome, Antarctica, 1999-2002", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "609214", "doi": "10.7265/N5HH6H00", "keywords": "Antarctica; Geodesy; Geology/Geophysics - Other; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Siple Dome; Siple Dome Ice Core; Strain; WAISCORES", "people": "Waddington, Edwin D.; Pettit, Erin; Morack, James; Elsberg, Daniel; Zumberge, Mark; Harrison, William", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "Siple Dome Ice Core", "title": "Vertical Strain at Siple Dome, Antarctica, 1999-2002", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/609214"}], "date_created": "Thu, 22 Feb 2007 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award is for support for a three year project to measure the vertical strain rate as a function of depth at two sites on Siple Dome Antarctica. Ice flow near a divide such as Siple Dome is unique in that it is predominantly vertical. As a consequence, the component of ice deformation in the vertical direction, the \"vertical strain rate\" is dominant. Its measurement is therefore important for the calibration of dynamic models of ice flow. Two different, relatively new, high resolution systems for its measurement in hot water drilled holes will be employed. The ice flow model resulting from the measurements and flow law determination will be used to interpret the shapes of radar internal layering in terms of the dynamic history and accumulation patterns of Siple Dome over the past 10,000 years. The resulting improved model will also be applied to the interpretation of annual layers thicknesses (to produce annual accumulation rates) and borehole temperatures from the ice core to be drilled at Siple Dome during the 1997/98 field season. The results should permit an improved analysis of the ice core, relative to what was possible at recent coring sites in central Greenland. This is a collaborative project between the University of Alaska, the University of California, San Diego and the University of Washington.", "east": -148.822, "geometry": "POINT(-148.822 -81.655)", "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e GAUGES \u003e STRAIN GAUGE WHEATSTONE BRIDGE", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Ice Core Data; GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS; Antarctica; USAP-DC; Ice Core; Ice Analysis; Ice Flow; Ice Deformation; Antarctic Ice Sheet; West Antarctic Ice Sheet; Vertical Strain Rate; Ice Sheet; Glaciology; West Antarctica; Ice; Ice Movement", "locations": "Antarctica; Antarctic Ice Sheet; West Antarctica; West Antarctic Ice Sheet", "north": -81.655, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Harrison, William; Morack, James; Pettit, Erin; Zumberge, Mark; Elsberg, Daniel; Waddington, Edwin D.", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e PERMANENT LAND SITES \u003e GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": "Siple Dome Ice Core", "south": -81.655, "title": "Ice Dynamics, the Flow Law, and Vertical Strain at Siple Dome", "uid": "p0000601", "west": -148.822}, {"awards": "0126149 Liu, Hongxing", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": "Access to Antarctic coastline coverage and reference documents; Access to Antarctic snow zone coverage and reference documents; Access to boundary file and reference documents; Access to ice velocity data and reference documents; Access to snow melt extent image files and reference documents", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "001350", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "PI website", "science_program": null, "title": "Access to boundary file and reference documents", "url": "http://geog.tamu.edu/~liu/research/download.htm"}, {"dataset_uid": "001640", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "PI website", "science_program": null, "title": "Access to snow melt extent image files and reference documents", "url": "http://geog.tamu.edu/~liu/research/download.htm"}, {"dataset_uid": "001779", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "PI website", "science_program": null, "title": "Access to ice velocity data and reference documents", "url": "http://geog.tamu.edu/~liu/research/download.htm"}, {"dataset_uid": "001352", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "PI website", "science_program": null, "title": "Access to Antarctic snow zone coverage and reference documents", "url": "http://geog.tamu.edu/~liu/research/download.htm"}, {"dataset_uid": "001351", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "PI website", "science_program": null, "title": "Access to Antarctic coastline coverage and reference documents", "url": "http://geog.tamu.edu/~liu/research/download.htm"}], "date_created": "Tue, 15 Aug 2006 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award supports a project to characterize the morphology, ice motion velocity and mass balance of Lambert Glacier, Antarctica using state-of-the-art remote sensing and GIS techniques. Lambert Glacier is the largest ice stream in the world. Because of its size, it plays a fundamental role in the study of glacial dynamics and mass budget in response to present and future climate changes. Along with the bedrock topography and ice thickness data derived from airborne radio echo soundings and snow accumulation data compiled from ground-based measurements, the dynamic behavior and mass balance of the Lambert glacial basin in a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) environment will be examined. Specific objectives are to: (1) Extract two-dimensional ice velocity field over the entire Lambert glacial basin using speckle matching and differential interferometric SAR (InSAR) techniques, and produce a full coverage of radar coherence map over the drainage basin. With the ice velocity data, calculate the strain rate field from the initiation areas of the ice stream onto the Amery Ice Shelf; (2) Derive high-resolution digital elevation model (DEM) over the Lambert glacial drainage basin using SAR stereo, differential interferometric SAR, and GLAS laser altimetry techniques. Based on the DEM, extract ice divides and ice flow directions, delineate the snow catchment basin, and calculate the balance deformation velocity and the basal shear stress; (3) Interpolate traverse ice thickness data collected by Australian and Russian airborne radio echo sounding surveys into a regular grid, and derive a regular grid of bedrock topography in combination with the DEM; (4) Integrate newly derived ice velocity and ice thickness data as well as snow accumulation rate data compiled from previous ground-based measurements into a geographic information system (GIS), and calculate the mass flux through the ice stream at the grounding lines and net mass balance throughout the drainage basin. With these new measurements and calculations derived from advanced remote sensing techniques, we will be able to improve our understanding of dynamic behavior and current mass balance status of the Lambert glacial basin, gain an insight on the relationship between ice mass change and the variation in regional and global climate at decadal scale, and provide an evaluation on the issue of whether the Lambert glacier basin is subject to surging in the context of future climate change.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": "EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e SPECTROMETERS/RADIOMETERS \u003e IMAGING SPECTROMETERS/RADIOMETERS \u003e SMMR; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e SPECTROMETERS/RADIOMETERS \u003e IMAGING SPECTROMETERS/RADIOMETERS \u003e SSM/I; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e ACTIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e IMAGING RADARS \u003e IFSAR; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e ACTIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e IMAGING RADARS \u003e SAR", "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "DEM; Not provided; RADARSAT-1", "locations": null, "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Liu, Hongxing; Jezek, Kenneth", "platforms": "Not provided; OTHER \u003e MODELS \u003e DEM; SPACE-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e EARTH OBSERVATION SATELLITES \u003e RADARSAT \u003e RADARSAT-1", "repo": "PI website", "repositories": "PI website", "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "High-Resolution Modeling of Surface Topography, Ice Motion, and Mass Balance in the Lambert Glacial Basin using Radar Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques", "uid": "p0000204", "west": null}, {"awards": "0229245 Hamilton, Gordon", "bounds_geometry": "POINT(135 -76)", "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Thu, 30 Mar 2006 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "A \u0027horizontal ice core\u0027 was collected at the Mount Moulton blue ice field in West Antarctica and preliminary analyses of the sample material suggests that a ~500 kyr climate record is preserved in the ice at this site. This award will contribute to the understanding of the Mt Moulton record by assessing the potential for ice-flow induced deformation of the stratigraphic profile. In addition, this award builds on the recognition of blue ice areas as archives of long climate records by conducting reconnaissance studies for a potential horizontal ice core location at the Allan Hills in East Antarctica. The objectives of this project are to contribute to the glaciological understanding of blue ice areas in Antarctica. Ice flow conditions at the Mt Moulton blue ice field will be studied to assess the possibility that the stratigraphic record has been deformed and reconnaissance of a potential horizontal ice core site in the Allan Hills blue ice field will also be accomplished. Short field programs will be undertaken at each location to collect relevant measurements of ice flow and subglacial topography, and to conduct sampling of material that will enable the preservation of the stratigraphic sequences to be assessed.", "east": 135.0, "geometry": "POINT(135 -76)", "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e CORERS \u003e CORING DEVICES; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e ACTIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e RADAR SOUNDERS \u003e ACOUSTIC RADAR; 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 GPR", "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "Mount Moulton; Not provided; Subglacial Topography; FIELD INVESTIGATION; Ice Flow; West Antarctica; FIELD SURVEYS; Stratigraphy; Horizontal Ice Core; GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS; Blue Ice; Radar", "locations": "Mount Moulton; West Antarctica", "north": -76.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Bauer, Rob; Hamilton, Gordon S.", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD SURVEYS; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e PERMANENT LAND SITES \u003e GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS; Not provided", "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": -76.0, "title": "Glaciology of Blue Ice Areas in Antarctica", "uid": "p0000248", "west": 135.0}, {"awards": "9909518 Raymond, Charles", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-154 -80,-152 -80,-150 -80,-148 -80,-146 -80,-144 -80,-142 -80,-140 -80,-138 -80,-136 -80,-134 -80,-134 -80.5,-134 -81,-134 -81.5,-134 -82,-134 -82.5,-134 -83,-134 -83.5,-134 -84,-134 -84.5,-134 -85,-136 -85,-138 -85,-140 -85,-142 -85,-144 -85,-146 -85,-148 -85,-150 -85,-152 -85,-154 -85,-154 -84.5,-154 -84,-154 -83.5,-154 -83,-154 -82.5,-154 -82,-154 -81.5,-154 -81,-154 -80.5,-154 -80))", "dataset_titles": "Compilation of Antarctic Radar Data, Siple Coast, 2000-2002", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "609274", "doi": "10.7265/N5736NTS", "keywords": "Antarctica; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; GPR; Radar; Siple Coast", "people": "Raymond, Charles; Conway, Howard; Catania, Ginny", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Compilation of Antarctic Radar Data, Siple Coast, 2000-2002", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/609274"}], "date_created": "Fri, 03 Jun 2005 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "9909518 Raymond This award provides support for three years of funding to study the scar-like features that are well-known from the Siple Coast ice stream system in West Antarctica. The objective of the proposed field work is to identify the nature of several as yet unvisited scars, and to further characterize previously-identified margin scars that are poorly dated. Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) and Radarsat image data will be used to locate and map the features, and place them in a regional context. The study seeks to describe the recent history of the Siple Coast glaciers and investigate the causes of their changes in configuration. The main investigative tools will be low-frequency RES and high-frequency ground penetrating radar (GPR) profiles to image internal layers and measure depths to buried crevasses or disrupted layering. This, coupled with accumulation rates determined from shallow ice cores, will provide \"shutdown\" ages for the margin features. The field data will provide input parameters for simple models of ice flow for margins and inter-ice stream ridges during active shearing and after shutdown. This modeling will estimate the initial elevation of a scar at the time of shut down and the corresponding ice stream elevation at that time.", "east": -134.0, "geometry": "POINT(-144 -82.5)", "instruments": "EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e ACTIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e IMAGING RADARS \u003e SAR; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e SPECTROMETERS/RADIOMETERS \u003e IMAGING SPECTROMETERS/RADIOMETERS \u003e AVHRR; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e ACTIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e RADAR SOUNDERS \u003e GPR", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Ice Stream; West Antarctic Ice Sheet; Radarsat; Siple Dome; Radar; Ice Floe; Not provided; AVHRR; Siple Coast; Ice Stratigraphy; Margin Scars; NOAA POES; RAMP; GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS; Ice Flow; Accumulation Rate; Antarctic Ice Sheet; RADARSAT-1", "locations": "Siple Coast; Antarctic Ice Sheet; Siple Dome; West Antarctic Ice Sheet", "north": -80.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Raymond, Charles; Conway, Howard; Catania, Ginny", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e PERMANENT LAND SITES \u003e GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS; Not provided; SPACE-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e EARTH OBSERVATION SATELLITES \u003e POLAR ORBITING ENVIRONMENTAL SATELLITES (POES) \u003e NOAA POES; SPACE-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e EARTH OBSERVATION SATELLITES \u003e RADARSAT \u003e RADARSAT-1", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -85.0, "title": "Collaborative Research:History and Evolution of the Siple Coast Ice Stream Systems as Recorded by Former Shear-Margin Scars", "uid": "p0000275", "west": -154.0}, {"awards": "0087390 Grunow, Anne", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-170 -79,-164 -79,-158 -79,-152 -79,-146 -79,-140 -79,-134 -79,-128 -79,-122 -79,-116 -79,-110 -79,-110 -79.5,-110 -80,-110 -80.5,-110 -81,-110 -81.5,-110 -82,-110 -82.5,-110 -83,-110 -83.5,-110 -84,-116 -84,-122 -84,-128 -84,-134 -84,-140 -84,-146 -84,-152 -84,-158 -84,-164 -84,-170 -84,-170 -83.5,-170 -83,-170 -82.5,-170 -82,-170 -81.5,-170 -81,-170 -80.5,-170 -80,-170 -79.5,-170 -79))", "dataset_titles": "Polar Rock Repository; Rock Magnetic Clast data are at this website", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "200243", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "PRR", "science_program": null, "title": "Polar Rock Repository", "url": "https://prr.osu.edu/"}, {"dataset_uid": "001970", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "PI website", "science_program": null, "title": "Rock Magnetic Clast data are at this website", "url": "http://bprc.osu.edu/"}], "date_created": "Mon, 23 Aug 2004 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award, provided by the Antarctic Geology and Geophysics Program of the Office of Polar Programs, supports a collaborative research project between the University of California-Santa Cruz, the University of Texas-Austin, and the Ohio State University to investigate sediment samples recovered from the base of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS). West Antarctica is a remote polar region but its dynamic ice sheet, complicated tectonic history, and the sedimentary record of Cenozoic glaciation make it of particular interest to glaciologists and geologists. Glaciologists are concerned with the possibility of significant near-future changes in mass balance of the WAIS that may contribute to the ongoing global sea level rise. Geologists are investigating in West Antarctica the fundamental process of continental extension and are constructing models of a polar marine depositional system using this region as the prime modern example. The subglacial part of West Antarctica has escaped direct geological investigations and all that is known about subglacial geology comes from geophysical remote sensing. Recent acquisitions of new, high-quality geophysical data have led to generation of several enticing models. For instance, subglacial presence of high-magnitude, short-wavelength magnetic anomalies has prompted the proposition that there may be voluminous (\u003e1 million cubic km), Late Cenozoic flood basalts beneath the ice sheet. Another important model suggests that the patterns of fast ice streaming (~100 meters/year) and slow ice motion (~1-10 meters/year) observed within the WAIS are controlled by subglacial distribution of sedimentary basins and resistant bedrock. These new geophysics-based models should be tested with direct observations because they are of such great importance to our understanding of the West Antarctic tectonic history and to our ability to predict the future behavior of the WAIS.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThis research is designed as a pilot study to provide new geologic data, which may help to test the recent models inferred from geophysical observations. The new constraints on subglacial geology and on its interactions with the WAIS will be obtained through petrological and geochemical analyses of basal and subglacial sediments collected previously from seven localities. This investigation will take place in the context of testing the following three hypotheses: (A) the provenance of bedrock clasts in the glacial sediment samples is primarily from West Antarctica, (B) some clasts and muds from the West Antarctic subglacial sediments have been derived by erosion of the (inferred) subglacial Late Cenozoic flood basalts, and (C) the sediments underlying the West Antarctic ice streams were generated by glacial erosion of preglacial sedimentary basins but the sediments recovered from beneath the slow-moving parts of the WAIS were produced through erosion of resistant bedrock.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThe individual hypotheses will be tested by collecting data on: (A) petrology, geochemistry and age of granitoid clasts, (B) petrology, geochemistry and age of basaltic clasts combined with mud geochemistry, and (C) clay mineralogy/paragenesis combined with textural maturity of sand and silt grains. The results of these tests will help evaluate the interesting possibility that subglacial geology may have first-order control on the patterns of fast ice flow within the WAIS. The new data will also help to determine whether the subglacial portion of West Antarctica is a Late Cenozoic flood basalt province. By combining glaciological and geological aspects of West Antarctic research the proposed collaborative project will add to the ongoing U.S. effort to create a multidisciplinary understanding of this polar region.", "east": -110.0, "geometry": "POINT(-140 -81.5)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "Till; Subglacial; Clasts; Magnetic Properties; Rock Magnetics; FIELD INVESTIGATION; West Antarctic Ice Sheet", "locations": "West Antarctic Ice Sheet", "north": -79.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": "PHANEROZOIC \u003e CENOZOIC \u003e QUATERNARY \u003e PLEISTOCENE", "persons": "Grunow, Anne; Vogel, Stefan", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION", "repo": "PRR", "repositories": "PI website; PRR", "science_programs": null, "south": -84.0, "title": "Collaborative Research: Relationship Between Subglacial Geology and Glacial Processes in West Antarctica: Petrological and Geochemical Analyses of Subglacial and Basal Sediments", "uid": "p0000740", "west": -170.0}, {"awards": "9909469 Scambos, Ted", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": "Ice Motion and Topography Near Margin Areas of Kamb Ice Stream, Antarctica", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "609141", "doi": "10.7265/N5WS8R52", "keywords": "Antarctica; Geodesy; Geology/Geophysics - Other; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Kamb Ice Stream", "people": "Conway, Howard; Gades, Anthony; Raymond, Charles; Catania, Ginny; Scambos, Ted", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Ice Motion and Topography Near Margin Areas of Kamb Ice Stream, Antarctica", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/609141"}], "date_created": "Fri, 01 Aug 2003 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "9909469 Scambos This award provides support for three years of funding to study the scar-like features that are well-known from the Siple Coast ice stream system in West Antarctica. The objective of the proposed field work is to identify the nature of several as yet unvisited scars, and to further characterize previously-identified margin scars that are poorly dated. Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) and Radarsat image data will be used to locate and map the features, and place them in a regional context. The study seeks to describe the recent history of the Siple Coast glaciers and investigate the causes of their changes in configuration. The main investigative tools will be low-frequency RES and high-frequency ground penetrating radar (GPR) profiles to image internal layers and measure depths to buried crevasses or disrupted layering. This, coupled with accumulation rates determined from shallow ice cores, will provide \"shutdown\" ages for the margin features. The field data will provide input parameters for simple models of ice flow for margins and inter-ice stream ridges during active shearing and after shutdown. This modeling will estimate the initial elevation of a scar at the time of shut down and the corresponding ice stream elevation at that time.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": "EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e POSITIONING/NAVIGATION \u003e GPS \u003e GPS; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e POSITIONING/NAVIGATION \u003e GPS \u003e GPS RECEIVERS; 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", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Ice Velocity; Ice Acceleration; Ice Sheet Elevation; GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS; Ice Stream; Antarctic Ice Sheet; Ice Sheet; Ice Surface Elevation; Ice Position; Ice Surface; Ice Stream C Velocities; Ice Movement; Ice; Cryosphere", "locations": "Antarctic Ice Sheet", "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Scambos, Ted; Catania, Ginny; Conway, Howard; Gades, Anthony; Raymond, Charles", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e PERMANENT LAND SITES \u003e GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "Collaborative Research: History and Evolution of the Siple Coast Ice Stream System as Recorded by Former Shear-Margin Scars", "uid": "p0000165", "west": null}, {"awards": "9527373 Dunbar, Nelia; 9615167 Dunbar, Nelia", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": "Blue Ice Tephra II - Brimstone Peak; Blue Ice Tephra II - Mt. DeWitt; Tephra in Siple and Taylor Dome Ice Cores; Volcanic Records in the Siple and Taylor Dome Ice Cores", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "609110", "doi": "10.7265/N50P0WXF", "keywords": "Antarctica; Backscattered Electron Images; Chemistry:rock; Chemistry:Rock; Geochemistry; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Core Records; Siple Dome; Siple Dome Ice Core; Taylor Dome Ice Core; WAIS", "people": "Dunbar, Nelia", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "Taylor Dome Ice Core", "title": "Tephra in Siple and Taylor Dome Ice Cores", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/609110"}, {"dataset_uid": "609114", "doi": "10.7265/N5MG7MDK", "keywords": "Antarctica; Blue Ice; Brimstone Peak; Chemistry:rock; Chemistry:Rock; Geochemistry; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Petrography; Tephra", "people": "Dunbar, Nelia", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Blue Ice Tephra II - Brimstone Peak", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/609114"}, {"dataset_uid": "609115", "doi": "10.7265/N5GQ6VPV", "keywords": "Antarctica; Blue Ice; Chemistry:rock; Chemistry:Rock; Geochemistry; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Mount Dewitt; Petrography; Tephra", "people": "Dunbar, Nelia", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Blue Ice Tephra II - Mt. DeWitt", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/609115"}, {"dataset_uid": "609126", "doi": "10.7265/N5FQ9TJG", "keywords": "Antarctica; Chemistry:rock; Chemistry:Rock; Geochemistry; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Core Records; Paleoclimate; Siple Dome Ice Core; Taylor Dome Ice Core; Tephra; WAIS; WAISCORES", "people": "Zielinski, Gregory; Dunbar, Nelia", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "Siple Dome Ice Core", "title": "Volcanic Records in the Siple and Taylor Dome Ice Cores", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/609126"}, {"dataset_uid": "609126", "doi": "10.7265/N5FQ9TJG", "keywords": "Antarctica; Chemistry:rock; Chemistry:Rock; Geochemistry; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Core Records; Paleoclimate; Siple Dome Ice Core; Taylor Dome Ice Core; Tephra; WAIS; WAISCORES", "people": "Zielinski, Gregory; Dunbar, Nelia", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "Taylor Dome Ice Core", "title": "Volcanic Records in the Siple and Taylor Dome Ice Cores", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/609126"}, {"dataset_uid": "609110", "doi": "10.7265/N50P0WXF", "keywords": "Antarctica; Backscattered Electron Images; Chemistry:rock; Chemistry:Rock; Geochemistry; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Core Records; Siple Dome; Siple Dome Ice Core; Taylor Dome Ice Core; WAIS", "people": "Dunbar, Nelia", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "Siple Dome Ice Core", "title": "Tephra in Siple and Taylor Dome Ice Cores", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/609110"}], "date_created": "Sat, 01 Jun 2002 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Dunbar/Kyle OPP 9527373 Zielinski OPP 9527824 Abstract The Antarctic ice sheets are ideal places to preserve a record the volcanic ash (tephra) layers and chemical aerosol signatures of volcanic eruptions. This record, which is present both in areas of bare blue ice, as well as in deep ice cores, consists of a combination of local eruptions, as well as eruptions from more distant volcanic sources from which glassy shards can be chemically fingerprinted and related to a source volcano. Field work carried out during the 1994/1995 Antarctic field season in the Allan Hills area of Antarctica, and subsequent microbeam chemical analysis and 40Ar/39Ar dating has shown that tephra layers in deep Antarctic ice preserve a coherent, systematic stratigraphy, and can be successfully mapped, dated, chemically fingerprinted and tied to source volcanoes. The combination of chemical fingerprinting of glass shards, and chemical analysis of volcanic aerosols associated with ash layers will allow establishment of a high-resolution chronology of local and distant volcanism that can help understand patterns of significant explosive volcanisms and atmospheric loading and climactic effects associated with volcanic eruptions. Correlation of individual tephra layers, or sets of layers, in blue ice areas, which have been identified in many places the Transantarctic Mountains, will allow the geometry of ice flow in these areas to be better understood and will provide a useful basis for interpreting ice core records.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e CORERS \u003e CORING DEVICES; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROBES \u003e ELECTRON MICROPROBES", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "USAP-DC; Siple Coast; Sulfur Dioxide; Siple Dome; Taylor Dome; Chlorine; WAISCORES; Ice Core; Tephra; Geochemistry; Volcanic Deposits; GROUND STATIONS; Brimstone Peak; GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS; Magnesium Oxide; Glaciology; Mount Dewitt; Silicon Dioxide; Glass Shards; Ice Sheet; Siple; Nickel Oxide; Potassium Dioxide; Not provided; Manganese Oxide; Volcanic; Snow; Nitrogen; Iron Oxide; Titanium Dioxide; Stratigraphy; Antarctica", "locations": "Antarctica; Siple; Siple Coast; Siple Dome; Taylor Dome; Brimstone Peak; Mount Dewitt", "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology; Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Dunbar, Nelia; Zielinski, Gregory", "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": "Taylor Dome Ice Core", "south": null, "title": "Collaborative Research: Volcanic Record in Antarctic Ice: Implications for Climatic and Eruptive History and Ice Sheet Dynamics of the South Polar Region", "uid": "p0000065", "west": null}, {"awards": "9318121 Anandakrishnan, Sridhar", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": "Ice Velocity Data from Ice Stream C, West Antarctica", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "609106", "doi": "10.7265/N5CZ3539", "keywords": "Antarctica; Geodesy; Geology/Geophysics - Other; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; GPS; WAIS", "people": "Anandakrishnan, Sridhar", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Ice Velocity Data from Ice Stream C, West Antarctica", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/609106"}], "date_created": "Sat, 01 Dec 2001 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "9318121 Anandakrishnan This award is for support for a three year project to test the hypothesis that a controlling parameter of fast ice-stream flow is the hydrologic state of discrete zones of high friction (\"sticky spots\") at the bed of the ice streams. Previous work has discovered an enormous difference in basal microearthquake activity between fast-flowing ice stream B and ice stream C, which stopped flowing within the last 200 years. It is hypothesized that the basal water system is lubricating the sticky spots under the fast ice stream and thus inhibiting microearthquake activity, and at the same time permitting fast ice flow. This experiment is intended to collect a continuous record of wide-bandwidth microearthquake data from a variety of sites, on the ice streams, in the transition zone, and on the inland ice. ***", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": "EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e POSITIONING/NAVIGATION \u003e GPS \u003e GPS; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e POSITIONING/NAVIGATION \u003e GPS \u003e GPS RECEIVERS", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Glaciology; USAP-DC; Ice Stream; Velocity Measurements; Ice Velocity; GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS; Ice Sheet; West Antarctic Ice Sheet; Ice Stream C Velocities; GPS; Antarctica", "locations": "Antarctica; West Antarctic Ice Sheet", "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Anandakrishnan, Sridhar", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e PERMANENT LAND SITES \u003e GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "Microearthquake Monitoring of Ice Stream C, West Antarctica: A Sensor for Sticky Spots", "uid": "p0000161", "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}]
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Older retrieved projects from AMD. Warning: many have incomplete information.
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Glaciers move in response to gravity pulling them downhill and much of the resistance to this motion is supplied by the bedrock that they sit on. For fast moving glaciers this motion is largely the result of basal ice sliding over and around bedrock bumps, and the specific processes at the ice-bed interface that facilitate this sliding play a dominant role in setting the glacier speed. Sliding atop the ice-bed interface is known to create cavities (pockets of water) downstream of bedrock bumps. These cavities facilitate water flow, control areas of ice-bed contact, regulate basal drag, dictate subglacial erosion, and affect ice mechanics in general. Thus, the length and shape of cavities (geometry) as they separate from the bed is of fundamental importance in glaciology. This project will determine the fundamental processes that set the shapes of those cavities. This work will benefit the scientific community by producing improved estimates to basal sliding and subglacial hydrology which are two of the main uncertainties in glacier-flow modeling. It will also lead to a better understanding of subglacial erosion which effectively controls the basal bump geometries. This in turn will lead to improved understanding of the fundamentals of glacier and ice-sheet dynamics. Therefore, the outcome of the project could ultimately improve future projections of sea-level rise, benefitting society at large. In addition, this project will train a postdoctoral researcher and undergraduate students from tribal institutions. This project will: 1) Use a novel experimental device to generate a cavity geometry data set for a range of independent controls; and 2) Use the results from part one to constrain numerical models that will allow for the exploration of a greater range of parameter space than is possible in the physical experiments alone. Using a novel cryogenic ring-shear device, this project will systematically assess three likely controls on cavity geometry: effective stress, sliding speed, and bump geometry, while simultaneously tracking strain indicators within the ice and the geometry of the cavity through the transparent walls of the device. These experiments will be conducted with the University of Wisconsin-Madison, state-of-the-art ring-shear device and represent the first instance where all three parameters’ effects on the resultant cavity geometry can be measured simultaneously. The lab experiment findings of cavity geometry and strain rates within the ice will be used to help constrain the process-based numerical modeling of cavity formation. The numerical simulations of ice flow around obstacles will provide information about the stress and strain distribution within the ice, and from this data we can explore the ability of existing theories to predict cavity geometry for fast-flowing ice. The physics within the numerical model will be updated as needed to incorporate processes such as a stress dependent ice rheology or changes in the ice-bed contact physics that are currently unaccounted for. Outcomes will be 1) a detailed understanding of the physics that govern cavity geometry and 2) a simple parameterization of the lab and modeling results that can be easily incorporated into glaciological models for improved estimates of subglacial sliding, hydrology, and erosion. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Ice sheets lose ice mass through gravity-driven flow to the ocean where ice breaks into icebergs and melts, contributing to global sea level rise. Water commonly found at the base of ice sheets facilitates this process by lubricating the ice-rock interface. The recent discovery of vast, kilometer-thick groundwater reservoirs beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet thus raises important questions about the potential impact of groundwater on ice flow. It has been hypothesized that groundwater flow to the ice-sheet bed may accelerate ice flow as the ice sheet shrinks in response to global warming. Evaluating this hypothesis is challenging due to poorly understood interactions between water, ice, and rock, but is crucial for anticipating the response of ice sheets and sea level to climate change. Understanding how groundwater responds to a changing ice sheet also has important implications for the heat, chemical elements, and microorganisms it stores and transports. To assess the impact of groundwater processes on ice dynamics, a new idealized modeling framework will be developed, incorporating several novel hydromechanical couplings between ice sheets, subglacial drainage systems, and groundwater aquifers. This framework will enable testing the hypotheses that (1) aquifers decelerate ice mass loss in the absence of a well-developed subglacial drainage system, but that (2) an efficient, channelized drainage system can reduce and even reverse this decelerating effect, and that (3) the impact of these phenomena is most pronounced for steep ice flowing rapidly over thick sedimentary basins and depends in a complex way on aquifer permeability. Existing geodetic, seismic, and other geophysical datasets at well-studied Thwaites Glacier and Whillans Ice Stream will be used to constrain model parameters and investigate the impact of groundwater processes in contrasting glaciologic settings. This work will help rule out or highlight subglacial groundwater as one of the next major challenges for efforts to predict the future of the Antarctic Ice Sheet and sea-level rise on decadal to millennial timescales. The project will contribute to educating the next generation of scientists by supporting an early-career PI and a graduate student, as well as participation in a field and research educational program in Alaska and the production of chapters for an online, open-source, free interactive textbook. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Marine ice sheets are low-pass filters of climate variability that take centuries to adjust to interior and near-terminus changes in mass balance. Constraining these century-scale changes from satellite observations that span only the last 40 years is challenging. Here, we take a different approach of carefully synthesizing different data sets to infer changes in the configurations of van der Veen and Mercer Ice Streams on the Siple Coast over the past 3000 years from englacial features encoded in ice-penetrating radar data. Englacial radar data from Conway Ridge reveal smooth, surface conformal layers overlying disrupted stratigraphy that suggest the van der Veen Ice Stream was 40 km wider over 3000 years ago. Englacial layer dating indicates that the ice stream narrowed to its present configuration between $\sim3000$ and $\sim1000$ years ago. Similarly disrupted stratigraphy and buried crevasses suggest that ice flowing from Mercer to Whillans Ice Stream across the northwestern tip of the ridge slowed shortly after. Using an ice-flow model capable of simulating shear margin migration, we evaluate whether small changes in ice thickness can lead to large changes in shear margin location. Our results suggest that the tip of Conway Ridge is sensitive to thinning and thickening, and that when the basal strength at the tip of the ridge increases with the height above flotation, the ice sheet shear margins can change quickly.
Kingslake, Jonathan; Sole, Andrew; Livingstone, Stephen; Winter, Kate; Ely, Jeremy
No dataset link provided
When ice sheets and glaciers lose ice faster than it accumulates from snowfall, they shrink and contribute to sea-level rise. This has consequences for coastal communities around the globe by, for example, increasing the frequency of damaging storm surges. Sea-level rise is already underway and a major challenge for the geoscience community is improving predictions of how this will evolve. The Antarctic Ice Sheet is the largest potential contributor to sea-level rise and its future is highly uncertain. It loses ice through two main mechanisms: the formation of icebergs and melting at the base of floating ice shelves on its periphery. Ice flows under gravity towards the ocean and the rate of ice flow controls how fast ice sheets and glaciers shrink. In Greenland and Antarctica, ice flow is focused into outlet glaciers and ice streams, which flow much faster than surrounding areas. Moreover, parts of the Greenland Ice Sheet speed up and slow down substantially on hourly to seasonal time scales, particularly where meltwater from the surface reaches the base of the ice. Meltwater reaching the base changes ice flow by altering basal water pressure and consequently the friction exerted on the ice by the rock and sediment beneath. This phenomenon has been observed frequently in Greenland but not in Antarctica. Recent satellite observations suggest this phenomenon also occurs on outlet glaciers in the Antarctic Peninsula. Meltwater reaching the base of the Antarctic Ice Sheet is likely to become more common as air temperature and surface melting are predicted to increase around Antarctica this century. This project aims to confirm the recent satellite observations, establish a baseline against which to compare future changes, and improve understanding of the direct influence of meltwater on Antarctic Ice Sheet dynamics. This is a project jointly funded by the National Science Foundation’s Directorate for Geosciences (NSF/GEO) and the National Environment Research Council (NERC) of the United Kingdom (UK) via the NSF/GEO-NERC Lead Agency Agreement. This Agreement allows a single joint US/UK proposal to be submitted and peer-reviewed by the Agency whose investigator has the largest proportion of the budget. Upon successful joint determination of an award recommendation, each Agency funds the proportion of the budget that supports scientists at institutions in their respective countries. This project will include a field campaign on Flask Glacier, an Antarctic Peninsula outlet glacier, and a continent-wide remote sensing survey. These activities will allow the team to test three hypotheses related to the Antarctic Ice Sheet’s dynamic response to surface meltwater: (1) short-term changes in ice velocity indicated by satellite data result from surface meltwater reaching the bed, (2) this is widespread in Antarctica today, and (3) this results in a measurable increase in mean annual ice discharge. The project is a collaboration between US- and UK-based researchers and will be supported logistically by the British Antarctic Survey. The project aims to provide insights into both the drivers and implications of short-term changes in ice flow velocity caused by surface melting. For example, showing conclusively that meltwater directly influences Antarctic ice dynamics would have significant implications for understanding the response of Antarctica to atmospheric warming, as it did in Greenland when the phenomenon was first detected there twenty years ago. This work will also potentially influence other fields, as surface meltwater reaching the bed of the Antarctic Ice Sheet may affect ice rheology, subglacial hydrology, submarine melting, calving, ocean circulation, and ocean biogeochemistry. The project aims to have broader impacts on science and society by supporting early-career scientists, UK-US collaboration, education and outreach, and adoption of open data science approaches within the glaciological community. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
The seaward motion of ice sheets and glaciers is primarily controlled by basal sliding at the base of the ice sheet and internal viscous flow within the ice mass. The latter of these — viscous flow — is dependent on various factors, including temperature, stress, grain size, and the alignment of ice crystals during flow to produce a "crystal orientation fabric" (COF). Historically, ice flow has been modeled using an equation, termed “Glen’s law”, that describes ice-flow rate as a function of temperature and stress. Glen’s law was constrained under relatively high-stress conditions and is often attributed to the motion of crystal defects within ice grains. More recently, however, grain boundary sliding (GBS) has been invoked as the rate-controlling process under low-stress, “superplastic” conditions. The grain boundary sliding hypothesis is contentious because GBS is not thought to produce a COF, whereas geophysical measurements and polar ice cores demonstrate strong COFs in polar ice masses. However, very few COF measurements have been conducted on ice samples subjected to superplastic flow conditions in the laboratory. This project would measure the evolution of ice COF across the transition from superplastic to Glen-type creep. Results will be used to interrogate the role of superplastic GBS creep within polar ice masses, and thereby provide constraints on polar ice discharge models. Polycrystalline ice samples with grain sizes ranging from 5 µm to 1000 µm will be fabricated and deformed in a laboratory, using a 1-atm cryogenic axial-torsion apparatus. Experiments will be conducted at temperatures of -30°C to -10°C, and at a constant uniaxial strain rate. Under these conditions, 5% to 99.99% of strain should be accommodated by superplastic, GBS-limited creep, depending on the sample grain size. The deformed samples will then be imaged using cryogenic electron backscatter diffraction (cryo-EBSD) and high-angular-resolution electron backscatter diffraction (HR-EBSD) to quantify COF, grain size, grain shape, and crystal defect (dislocation) densities, among other microstructural properties. These measurements will be used to decipher the rate-controlling mechanisms operating within different thermomechanical regimes, and resolve a long-standing debate over whether superplastic creep can produce a COF in ice. In addition to the polycrystal experiments, ice bicrystals will be fabricated and deformed to investigate the micromechanical behavior of individual grain boundaries under superplastic conditions. Ultimately, these results will be used to provide a microstructural toolbox for identifying superplastic creep using geophysical (e.g., seismic, radar) and glaciological (e.g., ice core) observations. This project will support one graduate student, one or more undergraduate summer students, and an early-career researcher. In addition, this project will support a workshop aimed at bringing together experimentalists, glaciologists, and ice modelers to facilitate cross-disciplinary knowledge sharing and collaborative problem solving. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Ice flow is resisted by frictional forces that keep a glacier from immediately sliding into the ocean. Friction comes in two varieties: internal friction within the ice column which resists ice deformation and basal friction which resists ice sliding over its bedrock substrate. Partitioning between internal and basal friction is difficult since both have similar expressions at the most common target for data collection—the ice-sheet surface. However, understanding this partitioning is important because the physical processes that control internal and basal friction act and evolve at different timescales. This project combines spaceborne remote sensing observations from the ice-sheet surface with ice-penetrating radar data that images the internal structure of the ice sheet in order to partition the contribution of each source of friction. Results will advance the fundamental understanding of ice flow and will strengthen projections of future sea-level rise. Broader Impacts of the project include facilitating data reuse for the ice-sheet research community; the strategy for distributing the software toolkit includes student mentorship and hackathon teaching. The researcher will expand the impact of existing ice-penetrating datasets by 1) developing new open-source algorithms for extraction of englacial stratigraphy; 2) creating stratigraphy data products that can be assimilated into future studies of ice motion; and 3) using statistical analyses to integrate radar datasets into larger-scale interpretations with remote sensing datasets of ice-surface velocity, altimetry, climate variables, and model-derived basal friction. The computational tools developed as part of this effort will be integrated and released as a reusable software toolkit for ice-penetrating radar data analysis. The toolkit will be validated and tested by deployment to cloud-hosted JupyterHub instances, which will serve as a singular interface to access radar and remote sensing data, load them into a unified framework, step through a predefined processing flow, and carry out statistical analyses. In some areas, the imaged englacial stratigraphy will deviate from the ice-dynamic setting expected based on surface measurements alone. There, the internal dynamics (or ice-dynamic history) are inconsistent with the surface dynamics, likely because internal friction is poorly constrained and misattributed to basal friction instead. This work will develop the data and statistical tools for constraining internal friction from ice-penetrating radar, making those data products and tools available for future work. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
This project contributes to the joint initiative launched by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.K. Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) to substantially improve decadal and longer-term projections of ice loss and sea-level rise originating from Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica. Thwaites Glacier has been accelerating and widening over the past three decades. How fast Thwaites will disintegrate or how quickly it will find a new stable state have become some of the most important questions of the future of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and its contribution to sea-level rise over the next decades to centuries and beyond. This project will rely on three independent numerical models of ice flow, coupled to an ocean circulation model to (1) improve our understanding of the interactions between the ice and the underlying bedrock, (2) analyze how sensitive the glacier is to external changes, (3) assess the processes that may lead to a collapse of Thwaites, and, most importantly, (4) forecast future ice loss of Thwaites. By providing predictions based on a suite of coupled ice-ocean models, this project will also assess the uncertainty in model projections. The project will use three independent ice-sheet models: Ice Sheet System Model, Ua, and STREAMICE, coupled to the ocean circulation model of the MIT General Circulation Model. The team will first focus on the representation of key physical processes of calving, ice damage, and basal slipperiness that have either not been included, or are poorly represented, in previous ice-flow modelling work. The team will then quantify the relative role of different proposed external drivers of change (e.g., ocean-induced ice-shelf thinning, loss of ice-shelf pinning points) and explore the stability regime of Thwaites Glacier with the aim of identifying internal thresholds separating stable and unstable grounding-line retreat. Using inverse methodology, the project will produce new physically consistent high-resolution (300-m) data sets on ice-thicknesses from available radar measurements. Furthermore, the team will generate new remote sensing data sets on ice velocities and rates of elevation change. These will be used to constrain and validate the numerical models, and will also be valuable stand-alone data sets. This process will allow the numerical models to be constrained more tightly by data than has previously been possible. The resultant more robust model predictions of near-future impact of Thwaites Glacier on global sea levels can inform policy-relevant decision-making. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Reconstructions of past changes in thickness and extent of the Antarctic ice sheet are important for evaluating past and present sea-level change, and for validating numerical models necessary to make realistic predictions of changes under future climate and ocean conditions. Models estimate that the Ross Sea sector was one of the largest contributors to sea-level rise from Antarctica as the ice sheet adjusted during the past ten thousand years from the glacial period to the Holocene. In this sector, ice flow into the embayment comes through West Antarctic ice streams and through East Antarctic outlet glaciers that flow through the Transantarctic Mountains. Observational data constrain the last glacial maximum and the Holocene retreat, but models are necessary to understand the environmental conditions needed for outlet glaciers to reach observed high stands, to fit the observed patterns of retreat, and to understand how the contribution of ice from West Antarctica and from East Antarctica changed over time. The investigators will use available geological and geophysical data in combination with forward ice-flow models and inverse models to investigate the evolution of the four Transantarctic outlet glaciers where sufficient data exist. The objectives of this new modeling are to constrain the glaciological conditions necessary for these glaciers to thicken during the last glacial, thin during the Holocene, and reach their present-day state. By testing specific hypotheses this work contributes to an interdisciplinary effort to understand Holocene deglaciation of the Ross Sea Embayment. In addition, the modeling will address the resolving power of the available data to answer key questions for each target glacier. Broader impacts include mentoring a graduate student, public outreach, incorporation of research into high-school and university classes, and support of an early-career investigator.
van der Veen, Cornelis; Stearns, Leigh; Paden, John
No dataset link provided
Van der Veen/1543530 The objective of this research is to gain better understanding of the West Antarctic ice flow in the transition region from grounded ice to floating ice shelves and investigate the conditions that can initiate and sustain major retreat of these glaciers. Several major Antarctic outlet glaciers and ice streams will be investigated using a suite of observational techniques and modeling tools. Glaciers include Thwaites Glacier, which has become a focal point in the discussion of West Antarctic retreat, Whillans Ice Stream as an example of the archetype ice stream, and Byrd Glacier, a major outlet glacier draining East Antarctica through the Transantarctic Mountains into the Ross Ice Shelf. This study will investigate whether the ongoing changes in these glaciers will lead to long-term mass loss (the onset of ice sheet collapse), or whether these glaciers will quickly stabilize with a new geometry. To adequately incorporate the dynamic behavior of outlet glaciers and ice streams requires inclusion of the relevant physical processes, and the development of regional models that employ a numerical grid with a horizontal grid spacing sufficiently refined to capture smaller-scale bed topographic features that may control the flow of these glaciers. This award revisits the issue of stability of marine-terminating glaciers whose grounding line is located on a retrograded bed slope. In particular, an attempt will be made to resolve the question whether observed rapid changes are the result of perturbations at the terminus or grounding line, or whether these changes reflect ice-dynamical forcing over the grounded reaches. High-resolution satellite imagery will be used to investigate ice-flow perturbations on smaller spatial scales than has been done before, to evaluate the importance of localized sites of high basal resistance on grounding-line stability. This collaborative project involves a range of modeling strategies including force-budget analysis, flow-band modeling, Full Stokes modeling for local studies, and using the Ice Sheet System Model developed at JPL for regional modeling. Broader Impacts include training two graduate students in computer simulations and ice sheet modeling algorithms. The work will also expand on a web-based interactive flowline model, so that it includes more realistic grounding line dynamics.
The goal of this study is to identify and distinguish different source areas of glacial sediment in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica to determine past glacial flow direction. Understanding ice flow is critical for determining how the Antarctic Ice Sheets have behaved in the past. Such insight is fundamental for allowing scientists to predict how the Antarctic Ice Sheets will evolve and, in turn, forecast how much and how fast sea level may rise. The project study site, the McMurdo Dry Valleys, contain a tremendous record of glacial deposits on land that extends back at least 14 million years. Chemistry of the rocks within the glacial deposits hold clues to the sources of ice that deposited the material. The chemical analyses of the glacial deposits will allow mapping of the former extent of glaciations providing a better understand of ice flow history. The mapping of the largest ice sheet expansion of the past 14 million years in the McMurdo Dry Valleys is of broad interest to the global climate change community. Undergraduate students comprise the majority of the field teams and will be responsible for sample preparation and analysis in the laboratory. This project utilizes new geochemical techniques to test hypotheses about the source, extent, and flow patterns of the glacier ice that deposited glacial tills in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica (MDV). The MDV contain an unparalleled terrestrial archive of glacial deposits, which record multiple sources of ice that deposited them. These include the northeast flowing ice that overrode the Transantarctic Mountains, the eastward expansion of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, the westward extension of the Ross Ice Shelf representing an expansion of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, and the growth of local alpine glaciers. The glacial tills and drifts in the Antarctic are typically isolated in patches or disjointed outcrop patterns making it difficult to correlate tills and determine their source. This project will undertake a systematic study of the tills in the McMurdo Dry Valleys to determine their provenance with a variety of geochemical techniques including major and minor element analyses with X-ray fluorescence, heavy mineral composition, soil salt concentration, and determining the uranium-lead (U-Pb) ages of zircon sands contained in these tills. The primary tool will be the age distribution of the population of detrital zircon in a glacial drift because it reflects the source of the tills and provides a unique geochemical "fingerprint" used to distinguish source areas while correlating units across different sites. A deliverable from this project will be a community available library of zircon fingerprints for mapped glacial tills from archived samples at the Polar Rock Repository and the systematic collection of samples in the MDV. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
The response of the Antarctic ice sheet to climate change is a central issue in projecting global sea-level rise. While much attention is focused on the ongoing rapid changes at the coastal margin of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, obtaining records of past ice-sheet and climate change is the only way to constrain how an ice sheet changes over millennial timescales. Whether the West Antarctic Ice Sheet collapsed during the last interglacial period (~130,000 to 116,000 years ago), when temperatures were slightly warmer than today, remains a major unsolved problem in Antarctic glaciology. Hercules Dome is an ice divide located at the intersection of the East Antarctic and West Antarctic ice sheets. It is ideally situated to record the glaciological and climatic effects of changes in the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. This project will establish whether Hercules Dome experienced major changes in flow due to changes in the elevation of the two ice sheets. The project will also ascertain whether Hercules Domes is a suitable site from which to recover climate records from the last interglacial period. These records could be used to determine whether the West Antarctic Ice Sheet collapsed during that period. The project will support two early-career researchers and train students at the University of Washington. Results will be communicated through outreach programs in coordination the Ice Drilling Project Office, the University of Washington's annual Polar Science Weekend in Seattle, and art-science collaboration. This project will develop a history of ice dynamics at the intersection of the East and West Antarctic ice sheets, and ascertain whether the site is suitable for a deep ice-coring operation. Ice divides provide a unique opportunity to assess the stability of past ice flow. The low deviatoric stresses and non-linearity of ice flow causes an arch (a "Raymond Bump") in the internal layers beneath a stable ice divide. This information can be used to determine the duration of steady ice flow. Due to the slow horizontal ice-flow velocities, ice divides also preserve old ice with internal layering that reflects past flow conditions caused by divide migration. Hercules Dome is an ice divide that is well positioned to retain information of past variations in the geometry of both the East and West Antarctic Ice Sheets. This dome is also the most promising location at which to recover an ice core that can be used to determine whether the West Antarctic Ice Sheet collapsed during the last interglacial period. Limited ice-penetrating radar data collected along a previous scientific surface traverse indicate well-preserved englacial stratigraphy and evidence suggestive of a Raymond Bump, but the previous survey was not sufficiently extensive to allow thorough characterization or determination of past changes in ice dynamics. This project will conduct a dedicated survey to map the englacial stratigraphy and subglacial topography as well as basal properties at Hercules Dome. The project will use ground-based ice-penetrating radar to 1) image internal layers and the ice-sheet basal interface, 2) accurately measure englacial attenuation, and 3) determine englacial vertical strain rates. The radar data will be combined with GPS observations for detailed topography and surface velocities and ice-flow modeling to constrain the basal characteristics and the history of past ice flow. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2). An important part of understanding future climate change is predicting changes in how fast the ice in Antarctica is moving. If ice flows more quickly towards the ocean, it will have a direct impact on sea level rise. One of the things that can influence the ice flow is the type of rock below the ice coverage in Antarctica. Sedimentary basins are large regions where sedimentary rocks accumulated in the past, often under ancient seas. It has been observed that where there are sediments below the ice, the ice can flow faster. This project seeks to understand what is below the ice and how the underlying rock influences the ice flow. Is it hard, crystalline rock? Is it a sedimentary basin? What is the relationship between sediments and ice flow? The answers to these questions will be addressed by using a combination of available data and geophysical methods. Information from well-known rock-types will be used to train the computer to recognize these features by using an application of artificial intelligence known as machine learning, which will help the characterization and identification of unknown sedimentary basins beneath the ice. The results of this project will be disseminated to a broad audience by holding workshops for teacher and students to explain our findings under the ice and to introduce the machine learning technique. Open-source codes used during this project will be made available for use in higher-level classrooms as well as in further studies. To date, no comprehensive distribution of onshore and offshore sedimentary basins over Antarctica has been developed. A combination of large-scale datasets will be used to characterize known basins and identify new sedimentary basins to produce the first continent-wide mapping of sedimentary basins and provide improved basal parametrizations conditions that have the potential to support more realistic ice sheet models. Available geophysical compilations of data and the location of well-known sedimentary basins will be used to apply an ensemble machine learning algorithm. The machine learning algorithm will learn complex relationships by voting among a collection of randomized decision trees. The gravity signal related to sedimentary basins known from other (e.g. seismic) techniques will be evaluated and unknown basins from aerogravity data regression analyses will be proposed by calculating a gravity residual that reflects density inhomogeneities. The gravimetric sedimentary basins identified from the regression analyses will be compared with an independent method of identifying sedimentary distribution, the Werner deconvolution method of estimating depth to magnetic sources. The hypothesis, which is sedimentary basins are correlated to fast ice flow behavior, will be tested by comparing the location of the sedimentary basins with locations of high ice flow by using available ice velocity observations. A relationship between sedimentary basins and ice streams will be defined qualitatively and quantitatively, aiming to evaluate if there are ice streams where no sedimentary basins are reported, or sedimentary basins with no ice streams related. The findings of these project can confirm if the presence of abundant sediments is a pre-requisite for ice streaming. Analyzing previously known sedimentary basins and identifying new ones in Antarctica is central to evaluating the influence of subglacial sediments on the ice sheet flow. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Icebergs influence climate by controlling how freshwater from ice sheets is distributed into the ocean, where roughly half of ice sheet mass loss is attributed to iceberg calving in the current climate. The freshwater deposited by icebergs as they drift and melt can affect ocean circulation, sea-ice formation, and biological primary productivity. Furthermore, calving of icebergs from ice shelves, the floating extensions of ice sheets, can influence ice sheet evolution and sea-level rise by reducing the resistive stresses provided by ice shelves on the seaward flow of upstream grounded ice. The majority of mass calved from ice shelves occurs in the form of tabular icebergs, which are typically hundreds of meters thick and on the order of tens to hundreds of kilometers in length and width. Tabular calving occurs when full-thickness ice shelf fractures known as rifts propagate to the edges of the ice shelf. These calving events are infrequent, often with decades between events on an individual ice shelf. Changes in tabular calving behavior, i.e., the size and frequency of calving events, can strongly influence climate and ice sheet evolution. However, tabular calving behavior, and how it responds to changes in climate, is neither well understood nor accurately represented in climate models. In this project, a tabular calving parameterization for climate models will be developed. The parameterization will be derived according to data generated from a series of realistic and idealized century-scale tabular calving simulations, which will be performed with a novel ice flow and damage framework that can be applied at the scale of individual ice sheet-ice shelf systems: the CD-MPM-SSA (Continuum Damage Material Point Method for Shelfy-Stream Approximation). During these simulations, the geometry of the ice shelf, mechanical/rheological properties of the ice, and climate forcings such as ocean temperature will be varied to determine the rifting and calving response. The calving parameterization derived from these experiments will be implemented in a Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) climate model, where it will be coupled with a bonded-particle iceberg model. Then, experiments will be run to study the feedback between changes in iceberg calving behavior and climate. Success of this project will improve our understanding and representation of the ice mass budget, ice sheet evolution, and ocean freshwater fluxes, and will improve projections of climate change and sea-level rise. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Current ice mass loss in Antarctica is largely driven by changes at glacier grounding lines, where inland ice transitions from being grounded to floating in the ocean. The rate and pattern of glacier retreat in these circumstances is thought to be controlled by the terrain under the ice. This project incorporates evidence of past ice-retreat events and other field data, such as grounding-line positions and dates, subglacial topography, and meltwater features, into numerical models of ice flow to investigate the influence that grounding-line processes and subglacial topography have on glacier retreat rates over the past 15,000 years. Recent observations suggest that Antarctic ice mass loss is largely driven by perturbations at or near the grounding line. However, the lack of information on subglacial and grounding-line environments causes large uncertainties in projections of mass loss and sea-level rise. This project will integrate geologic data from the deglaciated continental shelf into numerical models of varying complexity from one to three-dimensions. Rarely do numerical ice-sheet models of Antarctica have multiple constraints on dynamics over the past ~15,000 years (a period that spans the deglaciation of the Antarctic continental shelf since the Last Glacial Maximum). The geologic constraints include grounding-line positions, deglacial chronologies, and information on grounding line-ice shelf processes. The models will be used to investigate necessary perturbations and controls that meet the geological constraints. The multidisciplinary approach of merging geologic reconstructions of paleo-ice behavior with numerical models of ice response will allow the research team to test understanding of subglacial controls on grounding-line dynamics and assess the stability of modern grounding lines. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Uncertainty in projections of future sea level rise comes, in part, from ice-sheet melting under the influence of unpredictable variations in ocean and atmospheric temperature near ice sheets. Using state-of-the-art modeling techniques, the Antarctic Ice Sheet Large Ensemble (AISLENS) Project will estimate the range of possible Antarctic Ice Sheet melt during the recent past and over the next several centuries that could result from such climate variations. The AISLENS Project will also facilitate research by providing modeling output as an open product to the broader climate and glaciology communities. The project will support an early career faculty member, and interdisciplinary training for a graduate student, postdoctoral fellow and undergraduate student. As a part of this project, an undergraduate course on "Sea Level Rise and Coastal Engineering" will be also developed, bringing together Earth Science and Civil Engineering students in an interdisciplinary setting and contributing to their education in sea level science and coastal adaptation. This will be done in the geographic context of the Southeastern US, the region of most concentrated vulnerability to sea-level rise in the US. The primary goal of the proposed research is to understand and quantify the role of internal climate variability in driving ice loss from the Antarctic Ice Sheet over the recent past and into the future. The AISLENS Project will encompass hundreds of simulations of Antarctic ice sheet evolution from 1950 to 2300 forced by realistic variations in climate, including snowfall and melt from fluctuating oceanic and atmospheric temperatures. Plausible realizations of Antarctic climate forcing will be generated from stochastic emulation of output from the Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM) under past and future emissions scenarios. These realizations of variable climate will be used to force the MPAS Albany Land Ice (MALI) model, a state-of-the-art model of ice flow in the Antarctic Ice Sheet. In this project, AISLENS will be used to conduct uncertainty and attribution analyses. In the uncertainty analysis, the evolution of ensemble spread in simulations of the future evolution of the Antarctic Ice Sheet will be systematically decomposed to determine which temporal and spatial scales of climate variability contribute the most to future ice-sheet projection uncertainty. In the attribution analysis, a range of satellite-based observations of recent Antarctic ice loss will be compared to the envelope of internal variability of Antarctic ice loss simulated in AISLENS simulations encompassing the recent past. This analysis will provide context to recent observations indicating significant variability of Antarctic climate forcing and provide a possible path forward for conducting robust statistical inference studies for observed ice-sheet changes. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
This project will develop a new ice-penetrating radar system that can simultaneously map glacier geometry and glacier flow along repeat profiles. Forecasting an ice-sheet’s contribution to sea level requires an estimate for the initial ice-sheet geometry and the parameters that govern ice flow and slip across bedrock. Existing ice-sheet models cannot independently determine this information from conventional observations of ice-surface velocities and glacier geometry. This introduces substantial uncertainty into simulations of past and future ice-sheet behavior. Thus, this new radar capability is conceived to provide the needed data to support higher-fidelity simulations of past and future ice-sheet behavior and more accurate projections of future sea level. The new radar system will integrate two existing radars (the multi-channel coherent radio-echo depth sounder and the accumulation radar) developed by the Center for the Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets, as well as adding new capabilities. An eight-element very high frequency (VHF; 140-215 MHz) array will have sufficient cross-track aperture to swath map internal layers and the ice-sheet base in three dimensions. A single ultra high frequency (UHF; 600-900 MHz) antenna will have the range and phase resolution to map internal layer displacement with 0.25-mm precision. The VHF array will create 3D mappings of layer geometry that enable measurements of vertical velocities by accounting for spatial offsets between repeat profiles and changing surface conditions. The vertical displacement measurement will then be made by determining the difference in radar phase response recorded by the UHF antenna for radar profiles collected at the same locations at different times. The UHF antenna will be dual-polarized and thus capable of isolating both components of complex internal reflections. This should enable inferences of ice crystal orientation fabric and widespread mapping of ice viscosity. Initial field testing of the radar will occur on the McMurdo Ice Shelf and then progress to Thwaites Glacier, Antarctica. The dual-band radar system technology and processing algorithms will be developed with versatile extensible hardware and user-friendly software so that this system will serve as a prototype for a future community radar system. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
The ice of the polar ice sheets is among the purest substances on Earth, yet the small amount of impurities --such as acids-- are important to how the ice flows and what can be learned from ice cores about past climate. The goal of this project is to understand the role of such acids on the deformation of polycrystalline ice by comparing the deformation behavior of pure and sulfuric acid-doped samples. Sulfuric acid was chosen both because of its importance for interpreting past climate and because it can lead to water veins in ice at low temperatures. This work will focus on the location, movement, and impact of acids in polycrystalline ice that are more complex than in single crystals of ice. By deforming samples and performing microstructural characterization, the role of acids on deformation rate, grain evolution, and the movement of the acids themselves, will be assessed. The work will lead to the education of a Ph.D. student at Dartmouth College, introduce undergraduate students to research at both the University of Washington and Dartmouth College. Despite the ubiquitous use of the constitutive relation for ice commonly referred to as "Glen's Flow Law", significant uncertainty exists particularly with regard to the role of impurities and the development of oriented fabrics. The aim of this project is to improve the constitutive relationship for ice by performing deformation tests and microstructural characterization of pure and sulfuric acid-doped ice. The project will focus on sulfuric acid's impact on ice viscosity, fabric evolution, and diffusivity. Sulfuric acid can have both direct and indirect effects on the mechanical properties of polycrystalline ice. The direct effects change the dislocation velocity and/or density, and the indirect effects change the grain size and fabric. The complexity and interaction of these effects means that it is not possible to understand the effects of sulfuric acid by simply examining ice core specimens. In this project, the team will deform four types of ice: lab-grown ice samples doped with similar-to-natural concentrations of sulfuric acid, lab-grown high-purity ice, layered doped and pure ice, and natural ice from Antarctic ice cores. Deformation will be performed in both uniaxial compression and simple shear. The addition of simple shear tests is critical for relating the laboratory-observed deformation behavior to the behavior of polar ice sheets where the shear strain dominates ice motion in basal ice. After deformation to strains from 5 percent up to 25 percent, the microstructural development will be assessed with methods including a variety of scanning electron microscope techniques, Raman microscopy, synchrotron-based Nano-X-ray fluorescence, and ion chromatography. These analysis techniques will allow the determination of 1) the segregation and movement of impurities, 2) the rate of grain-boundary migration, 3) the number of recrystallized grains; and 4) the full orientation of the ice crystals. The results will enable both microstructural modeling of the effects of sulfuric acid and numerical modeling of diffusion in ice cores. The net result will be a better understanding of ice deformation that improves ice-core interpretation and ice-sheet modeling. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
This project contributes to the joint initiative launched by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.K. Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) to substantially improve decadal and longer-term projections of ice loss and sea-level rise originating from Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica. Collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) could raise the global sea level by about 5 meters (16 feet) and the scientific community considers it the most significant risk for coastal environments and cities. The risk arises from the deep, marine setting of WAIS. Although scientists have been aware of the precarious setting of this ice sheet since the early 1970s, it is only now that the flow of ice in several large drainage basins is undergoing dynamic change consistent with a potentially irreversible disintegration. Understanding WAIS stability and enabling more accurate prediction of sea-level rise through computer simulation are two of the key objectives facing the polar science community today. This project will directly address both objectives by: (1) using state-of-the-art technologies to observe rapidly deforming parts of Thwaites Glacier that may have significant control over the future evolution of WAIS, and (2) using these new observations to improve ice-sheet models used to predict future sea-level rise. This project brings together a multidisciplinary team of UK and US scientists. This international collaboration will result in new understanding of natural processes that may lead to the collapse of the WAIS and will boost infrastructure for research and education by creating a multidisciplinary network of scientists. This team will mentor three postdoctoral researchers, train four Ph.D. students and integrate undergraduate students in this research project. The project will test the overarching hypothesis that shear-margin dynamics may exert powerful control on the future evolution of ice flow in Thwaites Drainage Basin. To test the hypothesis, the team will set up an ice observatory at two sites on the eastern shear margin of Thwaites Glacier. The team argues that weak topographic control makes this shear margin susceptible to outward migration and, possibly, sudden jumps in response to the drawdown of inland ice when the grounding line of Thwaites retreats. The ice observatory is designed to produce new and comprehensive constraints on englacial properties, including ice deformation rates, ice crystal fabric, ice viscosity, ice temperature, ice water content and basal melt rates. The ice observatory will also establish basal conditions, including thickness and porosity of the till layer and the deeper marine sediments, if any. Furthermore, the team will develop new knowledge with an emphasis on physical processes, including direct assessment of the spatial and temporal scales on which these processes operate. Seismic surveys will be carried out in 2D and 3D using wireless geophones. A network of broadband seismometers will identify icequakes produced by crevassing and basal sliding. Autonomous radar systems with phased arrays will produce sequential images of rapidly deforming internal layers in 3D while potentially also revealing the geometry of a basal water system. Datasets will be incorporated into numerical models developed on different spatial scales. One will focus specifically on shear-margin dynamics, the other on how shear-margin dynamics can influence ice flow in the whole drainage basin. Upon completion, the project aims to have confirmed whether the eastern shear margin of Thwaites Glacier can migrate rapidly, as hypothesized, and if so what the impacts will be in terms of sea-level rise in this century and beyond. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
This project contributes to the joint initiative launched by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.K. Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) to substantially improve decadal and longer-term projections of ice loss and sea-level rise originating from Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica. Thwaites and neighboring glaciers in the Amundsen Sea Embayment are rapidly losing mass in response to recent climate warming and related changes in ocean circulation. Mass loss from the Amundsen Sea Embayment could lead to the eventual collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, raising the global sea level by up to 2.5 meters (8 feet) in as short as 500 years. The processes driving the loss appear to be warmer ocean circulation and changes in the width and flow speed of the glacier, but a better understanding of these changes is needed to refine predictions of how the glacier will evolve. One highly sensitive process is the transitional flow of glacier ice from land onto the ocean to become a floating ice shelf. This flow of ice from grounded to floating is affected by changes in air temperature and snowfall at the surface; the speed and thickness of ice feeding it from upstream; and the ocean temperature, salinity, bathymetry, and currents that the ice flows into. The project team will gather new measurements of each of these local environmental conditions so that it can better predict how future changes in air, ocean, or the ice will affect the loss of ice to the ocean in this region. Current and anticipated near-future mass loss from Thwaites Glacier and nearby Amundsen Sea Embayment region is mainly attributed to reduction in ice-shelf buttressing due to sub-ice-shelf melting by intrusion of relatively warm Circumpolar Deep Water into sub-ice-shelf cavities. Such predictions for mass loss, however, still lack understanding of the dominant processes at and near grounding zones, especially their spatial and temporal variability, as well as atmospheric and oceanic drivers of these processes. This project aims to constrain and compare these processes for the Thwaites and the Dotson Ice Shelves, which are connected through upstream ice dynamics, but influenced by different submarine troughs. The team's specific objectives are to: 1) install atmosphere-ice-ocean multi-sensor remote autonomous stations on the ice shelves for two years to provide sub-daily continuous observations of concurrent oceanic, glaciologic, and atmospheric conditions; 2) measure ocean properties on the continental shelf adjacent to ice-shelf fronts (using seal tagging, glider-based and ship-based surveys, and existing moored and conductivity-temperature-depth-cast data), 3) measure ocean properties into sub-ice-shelf cavities (using autonomous underwater vehicles) to detail ocean transports and heat fluxes; and 4) constrain current ice-shelf and sub-ice-shelf cavity geometry, ice flow, and firn properties for the ice-shelves (using radar, active-source seismic, and gravimetric methods) to better understand the impact of ocean and atmosphere on the ice-sheet change. The team will also engage the public and bring awareness to this rapidly changing component of the cryosphere through a "Live from the Ice" social media campaign in which the public can follow the action and data collection from the perspective of tagged seals and autonomous stations. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Gerbi/1643301 This award supports a project to develop software that will allow researchers considering seismic or radar field surveys to test, ahead of time, whether the data they plan to collect will have sufficient resolution to measure the natural variations in the mechanical properties of ice, which determine the response of flowing ice to changing climatic conditions. The mechanical properties of ice depend largely on the temperature and the orientation of the crystals that make up the ice. The most accurate method for measuring ice crystal orientation and temperature is through drilling and direct analysis of an ice core. However, this method is very costly, time-consuming, and limited in spatial coverage. Geophysical techniques, such as seismic and radar, can cover much more area, but we have little knowledge about the practical limitations of these techniques as they relate to calculating mechanical properties. This project addresses that knowledge gap through construction of a computational toolbox that will allow accurate assessment of the ability of geophysical surveys to image crystal orientation and ice temperature. Researchers can then use these tools to adjust the field survey plans to maximize the return on investment. By working to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of future geophysical work related to glacial flow, this proposal will improve scientists? ability to quantify sea-level variations within the larger context of climate change. The project includes building new user-friendly, publicly accessible software and instructional modules. The work will provide training for graduate and undergraduate students, who will play a role in research and develop instructional materials. Ice viscosity, the resistance of ice to flow, exerts significant control over ice velocity. Therefore, mapping ice viscosity is important for understanding the current and future behavior of glaciers and ice sheets. To do so, scientists must determine the temperature and crystal orientation fabric throughout the ice. Seismic and radar techniques can survey large areas quickly, and thus are promising, yet not fully tested, methods to efficiently measure the thermal and mechanical structure of flowing ice. As part of this project, scientists will develop and use a computational framework to quantify the degree to which seismic and radar techniques can resolve the crystal orientation fabric and temperature of streaming ice, and then test how sensitive ice flow is to the attendant uncertainty. To meet these goals, a numerical toolbox will be built which will allow the glacier/ice stream geometry and physical properties (temperature, crystal orientation fabric, density and acidity) to be varied. The toolbox will be capable of both creating synthetic radar and seismic profiles through forward modeling and inverting synthetic profiles to allow evaluation of how well geophysical techniques can image the original thermal and mechanical structure. These simulated radar and seismic data will allow scientists to better quantify the influence of the variability in mechanical properties of the ice on flow velocities and patterns. The results of this work will guide planning for future field campaigns, making them more effective and efficient. This project does not require fieldwork in the Antarctic.
This project evaluates the role that water and rock/ice properties at the base of a fast moving glacier, or ice stream, play in controlling its motion. In Antarctica, where surface melting is limited, the speed of ice flow through the grounding zone (where ice on land detaches, and begins to float on ocean water) controls the rate at which glaciers contribute to sea level rise. The velocity of the ice stream is strongly dependent on resistance from the bed, so understanding the processes that control resistance to flow is critical in predicting ice sheet mass balance. In fact, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recognized this and stated in their 4th assessment report that reliable predictions of future global sea-level rise require improved understanding of ice sheet dynamics, which include basal controls on fast ice motion. Drilling to obtain direct observations of basal properties over substantial regions is prohibitively expensive. This project uses passive source seismology to "listen to" and analyze sounds generated by water flow and/or sticky spots at the ice/bed interface to evaluate the role that basal shear stress plays in ice flow dynamics. Because polar science is captivating to both scientists and the general public, it serves as an excellent topic to engage students at all levels with important scientific concepts and processes. In conjunction with this research, polar science educational materials will be developed to be used by students spanning middle school through the University level. Starting in summer 2015, a new polar science class for high school students in the California State Summer School for Mathematics and Science (COSMOS) will be offered at the University of California-Santa Cruz. This curriculum will be shared with the MESA Schools Program, a Santa Cruz and Monterey County organization that runs after-school science clubs led by teachers at several local middle and high schools with largely minority and underprivileged populations. This proposal extends the period of borehole and surface geophysical monitoring of the Whillians Ice Stream (WIS) established under a previous award for an additional 2 years. Data from the WIS network demonstrated that basal heterogeneity, revealed by microseismicity, shows variation over scales of 100's of meters. An extended observation period will allow detailed seismic characterization of ice sheet bed properties over a crucial length scale comparable to the local ice thickness. Due to the fast ice velocity (>300 m/year), a single instrumented location will move approximately 1 km during the extended 3 year operational period, allowing continuous monitoring of seismic emissions as the ice travels over sticky spots and other features in the bed (e.g., patches of till or subglacial water bodies). Observations over ~1km length scales will help to bridge a crucial gap in current observations of basal conditions between extremely local observations made in boreholes and remote observations of basal shear stress inferred from inversions of ice surface velocity data.
The Siple Coast in West Antarctica has undergone significant glacier changes over the last millenium. Several ice streams--rapidly moving streams of ice bordered by slow-moving ice--exist in this region that feeds into the Ross Ice Shelf. A long-term slowdown of Whillans Ice Stream appears to be occurring, and this is affecting the zone between the Whillans and Mercer Ice Streams. However, the consistency of this slowdown and resulting changes to the shear margin between the two ice streams are unknown. The goal of this project is to quantify the observed changes over the past decade and understand the dynamic processes that cause them. A collateral benefit of and driver for this as a RAPID project is to test a method for assessing where crevassing will develop in this zone of steep velocity gradients. Such a method may benefit not only near-term field-project planning in the 2018-19 field season, but also planning for future fieldwork and traverses. The team will use remote sensing feature-tracking techniques to determine transient velocity patterns and shifts in the shear-zone location over the last 10-plus years. This velocity time series will be incorporated into a large-scale ice-sheet model to estimate ice-sheet susceptibility to changing boundary conditions over the next century based on likely regional ice-flux scenarios. This approach is an extension of recent work conducted by the team that shows promise for predicting areas of changing high strain rates indicative of an active glacier shear margin. The ultimate objectives are to characterize the flow field of merging ice streams over time and investigate lateral boundary migration. This will provide a better understanding of shear-margin control on ice-shelf and up-glacier stability. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
This project investigates a rapidly moving section of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet known as the Whillans Ice Stream. Ice streams and outlet glaciers are the major pathways for ice discharge from ice sheets into the ocean. Consequently, understanding ice stream dynamics, specifically the processes controlling the frictional resistance of ice sliding on sediments at its base, is essential for predictive modeling of how Earth's ice sheets will respond to a changing climate. Rather than flowing smoothly, Whillans Ice Stream advances in stick-slip cycles: brief periods of rapid sliding, equivalent to magnitude 7 earthquakes, alternating with much longer periods of repose. The PIs will perform simulations of these stick-slip cycles using computer codes originally developed for modeling tectonic earthquakes. By matching observed ice motions, the PIs will constrain the range of frictional processes acting at the base of the ice stream. An additional focus of the project is on brittle fracture processes in ice, expressed through seismic waves radiated by faulting and/or crevassing episodes that accompany the large-scale sliding events. An understanding of ice fracture provides a basis for assessing the susceptibility of ice shelves to rifting and catastrophic disintegration. Project results will be incorporated into outreach activities (from elementary school to community college events) as well as a polar science class for the California State Summer School for Mathematics and Science (COSMOS) program for high school students. Simulations of the stick-slip cycle will employ 3D dynamic rupture models that simultaneously solve for the seismic wavefield and rupture process, consistent with elastodynamic material response and friction laws on the ice stream bed. Stresses and frictional properties will be varied to achieve consistency with surface GPS and broadband seismic data as well as borehole seismograms from the WISSARD project. The results will be interpreted using laboratory till friction experiments, which link velocity-weakening/strengthening behavior to temperature and water content, and to related experiments quantifying basal drag from ice flow over rough beds. The source mechanism of seismicity accompanying the slip events (shear faulting versus crevassing) will be determined using 3D waveform modeling in conjunction with mechanical models of the seismic source processes. This proposal does not require fieldwork in the Antarctic.
Licht/1443433 Sediments deposited by the Antarctic ice sheet are an archive of its history with time and help geologists to determine how the remote interior of the ice sheet has changed over the past several hundred thousand years. This project will focus on the formation and dynamics of moraines (accumulations of dirt and rocks that are incorporated in the glacier surface or have been pushed along by the glacier as it moves) near the blue ice area of Mt. Achernar in the central Transantarctic Mountains in Antarctica.. The study will improve basic understanding of the formation of these moraines. Fieldwork at the site will focus on imaging the internal structure of the moraine to determine the processes by which it, and others like it, form over time. Additional analyses will include measurements of ice flow and collection of rock samples to determine the timing of debris deposition and the changes in the sources of sediments from deep within the Antarctic continent. The project will provide both graduate and undergraduate students training in paleoclimate studies, geology, and numerical modeling approaches. The broader impacts of the proposed work include hands on training in the Earth Sciences for graduate and undergraduate students, collaboration with colleagues in New Zealand and Sweden to provide an international research experience for students from the US, and three educational modules to be delivered by student researchers regarding Antarctica's role in global environments. The research is societally relevant and multidisciplinary and the topics are ideal for sharing with the public. All research findings will be made publicly available to others via timely publication in high-impact, peer-reviewed journals and all data will be submitted to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, and excess samples will be provided to the U.S. Polar Rock Repository. Direct observations of ice sheet history from the margins of Antarctica's polar plateau are essential for testing numerical ice sheet models, and the laterally extensive, blue-ice moraines of the Mt. Achernar Moraine complex in the central Transantarctic Mountains contain a unique and nearly untapped direct, quasi-continuous record of ice sheet change over multiple glacial cycles. The project objectives include improved understanding of processes and rates of blue ice moraine formation, as well as identifying the topographic, glaciological, and climatic controls on their evolution. Data to be collected with fieldwork in Antarctica include: imaging of internal ice structure with ground-penetrating radar, measurement of ice flow velocity and direction with a global positioning system (GPS) array, analysis of debris concentration and composition in glacier ice, state-of-the-art cosmogenic multi-nuclide analyses to determine exposure ages of moraine debris, mapping of trimlines and provenance analysis. Numerical model simulations, constrained by field data, will be used to evaluate the factors influencing changes in glacier flow that potentially impact the accumulation of the moraine debris. All together, the new data and modeling efforts will improve conceptual models of blue ice moraine formation, and thereby make them a more valuable proxy for developing a better understanding of the history of the ice sheet.
Nontechnical Abstract Studies in Antarctica are, at present, severely limited by the costs of placing measurement instruments within and beneath thousands of meters of ice. Our aim is to enable dense, widespread measurement-networks by advancing development of low-cost ice melt probe technology to deploy instruments. Ice melt probes use electrical energy to descend through thick ice with little support structure on the ice surface. We are extending previous technology by using anti-freeze to maintain a partially open melt-hole above a descending probe, deploying as we go a new a new fiber-optic technology to measure ice temperature. Ice temperature measurements will reveal spatial patterns of heat welling up from the Earth beneath the ice, which in turn will contribute greatly to finding ancient ice that contains global climate records, and to understanding how ice flow may raise sea levels. Our immediate objective in this 1-year project is to test and refine our anti-freeze-based method in a 15 meter-tall ice column at the University of Wisconsin, so as to reduce technical risk in future field tests. Technical Abstract The overarching aim of our development is to enable widespread, spatially dense deployments of instruments within and beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet for a variety of investigations, beginning with observations of basal temperature and geothermal flux at the base of the ice sheet. Dense, widespread deployment requires logistical costs far below current costs for ice drilling and coring. Our approach is to extend ice melt probe technology (which is inherently light, logistically) to allow the progressive deployment of cable for Distributed Temperature Sensing (DTS) from the ice surface as the probe descends, without greatly increasing logistical costs. Our extension is based on arresting refreezing of the melt-hole above the probe (at a diameter a few times the cable diameter) by injecting anti-freeze - specifically, ethanol at temperature near 0C - a few meters above the probe during descent. After thermal equilibration of the liquid ethanol/water column with the ice, DTS measurements yield the depth-profile of ice sheet temperature, from which basal temperature and (over frozen beds) geothermal flux can be inferred. We have carried out initial trials of our approach in a cold-room laboratory, but field work based only on such small-scale tests may still involve unnecessary risk. We therefore propose further testing at a facility of the Ice Drilling Design and Operations (IDDO) facility in Madison, WI. The new trials will test our approaches to melt-hole control and probe recovery in the taller column, will test cable and cable-tension-management methods more nearly approximating those needed to work on ice sheets, and will demonstrate the Distributed Temperature Sensing in its field configuration. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
1142167/Pettit This award supports a project to develop a better understanding of the relation between ice microstructure, impurities, and ice flow and their connection to climate history for the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) ice core site. This work builds on several ongoing studies at Siple Dome in West Antarctica and Dome C in East Antarctica. It is well known that the microstructure of ice evolves with depth and time in an ice sheet. This evolution of microstructure depends on the ice flow field, temperature, and impurity content. The ice flow field, in turn, depends on microstructure, leading to feedbacks that create layered variation in microstructure that relates to climate and flow history. The research proposed here focuses on developing a better understanding of: 1) how ice microstructure evolves with time and stress in an ice sheet and how that relates to impurity content, temperature, and strain rate; 2) how variations in ice microstructure and impurity content affect ice flow patterns near ice divides (on both small (1cm to 1m) and large (1m to 100km) scales); and 3) in what ways is the spatial variability of ice microstructure and its effect on ice flow important for interpretation of climate history in the WAIS Divide ice core. The study will integrate existing ice core and borehole data with a detailed study of ice microstructure using Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD) techniques and measurements of borehole deformation through time using Acoustic Televiewers. This will be the first study to combine these two novel techniques for studying the relation between microstructure and deformation and it will build on other data being collected as part of other WAIS Divide borehole logging projects (e.g. sonic velocity, optical dust logging, temperature and other measurements on the ice core including fabric measurements from thin section analyses as well as studies of ice chemistry and stable isotopes. The intellectual merit of the work is that it will improve interpretation of ice core data (especially information on past accumulation) and overall understanding of ice flow. The broader impacts are that the work will ultimately contribute to a better interpretation of ice core records for both paleoclimate studies and for ice flow history, both of which connect to the broader questions of the role of ice in the climate system. The work will also advance the careers of two early-career female scientists, including one with a hearing impairment disability. This project will support a PhD student at the UAF and provide research and field experience for two or three undergraduates at Dartmouth. The PIs plan to include a teacher on their field team and collaborate with UAF's "From STEM to STEAM" toward enhancing the connection between art and science.
Bay/1443566 This award supports the deployment and analysis of data from an oriented laser dust logger in the South Pole ice core borehole to complement study of the ice core record. Before the core is even processed, data from the borehole probe will immediately determine the depth-age relationship, augment 3D mapping of South Pole stratigraphy, aid in searches for the oldest ice in Antarctica, and reveal layers of volcanic or extraterrestrial fallout. Regarding the intellectual merit, the oriented borehole log will be essential for investigating features in the ice sheet that may have implications for ice core chronology, ice flow, ice sheet physical properties and stability in response to climate change. The tools and techniques developed in this program have applications in glaciology, biogeoscience and exploration of other planetary bodies. The program aims for a deeper understanding of the consequences and causes of abrupt climate change. The broader impacts of the project are that it will include outreach and education, providing a broad training ground for students and post-docs. Data and metadata will be made available through data centers and repositories such as the National Snow and Ice Data Center web portal. The laser dust logger detects reproducible paleoclimate features at sub-centimeter depth scale. Dust logger data are being used for synchronizing records and dating any site on the continent, revealing accumulation anomalies and episodes of rapid ice sheet thinning, and discovering particulate horizons of special interest. In this project we will deploy a laser dust logger equipped with a magnetic compass to find direct evidence of preferentially oriented dust. Using optical scattering measurements from IceCube calibration studies at South Pole and borehole logs at WAIS Divide, we have detected a persistent anisotropy correlated with flow and crystal fabric which suggests that the majority of insoluble particulates must be located within ice grains. With typical concentrations of parts-per-billion, little is known about the location of impurities within the polycrystalline structure of polar ice. While soluble impurities are generally thought to concentrate at inter-grain boundaries and determine electrical conductivity, the fate of insoluble particulates is much less clear, and microscopic examinations are extremely challenging. These in situ borehole measurements will help to unravel intimate relationships between impurities, flow, and crystal fabric. Data from this project will further develop a unique record of South Pole surface roughness as a proxy for paleowind and provide new insights for understanding glacial radar propagation. This project has field work in Antarctica.
Accurate reconstructions and predictions of glacier movement on timescales of human interest require a better understanding of available observations and the ability to model the key processes that govern ice flow. The fact that many of these processes are interconnected, are loosely constrained by data, and involve not only the ice, but also the atmosphere, ocean, and solid Earth, makes this a challenging endeavor, but one that is essential for Earth-system modeling and the resulting climate and sea-level forecasts that are provided to policymakers worldwide. Based on the amount of ice present in the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and its ability to flow and/or melt into the ocean, its complete collapse would result in a global sea-level rise of 3.3 to 5 meters, making its stability and rate of change scientific questions of global societal significance. Whether or not a collapse eventually occurs, a better understanding of the potential West Antarctic contribution to sea level over the coming decades and centuries is necessary when considering the fate of coastal population centers. Recent observations of the Amundsen Sea Embayment of West Antarctica indicate that it is experiencing faster mass loss than any other region of the continent. At present, the long-term stability of this embayment is unknown, with both theory and observations suggesting that collapse is possible. This study is focused on this critical region. We will test an ice-sheet model against existing observations, improve treatment of key processes in the model, and make projections with uncertainty assessments. This is a three-year modeling study using the open-source Ice Sheet System Model in coordination with other models to improve projections of future sea-level change. Project goals are to: 1. hindcast the past two-to-three decades of evolution of the Amundsen Sea Embayment sector to determine controlling processes, incorporate and test parameterizations, and assess and improve model initialization, spinup, and performance; 2. improve the model by utilizing sensitivity studies with regional process-oriented models to create numerically efficient parameterizations for key sub-grid-scale processes; 3. project a range of likely evolutions of the Amundsen Sea Embayment sector and their respective contributions to sea level in the next several centuries; 4. attribute sources of errors in the hindcast and provide an assessment of the uncertainties in the projections, including a range of likely outcomes given various forcings and inclusion or omission of physical processes in the model. At present, the long-term stability of the Amundsen Sea Embayment is unknown, with both theory (the "marine ice sheet instability hypothesis") and observations (rapid thinning and grounding-line retreat approaching regions where the bed deepens inland) suggesting that collapse is possible. But incompletely understood physical processes (e.g., basal hydrology, rheology, and sliding; tidal effects; ice-ocean interaction along the shelf and within the grounding zone) and lack of resolution in basal topography datasets making the ultimate outcome uncertain. Thus, there is a pressing need for high-resolution simulations of this region that include numerical representations of controlling physical processes (many of which are applicable elsewhere) within a higher-order ice-sheet model capable of assimilating recent observations and providing uncertainty analyses associated with model and data limitations. By focusing on the Amundsen Sea Embayment as a connected region across the 10-10,000-meter scales using a hierarchy of one, two, and three-dimensional models along with the sensitivity analysis tools built into the Ice Sheet System Model, this project aims to produce (1) the most reliable results to date when compared with studies that consider only one ice stream or the entire ice sheet and (2) estimates of differing dynamic responses arising from errors in data, model parameterizations, and forcings. Given the uncertainties, the project will produce a range of predictions with characteristic trends that can be recognized within future observational data sets. As new data become available, some predicted rates of change could be culled from the predictive paths generated by this study.
There is compelling historical evidence that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) is vulnerable to rapid retreat and collapse. Recent observations, compared to observations made 20-30 years before, indicate that both ice shelves (thick ice with ocean below) and land ice (thick ice with land below), are now melting at a much faster rate. Some numerical models suggest that significant ice retreat may begin within many of our lifetimes, starting with the abrupt collapse of Pine Island and Thwaites Glaciers in the next 50 years. This may be followed by retreat of much of the WAIS and then the collapse of parts of the East Antarctic ice sheet (EAIS). This research project will assess the extent to which global ocean circulation and climate will be impacted if enormous volumes of fresh water and ice flow into the Southern Ocean. It will establish whether a rapid collapse of WAIS in the near-future poses any significant threat to the stability of modern-day climate and human society. This is a topic that has so far received little attention as most prior research has focused on the response of climate to melting the Greenland ice sheet. Yet model simulations predict that the volumes of fresh water and ice released from Antarctica in the next few centuries could be up at least ten-times larger than from Greenland. The Intellectual Merit of this project stems from its ability to establish a link between the physical Antarctic system (ice sheet dynamics, fresh water discharge and iceberg calving) and global climate. The PIs (Principal Investigators) will assess the sensitivity of ocean circulation and climate to increased ice sheet melt using a combination of ocean, iceberg, ice sheet and climate models. Results from this study will help identify areas of the ice sheet that are vulnerable to collapse and also regions of the ocean where a significant freshening will have a considerable impact on climate, and serve to guide the deployment of an observational monitoring system capable of warning us when ice and fresh water discharge start to approach levels capable of disrupting ocean circulation and global climate. This project will support and train two graduate students, and each PI will be involved with local primary and secondary schools, making presentations, mentoring science fair projects, and contributing to curriculum development. A novel, web-based, interactive, cryosphere learning tool will be developed to help make school children more aware of the importance of the Polar Regions in global climate, and this software will be introduced to science teachers at a half day workshop organized by the UMass STEM Education Institute. Recent numerical simulations using a continental ice sheet/shelf model show the potential for more rapid and greater Antarctic ice sheet retreat in the next 50-300 years (under the full range of IPCC RCP (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Representative Concentration Pathways) future warming scenarios) than previously projected. Exactly how the release of enormous volumes of ice and fresh water to the Southern Ocean will impact global ocean circulation and climate has yet to be accurately assessed. This is in part because previous model simulations were too coarse to accurately resolve narrow coastal boundary currents, shelf breaks, fronts, and mesoscale eddies that are all very important for realistically simulating fresh water transport in the ocean. In this award, future projections of fresh water discharge and iceberg calving from Antarctic will be used to force a high resolution eddy-resolving ocean model (MITgcm) coupled to a new iceberg module and a fully-coupled global climate model (CCSM4). High resolution ocean/iceberg simulations will determine the role of mesoscale eddies in freshwater transport and give new insight into how fresh water is advected to far-field locations, including deep water formation sites in the North Atlantic. These simulations will provide detailed information about subsurface temperatures and changes in ocean circulation close to the ice front and grounding line. An accompanying set of fully coupled climate model simulations (NCAR CCSM4) will identify multidecadal-to-centennial changes in the climate system triggered by increased high-latitude Southern Ocean freshwater forcing. Particular attention will be given to changes in the strength of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), wind stress, sea ice formation, and global temperatures. In doing so, this project will more accurately determine whether abrupt and potentially catastrophic changes in global climate are likely to be triggered by changes in the Antarctic system in the near-future.
This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). The LISSARD project (Lake and Ice Stream Subglacial Access Research Drilling) is one of three research components of the WISSARD integrative initiative (Whillans Ice Stream Subglacial Access Research Drilling) that is being funded by the Antarctic Integrated System Science Program of NSF's Office of Polar Programs, Antarctic Division. The overarching scientific objective of WISSARD is to assess the role of water beneath a West Antarctic ice stream in interlinked glaciological, geological, microbiological, geochemical, and oceanographic systems. The LISSARD component of WISSARD focuses on the role of active subglacial lakes in determining how fast the West Antarctic ice sheet loses mass to the global ocean and influences global sea level changes. The importance of Antarctic subglacial lakes has only been recently recognized, and the lakes have been identified as high priority targets for scientific investigations because of their unknown contributions to ice sheet stability under future global warming scenarios. LISSARD has several primary science goals: A) To provide an observational basis for improving treatments of subglacial hydrological and mechanical processes in models of ice sheet mass balance and stability; B) To reconstruct the past history of ice stream stability by analyzing archives of past basal water and ice flow variability contained in subglacial sediments, porewater, lake water, and basal accreted ice; C) To provide background understanding of subglacial lake environments to benefit RAGES and GBASE (the other two components of the WISSARD project); and D) To synthesize data and concepts developed as part of this project to determine whether subglacial lakes play an important role in (de)stabilizing Antarctic ice sheets. We propose an unprecedented synthesis of approaches to studying ice sheet processes, including: (1) satellite remote sensing, (2) surface geophysics, (3) borehole observations and measurements and, (4) basal and subglacial sampling. <br/><br/>INTELLECTUAL MERIT: The latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recognized that the greatest uncertainties in assessing future global sea-level change stem from a poor understanding of ice sheet dynamics and ice sheet vulnerability to oceanic and atmospheric warming. Disintegration of the WAIS (West Antarctic Ice Sheet) alone would contribute 3-5 m to global sea-level rise, making WAIS a focus of scientific concern due to its potential susceptibility to internal or ocean-driven instability. The overall WISSARD project will test the overarching hypothesis that active water drainage connects various subglacial environments and exerts major control on ice sheet flow, geochemistry, metabolic and phylogenetic diversity, and biogeochemical transformations. <br/><br/>BROADER IMPACTS: Societal Relevance: Global warming, melting of ice sheets and consequential sea-level rise are of high societal relevance. Science Resource Development: After a 9-year hiatus WISSARD will provide the US-science community with a renewed capability to access and study sub-ice sheet environments. Developing this technological infrastructure will benefit the broader science community and assets will be accessible for future use through the NSF-OPP drilling contractor. Furthermore, these projects will pioneer an approach implementing recommendations from the National Research Council committee on Principles of Environmental Stewardship for the Exploration and Study of Subglacial Environments (2007). Education and Outreach (E/O): These activities are grouped into four categories: i) increasing student participation in polar research by fully integrating them in our research programs; ii) introducing new investigators to the polar sciences by incorporating promising young investigators in our programs, iii) promotion of K-12 teaching and learning programs by incorporating various teachers and NSTA programs, and iv) reaching a larger public audience through such venues as popular science magazines, museum based activities and videography and documentary films. In summary, WISSARD will promote scientific exploration of Antarctica by conveying to the public the excitement of accessing and studying what may be some of the last unexplored aquatic environments on Earth, and which represent a potential analogue for extraterrestrial life habitats on Europa and Mars.
Meltwater lakes that sit on top of Antarctica's floating ice shelves have likely contributed to the dramatic changes seen in Antarctica's glacial ice cover over the past two decades. In 2002, the 1,600-square-kilometer Larsen B Ice Shelf located on the Eastern side of the Antarctic Peninsula, for example, broke into thousands of small icebergs, which subsequently floated away as a result of the formation of more than 2,000 meltwater lakes on its surface over the prior decade. Our research project addresses the reasons why surface lakes form on Antarctic ice shelves and how these surface lakes subsequently contribute to the forces that may contribute to ice-shelf breakup like that of the Larsen B. Our project focuses primarily on making precise global positioning system (GPS) measurements of ice-shelf bending in response to the filling and draining of a surface lake on the McMurdo Ice Shelf. The observed vertical displacements (on the order of tens of centimeters) in response to lake filling will be used to calibrate and test computer simulation models that predict the response of ice shelves to surface lakes more generally and in a variety of future climate conditions. Our project will make hourly measurements of both vertical ice-shelf movements (using GPS surveying instruments) and of temperature and sunlight conditions (that drive melting) around a surface lake located close to the McMurdo Station airfield. Following this initial data-gathering effort, computer simulations and other more theoretical analysis will be undertaken to determine the suitability of the chosen McMurdo Ice Shelf surface lake as a field-laboratory for continued study. Ultimately, the research will contribute to understanding of the glaciological processes that link climate change to rising sea level. A successful outcome of the research will allow glaciologists to better assess the processes that promote or erode the influence Antarctic ice shelves have in controlling the transfer of ice from the interior of Antarctica into the ocean. The project will undertake two outreach activities: (1) web-posting of a field-activity journal and (2) establishing an open-access glaciological teaching and outreach web-sharing site for the International Glaciological Society. The proposed project seeks to experimentally verify a theory of ice-shelf instability proposed to explain the explosive break-up of Larsen B Ice Shelf in 2002. This theory holds that the filling and draining of supraglacial lakes on floating ice shelves induces sufficient flexure stress within the ice to (a) induce upward/downward propagating fractures originating at the base/surface of the ice shelf that (b) dissect the ice shelf into fragments that tend to have widths less than about half the ice thickness. The significance of narrow widths is that they promote capsize of the ice-shelf fragments during the break-up process. This capsize releases large amounts of gravitational potential energy (comparable to thousands of kilotons of TNT for the Larsen B Ice Shelf) thereby promoting explosiveness of the Larsen B event. The observational motivation for experimentally verifying the surface-lake mechanism for ice-shelf breakup is based on the fact that >2,000 surface lakes developed on the Larsen B Ice Shelf in the decade prior to its break up, and that these lakes were observed (via satellite imagery) to drain in a coordinated fashion during the day prior to the initiation of the break up. The field-observation component of the project will focus on a supraglacial lake on the McMurdo Ice Shelf where there is persistent summer season surface melting. The lake will be studied during a single provisional field season to determine whether grooming of surrounding surface streams and shorelines with heavy construction equipment will allow surface water to be manually encouraged to fill the lake. If successfully encouraged to develop, the McMurdo Ice Shelf surface lake will allow measurements of key ice-shelf flexure and stress variables needed to develop the theory of ice-shelf surface lakes without having to access the much more logistically demanding surface lakes of ice-shelves located elsewhere in Antarctica. Data to be gathered during the 6-week provisional field season include: energy- and water-balance parameters determining how the surface lake grows and fills, and various global positioning system measurements of the vertical bending of the ice sheet in response to the changing meltwater load contained within the surface lake. These data will be used to (1) constrain a computer model of viscoelastic flexure and possible fracture of the ice shelf in response to the increasing load of meltwater in the lake, and (2) determine whether continued study of the incipient surface-meltwater lake features on the McMurdo Ice Shelf provides a promising avenue for constraining the more-general behavior of surface meltwater lakes on other ice shelves located in warmer parts of Antarctica. Computer models constrained by the observational data obtained from the field project will inform energy- and water-balance models of ice shelves in general, and allow more accurate forecasts of changing ice-shelf conditions surrounding the inland ice of Antarctica. The project will create the first-ever ground-based observations useful for spawning the development of models capable of predicting viscoelastic and fracture behavior of ice shelves in response to supraglacial lake evolution, including slow changes due to energy balance effects, as well as fast changes due to filling and draining.
Waddington/1246045 This award supports a project to investigate the onset and growth of folds and other disturbances seen in the stratigraphic layers of polar ice sheets. The intellectual merit of the work is that it will lead to a better understanding of the grain-scale processes that control the development of these stratigraphic features in the ice and will help answer questions such as what processes can initiate such disturbances. Snow is deposited on polar ice sheets in layers that are generally flat, with thicknesses that vary slowly along the layers. However, ice cores and ice-penetrating radar show that in some cases, after conversion to ice, and following lengthy burial, the layers can become folded, develop pinch-and-swell structures (boudinage), and be sheared by ice flow, at scales ranging from centimeters to hundreds of meters. The processes causing these disturbances are still poorly understood. Disturbances appear to develop first at the ice-crystal scale, then cascade up to larger scales with continuing ice flow and strain. Crystal-scale processes causing distortions of cm-scale layers will be modeled using Elle, a microstructure-modeling package, and constrained by fabric thin-sections and grain-elongation measurements from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet divide ice-core. A full-stress continuum anisotropic ice-flow model coupled to an ice-fabric evolution model will be used to study bulk flow of anisotropic ice, to understand evolution and growth of flow disturbances on the meter and larger scale. Results from this study will assist in future ice-core site selection, and interpretation of stratigraphy in ice cores and radar, and will provide improved descriptions of rheology and stratigraphy for ice-sheet flow models.The broader impacts are that it will bring greater understanding to ice dynamics responsible for stratigraphic disturbance. This information is valuable to constrain depth-age relationships in ice cores for paleoclimate study. This will allow researchers to put current climate change in a more accurate context. This project will provide three years of support for a graduate student as well as support and research experience for an undergraduate research assistant; this will contribute to development of talent needed to address important future questions in glaciology and climate change. The research will be communicated to the public through outreach events and results from the study will be disseminated through public and professional meetings as well as journal publications. The project does not require field work in Antarctica.
Like no other region on Earth, the northern Antarctic Peninsula represents a spectacular natural laboratory of climate change and provides the opportunity to study the record of past climate and ecological shifts alongside the present-day changes in one of the most rapidly warming regions on Earth. This award supports the cryospheric and oceano-graphic components of an integrated multi-disciplinary program to address these rapid and fundamental changes now taking place in Antarctic Peninsula (AP). By making use of a marine research platform (the RV NB Palmer and on-board helicopters) and additional logistical support from the Argentine Antarctic program, the project will bring glaciologists, oceanographers, marine geologists and biologists together, working collaboratively to address fundamentally interdisciplinary questions regarding climate change. The project will include gathering a new, high-resolution paleoclimate record from the Bruce Plateau of Graham Land, and using it to compare Holocene- and possibly glacial-epoch climate to the modern period; investigating the stability of the remaining Larsen Ice Shelf and rapid post-breakup glacier response ? in particular, the roles of surface melt and ice-ocean interactions in the speed-up and retreat; observing the contribution of, and response of, oceanographic systems to ice shelf disintegration and ice-glacier interactions. Helicopter support on board will allow access to a wide range of glacial and geological areas of interest adjacent to the Larsen embayment. At these locations, long-term in situ glacial monitoring, isostatic uplift, and ice flow GPS sites will be established, and high-resolution ice core records will be obtained using previously tested lightweight drilling equipment. Long-term monitoring of deep water outflow will, for the first time, be integrated into changes in ice shelf extent and thickness, bottom water formation, and multi-level circulation by linking near-source observations to distal sites of concentrated outflow. The broader impacts of this international, multidisciplinary effort are that it will significantly advance our understanding of linkages amongst the earth's systems in the Polar Regions, and are proposed with international participation (UK, Spain, Belgium, Germany and Argentina) and interdisciplinary engagement in the true spirit of the International Polar Year (IPY). It will also provide a means of engaging and educating the public in virtually all aspects of polar science and the effects of ongoing climate change. The research team has a long record of involving undergraduates in research, educating high-performing graduate students, and providing innovative and engaging outreach products to the K-12 education and public media forums. Moreover, forging the new links both in science and international Antarctic programs will provide a continuing legacy, beyond IPY, of improved understanding and cooperation in Antarctica.
This project will investigate the marine component of the Totten Glacier and Moscow University Ice Shelf, East Antarctica. This system is of critical importance because it drains one-eighth of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet and contains a volume equivalent to nearly 7 meters of potential sea level rise, greater than the entire West Antarctic Ice Sheet. This nearly completely unexplored region is the single largest and least understood marine glacial system that is potentially unstable. Despite intense scrutiny of marine based systems in the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, little is known about the Totten Glacier system. This study will add substantially to the meager oceanographic and marine geology and geophysics data available in this region, and will significantly advance understanding of this poorly understood glacial system and its potentially sensitive response to environmental change. Independent, space-based platforms indicate accelerating mass loss of the Totten system. Recent aerogeophysical surveys of the Aurora Subglacial Basin, which contains the deepest ice in Antarctica and drains into the Totten system, have provided the subglacial context for measured surface changes and show that the Totten Glacier has been the most significant drainage pathway for at least two previous ice flow regimes. However, the offshore context is far less understood. Limited physical oceanographic data from the nearby shelf/slope break indicate the presence of Modified Circumpolar Deep Water within a thick bottom layer at the mouth of a trough with apparent access to Totten Glacier, suggesting the possibility of sub-glacial bottom inflow of relatively warm water, a process considered to be responsible for West Antarctic Ice Sheet grounding line retreat. This project will conduct a ship-based marine geologic and geophysical survey of the region, combined with a physical oceanographic study, in order to evaluate both the recent and longer-term behavior of the glacial system and its relationship to the adjacent oceanographic system. This endeavor will complement studies of other Antarctic ice shelves, oceanographic studies near the Antarctic Peninsula, and ongoing development of ice sheet and other ocean models.
This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). The West Antarctic Ice Sheet is believed to be vulnerable to climate change as it is grounded below sea level, is drained by rapidly flowing ice streams and is fringed by floating ice shelves subject to melting by incursions of relatively warm Antarctic circumpolar water. Currently, the most rapidly thinning glaciers in Antarctica occur in the Amundsen and Bellingshausen Sea sectors. This study seeks to place the present day observations into a longer-term geological context over a broad scale by high-resolution swath bathymetric mapping of continental shelf sea floor features that indicate past ice presence and behavior. Gaps in existing survey coverage of glacial lineations and troughs indicating ice flow direction and paleo-grounding zone wedges over the Ross, Amundsen and Bellingshausen Sea sectors are targeted. The surveys will be conducted as part of the 2010 Icebreaker Oden science opportunity and will take advantage of the vessel?s state-of-the-art swath mapping system.<br/><br/>Broader impacts:<br/>This activity will supplement and complement more focused regional studies by US, Swedish, UK, French, Japanese and Polish collaborators also sailing on the Oden. The PI will compile bathymetric data to be acquired by the Oden and other ships in the region over the duration of the project into the existing bathymetric data base. The compiled data set will be made publically available through the NSF founded Antarctic Multibeam Bathymetry and Geophysical Data Synthesis (AMBS) site. It will also be integrated into the GEBCO International Bathymetric Chart of the Southern Ocean (IBCSO) and so significantly improve the basis for ship navigation in the Pacific sector of the Southern Ocean. Undergraduate students will be involved in the research under supervision of the PI via the Lamont summer internship program. The PI is a young investigator and this will be his first NSF grant as a PI.
This project aims to identify which portions of the glacial cover in the Antarctic Peninsula are losing mass to the ocean. This is an important issue to resolve because the Antarctic Peninsula is warming at a faster rate than any other region across the earth. Even though glaciers across the Antarctic Peninsula are small, compared to the continental ice sheet, defining how rapidly they respond to both ocean and atmospheric temperature rise is critical. It is critical because it informs us about the exact mechanisms which regulate ice flow and melting into the ocean. For instance, after the break- up of the Larsen Ice Shelf in 2002 many glaciers began to flow rapidly into the sea. Measuring how much ice was involved is difficult and depends upon accurate estimates of volume and area. One way to increase the accuracy of our estimates is to measure how fast the Earth's crust is rebounding or bouncing back, after the ice has been removed. This rebound effect can be measured with very precise techniques using instruments locked into ice free bedrock surrounding the area of interest. These instruments are monitored by a set of positioning satellites (the Global Positioning System or GPS) in a continuous fashion. Of course the movement of the Earth's bedrock relates not only to the immediate response but also the longer term rate that reflects the long vanished ice masses that once covered the entire Antarctic Peninsula?at the time of the last glaciation. These rebound measurements can, therefore, also tell us about the amount of ice which covered the Antarctic Peninsula thousands of years ago. Glacial isostatic rebound is one of the complicating factors in allowing us to understand how much the larger ice sheets are losing today, something that can be estimated by satellite techniques but only within large errors when the isostatic (rebound) correction is unknown. The research proposed consists of maintaining a set of six rebound stations until the year 2016, allowing for a longer time series and thus more accurate estimates of immediate elastic and longer term rebound effects. It also involves the establishment of two additional GPS stations that will focus on constraining the "bull's eye" of rebound suggested by measurements over the past two years. In addition, several more geologic data points will be collected that will help to reconstruct the position of the ice sheet margin during its recession from the full ice sheet of the last glacial maximum. These will be based upon the coring of marine sediment sequences now recognized to have been deposited along the margins of retreating ice sheets and outlets. Precise dating of the ice margin along with the new and improved rebound data will help to constrain past ice sheet configurations and refine geophysical models related to the nature of post glacial rebound. Data management will be under the auspices of the UNAVCO polar geophysical network or POLENET and will be publically available at the time of station installation. This project is a small scale extension of the ongoing LARsen Ice Shelf, Antarctica Project (LARISSA), an IPY (International Polar Year)-funded interdisciplinary study aimed at understanding earth system connections related to the Larsen Ice Shelf and the northern Antarctic Peninsula.
Alley/1542778 This award supports a three-year effort to study physical properties of the South Pole ice core to help provide a high-time-resolution history of trace gases and other paleoclimatic indicators from an especially cold site with high preservation potential for important signals. The physical-properties studies include visual inspection to identify any flow disturbances and for identifying annual layers and other features, and combined bubble, grain and ice crystal orientation studies to better understand the processes occurring in the ice that affect the climate record and the ice-sheet behavior. Success of these efforts will provide necessary support for dating and quality control to others studying the ice core, as well as determining the climate history of the site, flow state, and key physical processes in ice. The intellectual merits of the project include better understanding of physical processes, paleoclimatic reconstruction, dating of the ice, and quality assurance. Visual inspection of the core will help identify evidence of flow disturbances that would disrupt the integrity of the climate record and will reveal volcanic horizons and other features of interest. Annual layer counting will be conducted to help estimate accumulation rate over time as recorded in the ice core. Measurements of C-axis fabric, grain size and shapes, and bubble characteristics will provide information about processes occurring in the ice sheet as well as the history of ice flow, current flow state and how the ice is flowing and how easily it will flow in the future. Analysis of this data in conjunction with microCT data will help to reveal grain-scale processes. The broader impacts of the project include support for an early-career, post-doctoral researcher, and improved paleoclimatic data of societal relevance. The results will be incorporated into the active program of education and outreach which have educated many students, members of the public and policy makers through the sharing of information and educational materials about all aspects of ice core science and paleoclimate.
Marine paleoclimate archives show that approximately one million years ago Earth's climate transitioned from 40,000-year glacial /interglacial cycles to 100,000-year cycles. This award will support a study designed to map the distribution of one million year-old ice in the Allan Hills Blue Ice Area, Antarctica using state-of-the-art ground penetrating radar. The Allen Hills was demonstrated to contain a continuous record of the past 400,000 years and is also the collection location of the oldest ice samples (990,000 years) yet recovered. The maps resulting from this study will be used to select an ice-core drilling site at which a million-plus year-old continuous record of climate could be recovered. Ice cores contain the only kind of record to directly capture atmospheric gases and aerosols, but no ice-core-based climate record yet extends continuously beyond the past 800,000 years. A million-plus year-old record will allow better understanding of the major mechanisms and driving forces of natural climate variability in a world with 100,000-year glacial/interglacial cycles. The project will support two early career scientists in collaboration with senior scientists, as well as a graduate student, and will conduct outreach to schools and the public. The Allan Hills Blue Ice Area preserves a continuous climate record covering the last 400,000 years along an established glaciological flow line. Two kilometers to the east of this flow line, the oldest ice on Earth (~1 million years old) is found only 120 m below the surface. Meteorites collected in the area are reported to be as old as 1.8 million years, suggesting still older ice may be present. Combined, these data strongly suggest that the Allen Hills area could contain a continuous, well-resolved environmental record, spanning at least the last million years. As such, this area has been selected as an upcoming target for the new Intermediate Depth Ice Core Drill by the US Ice Core Working Group. This drill will recover a higher-quality core than previous dry drilling attempts. This project will conduct a comprehensive ground penetrating radar survey aimed at tracing the signature of the million-year-old ice layer throughout the region. The resulting map will be used to select a drill site from which an ice core containing the million-plus year-old continuous climate record will be collected. The proposed activities are a necessary precursor to the collection of the oldest known ice on Earth. Ice cores provide a robust reconstruction of past climate and extending this record beyond the 800,000 years currently available will open new opportunities to study the climate system. The data collected will also be used to investigate the bedrock and ice flow parameters favorable to the preservation of old ice, which may allow targeted investigation of other blue ice areas in Antarctica.
Pettit/0948247<br/><br/>This award supports a project to study of the relationship between fabric and climate for the ice near the EPICA Dome C ice core site, East Antarctica. The work builds on an ongoing study at Siple Dome, West Antarctica and takes advantage of collaborations with European scientists and access to the Dome C borehole to make measurements of sonic velocity. The intellectual merit of the project is that a better understanding of how fabric preserves past climate information can improve models of the ice flow near ice core sites and the interpreta-tion of ice core data (particularly paleo-accumulation), and it may allow us to extract climate information directly from fabric data. In addition, because ice deformation is sensitive to the orientation of crystals, ice flow patterns are sensitive to the fabric. Thus, variations in the fabric between glacial and interglacial ice can affect how ice deforms and how fabric in the ice sheet develops. The Dome C site is particularly important for answering these questions, because the ice core shows evidence of eight glacial cycles, not just one as found at Siple Dome or the Greenland sites. The research will improve the understanding of the proxy relationship between sonic-velocity data and fabric; will help to model the pattern of ice flow caused by the fabric variation between glacial and interglacial time periods using these data, existing ice core chemistry and existing and new thin section data, improved surface strain data, and borehole deformation data; and will help to better understand the positive feedback mechanism that enhances fabric (and corresponding rheological) variability through a focused study of several climate transitions and the associated fabric changes. Borehole compressional-wave sonic-velocity will be measured which will complement the sonic-velocity data that already exist for boreholes in Greenland and West Antarctica. These will be the first sonic-velocity measurements in East Antarctica and the first measurements that extend for more than a single glacial/interglacial transition. The project will ultimately contribute to better interpretation of ice core records for both paleoclimate studies and for ice flow history, both of which connect to the broader questions of the role of ice in the climate system. This project will also strengthen the international collaborations within the paleoclimate and ice sheet modeling communities. This project will partially support a graduate student at the University of Alaska Fairbanks who is currently working on modeling ice including anisotropy and it will support the growth of a young scientist through a Post-Doc position. This Post Doc will gain important experience collaborating with the EPICA scientists in studying the climate-fabric relationship. Erin Pettit is active in field-science education for high school students, under-graduates, teachers, and adults. This project will help support the continued development and enhancement of Girls on Ice a program that encourages young women to explore science and the natural world.
1142010/Talghader This award supports a project to combine the expertise of both glaciologists and optical engineers to develop polarization- preserving optical scattering techniques for borehole tools to identify changes in high-resolution crystal structure (fabric) and dust content of glacial ice. The intellectual merit of this work is that the fabric and impurity content of the ice contain details on climate, volcanic activity and ice flow history. Such fabric measurements are currently taken by slicing an ice core into sections after it has started to depressurize which is an extremely time-intensive process that damages the core and does not always preserve the properties of ice in its in-situ state. In addition the ice core usually must be consumed in order to measure the components of the dust. The fabric measurements of this study utilize the concept that singly-scattered light in ice preserves most of its polarization when it is backscattered once from bubbles or dust; therefore, changes to the polarization of singly-backscattered light must originate with the birefringence. Measurements based on this concept will enable this program to obtain continuous records of fabric and correlate them to chronology and dust content. The project will also develop advanced borehole instruments to replace current logging tools, which require optical sources, detectors and power cables to be submerged in borehole fluid and lowered into the ice sheet at temperatures of -50oC. The use of telecommunications fiber will allow all sources and detectors to remain at the surface and enable low-noise signal processing techniques such as lock-in amplification that increase signal integrity and reduce needed power. Further, fiber logging systems would be much smaller and more flexible than current tools and capable of navigating most boreholes without a heavy winch. In order to assess fabric in situ and test fiber-optic borehole tools, field measurements will be made at WAIS Divide and a deep log will also be made at Siple Dome, both in West Antarctica. If successful, the broader impacts of the proposed research would include the development of new analytical methods and lightweight logging tools for ice drilling research that can operate in boreholes drilled in ice. Eventually the work could result in the development of better prehistoric records of glacier flow, atmospheric particulates, precipitation, and climate forcing. The project encompasses a broad base of theoretical, experimental, and design work, which makes it ideal for training graduate students and advanced undergraduates. Collaboration with schools and classroom teachers will help bring aspects of optics, climate, and polar science to an existing Middle School curriculum.
This award supports a program of ground-based geophysical measurements to map in detail the spatial variations of ice flow, accumulation rate, internal layering and ice thickness at the sites which have been identified as promising locations to drill the next deep ice core in West Antarctica. The main investigative tools are a high- and low-frequency ice penetrating radar to image the topography of internal layers and the bed, repeat GPS surveys to calculate the present day surface velocity field, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) interferometry to calculate the regional velocity field, and short firn cores to calculate present day accumulation rates. The data which will be collected will be used to as input to time-dependent ice flow and temperature models that will predict depth variation of age, layer thickness, and temperature. As well as yielding an estimate of expected conditions before drilling, the mismatch between the model prediction and data eventually recovered from the core will help infer thinning and climate (accumulation and temperature) histories for the region. The Western Divide, between the Ross Sea Embayment and the Amundsen Sea, has been identified as the region which best satisfies the criteria which have been established for a deep drilling site. Preliminary site selection using airborne geophysical methods has identified several potential drill sites on the Western Divide where the climate record should be best preserved. This work will contribute in a major way to the final site selection for the next deep ice core in West Antarctica.
The proposed work will investigate changes in the compositional variation of glacial tills over time across two concentric sequences of Pleistocene moraines located adjacent to the heads of East Antarctic outlet glaciers in the Transantarctic Mountains (TAM). The chronologic framework for this work will be generated from cosmogenic exposure ages of boulders on prominent morainal ridges. The PIs hypothesize that variations in till composition may indicate a change in ice flow direction or a change in the composition of the original source area, while ages of the moraines provide a long-term terrestrial perspective on ice sheet dynamics. Both results are vital for modeling experiments that aim to reconstruct the East Antarctic Ice Sheet and assess its role in the global climate system and its potential impact on global sea level rise. The variation of till compositions through time also allows for a more accurate interpretation of sediment cores from the Ross Sea and the Southern Ocean. Additionally, till exposures at the head of some East Antarctic outlet glaciers have been shown to contain subglacial material derived from East Antarctic bedrock, providing a window through the ice to view East Antarctica?s inaccessible bedrock. Till samples will be collected from two well-preserved sequences of moraine crests at Mt. Howe (head of Scott Glacier) and Mt. Achernar (between Beardmore and Nimrod Glaciers). Each size fraction in glacial till provides potentially valuable information, and the PIs will measure the petrography of the clast and sand fractions, quantitative X-ray diffraction on the crushed <2mm fraction, elemental abundance of the silt/clay fraction, and U/Pb of detrital zircons in the sand fraction. Data collection will rely on established methods previously used in this region and the PIs will also explore new methods to assess their efficacy. On the same moraines crests sampled for provenance studies, the PIs will sample for cosmogenic surface exposure analyses to provide a chronologic framework at the sites for provenance changes through time. <br/><br/>Broader Impact <br/>The proposed research involves graduate and undergraduate training in a diverse array of laboratory methods. Students and PIs will be make presentations to community and campus groups, as well as conduct interviews with local news outlets. The proposed work also establishes a new, potentially long-term, collaboration between scientists at IUPUI and LDEO and brings a new PI (Kaplan) into the field of Antarctic Earth Sciences.
Intellectual Merit: The PIs proposed a provenance study of glacial deposits in the Ross Embayment that will provide a broad scale geochronologic survey of detrital minerals in till to help characterize bedrock beneath the East Antarctic ice sheet and constrain Antarctica?s glacial history. This project capitalizes on previous investments in field sampling. Analytical tools applied to single mineral grains extracted from existing collections of glacial till will generate ?fingerprints? of East Antarctic outlet glaciers and West Antarctic till to refine paleo-ice flow models for the Ross Embayment during the last glacial maximum, older records from ANDRILL cores, and to assess IRD sources in the Southern Ocean. New provenance tracers will include a suite of geochronological methods that together provide greater insights into the orogenic and erosional history the region. This project will include U/Pb of detrital zircons, (U-Th)/He on a subset of the U/Pb dated zircons, as well as Ar-Ar of detrital hornblende, mica and feldspars. Broader impacts: This research will train one M.S. student at IUPUI, a Ph.D. student at Columbia, and several undergraduates at both institutions. Graduate students involved in the project will be involved in mentoring undergraduate researchers. Incorporation of research discoveries will be brought into the classroom by providing concrete examples and exercises at the appropriate level. Licht and Columbia graduate student E. Pierce are developing outreach projects with local secondary school teachers to investigate the provenance of glacial materials in their local areas. The research will have broad applicability to many fields.
Bell/0636883<br/><br/>This award support a project to study the role that subglacial water plays in the overall stability of major ice sheets. An estimated 22,000 km3 of water is currently stored within Antarctica's subglacial lakes. Movement of this water occurs through a complex and largely inferred drainage system in both East and West Antarctica. Geomorphic evidence for the catastrophic drainage of subglacial lakes documents repeated events. These major flood events appear to have drained the largest subglacial lakes situated in the relatively stable interior of the East Antarctic ice sheet. Emerging evidence suggests there is a close connection between significant subglacial lakes and the onset of the Recovery Ice Stream one of the largest in East Antarctica. Our preliminary analysis of the Recovery Lakes region, East Antarctica suggests a direct linkage between lakes and streaming ice flow, specifically the 800 km long Recovery Ice Stream and its tributaries. Located just upslope of the Recovery Ice Stream, the Recovery Lakes Region is composed of 3 well-defined lakes and a fourth, ambiguous, 'lake-like' feature. While other large lakes have a localized impact on ice surface slope, the Recovery Lakes Region lakes are coincident with an abrupt regional change in the ice sheet surface slope. Satellite imagery demonstrates that the downslope margin of this lake area contains distinct flow strips and crevasses: both indicative of increasing ice velocities. The discovery of a series of large lakes coincident with the onset of rapid ice flow in East Antarctica clearly links subglacial lakes and ice sheet dynamics for the first time. The evidence linking the onset of streaming in the Recovery Drainage Ice Stream to the series of large subglacial lakes raises the fundamental question: How can subglacial lakes trigger the onset of ice streaming? We advance two possible mechanisms: (i) Subglacial lakes can produce accelerated ice flow through the drainage of lake water beneath the ice sheet downslope of the lakes. (ii) Subglacial lakes can produce accelerated ice flow accelerated ice flow by modifying the basal thermal gradient via basal accretion over the lakes so when the ice sheet regrounds basal melting dominates. To evaluate the contribution of lake water and the changing basal thermal gradient, we propose an integrated program incorporating satellite imagery analysis, a series of reconnaissance aerogeophysical profiles over the Recovery Lake Region and the installation of continuous GPS sites over the Recovery Lakes. This analysis and new data will enable us (1) to produce a velocity field over the Recovery Lakes Region, (2) to map the ice thickness changes over the lakes due to acceleration triggered thinning, basal melting and freezing, (3) determine the depth and possible the tectonic origin of the Recovery Lakes and (4) determine the stability of these lakes over time. These basic data sets will enable us to advance our understanding of how subglacial lakes trigger the onset of streaming. The intellectual merit of this project is that it will be the first systematic analysis of ice streams triggering the onset of ice streams. This work has profound implications for the modeling of ice sheet behavior in the future, the geologic record of abrupt climate changes and the longevity of subglacial lakes. The broader impacts of the project are programs that will reach students of all ages through undergraduates involved in the research, formal presentations in teacher education programs and ongoing public outreach efforts at major science museums. Subglacial Antarctic lake environments are emerging as a premier, major frontier for exploration during the IPY 2007-2009.
1043528/Alley This award supports a project to complete the physical-properties studies of the WAIS Divide deep ice core, now being collected in West Antarctica. Ongoing work funded by NSF, under a grant that is ending, has produced visible stratigraphy dating, inspection of the core for any melt layers, volcanic horizons, flow disturbances or other features, analysis of bubble number-densities allowing reconstruction of a two-millennial cooling trend in the latter Holocene at the site, characterization of other bubble characteristics (size, etc.), density studies, characterization of snow-surface changes at the site, preliminary c-axis studies, and more. The current proposal seeks to complete this work, once the rest of the core is recovered. The intellectual merit of the proposed activity starts with quality assurance for the core, by visual detection of any evidence of flow disturbances that would disrupt the integrity of the climate record. Inspection will also reveal any melt layers, volcanic horizons, etc. Annual-layer dating will be conducted; thus far, the visible strata have not been as useful as some other indicators, but the possibility (based on experience in Greenland) that visible examination will allow detection of thinner annual layers than other techniques motivates the effort. Bubble number-density will be used to reconstruct temperature changes through the rest of the bubbly part of the core, providing important paleoclimatic data for earlier parts of the Holocene. Coordinated interpretation of c-axis fabrics, grain sizes and shapes, and bubble characteristics will be used to learn about the history of ice flow, the processes of ice flow, and the softness of the ice for additional deformation. Analysis of surface data already collected will improve interpretation of the layering of the core. It is possible that the annual-layer dating will not be sufficiently successful, and that the core will be undisturbed with no melt layers; if so, then these efforts will not yield major publications. However, success of the other efforts should produce improved understanding of the history and stability of the ice sheet, and key processes controlling these, and the quality assurance provided by the visual examination is important for the project as a whole. The broader impacts of the proposed activity include education of a PhD student and multiple undergraduates, and research opportunities for a junior faculty member at an undergraduate institution. The proposed activity will help support an especially vigorous education and outreach effort providing undergraduate instruction for over 1000 students per year, reaching thousands more citizens and many policymakers, and preparing educational materials used at many levels.
Catania 0739654<br/><br/>This award supports a project to study the Amundsen Sea drainage system and improve understanding of the impact of recent glaciological changes as an aid to predicting how this region will change in the future. The intellectual merit of the work is that the Amundsen Sea drainage system has been a recent focus for glaciological research because of rapid changes occurring there as a result of grounding line retreat. The work will focus on the regions of flow transition and will map the internal stratigraphy of the ice sheet across the Thwaites Glacier shear margins and use the age and geometry of radar-detected internal layers to interpret ice flow history. Thwaites Glacier (one of the main pathways for ice drainage in the region) has recently widened and may continue to do so in the near future. Thwaites Glacier may be particularly vulnerable to grounding line retreat because it lacks a well-defined subglacial channel. The subglacial environment exerts strong control on ice flow and flow history will be mapped in the context of bed topography and bed reflectivity. The plan is to use existing ice-penetrating radar data and coordinate with planned upcoming surveys to reduce logistical costs. The work proposed here will take three years to complete but no additional fieldwork in Antarctica is required. More detailed ground-based geophysical (radar and seismic) experiments will be needed at key locations to achieve our overall goal and the work proposed here will aid in identifying those regions. The broader impacts of the project are that it will initiate a new collaboration among radar communities within the US including those that are on the forefront of radar systems engineering and those that are actively involved in radar-derived internal layer and bed analysis. The project will also provide support for a postdoctoral researcher and a graduate student, thus giving them exposure to a variety of methodologies and scientific issues. Finally, there are plans to further develop the "Wired Antarctica" website designed by Ginny Catania with the help of a student-teacher. This will allow for the existing lesson plans to be updated to Texas State standards so that they can be used more broadly within state middle and high schools.
Pettit/0636795<br/><br/>This award supports a project to constrain the accumulation rate, thickness, and temperature history for Siple Dome using a vertical velocity profile that includes the effects of an evolving fabric on deformation through time, to invert the depth-profile of fabric determined from sonic velocity measurements and grain size observed in thin sections in Siple Dome for the surface temperature and accumulation rate changes in the past, focusing on the apparent abrupt climate change events at 22ka and 15ka. The intellectual merit of the work is that it will extract past climate information from a number of physical properties of the deep ice using a coupled fabric evolution and ice-sheet flow model. The focus will be on the deep ice-age ice at Siple Dome, where the ice-core record shows puzzling signals and where modeling results imply intriguing deformation patterns. The method will also be applied to the records from Byrd Station and Taylor Dome to ultimately form a basis for future analysis of the West Antarctic Divide core. The broader impacts of the project are that it will ultimately contribute to our understanding of the effects of anisotropy on ice flow dynamics in West Antarctica. It will contribute to our understanding of the connection between ice flow and the paleoclimate record in ice cores, particularly with respect to the relationship between the chemical record and ice deformation. And it will contribute a new ice-flow model that includes the effects of anisotropy and fabric evolution. The project will also contribute to advancing the career of a new, young, female investigator and will support a couple of graduate students. Finally, the work will encouraging diversity in the physical sciences by directly helping to support the Girls on Ice a program that encourages young women to explore science and the natural world.
Whillans, Wilson, Goad OPP 9527571 Abstract This award supports a project to initiate Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements for rock motions in South Victoria Land and vicinity. The results will be used to test some of the leading models for ice-sheet change and tectonism, in particular, whether the continent is rebounding due to reduced ice load from East or West Antarctica and whether there is tectonic motion due to Terror Rift or uplift of the Transantarctic Mountains. A modest program to measure ice motion will be conducted as well. The motive is to test models for ice flow in the Allan Hills meteorite concentration region and to determine whether small glaciers in the Dry Valleys are thickening or thinning. Monuments will be set into rock and ice and GPS receivers used to determine their locations. Repeats in later years will determine motion. Field activities will involve close cooperation with the USGS.
This award supports a project to investigate fabrics with ground-based radar measurements near the Ross/Amundsen Sea ice-flow divide where a deep ice core will be drilled. The alignment of crystals in ice (crystal-orientation fabric) has an important effect on ice deformation. As ice deforms, anisotropic fabrics are produced, which, in turn, influence further deformation. Measurement of ice fabric variations can help reveal the deformation history of the ice and indicate how the ice will deform in the future. Ice cores provide opportunities to determine a vertical fabric profile, but horizontal variations of fabrics remain unknown. Remote sensing with ice-penetrating radar is the only way to do that over large areas. Preliminary results show that well-established polarimetric methods can detect the degree of horizontal anisotropy of fabrics and their orientation, even when they are nearly vertical-symmetric fabrics. In conjunction with ice deformation history, our first mapping of ice fabrics will contribute to modeling ice flow near the future ice core site. The project will train a graduate student and provide research experiences for two under graduate students both in field and laboratory. The project will contribute to ongoing West Antarctic ice sheet program efforts to better understand the impact of the ice sheet on global sea level rise. This project also supports an international collaboration between US and Japanese scientists.
This award, provided by the Antarctic Geology and Geophysics Program of the Office of Polar Programs, supports a marine geological investigation of the Amundsen Sea region toward a better understanding of the deglaciation history of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS). The WAIS may be inherently unstable because it is the last marine-based ice sheet in the world. Unlike other embayments in West Antarctica, major ice streams draining into the Amundsen Sea from the interior of the WAIS lack buttressing ice shelves. Mass balance data for the distal portions of these ice streams (Pine Island and Thwaites glaciers) appear to be in balance or may be becoming negative. Because both ice streams have beds that slope downward toward the center of the ice sheet, grounding-line recession resulting from either continued thinning or sea-level rise could trigger irreversible grounding-line retreat, leading to ice-sheet disintegration and consequent global sea-level rise. The limited marine geological and geophysical data available from the Amundsen Sea suggest that grounded ice or an ice shelf occupied the inner Amundsen Sea embayment until perhaps as recently as 1000 to 2000 years ago, and this ice may have retreated rapidly in historic time. This project, a study of the marine geology and geophysics of the Amundsen Sea continental shelf from 100 degrees W to 130 degrees W, is designed to address the Amundsen Sea part of WAIS Science Plan Priority Goal H2: "What is the deglaciation history in the eastern Ross, the Bellingshausen and Amundsen Seas?" This project will examine bathymetric data of the Amundsen Sea continental shelf to determine the positions of former ice-steam channels, and to aid in choosing sites for sediment coring. Single-channel seismic reflection studies will be conducted in order to determine sediment-thickness patterns, to aid in choice of coring sites, and to locate and identify morphologic features indicative of former grounded ice (e.g., moraines, scours, flutes, striations, till wedges and deltas, etc.). Coring will be concentrated along former ice flow-lines. Core samples will be analyzed in the laboratory for sedimentology, to determine whether of not basal tills are present (indicating former grounded ice and its former extent), and for calcareous and siliceous microfossils. The chronology of grounding-line and ice-shelf retreat from a presumed Last Glacial Maximum position near the shelf break will be established using accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) carbon-14 dates of acid-insoluble particulate organic carbon. This project will share ship time in the Amundsen Sea with a physical oceanographic project. Marine geologic data and samples collected will be integrated with findings of other investigators toward developing a comprehensive interpretation of the history of the WAIS.
This award supports a two year program to produce a new reconstruction of ice extent, elevation and thickness at the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) for the South Shetland Islands in the Antarctic Peninsula. One field season on Livingston Island will involve mapping the areal extent and geomorphology of glacial drift and determining the elevation and distribution of trimlines. In addition, ice flow direction will be determined by mapping and measuring the elevation of erosional features and the position of erratic boulders. One of the main goals of this work will be to demonstrate whether or not organic material suitable for radiocarbon dating exists in the South Shetland Islands. If so, the age of the deposits will be determined by measuring the carbon-14 age of plant, algal, and fungal remains preserved at the base of the deposits, as well as incorporated marine shells, seal skin and other organic material that may be found in raised beach deposits. Another goal will be to concentrate on the development of relative sea-level curves from 2-3 key areas to show whether or not construction of such curves for the South Shetland Islands is possible. The new reconstruction of ice extent, elevation and thickness at the Last Glacial Maximum for the South Shetland Islands which will be produced by this work will be useful in studies of ocean circulation and ice dynamics in the vicinity of the Drake Passage. It will also contribute to the production of a deglacial chronology which will afford important clues about the mechanisms controlling ice retreat in this region of the southern hemisphere.
This award supports development of a new modeling approach that will extract information about past snow accumulation rate in both space and time in the vicinity of the future ice core near the Ross-Amundsen divide of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS). Internal layers, detected by ice-penetrating radar, are isochrones, or former ice-sheet surfaces that have been buried by subsequent snowfall, and distorted by ice flow. Extensive ice-penetrating radar data are available over the inland portion of the WAIS. Layers have been dated back to 17,000 years before present. The radar data add the spatial dimension to the temporally resolved accumulation record from ice cores. Accumulation rates are traditionally derived from the depths of young, shallow layers, corrected for strain using a local 1-D ice-flow model. Older, deeper layers have been more affected by flow over large horizontal distances. However, it is these deeper layers that contain information on longer-term climate patterns. This project will use geophysical inverse theory and a 2.5D flow-band ice-flow forward model comprising ice-surface and layer-evolution modules, to extract robust transient accumulation patterns by assimilating multiple deeper, more-deformed layers that have previously been intractable. Histories of divide migration, geothermal flux, and surface evolution will also be produced. The grant will support the PhD research of a female graduate student who is a mentor to female socio-economically disadvantaged high-school students interested in science, through the University of Washington Women's Center. It will also provide a research<br/>experience for an undergraduate student, and contribute to a freshman seminar on Scientific Research.
This award supports a project to perform ice radar studies of bedrock topography and internal layers along the second US ITASE traverse corridor extending from Taylor Dome to South Pole on the inland side of the Transantarctic Mountains. The radar will provide information immediately available in the field on ice thickness and internal layer structure to help in the selection of core sites as the traverse proceeds. These data will also be useful in locating additional radar and surface studies to characterize the drainage divides between major outlet glaciers flowing through the mountains and possible changes in them through time. Information from the radar on bed roughness and basal reflectivity, together with images of internal layer deformation will enable us to study changes in the character of ice flow as tributaries merge to trunk flow and velocities increase. Areas where wind scour and sublimation have brought old ice close to the surface will be investigated. Based on our results from the first ITASE traverse, it is also likely that there will be findings of opportunity, phenomena we have not anticipated that are revealed by the radar as the result of a discovery-based traverse. The interdisciplinary science goals of US ITASE are designed to accommodate a variety of interactive research programs and data collected are available to a broad scientific community. US ITASE also supports an extensive program of public outreach and the education and training of future scientists will be central to all activities of this proposal. St. Olaf College is an undergraduate liberal arts institution that emphasizes student participation in scientific research. This award supports two undergraduate students as well as a research associate and a graduate student who will be part of the US ITASE field team.
This award supports a two-year collaborative effort to more fully understand the climatic history and physical properties of the Siple Dome, Antarctica deep ice core, to develop a new paleoclimatic technique based on bubble number-density, and to improve the U.S. capability to analyze ice-core physical properties rapidly and accurately. The Siple Dome ice core from West Antarctica is yielding important paleoclimatic insights, but has proven more difficult than some cores to interpret owing to the large iceflow effects on the paleoclimatic record. Paleoclimatic indicators that do not rely on iceflow corrections thus would be of value. The bubble number-density offers one such indicator, because it preserves information on mean temperature and accumulation rate during the transformation of firn to ice. We will focus on thin-section characteristics that are important to ice flow and the interpretation of the ice-core history, such as c-axis fabrics, and will use indicators that we have been developing, such as the correlation between grain elongation and the c-axis orientation, to gain additional information. To achieve this quickly and accurately, and to prepare for future projects, we propose to upgrade the automatic caxis- fabric analyzer that Wilen has built and housed at the National Ice Core Laboratory. The intellectual merit of the proposed activity includes improved estimates of paleoclimatic conditions in an important region, improved understanding of a new paleoclimatic research tool, greater understanding of ice flow and of linkages to physical properties, and a better instrument for further U.S. research in ice-core physical properties at the National Ice Core Laboratory. The broader impacts resulting from the proposed activity include providing better understanding of abrupt climate change and of ice flow, which eventually should help policy-makers, as well as an improved U.S. capability to analyze ice cores. The proposed research will assist the studies of two promising young scientists. Results of the research will be incorporated into courses and public outreach reaching at least hundreds or thousands of people per year.
This award is for support for a three year project to measure the vertical strain rate as a function of depth at two sites on Siple Dome Antarctica. Ice flow near a divide such as Siple Dome is unique in that it is predominantly vertical. As a consequence, the component of ice deformation in the vertical direction, the "vertical strain rate" is dominant. Its measurement is therefore important for the calibration of dynamic models of ice flow. Two different, relatively new, high resolution systems for its measurement in hot water drilled holes will be employed. The ice flow model resulting from the measurements and flow law determination will be used to interpret the shapes of radar internal layering in terms of the dynamic history and accumulation patterns of Siple Dome over the past 10,000 years. The resulting improved model will also be applied to the interpretation of annual layers thicknesses (to produce annual accumulation rates) and borehole temperatures from the ice core to be drilled at Siple Dome during the 1997/98 field season. The results should permit an improved analysis of the ice core, relative to what was possible at recent coring sites in central Greenland. This is a collaborative project between the University of Alaska, the University of California, San Diego and the University of Washington.
This award supports a project to characterize the morphology, ice motion velocity and mass balance of Lambert Glacier, Antarctica using state-of-the-art remote sensing and GIS techniques. Lambert Glacier is the largest ice stream in the world. Because of its size, it plays a fundamental role in the study of glacial dynamics and mass budget in response to present and future climate changes. Along with the bedrock topography and ice thickness data derived from airborne radio echo soundings and snow accumulation data compiled from ground-based measurements, the dynamic behavior and mass balance of the Lambert glacial basin in a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) environment will be examined. Specific objectives are to: (1) Extract two-dimensional ice velocity field over the entire Lambert glacial basin using speckle matching and differential interferometric SAR (InSAR) techniques, and produce a full coverage of radar coherence map over the drainage basin. With the ice velocity data, calculate the strain rate field from the initiation areas of the ice stream onto the Amery Ice Shelf; (2) Derive high-resolution digital elevation model (DEM) over the Lambert glacial drainage basin using SAR stereo, differential interferometric SAR, and GLAS laser altimetry techniques. Based on the DEM, extract ice divides and ice flow directions, delineate the snow catchment basin, and calculate the balance deformation velocity and the basal shear stress; (3) Interpolate traverse ice thickness data collected by Australian and Russian airborne radio echo sounding surveys into a regular grid, and derive a regular grid of bedrock topography in combination with the DEM; (4) Integrate newly derived ice velocity and ice thickness data as well as snow accumulation rate data compiled from previous ground-based measurements into a geographic information system (GIS), and calculate the mass flux through the ice stream at the grounding lines and net mass balance throughout the drainage basin. With these new measurements and calculations derived from advanced remote sensing techniques, we will be able to improve our understanding of dynamic behavior and current mass balance status of the Lambert glacial basin, gain an insight on the relationship between ice mass change and the variation in regional and global climate at decadal scale, and provide an evaluation on the issue of whether the Lambert glacier basin is subject to surging in the context of future climate change.
A 'horizontal ice core' was collected at the Mount Moulton blue ice field in West Antarctica and preliminary analyses of the sample material suggests that a ~500 kyr climate record is preserved in the ice at this site. This award will contribute to the understanding of the Mt Moulton record by assessing the potential for ice-flow induced deformation of the stratigraphic profile. In addition, this award builds on the recognition of blue ice areas as archives of long climate records by conducting reconnaissance studies for a potential horizontal ice core location at the Allan Hills in East Antarctica. The objectives of this project are to contribute to the glaciological understanding of blue ice areas in Antarctica. Ice flow conditions at the Mt Moulton blue ice field will be studied to assess the possibility that the stratigraphic record has been deformed and reconnaissance of a potential horizontal ice core site in the Allan Hills blue ice field will also be accomplished. Short field programs will be undertaken at each location to collect relevant measurements of ice flow and subglacial topography, and to conduct sampling of material that will enable the preservation of the stratigraphic sequences to be assessed.
9909518 Raymond This award provides support for three years of funding to study the scar-like features that are well-known from the Siple Coast ice stream system in West Antarctica. The objective of the proposed field work is to identify the nature of several as yet unvisited scars, and to further characterize previously-identified margin scars that are poorly dated. Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) and Radarsat image data will be used to locate and map the features, and place them in a regional context. The study seeks to describe the recent history of the Siple Coast glaciers and investigate the causes of their changes in configuration. The main investigative tools will be low-frequency RES and high-frequency ground penetrating radar (GPR) profiles to image internal layers and measure depths to buried crevasses or disrupted layering. This, coupled with accumulation rates determined from shallow ice cores, will provide "shutdown" ages for the margin features. The field data will provide input parameters for simple models of ice flow for margins and inter-ice stream ridges during active shearing and after shutdown. This modeling will estimate the initial elevation of a scar at the time of shut down and the corresponding ice stream elevation at that time.
This award, provided by the Antarctic Geology and Geophysics Program of the Office of Polar Programs, supports a collaborative research project between the University of California-Santa Cruz, the University of Texas-Austin, and the Ohio State University to investigate sediment samples recovered from the base of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS). West Antarctica is a remote polar region but its dynamic ice sheet, complicated tectonic history, and the sedimentary record of Cenozoic glaciation make it of particular interest to glaciologists and geologists. Glaciologists are concerned with the possibility of significant near-future changes in mass balance of the WAIS that may contribute to the ongoing global sea level rise. Geologists are investigating in West Antarctica the fundamental process of continental extension and are constructing models of a polar marine depositional system using this region as the prime modern example. The subglacial part of West Antarctica has escaped direct geological investigations and all that is known about subglacial geology comes from geophysical remote sensing. Recent acquisitions of new, high-quality geophysical data have led to generation of several enticing models. For instance, subglacial presence of high-magnitude, short-wavelength magnetic anomalies has prompted the proposition that there may be voluminous (>1 million cubic km), Late Cenozoic flood basalts beneath the ice sheet. Another important model suggests that the patterns of fast ice streaming (~100 meters/year) and slow ice motion (~1-10 meters/year) observed within the WAIS are controlled by subglacial distribution of sedimentary basins and resistant bedrock. These new geophysics-based models should be tested with direct observations because they are of such great importance to our understanding of the West Antarctic tectonic history and to our ability to predict the future behavior of the WAIS.<br/><br/>This research is designed as a pilot study to provide new geologic data, which may help to test the recent models inferred from geophysical observations. The new constraints on subglacial geology and on its interactions with the WAIS will be obtained through petrological and geochemical analyses of basal and subglacial sediments collected previously from seven localities. This investigation will take place in the context of testing the following three hypotheses: (A) the provenance of bedrock clasts in the glacial sediment samples is primarily from West Antarctica, (B) some clasts and muds from the West Antarctic subglacial sediments have been derived by erosion of the (inferred) subglacial Late Cenozoic flood basalts, and (C) the sediments underlying the West Antarctic ice streams were generated by glacial erosion of preglacial sedimentary basins but the sediments recovered from beneath the slow-moving parts of the WAIS were produced through erosion of resistant bedrock.<br/><br/>The individual hypotheses will be tested by collecting data on: (A) petrology, geochemistry and age of granitoid clasts, (B) petrology, geochemistry and age of basaltic clasts combined with mud geochemistry, and (C) clay mineralogy/paragenesis combined with textural maturity of sand and silt grains. The results of these tests will help evaluate the interesting possibility that subglacial geology may have first-order control on the patterns of fast ice flow within the WAIS. The new data will also help to determine whether the subglacial portion of West Antarctica is a Late Cenozoic flood basalt province. By combining glaciological and geological aspects of West Antarctic research the proposed collaborative project will add to the ongoing U.S. effort to create a multidisciplinary understanding of this polar region.
9909469 Scambos This award provides support for three years of funding to study the scar-like features that are well-known from the Siple Coast ice stream system in West Antarctica. The objective of the proposed field work is to identify the nature of several as yet unvisited scars, and to further characterize previously-identified margin scars that are poorly dated. Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) and Radarsat image data will be used to locate and map the features, and place them in a regional context. The study seeks to describe the recent history of the Siple Coast glaciers and investigate the causes of their changes in configuration. The main investigative tools will be low-frequency RES and high-frequency ground penetrating radar (GPR) profiles to image internal layers and measure depths to buried crevasses or disrupted layering. This, coupled with accumulation rates determined from shallow ice cores, will provide "shutdown" ages for the margin features. The field data will provide input parameters for simple models of ice flow for margins and inter-ice stream ridges during active shearing and after shutdown. This modeling will estimate the initial elevation of a scar at the time of shut down and the corresponding ice stream elevation at that time.
Dunbar/Kyle OPP 9527373 Zielinski OPP 9527824 Abstract The Antarctic ice sheets are ideal places to preserve a record the volcanic ash (tephra) layers and chemical aerosol signatures of volcanic eruptions. This record, which is present both in areas of bare blue ice, as well as in deep ice cores, consists of a combination of local eruptions, as well as eruptions from more distant volcanic sources from which glassy shards can be chemically fingerprinted and related to a source volcano. Field work carried out during the 1994/1995 Antarctic field season in the Allan Hills area of Antarctica, and subsequent microbeam chemical analysis and 40Ar/39Ar dating has shown that tephra layers in deep Antarctic ice preserve a coherent, systematic stratigraphy, and can be successfully mapped, dated, chemically fingerprinted and tied to source volcanoes. The combination of chemical fingerprinting of glass shards, and chemical analysis of volcanic aerosols associated with ash layers will allow establishment of a high-resolution chronology of local and distant volcanism that can help understand patterns of significant explosive volcanisms and atmospheric loading and climactic effects associated with volcanic eruptions. Correlation of individual tephra layers, or sets of layers, in blue ice areas, which have been identified in many places the Transantarctic Mountains, will allow the geometry of ice flow in these areas to be better understood and will provide a useful basis for interpreting ice core records.
9318121 Anandakrishnan This award is for support for a three year project to test the hypothesis that a controlling parameter of fast ice-stream flow is the hydrologic state of discrete zones of high friction ("sticky spots") at the bed of the ice streams. Previous work has discovered an enormous difference in basal microearthquake activity between fast-flowing ice stream B and ice stream C, which stopped flowing within the last 200 years. It is hypothesized that the basal water system is lubricating the sticky spots under the fast ice stream and thus inhibiting microearthquake activity, and at the same time permitting fast ice flow. This experiment is intended to collect a continuous record of wide-bandwidth microearthquake data from a variety of sites, on the ice streams, in the transition zone, and on the inland ice. ***
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.