{"dp_type": "Project", "free_text": "Neon"}
[{"awards": "1744562 Loose, Brice", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-180 -71,-179.9 -71,-179.8 -71,-179.7 -71,-179.6 -71,-179.5 -71,-179.4 -71,-179.3 -71,-179.2 -71,-179.1 -71,-179 -71,-179 -71.7,-179 -72.4,-179 -73.1,-179 -73.8,-179 -74.5,-179 -75.2,-179 -75.9,-179 -76.6,-179 -77.3,-179 -78,-179.1 -78,-179.2 -78,-179.3 -78,-179.4 -78,-179.5 -78,-179.6 -78,-179.7 -78,-179.8 -78,-179.9 -78,180 -78,177.5 -78,175 -78,172.5 -78,170 -78,167.5 -78,165 -78,162.5 -78,160 -78,157.5 -78,155 -78,155 -77.3,155 -76.6,155 -75.9,155 -75.2,155 -74.5,155 -73.8,155 -73.1,155 -72.4,155 -71.7,155 -71,157.5 -71,160 -71,162.5 -71,165 -71,167.5 -71,170 -71,172.5 -71,175 -71,177.5 -71,-180 -71))", "dataset_titles": "Expedition Data of NBP1704; NBP1704 Expedition Data; PIPERS Noble Gases", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "200329", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "MGDS", "science_program": null, "title": "Expedition Data of NBP1704", "url": "https://www.marine-geo.org/tools/entry/NBP1704"}, {"dataset_uid": "001363", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "NBP1704 Expedition Data", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/NBP1704"}, {"dataset_uid": "601609", "doi": "10.15784/601609", "keywords": "Antarctica; Chemistry:fluid; Chemistry:Fluid; Mass Spectrometer; NBP1704; Noble Gas; Oceans; Ross Sea; R/v Nathaniel B. Palmer", "people": "Loose, Brice", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "PIPERS Noble Gases", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601609"}], "date_created": "Wed, 14 Sep 2022 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Near the Antarctic coast, polynyas are open-water regions where extreme heat loss in winter causes seawater to become cold, salty, and dense enough to sink into the deep sea. The formation of this dense water has regional and global importance because it influences the ocean current system. Polynya processes are also tied to the amount of sea ice formed, ocean heat lost to atmosphere, and atmospheric CO2 absorbed by the Southern Ocean. Unfortunately, the ocean-atmosphere interactions that influence the deep ocean water properties are difficult to observe directly during the Antarctic winter. This project will combine field measurements and laboratory experiments to investigate whether differences in the concentration of noble gasses (helium, neon, argon, xenon, and krypton) dissolved in ocean waters can be linked to environmental conditions at the time of their formation. If so, noble gas concentrations could provide insight into the mechanisms controlling shelf and bottom-water properties, and be used to reconstruct past climate conditions. Project results will contribute to the Southern Ocean Observing System (SOOS) theme of The Future and Consequences of Carbon Uptake in the Southern Ocean. The project will also train undergraduate and graduate students in environmental monitoring, and earth and ocean sciences methods. \u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eUnderstanding the causal links between Antarctic coastal processes and changes in the deep ocean system requires study of winter polynya processes. The winter period of intense ocean heat loss and sea ice production impacts two important Antarctic water masses: High-Salinity Shelf Water (HSSW), and Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW), which then influence the strength of the ocean solubility pump and meridional overturning circulation. To better characterize how sea ice cover, ocean-atmosphere exchange, brine rejection, and glacial melt influence the physical properties of AABW and HSSW, this project will analyze samples and data collected from two Ross Sea polynyas during the 2017 PIPERS winter cruise. Gas concentrations will be measured in seawater samples collected by a CTD rosette, from an underwater mass-spectrometer, and from a benchtop Membrane Inlet Mass Spectrometer. Noble gas concentrations will reveal the ocean-atmosphere (dis)equilibrium that exists at the time that surface water is transformed into HSSW and AABW, and provide a fingerprint of past conditions. In addition, nitrogen (N2), oxygen (O2), argon, and CO2 concentration will be used to determine the net metabolic balance, and to evaluate the efficacy of N2 as an alternative to O2 as glacial meltwater tracer. Laboratory experiments will determine the gas partitioning ratios during sea ice formation. Findings will be synthesized with PIPERS and related projects, and so provide an integrated view of the role of the wintertime Antarctic coastal system on deep water composition.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThis award reflects NSF\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": -179.0, "geometry": "POINT(168 -74.5)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Helium Isotopes; R/V NBP; DISSOLVED GASES; POLYNYAS; Ross Sea", "locations": "Ross Sea", "north": -71.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Integrated System Science; Antarctic Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Loose, Brice", "platforms": "WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e VESSELS \u003e SURFACE \u003e R/V NBP", "repo": "MGDS", "repositories": "MGDS; R2R; USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -78.0, "title": "Measuring Dissolved Gases to Reveal the Processes that Drive the Solubility Pump and Determine Gas Concentration in Antarctic Bottom Water", "uid": "p0010376", "west": 155.0}, {"awards": "1744771 Balco, Gregory", "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": "5 million year transient Antarctic ice sheet model run with \"desensitized\" marine ice margin instabilities; 5 million year transient Antarctic ice sheet model run with \"sensitized\" marine ice margin instabilities", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601602", "doi": "10.15784/601602", "keywords": "Antarctica; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Sheet Modeling; Marine Ice Margin Instability; Model Output", "people": "Halberstadt, Anna Ruth; Balco, Gregory; Buchband, Hannah", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "5 million year transient Antarctic ice sheet model run with \"sensitized\" marine ice margin instabilities", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601602"}, {"dataset_uid": "601601", "doi": "10.15784/601601", "keywords": "Antarctica; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Sheet Modeling; Marine Ice Margin Instability; Model Output", "people": "Balco, Gregory; Halberstadt, Anna Ruth; Buchband, Hannah", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "5 million year transient Antarctic ice sheet model run with \"desensitized\" marine ice margin instabilities", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601601"}], "date_created": "Tue, 21 Jun 2022 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "The purpose of this project is to use geological data that record past changes in the Antarctic ice sheets to test computer models for ice sheet change. The geologic data mainly consist of dated glacial deposits that are preserved above the level of the present ice sheet, and range in age from thousands to millions of years old. These provide information about the size, thickness, and rate of change of the ice sheets during past times when the ice sheets were larger than present. In addition, some of these data are from below the present ice surface and therefore also provide some information about past warm periods when ice sheets were most likely smaller than present. The primary purpose of the computer model is to predict future ice sheet changes, but because significant changes in the size of ice sheets are slow and likely occur over hundreds of years or longer, the only way to determine whether these models are accurate is to test their ability to reproduce past ice sheet changes. The primary purpose of this project is to carry out such a test. The research team will compile relevant geologic data, in some cases generate new data by dating additional deposits, and develop methods and software to compare data to model simulations. In addition, this project will (i) contribute to building and sustaining U.S. science capacity through postdoctoral training in geochronology, ice sheet modeling, and data science, and (ii) improve public access to geologic data and model simulations relevant to ice sheet change through online database and website development. \u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eTechnical aspects of this project are primarily focused on the field of cosmogenic-nuclide exposure-dating, which is a method that relies on the production of rare stable and radio-nuclides by cosmic-ray interactions with rocks and minerals exposed at the Earth\u0027s surface. Because the advance and retreat of ice sheets results in alternating cosmic-ray exposure and shielding of underlying bedrock and surficial deposits, this technique is commonly used to date and reconstruct past ice sheet changes. First, this project will contribute to compiling and systematizing a large amount of cosmogenic-nuclide exposure age data collected in Antarctica during the past three decades. Second, it will generate additional geochemical data needed to improve the extent and usefulness of measurements of stable cosmogenic nuclides, cosmogenic neon-21 in particular, that are useful for constraining ice-sheet behavior on million-year timescales. Third, it will develop a computational framework for comparison of the geologic data set with existing numerical model simulations of Antarctic ice sheet change during the past several million years, with particular emphasis on model simulations of past warm periods, for example the middle Pliocene ca. 3-3.3 million years ago, during which the Antarctic ice sheets are hypothesized to have been substantially smaller than present. Fourth, guided by the results of this comparison, it will generate new model simulations aimed at improving agreement between model simulations and geologic data, as well as diagnosing which processes or parameterizations in the models are or are not well constrained by the data.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThis 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": "BERYLLIUM-10 ANALYSIS; AMD; ICE SHEETS; GLACIATION; Amd/Us; LABORATORY; USA/NSF; Antarctica; ALUMINUM-26 ANALYSIS; USAP-DC", "locations": "Antarctica", "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences; Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Balco, Gregory", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e PHYSICAL MODELS \u003e LABORATORY", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "Synoptic Evaluation of Long-Term Antarctic Ice Sheet Model Simulations using a Continent-Wide Database of Cosmogenic-Nuclide Measurements", "uid": "p0010342", "west": -180.0}, {"awards": "1341658 Mukhopadhyay, Sujoy", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-116.45 -84.786,-116.443 -84.786,-116.436 -84.786,-116.429 -84.786,-116.422 -84.786,-116.415 -84.786,-116.408 -84.786,-116.401 -84.786,-116.394 -84.786,-116.387 -84.786,-116.38 -84.786,-116.38 -84.7864,-116.38 -84.7868,-116.38 -84.7872,-116.38 -84.7876,-116.38 -84.788,-116.38 -84.7884,-116.38 -84.7888,-116.38 -84.7892,-116.38 -84.7896,-116.38 -84.79,-116.387 -84.79,-116.394 -84.79,-116.401 -84.79,-116.408 -84.79,-116.415 -84.79,-116.422 -84.79,-116.429 -84.79,-116.436 -84.79,-116.443 -84.79,-116.45 -84.79,-116.45 -84.7896,-116.45 -84.7892,-116.45 -84.7888,-116.45 -84.7884,-116.45 -84.788,-116.45 -84.7876,-116.45 -84.7872,-116.45 -84.7868,-116.45 -84.7864,-116.45 -84.786))", "dataset_titles": "Ohio Range Subglacial rock core cosmogenic nuclide data", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601351", "doi": "10.15784/601351", "keywords": "Aluminum-26; Antarctica; Beryllium-10; Cosmogenic Dating; Cosmogenic Radionuclides; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Sheet Fluctuations; Ohio Range; Rocks", "people": "Mukhopadhyay, Sujoy", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Ohio Range Subglacial rock core cosmogenic nuclide data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601351"}], "date_created": "Sun, 28 Jun 2020 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Modeling fluctuations in the extent of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) over time is a principal goal of the glaciological community. These models will provide a critical basis for predictions of future sea level change, and therefore this work great societal relevance. The mid-Pliocene time interval is of particular interest, as it is the most recent period in which global temperatures were warmer and atmospheric CO2 concentrations may have been higher than current levels. However, observational constraints on fluctuations in the WAIS older than the last glacial maximum are rare.\r\nTo test model predictions,sub-glacial rock cores were obtained from the Ohio Range along the Transantarctic Mountains near the present-day WAIS divide using a Winkie drill. Rock cores were recovered from 10 to ~30 m under the present-day ice levels. At the Ohio Range, the glacial to interglacial variations in ice sheet levels is ~120 meters. So 30 meters represent a significant fraction of the variation over the course of an ice age.\r\nHigh concentrations of the cosmic ray produced isotopes were detected in the rock cores, indicating extensive periods of ice-free exposure to cosmic irradiation during the last 2 million years. Modeling of the data suggest that bedrock surfaces at the Ohio Range that are currently covered by 30 meters of ice experienced more exposure than ice cover, especially in the Pleistocene. An ice sheet model prediction for the Ohio Range subglacial sample sites however, significantly underestimates exposure in the last 2 million years, and over-predicts ice cover in the Pleistocene. To adjust for the higher amounts of exposure we observe in our samples, the ice sheet model simulations require more frequent and/or longer-lasting WAIS ice drawdowns. This has important implications for future sea-level change as the model maybe under-predicting the magnitude of sea-level contributions from WAIS during the ice-age cycles. Improving the accuracy of the ice sheet models through model-data comparison should remain a prime objective in the face of a warming planet as understanding WAIS behavior is going to be key for predicting and planning for the effects of sea-level change. The project helped support and train a graduate student in climate research related to Antarctica, cosmogenic nuclide analyses and led to a Master\u2019s Thesis. The project also provide partial support to a postdoctoral scholar obtaining cosmogenic neon measurements and for training and mentoring the graduate student\u0027s cosmogenic neon measurements and interpretation. The project results were communicated to the scientific community at conferences and through seminars. The broader community was engaged through the University of California Davis\u0027s Picnic Day celebration, an annual open house that attracts over 70,000 people to the campus, and through classroom visit at a local elementary school.", "east": -116.38, "geometry": "POINT(-116.415 -84.788)", "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e CORERS \u003e ROCK CORERS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e SPECTROMETERS/RADIOMETERS \u003e AMS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e CHEMICAL METERS/ANALYZERS \u003e GAS CHROMATOGRAPHS", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Ice Sheet Fluctuations; ALUMINUM-26 ANALYSIS; BERYLLIUM-10 ANALYSIS; Cosmogenic Radionuclides; USAP-DC; FIELD INVESTIGATION; AMD; Ohio Range; GLACIER THICKNESS/ICE SHEET THICKNESS; ICE SHEETS; LABORATORY", "locations": "Ohio Range", "north": -84.786, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Mukhopadhyay, Sujoy", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION; OTHER \u003e PHYSICAL MODELS \u003e LABORATORY", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -84.79, "title": "Constraining Plio-Pleistocene West Antarctic Ice Sheet Behavior from the Ohio Range and Scott Glacier", "uid": "p0010113", "west": -116.45}, {"awards": "1341680 Sletten, Ronald", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((160 -77,160.2 -77,160.4 -77,160.6 -77,160.8 -77,161 -77,161.2 -77,161.4 -77,161.6 -77,161.8 -77,162 -77,162 -77.1,162 -77.2,162 -77.3,162 -77.4,162 -77.5,162 -77.6,162 -77.7,162 -77.8,162 -77.9,162 -78,161.8 -78,161.6 -78,161.4 -78,161.2 -78,161 -78,160.8 -78,160.6 -78,160.4 -78,160.2 -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": "Chemical and physical characterization of Beacon Valley and Victoria Valley permafrost cores", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601247", "doi": "10.15784/601247", "keywords": "Aluminum-26; Antarctica; Be-10; Cosmogenic; Dry Valleys; Geochemistry; Permafrost", "people": "Sletten, Ronald S.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Chemical and physical characterization of Beacon Valley and Victoria Valley permafrost cores", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601247"}], "date_created": "Thu, 21 Nov 2019 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Intellectual Merit: This project will yield new information on the long term Antarctic climate and landscape evolution from measurements of cosmogenic nuclides in quartz sand from two unique permafrost cores collected in Beacon Valley, Antarctica. The two cores have already been drilled in ice-cemented, sand-rich permafrost at 5.5 and 30.6 meters depth, and are currently in cold storage at the University of Washington. The cores are believed to record the monotonic accumulation of sand that has been blown into lower Beacon Valley and inflated the surface over time. The rate of accumulation and any hiatus in the accumulation are believed to reflect in part the advance and retreat of the Taylor Glacier. Preliminary measurements of cosmogenically-produced beryllium (10Be) and aluminum (26Al) in quartz sand in the 5.5-meter depth core reveal that it has been accreting at a rate of 2.5 meters/Myr for the past million years. Furthermore, prior to that time, lower Beacon Valley was most likely covered (shielded from the atmosphere thereby having no or very low production of cosmogenic nuclides in quartz) by Taylor Glacier from 1 to 3.5 Myr BP. These preliminary measurements also suggest that the 30.6 meter core may provide a record of over 10 million years. The emphasis is the full characterization of the core and analysis of cosmogenic nuclides (including cosmogenic neon) in the 30.6 meter permafrost core to develop a burial history of the sands and potentially a record the waxing and waning of the Taylor Glacier. This will allow new tests of our current understanding of surface dynamics and climate history in the McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDV) based on the dated stratigraphy of eolian sand that has been accumulating and inflating the surface for millions of years. This is a new process of surface inflation whose extent has not been well documented, and holds the potential to develop a continuous history of surface burial and glacial expansion. This project will provide a new proxy for understanding the climatic history of the Dry Valleys and will test models for the evolution of permafrost in Beacon Valley.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eBroader impacts: \u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThe landscape history of the McMurdo Dry Valleys is important because geological deposits there comprise the richest terrestrial record available from Antarctica. By testing the current age model for these deposits, we will improve understanding of Antarctica?s role in global climate change. This project will train one graduate and one undergraduate student in geochemistry, geochronology, and glacial and periglacial geology. They will participate substantively in the research and are expected to develop their own original ideas. Results from this work will be incorporated into undergraduate and graduate teaching curricula, will be published in the peer reviewed literature, and the data will be made public.", "east": 162.0, "geometry": "POINT(161 -77.5)", "instruments": "NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "USAP-DC; NOT APPLICABLE; BOREHOLES; Antarctica", "locations": "Antarctica", "north": -77.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Instrumentation and Support; Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Sletten, Ronald S.; Stone, John", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e NOT APPLICABLE \u003e NOT APPLICABLE", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -78.0, "title": "Ancient landscape-active Surfaces: Periglacial Hyperinflation in soils of Beacon Valley, Antarctica", "uid": "p0010068", "west": 160.0}, {"awards": "1443472 Brook, Edward; 1443464 Sowers, Todd; 1443710 Severinghaus, Jeffrey", "bounds_geometry": "POINT(0 -90)", "dataset_titles": "South Pole CH4 data for termination; South Pole Ice Core Isotopes of N2 and Ar; South Pole ice core (SPC14) discrete methane data; South Pole ice core total air content; South Pole (SPICECORE) 15N, 18O, O2/N2 and Ar/N2; SP19 Gas Chronology", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601231", "doi": "10.15784/601231", "keywords": "Air Content; Antarctica; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Core Data; Ice Core Records; Snow/ice; Snow/Ice; South Pole; SPICEcore", "people": "Sowers, Todd A.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "SPICEcore", "title": "South Pole ice core total air content", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601231"}, {"dataset_uid": "601152", "doi": "10.15784/601152", "keywords": "Antarctica; Antarctic Ice Sheet; Chemistry:gas; Chemistry:Gas; Chemistry:ice; Chemistry:Ice; Delta 18O; Dole Effect; Firn Thickness; Gas Isotopes; Geochemistry; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Gravitational Settling; Ice; Ice Core Chemistry; Ice Core Data; Ice Core Gas Records; Ice Core Records; Inert Gases; Nitrogen; Nitrogen Isotopes; Oxygen; Oxygen Isotope; Snow/ice; Snow/Ice; South Pole; SPICEcore", "people": "Severinghaus, Jeffrey P.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "SPICEcore", "title": "South Pole (SPICECORE) 15N, 18O, O2/N2 and Ar/N2", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601152"}, {"dataset_uid": "601230", "doi": "10.15784/601230", "keywords": "Antarctica; Atmospheric CH4; Ch4; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Core; Ice Core Chemistry; Ice Core Data; Methane; Methane Concentration; Snow/ice; Snow/Ice; South Pole; SPICEcore", "people": "Sowers, Todd A.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "SPICEcore", "title": "South Pole CH4 data for termination", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601230"}, {"dataset_uid": "601517", "doi": "10.15784/601517", "keywords": "Antarctica; Argon; Argon Isotopes; Firn; Firn Temperature Gradient; Firn Thickness; Gas Isotopes; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Core; Ice Core Records; Nitrogen; Nitrogen Isotopes; South Pole; SPICEcore", "people": "Severinghaus, Jeffrey P.; Morgan, Jacob", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "SPICEcore", "title": "South Pole Ice Core Isotopes of N2 and Ar", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601517"}, {"dataset_uid": "601381", "doi": "10.15784/601381", "keywords": "Antarctica; Ch4; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Core Data; Ice Core Records; Methane; South Pole; SPICEcore", "people": "Kreutz, Karl; Buizert, Christo; Brook, Edward J.; Epifanio, Jenna; Severinghaus, Jeffrey P.; Kennedy, Joshua A.; Ferris, David G.; Kalk, Michael; Hood, Ekaterina; Fudge, T. J.; Osterberg, Erich; Winski, Dominic A.; Steig, Eric J.; Kahle, Emma; Sowers, Todd A.; Edwards, Jon S.; Aydin, Murat", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "SPICEcore", "title": "South Pole ice core (SPC14) discrete methane data", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601381"}, {"dataset_uid": "601380", "doi": "10.15784/601380", "keywords": "Antarctica; Ch4; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Core Records; Ice Core Stratigraphy; Methane; South Pole; SPICEcore", "people": "Epifanio, Jenna", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "SPICEcore", "title": "SP19 Gas Chronology", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601380"}], "date_created": "Sat, 02 Feb 2019 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Gases trapped in ice cores have revealed astonishing things about the greenhouse gas composition of the past atmosphere, including the fact that carbon dioxide concentrations never rose above 300 parts per million during the last 800,000 years. This places today\u0027s concentration of 400 parts per million in stark contrast. Furthermore, these gas records show that natural sources of greenhouse gas such as oceans and ecosystems act as amplifiers of climate change by increasing emissions of gases during warmer periods. Such amplification is expected to occur in the future, adding to the human-produced gas burden. The South Pole ice core will build upon these prior findings by expanding the suite of gases to include, for the first time, those potent trace gases that both trapped heat and depleted ozone during the past 40,000 years. The present project on inert gases and methane in the South Pole ice core will improve the dating of this crucial record, to unprecedented precision, so that the relative timing of events can be used to learn about the mechanism of trace gas production and destruction, and consequent climate change amplification. Ultimately, this information will inform predictions of future atmospheric chemical cleansing mechanisms and climate in the context of our rapidly changing atmosphere. This award also engages young people in the excitement of discovery and polar research, helping to entrain the next generations of scientists and educators. Education of graduate students, a young researcher (Buizert), and training of technicians, will add to the nation?s human resource base. \u003cbr/\u003e \u003cbr/\u003eThis award funds the construction of the gas chronology for the South Pole 1500m ice core, using measured inert gases (d15N and d40Ar--Nitrogen and Argon isotope ratios, respectively) and methane in combination with a next-generation firn densification model that treats the stochastic nature of air trapping and the role of impurities on densification. The project addresses fundamental gaps in scientific understanding that limit the accuracy of gas chronologies, specifically a poor knowledge of the controls on ice-core d15N and the possible role of layering and impurities in firn densification. These gaps will be addressed by studying the gas enclosure process in modern firn at the deep core site. The work will comprise the first-ever firn air pumping experiment that has tightly co-located measurements of firn structural properties on the core taken from the same borehole.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThe project will test the hypothesis that the lock-in horizon as defined by firn air d15N, CO2, and methane is structurally controlled by impermeable layers, which are in turn created by high-impurity content horizons in which densification is enhanced. Thermal signals will be sought using the inert gas measurements, which improve the temperature record with benefits to the firn densification modeling. Neon, argon, and oxygen will be measured in firn air and a limited number of deep core samples to test whether glacial period layering was enhanced, which could explain low observed d15N in the last glacial period. Drawing on separate volcanic and methane synchronization to well-dated ice cores to create independent ice and gas tie points, independent empirical estimates of the gas age-ice age difference will be made to check the validity of the firn densification model-inert gas approach to calculating the gas age-ice age difference. These points will also be used to test whether the anomalously low d15N seen during the last glacial period in east Antarctic ice cores is due to deep air convection in the firn, or a missing impurity dependence in the firn densification models. \u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThe increased physical understanding gained from these studies, combined with new high-precision measurements, will lead to improved accuracy of the gas chronology of the South Pole ice core, which will enhance the overall science return from this gas-oriented core. This will lead to clarification of timing of atmospheric gas variations and temperature, and aid in efforts to understand the biogeochemical feedbacks among trace gases. These feedbacks bear on the future response of the Earth System to anthropogenic forcing. Ozone-depleting substances will be measured in the South Pole ice core record, and a precise gas chronology will add value. Lastly, by seeking a better understanding of the physics of gas entrapment, the project aims to have an impact on ice-core science in general.", "east": 0.0, "geometry": "POINT(0 -90)", "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e CORERS \u003e CORING DEVICES", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "USAP-DC; AMD; LABORATORY; Antarctica; NITROGEN ISOTOPES; USA/NSF; METHANE; Amd/Us; FIELD INVESTIGATION", "locations": "Antarctica", "north": -90.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology; Antarctic Glaciology; Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Severinghaus, Jeffrey P.; Sowers, Todd A.; Brook, Edward J.", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION; OTHER \u003e PHYSICAL MODELS \u003e LABORATORY", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": "SPICEcore", "south": -90.0, "title": "Collaborative Research: Inert Gas and Methane Based Climate Records throughout the South Pole Deep Ice Core", "uid": "p0010005", "west": 0.0}, {"awards": "1143619 Severinghaus, Jeffrey", "bounds_geometry": "POINT(-112.09 -79.47)", "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Mon, 13 Jul 2015 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award supports a project to extend the study of gases in ice cores to those gases whose small molecular diameters cause them to escape rapidly from ice samples (the so-called \"fugitive gases\"). The work will employ helium, neon, argon, and oxygen measurements in the WAIS Divide ice core to better understand the mechanism of the gas close-off fractionation that occurs while air bubbles are incorporated into ice. The intellectual merit of the proposed work is that corrections for this fractionation using neon (which is constant in the atmosphere) may ultimately enable the first ice core-based atmospheric oxygen and helium records. Neon may also illuminate the mechanistic link between local insolation and oxygen used for astronomical dating of ice cores. Helium measure-ments in the deepest ~100 m of the core will also shed light on the stratigraphic integrity of the basal ice, and serve as a probe of solid earth-ice interaction at the base of the West Antarctic ice sheet. Past atmospheric oxygen records, currently unavailable prior to 1989 CE, would reveal changes in the size of the terrestrial biosphere carbon pool that accompany climate variations and place constraints on the biogeochemical feedback response to future warming. An atmospheric helium-3/helium-4 record would test the hypothesis that the solar wind (which is highly enriched in helium-3) condensed directly into Earth?s atmosphere during the collapse of the geomagnetic field that occurred 41,000 years ago, known as the Laschamp Event. Fugitive-gas samples will be taken on-site immediately after recovery of the ice core by the PI and one postdoctoral scholar, under the umbrella of an existing project to support replicate coring and borehole deepening. This work will add value to the scientific return from field work activity with little additional cost to logistical resources. The broader impacts of the work on atmospheric oxygen are that it may increase understanding of how terrestrial carbon pools and atmospheric greenhouse gas sources will respond in a feedback sense to the coming warming. Long-term atmospheric oxygen trends are also of interest for understanding biogeochemical regulatory mechanisms and the impact of atmospheric evolution on life. Helium records have value in understanding the budget of this non-renewable gas and its implications for space weather and solar activity. The project will train one graduate student and one postdoctoral scholar. The fascination of linking solid earth, cryosphere, atmosphere, and space weather will help to entrain and excite young scientists and efforts to understand the Earth as a whole interlinked system will provide fuel to outreach efforts at all ages.", "east": -112.09, "geometry": "POINT(-112.09 -79.47)", "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e SPECTROMETERS/RADIOMETERS \u003e MASS SPECTROMETERS", "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "WAIS Divide; Not provided; Tracers; FIELD INVESTIGATION; Past Biospheric Carbon Storage; LABORATORY; Fugitive Gases; Basal Processes; Neon; Helium; FIELD SURVEYS; Antarctica", "locations": "WAIS Divide; Antarctica", "north": -79.47, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Severinghaus, Jeffrey P.", "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": -79.47, "title": "Fugitive Gases (Helium, Neon, and Oxygen) in the WAIS Divide Ice Core as Tracers of Basal Processes and Past Biospheric Carbon Storage", "uid": "p0000441", "west": -112.09}, {"awards": "0233303 Jacobs, Stanley", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Mon, 09 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Major portions of the Antarctic Ice Sheet float in the surrounding ocean, at the physical and intellectual boundaries of oceanography and glaciology. These ice shelves lose mass continuously by melting into the sea, and periodically by the calving of icebergs. Those losses are compensated by the outflow of grounded ice, and by surface accumulation and basal freezing. Ice shelf sources and sinks vary on several time scales, but their wastage terms are not yet well known. Reports of substantial ice shelf retreat, regional ocean freshening and increased ice velocity and thinning are of particular concern at a time of warming ocean temperatures in waters that have access to deep glacier grounding lines.\u003cbr/\u003eThis award supports a study of the attrition of Antarctic ice shelves, using recent ocean geochemical measurements and drawing on numerical modeling and remote sensing resources. In cooperation with associates at Columbia University and the British Antarctic Survey, measurements of chlorofluorocarbon, helium, neon and oxygen isotopes will be used to infer basal melting beneath the Ross Ice Shelf, and a combination of oceanographic and altimeter data will be used to investigate the mass balance of George VI Ice Shelf. Ocean and remote sensing observations will also be used to help refine numerical models of ice cavity circulations. The objectives are to reduce uncertainties between different estimates of basal melting and freezing, evaluate regional variability, and provide an update of an earlier assessment of circumpolar net melting.\u003cbr/\u003eA better knowledge of ice shelf attrition is essential to an improved understanding of ice shelf response to climate change. Large ice shelf calving events can alter the ocean circulation and sea ice formation, and can lead to logistics problems such as those recently experienced in the Ross Sea. Broader impacts include the role of ice shelf meltwater in freshening and stabilizing the upper ocean, and in the formation of Antarctic Bottom Water, which can be traced far into the North Atlantic. To the extent that ice shelf attrition influences the flow of grounded ice, this work also has implications for ice sheet stability and sea level rise.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "Ice Sheet; Basal Melting; Ice Shelf Meltwater; Not provided; Oceanography; Ice Velocity; Glaciology; Sea Level Rise; Ice Sheet Stability; Mass; Ross Ice Sheet; Numerical Model; Basal Freezing; Ice Cavity Circulations; George VI Ice Shelf; Outflow", "locations": "Ross Ice Sheet", "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Jacobs, Stanley", "platforms": "Not provided", "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "Melting and Calving of Antarctic Ice Shelves", "uid": "p0000730", "west": null}]
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Project Title/Abstract/Map | NSF Award(s) | Date Created | PIs / Scientists | Dataset Links and Repositories | Abstract | Bounds Geometry | Geometry | Selected | Visible | |||||||
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Measuring Dissolved Gases to Reveal the Processes that Drive the Solubility Pump and Determine Gas Concentration in Antarctic Bottom Water
|
1744562 |
2022-09-14 | Loose, Brice |
|
Near the Antarctic coast, polynyas are open-water regions where extreme heat loss in winter causes seawater to become cold, salty, and dense enough to sink into the deep sea. The formation of this dense water has regional and global importance because it influences the ocean current system. Polynya processes are also tied to the amount of sea ice formed, ocean heat lost to atmosphere, and atmospheric CO2 absorbed by the Southern Ocean. Unfortunately, the ocean-atmosphere interactions that influence the deep ocean water properties are difficult to observe directly during the Antarctic winter. This project will combine field measurements and laboratory experiments to investigate whether differences in the concentration of noble gasses (helium, neon, argon, xenon, and krypton) dissolved in ocean waters can be linked to environmental conditions at the time of their formation. If so, noble gas concentrations could provide insight into the mechanisms controlling shelf and bottom-water properties, and be used to reconstruct past climate conditions. Project results will contribute to the Southern Ocean Observing System (SOOS) theme of The Future and Consequences of Carbon Uptake in the Southern Ocean. The project will also train undergraduate and graduate students in environmental monitoring, and earth and ocean sciences methods. <br/><br/>Understanding the causal links between Antarctic coastal processes and changes in the deep ocean system requires study of winter polynya processes. The winter period of intense ocean heat loss and sea ice production impacts two important Antarctic water masses: High-Salinity Shelf Water (HSSW), and Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW), which then influence the strength of the ocean solubility pump and meridional overturning circulation. To better characterize how sea ice cover, ocean-atmosphere exchange, brine rejection, and glacial melt influence the physical properties of AABW and HSSW, this project will analyze samples and data collected from two Ross Sea polynyas during the 2017 PIPERS winter cruise. Gas concentrations will be measured in seawater samples collected by a CTD rosette, from an underwater mass-spectrometer, and from a benchtop Membrane Inlet Mass Spectrometer. Noble gas concentrations will reveal the ocean-atmosphere (dis)equilibrium that exists at the time that surface water is transformed into HSSW and AABW, and provide a fingerprint of past conditions. In addition, nitrogen (N2), oxygen (O2), argon, and CO2 concentration will be used to determine the net metabolic balance, and to evaluate the efficacy of N2 as an alternative to O2 as glacial meltwater tracer. Laboratory experiments will determine the gas partitioning ratios during sea ice formation. Findings will be synthesized with PIPERS and related projects, and so provide an integrated view of the role of the wintertime Antarctic coastal system on deep water composition.<br/><br/>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. | POLYGON((-180 -71,-179.9 -71,-179.8 -71,-179.7 -71,-179.6 -71,-179.5 -71,-179.4 -71,-179.3 -71,-179.2 -71,-179.1 -71,-179 -71,-179 -71.7,-179 -72.4,-179 -73.1,-179 -73.8,-179 -74.5,-179 -75.2,-179 -75.9,-179 -76.6,-179 -77.3,-179 -78,-179.1 -78,-179.2 -78,-179.3 -78,-179.4 -78,-179.5 -78,-179.6 -78,-179.7 -78,-179.8 -78,-179.9 -78,180 -78,177.5 -78,175 -78,172.5 -78,170 -78,167.5 -78,165 -78,162.5 -78,160 -78,157.5 -78,155 -78,155 -77.3,155 -76.6,155 -75.9,155 -75.2,155 -74.5,155 -73.8,155 -73.1,155 -72.4,155 -71.7,155 -71,157.5 -71,160 -71,162.5 -71,165 -71,167.5 -71,170 -71,172.5 -71,175 -71,177.5 -71,-180 -71)) | POINT(168 -74.5) | false | false | |||||||
Synoptic Evaluation of Long-Term Antarctic Ice Sheet Model Simulations using a Continent-Wide Database of Cosmogenic-Nuclide Measurements
|
1744771 |
2022-06-21 | Balco, Gregory | The purpose of this project is to use geological data that record past changes in the Antarctic ice sheets to test computer models for ice sheet change. The geologic data mainly consist of dated glacial deposits that are preserved above the level of the present ice sheet, and range in age from thousands to millions of years old. These provide information about the size, thickness, and rate of change of the ice sheets during past times when the ice sheets were larger than present. In addition, some of these data are from below the present ice surface and therefore also provide some information about past warm periods when ice sheets were most likely smaller than present. The primary purpose of the computer model is to predict future ice sheet changes, but because significant changes in the size of ice sheets are slow and likely occur over hundreds of years or longer, the only way to determine whether these models are accurate is to test their ability to reproduce past ice sheet changes. The primary purpose of this project is to carry out such a test. The research team will compile relevant geologic data, in some cases generate new data by dating additional deposits, and develop methods and software to compare data to model simulations. In addition, this project will (i) contribute to building and sustaining U.S. science capacity through postdoctoral training in geochronology, ice sheet modeling, and data science, and (ii) improve public access to geologic data and model simulations relevant to ice sheet change through online database and website development. <br/><br/>Technical aspects of this project are primarily focused on the field of cosmogenic-nuclide exposure-dating, which is a method that relies on the production of rare stable and radio-nuclides by cosmic-ray interactions with rocks and minerals exposed at the Earth's surface. Because the advance and retreat of ice sheets results in alternating cosmic-ray exposure and shielding of underlying bedrock and surficial deposits, this technique is commonly used to date and reconstruct past ice sheet changes. First, this project will contribute to compiling and systematizing a large amount of cosmogenic-nuclide exposure age data collected in Antarctica during the past three decades. Second, it will generate additional geochemical data needed to improve the extent and usefulness of measurements of stable cosmogenic nuclides, cosmogenic neon-21 in particular, that are useful for constraining ice-sheet behavior on million-year timescales. Third, it will develop a computational framework for comparison of the geologic data set with existing numerical model simulations of Antarctic ice sheet change during the past several million years, with particular emphasis on model simulations of past warm periods, for example the middle Pliocene ca. 3-3.3 million years ago, during which the Antarctic ice sheets are hypothesized to have been substantially smaller than present. Fourth, guided by the results of this comparison, it will generate new model simulations aimed at improving agreement between model simulations and geologic data, as well as diagnosing which processes or parameterizations in the models are or are not well constrained by the data.<br/><br/>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. | POLYGON((-180 -60,-144 -60,-108 -60,-72 -60,-36 -60,0 -60,36 -60,72 -60,108 -60,144 -60,180 -60,180 -63,180 -66,180 -69,180 -72,180 -75,180 -78,180 -81,180 -84,180 -87,180 -90,144 -90,108 -90,72 -90,36 -90,0 -90,-36 -90,-72 -90,-108 -90,-144 -90,-180 -90,-180 -87,-180 -84,-180 -81,-180 -78,-180 -75,-180 -72,-180 -69,-180 -66,-180 -63,-180 -60)) | POINT(0 -89.999) | false | false | ||||||||
Constraining Plio-Pleistocene West Antarctic Ice Sheet Behavior from the Ohio Range and Scott Glacier
|
1341658 |
2020-06-28 | Mukhopadhyay, Sujoy |
|
Modeling fluctuations in the extent of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) over time is a principal goal of the glaciological community. These models will provide a critical basis for predictions of future sea level change, and therefore this work great societal relevance. The mid-Pliocene time interval is of particular interest, as it is the most recent period in which global temperatures were warmer and atmospheric CO2 concentrations may have been higher than current levels. However, observational constraints on fluctuations in the WAIS older than the last glacial maximum are rare. To test model predictions,sub-glacial rock cores were obtained from the Ohio Range along the Transantarctic Mountains near the present-day WAIS divide using a Winkie drill. Rock cores were recovered from 10 to ~30 m under the present-day ice levels. At the Ohio Range, the glacial to interglacial variations in ice sheet levels is ~120 meters. So 30 meters represent a significant fraction of the variation over the course of an ice age. High concentrations of the cosmic ray produced isotopes were detected in the rock cores, indicating extensive periods of ice-free exposure to cosmic irradiation during the last 2 million years. Modeling of the data suggest that bedrock surfaces at the Ohio Range that are currently covered by 30 meters of ice experienced more exposure than ice cover, especially in the Pleistocene. An ice sheet model prediction for the Ohio Range subglacial sample sites however, significantly underestimates exposure in the last 2 million years, and over-predicts ice cover in the Pleistocene. To adjust for the higher amounts of exposure we observe in our samples, the ice sheet model simulations require more frequent and/or longer-lasting WAIS ice drawdowns. This has important implications for future sea-level change as the model maybe under-predicting the magnitude of sea-level contributions from WAIS during the ice-age cycles. Improving the accuracy of the ice sheet models through model-data comparison should remain a prime objective in the face of a warming planet as understanding WAIS behavior is going to be key for predicting and planning for the effects of sea-level change. The project helped support and train a graduate student in climate research related to Antarctica, cosmogenic nuclide analyses and led to a Master’s Thesis. The project also provide partial support to a postdoctoral scholar obtaining cosmogenic neon measurements and for training and mentoring the graduate student's cosmogenic neon measurements and interpretation. The project results were communicated to the scientific community at conferences and through seminars. The broader community was engaged through the University of California Davis's Picnic Day celebration, an annual open house that attracts over 70,000 people to the campus, and through classroom visit at a local elementary school. | POLYGON((-116.45 -84.786,-116.443 -84.786,-116.436 -84.786,-116.429 -84.786,-116.422 -84.786,-116.415 -84.786,-116.408 -84.786,-116.401 -84.786,-116.394 -84.786,-116.387 -84.786,-116.38 -84.786,-116.38 -84.7864,-116.38 -84.7868,-116.38 -84.7872,-116.38 -84.7876,-116.38 -84.788,-116.38 -84.7884,-116.38 -84.7888,-116.38 -84.7892,-116.38 -84.7896,-116.38 -84.79,-116.387 -84.79,-116.394 -84.79,-116.401 -84.79,-116.408 -84.79,-116.415 -84.79,-116.422 -84.79,-116.429 -84.79,-116.436 -84.79,-116.443 -84.79,-116.45 -84.79,-116.45 -84.7896,-116.45 -84.7892,-116.45 -84.7888,-116.45 -84.7884,-116.45 -84.788,-116.45 -84.7876,-116.45 -84.7872,-116.45 -84.7868,-116.45 -84.7864,-116.45 -84.786)) | POINT(-116.415 -84.788) | false | false | |||||||
Ancient landscape-active Surfaces: Periglacial Hyperinflation in soils of Beacon Valley, Antarctica
|
1341680 |
2019-11-21 | Sletten, Ronald S.; Stone, John |
|
Intellectual Merit: This project will yield new information on the long term Antarctic climate and landscape evolution from measurements of cosmogenic nuclides in quartz sand from two unique permafrost cores collected in Beacon Valley, Antarctica. The two cores have already been drilled in ice-cemented, sand-rich permafrost at 5.5 and 30.6 meters depth, and are currently in cold storage at the University of Washington. The cores are believed to record the monotonic accumulation of sand that has been blown into lower Beacon Valley and inflated the surface over time. The rate of accumulation and any hiatus in the accumulation are believed to reflect in part the advance and retreat of the Taylor Glacier. Preliminary measurements of cosmogenically-produced beryllium (10Be) and aluminum (26Al) in quartz sand in the 5.5-meter depth core reveal that it has been accreting at a rate of 2.5 meters/Myr for the past million years. Furthermore, prior to that time, lower Beacon Valley was most likely covered (shielded from the atmosphere thereby having no or very low production of cosmogenic nuclides in quartz) by Taylor Glacier from 1 to 3.5 Myr BP. These preliminary measurements also suggest that the 30.6 meter core may provide a record of over 10 million years. The emphasis is the full characterization of the core and analysis of cosmogenic nuclides (including cosmogenic neon) in the 30.6 meter permafrost core to develop a burial history of the sands and potentially a record the waxing and waning of the Taylor Glacier. This will allow new tests of our current understanding of surface dynamics and climate history in the McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDV) based on the dated stratigraphy of eolian sand that has been accumulating and inflating the surface for millions of years. This is a new process of surface inflation whose extent has not been well documented, and holds the potential to develop a continuous history of surface burial and glacial expansion. This project will provide a new proxy for understanding the climatic history of the Dry Valleys and will test models for the evolution of permafrost in Beacon Valley.<br/><br/>Broader impacts: <br/><br/>The landscape history of the McMurdo Dry Valleys is important because geological deposits there comprise the richest terrestrial record available from Antarctica. By testing the current age model for these deposits, we will improve understanding of Antarctica?s role in global climate change. This project will train one graduate and one undergraduate student in geochemistry, geochronology, and glacial and periglacial geology. They will participate substantively in the research and are expected to develop their own original ideas. Results from this work will be incorporated into undergraduate and graduate teaching curricula, will be published in the peer reviewed literature, and the data will be made public. | POLYGON((160 -77,160.2 -77,160.4 -77,160.6 -77,160.8 -77,161 -77,161.2 -77,161.4 -77,161.6 -77,161.8 -77,162 -77,162 -77.1,162 -77.2,162 -77.3,162 -77.4,162 -77.5,162 -77.6,162 -77.7,162 -77.8,162 -77.9,162 -78,161.8 -78,161.6 -78,161.4 -78,161.2 -78,161 -78,160.8 -78,160.6 -78,160.4 -78,160.2 -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)) | POINT(161 -77.5) | false | false | |||||||
Collaborative Research: Inert Gas and Methane Based Climate Records throughout the South Pole Deep Ice Core
|
1443472 1443464 1443710 |
2019-02-02 | Severinghaus, Jeffrey P.; Sowers, Todd A.; Brook, Edward J. | Gases trapped in ice cores have revealed astonishing things about the greenhouse gas composition of the past atmosphere, including the fact that carbon dioxide concentrations never rose above 300 parts per million during the last 800,000 years. This places today's concentration of 400 parts per million in stark contrast. Furthermore, these gas records show that natural sources of greenhouse gas such as oceans and ecosystems act as amplifiers of climate change by increasing emissions of gases during warmer periods. Such amplification is expected to occur in the future, adding to the human-produced gas burden. The South Pole ice core will build upon these prior findings by expanding the suite of gases to include, for the first time, those potent trace gases that both trapped heat and depleted ozone during the past 40,000 years. The present project on inert gases and methane in the South Pole ice core will improve the dating of this crucial record, to unprecedented precision, so that the relative timing of events can be used to learn about the mechanism of trace gas production and destruction, and consequent climate change amplification. Ultimately, this information will inform predictions of future atmospheric chemical cleansing mechanisms and climate in the context of our rapidly changing atmosphere. This award also engages young people in the excitement of discovery and polar research, helping to entrain the next generations of scientists and educators. Education of graduate students, a young researcher (Buizert), and training of technicians, will add to the nation?s human resource base. <br/> <br/>This award funds the construction of the gas chronology for the South Pole 1500m ice core, using measured inert gases (d15N and d40Ar--Nitrogen and Argon isotope ratios, respectively) and methane in combination with a next-generation firn densification model that treats the stochastic nature of air trapping and the role of impurities on densification. The project addresses fundamental gaps in scientific understanding that limit the accuracy of gas chronologies, specifically a poor knowledge of the controls on ice-core d15N and the possible role of layering and impurities in firn densification. These gaps will be addressed by studying the gas enclosure process in modern firn at the deep core site. The work will comprise the first-ever firn air pumping experiment that has tightly co-located measurements of firn structural properties on the core taken from the same borehole.<br/><br/>The project will test the hypothesis that the lock-in horizon as defined by firn air d15N, CO2, and methane is structurally controlled by impermeable layers, which are in turn created by high-impurity content horizons in which densification is enhanced. Thermal signals will be sought using the inert gas measurements, which improve the temperature record with benefits to the firn densification modeling. Neon, argon, and oxygen will be measured in firn air and a limited number of deep core samples to test whether glacial period layering was enhanced, which could explain low observed d15N in the last glacial period. Drawing on separate volcanic and methane synchronization to well-dated ice cores to create independent ice and gas tie points, independent empirical estimates of the gas age-ice age difference will be made to check the validity of the firn densification model-inert gas approach to calculating the gas age-ice age difference. These points will also be used to test whether the anomalously low d15N seen during the last glacial period in east Antarctic ice cores is due to deep air convection in the firn, or a missing impurity dependence in the firn densification models. <br/><br/>The increased physical understanding gained from these studies, combined with new high-precision measurements, will lead to improved accuracy of the gas chronology of the South Pole ice core, which will enhance the overall science return from this gas-oriented core. This will lead to clarification of timing of atmospheric gas variations and temperature, and aid in efforts to understand the biogeochemical feedbacks among trace gases. These feedbacks bear on the future response of the Earth System to anthropogenic forcing. Ozone-depleting substances will be measured in the South Pole ice core record, and a precise gas chronology will add value. Lastly, by seeking a better understanding of the physics of gas entrapment, the project aims to have an impact on ice-core science in general. | POINT(0 -90) | POINT(0 -90) | false | false | ||||||||
Fugitive Gases (Helium, Neon, and Oxygen) in the WAIS Divide Ice Core as Tracers of Basal Processes and Past Biospheric Carbon Storage
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1143619 |
2015-07-13 | Severinghaus, Jeffrey P. | No dataset link provided | This award supports a project to extend the study of gases in ice cores to those gases whose small molecular diameters cause them to escape rapidly from ice samples (the so-called "fugitive gases"). The work will employ helium, neon, argon, and oxygen measurements in the WAIS Divide ice core to better understand the mechanism of the gas close-off fractionation that occurs while air bubbles are incorporated into ice. The intellectual merit of the proposed work is that corrections for this fractionation using neon (which is constant in the atmosphere) may ultimately enable the first ice core-based atmospheric oxygen and helium records. Neon may also illuminate the mechanistic link between local insolation and oxygen used for astronomical dating of ice cores. Helium measure-ments in the deepest ~100 m of the core will also shed light on the stratigraphic integrity of the basal ice, and serve as a probe of solid earth-ice interaction at the base of the West Antarctic ice sheet. Past atmospheric oxygen records, currently unavailable prior to 1989 CE, would reveal changes in the size of the terrestrial biosphere carbon pool that accompany climate variations and place constraints on the biogeochemical feedback response to future warming. An atmospheric helium-3/helium-4 record would test the hypothesis that the solar wind (which is highly enriched in helium-3) condensed directly into Earth?s atmosphere during the collapse of the geomagnetic field that occurred 41,000 years ago, known as the Laschamp Event. Fugitive-gas samples will be taken on-site immediately after recovery of the ice core by the PI and one postdoctoral scholar, under the umbrella of an existing project to support replicate coring and borehole deepening. This work will add value to the scientific return from field work activity with little additional cost to logistical resources. The broader impacts of the work on atmospheric oxygen are that it may increase understanding of how terrestrial carbon pools and atmospheric greenhouse gas sources will respond in a feedback sense to the coming warming. Long-term atmospheric oxygen trends are also of interest for understanding biogeochemical regulatory mechanisms and the impact of atmospheric evolution on life. Helium records have value in understanding the budget of this non-renewable gas and its implications for space weather and solar activity. The project will train one graduate student and one postdoctoral scholar. The fascination of linking solid earth, cryosphere, atmosphere, and space weather will help to entrain and excite young scientists and efforts to understand the Earth as a whole interlinked system will provide fuel to outreach efforts at all ages. | POINT(-112.09 -79.47) | POINT(-112.09 -79.47) | false | false | |||||||
Melting and Calving of Antarctic Ice Shelves
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0233303 |
2007-07-09 | Jacobs, Stanley | No dataset link provided | Major portions of the Antarctic Ice Sheet float in the surrounding ocean, at the physical and intellectual boundaries of oceanography and glaciology. These ice shelves lose mass continuously by melting into the sea, and periodically by the calving of icebergs. Those losses are compensated by the outflow of grounded ice, and by surface accumulation and basal freezing. Ice shelf sources and sinks vary on several time scales, but their wastage terms are not yet well known. Reports of substantial ice shelf retreat, regional ocean freshening and increased ice velocity and thinning are of particular concern at a time of warming ocean temperatures in waters that have access to deep glacier grounding lines.<br/>This award supports a study of the attrition of Antarctic ice shelves, using recent ocean geochemical measurements and drawing on numerical modeling and remote sensing resources. In cooperation with associates at Columbia University and the British Antarctic Survey, measurements of chlorofluorocarbon, helium, neon and oxygen isotopes will be used to infer basal melting beneath the Ross Ice Shelf, and a combination of oceanographic and altimeter data will be used to investigate the mass balance of George VI Ice Shelf. Ocean and remote sensing observations will also be used to help refine numerical models of ice cavity circulations. The objectives are to reduce uncertainties between different estimates of basal melting and freezing, evaluate regional variability, and provide an update of an earlier assessment of circumpolar net melting.<br/>A better knowledge of ice shelf attrition is essential to an improved understanding of ice shelf response to climate change. Large ice shelf calving events can alter the ocean circulation and sea ice formation, and can lead to logistics problems such as those recently experienced in the Ross Sea. Broader impacts include the role of ice shelf meltwater in freshening and stabilizing the upper ocean, and in the formation of Antarctic Bottom Water, which can be traced far into the North Atlantic. To the extent that ice shelf attrition influences the flow of grounded ice, this work also has implications for ice sheet stability and sea level rise. | None | None | false | false |