{"dp_type": "Project", "free_text": "sublimation"}
[{"awards": "2034874 Salesky, Scott; 2035078 Giometto, Marco", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Fri, 08 Sep 2023 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "1. A non-technical explanation of the project\u0027s broader significance and importance, that serves as a public justification for NSF funding. This part should be understandable to an educated reader who is not a scientist or engineer.\r\n\r\nKatabatic or drainage winds, carry high-density air from a higher elevation down a slope under the force of gravity. Although katabatic flows are ubiquitous in alpine and polar regions, a surface-layer similarity theory is currently lacking for these flows, undermining the accuracy of numerical weather and climate prediction models. This project is interdisciplinary, and will give graduate and undergraduate students valuable experience interacting with researchers outside their core discipline. Furthermore, this project will broaden participating in science through recruitment of students from under-represented groups at OU and CU through established programs.\r\n\r\nThe Antarctic Ice Sheet drives many processes in the Earth system through its modulation of regional and global atmospheric and oceanic circulations, storage of fresh water, and effects on global albedo and climate. An understanding of the surface mass balance of the ice sheets is critical for predicting future sea level rise and for interpreting ice core records. Yet, the evolution of the ice sheets through snow deposition, erosion, and transport in katabatic winds (which are persistent across much of the Antarctic) remains poorly understood due to the lack of an overarching theoretical framework, scarcity of in situ observational datasets, and a lack of accurate numerical modeling tools. Advances in the fundamental understanding and modeling capabilities of katabatic transport processes are urgently needed in view of the future climatic and snowfall changes that are projected to occur within the Antarctic continent. This project will leverage the expertise of a multidisciplinary team of investigators (with backgrounds spanning cryospheric science, environmental fluid mechanics, and atmospheric science) to address these knowledge gaps.\r\n\r\n\r\n2. A technical description of the project that states the problem to be studied, the goals and scope of the research, and the methods and approaches to be used. In many cases, the technical project description may be a modified version of the project summary submitted with the proposal. \r\n\r\nUsing field observations and direct numerical simulations of katabatic flow, this project is expected--- for the first time---to lead to a surface-layer similarity theory for katabatic flows relating turbulent fluxes to mean vertical gradients. The similarity theory will be used to develop surface boundary conditions for large eddy simulations (LES), enabling the first accurate LES of katabatic flow.\r\n\r\nThe numerical tools that the PIs will develop will allow them to investigate how the partitioning between snow redistribution, transport, and sublimation depends on the environmental parameters typically encountered in Antarctica (e.g. atmospheric stratification, surface sloping angles, and humidity profiles), and to develop simple models to infer snow transport based on satellite remote sensing and regional climate models\r\n\r\nThis award reflects the NSF statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the intellectual merit of the Foundation and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "TURBULENCE; ATMOSPHERIC RADIATION; DATA COLLECTIONS; SNOW/ICE; SNOW; FIELD INVESTIGATION; AIR TEMPERATURE; HUMIDITY", "locations": null, "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences; Antarctic Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Salesky, Scott; Giometto, Marco; Das, Indrani", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e DATA COLLECTIONS", "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "Collaborative Research: Snow Transport in Katabatic Winds and Implications for the Antarctic Surface Mass Balance: Observations, Theory, and Numerical Modeling", "uid": "p0010433", "west": null}, {"awards": "1445205 Putkonen, Jaakko", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((157.6 -83.2,157.62 -83.2,157.64 -83.2,157.66 -83.2,157.68 -83.2,157.7 -83.2,157.72 -83.2,157.74 -83.2,157.76 -83.2,157.78 -83.2,157.8 -83.2,157.8 -83.21,157.8 -83.22,157.8 -83.23,157.8 -83.24,157.8 -83.25,157.8 -83.26,157.8 -83.27,157.8 -83.28,157.8 -83.29,157.8 -83.3,157.78 -83.3,157.76 -83.3,157.74 -83.3,157.72 -83.3,157.7 -83.3,157.68 -83.3,157.66 -83.3,157.64 -83.3,157.62 -83.3,157.6 -83.3,157.6 -83.29,157.6 -83.28,157.6 -83.27,157.6 -83.26,157.6 -83.25,157.6 -83.24,157.6 -83.23,157.6 -83.22,157.6 -83.21,157.6 -83.2))", "dataset_titles": "Cosmogenic-Nuclide data at ICE-D; Old Ice, Ong Valley, Transantarctic Mountains", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "200295", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "ICE-D", "science_program": null, "title": "Cosmogenic-Nuclide data at ICE-D", "url": "https://version2.ice-d.org/antarctica/nsf/"}, {"dataset_uid": "601665", "doi": "10.15784/601665", "keywords": "Antarctica; Buried Ice; Cosmogenic Isotopes; Cryosphere; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Core Records; Old Ice; Ong Valley", "people": "Putkonen, Jaakko; Bergelin, Marie", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Old Ice, Ong Valley, Transantarctic Mountains", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601665"}], "date_created": "Fri, 16 Jul 2021 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Finding the oldest ice on Earth can tell us about the climate and life forms in the distant past\r\n\r\nRecently we discovered a mile wide and hundreds of feet thick ice body in Antarctica that is buried under just a few feet of dirt. Thus far our analyses of the dirt suggest that the ice is over million years old. Generally, glacial ice contains tiny bubbles and dirt that was deposited and locked in the ice by the ancient snowfall and today still holds small samples of the atmospheric gases and everything else that was carried by the winds in the past. Such samples may include the amount of greenhouse gases, plant pollen, microbes, and mineral dust. Therefore the glaciers are like archives where we can access and study the Earth\u2019s history with samples that are unavailable anywhere else. Ice survives poorly on Earth\u2019s surface and therefore currently only few ice samples are known that are approximately million years old. Our site has a high potential to harbor perhaps the oldest ice on Earth. However, first we need to sample and date the ice. Our research will also help us understand how these pockets of buried ice can survive such unusually long periods of time. Such understanding will help us study the landforms and history of not only Antarctica but also the Mars where similar dirt covered glaciers are found today.\r\n\r\nWe propose to collect regolith samples through the approximately 1 m thick cover and to core the buried ice in Ong Valley down to 10 m depth to determine the cosmogenic nuclide concentrations both in the regolith and in the embedded mineral matter suspended in the ice. The systematics of the target cosmogenic nuclides (10Be, 26Al, and 21Ne) such as half-lives, isotope production rates, production pathways, and related attenuation lengths allow us to uniquely determine the age of the ice and the rate the ice is sublimating. Our existing samples and analyses reveal accumulation of mineral matter at the base of surficial debris layer and the surface erosion of this debris by eolian processes. The intellectual merit of the proposed activity: Our main objective is to unequivocally determine the age and sublimation rate of two buried massive ice bodies in time scale of thousands to millions of years. The slow sublimation is a fundamentally Antarctic process, and may have altered most of the currently ice-free areas throughout the continent. Similar large, debris covered ice bodies have been recently discovered in Mars as well. Our results may transform the understanding of the longevity of the buried ice bodies and potentially reveal the oldest ice ever found in the interior of the Antarctica. If proven old and slowly sublimating, this buried ice can potentially yield direct information about the atmospheric chemistry, ancient life forms, and geology of greater antiquity than the currently available and sampled ice bodies. The broader impacts resulting from the proposed activity: The results will be relevant to researchers in glaciology, paleoclimatology, planetary geology, and biology. Several students will participate in the project and do field work in Antarctica, work in lab, attend meetings, attend outreach activities, and produce videos. A graduate student will prepare his/her thesis on a topic closely related to the objectives of the proposed research. The results of the research will be published in scientific meetings and publications.\r\n", "east": 157.8, "geometry": "POINT(157.7 -83.25)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "USAP-DC; USA/NSF; FIELD SURVEYS; Transantarctic Mountains; AMD/US; GLACIERS/ICE SHEETS; AMD", "locations": "Transantarctic Mountains", "north": -83.2, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences; Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "putkonen, jaakko; Balco, Gregory; Morgan, Daniel", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD SURVEYS", "repo": "ICE-D", "repositories": "ICE-D; USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -83.3, "title": "Collaborative Research: Long Term Sublimation/Preservation of Two Separate, Buried Glacier Ice Masses, Ong Valley, Southern Transantarctic Mountains", "uid": "p0010231", "west": 157.6}, {"awards": "1246465 Brook, Edward", "bounds_geometry": "POINT(-112.1115 -79.481)", "dataset_titles": "WAIS Divide Ice Core Marine Isotope Stage 3 CO2 record", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601337", "doi": "10.15784/601337", "keywords": "Antarctica; Carbon Cycle; CO2; Cryosphere; Gas Chromatograph; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Glaciology; Ice Core; Ice Core Records; WAIS divide", "people": "Brook, Edward J.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": "WAIS Divide Ice Core", "title": "WAIS Divide Ice Core Marine Isotope Stage 3 CO2 record", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601337"}], "date_created": "Mon, 22 Jun 2020 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award supports a project to measure the carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration in the WAIS Divide ice core covering the time period 25,000 to 60,000 years before present, and to analyze the isotopic composition of CO2 in selected time intervals. The research will improve understanding of how and why atmospheric CO2 varied during the last ice age, focusing particularly on abrupt transitions in the concentration record that are associated with abrupt climate change. These events represents large perturbations to the global climate system and better information about the CO2 response should inform our understanding of carbon cycle-climate feedbacks and radiative forcing of climate. The research will also improve analytical methods in support of these goals, including completing development of sublimation methods to replace laborious mechanical crushing of ice to release air for analysis. The intellectual merit of the proposed work is that it will increase knowledge about the magnitude and timing of atmospheric CO2 variations during the last ice age, and their relationship to regional climate in Antarctica, global climate history, and the history of abrupt climate change in the Northern Hemisphere. The temporal resolution of the proposed record will in most intervals be ~ 4 x higher than previous data sets for this time period, and for selected intervals up to 8-10 times higher. Broader impacts of the proposed work include a significant addition to the amount of data documenting the history of the most important long-lived greenhouse gas in the atmosphere and more information about carbon cycle-climate feedbacks - important parameters for predicting future climate change. The project will contribute to training a postdoctoral researcher, research experience for an undergraduate and a high school student, and outreach to local middle school and other students. It will also improve the analytical infrastructure at OSU, which will be available for future projects.", "east": -112.1115, "geometry": "POINT(-112.1115 -79.481)", "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e CHEMICAL METERS/ANALYZERS \u003e GAS CHROMATOGRAPHS", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Ice Core Records; USAP-DC; CO2; FIELD INVESTIGATION; CARBON DIOXIDE; WAIS divide; LABORATORY; Carbon Cylce", "locations": "WAIS divide", "north": -79.481, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "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": "WAIS Divide Ice Core", "south": -79.481, "title": "Completing the WAIS Divide Ice Core CO2 record", "uid": "p0010110", "west": -112.1115}, {"awards": "1142963 Warren, Stephen; 0739779 Warren, Stephen", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((157 -76,158.1 -76,159.2 -76,160.3 -76,161.4 -76,162.5 -76,163.6 -76,164.7 -76,165.8 -76,166.9 -76,168 -76,168 -76.2,168 -76.4,168 -76.6,168 -76.8,168 -77,168 -77.2,168 -77.4,168 -77.6,168 -77.8,168 -78,166.9 -78,165.8 -78,164.7 -78,163.6 -78,162.5 -78,161.4 -78,160.3 -78,159.2 -78,158.1 -78,157 -78,157 -77.8,157 -77.6,157 -77.4,157 -77.2,157 -77,157 -76.8,157 -76.6,157 -76.4,157 -76.2,157 -76))", "dataset_titles": "Ice on the Oceans of Snowball Earth Project Data", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "000183", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "PI website", "science_program": null, "title": "Ice on the Oceans of Snowball Earth Project Data", "url": "https://digital.lib.washington.edu/researchworks/handle/1773/37320"}], "date_created": "Wed, 10 Jul 2013 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "The climatic changes of late Precambrian time, 600-800 million years ago, included episodes of extreme glaciation, during which ice may have covered nearly the entire ocean for several million years, according to the Snowball Earth hypothesis. These episodes would hold an important place in Earth?s evolutionary history; they could have encouraged biodiversity by trapping life forms in small isolated ice-free areas, or they could have caused massive extinctions that cleared the path for new life forms to fill empty niches. What caused the Earth to become iced over, and what later caused the ice to melt? Scientific investigation of these questions will result in greater understanding of the climatic changes that the Earth can experience, and will enable better predictions of future climate. This project involves Antarctic field observations as well as laboratory studies and computer modeling.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThe aim of this project is not to prove or disprove the Snowball Earth hypothesis but rather to quantify processes that are important for simulating snowball events in climate models. The principal goal is to identify the types of ice that would have been present on the frozen ocean, and to determine how much sunlight they would reflect back to space. Reflection of sunlight by bright surfaces of snow and ice is what would maintain the cold climate at low latitudes. The melting of the ocean required buildup of greenhouse gases, but it was probably aided by deposition of desert dust and volcanic ash darkening the snow and ice. With so much ice on the Earth?s surface, even small differences in the amount of light that the ice absorbed or reflected could cause significant changes in climate. The properties of the ice would also determine where, and in what circumstances, photosynthetic life could have survived. Some kinds of ice that are rare on the modern Earth may have been pivotal in allowing the tropical ocean to freeze. The ocean surfaces would have included some ice types that now exist only in Antarctica: bare cold sea ice with precipitated salts, and \"blue ice\" areas of the Transantarctic Mountains that were exposed by sublimation and have not experienced melting. Field expeditions were mounted to examine these ice types, and the data analysis is underway. A third ice type, sea ice with a salt crust, is being studied in a freezer laboratory. Modeling will show how sunlight would interact with ice containing light-absorbing dust and volcanic ash. Aside from its reflection of sunlight, ice on the Snowball ocean would have been thick enough to flow under its own weight, invading all parts of the ocean. Yet evidence for the survival of photosynthetic life indicates that some regions of liquid water were maintained at the ocean surface. One possible refuge for photosynthetic organisms is a bay at the far end of a nearly enclosed tropical sea, formed by continental rifting and surrounded by desert, such as the modern Red Sea. A model of glacier flow is being developed to determine the dimensions of the channel, connecting the sea to the ocean, necessary to prevent invasion by the flowing ice yet maintain a water supply to replenish evaporation.", "east": 168.0, "geometry": "POINT(162.5 -77)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Not provided", "locations": null, "north": -76.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Integrated System Science; Antarctic Integrated System Science", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Warren, Stephen; Light, Bonnie; Campbell, Adam; Carns, Regina; Dadic, Ruzica; Mullen, Peter; Brandt, Richard; Waddington, Edwin D.", "platforms": "Not provided", "repo": "PI website", "repositories": "PI website", "science_programs": null, "south": -78.0, "title": "Ocean Surfaces on Snowball Earth", "uid": "p0000402", "west": 157.0}, {"awards": "0338008 Wemple, Beverley", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": "Laboratory Studies of Isotopic Exchange in Snow; Snow Accumulation and Snow Melt in a Mixed Northern Hardwood-Conifer Forest", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "609441", "doi": "10.7265/N54X55R2", "keywords": "Cryosphere; Snow/Ice", "people": "Wemple, Beverley C.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Snow Accumulation and Snow Melt in a Mixed Northern Hardwood-Conifer Forest", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/609441"}, {"dataset_uid": "609445", "doi": "10.7265/N51834DX", "keywords": "Atmosphere; Chemistry:Ice; Cryosphere; Snow/Ice; Snow Sublimation Rate", "people": "Neumann, Thomas A.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Laboratory Studies of Isotopic Exchange in Snow", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/609445"}], "date_created": "Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award supports a project to develop a quantitative understanding of the processes active in isotopic exchange between snow/firn and water vapor, which is of paramount importance to ice core interpretation. Carefully controlled laboratory studies will be conducted at a variety of temperatures to empirically measure the mass transfer coefficient (the rate at which water moves from the solid to the vapor phase) for sublimating snow and to determine the time scale for isotopic equilibration between water vapor and ice. In addition the isotopic fractionation coefficient for vapor derived from sublimating ice will be determined and the results will be used to update existing models of mass transfer and isotopic evolution in firn. It is well known that water vapor moves through firn due to diffusion, free convection and forced convection. Although vapor movement through variably-saturated firn due to these processes has been modeled, because of a lack of laboratory data the mass transfer coefficient had to be estimated. Field studies have documented the magnitudes of post-depositional changes, but field studies do not permit rigorous analysis of the relative importance of the many processes which are likely to act in natural snow packs. The results of these laboratory investigations will be broadly applicable to a number of studies and will allow for improvement of existing physically-based models of post-depositional isotopic change, isotopic diffusion in firn, and vapor motion in firn. A major component of this project will be the design and fabrication of the necessary, novel experimental apparatus, which will be facilitated by existing technical expertise, cold room facilities, and laboratory equipment at CRREL. This project is a necessary step toward a quantitative understanding of the isotopic effects of water vapor movement in firn. The proposed work has broader impacts in several different areas. The modeling results will be applicable to a wide range of studies of water in the polar environment, including studies of wind-blown or drifting snow. The proposed collaborative study will partially support a Dartmouth graduate student for three years. This project will also provide support for a young first-time NSF investigator at the University of Vermont. Undergraduate students from Dartmouth will be involved in the research through the Women in Science Project and undergraduate students at the University of Vermont will be supported through the Research Experiences for Undergraduates program. The principal investigators and graduate student will continue their tradition of k-12 school outreach by giving science lessons and talks in local schools each year. Research results will be disseminated through scientific conferences, journal publications, and institutional seminars.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": "EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e PHOTON/OPTICAL DETECTORS \u003e CAMERAS \u003e CAMERAS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROBES \u003e SNOW TUBE; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e TEMPERATURE/HUMIDITY SENSORS \u003e HYGROMETERS \u003e HYGROMETERS", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Snow Accumulation; Snow Chemistry; Snow Melt; Snowfall; Snow Water Equivalent; LABORATORY; Seasonal Snow Cover; Not provided; Snow; Sublimation Rate; FIELD SURVEYS; FIELD INVESTIGATION", "locations": null, "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Neumann, Thomas A.; Wemple, Beverley C.", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e PHYSICAL MODELS \u003e LABORATORY; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD SURVEYS; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION; Not provided", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "Collaborative Research: Laboratory Studies of Isotopic Exchange in Snow and Firn", "uid": "p0000132", "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": "traverse; US ITASE; Stratigraphy; Radar; Antarctica; FIELD SURVEYS; internal layers; Not provided; FIELD INVESTIGATION; Taylor Dome; Transantarctic Mountains; bed topography; West Antarctica; US ITASE II", "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 SURVEYS; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION; 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": "0338244 Schaefer, Joerg", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Mon, 10 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This project will determine the age, origin, and climatic significance of buried ice found in the western Dry Valleys of Antarctica. Previous studies indicate that this ice may be over a million years in age, making it by far the oldest ice yet discovered on Earth. An alternative view is that this ice is represents recently frozen groundwater. To distinguish between these hypotheses and characterize the ice, we are undertaking an interdisciplinary research program focused on: 1) understanding the surface processes that permit ice preservation; and 2) testing the efficacy of cosmogenic nuclides and 40Ar/39Ar analyses in dating both tills and volcanic ash associated with the ice. Our plan calls for the analysis of a minimum of six cosmogenic depth profiles to determine if and how cryoturbation reworks sublimation tills and assess the average rate of ice sublimation for three debris-covered glaciers. We will model through finite- element analyses at least three buried glaciers and compare flow rates with those based on radiometric dating of surface deposits. Ten ice cores will also be collected for measurement of d18O, dD, ice fabric, ice texture, total gas content/composition. Better understanding of surface processes above buried ice will permit researchers to gain access to a record of atmospheric and climate change that could well cover intervals that predate Quaternary time. The work may also add valuable insight into Martian history. In terms of broader impacts, we have recruited three female PhD students and developed interdisciplinary collaborations among geochemists at Columbia University, planetary geologists at Brown University, geomorphologists at Boston University, and numerical modelers at the University of Maine.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e SPECTROMETERS/RADIOMETERS \u003e MASS SPECTROMETERS", "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "FIELD INVESTIGATION", "locations": null, "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": "PHANEROZOIC \u003e CENOZOIC \u003e QUATERNARY", "persons": "Schaefer, Joerg", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION", "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "Collaborative Research: Age, Origin and Climatic Significance of Buried Ice in the Western Dry Valleys, Antarctica", "uid": "p0000255", "west": null}, {"awards": "0337948 Bromwich, David", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-180 -60,-144 -60,-108 -60,-72 -60,-36 -60,0 -60,36 -60,72 -60,108 -60,144 -60,180 -60,180 -63,180 -66,180 -69,180 -72,180 -75,180 -78,180 -81,180 -84,180 -87,180 -90,144 -90,108 -90,72 -90,36 -90,0 -90,-36 -90,-72 -90,-108 -90,-144 -90,-180 -90,-180 -87,-180 -84,-180 -81,-180 -78,-180 -75,-180 -72,-180 -69,-180 -66,-180 -63,-180 -60))", "dataset_titles": "Access to data", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "001778", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "PI website", "science_program": null, "title": "Access to data", "url": "http://polarmet.mps.ohio-state.edu/PolarMet/ant_hindcast.html"}], "date_created": "Thu, 02 Aug 2007 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award supports a comprehensive investigation of the spatial and temporal characteristics of the surface mass balance of the Antarctic ice sheet and the governing mechanisms that affect it. A mesoscale atmospheric model, adapted for Antarctic conditions (Polar MM5), will be used in conjunction with the newly available reanalysis from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) to resolve the surface mass balance of Antarctica at a time resolution of 3 hours and a spatial resolution of 60 km from 1957 to 2001. Polar MM5 will be upgraded to account for key processes in the simulation, including explicit consideration of blowing snow transport and sublimation as well as surface melting/runoff. The proposed 45-y hindcast of all Antarctic surface mass balance components with a limited area model has not previously been attempted and will provide a dataset of unprecedented scope to complement existing ice core measurements of recent climate, especially those collected by the International Transantarctic Scientific Expedition (ITASE). The trends and variability in space and time over 4.5 decades will be resolved and the impact of the dominant modes of atmospheric variability (Antarctic Oscillation, El Nino-Southern Oscillation, etc.) will be isolated. Hypotheses concerning the Antarctic surface mass balance response to climate change will be tested. The research will provide a sound basis for evaluating the impact of future climate change on Antarctic surface mass balance and its contribution to global sea level change as well as providing an important perspective for the interpretation of Antarctic ice core records. The broader impacts include the education of a Ph.D. student, the development of material for use in university classes, and construction of an interactive educational webpage on Antarctic surface mass balance.", "east": 180.0, "geometry": "POINT(0 -89.999)", "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e RECORDERS/LOGGERS \u003e MMS", "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "El Nino-Southern Oscillation; ITASE; Atmospheric Model; Not provided; Antarctic Oscillation; ENSO; Antarctic; mesoscale; Polar MM5; Climate", "locations": "Antarctic", "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Bromwich, David; Monaghan, Andrew", "platforms": "Not provided", "repo": "PI website", "repositories": "PI website", "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "A 45-Y Hindcast of Antarctic Surface Mass Balance Using Polar MM5", "uid": "p0000722", "west": -180.0}, {"awards": "9909484 Lal, Devendra", "bounds_geometry": "POINT(106.133 -76.083)", "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Mon, 02 Oct 2006 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award is for support for three years of funding to develop a history of snow accumulation and physical processes occurring in the upper layers of ice deposited at several sites in Antarctica, using cosmogenic in-situ Carbon-14 (14C) and cosmogenic Beryllium-10 (10Be) as radiotracers. The proposed research emerges from recent studies of cosmogenic in-situ 14C in GISP2 Holocene and several Antarctic ice samples, which revealed marked differences in the 14C concentrations in the samples, compared to the theoretically expected values. The GISP2 samples have about the expected amount of 14C but the Antarctic samples are deficient by 30-50% or more. These results suggest that in slowly accumulating ice samples (such as occur in Antarctica), the cosmic ray implanted 14C is somehow partially lost, but quantitatively preserved in samples from areas of high accumulation. These results suggest that after deposition of the cosmogenic 14C, its concentration is decreased in firn due to processes such as recrystallization, sublimation/evaporation and redeposition. In order to quantify these processes, the atmospheric cosmogenic 10Be in ice samples will also be measured. Since 10Be and 14C have different responses to the firnification processes, their simultaneous study can help to elucidate the nature and importance of these processes. Samples from Taylor Dome, Vostok and Siple Dome will all be studied.", "east": 106.133, "geometry": "POINT(106.133 -76.083)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "Not provided; Cosmogenic 14 C ; Firn; Holocene; Taylor Dome; Vostok; Siple Dome; radiotracers; Carbon-14; 10Be; Accumulation processes", "locations": "Siple Dome; Taylor Dome; Vostok", "north": -76.083, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Lal, Devendra", "platforms": "Not provided", "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": -76.083, "title": "Firn Accumulation Processes in Taylor Dome, Vostok and Siple Dome Ice Using Cosmogenic 14 C and 10Be as Tracers", "uid": "p0000732", "west": 106.133}, {"awards": "0125276 Albert, Mary; 0125570 Scambos, Ted", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": "Access AGDC data online by navigating to Data Sets. Data sets are arranged by Principal Investigators. Access data that are combined into multiple data sets, or compiled products.; AWS Data: Characteristics of Snow Megadunes and Their Potential Effect on Ice Core Interpretation; GPR and GPS Data: Characteristics of Snow Megadunes and their Potential Effects on Ice Core Interpretation; Snow and Firn Permeability: Characteristics of Snow Megadunes and their Potential Effects on Ice Core Interpretation; The Antarctic Glaciological Data Center (AGDC) at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) archives and distributes Antarctic glaciological and cryospheric system data collected by the U.S. Antarctic Program.", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "609283", "doi": "10.7265/N5K935F3", "keywords": "Antarctica; Atmosphere; Cryosphere; East Antarctic Plateau; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Meteorology; Snow/Ice", "people": "Haran, Terry; Bauer, Rob; Fahnestock, Mark; Scambos, Ted", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "AWS Data: Characteristics of Snow Megadunes and Their Potential Effect on Ice Core Interpretation", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/609283"}, {"dataset_uid": "001343", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "NSIDC", "science_program": null, "title": "The Antarctic Glaciological Data Center (AGDC) at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) archives and distributes Antarctic glaciological and cryospheric system data collected by the U.S. Antarctic Program.", "url": "https://nsidc.org/data/agdc/"}, {"dataset_uid": "001669", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "NSIDC", "science_program": null, "title": "Access AGDC data online by navigating to Data Sets. Data sets are arranged by Principal Investigators. Access data that are combined into multiple data sets, or compiled products.", "url": "http://nsidc.org/data/agdc_investigators.html"}, {"dataset_uid": "609299", "doi": "10.7265/N5639MPD", "keywords": "Antarctica; Cryosphere; East Antarctic Plateau; Glaciology; Physical Properties; Snow/Ice", "people": "Albert, Mary R.; Courville, Zoe; Cathles, Mac", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Snow and Firn Permeability: Characteristics of Snow Megadunes and their Potential Effects on Ice Core Interpretation", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/609299"}, {"dataset_uid": "609282", "doi": "10.7265/N5Q23X5F", "keywords": "Antarctica; Cryosphere; East Antarctic Plateau; Glaciology; GPS; Ground Penetrating Radar; Navigation; Paleoclimate; Snow/Ice", "people": "Bauer, Rob; Scambos, Ted", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "GPR and GPS Data: Characteristics of Snow Megadunes and their Potential Effects on Ice Core Interpretation", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/609282"}], "date_created": "Wed, 04 Jan 2006 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award supports a program of field surveys of an area within the large, well-developed megadune field southeast of Vostok station. The objectives are to determine the physical characteristics of the firn across the dunes, including typical climate indicators such as stable isotopes and major chemical species, and to install instruments to measure the time variation of near-surface wind and temperature with depth, to test and refine hypotheses for megadune formation. Field study will consist of surface snowpit and shallow core sampling, ground penetrating radar (GPR) profiling, GPS topographic and ice motion surveys, AWS installation, accumulation/ ablation measurements, subsurface temperature, and firn permeability studies. Field work in two successive seasons is proposed. Continent-wide remote sensing studies of the dunes will be continued, using the new group of instruments that are now, or will shortly be available (e.g., MODIS, MISR, GLAS, AMSR). The earlier study of topographic, passive microwave, and SAR characteristics will be extended, with the intent of determining the relationships of dune amplitude and wavelength to climate parameters, and further development of models of dune formation. Diffusion, ventilation, and vapor transport processes within the dune firn will be modeled as well. A robust program of outreach is planned and reporting to inform both the public and scientists of the fundamental in-situ and remote sensing characteristics of these uniquely Antarctic features will be an important part of the work. Because of their extreme nature, their broad extent, and their potential impact on the climate record, it is important to improve our current understanding of these. Megadunes are a manifestation of an extreme terrestrial climate and may provide insight on past terrestrial climate, or to processes active on other planets. Megadunes are likely to represent an end-member in firn diagenesis, and as such, may have much to teach us about the processes involved.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROBES \u003e PERMEAMETERS; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e PHOTON/OPTICAL DETECTORS \u003e CAMERAS \u003e CAMERAS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e CURRENT/WIND METERS \u003e ANEMOMETERS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e RECORDERS/LOGGERS \u003e AWS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e CORERS \u003e ICE AUGERS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PROBES \u003e SNOWPACK TEMPERATURE PROBE; 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 IMAGING RADARS \u003e SAR; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e ACTIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e RADAR SOUNDERS \u003e GPR; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e CHEMICAL METERS/ANALYZERS \u003e AIR PERMEAMETERS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e CURRENT/WIND METERS \u003e ANEMOMETERS; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e POSITIONING/NAVIGATION \u003e RADIO \u003e ARGOS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PRESSURE/HEIGHT METERS \u003e PRESSURE SENSORS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e TEMPERATURE/HUMIDITY SENSORS \u003e THERMOMETERS \u003e THERMOMETERS; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e PROFILERS/SOUNDERS \u003e WIND PROFILERS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e CORERS \u003e CORING DEVICES; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PHOTON/OPTICAL DETECTORS \u003e DENSIOMETERS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e GAUGES \u003e BALANCE", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "ICESAT; Antarctic; Wind Speed; FIELD INVESTIGATION; Surface Morphology; Antarctica; GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS; ARWS; Polar Firn Air; Microstructure; Gas Diffusivity; WEATHER STATIONS; Surface Temperatures; RADARSAT-2; Ice Core; Wind Direction; AWS; Ice Sheet; Megadunes; GROUND STATIONS; METEOROLOGICAL STATIONS; thermal conductivity; Antarctic Ice Sheet; AGDC; Density; Air Temperatures; Snow Pits; Atmospheric Pressure; climate record; Internal layering; Firn Permeability; FIELD SURVEYS; Radar; Permeability; Firn Temperature Measurements; Snow Megadunes; Paleoenvironments; sublimation; LANDSAT; Firn; vapor-redeposition; Ice Core Interpretation; East Antarctic Plateau; Not provided; Surface Winds; ice climate record; Snow Density; field survey; Glaciology; dunefields; Snow Permeability; Automated Weather Stations", "locations": "Antarctica; Antarctic Ice Sheet; Antarctic; East Antarctic Plateau", "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Glaciology; Antarctic Glaciology", "paleo_time": "PHANEROZOIC \u003e CENOZOIC \u003e QUATERNARY \u003e HOLOCENE", "persons": "Courville, Zoe; Cathles, Mac; Scambos, Ted; Bauer, Rob; Fahnestock, Mark; Haran, Terry; Shuman, Christopher A.; Albert, Mary R.", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD SURVEYS; Not provided; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e PERMANENT LAND SITES \u003e ARWS; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e PERMANENT LAND SITES \u003e GROUND STATIONS; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e PERMANENT LAND SITES \u003e GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e PERMANENT LAND SITES \u003e METEOROLOGICAL STATIONS; SPACE-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e EARTH OBSERVATION SATELLITES \u003e ICE, CLOUD AND LAND ELEVATION SATELLITE (ICESAT) \u003e ICESAT; SPACE-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e EARTH OBSERVATION SATELLITES \u003e LANDSAT \u003e LANDSAT; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION; SPACE-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e EARTH OBSERVATION SATELLITES \u003e RADARSAT \u003e RADARSAT-2; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e PERMANENT LAND SITES \u003e WEATHER STATIONS", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "NSIDC; USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "Collaborative Research: Characteristics of Snow Megadunes and Their Potential Effect on Ice Core Interpretation", "uid": "p0000587", "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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Collaborative Research: Snow Transport in Katabatic Winds and Implications for the Antarctic Surface Mass Balance: Observations, Theory, and Numerical Modeling
|
2034874 2035078 |
2023-09-08 | Salesky, Scott; Giometto, Marco; Das, Indrani | No dataset link provided | 1. A non-technical explanation of the project's broader significance and importance, that serves as a public justification for NSF funding. This part should be understandable to an educated reader who is not a scientist or engineer. Katabatic or drainage winds, carry high-density air from a higher elevation down a slope under the force of gravity. Although katabatic flows are ubiquitous in alpine and polar regions, a surface-layer similarity theory is currently lacking for these flows, undermining the accuracy of numerical weather and climate prediction models. This project is interdisciplinary, and will give graduate and undergraduate students valuable experience interacting with researchers outside their core discipline. Furthermore, this project will broaden participating in science through recruitment of students from under-represented groups at OU and CU through established programs. The Antarctic Ice Sheet drives many processes in the Earth system through its modulation of regional and global atmospheric and oceanic circulations, storage of fresh water, and effects on global albedo and climate. An understanding of the surface mass balance of the ice sheets is critical for predicting future sea level rise and for interpreting ice core records. Yet, the evolution of the ice sheets through snow deposition, erosion, and transport in katabatic winds (which are persistent across much of the Antarctic) remains poorly understood due to the lack of an overarching theoretical framework, scarcity of in situ observational datasets, and a lack of accurate numerical modeling tools. Advances in the fundamental understanding and modeling capabilities of katabatic transport processes are urgently needed in view of the future climatic and snowfall changes that are projected to occur within the Antarctic continent. This project will leverage the expertise of a multidisciplinary team of investigators (with backgrounds spanning cryospheric science, environmental fluid mechanics, and atmospheric science) to address these knowledge gaps. 2. A technical description of the project that states the problem to be studied, the goals and scope of the research, and the methods and approaches to be used. In many cases, the technical project description may be a modified version of the project summary submitted with the proposal. Using field observations and direct numerical simulations of katabatic flow, this project is expected--- for the first time---to lead to a surface-layer similarity theory for katabatic flows relating turbulent fluxes to mean vertical gradients. The similarity theory will be used to develop surface boundary conditions for large eddy simulations (LES), enabling the first accurate LES of katabatic flow. The numerical tools that the PIs will develop will allow them to investigate how the partitioning between snow redistribution, transport, and sublimation depends on the environmental parameters typically encountered in Antarctica (e.g. atmospheric stratification, surface sloping angles, and humidity profiles), and to develop simple models to infer snow transport based on satellite remote sensing and regional climate models This award reflects the NSF statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the intellectual merit of the Foundation and broader impacts review criteria. | None | None | false | false | |||||
Collaborative Research: Long Term Sublimation/Preservation of Two Separate, Buried Glacier Ice Masses, Ong Valley, Southern Transantarctic Mountains
|
1445205 |
2021-07-16 | putkonen, jaakko; Balco, Gregory; Morgan, Daniel |
|
Finding the oldest ice on Earth can tell us about the climate and life forms in the distant past Recently we discovered a mile wide and hundreds of feet thick ice body in Antarctica that is buried under just a few feet of dirt. Thus far our analyses of the dirt suggest that the ice is over million years old. Generally, glacial ice contains tiny bubbles and dirt that was deposited and locked in the ice by the ancient snowfall and today still holds small samples of the atmospheric gases and everything else that was carried by the winds in the past. Such samples may include the amount of greenhouse gases, plant pollen, microbes, and mineral dust. Therefore the glaciers are like archives where we can access and study the Earth’s history with samples that are unavailable anywhere else. Ice survives poorly on Earth’s surface and therefore currently only few ice samples are known that are approximately million years old. Our site has a high potential to harbor perhaps the oldest ice on Earth. However, first we need to sample and date the ice. Our research will also help us understand how these pockets of buried ice can survive such unusually long periods of time. Such understanding will help us study the landforms and history of not only Antarctica but also the Mars where similar dirt covered glaciers are found today. We propose to collect regolith samples through the approximately 1 m thick cover and to core the buried ice in Ong Valley down to 10 m depth to determine the cosmogenic nuclide concentrations both in the regolith and in the embedded mineral matter suspended in the ice. The systematics of the target cosmogenic nuclides (10Be, 26Al, and 21Ne) such as half-lives, isotope production rates, production pathways, and related attenuation lengths allow us to uniquely determine the age of the ice and the rate the ice is sublimating. Our existing samples and analyses reveal accumulation of mineral matter at the base of surficial debris layer and the surface erosion of this debris by eolian processes. The intellectual merit of the proposed activity: Our main objective is to unequivocally determine the age and sublimation rate of two buried massive ice bodies in time scale of thousands to millions of years. The slow sublimation is a fundamentally Antarctic process, and may have altered most of the currently ice-free areas throughout the continent. Similar large, debris covered ice bodies have been recently discovered in Mars as well. Our results may transform the understanding of the longevity of the buried ice bodies and potentially reveal the oldest ice ever found in the interior of the Antarctica. If proven old and slowly sublimating, this buried ice can potentially yield direct information about the atmospheric chemistry, ancient life forms, and geology of greater antiquity than the currently available and sampled ice bodies. The broader impacts resulting from the proposed activity: The results will be relevant to researchers in glaciology, paleoclimatology, planetary geology, and biology. Several students will participate in the project and do field work in Antarctica, work in lab, attend meetings, attend outreach activities, and produce videos. A graduate student will prepare his/her thesis on a topic closely related to the objectives of the proposed research. The results of the research will be published in scientific meetings and publications. | POLYGON((157.6 -83.2,157.62 -83.2,157.64 -83.2,157.66 -83.2,157.68 -83.2,157.7 -83.2,157.72 -83.2,157.74 -83.2,157.76 -83.2,157.78 -83.2,157.8 -83.2,157.8 -83.21,157.8 -83.22,157.8 -83.23,157.8 -83.24,157.8 -83.25,157.8 -83.26,157.8 -83.27,157.8 -83.28,157.8 -83.29,157.8 -83.3,157.78 -83.3,157.76 -83.3,157.74 -83.3,157.72 -83.3,157.7 -83.3,157.68 -83.3,157.66 -83.3,157.64 -83.3,157.62 -83.3,157.6 -83.3,157.6 -83.29,157.6 -83.28,157.6 -83.27,157.6 -83.26,157.6 -83.25,157.6 -83.24,157.6 -83.23,157.6 -83.22,157.6 -83.21,157.6 -83.2)) | POINT(157.7 -83.25) | false | false | |||||
Completing the WAIS Divide Ice Core CO2 record
|
1246465 |
2020-06-22 | Brook, Edward J. |
|
This award supports a project to measure the carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration in the WAIS Divide ice core covering the time period 25,000 to 60,000 years before present, and to analyze the isotopic composition of CO2 in selected time intervals. The research will improve understanding of how and why atmospheric CO2 varied during the last ice age, focusing particularly on abrupt transitions in the concentration record that are associated with abrupt climate change. These events represents large perturbations to the global climate system and better information about the CO2 response should inform our understanding of carbon cycle-climate feedbacks and radiative forcing of climate. The research will also improve analytical methods in support of these goals, including completing development of sublimation methods to replace laborious mechanical crushing of ice to release air for analysis. The intellectual merit of the proposed work is that it will increase knowledge about the magnitude and timing of atmospheric CO2 variations during the last ice age, and their relationship to regional climate in Antarctica, global climate history, and the history of abrupt climate change in the Northern Hemisphere. The temporal resolution of the proposed record will in most intervals be ~ 4 x higher than previous data sets for this time period, and for selected intervals up to 8-10 times higher. Broader impacts of the proposed work include a significant addition to the amount of data documenting the history of the most important long-lived greenhouse gas in the atmosphere and more information about carbon cycle-climate feedbacks - important parameters for predicting future climate change. The project will contribute to training a postdoctoral researcher, research experience for an undergraduate and a high school student, and outreach to local middle school and other students. It will also improve the analytical infrastructure at OSU, which will be available for future projects. | POINT(-112.1115 -79.481) | POINT(-112.1115 -79.481) | false | false | |||||
Ocean Surfaces on Snowball Earth
|
1142963 0739779 |
2013-07-10 | Warren, Stephen; Light, Bonnie; Campbell, Adam; Carns, Regina; Dadic, Ruzica; Mullen, Peter; Brandt, Richard; Waddington, Edwin D. |
|
The climatic changes of late Precambrian time, 600-800 million years ago, included episodes of extreme glaciation, during which ice may have covered nearly the entire ocean for several million years, according to the Snowball Earth hypothesis. These episodes would hold an important place in Earth?s evolutionary history; they could have encouraged biodiversity by trapping life forms in small isolated ice-free areas, or they could have caused massive extinctions that cleared the path for new life forms to fill empty niches. What caused the Earth to become iced over, and what later caused the ice to melt? Scientific investigation of these questions will result in greater understanding of the climatic changes that the Earth can experience, and will enable better predictions of future climate. This project involves Antarctic field observations as well as laboratory studies and computer modeling.<br/><br/>The aim of this project is not to prove or disprove the Snowball Earth hypothesis but rather to quantify processes that are important for simulating snowball events in climate models. The principal goal is to identify the types of ice that would have been present on the frozen ocean, and to determine how much sunlight they would reflect back to space. Reflection of sunlight by bright surfaces of snow and ice is what would maintain the cold climate at low latitudes. The melting of the ocean required buildup of greenhouse gases, but it was probably aided by deposition of desert dust and volcanic ash darkening the snow and ice. With so much ice on the Earth?s surface, even small differences in the amount of light that the ice absorbed or reflected could cause significant changes in climate. The properties of the ice would also determine where, and in what circumstances, photosynthetic life could have survived. Some kinds of ice that are rare on the modern Earth may have been pivotal in allowing the tropical ocean to freeze. The ocean surfaces would have included some ice types that now exist only in Antarctica: bare cold sea ice with precipitated salts, and "blue ice" areas of the Transantarctic Mountains that were exposed by sublimation and have not experienced melting. Field expeditions were mounted to examine these ice types, and the data analysis is underway. A third ice type, sea ice with a salt crust, is being studied in a freezer laboratory. Modeling will show how sunlight would interact with ice containing light-absorbing dust and volcanic ash. Aside from its reflection of sunlight, ice on the Snowball ocean would have been thick enough to flow under its own weight, invading all parts of the ocean. Yet evidence for the survival of photosynthetic life indicates that some regions of liquid water were maintained at the ocean surface. One possible refuge for photosynthetic organisms is a bay at the far end of a nearly enclosed tropical sea, formed by continental rifting and surrounded by desert, such as the modern Red Sea. A model of glacier flow is being developed to determine the dimensions of the channel, connecting the sea to the ocean, necessary to prevent invasion by the flowing ice yet maintain a water supply to replenish evaporation. | POLYGON((157 -76,158.1 -76,159.2 -76,160.3 -76,161.4 -76,162.5 -76,163.6 -76,164.7 -76,165.8 -76,166.9 -76,168 -76,168 -76.2,168 -76.4,168 -76.6,168 -76.8,168 -77,168 -77.2,168 -77.4,168 -77.6,168 -77.8,168 -78,166.9 -78,165.8 -78,164.7 -78,163.6 -78,162.5 -78,161.4 -78,160.3 -78,159.2 -78,158.1 -78,157 -78,157 -77.8,157 -77.6,157 -77.4,157 -77.2,157 -77,157 -76.8,157 -76.6,157 -76.4,157 -76.2,157 -76)) | POINT(162.5 -77) | false | false | |||||
Collaborative Research: Laboratory Studies of Isotopic Exchange in Snow and Firn
|
0338008 |
2010-01-01 | Neumann, Thomas A.; Wemple, Beverley C. |
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This award supports a project to develop a quantitative understanding of the processes active in isotopic exchange between snow/firn and water vapor, which is of paramount importance to ice core interpretation. Carefully controlled laboratory studies will be conducted at a variety of temperatures to empirically measure the mass transfer coefficient (the rate at which water moves from the solid to the vapor phase) for sublimating snow and to determine the time scale for isotopic equilibration between water vapor and ice. In addition the isotopic fractionation coefficient for vapor derived from sublimating ice will be determined and the results will be used to update existing models of mass transfer and isotopic evolution in firn. It is well known that water vapor moves through firn due to diffusion, free convection and forced convection. Although vapor movement through variably-saturated firn due to these processes has been modeled, because of a lack of laboratory data the mass transfer coefficient had to be estimated. Field studies have documented the magnitudes of post-depositional changes, but field studies do not permit rigorous analysis of the relative importance of the many processes which are likely to act in natural snow packs. The results of these laboratory investigations will be broadly applicable to a number of studies and will allow for improvement of existing physically-based models of post-depositional isotopic change, isotopic diffusion in firn, and vapor motion in firn. A major component of this project will be the design and fabrication of the necessary, novel experimental apparatus, which will be facilitated by existing technical expertise, cold room facilities, and laboratory equipment at CRREL. This project is a necessary step toward a quantitative understanding of the isotopic effects of water vapor movement in firn. The proposed work has broader impacts in several different areas. The modeling results will be applicable to a wide range of studies of water in the polar environment, including studies of wind-blown or drifting snow. The proposed collaborative study will partially support a Dartmouth graduate student for three years. This project will also provide support for a young first-time NSF investigator at the University of Vermont. Undergraduate students from Dartmouth will be involved in the research through the Women in Science Project and undergraduate students at the University of Vermont will be supported through the Research Experiences for Undergraduates program. The principal investigators and graduate student will continue their tradition of k-12 school outreach by giving science lessons and talks in local schools each year. Research results will be disseminated through scientific conferences, journal publications, and institutional seminars. | None | None | false | false | |||||
Radar Studies of Internal Stratigraphy and Bed Topography along the US ITASE-II Traverse
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0440304 |
2009-01-13 | Jacobel, Robert |
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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. | None | None | false | false | |||||
Collaborative Research: Age, Origin and Climatic Significance of Buried Ice in the Western Dry Valleys, Antarctica
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0338244 |
2007-12-10 | Schaefer, Joerg | No dataset link provided | This project will determine the age, origin, and climatic significance of buried ice found in the western Dry Valleys of Antarctica. Previous studies indicate that this ice may be over a million years in age, making it by far the oldest ice yet discovered on Earth. An alternative view is that this ice is represents recently frozen groundwater. To distinguish between these hypotheses and characterize the ice, we are undertaking an interdisciplinary research program focused on: 1) understanding the surface processes that permit ice preservation; and 2) testing the efficacy of cosmogenic nuclides and 40Ar/39Ar analyses in dating both tills and volcanic ash associated with the ice. Our plan calls for the analysis of a minimum of six cosmogenic depth profiles to determine if and how cryoturbation reworks sublimation tills and assess the average rate of ice sublimation for three debris-covered glaciers. We will model through finite- element analyses at least three buried glaciers and compare flow rates with those based on radiometric dating of surface deposits. Ten ice cores will also be collected for measurement of d18O, dD, ice fabric, ice texture, total gas content/composition. Better understanding of surface processes above buried ice will permit researchers to gain access to a record of atmospheric and climate change that could well cover intervals that predate Quaternary time. The work may also add valuable insight into Martian history. In terms of broader impacts, we have recruited three female PhD students and developed interdisciplinary collaborations among geochemists at Columbia University, planetary geologists at Brown University, geomorphologists at Boston University, and numerical modelers at the University of Maine. | None | None | false | false | |||||
A 45-Y Hindcast of Antarctic Surface Mass Balance Using Polar MM5
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0337948 |
2007-08-02 | Bromwich, David; Monaghan, Andrew |
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This award supports a comprehensive investigation of the spatial and temporal characteristics of the surface mass balance of the Antarctic ice sheet and the governing mechanisms that affect it. A mesoscale atmospheric model, adapted for Antarctic conditions (Polar MM5), will be used in conjunction with the newly available reanalysis from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) to resolve the surface mass balance of Antarctica at a time resolution of 3 hours and a spatial resolution of 60 km from 1957 to 2001. Polar MM5 will be upgraded to account for key processes in the simulation, including explicit consideration of blowing snow transport and sublimation as well as surface melting/runoff. The proposed 45-y hindcast of all Antarctic surface mass balance components with a limited area model has not previously been attempted and will provide a dataset of unprecedented scope to complement existing ice core measurements of recent climate, especially those collected by the International Transantarctic Scientific Expedition (ITASE). The trends and variability in space and time over 4.5 decades will be resolved and the impact of the dominant modes of atmospheric variability (Antarctic Oscillation, El Nino-Southern Oscillation, etc.) will be isolated. Hypotheses concerning the Antarctic surface mass balance response to climate change will be tested. The research will provide a sound basis for evaluating the impact of future climate change on Antarctic surface mass balance and its contribution to global sea level change as well as providing an important perspective for the interpretation of Antarctic ice core records. The broader impacts include the education of a Ph.D. student, the development of material for use in university classes, and construction of an interactive educational webpage on Antarctic surface mass balance. | 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 | |||||
Firn Accumulation Processes in Taylor Dome, Vostok and Siple Dome Ice Using Cosmogenic 14 C and 10Be as Tracers
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9909484 |
2006-10-02 | Lal, Devendra | No dataset link provided | This award is for support for three years of funding to develop a history of snow accumulation and physical processes occurring in the upper layers of ice deposited at several sites in Antarctica, using cosmogenic in-situ Carbon-14 (14C) and cosmogenic Beryllium-10 (10Be) as radiotracers. The proposed research emerges from recent studies of cosmogenic in-situ 14C in GISP2 Holocene and several Antarctic ice samples, which revealed marked differences in the 14C concentrations in the samples, compared to the theoretically expected values. The GISP2 samples have about the expected amount of 14C but the Antarctic samples are deficient by 30-50% or more. These results suggest that in slowly accumulating ice samples (such as occur in Antarctica), the cosmic ray implanted 14C is somehow partially lost, but quantitatively preserved in samples from areas of high accumulation. These results suggest that after deposition of the cosmogenic 14C, its concentration is decreased in firn due to processes such as recrystallization, sublimation/evaporation and redeposition. In order to quantify these processes, the atmospheric cosmogenic 10Be in ice samples will also be measured. Since 10Be and 14C have different responses to the firnification processes, their simultaneous study can help to elucidate the nature and importance of these processes. Samples from Taylor Dome, Vostok and Siple Dome will all be studied. | POINT(106.133 -76.083) | POINT(106.133 -76.083) | false | false | |||||
Collaborative Research: Characteristics of Snow Megadunes and Their Potential Effect on Ice Core Interpretation
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0125276 0125570 |
2006-01-04 | Courville, Zoe; Cathles, Mac; Scambos, Ted; Bauer, Rob; Fahnestock, Mark; Haran, Terry; Shuman, Christopher A.; Albert, Mary R. | This award supports a program of field surveys of an area within the large, well-developed megadune field southeast of Vostok station. The objectives are to determine the physical characteristics of the firn across the dunes, including typical climate indicators such as stable isotopes and major chemical species, and to install instruments to measure the time variation of near-surface wind and temperature with depth, to test and refine hypotheses for megadune formation. Field study will consist of surface snowpit and shallow core sampling, ground penetrating radar (GPR) profiling, GPS topographic and ice motion surveys, AWS installation, accumulation/ ablation measurements, subsurface temperature, and firn permeability studies. Field work in two successive seasons is proposed. Continent-wide remote sensing studies of the dunes will be continued, using the new group of instruments that are now, or will shortly be available (e.g., MODIS, MISR, GLAS, AMSR). The earlier study of topographic, passive microwave, and SAR characteristics will be extended, with the intent of determining the relationships of dune amplitude and wavelength to climate parameters, and further development of models of dune formation. Diffusion, ventilation, and vapor transport processes within the dune firn will be modeled as well. A robust program of outreach is planned and reporting to inform both the public and scientists of the fundamental in-situ and remote sensing characteristics of these uniquely Antarctic features will be an important part of the work. Because of their extreme nature, their broad extent, and their potential impact on the climate record, it is important to improve our current understanding of these. Megadunes are a manifestation of an extreme terrestrial climate and may provide insight on past terrestrial climate, or to processes active on other planets. Megadunes are likely to represent an end-member in firn diagenesis, and as such, may have much to teach us about the processes involved. | None | None | false | false |