 |
|
Scientists probe Antarctic glaciers for clues to past and future sea level
October 28, 2008International team exploring two of the last uncharted regions of Earth, the Aurora and Wilkes Subglacial Basins, to learn about past climate change and future impacts on global sea level
Scientists from the U.S., U.K. and Australia have teamed up to explore two of the last uncharted regions of Earth, the Aurora and Wilkes Subglacial Basins, immense ice-buried lowlands in Antarctica with a combined area the size of Mexico. The research could show how Earth's climate changed in the past and how future climate change will affect global sea level.
Scientists believe the barely observed Aurora Subglacial Basin, which lies in East Antarctica, could represent the weak underbelly of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, the largest remaining body of ice on Earth. Until recently the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, which covers the two basins, had been considered a stable ice reservoir unlikely to contribute to rising sea level in the near future.
Limited soundings of the ice upstream of Australia's Casey Station, however, reveal a vast basin with its base lying kilometers below sea level. The basin could make the East Antarctic Ice Sheet more vulnerable in a warming world. Satellite data show that Totten Glacier, which dominates the ice of the Aurora Subglacial Basin, appears to be losing ice at its downstream edge.
The University of Texas at Austin's Jackson School of Geosciences has teamed up with the University of Edinburgh and the Australian Antarctic Division as part of a major International Polar Year project to study this vast area using multiple airborne instruments.
Beginning this December, the ICECAP (Investigating the Cryospheric Evolution of the Central Antarctic Plate) team will fly an upgraded World War II-era DC-3 aircraft with a suite of geophysical instruments to map the thickness of the ice sheet and measure the texture, composition, density and topography of rocks below the ice.
In the past, scientists surveying the Antarctic ice sheets relied either on heavy cargo planes with poor fuel efficiency but long range, or lighter planes with better fuel efficiency but short range. To fly lighter planes far into the interior of the continent, support planes have to fly in additional fuel from a coastal port, multiplying fuel costs several times.
With the upgraded DC-3, the ICECAP team gets a combination of efficiency and range, minimizing the project's carbon footprint at a time when high oil prices have caused federal funding agencies to scale back scientific studies in the polar regions.
"We're getting much more science done with less oil using this old airframe with modern engines," said Don Blankenship, research scientist at the Jackson School's Institute for Geophysics and principal investigator for ICECAP.
Data from the project will help model East Antarctic ice stability, forecast how ice might react to climate change, and show its potential impact on global sea level.
The chemistry of the thick ice might also solve a mystery about past climate. Antarctic ice cores have already revealed aspects of Earth's climate dating back 800,000 years. Farther back, around one million years ago, Earth's climate changed in a way that caused ice ages to come and go much more rapidly than before. Scientists have long wondered what caused this shift. Australian researchers with ICECAP will search for sites to drill new ice cores with the potential to extend the ice core record to beyond one million years.
University of Texas at Austin
Limited soundings of the ice upstream of Australia's Casey Station, however, reveal a vast basin with its base lying kilometers below sea level. The basin could make the East Antarctic Ice Sheet more vulnerable in a warming world. Satellite data show that Totten Glacier, which dominates the ice of the Aurora Subglacial Basin, appears to be losing ice at its downstream edge.
The University of Texas at Austin's Jackson School of Geosciences has teamed up with the University of Edinburgh and the Australian Antarctic Division as part of a major International Polar Year project to study this vast area using multiple airborne instruments.
Beginning this December, the ICECAP (Investigating the Cryospheric Evolution of the Central Antarctic Plate) team will fly an upgraded World War II-era DC-3 aircraft with a suite of geophysical instruments to map the thickness of the ice sheet and measure the texture, composition, density and topography of rocks below the ice.
In the past, scientists surveying the Antarctic ice sheets relied either on heavy cargo planes with poor fuel efficiency but long range, or lighter planes with better fuel efficiency but short range. To fly lighter planes far into the interior of the continent, support planes have to fly in additional fuel from a coastal port, multiplying fuel costs several times.
With the upgraded DC-3, the ICECAP team gets a combination of efficiency and range, minimizing the project's carbon footprint at a time when high oil prices have caused federal funding agencies to scale back scientific studies in the polar regions.
"We're getting much more science done with less oil using this old airframe with modern engines," said Don Blankenship, research scientist at the Jackson School's Institute for Geophysics and principal investigator for ICECAP.
Data from the project will help model East Antarctic ice stability, forecast how ice might react to climate change, and show its potential impact on global sea level.
The chemistry of the thick ice might also solve a mystery about past climate. Antarctic ice cores have already revealed aspects of Earth's climate dating back 800,000 years. Farther back, around one million years ago, Earth's climate changed in a way that caused ice ages to come and go much more rapidly than before. Scientists have long wondered what caused this shift. Australian researchers with ICECAP will search for sites to drill new ice cores with the potential to extend the ice core record to beyond one million years.
University of Texas at Austin
Antarctic Ice Current Events and Antarctic Ice News RSSControversial new climate change results
New data show that the balance between the airborne and the absorbed fraction of carbon dioxide has stayed approximately constant since 1850, despite emissions of carbon dioxide having risen from about 2 billion tons a year in 1850 to 35 billion tons a year now.
Antarctica glacier retreat creates new carbon dioxide store
Large blooms of tiny marine plants called phytoplankton are flourishing in areas of open water left exposed by the recent and rapid melting of ice shelves and glaciers around the Antarctic Peninsula.
West Antarctic ice sheet may not be losing ice as fast as once thought
New ground measurements made by the West Antarctic GPS Network (WAGN) project, composed of researchers from The University of Texas at Austin, The Ohio State University, and The University of Memphis, suggest the rate of ice loss of the West Antarctic ice sheet has been slightly overestimated.
Last time carbon dioxide levels were this high: 15 million years ago, scientists report
You would have to go back at least 15 million years to find carbon dioxide levels on Earth as high as they are today, a UCLA scientist and colleagues report Oct. 8 in the online edition of the journal Science.
NASA flies to Antarctica for largest airborne polar ice survey
NASA begins a series of flights Oct. 15 to study changes to Antarctica's sea ice, glaciers and ice sheets. The flights are part of Operation Ice Bridge, a six-year campaign that is the largest airborne survey ever made of ice at Earth's polar regions.
Algae and pollen grains provide evidence of remarkably warm period in Antarctica's history
For Sophie Warny, LSU assistant professor of geology and geophysics and curator at the LSU Museum of Natural Science, years of patience in analyzing Antarctic samples with low fossil recovery finally led to a scientific breakthrough.
New CO2 data helps unlock the secrets of Antarctic formation
The link between declining CO2 levels in the earth's atmosphere and the formation of the Antarctic ice caps some 34 million years ago has been confirmed for the first time in a major research study.
Map characterizes active lakes below Antarctic ice
Lakes in Antarctica, concealed under miles of ice, require scientists to come up with creative ways to identify and analyze these hidden features.
New predictions for sea level rise
Fossil coral data and temperature records derived from ice-core measurements have been used to place better constraints on future sea level rise, and to test sea level projections.
New research provides insight into ice sheet behavior
A new study published this week takes scientists a step further in their quest to understand how Antarctica's vast glaciers will contribute to future sea-level rise.
More Antarctic Ice Current Events and Antarctic Ice News Articles
 |
Antarctic Ice by Jim Mastro (Author), Norbert Wu (Photographer) Antarctica is the coldest place on earth. Ice covers the mountains, the valleys, and even the sea. In this frozen winter world, every creature is waiting for summer to come. When the sunny days arrive, a burst of new life begins. A mother Weddell seal finds a safe spot on the surface of the ice to have her baby. Nearby, a little Adlie penguin steals rocks from his neighbor to make a nest. A big emperor penguin works hard to find enough food for his newly hatched chick. The young animals must grow quickly, for summer in Antarctica is brief, and all too soon it will be winter once again. |
 |
Antarctic Wonderland (Penguins on Ice) Art Poster Print - 24" X 36" by Poster Revolution This poster shows several penguins on an ice formation. The ocean is visible at the bottom and there is a bird flying at the top. This poster measures approx. 24" x 36" |
 |
Frozen Directed By: Martin Wood Also With: Jonathan Glassner (Producer), Brad Wright (Producer), Robert Cooper (Producer), Richard Dean Anderson (Producer), Michael Greenburg (Producer) |
 |
Antarctic Ice Chasms Misery's Omen (Primary Contributor) |
![Nature: Under Antarctic Ice/Encountering Sea Monsters [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51VXooyLRmL._SL160_.jpg) |
Nature: Under Antarctic Ice/Encountering Sea Monsters [Blu-ray] Starring: Hilary Swank, Tim Matheson Directed By: NATURE produced by WNET Program 1: Under Antarctic Ice - Beneath the surface of stunningly cold water, an abundance of lifeforms and icescapes can be found. Academy Award-winner Hilary Swank narrates encounters with jellyfish that have thirty-foot long tentacles, sponges the size of large mammals, killer whales, and more in this fascinating look at what lies in the ocean depths beneath the surface of one of the coldest continents on Earth. Program 2: Encountering Sea Monsters - Enter the gloomy green ocean depths with deep-sea cameraman Bob Cranston to discover fantastic worlds and the beautiful but deadly creatures that inhabit them. Nothing in science fiction can prepare you for a creature with a beak like a parrot, no bones in its body, three hearts, blue blood, skin that can change colors, and arms... |
 |
Polar Bear Cubs Wildlife T-shirt, XL, Black by A&E Designs |
 |
Film Music of Vaughan Williams 1 by Vaughan Williams, BBC Philharmonic, Gumba |
|
Ice Breaker : Tasmania Antarctic News & Views by Icewall One | |
|
|
Antarctic Wonderland (Penguins on Ice) White Wood-Mounted Art Poster Print - 24" X 36" by Adam Hersh Posters This poster shows several penguins on an ice formation. The ocean is visible at the bottom and there is a bird flying at the top. This poster measures approx. 24" x 36" Penguins are a group of aquatic, flightless birds living almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. Most penguins feed on krill, fish, squid, and other forms of sealife caught while swimming underwater. They spend half of their life on land and half in the oceans. Penguins are popular around the world for their unusually upright, waddling pace and lack of fear of humans. Their striking black and white plumage is often likened to a tuxedo suit. |
 |
Under Antarctic Ice: The Photographs of Norbert Wu by Norbert Wu (Author), Jim Mastro (Author) The allure of Antarctica, a place still mysterious, untamed, and unspoiled, has beckoned tourists in increasing numbers as more and more people vie for a glimpse of its terrible beauty and stunning vistas. But there is one aspect of Antarctica they never see, perhaps the most interesting of all-the world beneath the ice. This book, a collection of the finest photographs ever taken underwater in deep Antarctica, illuminates a world brimming with strange and beautiful life forms. For the first time anywhere, Under Antarctic Ice brings together the stories, the science, and the natural beauty of one of earth's most vibrant and enchanting realms. Internationally renowned photographer Norbert Wu was given unprecedented access to the icy waters off Antarctica by the U.S. National Science... |
| © 2009 BrightSurf.com |