Hercules Dome, Antarctica
Winter 2019-2020
Our team conducted geophysical surveys at Hercules Dome, which lies between East Antarctica and West Antarctica, to identify a precise location to drill a deep ice core. This work was done in collaboration with glaciologists at the University of Washington.
We brought various types of ice-penetrating radar systems in order to gather data on various aspects of the ice below us, which ranges from ~1500m to 2000m deep. We used a "high frequency" radar system to look at the deeper layers of ice and identify the topography of the underlying bedrock. These data are important for identifying an ice core location, as an optimal site tends to be at a bedrock high and has simple, undisrupted ice layers. We use a "very high frequency" radar system for imaging the shallower layers of ice and snow sitting closer to the surface. Due to the different densities of the layers of ice, we need radar systems with different transmitting frequencies to learn about different parts of the ice sheet. The very high frequency system allows us to see layers in the top ~100m of the ice sheet.
We brought various types of ice-penetrating radar systems in order to gather data on various aspects of the ice below us, which ranges from ~1500m to 2000m deep. We used a "high frequency" radar system to look at the deeper layers of ice and identify the topography of the underlying bedrock. These data are important for identifying an ice core location, as an optimal site tends to be at a bedrock high and has simple, undisrupted ice layers. We use a "very high frequency" radar system for imaging the shallower layers of ice and snow sitting closer to the surface. Due to the different densities of the layers of ice, we need radar systems with different transmitting frequencies to learn about different parts of the ice sheet. The very high frequency system allows us to see layers in the top ~100m of the ice sheet.
All photos by Gemma O'Connor.
|
|
South Cascade Glacier, Washington
Spring 2019
In collaboration with the USGS, I went with 3 others to South Cascade Glacier in the North Cascades to get Spring glacier mass balance measurements. This glacier has been continuously surveyed by the USGS since 1957, making it one of the few U.S. benchmark glaciers for assessing the role between glaciers and climate.
Photos by Gemma O'Connor and Ben Hills.
Kiritimati Island, Republic of Kiribati
November 2016
Just after the very strong El Niño event of 2015/16, I went with 3 others in the Cobb lab at Georgia Tech to Kiritimati Island, which lies in the middle of the equatorial Pacific, to collect samples and data that help us constrain El Niño activity of the past. We collected living corals, fossil corals, and seawater samples, as well as data from in situ temperature and conductivity loggers. In response to the extreme conditions of the El Niño event, which peaked in November of 2015, ~85% of the corals we found were dead or bleached.
Photos by Gemma O'Connor, Alyssa Atwood, and Kim Cobb.
