Follow the annual retreat of the sea ice

In preparation for our cruise to the Wilkes Land margin of Antarctica, we are watching the sea ice closely. Sea ice forms in the Antarctic every austral Winter (March through September) by freezing of the surface of the ocean. The sea ice melts back from October through February (the Antarctic Summer). For our cruise it is important that the sea ice melts back enough so that the ship can reach the continental shelf, which is the area of the ocean adjacent to land, where the water depths are relatively shallow. In the image you can see the the sea ice map for December 11, 2009 with the Wilkes Land margin indicated with an arrow. The movie here shows the retreat of the sea ice over the past 21 days. It is looking quite good: the sea ice has receded from the shelf area there. You can go to the following web site and keep an eye on the sea ice on a daily basis: http://www.iup.uni-bremen.de:8084/amsr/amsre.html. Just scroll down the page to the Antarctic.

Dr. Passchier prepares for another trip to Antarctica

On January 2, 2010, Dr. Passchier will head south again for another trip to Antarctica. This time she will board a ship in Wellington, New Zealand, which will sail to the Wilkes Land margin of Antarctica (WL on the map). The objective of the cruise is to collect another set of drill cores on the Antarctic continental margin to reconstruct Antarctica's climate and ice-sheet history.

Antarctica is an important component of the Earth system. 1) Its white surface of ice and snow reflects sunlight and keeps the Earth cool. 2) The seasonal formation of sea ice produces cold salty waters that sink and flow northward to cool the lower latitudes of our globe. 3) The Antarctic ice sheets store 70 m in sea level equivalents, meaning that the Statue of Liberty would be in water up to her armpits when all that would melt. Although that is unlikely to happen, keeping an eye on what is going on with all the ice is a good idea!

Credits: map from Barker et al. Leg 178 Scientific Results; image from Ken Miller, Rutgers University

Presentation of scientific results at conference in Granada, Spain

Dr. Passchier is presenting the results of the ANDRILL SMS studies on behalf of the sedimentology team at an international science conference in Granada, Spain, September 2009. For more photos and information about the symposium see the symposium website here.

Radio Interview with NJN News

Click on the link below to listen to a radio interview in the Series "Sounds of Science" with Partick Regan of NJN News. Hit the Podcast icon and find "Antarctic Perspectives" if you scroll down the list.

http://www.njn.net/radio/programs/soundsofscience.html

Article in Christian Science Monitor

See below for a link to an article about our work in McMurdo Station last Fall 2007 in the Christian Science Monitor of February 20, 2008.
"Scientists read Antarctic mud for climate change insight."

Antarctic science lecture January 31, 2008

Within the framework of the Focus the Nation climate awareness event I am going to give a science lecture for a general audience at Montclair State University. The lecture will be about the Antarctic environment in general and about the responses of the region to climate change. Details on time and place can be found at Our Program Site.

Made it back home!

After a long journey I have made it back home. The C-17 came in and brought us back to New Zealand. It was quite cold and windy when we were waiting on the sea ice to board the aircraft, but we were enjoying our last minutes on the ice. The cold is part of the experience and we certainly got used to it! While we were waiting our luggage was loaded onto the aircraft. Note the sea-ice firetruck, a track vehicle. It was a full flight with around 80 people coming back from the ice. After we took off, we were able to move around within the aircraft. It has 4 windows and I spent most of the first two hours looking at the icy landscapes below. First we traveled above the sea ice of the Ross Sea. One could see that it is Summer now and it is starting to break up. The Antarctic sea ice forms every Winter and breaks up every Summer. Later, we were flying across the front of the Transantarctic Mountains and one could see glaciers flowing through valleys and merging with the sea ice of the Ross Sea. Ice flows very slowly and it can flow uphill as well, but it eventually flows out to sea, where it breaks up into icebergs that are carried North by the ocean currents.
Now that the science team has made it home, we will all work in our labs in collaboration with students to analyze the core further. You can check this site for science updates. I will post pictures and information of our lab work once the samples have come in. They have been shipped from the ice and will arrive in the next few weeks. Happy holidays everyone!