Project Title

Low Power Magnetometer (LPM) network - British Antarctic Survey (BAS)

Summary

Event Number:
X-599-M
NSF/BAS Agreement

Program Manager:
Ms. Jessie Crain

ASC POC/Implementer:
Judy Shiple / Leslie Blank

Principal Investigator(s)

Dr. Tom Jordan
tomj@bas.ac.uk
British Antarctic Survey
Cambridge, Other

Location

Supporting Stations: McMurdo Station
Research Locations: Polar Plateau

Description

The International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration is joint UK-US research program to improve the understanding of the processes affecting ice sheet stability. Its central goal is to predict the future impact of sea-level rise from the largest glacier in West Antarctica, Thwaites Glacier. Underpinning many of the component science programs will be new data on the sub-ice topography, geology and basal conditions, together with new information about the bathymetry hidden beneath the adjacent ice-shelf. Much of this new data will be collected by BAS scientists using an aerogeophysically equipped Twin Otter. This system simultaneously collects data from a suite of instruments including lidar, shallow snow radar, deep depth sounding radar, gravity and magnetic sensors. Together this data will provide the highest resolution view of the glacier extending from the ice surface, through the internal ice sheet structures, to the bed conditions and the geology beneath. After the field season this data will be shared with all the partners involved in the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration, allowing better predictions of how Thwaites glacier will evolve in future.

Field Season Overview

In December, the team will spend 10 days at Rothera Station to equip the BAS Twin Otter VP-FBL for survey and to calibrate all systems. The team will then transit via Sky Blue to the Lower Thwaites Glacier field camp where they will fly five to seven survey flights over the course of a month. This first field period will include the first C-444-M (Holland-Nicholls/MELT) radar flight. In February, the team will spend three days at Rothera Station to equip the BAS Twin Otter VP-FBL for survey and to calibrate all the systems. It will then transit via Sky Blue to the Lower Thwaites Glacier field camp where it will fly one to two survey flights for MELT only. The team will pack equipment to be transported back to the UK and US through the USAP cargo system.

Deploying Team Members