Project Title

Thwaites Interdisciplinary Margin Evolution (TIME): the role of shear margin dynamics in the future evolution of the Thwaites Drainage Basin

Summary

Event Number:
C-446-M
NSF/OPP Award 1739027 / NERC Award NE/S006788/1

Program Manager:
Dr. Paul Cutler

ASC POC/Implementer:
Judy Shiple / Leslie Blank

Principal Investigator(s)

Dr. Slawek M Tulaczyk
stulaczy@ucsc.edu
University of California Santa Cruz
Earth Sciences
Santa Cruz, California

Dr. Poul Christoffersen
pc350@cam.ac.uk
Cambridge University
Scott Polar Research Institute
Cambridge, United Kingdom

Location

Supporting Stations: McMurdo Station
Research Locations: Eastern Shear Margin

Description

The Thwaites Interdisciplinary Margin Evolution (TIME) project is a part of the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration (ITGC), a multi-disciplinary effort led by the U.S. and U.K. Antarctic programs. The project will test the overarching hypothesis that shear-margin dynamics may exert powerful control over the evolution of ice flow in the Thwaites Drainage Basin. The work will combine geophysical data collection on the Eastern Shear Margin (ESM) of Thwaites Glacier with shear margin modeling and basin-scale numerical investigations of future sea-level contributions. Fieldwork includes data collection from passive seismic instrument arrays, active seismic experiments, and radar surveys.

Field Season Overview

This season the team will flag or reset passive seismic, radar, and GPS instrumentation installed at four separate field locations in the eastern shear margin of Thwaites Glacier during the 2019-20 field season, and collect repeat campaign-style GPS measurements at designated locations. The NSF priority for science support tasking in West Antarctica in 2020-21 is to manage or recover scientific instruments to maintain their viability for future seasons. This scope of work will be accomplished by ASC contractor staff and one technician provided by UNAVCO and PASSCAL agencies utilizing existing fuel inventories established in West Antarctica during the 2019-20 field season.

Deploying Team Members