Project Title

Unpinning of the Ross Ice Shelf from Ross Bank

Summary

Event Number:
G-431-N

Program Manager:
Dr. Michael Jackson

ASC POC/Implementer:
Rachel Shackelford / Jamee Johnson

Principal Investigator(s)

Dr. Philip Bart
pbart@lsu.edu
Louisiana State University Baton Rouge
Department of Geology and Geophysics
Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Location

Supporting Stations: RV/IB Nathaniel B. Palmer
Research Locations: RV/IB Nathaniel B Palmer

Description

This team will investigate the how, why and when the Ross Ice Shelf (RIS) unpinned from Ross Bank to assess ice sheet and ice shelf behavior during a recent unpinning event. Previous studies have estimated the timing of West Antarctic Ice Sheet flow changes that occurred during the past millennia based on changes in the pattern of flow stripes and rift tracks preserved on the RIS. Ongoing studies of a recently completed ice core by the Roosevelt Island Climate Evolution project are likely to provide a high-resolution record of atmospheric and ice-surface elevation changes. It is equally important to understanding the past ice shelf dynamics around Ross Bank, an essential part for determining the past behavior of RIS and the future susceptibility and response of unpinning. As such, the Ross Bank study will provide some of the needed ground truth proof for any physical or numerical model prediction of cause and effect relationships associated with ice-shelf unpinning. In addition to the scientific broader impacts on ice sheet dynamics and sea level rise, this study provides the opportunity to train four graduate and four undergraduate students on geophysical and geological data acquisition, processing, sampling, interpretation and presentation.

Field Season Overview

The science team will deploy to the Ross Bank and Pennell Basin areas on the RV/IB Nathaniel B. Palmer (NBP) for two cruises in January to March of 2021. The science team will embark and disembark the ship at Lyttelton, New Zealand. There will be a short port call at McMurdo Station in between the two cruises. The first cruise will comprise ten science days for seismic surveys, and potentially simultaneous, multibeam surveys. After departing McMurdo Station, the second 16-day cruise will conduct multibeam surveys of Ross Bank. Four science days will be used to collect samples from selected stations at Ross Bank. Seafloor imagery via the Yo-Yo Camera and companion baseline water-column analyses with conductivity temperature depth (CTD) casts and plankton tows will be co-acquired. The scientific party will edit and process the multibeam bathymetry and seismic data onboard.

Deploying Team Members