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-E/M
NSF/OPP Award 1739027 / NERC Award NE/S006788/1

Program Director:
Dr. Kelly Brunt

ASC POC/Implementer:
Judy Shiple / Jenny Cunningham / Chad Naughton

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: Special Project, McMurdo Station
Research Locations: Thwaites Glacier 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 project is an international collaboration, with support provided by the U.S. Antarctic Program and the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). Four participants and two mountaineers will deploy to the T1 site on Thwaites Glacier from McMurdo Station to establish camp and retrieve data and equipment from seismic, GPS, and radar installations. From there, the participants will traverse to the T2 site to perform similar work. Concurrently, three participants plus one BAS field guide will deploy to the TIME T2a site from Rothera Station to establish camp and retrieve data and equipment from seismic, GPS, and radar installations. From there, they will traverse to the TIME T1 site to perform similar work.

Deploying Team Members