|
NSF PR 98-63 - October 7, 1998
This material is available primarily for archival
purposes. Telephone numbers or other contact information
may be out of date; please see current contact information
at media
contacts.
1998-99 Antarctic Research Season Highlights
Research ranging from sea floor sediments to the origins
of the universe will be conducted during the 1998-99
austral summer research season in Antarctica. Approximately
130 research projects will be supported by the National
Science Foundation (NSF), the federal agency that
funds and manages the U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP).
The USAP operates three year-round research stations-McMurdo,
Amundsen-Scott South Pole and Palmer-as well as two
research vessels, the Nathaniel B. Palmer and a new
vessel, the Laurence M. Gould. The USAP also collaborates
with other countries' Antarctic programs.
Research will be conducted in the earth sciences, glaciology,
biology, medicine, oceanography, meteorology, astrophysics
and aeronomy (studies of the upper atmosphere). This
year approximately 700 investigators and technicians
will deploy to Antarctica. Highlights of the current
season include:
- CAPE ROBERTS PROJECT: The Cape Roberts
project, an international effort involving scientists
from the United States, New Zealand, Italy, the
United Kingdom, Australia and Germany, will attempt
to collect cores from the Ross Sea floor. The
team will drill through sea ice and about 170
meters of water into the underlying sea floor.
Ice at least 1.5 meters thick is needed to serve
as a drilling platform. Sediments and fossils
in the drill core should help provide information
about conditions 25-70 million years ago, and
fill in gaps missing from knowledge of the Earth's
climate. During this interval of time, the first
ice sheets in Antarctica began to form. This period
is particularly important as it covers a period
in Earth's history when the earth last experienced
temperatures as warm as those that are expected
over the next few centuries due to greenhouse
warming. This year is crucial to the project,
which has been plagued by poor sea-ice conditions
in the two previous seasons. Conditions look promising
this season.
- SULFUR AT THE SOUTH POLE: Microscopic
sulfur particles in the atmosphere are some of
the major components in climate change scenarios-both
naturally produced and man-made sulfur compounds
reflect solar radiation, produce atmospheric haze
and acid rain, and affect ozone depletion. Sulfate
particles are very good at acting as condensation
nuclei for water vapor, creating clouds. Researchers
will seek to improve understanding of the atmospheric
chemistry of sulfur compounds (some of which are
produced by oceanic phytoplankton) and the climatic
interpretation of sulfur-based signals in Antarctic
ice core records.
- BALLOONING OVER ANTARCTICA: A major long-duration
balloon flight will circle the continent gathering
data at an altitude of approximately 120,000 feet
for about two weeks before being parachuted to
the ice for recovery. The balloon, supplied and
launched by NASA, has a volume of about 30 million
cubic feet and can lift payloads heavier than
a ton. The project will measure, with unprecedented
sensitivity, the temperature variations across
the sky of the cosmic microwave background radiation.
Details about these relic photons left over from
the beginnings of the universe will help scientists
discriminate with exquisite sensitivity among
various models of the cosmos.
- FOSSIL FINDS: In conjunction with the
Argentine Antarctic Institute, researchers will
be excavating Mosasaur and Plesiosaur fossils
and searching for Hadrosaur fossils on Vega Island
near the Antarctic peninsula. The Mosasaur and
Plesiosaur fossils will provide important information
about this class of marine dinosaurs and about
the geographic distribution of these marine reptiles
during the age of dinosaurs. Last year, this team
discovered the only Hadrosaur fossils outside
the Americas. Hadrosaurs were large land-dwelling,
plant-eating dinosaurs and the Antarctic fossils
are important because they demonstrate a significant
land bridge between the Americas and Antarctica.
They are also evidence of a complex and extensive
plant ecosystem on land in the region which was
then at a high southern latitude, not unlike its
current position.
- WEST ANTARCTIC ICE SHEET: The West Antarctic
Ice Sheet, which rests on thin continental crust,
may be an important contributor to a future global
warming-induced sea level rise. A number of studies
are adding to our knowledge of the history of
the ice sheet, which has implications for understanding
the Earth's past climatic conditions and for models
predicting future climate changes. At Siple Dome,
an enormous semi-circular ridge of ice between
two quickly flowing glaciers or "ice streams",
a 1,000-meter ice core will be drilled and the
layers of snow, somewhat like rings in a tree,
will be examined for information about past climate
conditions. Also at Siple Dome, researchers will
try to determine the dynamics of ice flow-a topic
critical to understanding the stability of the
ice sheet. Researchers will also examine the glacial
geologic history of the Transantarctic Mountains.
Others will study the deposits from volcanoes
in West Antarctica attempting to determine the
past ice sheet elevation by dating imbedded volcanic
rocks.
- A SEAL'S-EYE VIEW: For an air-breathing
mammal, seals forage for food in an unforgiving
environment-under water covered in ice. Researchers
will attach a small video system and a data logger
to Weddell seals' backs and measure oxygen consumption
during dives to determine how seals hunt for food
and how efficient they are at doing so. Using
the data gathered, the researchers will conduct
computer analyses of data on depth, swimming speed,
and bearing, enabling them to create a 3-D path
of the seals' dives and correlate that information
with video of the seals' heads and the immediate
environment in front of the seal. Other gathered
information will allow them to calculate how efficient
the seals' foraging strategies are in different
environments and when hunting for various types
of prey.
- ULTRAVIOLET CRUISE: In this multi-disciplinary
cruise, researchers will study the effects of
solar ultraviolet radiation on bacterioplankton,
phytoplankton, zooplankton as well the photochemistry
of bacterial growth processes in the ocean. They
will examine how biological responses to ultraviolet
radiation are affected by ozone, explore interactions
with marine viruses, and study the interplay within
the food web.
- INTERACTIONS BETWEEN THE ATMOSPHERE AND THE
OCEAN: This season will be the final field
season for ROAVERRS (Research on Ocean-Atmosphere
Variability and Ecosystem Response in the Ross
Sea), a multidisciplinary study of the atmospheric
and oceanic interaction conducted on board the
Nathaniel B. Palmer. The research will lead to
a better understanding of the polar marine ecosystem
in response to climate variables. Ship-based scientists
will measure: wind and air temperature; ice cover,
ice movement, and sea surface temperature; small-scale
water circulation in the top layers of the sea;
organic materials within the ocean circulation;
and the amount, distribution and respiration rates
of plants and animals on the sea floor. Combined
with meteorological data, scientists expect they
can monitor changes in airflow patterns in the
southwestern Ross Sea to determine their influence
on oceanographic and biological patterns.
- CONSTRUCTION AT POLE: Construction for
the new South Pole station will intensify, focusing
on the completion of vehicle maintenance and shop
facilities and the replacement of rubber fuel
bladders with steel tanks. These safety and environmental
upgrades will complement the South Pole Station
Modernization-a $128 million project to replace
the existing station by 2005. The current station
is 20 years old and nearing the end of its effective
utility.
- GOULD: This is the first full season
of the R/V Laurence M. Gould, after several initial
cruises last season. The research vessel will
embark on cruises in support of ultraviolet research,
Long Term Ecological Research, marine geology
and geophysics as well as providing logistic support
to Palmer station. The Gould is an ABS A1 icebreaker
(capable of breaking ice one foot thick) and is
230 feet long with a displacement of 3,411 tons.
It was built in LaRose Louisiana and is owned
and operated by Edison Chouest Offshore Corporation
(ECO). The Gould is under a charter with Antarctic
Support Associates (ASA). Both USAP Icebreaking
Research Vessels-the Gould and the Nathaniel B.
Palmer--are owned and operated by ECO under charter
to ASA.
|
|