Subglacial Lake Whillans Microbial Biogeochemistry: a Synthesis Of
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Polar Ice Coring and IGY 1957-58 in This Issue
NEWSLETTER OF T H E N A T I O N A L I C E C O R E L ABORATORY — S CIE N C E M A N AGE M E N T O FFICE Vol. 3 Issue 1 • SPRING 2008 Polar Ice Coring and IGY 1957-58 In this issue . An Interview with Dr. Anthony J. “Tony” Gow Polar Ice Coring and IGY 1957-58 From the early 1950’s through the mid-1960’s, U.S. polar ice coring research was led by two U.S. Army An Interview with Dr. Tony Gow .... 1 Corps of Engineers research labs: the Snow, Ice, and Permafrost Research Establishment (SIPRE), and Upcoming Meetings ...................... 2 later, the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL). One of the high-priority research Greenland Science projects recommended by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences/National Committee for IGY 1957-58 and Education Week ..................... 3 was to deep core drill into polar ice sheets for scientific purposes. To this end, SIPRE was tasked with Ice Core Working Group developing and running the entire U.S. ice core drilling and research program. Following the successful Members ....................................... 3 pre-IGY pilot drilling trials at Site-2 NW Greenland in 1956 (305 m) and 1957 (411 m), the SIPRE WAIS Divide turned their attention to deep ice core drilling in Antarctica for IGY 1957-58. Dr. Anthony J. (Tony) Ice Core Update ............................ 5 Gow (CRREL, retired) was one of the scientists on the project. In March 2008, the NICL-SMO had Ice Cores and POLAR-PALOOZA the opportunity to sit down with Dr. -
Geochemistry of Subglacial Lake Whillans, West Antarctica: Implications for Microbial Activity
5th International Conference on Polar & Alpine Microbiology, Big Sky, MT, USA, 2013 Geochemistry of subglacial Lake Whillans, West Antarctica: Implications for microbial activity. Mark Skidmore1, Andrew Mitchell2, Carlo Barbante3, Alex Michaud4, Trista Vick-Majors4, John Priscu4 1Earth Sciences, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, USA, 2Geography and Earth Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, UK, 3Institute for the Dynamics of Environmental Processes-CNR, University of Venice, Venice, Italy. 4Land Resources and Environmental Sciences, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, USA. Subglacial Lake Whillans is located beneath the Whillans Ice Stream in West Antarctica. The lake is situated beneath 800 m of ice and ~ 70 km upstream of the grounding line where Whillans Ice Stream terminates into the Ross Sea. Water and sediment samples were recovered from the lake, using clean access drilling technologies, in January, 2013. Isotopic analysis of the lake waters indicates basal meltwater from the ice sheet as the dominant water source. Geochemical analysis of the lake waters reveal it is freshwater with total dissolved solids concentrations about 1/70th that of sea water. However, mineral weathering is a significant source of solute to the lake water with a contribution also from sea water. Nutrients N and P are present at micromolar concentrations. The sediment porewaters from shallow cores (~ 40 cm depth) of the subglacial lake sediments indicate increasing solute concentration with depth, with up to ~ five times greater solute concentrations than in the lake waters. Collectively the aqueous geochemistry indicates an environment favorable for microbial activity. Thus, microbially-driven mineral weathering appears likely beneath the Whillans Ice Stream, as has been demonstrated in other subglacial systems, including in subglacial sediments of the neighboring Kamb Ice Stream. -
7Th Grade February Break Packet.Pdf
__________________ ___________________ _________________ Read this story. Then answer questions 15 through 21. e narrator, Holling Hoodhood, has a crush on Meryl Lee Kowalski. Holling’s father has been honored earlier in the story by a local business group as the best businessman of 1967. Excerpt from e Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt 1 e following week the school board met to decide on the model for the new junior high school—which was probably why Mr. Kowalski had been spending all his time muttering “classical, classical, classical.” e meeting was to be at four o’clock in the high school administration building. Mr. Kowalski would present his plan and model, and then my father would present his plan and model, and then the school board would meet in private session to decide whether Kowalski and Associates or Hoodhood and Associates would be the architect for the new junior high school. 2 I know all of this because my father was making me come. It was time I started to learn the business, he said. I needed to see firsthand how competitive bidding worked. I needed to experience architectural presentations. I needed to see architecture as the blood sport that it truly was. 3 e meeting was in the public conference room, and when I got there aer school, the school board members were all sitting at the head table, studying the folders with architectural bids. Mr. Kowalski and my father were sitting at two of the high school desks—which made the whole thing seem a little weirder than it needed to be. -
“Mining” Water Ice on Mars an Assessment of ISRU Options in Support of Future Human Missions
National Aeronautics and Space Administration “Mining” Water Ice on Mars An Assessment of ISRU Options in Support of Future Human Missions Stephen Hoffman, Alida Andrews, Kevin Watts July 2016 Agenda • Introduction • What kind of water ice are we talking about • Options for accessing the water ice • Drilling Options • “Mining” Options • EMC scenario and requirements • Recommendations and future work Acknowledgement • The authors of this report learned much during the process of researching the technologies and operations associated with drilling into icy deposits and extract water from those deposits. We would like to acknowledge the support and advice provided by the following individuals and their organizations: – Brian Glass, PhD, NASA Ames Research Center – Robert Haehnel, PhD, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers/Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory – Patrick Haggerty, National Science Foundation/Geosciences/Polar Programs – Jennifer Mercer, PhD, National Science Foundation/Geosciences/Polar Programs – Frank Rack, PhD, University of Nebraska-Lincoln – Jason Weale, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers/Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory Mining Water Ice on Mars INTRODUCTION Background • Addendum to M-WIP study, addressing one of the areas not fully covered in this report: accessing and mining water ice if it is present in certain glacier-like forms – The M-WIP report is available at http://mepag.nasa.gov/reports.cfm • The First Landing Site/Exploration Zone Workshop for Human Missions to Mars (October 2015) set the target -
Antarctic Primer
Antarctic Primer By Nigel Sitwell, Tom Ritchie & Gary Miller By Nigel Sitwell, Tom Ritchie & Gary Miller Designed by: Olivia Young, Aurora Expeditions October 2018 Cover image © I.Tortosa Morgan Suite 12, Level 2 35 Buckingham Street Surry Hills, Sydney NSW 2010, Australia To anyone who goes to the Antarctic, there is a tremendous appeal, an unparalleled combination of grandeur, beauty, vastness, loneliness, and malevolence —all of which sound terribly melodramatic — but which truly convey the actual feeling of Antarctica. Where else in the world are all of these descriptions really true? —Captain T.L.M. Sunter, ‘The Antarctic Century Newsletter ANTARCTIC PRIMER 2018 | 3 CONTENTS I. CONSERVING ANTARCTICA Guidance for Visitors to the Antarctic Antarctica’s Historic Heritage South Georgia Biosecurity II. THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT Antarctica The Southern Ocean The Continent Climate Atmospheric Phenomena The Ozone Hole Climate Change Sea Ice The Antarctic Ice Cap Icebergs A Short Glossary of Ice Terms III. THE BIOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENT Life in Antarctica Adapting to the Cold The Kingdom of Krill IV. THE WILDLIFE Antarctic Squids Antarctic Fishes Antarctic Birds Antarctic Seals Antarctic Whales 4 AURORA EXPEDITIONS | Pioneering expedition travel to the heart of nature. CONTENTS V. EXPLORERS AND SCIENTISTS The Exploration of Antarctica The Antarctic Treaty VI. PLACES YOU MAY VISIT South Shetland Islands Antarctic Peninsula Weddell Sea South Orkney Islands South Georgia The Falkland Islands South Sandwich Islands The Historic Ross Sea Sector Commonwealth Bay VII. FURTHER READING VIII. WILDLIFE CHECKLISTS ANTARCTIC PRIMER 2018 | 5 Adélie penguins in the Antarctic Peninsula I. CONSERVING ANTARCTICA Antarctica is the largest wilderness area on earth, a place that must be preserved in its present, virtually pristine state. -
Ice Core Science
PAGES International Project Offi ce Sulgeneckstrasse 38 3007 Bern Switzerland Tel: +41 31 312 31 33 Fax: +41 31 312 31 68 [email protected] Text Editing: Leah Christen News Layout: Christoph Kull Hubertus Fischer, Christoph Kull and Circulation: 4000 Thorsten Kiefer, Editors VOL.14, N°1 – APRIL 2006 Ice Core Science Ice cores provide unique high-resolution records of past climate and atmospheric composition. Naturally, the study area of ice core science is biased towards the polar regions but ice cores can also be retrieved from high .pages-igbp.org altitude glaciers. On the satellite picture are those ice cores covered in this issue of PAGES News (Modifi ed image of “The Blue Marble” (http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov) provided by kk+w - digital cartography, Kiel, Germany; Photos by PNRA/EPICA, H. Oerter, V. Lipenkov, J. Freitag, Y. Fujii, P. Ginot) www Contents 2 Announcements - Editorial: The future of ice core research - Dating of ice cores - Inside PAGES - Coastal ice cores - Antarctica - New on the bookshelf - WAIS Divide ice core - Antarctica - Tales from the fi eld - ITASE project - Antarctica - In memory of Nick Shackleton - New Dome Fuji ice core - Antarctica - Vostok ice drilling project - Antarctica 6 Program News - EPICA ice cores - Antarctica - The IPICS Initiative - 425-year precipitation history from Italy - New sea-fl oor drilling equipment - Sea-level changes: Black and Caspian Seas - Relaunch of the PAGES Databoard - Quaternary climate change in Arabia 12 National Page 40 Workshop Reports - Chile - 2nd Southern Deserts Conference - Chile - Climate change and tree rings - Russia 13 Science Highlights - Global climate during MIS 11 - Greece - NGT and PARCA ice cores - Greenland - NorthGRIP ice core - Greenland 44 Last Page - Reconstructions from Alpine ice cores - Calendar - Tropical ice cores from the Andes - PAGES Guest Scientist Program ISSN 1563–0803 The PAGES International Project Offi ce and its publications are supported by the Swiss and US National Science Foundations and NOAA. -
A Significant Acceleration of Ice Volume Discharge Preceded a Major Retreat of a West Antarctic Paleo–Ice Stream
https://doi.org/10.1130/G46916.1 Manuscript received 26 August 2019 Revised manuscript received 23 November 2019 Manuscript accepted 26 November 2019 © 2019 Geological Society of America. For permission to copy, contact [email protected]. A signifcant acceleration of ice volume discharge preceded a major retreat of a West Antarctic paleo–ice stream Philip J. Bart1 and Slawek Tulaczyk2 1 Department of Geology and Geophysics, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803, USA 2 Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California 95064, USA ABSTRACT SEDIMENT AND ICE DISCHARGE For the period between 14.7 and 11.5 cal. (calibrated) kyr B.P, the sediment fux of Bind- FROM THE PALEO–BINDSCHADLER schadler Ice Stream (BIS; West Antarctica) averaged 1.7 × 108 m3 a−1. This implies that BIS ICE STREAM velocity averaged 500 ± 120 m a−1. At a fner resolution, the data suggest two stages of ice Radiocarbon ages from benthic foramin- stream fow. During the frst 2400 ± 400 years of a grounding-zone stillstand, ice stream fow ifera (Bart et al., 2018) (Table 1) indicate that averaged 200 ± 90 m a−1. Following ice-shelf breakup at 12.3 ± 0.2 cal. kyr B.P., fow acceler- the paleo-BIS grounding line had retreated ated to 1350 ± 580 m a−1. The estimated ice volume discharge after breakup exceeds the bal- 70 km from its maximum (LGM) position by ance velocity by a factor of two and implies ice mass imbalance of −40 Gt a−1 just before the 14.7 ± 0.4 cal. -
The U-Pb Detrital Zircon Signature of West Antarctic Ice Stream Tills in The
Antarctic Science 26(6), 687–697 (2014) © Antarctic Science Ltd 2014. This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. doi:10.1017/S0954102014000315 The U-Pb detrital zircon signature of West Antarctic ice stream tills in the Ross embayment, with implications for Last Glacial Maximum ice flow reconstructions KATHY J. LICHT, ANDREA J. HENNESSY and BETHANY M. WELKE Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Department of Earth Sciences, 723 West Michigan Street, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA [email protected] Abstract: Glacial till samples collected from beneath the Bindschadler and Kamb ice streams have a distinct U-Pb detrital zircon signature that allows them to be identified in Ross Sea tills. These two sites contain a population of Cretaceous grains 100–110 Ma that have not been found in East Antarctic tills. Additionally, Bindschadler and Kamb ice streams have an abundance of Ordovician grains (450–475 Ma) and a cluster of ages 330–370 Ma, which are much less common in the remainder of the sample set. These tracers of a West Antarctic provenance are also found east of 180° longitude in eastern Ross Sea tills deposited during the last glacial maximum (LGM). Whillans Ice Stream (WIS), considered part of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet but partially originating in East Antarctica, lacks these distinctive signatures. Its U-Pb zircon age population is dominated by grains 500–550 Ma indicating derivation from Granite Harbour Intrusive rocks common along the Transantarctic Mountains, making it indistinguishable from East Antarctic tills. -
Ice Core Drilling and Subglacial Lake Studies on the Temperate Ice Caps in Iceland
Ice core drilling and subglacial lake studies on the temperate ice caps in Iceland Iceland astride the Mid-Atlantic ridge Lecture # 36 Astrobiology Winter School Ice drilling projects in Iceland University of Hawaii, Jan. 2005 Thorsteinn Thorsteinsson ([email protected]) National Energy Authority Ice cover during the late glacial period. Combination of hot spot volcanism, spreading on the Mid-Atlantic ridge and glaciation leads to unusual geology. From Thordarson and Höskuldsson (2003). Subglacial volcanism beneath an ice sheet creates unusual landforms: Tuyas (tablemountains) and ridges. Herðubreið, N-Iceland Submarine eruptions create similar formations. Biologicial colonization monitored from the beginning Surtsey eruption, S. of Iceland, 1963-1967. Recent subglacial eruption in Grímsvötn, Vatnajökull ice cap. Jökulsárgljúfur canyons, N. Iceland: Formed in a catastrophic flood from Vatnajökull 2500 years ago. Icelandic analogs to hillside gullies on Mars Mars Mars Iceland Iceland Iceland Temperate ice caps Hofsjökull, 890 km2 cover >10% of Iceland Vatnajökull 2 Langjökull 8000 km 2 920 km Max. thickness: 950 m Mýrdalsjökull 550 km2 - Dynamic ice caps in a maritime climate. - High accumulation rates (2-4 m w.eq. yr-1) - Extensive melting during summer, except at highest elevations (> 1800 m) - Mass balance of ice caps negative since 1995 1972: A 415 m ice core was drilled on the NW-part of Vatnajökull Activities not continued at that time, drill was discarded. Mass balance of Hofsjökull Ice Cap 4 2 0 Winter balance -2 Summer balance H2O Net balance m -4 Cumulative mass balance -6 -8 -10 1987 1992 1997 2002 Climate, Water, Energy: A research project investigating the effect of climate change on energy production in the Nordic countries Temperature increase 1990-2050 °C CWE uses IPCC data to create scenarios for temperature and precipitation change in the Nordic region in the future Modelled change in volume of Hofsjökull ice cap 2000-2002, Modelled glacial meltwater using four different dT and dP discharge (run-off) 2000-2200. -
(Antarctica) Glacial, Basal, and Accretion Ice
CHARACTERIZATION OF ORGANISMS IN VOSTOK (ANTARCTICA) GLACIAL, BASAL, AND ACCRETION ICE Colby J. Gura A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE December 2019 Committee: Scott O. Rogers, Advisor Helen Michaels Paul Morris © 2019 Colby Gura All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Scott O. Rogers, Advisor Chapter 1: Lake Vostok is named for the nearby Vostok Station located at 78°28’S, 106°48’E and at an elevation of 3,488 m. The lake is covered by a glacier that is approximately 4 km thick and comprised of 4 different types of ice: meteoric, basal, type 1 accretion ice, and type 2 accretion ice. Six samples were derived from the glacial, basal, and accretion ice of the 5G ice core (depths of 2,149 m; 3,501 m; 3,520 m; 3,540 m; 3,569 m; and 3,585 m) and prepared through several processes. The RNA and DNA were extracted from ultracentrifugally concentrated meltwater samples. From the extracted RNA, cDNA was synthesized so the samples could be further manipulated. Both the cDNA and the DNA were amplified through polymerase chain reaction. Ion Torrent primers were attached to the DNA and cDNA and then prepared to be sequenced. Following sequencing the sequences were analyzed using BLAST. Python and Biopython were then used to collect more data and organize the data for manual curation and analysis. Chapter 2: As a result of the glacier and its geographic location, Lake Vostok is an extreme and unique environment that is often compared to Jupiter’s ice-covered moon, Europa. -
West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide Ice Core Climate, Ice Sheet History, Cryobiology
WAIS DIVIDE SCIENCE COORDINATION OFFICE West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide Ice Core Climate, Ice Sheet History, Cryobiology A GUIDE FOR THE MEDIA AND PUBLIC Field Season 2011-2012 WAIS (West Antarctic Ice Sheet) Divide is a United States deep ice coring project in West Antarctica funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). WAIS Divide’s goal is to examine the last ~100,000 years of Earth’s climate history by drilling and recovering a deep ice core from the ice divide in central West Antarctica. Ice core science has dramatically advanced our understanding of how the Earth’s climate has changed in the past. Ice cores collected from Greenland have revolutionized our notion of climate variability during the past 100,000 years. The WAIS Divide ice core will provide the first Southern Hemisphere climate and greenhouse gas records of comparable time resolution and duration to the Greenland ice cores enabling detailed comparison of environmental conditions between the northern and southern hemispheres, and the study of greenhouse gas concentrations in the paleo-atmosphere, with a greater level of detail than previously possible. The WAIS Divide ice core will also be used to test models of WAIS history and stability, and to investigate the biological signals contained in deep Antarctic ice cores. 1 Additional copies of this document are available from the project website at http://www.waisdivide.unh.edu Produced by the WAIS Divide Science Coordination Office with support from the National Science Foundation, Office of Polar Programs. 2 Contents -
Subglacial Lake Ellsworth CEE V2.Indd
Proposed Exploration of Subglacial Lake Ellsworth Antarctica Draft Comprehensive Environmental Evaluation February 2011 1 The cover art was created by first, second, and third grade students at The Village School, a Montessori school located in Waldwick, New Jersey. Art instructor, Bob Fontaine asked his students to create an interpretation of the work being done on The Lake Ellsworth Project and to create over 200 of their own imaginary microbes. This art project was part of The Village School’s art curriculum that links art with ongoing cultural work. 2 Contents Non Technical Summary .................................................4 Personnel ............................................................................................ 26 Chapter 1: Introduction ...................................................6 Power generation and fuel calculations ....................................... 27 Chapter 2: Description of proposed activity..................7 Vehicles ................................................................................................ 28 Background and justification ..............................................................7 Water and waste ...............................................................................28 The site ...................................................................................................8 Communications ............................................................................... 28 Chapter 3: Baseline conditions of Lake Ellsworth .........9 Transport of equipment