Scott Polar Research Institute » SPRI Review 2007
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38430 SPRI Annual Report 07:36448 SPRI Annual Report 16/6/08 17:52 Page iii Scott Polar Research Institute Review 2007 81st Annual Report of the Scott Polar Research Institute University of Cambridge, UK 38430 SPRI Annual Report 07:36448 SPRI Annual Report 24/6/08 10:55 Page iv Detail from the Institute's polar museum 38430 SPRI Annual Report 07:36448 SPRI Annual Report 16/6/08 14:35 Page 1 Contents Director’s Introduction ....................................................................................... 2 Institute Staff .................................................................................................... 4 Polar Research ................................................................................................... 6 Research Group Structure Polar Physical Science Polar Social Science and Humanities Current Research Grants Publications by Institute Staff .......................................................................... 14 Books Papers in Peer-Reviewed Journals Chapters in Books and Other Contributions Student Doctoral and Masters Theses Polar Information and Historic Archives ........................................................... 16 Library and Information Service World Data Centre for Glaciology, Cambridge Picture Library Archives Polar Record SPRI Website Teaching, Learning and Understanding ............................................................ 20 University Teaching SPRI Museum Projecting the Significance of the Polar Regions Expedition Support: Gino Watkins Funds External Contributions to Polar Activities ......................................................... 23 National and International Roles of Staff International Glaciological Society Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) Fundraising and the SPRI Appeal ..................................................................... 24 Friends of the Scott Polar Research Institute SPRI Appeal 1 38430 SPRI Annual Report 07:36448 SPRI Annual Report 16/6/08 14:35 Page 2 Director’s Introduction The UK launch of the fourth International Polar Year undertaken in our science laboratory, also suggest (IPY) took place in March before MPs and guests in that the rate of ice-sheet response to warming is the Dining Room of the House of Commons. I was likely to increase during the coming century. These invited to give one of three introductory speeches, field and modelling investigations will augment the outlining the significance of glaciers and ice sheets for scholarly papers which continue to be published in a global sea-level rise in a warming world, and of wide range of international journals by Institute staff changing sea-ice extent and thickness in terms of and research students. high-latitude energy balance and the production of dense ocean-bottom water. Members of the Institute In the Institute, the private correspondence between are participating in a number of IPY research projects Captain Scott and Kathleen Scott, generously gifted in both the sciences and the social sciences, our by the Scott family, was first exhibited in January. library and museum activities are represented in Contained within the bound volume was the last further international IPY activities, and three of our letter written by Captain Scott to his wife, which was staff are members of the UK IPY Committee. The found with his body. Huge international press interest Institute will, therefore, be playing a full part in this in these letters was followed by several months of important event, which encompasses thousands of unprecedented numbers of Museum visitors to view researchers from 60 nations participating in over 200 both the letters and also the camera which approved projects. accompanied Scott and his four companions to the South Pole – again a gift from the Scott family. Our field research programmes continue to be supported by grants from the UK research councils In the late spring, Bonhams generously enabled us to and other funding agencies. Early in the year, I led a exhibit in London a selection of items from the research cruise of the UK’s ice strengthened research Institute’s collections, including Scott’s last letter, vessel, James Clark Ross , to waters offshore of the alongside the ‘Antarctic paintings of Edward Seago’, Antarctic Peninsula. The aim was to make the first use lent by kind permission of The Chancellor, HRH The of Britain’s new Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV), Duke of Edinburgh. The exhibition took place at named Isis, in investigations of the sea floor at water Bonhams gallery in New Bond Street, London from 27 depths from a few hundred to several thousand May to 15 June 2007. Several evening receptions metres. Stunning images showing both past glacial were held to promote the work of the Institute. The activity and marine life were obtained from the Chancellor attended a private view of the paintings cameras aboard the ROV, which was operated from and a royal visit by Her Majesty the Queen was a the parent ship via an umbilical cable several particular highlight. This exhibition attracted a large kilometres long. The robotic vehicle used thrusters to new audience and provided an opportunity to launch move over the sea floor and had two mechanical the new book of the same name, written by the manipulator arms that collected geological and Director and Librarian. biological samples. This innovative work, which was collaborative with several UK institutions, was By a coincidence of timing, receptions at the featured in BBC Radio 4’s Material World , with an Bonhams exhibition also provided the setting for two interview by satellite from the ship, and in the news further developments for the Institute. The first was section of Science . notification from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) of the success of our Stage 1 bid to fund the planning Field parties from the Institute were also active in the phase of the complete redesign and redevelopment Arctic during 2007, making geophysical of SPRI’s Polar Museum galleries and curatorial measurements of the state of balance of glaciers and spaces. Robert Smith was appointed in September as ice caps in Iceland and Svalbard. In each area, the Museum Project Manager, with the remit to develop evidence acquired from both field and satellite the full £1 million Stage 2 bid to the HLF by June observations showed that the ice was retreating and 2008. A second important development was the thinning. Numerical model simulations of the formal establishment of a Museum Acquisitions Fund, response of the ice sheets on Greenland and with a first instalment of £25,000 presented to the Antarctica to various future warming trends, Institute by Robin Back, Chair of the Friends of SPRI. 2 38430 SPRI Annual Report 07:36448 SPRI Annual Report 16/6/08 14:35 Page 3 The Director aboard the RRS James Clark Ross off the Antarctic Peninsula This support has already enabled us to bid successfully Ocean in 1968-69 has particular resonance today, for matching funds from other grant-giving bodies, given that reductions in Arctic sea-ice cover now and to augment our collections of polar art works, render the journey almost impossible. documents and artefacts with important new additions such as the logbooks kept by Scott when a Finally, it is a pleasure to acknowledge the efforts put midshipman, which include very fine watercolour in by members of the Institute in mounting the series illustrations. Through a grant of over £400,000 from of exhibitions that many visitors to our Museum have the UK’s Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC), enjoyed, in the provision of library, archival and we have also begun the ‘Freeze Frame’ project to information services to the international polar digitize about 20,000 of our historic polar community, and towards the further understanding of the changing natural and human environments of the photographs in order to make them more accessible. Arctic and Antarctic. The year has also seen more special exhibitions than ever before in the Foyer and Museum of the Institute. Notable among these were ‘Keith Shackleton: A Polar Retrospective’ and ‘Art of Exploration: The Polar Vision of Sir Wally Herbert’. It is particularly sad to recall the death of Sir Wally Herbert in June 2007. His achievement in leading the first crossing of the Arctic Professor Julian Dowdeswell 3 38430 SPRI Annual Report 07:36448 SPRI Annual Report 16/6/08 14:35 Page 4 Institute Staff Senior Academic and Related Staff Professor Julian Dowdeswell Director and Professor of Physical Geography Dr Neil Arnold University Lecturer Dr Michael Bravo University Lecturer Dr Poul Christoffersen University Lecturer Mrs Heather Lane Librarian and Acting Keeper of Collections Professor Elizabeth Morris, OBE Senior Research Associate Dr Gareth Rees University Senior Lecturer Dr Ian Stone Editor, Polar Record Dr Piers Vitebsky Assistant Director of Research Dr Ian Willis University Senior Lecturer Research Staff Mr Toby Benham Research Associate Mr Frank Bowles Research Assistant Dr Marion Bougamont Research Associate Dr Jeff Evans Research Associate (to April 2007) Dr Huw Lewis-Jones Research Associate Dr Bob Hawley Research Associate Dr Riko Noormets Research Associate Dr Martina Tyrell British Academy Research Fellow Library and Archive Staff Ms Naomi Boneham Archives Manager Mr Mark Gilbert Library Assistant Ms Lucy Martin Picture Library Manager Ms Jenny Newbury Digital Information Assistant Ms Shirley Sawtell Information Assistant Ms Rebecca Stancombe Library Assistant Ms Hilary Shibata Antarctic Bibliographer Mrs