Who we are and what we're doing!


Welcome to our project site! We are six National Science Foundation-funded researchers from Pacific Lutheran University, Berkeley Geochronology Center, University of Washington, and the University of Maine who are studying the glacial history of the Pensacola Mountains in West Antarctica.

Our 2011-2012 field season is almost underway! We will spend about two weeks in McMurdo equipping ourselves for another month in the Pensacola Mountains. We spent December 16th, 2010 through January 17th, 2011 in the Pensacola Mountains, where we mapped and sampled glacial deposits along the Foundation Ice Stream. This year, we will revisit last year's field sites, and map new regions of the mountain range.

Our work will track the thinning history of the Weddell Sea Sector of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, and will also provide insights into ice sheet dynamics, and the history of sea level contribution from this sector of the ice sheet.

In the coming weeks and months, we will use this site to show you our preparations for the 2011-2012 field season, and to share our initial results as they emerge. Please check back to catch up with our progress. Thanks for finding us!

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

This is not a joke!

Our flight has been canceled! As soon as I finished publishing the last post, I ran to our storage unit to drop off some things I'm keeping here in station while we're gone. Kat and Greg met me there to tell me that we're not flying today. Welcome to flight operations in Antarctica! Our flight relies on weather in three places: Pensacola Mountains, McMurdo, and the South Pole, where pilots fly through on the way back to refuel. We think weather at Pole may be too bad to make that refueling stop!

Phew! More time to update the blog!

Check back! I'm off to change out of my ECW and get a cup of coffee!

Claire
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