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!

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Third Scheduled Blog Post - Exploring our new field area!

Hello Friends,


This blog post was scheduled before we left McMurdo. We do not have internet access in our field camp!


I scheduled entries during our absence to give you an idea of what our day-to-day activities might be like in the Thomas Hills. After we have set-up and organized our new camp site, we will begin to orient ourselves to the glacial geologic and glaciologic features in the area. To do this, we will most likely hike up the nearest mountain for an overview!


Heading out of camp for our first exploratory hike!
Spirits are always especially high during the first venture from a new camp!


You can barely see our camp in the distance!  
Greg and Chris summiting a peak above camp.
Group shot! We are wearing harnesses because we had to rope up to cross the snow and ice immediately below the edge of the exposed rock.
Seth admiring the view out to the shear margin of the Foundation Ice Stream. The force that the fast-flowing ice of the ice stream places against slower surrounding ice stresses the ice at the margin. The ice cracks in response to this stress, causing a band of crevasses. In this photograph, the shaded, rough-looking area you see beyond the rock is the eastern shear zone of the Foundation Ice Stream. We expect to be able to see the shear margin in the Thomas Hills as well!
I have scheduled additional entries for you this week! Hope all is well with everyone back home,


Claire
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