Antarctica: An Overview Samantha Hansen, University of Alabama PolarTREC Orientation Meeting...
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Transcript of Antarctica: An Overview Samantha Hansen, University of Alabama PolarTREC Orientation Meeting...
![Page 1: Antarctica: An Overview Samantha Hansen, University of Alabama PolarTREC Orientation Meeting February 2012.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062321/56649dc95503460f94abf08f/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Antarctica: An OverviewSamantha Hansen, University of Alabama
PolarTREC Orientation MeetingFebruary 2012
![Page 2: Antarctica: An Overview Samantha Hansen, University of Alabama PolarTREC Orientation Meeting February 2012.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062321/56649dc95503460f94abf08f/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
Antarctica Fun Facts- 5th largest land mass; 1.5 times the size of the U.S.
- Coldest, windiest, driest, highest, quietest, most remote, and least understood continent on Earth
- World’s largest desert- Record cold: -129°F
- 99.6% covered by ice, making direct observations very difficult
![Page 3: Antarctica: An Overview Samantha Hansen, University of Alabama PolarTREC Orientation Meeting February 2012.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062321/56649dc95503460f94abf08f/html5/thumbnails/3.jpg)
Who owns Antarctica?
Technically, no one, but territory claims have been
made.
![Page 4: Antarctica: An Overview Samantha Hansen, University of Alabama PolarTREC Orientation Meeting February 2012.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062321/56649dc95503460f94abf08f/html5/thumbnails/4.jpg)
Antarctic Treaty• Signed by 12 nations in 1959; 42 nations included
now.Antarctica is to be used for peaceful purposes only;
no military activities of any kind are permitted. Scientific program plans, personnel, observations, and results shall be freely exchanged. All land and
ice shelves south of latitude 60°S are covered.
![Page 5: Antarctica: An Overview Samantha Hansen, University of Alabama PolarTREC Orientation Meeting February 2012.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062321/56649dc95503460f94abf08f/html5/thumbnails/5.jpg)
U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP)• Supports Antarctic Treaty by fostering
cooperative research; about 3,000 Americans involved each year
Research Goals:• To understand the region and its
ecosystem• To understand its effects on and responses
to global processes, such as climate• To use the region as a platform to study
the upper atmosphere and space
Disciplines: astronomy, atmospheric science, biology, earth science, environmental science, geology, glaciology, marine biology, oceanography, geophysics
![Page 6: Antarctica: An Overview Samantha Hansen, University of Alabama PolarTREC Orientation Meeting February 2012.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062321/56649dc95503460f94abf08f/html5/thumbnails/6.jpg)
Why Antarctica?
• The research being done in Antarctica cannot be done anywhere else!
– Arguably the most undisturbed region on the planet
– Unique environment make it the ideal location for many studies
• A few examples…
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![Page 7: Antarctica: An Overview Samantha Hansen, University of Alabama PolarTREC Orientation Meeting February 2012.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062321/56649dc95503460f94abf08f/html5/thumbnails/7.jpg)
Astrophysical Observatory• Measuring radiation
arriving to Earth from space; cold/dry air and clear skies are crucial
• Infrared and millimeter wavelength telescope
• Study how planets, stars, and galaxies are born
South Pole telescope with
Milky Way behind;
Hrubes (2010)
Aurora australis
over South Pole station; Cullis (2009)
![Page 8: Antarctica: An Overview Samantha Hansen, University of Alabama PolarTREC Orientation Meeting February 2012.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062321/56649dc95503460f94abf08f/html5/thumbnails/8.jpg)
Pine Island Glacier (PIG)• What is driving ice
loss and causing glacier to flow rapidly into the sea?
• Impact on sea-level rise
• Properties of bedrock beneath ice (impact on how they move)
Landsat Image (2001)
Bindschadler (2011)
![Page 9: Antarctica: An Overview Samantha Hansen, University of Alabama PolarTREC Orientation Meeting February 2012.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062321/56649dc95503460f94abf08f/html5/thumbnails/9.jpg)
Seal and Penguin Science
• Investigating the diet, behavior, breeding, etc. of Antarctic critters
• Impacts on their ecosystem
Pictures near McMurdo; Hansen (2009)
![Page 10: Antarctica: An Overview Samantha Hansen, University of Alabama PolarTREC Orientation Meeting February 2012.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062321/56649dc95503460f94abf08f/html5/thumbnails/10.jpg)
Drilling into Lake Ellsworth• British, Russian, and
American scientists trying to sample lake that has been isolated for at least 125,000 years
• Buried beneath 2 miles of ice
• Thought to be extreme habitat for microbial life; important record of ice sheet and climate history in lake sediments
Images from the
Subglacial Lake
Ellsworth Consortium
![Page 11: Antarctica: An Overview Samantha Hansen, University of Alabama PolarTREC Orientation Meeting February 2012.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062321/56649dc95503460f94abf08f/html5/thumbnails/11.jpg)
Antarctica’s Gamburtsev Province (AGAP)• Investigating the
Gamburtsev Mtns.– How did they form?– Role in E. Antarctic
ice sheet formation?
• GAMSEIS and GAMBIT (seismic and aerogeophysics)
Deretsky (2009)
GAMSEIS field pictures; Hansen (2010)
![Page 12: Antarctica: An Overview Samantha Hansen, University of Alabama PolarTREC Orientation Meeting February 2012.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062321/56649dc95503460f94abf08f/html5/thumbnails/12.jpg)
Collaboration with K-12 Educators
• As a researcher, it is fun and exciting to share your work with the education community
• Readily lends itself to K-12 education and outreach– inspire the next
generation of polar scientists
Australian Antarctic Division
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Antarctic Education and the “Bigger Picture”
• Getting students interested in math, science, and technology requires showing them things that are new, different, and exciting.
• Basically EVERYTHING in Antarctica can be described this way!
• Get them thinking about what they might do in the future
![Page 14: Antarctica: An Overview Samantha Hansen, University of Alabama PolarTREC Orientation Meeting February 2012.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062321/56649dc95503460f94abf08f/html5/thumbnails/14.jpg)
Thanks for your attention.Any comments/questions?