The four-week international expedition will study the mechanisms controlling the melting of these massive glaciers, which hold about 23 feet (7 meters) of potential sea level rise within their ice.
Accompanying the researchers is a robotic submersible designed to measure the underwater walls of the glaciers and the sediment-rich meltwater, marking the first time such close-up data collection has been attempted. The team will also conduct extensive seafloor surveys and extract sediment cores to understand how glaciers responded to past climate changes.
A central question for the research is the role of sediments in slowing glacial melt, explained the expedition's chief scientist, Ginny Catania, a research professor at the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics (UTIG) and the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences. UTIG, part of the UT Jackson School of Geosciences, is leading the expedition.
"Most of the ice sheet has retreated, but there are a few glaciers that have not retreated next to glaciers that have retreated a lot. And it could be because sediments are stabilizing the glaciers," Catania said.
The researchers believe that underwater walls called moraines, formed from sediments carried by the glacier, protect the glaciers from warm ocean currents. These moraines also form when glaciers advance, pushing the seafloor ahead of them.
The expedition aims to determine the effectiveness of these moraines in slowing glacial melt, how quickly they form, and their longevity. Understanding these factors will provide insights into the future of ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica and help predict sea level rise.
"This is a big mission to try to capture as much information about how the glaciers behave underwater with these really sophisticated tools that we haven't been able to use in the past," Catania said.
The robotic submersible Nereid Under Ice (NUI), developed and operated by engineers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, is essential for collecting the necessary data. NUI is designed to navigate the icy environment of the glacial fjord and will use its sensors and samplers to measure sediments and conduct close-up geophysical surveys of the ice and seafloor.
Additional measurements will be taken by an XOcean sea surface drone and larger instruments on the Marine Institute of Ireland's RV Celtic Explorer. Researchers will also collect data from the glaciers' surface using aerial drones.
Catania emphasized the importance of the expedition's findings for coastal communities worldwide. "A lot of the research needs to be in understanding how the coast is going to respond to this inundation and what governments can do about it," she said.
The expedition team includes 24 researchers, engineers, and students from seven institutions: UT, Woods Hole, University of Florida, Oregon State University, Rutgers University, Tufts University, and Aarhus University in Denmark. They are supported by the Celtic Explorer's 15-member crew.
More information about the expedition's science goals and personnel can be found at the project's expedition website here.
Related Links
University of Texas at Austin
Beyond the Ice Age
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