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Images copyright M. Studinger |
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AGAP S
Antarctica's Gamburtsev Province Project (AGAP)
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US Twin Otter (SJB) and team (photo Carl Robinson) |
BAS Twin Otter (FBL) and team (photo Carl Robinson) |
Antarctic Research: Peering Through The Ice
In the dead of winter 2008, when most of us wouldn’t consider traveling to a location that promises even colder temperatures and more severe conditions, a team of scientists ventured to the coldest, most remote location on Earth. Why? This team of U. S. Antarctic scientists, working with international partners from Britain, Germany, Australia, China, Japan and Canada completed the first comprehensive study of the Gamburtsev Mountains, found in the deep interior of East Antarctica and hidden several miles beneath the thick ice sheet! Looking at the image above it is hard to imagine this continent as more than an icy block - but scientists felt the secrets that had been hidden deep in the heart of Antarctica could hold the key to a deeper understanding of the early history of the Earth.
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| Image Credit: Zina Deretsky / NSF |
| Link to larger version |
The AGAP project focused on an invisible world in one of the most remote areas on Earth, just west of the Pole of Inaccessibility, in East Antarctica. Organized as part of a large international effort through the fourth International Polar Year, the project peeled away the roughly 2 mile deep layer of million year old glacial ice, to expose the mountains and lakes hidden below. Working from two camps, AGAP S and AGAP N, located on either side of Dome A, the scientists and technical crew embarked on one of the major scientific expeditions of our century.
Link to NSF Press Release 2/24/09
To experience the journey and all the challenges click to any of the archived travel stories below.
Check out the dispatches from the Arctic and Antarctica in Ice Stories: Dispatches from Polar Scientists. Brought to you by the Exploratorium. Follow the team on their journey into East Antarctica.
Link to David Braaten's Blog from CRESIS
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| SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN BLOG | FACEBOOK 'XTREME SOUTH' | ||
'robinbell' is twittering!Now that the group is back the best way to stay in touch is to link straight to Robin's twitter account. |
for trip updates click links below |
XTREME SouthLink straight to our Facebook group! Join the group to give us input. | |
| SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN BLOG TITLE | DATE | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Getting to Antarctica - or NOT | |||
| A flight to a continent dressed in white | Dispatch 11/21/08 | ||
| A shoveling scientific community | Dispatch 11/24/08 | ||
| Moving the chess pieces | Dispatch 12/1/08 | ||
| Thanksgiving Day blizzard | Dispatch (#2) 12/1/08 | ||
| Fire and Ice | Dispatch 12/2/08 | ||
| Wiggles & Bits of Data | Dispatch 12/3/08 | ||
| Old Bones and Socks | Dispatch 12/4/08 | ||
| Audacious Plans, Nasty Weather | Dispatch 12/9/08 | ||
| At Last People Moving | Dispatch 12/10/08 | ||
| Crackling Pretzels | Dispatch 12/11/08 | ||
| Almost Calibrated | Dispatch 12/17/08 | ||
| Running Into An Invisible Wall | Dispatch 12/19/08 | ||
| Kicking Rocks | Dispatch (#2) 12/19/08 | ||
| A long weekend at South Pole | Dispatch 12/23/08 | ||
| Rising Frustration | Dispatch 12/24/08 | ||
| At AGAP Camp at Last! | Dispatch 12/31/08 | ||
| A Picture is Worth 1000 Words | Dispatch 1/6/09 | ||
| Line By Line | Dispatch 1/14/09 | ||
| Suspended Animation | Dispatch 1/19/09 | ||
| Skiway Silence | Dispatch 1/22/09 | ||
| Heading Home | Dispatch 2/4/09 | ||
