Antarctic Science Why U.S. Leadership and Investments Matter (2022) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
Cutting-Edge Science at the Edge of the World
Cutting-Edge Science at the Edge of the World
Pages 28-39
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From page 28... ...
Cutting-Edge Science at the Edge of the World The scientists who study Antarctica today Some elements of Antarctic science have continue a tradition of bold ideas, open obvious, direct importance to human well-being, collaboration, and innovative infrastructure that such as tracking space weather that can disable has propelled Antarctic research for decades. electronic technologies; understanding and Aided by numerous advances in technology managing risks to species that could influence and research methods in the past few years, our food supply through their role in marine researchers are pushing the bounds of our food chains; and understanding the risks of knowledge further than ever before to ask -- and sea level rise that could inundate many coastal answer -- urgent and longstanding questions communities.
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From page 29... ...
continue supporting the diverse array of novel investigations proposed by individuals and small As discussed in a 2020 statement from a research teams and support larger coordinated coalition of national science academies,29 initiatives to advance understanding in three "Basic research is an essential complement to key areas: (1) the changing Antarctic ice sheet mission-oriented research and development, and how this change contributes to rising sea which target specific problems or commercial levels, (2)
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From page 30... ...
ITGC observations have important new data even in just its first year, and revealed large, growing fractures in some parts sensors installed on the ice have continued to of the ice sheet -- which suggests that even by provide status updates and data through satellite the end of this decade, there could be significant uplinks. For example, scientists observed the changes that contribute to accelerating ice flow ocean circulation patterns and heat exchanges and greater contributions to sea level rise.
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From page 31... ...
Better understanding of past ice sheet collapse can yield valuable insights into possible future ice sheet dynamics and implications for global sea level rise. Scientists at Cavity Camp, Eastern Thwaites Glacier Ice Shelf, December 27, 2020.
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From page 32... ...
While help us understand the pressures and processes these studies have generated important insights, that may determine the "winners and losers" scientists are only just beginning to explore a as Antarctic ecosystems grapple with increased new and exciting approach for studying life at warming, ocean acidification, introduced the extremes: the genomic frontier. species, and other changes in the coming years.31 Genome sequencing capabilities and other To date, most Antarctic -omics research technological advances have drastically has focused on fish, phytoplankton, algae, expanded scientists' ability to examine the protists, bacteria, and viruses, mostly in marine biology of an organism, trace evolutionary environments.
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From page 33... ...
the world have produced groundbreaking insights, for instance, by shedding light on the Universe's first moments, providing evidence of the quantum nature of gravity, and allowing estimates of how much atomic matter, dark matter, and dark energy are in the Universe.
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From page 34... ...
A few examples of conducted in the Dry Valleys, led primarily by recent and ongoing activities that illustrate the United States, New Zealand, and Italy's both the scientific and societal importance of Antarctic programs, and an interdisciplinary Antarctic research are highlighted here. NSF Long Term Ecological Research project has been running in the region for nearly three THE DRY VALLEYS LONG-TERM ECOLOGICAL decades.32 As one exciting outcome of this work, RESEARCH PROGRAM in 2015 scientists announced evidence of a salty aquifer that lies beneath the ground, which An area known as the McMurdo Dry Valleys may support previously unknown microbial is Antarctica's largest ice-free region and the ecosystems and could even retain evidence of coldest desert on the planet.
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From page 35... ...
cases, subglacial lakes may represent a refuge for A follow-on project called Subglacial Antarctic life that exists nowhere else on Earth. Lakes Scientific Access ran from 2016 to 2020 and focused on Subglacial Lake Mercer, which Two projects have begun to surface important also lies beneath the West Antarctic ice sheet.
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From page 36... ...
THE ICECUBE NEUTRINO OBSERVATORY energy cosmic events such as supernovae, black The IceCube Neutrino Observatory is a set 34 holes, gamma-ray bursts, active galactic nuclei, of detectors deployed in the deep ice (1.4–2.4 and other phenomena. In 2013, IceCube scientists kilometers)
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From page 37... ...
Coordinating sophisticated sensors can operate autonomously satellite measurements with POLENET in ice-covered waters, sampling factors such measurements also allows scientists to study as nutrients, pH, and phytoplankton biomass how polar ice sheets contribute to changing sea in the upper 2,000 meters (6,500 feet) of the levels around the world.
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From page 38... ...
Landsat images were huge leaps forward in our ability to view and map the also used in the Antarctic Surface Accumulation and Antarctic using observations from satellite- and aircraft- Ice Discharge project to create the most accurate map based instruments -- technologies that allow us to see not ever compiled of Antarctica's grounding line, the point only the surface of Antarctica's snow and ice but within the where ice extends beyond the edge of a coastline into ice and all the way down to the bedrock underneath.
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From page 39... ...
:1239–1242. Center used these remote sensing data to develop the Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica -- a groundbreaking, high-resolution terrain map of nearly the Scientists also used NASA's ICESat and ICESat-2 satellite entire continent.39 These detailed mapping capabilities laser altimetry to quantify changes in ice sheet mass from have bolstered Antarctic research by allowing scientists to 2003 to 2019.40 They found competing climate processes directly measure changes in the surface of the continent at work: ice shelves are losing mass due to increased over time and to better understand the forces -- such as melting along the coasts, while the interior of the ice sheet changing snow cover, motion of ice, or thinning of is gaining mass due to increased snow accumulation.
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