MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS?: The hidden Gamburtsev Mountains, buried beneath the Antarctic ice sheet and imaged here, have inspired scientists and science fiction writers, like H. P. Lovecraft.
Image: Courtesy of Robin Bell
More In This Article
-
Overview
To Save the Southern Polar Environment--Dump the Antarctic Treaty
-
Overview
Life at the Poles: Eight Polar Animals That Face the Promise and Peril of Climate Change
-
Overview
The Future of the Poles
-
Overview
CNN: Polar bear now listed as 'threatened' species
-
Overview
CNN: Watching the Arctic ice melt
-
Overview
CNN: Planet in Peril
-
The Best Science Writing Online 2012
Showcasing more than fifty of the most provocative, original, and significant online essays from 2011, The Best Science Writing Online 2012 will change the way...
Read More »
International Polar Year--Why?
When I first heard of the concept of an International Polar Year (IPY), I rolled my eyes and gave one off those stupid "this is a boring idea" looks I had learned from my teenage son. How could an idea hatched by a military officer in the 1880s have any use in our age of hyper connectivity? The images from previous IPYs were filled with grimy men wrapped in parkas launching balloons, recording numbers in notebooks in small shacks and shooting off explosives. I simply could not see past the frost edges of the IPY parkas.
But then, something changed. It was July and I was sitting in the back of a steamy conference room in Shanghai, having just given a talk about lakes beneath two miles of ice. I was eager to see more of Shanghai on my first trip to China and had thought I might sneak out early until, that is, I heard Heinz Miller, a German glaciologist with a large mustache and an elflike twinkle in his eye, outline a bold concept for studying the interior of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet during the International Polar Year in 2007. I listened intently, like a teenager who suddenly realizes that calculus has some redeeming value. I began to see past the grimy faces and appreciate how global collaboration in the polar regions may produce remarkable insights that would otherwise be impossible. The only way we were ever going to understand the subglacial lakes was with an improved framework for international science in the polar regions. The IPY had the potential to provide this framework.
The first IPYs were planned by groups of scientists in close collaboration with the military. The current International Polar Year is a huge, interdisciplinary research program focusing on the polar regions from March 2007 to March 2009. In the modern age of science, this IPY has been the result of an almost organic effort of ideas bubbling up through the community. Working with a structure outlined by an international scoping committee, groups of scientists have come together and new programs have blossomed. This grassroots effort has entrained tens of thousands of scientists from 30 countries. Driven by the urgencies to understand the rapid change in the poles and reach the unexplored terrains, the past 18 months have seen an unprecedented level of international collaboration. Networks of instruments have been installed in both polar regions to monitor the changes in these remote areas. New records of past climate change have been recovered from the ice sheet and sediments. The theme of change is woven into science programs from anthropology to geophysics.
What are the results so far from the Fourth International Polar Year? Asking what we have learned is from the IPY is a little like asking baseball players the outcome of a game before the final inning. As with any large endeavor, there have been some setbacks: A key satellite crashed into the ocean shortly after launch, a helicopter has crashed with tragic loss of life, and one aircraft has been seriously damaged. The polar regions remain a challenge to work in. A most perplexing setback has been the crushing impact of the rapidly rising cost of fuel. Nations, large and small, have been forced to modify and delay their plans. Even the most carefully planned expeditions have been shortened or delayed. In general, most programs have been postponed, not canceled, and field programs planned of the IPY may just take a little longer.
See what we're tweeting about
12 Comments
Add Comment"Two teams will build the camps, one on the north side and the other on the south side of the mountain range. The heavy equipment and fuel for the southern camp will be delivered by a surface traverse that will pass first through the South Pole."
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIf one camp is across the south pole from the other camp, won't both of them be on the north side?
Our school will be following along! Some 8th grade students have decided to research your team's work in the Antarctic for their polar project. You have already inspired the next generation! Thank you!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHey! Where are all the liberals who think Space is a great waste of money? You know, the "We have to many problems here on Earth" people? The "if we only had that nickel NASA spends ..." Come on guys be consistent. This is a great waste of money. Government should NOT give welfare to 'science' unless it directly supports welfare programs to people OR unless it directly supports mismanagement of money and resources, to achieve an uncertain goal based on dubious politicized 'science' so the government can step in to 'offer' itself as the solution. Like Health Care and Global Warming ... uh ... Climate Change (can't have a changing climate can we!). The proper role of science is to support government expansion.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisFor more information on the International Polar Year 2007-8, and ways that people all around the world can get involved, talk to scientists in the polar regions directly, and learn more about these critical regions, please visit www.ipy.org.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisGreat Sheila if you want patches for your 8th graders let me know - e-mail me at mkt@ldeo.columbia.edu
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe reference to North and South camps is in relation to their placement relative to the subglacial mountain range - one is north and one is south of it.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI'm one of the ..uh. grunts / meteorology techs / mountaineers on this project. I've got a blog at http://patriotearth.blogspot.com where I'll be posting pics when I get back in January, in case you're interested in seeing some of the grittier sides of Antarctic field work. ;-)
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisA map sure would be helpful to understand the logistics and the scale of this project. As mentioned in the article, maps are often distorted or minimized, and missing mountains aren't likely to be noted even if one found a good map. So as a reference point, if you draw a line from the south camp to the north camp and continue it on, what is the first country the line would hit or what longitude would it fall on? And would you point readers to a good map with the 'missing mountains' on it?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHow much geologic mapping has occurred over the past several decades in Antartica? Is there a geologic map of the continet available for "public" viewing, showing the data that is currently available? Have different research teams from different countries shared information to produce a single map showing all of the information known to date? In the mapping of rock types, what is the standard that is used for designating different strata? Are there any exposed areas of limestone on the Antarctic continent?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisGreat work, Robin, & thanks also for sharing your experience Ian. I've indulged in very romantic ideas of the noble few dedicating their lives to pure research and life on the ice, but after reading up on firsthand accounts, am now reconsidering these dreams...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisPossible explanations as to the mountains .
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishttp://www.continuitystudios.net/guestvid.html
http://www.nealadams.com/nmu.html
For an interesting interview of Robin Bell on the subject of the Gamburtsev Mountains: http://www.sciencepoles.org/index.php?/articles_interviews/gamburtsev_dr_robin_bell_on_antarcticas_ghostly_mountains/&uid=1311
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this