While much of the discussion is still about aircraft, ships and traverse vehicles, some early results are emerging. Some results are scientific. Sediments cored from the edge of the Antarctic ice sheet indicate the West Antarctic Ice Sheet has grown and shrunk much more frequently than previously appreciated. Water beneath the ice sheets has been documented to move rapidly thought subglacial systems.
Some findings have to do with the fabric of science. A remarkable new network of young scientists has formed, new stations have been built, and new ways of collaborating have been developed. The next five years will see the blossoming of polar science and new data interpreted, delayed programs implemented, and a new generation of scientists actively working together to understand our planet. The polar regions are changing faster than any other place on the planet. The data sets acquired within the framework of the IPY, the new young networks of polar scholars, and the new infrastructure incorporated during the IPY will be crucial to advancing our understanding of these changing places over the coming decades.
Mystical Mountains
Last month, I opened an e-mail from Professor Emeritus Frank H. Pabodie of the Miskatonic University Engineering School. At a quick glance, the letter seemed legitimate—it was not from Africa and did not ask for my bank accounts. The letter touched my vanity by mentioning my other work so I read on. Then, in the third paragraph, it began to seem strange as the professor claimed to have been to East Antarctica prior to 1958. So I Googled Professor Pabodie. Oops! I had been reading a letter from a fictional character in an H. P. Lovecraft 1930 science fiction novella.
Apparently in 2008 this fictional character has a G-mail account and the university has a Web site. Certainly H. P. Lovecraft, an early science fiction writer often compared to Edgar Allan Poe and Stephen King, had neither an e-mail address nor a Web site. In the 1920s Lovecraft was entranced by polar exploration. Admiral Byrd's first flights over Antarctica during the second polar year serve as the core of this novella, The Mountains of Madness. Professor Pabodie had been responsible for both the drilling devices and the heaters for the aircraft engines—both useful skills for our upcoming expedition.
While Pabodie claimed that the Gamburtsev Mountains had been discovered in by his expedition in the 1920s during the Second International Polar Year, it is more accurately attributed to the 1958 Soviet Antarctic expedition. This expedition was part of the Third International Polar Year, more widely called the International Geophysical Year. Shooting small explosives and recording the echoing energy, the expedition discovered a region of very thin ice in the center of the ice sheet—a mountain range entirely covered with ice. The expedition named the mountain range for Grigory Gamburtsev, a Soviet seismologist known for his efforts to predict earthquakes.
Even without the ghostly figures that inhabit Lovecraft's Antarctic mountain ranges, the Gamburtsev Mountains remain a mystery. They are completely covered with ice. Not a single craggy peak sticks up out of the ice sheet. They are tall—rising about 9,000 feet (2,700 meters) above the surrounding terrain. This means the Gamburtsev Mountains tower over the Appalachians and are about as high as the Alps—and hundreds of miles wide. If a well-maintained highway cut across them it would take the better part of a day to cross them. But, alas, there is no highway. Our team from six nations (which conceived of the Antarctic Gamburtsev Province, or AGAP, project as part of the Fourth IPY) has been working for eight years to figure out how to cross this remote terrain in three small scientifically equipped aircraft.
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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
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