Our project involves flying a platform of half a dozen geophysical instruments over remote, central East Antarctica. To prepare for our field seasons, we will first install and test our scientific equipment in the P-3 aircraft. Our test flights will be done in the Washington, D.C. area and, when we are certain all the equipment is working smoothly in tandem, the P-3 will fly to Antarctica. In November of each year (2007 and 2008), we will be based out of McMurdo Station in West Antarctica. From there we will fly to East Antarctica on ~9hr data collection flights on every good weather day available. During each flight, an aircraft science crew will operate the equipment, monitor data collection, and communicate with the aircraft pilots to troubleshoot weather changes. Meanwhile, on the ground back at McMurdo Station, a science team will be running instruments during flight times (GPS and magnetics) for use later in data analysis. Two flight/ground crew teams will be available for back-to-back flights into the survey area, allowing us to use as much available good weather as possible. Between flights and in non-flight times, the science teams will verify data quality, archive collected data for posterity, and start data analysis. Once the field season is over, the different data types will be analyzed and available to the public within 15 months of the survey's end for that year. The final step is then interpreting the data and achieving our science goals through publication and presenting at professional meetings. Throughout this process we will be involved in outreach and students will be actively participating in all aspects of the project.
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Saturday, 30 December 2006 01:47
ICECAP: Investigating the Cryospheric Evolution of the Central Antarctic Plate
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