Seminar
From Coast to Pole: A Research Expedition Traversing Antarctica
Dr. Glen E. Liston
Thursday, September 18, 2008 7:00 PM
Ben Delatour Room, Fort Collins Main Public Library (201 Peterson St)
Four Americans and eight Norwegians spent 3 and a half months (2007-2008) traversing from the Antarctic Coast to the South Pole as part of an International Polar Year (IPY) field expedition. Our scientific measurements included 1) drilling 700 meters (~1/2 mile) of ice cores to reconstruct climate; 2) making detailed near-surface physical and chemical snow measurements; and 3) installing two automatic weather stations. This suite of observations will be used to gain new insights into the paleo-environments and climate change of this virtually unexplored area of Antarctica.
Diary Excerpt (Glen), 1 December 2007
As I lie in my small tent at -48 °C (-54 °F) near the center of Antarctica, I try to mentally force my near-frozen toes back to life. The temperatures I am experiencing now are just about equal to the mean annual Antarctic air temperature in this area; something that typically changes only slowly over the decades and centuries. I also note that one month ago I was flying, uncontrolled, 15 meters (50 feet) through the air in response to a 52 m/s (132 mph) wind gust during a storm near the Antarctic coast. I am part of a scientific research expedition traversing from the Antarctic coast to the South Pole, and this is exactly what we are here to study and understand: weather and climate variability and change on time scales of 1000 seconds (like my wind-borne flight) to 1000 years (like my cold, cold night).
