RUI: Depositional Processes and Stratigraphy of Antarctic Fjords & Ice Shelf Environments

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This project is a study of sediment transport on the antarctic continental margin in the vicinity of floating glacier tongues and restrictive fjord environments. It is concerned with determining the importance of mid-water and deep cold water tongues in the transport processes, and whether precise links can be established between the observed glacial-climatic regime and the resulting depositional record. The depositional record will be reconstructed from a coring program and from high resolution seismic reflection profiles. The expected (from earlier studies) thick holocene sections with pronounced internal changes in texture and composition, will be analyzed for their implications with respect to the responses of antarctic fjord glacier systems to holocene climate changes. The field work will be carried out in the Antarctic Peninsula. This research activity is submitted under the Research at Undergraduate Institutions (RUI) program. It will prepare students for professional careers and for graduate study through their direct involvement in the field program and in the laboratory analyses of the core samples. The activities will also provide a source of topics for senior theses and for laboratory projects.