SGER: Antarctic Borehole Research with an Advanced TV/UV Instrument Developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory

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OPP 9910839KambThis award, provided by the Antarctic Glaciology Program of the Office of Polar Programs, is made under the Small Grants for Exploratory Research (SGER) program. The award is to apply new, advanced TV imaging technology of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to research on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS). JPL will provide a deep borehole TV camera system for observing directly the zone of contact between ice and subglacial till at the base of the West Antarctic ice streams. The purpose is to gain an understanding of the mechanism of rapid ice stream motion, which governs the ice streams' effect on the stability/instability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet in relation to global change. A borehole TV system is needed to reveal: (1) the configuration and dimensions of the basal ice-till contact and possible gaps between the ice and the till, which may be conduits in a basal water system; (2) the amount, character, and distribution of rock debris in the basal ice; and (3) any dynamic motions of the ice or till. JPL has developed a new borehole instrument system, which is to operate on a fiber optic cable and consist of a high-resolution TV camera combined with a UV spectral fluorometer. JPL has made this new instrument available for use in our NSF-OPP sponsored research project on the West Antarctic ice streams. JPL would in turn be able to use the instrument to make fluorometric measurements aimed at detection of microbial activity in the deep ice and on rock surfaces. The fluorometric technique represents a forerunner in the development of a method for microbial detection intended ultimately for use in Lake Vostok or similar environments.The objective of this work is thus to apply a new technology to the fundamental problems of rapid ice-stream motion and the existence of microbial activity at or near the basal (ice-till) interface. The research is exploratory in tackling two fundamental observations in Antarctic science that have not been attempted previously. It is high risk in lacking a basis in previous experience for predicting how successful the observations will be.