Collaborative Research:Development of an In Situ Fossil Air Melt Extraction Device (INFAMED) for Recovering Large Volumes of Air and Particles from Polar Ice Sheets

该奖项支持开发用于从极地冰盖中回收大量空气和颗粒的原地化石空气融化提取装置(INFAMED)的原型。尽管该设备将有许多应用，但最初的主要科学目标是测量深藏在冰层中的大气甲烷中的放射性碳。这一测量将对沉积甲烷笼合物的分解导致上一次冰期结束时大气甲烷浓度突然增加的假设提供明确的检验。除了研究从冰盖中提取的气体外，这种仪器还将允许对大量冰进行采样和过滤，以收集地面和外星粒子。技术开发的第一阶段涉及一个试点项目，以低成本探索可行性，并将从格陵兰冰盖深处回收工业化前的空气。如果这项技术成功，将提交第二个方案，建造一个全尺寸的装置，设计成达到1000米深，并在南极采集15000年前的空气样本。

This award supports the development of a prototype in-situ fossil air melt extraction device (INFAMED) for recovering large volumes of air and particles from polar ice sheets. Although this device would have a number of applications, the primary initial scientific objective would be to measure radiocarbon in atmospheric methane trapped in the ice at depth. This measurement would provide a definitive test of the hypothesis that decomposition of sedimentary methane clathrates caused the abrupt atmospheric methane concentration increases at the end of the last glacial period. In addition to studies of gases extracted from the ice sheet, such an instrument would allow large volumes of ice to be sampled and filtered for the collection of both terrestrial and extraterrestrial particles. The first phase of technology development involves a pilot project to explore feasibility at low cost, and will recover preindustrial air from depth in the Greenland ice sheet. If the technology is successful, a second proposal will be submitted to construct a full-sized device, designed to reach 1000 m depth and sample 15,000 year old air at the South Pole.