Central Scotia Seafloor and the Drake Passage Deep Ocean Current Gateway

该项目通过海洋地球物理调查和海底疏浚玄武岩的地球化学研究相结合的方式，研究南美洲和南极洲之间德雷克航道的开放。确定通道开口的年代是理解环南极流形成的关键，环南极流在全球海洋环流中发挥着重要作用，其形成与南极冰盖的生长有关。疏浚样品将进行各种地球化学研究，以确定它们的年龄，并限制该地区下方的地幔流动。更广泛的影响包括对研究生教育的支持，以及本科生和K12教师参与研究巡航。该项目还涉及与英国的国际合作，是IPY项目#77：板块和门的一部分，该项目旨在重建极地海洋盆地和门户的地质历史，用于气候变化的计算机模拟。有关详细信息，请参阅http://www.ipy.org/index.php?/ipy/detail/plates_gates/。

This project studies the opening of the Drake Passage between South America and Antarctica through a combined marine geophysical survey and geochemical study of dredged ocean floor basalts. Dating the passage's opening is key to understanding the formation of the circum-Antarctic current, which plays a major role in worldwide ocean circulation, and whose formation is connected with growth of the Antarctic ice sheet. Dredge samples will undergo various geochemical studies to determine their age and constrain mantle flow beneath the region. Broader impacts include support for graduate education, as well as undergraduate and K12 teacher involvement in a research cruise. The project also involves international collaboration with the UK and is part of IPY Project #77: Plates&Gates, which aims to reconstruct the geologic history of polar ocean basins and gateways for computer simulations of climate change. See http://www.ipy.org/index.php?/ipy/detail/plates_gates/ for more information.