Collaborative Research: Continued Study of Physical Properties of the WAIS Divide Deep Core

1043528/Alley该奖项支持一个项目，该项目旨在完成WAIS Divide深层冰芯的物理性质研究，该冰芯目前正在南极洲西部采集。国家科学基金会在一笔即将结束的赠款的资助下，正在进行的工作已经产生了可见的地层年龄，检查了岩心的任何熔融层、火山层、流动扰动或其他特征，分析了气泡数-密度，从而能够重建该地点晚两千年的全新世冷却趋势，表征了其他气泡特征(尺寸等)，密度研究，该地点雪面变化的特征，初步的c轴研究，以及更多。目前的提议寻求在收回其余核心部分后完成这项工作。拟议活动的学术价值始于对核心的质量保证，通过目测任何可能破坏气候记录完整性的气流扰动证据。检查还将揭示任何熔融层、火山层等。将进行年度层测年；迄今为止，可见层没有其他一些指标那么有用，但(根据格陵兰的经验)可见层将能够探测到比其他技术更薄的年度层，这是推动这一努力的技术。气泡数密度将被用来重建地心其余气泡部分的温度变化，为全新世早期提供重要的古气候数据。对c轴组构、颗粒大小和形状以及气泡特征的协调解释将用于了解冰流的历史、冰流的过程以及冰的柔软程度以进行额外的变形。对已经收集的地表数据的分析将改进对岩心分层的解释。年层测年可能不会取得足够的成功，岩芯将不会受到干扰，没有熔融层；如果是这样，那么这些努力将不会产生重大出版物。然而，其他努力的成功应该会增进对冰盖的历史和稳定性以及控制这些的关键过程的了解，而目测检查提供的质量保证对整个项目来说是重要的。拟议活动的更广泛影响包括教育一名博士生和多名本科生，以及为本科院校的初级教员提供研究机会。拟议的活动将有助于支持特别积极的教育和外联工作，每年为1000多名学生提供本科教学，接触到数千名公民和许多政策制定者，并准备在许多级别使用的教育材料。

1043528/AlleyThis award supports a project to complete the physical-properties studies of the WAIS Divide deep ice core, now being collected in West Antarctica. Ongoing work funded by NSF, under a grant that is ending, has produced visible stratigraphy dating, inspection of the core for any melt layers, volcanic horizons, flow disturbances or other features, analysis of bubble number-densities allowing reconstruction of a two-millennial cooling trend in the latter Holocene at the site, characterization of other bubble characteristics (size, etc.), density studies, characterization of snow-surface changes at the site, preliminary c-axis studies, and more. The current proposal seeks to complete this work, once the rest of the core is recovered. The intellectual merit of the proposed activity starts with quality assurance for the core, by visual detection of any evidence of flow disturbances that would disrupt the integrity of the climate record. Inspection will also reveal any melt layers, volcanic horizons, etc. Annual-layer dating will be conducted; thus far, the visible strata have not been as useful as some other indicators, but the possibility (based on experience in Greenland) that visible examination will allow detection of thinner annual layers than other techniques motivates the effort. Bubble number-density will be used to reconstruct temperature changes through the rest of the bubbly part of the core, providing important paleoclimatic data for earlier parts of the Holocene. Coordinated interpretation of c-axis fabrics, grain sizes and shapes, and bubble characteristics will be used to learn about the history of ice flow, the processes of ice flow, and the softness of the ice for additional deformation. Analysis of surface data already collected will improve interpretation of the layering of the core. It is possible that the annual-layer dating will not be sufficiently successful, and that the core will be undisturbed with no melt layers; if so, then these efforts will not yield major publications. However, success of the other efforts should produce improved understanding of the history and stability of the ice sheet, and key processes controlling these, and the quality assurance provided by the visual examination is important for the project as a whole. The broader impacts of the proposed activity include education of a PhD student and multiple undergraduates, and research opportunities for a junior faculty member at an undergraduate institution. The proposed activity will help support an especially vigorous education and outreach effort providing undergraduate instruction for over 1000 students per year, reaching thousands more citizens and many policymakers, and preparing educational materials used at many levels.