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

1043528/Alley 该奖项支持一个完成 WAIS Divide 深冰芯物理特性研究的项目，该冰芯目前正在南极洲西部收集。由美国国家科学基金会资助的正在进行的工作，在一项即将结束的拨款中，已经产生了可见的地层测年、对核心的任何融化层、火山层、流动扰动或其他特征的检查、对气泡数密度的分析，以便重建该地点后全新世的两千年冷却趋势、其他气泡特征的表征（大小等）、密度研究、该地点雪面变化的表征、初步的 c 轴研究等等。当前的提案旨在一旦堆芯的其余部分被回收，即可完成这项工作。拟议活动的智力价值始于核心的质量保证，通过目视检测任何会破坏气候记录完整性的流动扰动证据。检查还将揭示任何融化层、火山层等。将进行年度层测年；迄今为止，可见地层不如其他一些指标那么有用，但可见检查将允许检测比其他技术更薄的年度层的可能性（根据格陵兰岛的经验）推动了这一努力。气泡数密度将用于重建核心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。 c轴结构、晶粒尺寸和形状以及气泡特征的协调解释将用于了解冰流的历史、冰流的过程以及额外变形的冰的柔软度。对已收集的表面数据的分析将改善对核心分层的解释。年层测年可能不会足够成功，并且地核将不受干扰，没有熔融层；如果是这样，那么这些努力将不会产生重要的出版物。然而，其他努力的成功应该可以提高人们对冰盖的历史和稳定性以及控制这些过程的关键过程的了解，并且目视检查提供的质量保证对于整个项目非常重要。拟议活动的更广泛影响包括博士生和多名本科生的教育，以及本科院校初级教员的研究机会。拟议的活动将有助于支持特别积极的教育和外展工作，每年为 1000 多名学生提供本科教学，覆盖数千名公民和许多政策制定者，并准备在多个层面使用的教育材料。

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.