EAGER: Ice Core Site Selection Attempt on the Mt. Logan Summit Plateau

该项目利用EARLY概念探索研究资助（EAGER）计划的资金，与加拿大科学家合作，帮助对一个新的冰芯进行潜在的恢复和分析。在2017年，这座位于高纬度北极地区的洛根山（Mt.洛根冰芯在加拿大冰芯档案馆（阿尔伯塔大学）的一次储存冷冻机故障中灾难性地被毁。这种不合时宜的损失发生在几个新的关键问题从最近的观察演变。 阿尔伯塔大学最近获得了一笔资金，试图进行一次新的探险，以恢复新的冰芯。美国研究人员与阿尔伯塔大学的研究人员建立了合作伙伴关系，参与冰芯回收，分析和解释的各个方面。 然而，关键的第一步是对Mt.进行全面的，最先进的冰川学研究（包括地球物理观测和数值模拟）。2019年潜在钻井地点选择的洛根山顶高原地区。 这样的模拟是当前EAGER请求的动力。考虑到低积雪和深冷冰（~ 200米），洛根山高原可能包含地球上最古老的北极冰川冰。 研究人员相信，这一努力将最大限度地利用现有资源，以获得北极地区最好的长期气候记录之一。在研究人员能够从获得新的冰芯中获得任何好处之前，他们必须完成一些关键的背景任务，包括：1）绘制珠穆朗玛峰的基岩地形图。洛根峰顶高原2）绘制近地表空间累积速率模式; 3）跟踪每个站点的内部等时线; 4）收集每个站点的近地表雪化学测量结果;以及5）为新的Mt.洛根冰芯。钻探地点选择和冰芯处理的最新进展为研究人员提供了一个独特的机会，选择一个最佳的地点，并获得一个新的冰芯记录，包含十年到世纪的分辨率超过30,000年。 研究人员有保护和分析高海拔冰芯的经验。洛根山顶高原是一个很难进入和工作的地方。 研究团队的高技能水平和高潜在的科学潜力回报相结合，将这一支持请求置于与EAGER计划一致的高风险-高回报类别。这些活动在科学上具有重要意义，并且很好地符合EAGER计划的潜在变革性、高风险但潜在高回报的研究属性。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估来支持。

This project uses funds, under the auspices of the EArly Concept Grant For Exploratory Research (EAGER) program, to aid the potential recovery and analysis of a new ice core, in collaboration with Canadian scientists, from Mt. Logan in the high Arctic.In 2017, the Mt. Logan ice core was catastrophically destroyed in a storage freezer malfunction at the Canadian Ice Core Archive (University of Alberta). This ill-timed loss occurred when several new critical questions had evolved from recent observations. The University of Alberta recently secured funding to attempt a new expedition to recover new ice core. The U.S. researchers have established a collaborative partnership with University of Alberta researchers to participate in all aspects of the ice core recovery, analysis, and interpretation. A critical first step, however, is a comprehensive, state-of-the-art glaciological study (including geophysical observations and numerical modeling) of the Mt. Logan summit plateau area for potential drill site selection in 2019. Such modeling is the impetus for the current EAGER request.Given the low snow accumulation and deep, cold ice (~200m), the Mount Logan plateau may contain some of the oldest Arctic glacier ice on Earth. The researchers believe this effort will maximize available resources to obtain one of the best long-term climate records in the Arctic.Before the researchers can realize any benefit from acquiring a new ice core, they must complete some critical background tasks that include: 1) developing bedrock topography maps of the Mt. Logan summit plateau sites; 2) mapping near-surface spatial accumulation rate patterns; 3) tracing internal isochrones at each site; 4) collecting near-surface snow chemistry measurements at each site; and 5) selecting a drill site for a new Mt. Logan ice core.Recent advancements in drill site selection and ice core processing provide the researchers with a unique opportunity to select an optimal site and obtain a new ice core record that contains decadal to century resolution for more than 30,000 years. The researchers have experience securing and analyzing high elevation ice cores and the Mt. Logan summit plateau is a difficult place to access and work. The combination of high skill level among the research team and high potential scientific potential payoff places this request for support in the high risk-high reward category aligned with the EAGER program. The activities are scientifically important and fit well into the potentially transformative, high-risk but potential high payoff research attributes of the EAGER program.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.