STC: Center for OLDest Ice EXploration

钻穿南极冰盖的岩芯为了解地球气候的演变和古代大气的独特样本提供了一个非凡的窗口。冰芯揭示的温室气体和气候之间的明确联系支撑了对气候变化的大部分科学认识。不幸的是，现有的数据没有足够的时间来揭示比今天更温暖的气候的关键特征。COLDEX，最古老的冰探索中心，将通过探索南极洲的地点来收集冰盖中记录的最古老的过去气候记录来解决这个问题。 COLDEX将为了解地球近期气候如何演变以及气候在地质时期为何变化提供关键信息。将开发用于勘探和分析的新技术，这些技术将为未来的研究提供长期的遗产。一个古老的冰档案将激发下一代极地科学家的新研究。COLDEX计划将激励下一代极地研究人员，为其他科学学科和公众带来新的成果，并有助于创建一个更具包容性和多样性的科学界。地球气候历史的知识是建立在地质记录的基础上的。这方面的知识是通过测量反映气候要素的地质材料的化学、生物和物理特性获得的。从极地冰盖中提取的冰芯在这一科学中发挥着核心作用，并为大气二氧化碳与地质时间尺度上的气候之间的密切联系提供了最佳证据。COLDEX的目标是通过在南极洲东部钻探和分析连续的冰芯，将过去气候的冰芯记录延长到至少150万年，并使用冰盖底部和边缘的不连续冰段延长到更早的时间。COLDEX将开发和部署新型雷达和融化探测工具，以快速探索冰，使用冰盖模型来限制旧冰保存的位置，进行冰取芯，开发新的分析系统，并从南极洲东部的位置产生新的古气候记录。寻找地球上最古老的冰也为向学生、教师、媒体、决策者和公众传播关于过去和未来气候变化和极地科学的信息提供了一个令人信服的叙述。COLDEX将通过有针对性的专业发展研讨会，本科生研究经验，全面的交流计划，年度科学会议，奖学金以及国内和国际的广泛合作来参与和融入这些群体。COLDEX将通过为来自STEM代表性不足的群体的学生和早期职业科学家提供实地、实验室、指导和网络经验，为增加极地科学多样性的努力提供一个协调中心，该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准。

Cores drilled through the Antarctic ice sheet provide a remarkable window on the evolution of Earth’s climate and unique samples of the ancient atmosphere. The clear link between greenhouse gases and climate revealed by ice cores underpins much of the scientific understanding of climate change. Unfortunately, the existing data do not extend far enough back in time to reveal key features of climates warmer than today. COLDEX, the Center for Oldest Ice Exploration, will solve this problem by exploring Antarctica for sites to collect the oldest possible record of past climate recorded in the ice sheet. COLDEX will provide critical information for understanding how Earth’s near-future climate may evolve and why climate varies over geologic time. New technologies will be developed for exploration and analysis that will have a long legacy for future research. An archive of old ice will stimulate new research for the next generations of polar scientists. COLDEX programs will galvanize that next generation of polar researchers, bring new results to other scientific disciplines and the public, and help to create a more inclusive and diverse scientific community. Knowledge of Earth’s climate history is grounded in the geologic record. This knowledge is gained by measuring chemical, biological and physical properties of geologic materials that reflect elements of climate. Ice cores retrieved from polar ice sheets play a central role in this science and provide the best evidence for a strong link between atmospheric carbon dioxide and climate on geologic timescales. The goal of COLDEX is to extend the ice-core record of past climate to at least 1.5 million years by drilling and analyzing a continuous ice core in East Antarctica, and to much older times using discontinuous ice sections at the base and margin of the ice sheet. COLDEX will develop and deploy novel radar and melt-probe tools to rapidly explore the ice, use ice-sheet models to constrain where old ice is preserved, conduct ice coring, develop new analytical systems, and produce novel paleoclimate records from locations across East Antarctica. The search for Earth’s oldest ice also provides a compelling narrative for disseminating information about past and future climate change and polar science to students, teachers, the media, policy makers and the public. COLDEX will engage and incorporate these groups through targeted professional development workshops, undergraduate research experiences, a comprehensive communication program, annual scientific meetings, scholarships, and broad collaboration nationally and internationally. COLDEX will provide a focal point for efforts to increase diversity in polar science by providing field, laboratory, mentoring and networking experiences for students and early career scientists from groups underrepresented in STEM, and by continuous engagement of the entire COLDEX community in developing a more inclusive scientific culture.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.