RAPID: International Collaborative Research into Ice-ocean Iteractions & Fractures at Thwaites (ICE-RIFT)

多个独立的卫星遥感数据表明，西南极冰盖(WAIS)的Amundsen Sea Embayment(ASE)部分正在以比南极洲其他任何地方都快的速度失去质量。斯韦茨冰川仅从其集水区就消耗了超过半米的全球海平面潜力，是ASE中消退最快的冰川之一。尽管海洋通常被认为推动了ASE冰川的快速融化，但大多数最大的冰川附近的海洋状况和海底形状仍然很少有样本。这些未知因素挑战了验证海洋和冰盖耦合数值模型的努力，这些模型是预测未来冰川融化和海平面上升所需的。该项目将从空中平台获取Thwaites冰川舌(TGT)附近的关键新的海洋温度、盐度和深度剖面。在之前与韩国极地研究所(KOPRI)合作期间收集的数据表明，Thwaites冰川附近水柱上部300米处冰川融水浓度更高，温度更高。在这些结果的推动下，该项目将在2023/24年继续从RV Araon破冰船上进行基于直升机的海洋测量，以获得Thwaites接地线附近的水柱轮廓。这些新的海洋状态数据将使该小组能够确认他们之前的结果，确定该区域的年际变化量，并评估TCT附近更广泛区域的海洋状况。此外，两次观测之间冰的移动将使机载可消耗电导温度和深度传感器能够进行新的海底深度观测，从而增加了可用于改进重力测深模型的不断扩大的制约因素数据库。通过与KOPRI的这一深化合作，该项目将展示改进的程序，并测试南极洲基于直升机的航空海洋学的新能力。PI将与加州大学圣地亚哥白桦水族馆合作创建新的极地展品，旨在提供新型身临其境和互动的体验，捕捉科考船上和极地野外站点上的活跃探险。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Multiple independent satellite remote sensing datasets indicate that the Amundsen Sea Embayment (ASE) sector of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) is losing mass faster than anywhere else in Antarctica. Thwaites Glacier, which drains over a half a meter of global sea level potential from its catchment alone, is one of the fastest retreating glaciers in the ASE. Although the ocean is generally understood to drive rapid melting of glaciers in the ASE, the ocean state and sea floor shape near most of the largest glaciers remains sparsely sampled. These unknowns challenge efforts to validate coupled numerical ocean and ice sheet models needed to predict future ice melt and sea level rise. This project will acquire key new profiles of ocean temperature, salinity, and depth near the Thwaites Glacier Tongue (TGT) from airborne platforms.Data collected during previous collaborations with the Korea Polar Research Institute (KOPRI) indicate higher concentrations of glacial meltwater and warmer temperatures in the upper 300 meters of the water column near Thwaites Glacier. Motivated by these results, this project will continue these helicopter-based oceanographic measurements from the RV Araon icebreaker in 2023/24 to obtain water column profiles near Thwaites’ grounding line. These new ocean state data will enable the team to confirm their previous results, determine the amount of interannual variability in this region, and evaluate ocean conditions in a wider area near the TCT. Additionally, movement of ice in the two years between observations will enable new seafloor depth observations from Airborne Expendable Conductivity Temperature and Depth (AXCTD) sensors, adding to a growing database of constraints useful for improving gravity-derived bathymetry models. Through this deepened collaboration with KOPRI, the project will demonstrate refined procedures and test new capabilities for helicopter-based airborne oceanography in Antarctica. The PI will partner with the UC San Diego Birch Aquarium in the creation of new polar exhibits designed to offer new types of immersive and interactive experiences that capture active expeditions aboard research vessels and at polar field stations.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.