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

多个独立的卫星遥感数据集表明，西南极冰盖（WAIS）的阿蒙森海湾（ASE）部分的质量损失速度比南极洲其他任何地方都快。思韦茨冰川仅从其集水区就排出了全球海平面半米以上的潜在水，是ASE中退缩最快的冰川之一。虽然海洋通常被认为是推动ASE中冰川快速融化的原因，但大多数最大冰川附近的海洋状态和海底形状仍然很少采样。这些未知数挑战了验证预测未来冰融化和海平面上升所需的海洋和冰盖耦合数值模型的努力。该项目将从空中平台获取斯韦茨冰川舌（TGT）附近海洋温度、盐度和深度的关键新剖面。此前与韩国极地研究所（KOPRI）合作期间收集的数据表明，斯韦茨冰川附近300米水柱的冰川融水浓度较高，温度较高。受这些结果的推动，该项目将在2023/24年度继续从RV Araon破冰船进行这些基于海洋学的测量，以获得Thwaites接地线附近的水柱剖面。这些新的海洋状态数据将使研究小组能够确认他们以前的结果，确定该地区的年际变化量，并评估TCT附近更广泛区域的海洋状况。此外，观测之间两年的冰运动将使机载一次性电导率温度和深度传感器能够进行新的海底深度观测，增加了不断增长的约束数据库，有助于改进重力派生的测深模型。通过与KOPRI的深化合作，该项目将展示改进的程序，并测试南极洲机载海洋学的新能力。PI将与加州大学圣地亚哥分校桦树水族馆合作，创建新的极地展览，旨在提供新型的沉浸式和互动式体验，捕捉在研究船上和极地野外考察站的积极探险。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值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.