News
Call for Nominations -- Technology Developments to Advance Antarctic Research
Seeking Experts: Technology Developments to Advance Antarctic Research
The Polar Research Board (of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine) seeks your input for convening a workshop planning committee. This committee will organize a forum to explore how technological innovation can: advance, facilitate, and transform Antarctic research and facilitate improvements to science support logistics; can increase the reach of scientific investigations in Antarctica while reducing the logistics and environmental footprint of these operations; and can facilitate broader, more diverse participation in Antarctic research. The workshop will address specific disciplinary sciences as well as cross-cutting themes such as: autonomous sensors and platforms, communications and connectivity, transportation and logistics, and energy sources and consumption, including low power and battery developments.
We invite your suggestions for people to serve on the workshop planning committee, including people with expertise in the following areas: sensors and observing systems for geophysical research (geological, atmospheric, cryospheric, oceanic), biological research, and for astronomy, astrophysics, and space weather research; data and communications technologies; low-temperature electronics and batteries/power systems for cold-weather environments; remote logistics support; and robotics and autonomous instrument engineering.
The National Academies are committed to enhancing diversity and inclusion in order to strengthen the quality of our work. Diverse perspectives contribute to finding innovative approaches and solutions to challenging issues. We encourage the nomination of volunteers who reflect the populations we serve and also welcome in particular nominations of candidates from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, women, and early- and mid-career professionals.
Submissions (including self-nominations) are welcome until September 15th.
Form to submit names: https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/6490084/Call-for-Nominations-Technology-Developments-to-Advance-Antarctic-Research-A-Workshop
DISC Drill - Request Regarding Community Interest
The U.S. Ice Drilling Program is planning use of its drills for the coming decade. If you intend to submit a proposal to the NSF that would require use of the DISC Drill, please send an email expressing your intent to Icedrill@Dartmouth.edu before August 15, 2021.
Additional information: Deep drilling at Hercules Dome will be conducted using the Foro 3000 Drill. A comparison of Foro 3000 Drill and DISC Drill capabilities and associated logistics requirements is available at https://icedrill.org/library/disc-drill-vs-foro-3000-drill-analysis (see Table 1, page 11).
Thank you for contributing to future planning for the U.S. Ice Drilling Program!
2021 Long Range Science Plan and Long Range Drilling Technology Plan Now Available
The purpose of the plans is to articulate goals and make recommendations for the direction of U.S. ice coring and drilling science, as well as for the development of drilling technology, infrastructure, and logistical support necessary to enable the science.
Request for Community Input — DRAFT 2021 Long Range Science Plan
Each year in the spring, the Ice Drilling Program (IDP) works with its Science Advisory Board and the research community to update the Long Range Science Plan. This Plan identifies the science in the coming decade that will require the use of ice drilling technology and expertise for the community. This also drives the formation of other plans, for example, the Long Range Drilling Technology Plan. The plans provide the basis for multi‐annual planning for the actions and drill development projects of IDP and others, and the plans give the funding agencies advance notice of upcoming community science needs.
If you need an ice core or a hole drilled in a glacier or ice sheet in the coming decade or a rock core from under shallow glacial ice, please make sure that the high‐level articulation of your science is captured in the current draft update of the Long Range Science Plan!
Please read through the draft Long Range Science Plan and send corrections, updates, or additions to Icedrill@Dartmouth.edu ASAP or not later than June 12, 2021. When sending corrections/updates, please also reference the appropriate line number in the draft Long Range Science Plan where the correction/update is needed.
Submission deadline: June 12, 2021
To download the working draft, visit:
https://icedrill.org/long-range-science-plan
U.S. Scientific Traverses on the Greenland Ice Sheet: a Planning Workshop
The U.S. Ice Drilling Program and the Summit Science Coordination Office are co-sponsoring a U.S. science community planning workshop on June 11, 2021, to identify and articulate U.S. science community interests for long-term planning of potential scientific traverses on the Greenland Ice Sheet. The workshop is designed to identify the driving scientific questions that require access to interior areas of the Greenland Ice Sheet and would benefit from traverse approaches for the coming decade and beyond. The outcome from the workshop is a set of white papers that will help identify technological and logistical requirements that will be needed to support the science. There is no registration fee; however, registration is required. The registration deadline is June 6, 2021. For complete details, visit the workshop's webpage.
Ice Core Working Group 2021 Virtual Meeting
The Ice Core Working Group (ICWG) is holding its annual meeting on Monday, March 8, from 11 AM to 4 PM EST. The meeting is open to everyone. If you would like to attend the Zoom meeting, please contact T.J. Fudge (tjfudge@uw.edu) to get the link. The agenda can be found at https://icedrill.org/meetings/ice-core-working-group-2021-virtual-meeting.
Currently, the ICWG has 30 minutes planned for updates on projects that potentially involve many members of the U.S. ice coring community (i.e., Hercules Dome or Mt. Waddington ice core drilling projects). If you would like to give a very brief update, please email T.J. Fudge (tjfudge@uw.edu). If you are unable to attend but still would like to provide an update, please either send a prepared slide and text to T.J. or ask one of the ICWG members to give the update on your behalf.
T.J. Fudge, University of Washington
Becky Alexander, University of Washington
Christine Foreman, University of Montana
Andrei Kurbatov, University of Maine
Jeff Severinghaus, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Vas Petrenko, University of Rochester
Summer Rupper, The University of Utah
AGU Town Hall: Scientific Drilling in the Polar Regions
The U.S. Ice Drilling Program (IDP) will hold the AGU Town Hall on Scientific Drilling in the Polar Regions on Wednesday, 16 December 2020, from 16:00-17:00 PACIFIC (19:00-20:00 EASTERN).
Abstract: Ice sheets, glaciers, and the underlying bedrock, sediment and permafrost hold crucial evidence of past conditions, ice sheet dynamics, and cratonic geology. National and international collaboration for drilling in the remote polar regions requires strategic coordination between science, technology, and logistics. This meeting will provide the research community with updates on IDP, IPICS, and other drilling initiatives. Opportunities for community involvement will be showcased, and input from the audience will be solicited.
Date: Wednesday, 16 December 2020
Time: 16:00-17:00 PACIFIC (19:00-20:00 EASTERN)
AGU meeting website: https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm20/meetingapp.cgi/Session/102717
2020 Long Range Science Plan and Long Range Drilling Technology Plan Now Available
The purpose of the plans is to articulate goals and make recommendations for the direction of U.S. ice coring and drilling science, as well as for the development of drilling technology, infrastructure, and logistical support necessary to enable the science.
Request for Community Input — DRAFT 2020 Long Range Science Plan
Each year in the spring, the Ice Drilling Program (IDP) works with its Science Advisory Board and with the research community to update the Long Range Science Plan. This Plan identifies the science in the coming decade that will require the use of ice drilling technology and expertise for the community. This also drives the formation of other plans, for example, the Long Range Drilling Technology Plan. The plans provide the basis for multi‐annual planning for the actions and drill development projects of IDP and others, and the plans give the funding agencies advance notice of upcoming community science needs.
If you will need an ice core or a hole drilled in a glacier or ice sheet in the coming decade, or a rock core from under shallow glacial ice, please make sure that the high‐level articulation of your science is captured in the current draft update of the Long Range Science Plan!
Please read through the draft Long Range Science Plan and send corrections, updates, or additions to Icedrill@Dartmouth.edu ASAP or not later than June 3, 2020.
Submission deadline: June 3, 2020
To download the working draft, visit:
https://icedrill.org/long-range-science-plan
Request for Comments - ICWG Community Meeting White Papers
On April 2, a virtual Ice Core Working Group (ICWG) Community Meeting was held for presenting and discussing information relevant to the U.S. ice coring program and for updating the IDP Long Range Science Plan.
The workshop produced the following draft white papers. U.S. scientists are invited to provide additional input to the draft white papers. Comments and edits are required before June 4, 2020.
- Research Priorities for Alpine Glaciers and Ice Caps
- send comments to Paolo Gabrielli before June 4, 2020
- Community Recommendations for the NSF Ice Core Facility
- send comments to T.J. Fudge before June 4, 2020
- Paleoclimate Ice Core Research Priorities in Antarctica
- send comments to Tyler Jones before June 4, 2020
- Ice Core Research Priorities in Greenland
- send comments to Erich Osterberg before June 4, 2020
The white papers can be downloaded from the workshop's website.