NASA flies over Antarctica to measure icemelt

October 16, 2009 MAURICIO CUEVAS , Associated Press Writer

(AP) -- Hoping to better understand how a melting Antarctica could swamp the planet, a NASA plane outfitted with lasers and ground-penetrating radar made its first flight over the icy continent on Friday.

The DC-8 left Punta Arenas, Chile, on a mission to fly as low as 1,000 feet (300 meters) over Antarctica. Like the NASA that has provided shocking data on how quickly Antarctic is disappearing, this will measure snow cover and ice thickness. But it also has equipment that will enable scientists to see under the ice shelves, measuring the water below.

The goal is to understand just how warm ocean currents may be pulling the ice sheets seaward, melting their undersides. These ice sheets are rapidly collapsing - as fast as nine meters (27 feet) a year according to a study published in the last month. If they disappear, far greater ice masses that lie on Antarctic bedrock could then melt into the sea, submerging coastal communities around the globe.

Until now, the U.S. National Aeronautic and Space Administration has used satellites to track the impact of climate change in the Antarctic, but the satellite will be phased out at year's end. Friday's flight is the first of many planned as part of Operation Ice Bridge, to bridge the gap in data that would otherwise result before the next satellite goes up in 2015.

Investigators from the Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, the University of Washington and the University of Kansas also are on board for the 11-hour flights, running their own sets of instruments.

---

On the Net:

Ice Bridge blog: http://blogs.nasa.gov/cm/blog/icebridge

Ice Bridge Twitter: http://twitter.com/IceBridge

©2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

3.4 /5 (9 votes)  

Filter


Move the slider to adjust rank threshold, so that you can hide some of the comments.


Display comments: newest first

omatumr
Oct 22, 2009

Rank: 3 / 5 (1)
Congratulations!

NASA is now "Hoping to better understand how a melting Antarctica could swamp the planet".

Best wishes on this new mission.

With kind regards,
Oliver K. Manuel
Rank 3.4 /5 (9 votes)
Relevant PhysicsForums posts
  • Do some geologists actually act a lot like Randy Marsh?
    created18 hours ago
  • Discrepancy between oxygen and carbon-dioxide levels
    createdFeb 09, 2012
  • where gems are found in the world
    createdFeb 09, 2012
  • Wind Waves in Reservoir ~ Wind run-up and Wind set-up
    createdFeb 08, 2012
  • Balance of oxygen in the atmosphere
    createdFeb 01, 2012
  • The case for a methanol-based economy
    createdJan 30, 2012
  • More from Physics Forums - Earth

More news stories

Europe stakes billion-dollar bet on new rocket

A pencil-slim rocket is scheduled to lift into space from South America on Monday, carrying a billion-dollar bet that Europe can grab a juicy slice of the market to place satellites in low orbit.

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created 16 hours ago | popularity 3.5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Political leaders play key role in how worried Americans are by climate change: study

More than extreme weather events and the work of scientists, it is national political leaders who influence how much Americans worry about the threat of climate change, new research finds.

Space & Earth / Environment

created Feb 06, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (6) | comments 72

NASA budget will axe Mars deal with Europe: scientists

US President Barack Obama's budget proposal to be submitted next week for 2013 will cut NASA's budget by 20 percent and eliminate a major partnership with Europe on Mars exploration, scientists said Thursday.

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Feb 10, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 48

Humans may have helped the decline of African rainforests 3000 years ago

(PhysOrg.com) -- Large areas of rainforests in Central Africa mysteriously disappeared over three thousand years ago, to be replaced by savannas. The prevailing theory has been that the cause was a change ...

Space & Earth / Environment

created Feb 10, 2012 | popularity 4.1 / 5 (14) | comments 19 | with audio podcast report

High planetary tilt lowers odds for life?

Highly-tilted worlds would have extreme seasons, subjecting life to alternating periods of scorching and subzero temperatures. This could make the development of all but hardiest, simplest creatures a long ...

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Feb 06, 2012 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (12) | comments 14 | with audio podcast


Walney offshore wind farm is world's biggest (for now)

(PhysOrg.com) -- The Walney wind farm on the Irish Sea--characterized by high tides, waves and windy weather--officially opened this week. The farm is treated in the press as a very big deal as the Walney ...

GPS court ruling leaves US phone tracking unclear

A US Supreme Court decision requiring a warrant to place a GPS device on the car of a criminal suspect leaves unresolved the bigger issue of police tracking using mobile phones, legal experts say.

Europeans protest controversial Internet pact

Tens of thousands of people marched in protests in more than a dozen European cities Saturday against a controversial anti-online piracy pact that critics say could curtail Internet freedom.

Study finds that anti-diabetic medication can prevent the long-term effects of maternal obesity

In a study to be presented today at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting, in Dallas, Texas, researchers will report findings that show that short therapy with the anti-diabetic medication ...

Netflix settlement trims 14 pct off 4Q earnings

(AP) -- Netflix pressed the rewind button on its fourth-quarter earnings after settling allegations that the video subscription service violated a consumer-privacy law.

Navy to begin tests on electromagnetic railgun prototype launcher

The Office of Naval Research (ONR)'s Electromagnetic (EM) Railgun program will take an important step forward in the coming weeks when the first industry railgun prototype launcher is tested at a facility ...