On Sunday morning we learned of the tragic death of Professor Gordon Hamilton at a remote field camp on the ice shelf 50km south of McMurdo Station. Some details of his life, and the accident that took it, are copied below in prepared statements from the National Science Foundation and the University of Maine, where he worked as a professor. My thoughts are with his family, as well as with his colleagues and friends here in Antarctica.
And on behalf of those of us who travel into the field to accomplish our work, I'd like to offer thanks to the mountaineers, mechanics, medical staff, supply depot workers, diving supervisors, carpenters, field camp overseers, helicopter teams, firefighters, fuel supervisors, logistical support planners, and heavy machinery operators who do everything possible to keep us safe while we're out there.
Rest in peace, Dr. Hamilton.
October 23, 2016
U.S. Antarctic Program Investigator Perishes in Snowmobile Accident
A researcher with the U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP), managed by the National Science Foundation (NSF), suffered a fatal injury on Saturday, October 22, New Zealand time.
Dr. Gordon Hamilton, University of Maine Climate Change Institute, Orono, Maine, was fatally injured when the snow machine he was riding went into a crevasse. Hamilton’s team was camped in a heavily crevassed area known as the Shear Zone (SZ), approximately 25 miles south of McMurdo Station, the largest of the three U.S. research stations in Antarctica.
The McMurdo SZ is a 3 mile wide and more than 125 mile long swath of intensely crevassed ice where the Ross Ice Shelf meets the McMurdo Ice Shelf. The ice is up to 650 feet thick in this area. Dr. Hamilton’s body has been recovered and will be returned to his family in Maine. An accident investigation has begun by USAP personnel.
“I am deeply saddened by the news of the tragic death of Dr. Hamilton. Our thoughts are with the family and entire community as we mourn this loss” said Dr. France Córdova, Director, National Science Foundation.
Dr. Hamilton’s research utilized two robots that contained ground penetrating radar instruments to study the stability of the Ross and McMurdo Ice Shelves.
At the time of the accident, the science team was camped approximately 200 yards from the USAP’s South Pole Operations Traverse crevasse remediation team. The two teams, science and Traverse operations, were working together to identify and remediate crevasses which had appeared in the past year.
The two teams included experienced personnel who had worked in this area over the past several years and all members of both teams had received crevasse and glacial safety training before going into the area. In addition, mountaineers, familiar and experienced with the SZ, were with each of the two teams. Crevasses had been identified and filled earlier in the week and work on a newly identified crevasse was beginning at the time of the accident.
The NSF manages the USAP, through which it coordinates all U.S. research and the necessary logistical support on the continent and aboard ships in the Southern Ocean.
NSF Media Contact: Peter West: 301-385-7140
University of Maine news release Oct. 22, 2016 Contact: Margaret Nagle, UMaine Division of Marketing and Communications, 207.581.3745; nagle [at] maine.edu Amanda Greenwell, NSF Office of Legislative and Public Affairs, 808.779.8009; agreewe [at] nsf.gov Paul Mayewski, UMaine Climate Change Institute, 207.356.9592; paul.mayewski [at] maine.edu
Orono, Maine — Gordon Hamilton, a University of Maine professor in the School of Earth and Climate Sciences, and a researcher with the Climate Change Institute, died in a field accident Oct. 22 while conducting research in Antarctica. He was 50.
Hamilton, a physical glaciologist, was working on White Island in the Ross Archipelago in Antarctica, an area were he has conducted research for several seasons, when the snowmobile he was riding hit a crevasse. He was killed in the 100-foot fall, according to the National Science Foundation. Hamilton was conducting NSF-funded research at the time of the accident.
"The University of Maine has lost one of its leading scientists," says UMaine President Susan J. Hunter. "Gordon's glaciology research around the world — from Antarctica to Greenland — was second to none. He leaves a legacy as an outstanding scientist, and a caring mentor and well-known teacher to undergraduate and graduate students. He was an engaged, gregarious and beloved member of the UMaine and Orono communities that now mourn his loss. Our heart-felt thoughts and prayers go to his wife, Fiona, and their two children, Martin and Calum, and his friends and colleagues around the world."
Hamilton joined UMaine's Climate Change Institute in 2000 as an assistant research professor. Prior to coming to Maine, he was at the Byrd Polar Research Center at Ohio State University and the Norwegian Polar Institute in Olso.
Hamilton studied the behavior of modern ice sheets and their role in the climate system. His research focused on understanding ice sheet mass balance — how much mass is coming in and going out, and the processes responsible — and involved satellite remote sensing. His current research projects included ice-ocean interaction in Greenland and ice shelf stability in Antarctica.
Hamilton also taught UMaine undergraduate and graduate courses, and was involved in statewide STEM initiatives for grades 9-12.
"Gordon was the quintessential scientist and educator," says Jeffrey Hecker, UMaine executive vice president for academic affairs and provost. "His research informed his teaching and his community outreach — from schoolchildren to lawmakers and the media. He knew the importance of hands-on learning, and often took students into the field on his research expeditions. Students appreciated his depth of knowledge as a pioneering researcher, his dedication to being involved in student success and his style as an approachable, effective educator. He touched — and changed — many lives. Our thoughts are with his students — past and present — his family, and his many friends and colleagues."
In a statement released Oct. 23, Climate Change Institute Director Paul Mayewski noted that the entire glaciology community held Hamilton in the absolute highest esteem.
"His experience and devotion to understanding glacier dynamics and their role in our evolving climate system, notably with respect to sea level rise, were Gordon’s scientific passions," Mayewski said in the statement. "He led many polar expeditions in the course of his research, trained many graduate students, lectured far and wide, and was a well-known science spokesman in many media outlets.
"Those of us who shared time in the field with Gordon know how important he was not only as a fellow team member and scientist, but also how wonderful and how much fun it was to be with him. We send our deepest sympathy to his family and want them to know how much we appreciate the opportunity to have known him and how important his legacy is to our Institute and the scientific community," says Mayewski.
University of Maine students, faculty or staff desiring support can call the UMaine Counseling Center, 581.1392, or the Dean of Students Office, 581.1406.
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