Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 04/03/2013 - 12:14
Forums
Airborne Survey of Polar Ice 2013

Hi Mark! We are very excited for your expedition. My students love your picture of the hibernating ground squirrel. The have the following questions for you about the Ice Bridge Project: Manuel, a 6th grader from MS.324 Middle school wants to know: how long does it take to get to Greenland? Jorge, a 7th grader from MS.324 middle school wants to know: How thick or tough is the ice on Greenland? Thanks. Obed Fulcar NYC

Wed, 04/03/2013 - 18:39

Mark Buesing

Hello Obed, Manuel, and Jorge,Great questions guys -- you must have a good teacher!
Manuel - from Chicago to Greenland is only 2,200 miles, but you can't fly directly. Instead I had to fly across the Atlantic Ocean to Copenhagen, Denmark and THEN back across the Atlantic to Greenland ... more than 6,000 miles! So it take two full days to get there. However, that's nothing compared to what Sr. Fulcar is going to do going to Antarctica!
Jorge - Greenland is about the same size and the country of Mexico and 80% of it is covered in ice. After Antarctica, it's the largest ice sheet on earth. It is generally more than 1 mile thick, but parts are about 2 miles thick! The ice in those deepest parts is about 100,000 years old! Do you know how old the deep ice is in Antarctica?
Keep the questions coming MS324!