Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 11/16/2011 - 05:03
Forums
Human Impacts in Antarctica 2011

Ms. Brown,

We know you are studying Human Impacts in Antarctica, but what is the weirdest, most unusual experiment going on at McMurdo this summer?

Do any of them involve animals or other living organisms?

I read that more than 20 other countries have outposts in Antarctica. Will you meet anyone from another country?

Wed, 11/16/2011 - 18:04

Michelle Brown

Hello!This was a GREAT question which I asked to a bunch of people here at the
Crary lab, and it stirred up some great discussions!
I spoke with the staff that is in charge of overseeing all the projects
at McMurdo. There was some argument over the most unusual or interesting
experiments going on, but here's what we came up with:
- Balloon Projects (A-136M) Dr. Christopher Walker from University of
Arizona has a team that is studying outer space by using a huge balloon.
The balloon will fly out and survey a section of the Milky Way using a
telescope to better understand the life cycle of the Interstellar Medium
(ISM), which is the stuff that exists in between stars in the galaxy.
Pretty cool, right!
- Another cool project is fossil gathering. Last year scientists went
out to the WAIS divide (West Antarctic Ice Shelf) and were able to
collect fossils of ancient plants that once thrived here, providing
evidence that Antarctica wasn't always as cold as it is today.
- My favorite experiment that I learned, thanks to your question, is
that there's a group that collects meteorites every year. This is a
program run by Ralph Harvey, where geologists (led by Johnny Schutt) go
out every year to the ice glaciers and collect meteorites. The
geologists go out to lateral moraines, where ice streams submerge. They
also can find meteorites after glaciers or the ice has melted. I hope
to talk to Mr. Schutt to find out more about this.
Thank you for sparking a great conversation! Keep the questions coming!
Sincerely,
Michelle