ANDRILL

Last updated
ANDRILL
Site of Special Scientific Interest
ANDRILL drill site.jpg
Drill Site
Antarctica location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location within Antarctica
Area of Search Antarctica
Coordinates 77°53′20″S167°05′00″E / 77.888889°S 167.083333°E / -77.888889; 167.083333 Coordinates: 77°53′20″S167°05′00″E / 77.888889°S 167.083333°E / -77.888889; 167.083333
InterestDrilling
Area Ross Island

ANDRILL (ANtarctic DRILLing Project) [1] is a scientific drilling project in Antarctica gathering information about past periods of global warming and cooling.

Contents

The project involves scientists from Germany, Italy, New Zealand, and the United States. At two sites in 2006 and 2007, ANDRILL team members drilled through ice, seawater, sediment and rock to a depth over more than 1,200 m and recovered a virtually continuous core record from the present to nearly 20 million years ago. [2] The project is based at McMurdo Station in Antarctica. [3]

In studying the cores, ANDRILL scientists from various disciplines are gathering detailed information about past periods of global warming and cooling. A major goal of the project is to significantly improve the understanding of Antarctica's impact on the world's oceans currents and the atmosphere by reconstructing the behavior of Antarctic sea-ice, ice-shelves, glaciers and sea currents over tens of millions of years. [4] Initial results imply rapid changes and dramatically different climates at various times on the southernmost continent. [5]

The $30 million project has achieved its operational goal of retrieving a continuous core record of the last 17 million years, filling crucial gaps left by previous drilling projects. [6] Making use of knowledge gained through prior Antarctic drilling projects, ANDRILL employed novel techniques to reach record depths at its two drilling sites. Among the innovations deployed were a hot-water drilling system that allowed for easier ice-boring and a flexible drill pipe that could accommodate tidal oscillations and strong currents.

On December 16, 2006, ANDRILL broke the previous record of 999.1 m (3,277.9 ft) set in 2000 by the Ocean Drilling Program's drill ship, the Joides Resolution. [7] [8] The Antarctic-record 1,285 m (4,216 ft) of core ANDRILL went on to recover represents geologic time to about 13 million years ago. In 2007, drilling at the Southern McMurdo Sound, ANDRILL scientists recovered another 1138 meters (3733.6 ft) of core. One goal in 2006 was to look at a period of around 3 to 5 million years ago in the Pliocene, which scientists know to be warmer. The team's sedimentologists identified more than 60 cycles in which ice sheets or glaciers advanced and retreated across McMurdo Sound. [3] [9]

Objectives of ANDRILL

Scientists on the ANDRILL project seek evidence in their sediment cores to tie together decades of paleoclimate research to get a more complete picture of how the Antarctic ice sheets acted in past times of global warmth. The target, the warmest part of the middle Miocene (between 14 million and 15 million years ago) represents a period when the Earth was much warmer than today.

Slide of sediment core ANDRILL - showing features.jpg
Slide of sediment core

The geological target for 2007-2008 was the past 17 million years of Earth history, including the 4 million-year gap between the earlier projects, especially during the warm middle Miocene period.

Geologist David Harwood of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln explains that understanding what happened in the warm period is especially important as Earth's climate continues to warm. In the past, scientists working in different parts of the world noted changes in their data, they often deduced that these must be due to changes in the ice on Antarctica. With this[ which? ] season's drilling scientists will be able to make those connections with more certainty.

"If we can identify time periods in Antarctica when we had minimal ice and minimal ocean freezing, we can then look at that particular interval of time - and hopefully several examples from those intervals of time — and see how the rest of the world responded. This will provide evidence to confirm or reject a lot of interpretations that have been suggested and linked to Antarctica," he said.

When sea ice forms, it pushes the salt out, creating a mass of cold, salty, dense water that sinks to the bottom of the ocean, creating deep ocean currents that affect ocean circulation and the distribution of heat worldwide. [10]

Virtual Field Trip

The New Zealand online education programme, LEARNZ, conducted a virtual field trip to the Ross Sea drill site in late 2007. Over 3500 New Zealand school students joined LEARNZ teacher Darren on this trip. Telephone conferences were held between students and ANDRILL scientists from the drill site and the Crary Laboratory at McMurdo station. [11]

Media coverage

NBC's news anchor Ann Curry reported from the ANDRILL camp at the U.S. McMurdo Base beginning October 2, 2007. [12] The Today Show with anchor Ann Curry, reporting for a series called "Ends of the Earth," had hoped to tape at the South Pole, was held up at McMurdo due to severe weather conditions. The weather broke and about 1 a.m. local time on Friday, Nov. 9, Curry and crew finally touched down at the South Pole. It is not unusual for there to be Flight delays to South Pole in the early part of the austral summer. [13]

Related Research Articles

Transport in Antarctica has transformed from explorers crossing the isolated remote area of Antarctica by foot to a more open era due to human technologies enabling more convenient and faster transport, predominantly by air and water, as well as land. Transportation technologies on a remote area like Antarctica need to be able to deal with extremely low temperatures and continuous winds to ensure the travelers' safety. Due to the fragility of the Antarctic environment, only a limited amount of transport movements can take place and sustainable transportation technologies have to be used to reduce the ecological footprint. The infrastructure of land, water and air transport needs to be safe and sustainable. Currently thousands of tourists and hundreds of scientists a year depend on the Antarctic transportation system.

Ross Sea A deep bay of the Southern Ocean in Antarctica

The Ross Sea is a deep bay of the Southern Ocean in Antarctica, between Victoria Land and Marie Byrd Land and within the Ross Embayment, and is the southernmost sea on Earth. It derives its name from the British explorer James Ross who visited this area in 1841. To the west of the sea lies Ross Island and Victoria Land, to the east Roosevelt Island and Edward VII Peninsula in Marie Byrd Land, while the southernmost part is covered by the Ross Ice Shelf, and is about 200 miles (320 km) from the South Pole. Its boundaries and area have been defined by the New Zealand National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research as having an area of 637,000 square kilometres (246,000 sq mi).

Climate of Antarctica

The climate of Antarctica is the coldest on Earth. The continent is also extremely dry, averaging 166 mm (6.5 in) of precipitation per year. Snow rarely melts on most parts of the continent, and, after being compressed, becomes the glacier ice that makes up the ice sheet. Weather fronts rarely penetrate far into the continent, because of the katabatic winds. Most of Antarctica has an ice-cap climate with very cold, generally extremely dry weather.

McMurdo Station American Antarctic base

The McMurdo Station is a United States Antarctic research station on the south tip of Ross Island, which is in the New Zealand–claimed Ross Dependency on the shore of McMurdo Sound in Antarctica. It is operated by the United States through the United States Antarctic Program, a branch of the National Science Foundation. The station is the largest community in Antarctica, capable of supporting up to 1,258 residents, and serves as one of three United States Antarctic science facilities. All personnel and cargo going to or coming from Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station first pass through McMurdo. By road, McMurdo is 3 kilometres from New Zealand's smaller Scott Base.

Scott Base Antarctic base

Scott Base is a New Zealand Antarctic research facility located at Pram Point on Ross Island near Mount Erebus in New Zealand's Ross Dependency territorial claim. The research facility was named in honour of Captain Robert Falcon Scott, RN, leader of two British expeditions to the Ross Sea area of Antarctica. The base was set up as support to field research and the centre for research into earth sciences, and now conducts research in many fields, operated by Antarctica New Zealand.

Roosevelt Island, Antarctica island in Antarctica

Roosevelt Island is an ice-covered island, about 130 km (81 mi) long in a NW-SE direction, 65 km (40 mi) wide and about 7,500 km2 (2,896 sq mi) in area, lying under the eastern part of the Ross Ice Shelf of Antarctica. Its central ridge rises to about 550 m (1,804 ft) above sea level, but this and all other elevations of the island are completely covered by ice, so that the island is invisible at ground level.

Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center academic institution in the United States of America

The Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center (BPCRC) is a polar, alpine, and climate research center at The Ohio State University founded in 1960.

McMurdo Sound landform

McMurdo Sound and its ice-clogged waters extends about 55 kilometres (34 mi) long and wide. The sound connects the Ross Sea to the north with the Ross Ice Shelf cavity to the south via Haskell Strait. The strait is largely covered by the McMurdo Ice Shelf. The Royal Society Range rises from sea level to 4,205 metres (13,796 ft) on the western shoreline. Ross Island, an historic jumping-off point for polar explorers, designates the eastern boundary. The active volcano Mount Erebus at 3,794 metres (12,448 ft) dominates Ross Island. Antarctica's largest scientific base, the United States' McMurdo Station, as well as the New Zealand Scott Base are on the southern shore of the island. Less than 10 percent of McMurdo Sound's shoreline is free of ice. It is the southernmost navigable body of water in the world.

Polar ice cap high-latitude region of an astronomical body (e.g. planet) with major parts covered in ice

A polar ice cap or polar cap is a high-latitude region of a planet, dwarf planet, or natural satellite that is covered in ice.

Cape Roberts Project Camp

Between 1997 and 1999 the international Cape Roberts Project (CRP) has recovered up to 1,000 m (3,300 ft) long drill cores in the Ross Sea, Antarctica to reconstruct the glaciation history of Antarctica. Scientists from various institutes in seven countries have participated: Australia, Germany, United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Italy, New Zealand, and USA. After a seismic pre-site survey the area off Cape Roberts in the Ross Sea at the margin of the Transantarctic Mountains was found to be suitable.

WAIS Divide Camp

The WAIS Divide is the ice flow divide on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) which is a linear boundary that separates the region where the ice flows to the Ross Sea, from the region where the ice flows to the Weddell Sea. It is similar to a continental hydrographic divide.

Kelly Jemison American geologist

Kelly Jemison is an American academic geologist specializing in Antarctic diatoms. She studied at Florida State University. She has participated in the ANDRILL project. In 2011, she was awarded the Antarctica Service Medal.

<i>Edwardsiella andrillae</i> species of cnidarian

Edwardsiella andrillae is a species of sea anemone that uniquely lives anchored to the underside of sea ice offshore of Antarctica. It was discovered in December 2010 during a test run of an undersea robot by a team of researchers associated with the Antarctic Geological Drilling (ANDRILL) Program. The newly discovered anemone was named for the aforementioned program.

Nerilie Abram Australian scientist

Nerilie Abram is an associate professor at the ANU Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia. Her areas of expertise are in climate change and paleoclimatology, including the climate of Antarctica, the Indian Ocean Dipole, and impacts on the climate of Australia.

Christina Riesselman American paleoceanographer

Christina Riesselman is an American paleoceanographer whose research focus is on Southern Ocean response to changing climate.

Louise Huffman American teacher

Louise Tolle Huffman is an American teacher with over 30 years of teaching experience with many years focused on polar science and climate studies, and has written educational outreach books and articles on Antarctica. She is the Director of Education and Outreach for the US Ice Drilling Program Office (IDPO), responsible for outreach efforts highlighting IDPO scientists and their research results.

The following events occurred in Antarctica in 2017.

The following is a list of events that occurred in Antarctica in 2016.

Natalie Robinson Antarctic, climate and atmospheric researcher

Natalie Robinson, an Antarctic researcher, is based at the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research in New Zealand. She led the final two K131 Science Events on the sea ice of McMurdo Sound, Antarctica.

Amelia E. Shevenell American marine geologist

Amelia E. Shevenell is an American marine geologist who specializes in high-latitude paleoclimatology and paleoceanography. She is currently an Associate Professor in the College of Marine Science at the University of South Florida. She has made notable contributions to understanding the history of the Antarctic ice sheets and published in high-impact journals and, as a result, was awarded full membership of Sigma Xi. She has a long record of participation in international ocean drilling programs and has served in leadership positions of these organizations. Shevenell is the elected Geological Oceanography Council Member for The Oceanography Society (2019-2021).

References

  1. ↑ Antarctic Research Centre (ARC) (2007-09-27). "What is ANDRILL?" (Web). Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. Retrieved 2007-11-12.
  2. ↑ Hardwood & Levy; David Harwood; Richard Levy (February 2008). "ANDRILL's time machine: Drilling into Antarctic geological history to predict future climate changes". News Article. Prairie Fire. Archived from the original (Web) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2008.
  3. 1 2 Rejcek, Peter (2007-11-01). "ANDRILL returns to Antarctica" (Web). News article. The Antarctic Sun. Archived from the original on 9 November 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-12.
  4. ↑ "Andrill From Greenhouse to Icehouse". A Science, Technology, Social Studies virtual field trip to Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica. LEARNZ (New Zealand Ministry of Education). November 2006. Archived from the original (Web) on 2008-03-07. Retrieved 2007-11-12.
  5. ↑ Quirin Scheirmeier, "Sediment cores reveal Antarctica's warmer past," Nature News, April 24, 2008.
  6. ↑ Alexandra Witze, "School of Rock," Nature, v.446, no.7132, p. 129, March 8, 2007.
  7. ↑ Office of University Communications; University of Nebraska-Lincoln (2006-12-19). "ANDRILL project breaks Antarctic drilling record, reaches 1,000 meters" (Web). News Release. University of Nebraska–Lincoln . Retrieved 2007-11-12.[ permanent dead link ]
  8. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-28. Retrieved 2010-03-27.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. ↑ Hardwood & Levy; David Harwood; Richard Levy (January 2008). "ANDRILL: Antarctic geological drilling for climate history". News Article. Prairie Fire. Archived from the original (Web) on March 17, 2009. Retrieved March 28, 2010.
  10. ↑ Office of University Communications; University of Nebraska-Lincoln (2007-10-01). "2nd ANDRILL season seeking 'Rosetta Stone' for climate history". News Release. University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Archived from the original on 2007-10-17. Retrieved 2007-11-12.
  11. ↑ Darren (2007). "Andrill - Term 4, 2007". A Science, Technology, Social Studies virtual field trip to Antarctica 26 Oct - 6 Nov 2007. The LEARNZ programme is provided by Heurisko Ltd. Archived from the original on 14 October 2008. Retrieved 6 March 2008.
  12. ↑ Ziegler, Adam (2007-11-07). "NBC's 'Today' visits ANDRILL station in Antarctica". News article. Daily Nebraskan. Archived from the original (Web) on 2011-08-07. Retrieved 2007-11-12.
  13. ↑ Rejcek, Peter (2007-11-08). "Weather delays Pole flights: Last effort to reach 90 degrees south for report on climate change pays off for Today Show crew" (Web). News Article. The Antarctic Sun. Archived from the original on 25 November 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-12.
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