Blog of my season click to open in new tab to see what happened
A little background first (Jump to BAS News room "Antarctica's hidden world")
Field Season Locations - Click on timeline to find where the plane will be during the season
Field Season Overview
The AGAP project will use an aerogeophysically instrumented BAS Twin Otter aircraft
to survey the northern flanks of the Gamburtsev
Subglacial Mountains. The goal will be to fly approximately 71 geophysical
flights primarily between AGAP-N
and Dome A. The approximately 290 survey hours of BAS Twin Otter flying will
complement the 61 USAP Twin Otter flights 330 survey hours primarily on the
southern flank of the Gamburtsev
Subglacial Mountains between Dome A and AGAP-S.
The program will require use of the instrumented BAS Twin Otter to fly from
November 5 - through January 19. The aerogeophysical instrumentation will be
installed in McMurdo, while the
primary base of BAS flight operations will be the AGAP-N
camp after transiting via South
Pole where we will acclimatise. A total of 4 BAS-AGAP staff comprising of
3 scientists & 1 aerogeophysics engineer will be deployed through this project.
Two survey pilots, 1 airmech will, 1 BAS GA and 3 Australian camp staff will
support the BAS aerogeophysics. BAS Twin Otter VP-FAZ with 1 pilot and 1 airmech
will support AGAP North for part of the season, along with the AWI Basler
and Australian Casa aircraft.
A picture tells a thousand words! Click here for a neat picture detailing the seasons objectives
Research Objectives
The AGAP project is a major IPY program resulting from a partnership between
6 nations targeted at the first systematic exploration of the Gamburtsev
Subglacial Mountains Province of East Antarctica. This mountain range, the
size of the European Alps rises 14,000 feet above the surrounding terrain but
is completely hidden by the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. The tectonic mechanisms
responsible for this major uplifted region are virtually unknown. The Gamburtsev
Subglacial Province was the nucleation point for the modern East Antarctic ice
sheet and likely contains some of the oldest ice remaining on the planet, an
important target for future ice coring. On the flanks of the Gamburtsev
Subglacial Mountains rest the largest subglacial lakes - lakes that in some
cases appear to be triggering the onset of fast flowing ice streams. The objectives
of the AGAP program are to acquire key data sets for understanding the origin
of the Gamburtsev
Subglacial Mountains, define the history of the East Antarctic ice sheet,
identify the oldest ice containing the longest climatic record of atmospheric
gases and examine the role of subglacial lakes in ice sheet stability. The aerogeophysical
observation of ice thickness, ice sheet structure, gravity and magnetics will
provide crucial new insights into the Antarctic ice sheet, and when integrated
with the results of the GAMSEIS results will offer the first insights into the
origin of the Gamburtsev
Subglacial Mountains. By utilising the BAS aerogeophysical platform we plan
to realise the first geophysical transect across East Antarctica.
My Part in the large picture - or a small cog in a larger
machine
My role in this huge project will be to install the survey equipment into the
British Antarctic Surveys Twin Otter VP-FBL this includes ice penetrating radar,
magnetics and gravity systems. In McMurdo test flights will be flown so we can
check and optimise the systems for the season. We shall then deploy to the field
via South Pole for acclimatisation after we will operate out of AGAP North field
camp. For a period of a month and half I will help operate the science equipment
as the aircraft flies over the Dome-A area. I will be responsible for keeping
the equipment serviceable and carryout repairs with my limited selection of
parts carefully packed at Cambridge.
This is a unique chance to challenge myself to the extreme and be part of some
big in a never before undertaken endeavor in the pursuit of world-class science
with our international teammates.
Below is a blog of my season, scroll down or click to open in new tab to see how I am getting on.
Links to the background of the Science to be carried out by BAS and LDEO - Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains, Subglacial Lakes
| Carl Robinson 2008 |