Mass Balance and Accumulation Rate Along US ITASE Routes

The primary research activities in this project involved our participation in the four US ITASE field seasons (1999-2003). As part of the field program we collected ~5,500 km of continuous, precise GPS data along the traverse route. These geodetic data are used by ourselves and several other US ITASE investigators. We also installed 15 new mass balance (coffee can) stations in rarely visited regions of West and East Antarctica. Several shallow firn cores were collected to study local variability in snow accumulation around deeper 200-year ice core sites. As part of our collaboration with NASA, we performed detailed 3-dimensional mapping of surface topography and shallow stratigraphy to validate and better interpret results from the ICESat mission. Mass balance marker sites installed during earlier field seasons were visited and resurveyed. Three automatic weather stations close to the proposed Inland WAIS deep drilling site and operated for two years before being removed. The project supported the thesis work of one PhD student. Results were presented at several national and international meetings (WAIS, SCAR/ITASE, MGM, IGS, AGU) and published in peer-reviewed scientific journals