Fresh Off The Ice: SWAIS2C Edition (2023-2024)

Tuesday 26 March 2024, Government Buildings, Lecture Theatre 1, Pipitea Campus, Victoria University of Wellington
RICHARD LEVY
Co-Chief Scientist, *SWAIS2C Project
A scientifically and logistically ambitious effort that aims to recover oceanographic, glaciological, and geological data at locations along the Siple Coast near the head of the Ross Ice Shelf ~800 km from Scott Base. Richard will outline the major scientific objectives and relevance of the project and introduce the team’s plan to collect samples and observations at the project’s first site (KIS-3).
An international initiative involving researchers from New Zealand, the United States, Germany, Australia, Italy, Japan, Spain, Republic of Korea, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. NZ participation supported through the Antarctic Science Platform’s “Ice Dynamics Project” and Antarctica New Zealand.
JANE CHEWINGS
Senior Hot Water Driller
The primary SWAIS2C objective is to collect up to 200 m of geological core from below the seafloor. This first requires a hot water borehole through a remote part of the Ross Ice Shelf ~580 m thick, followed by a bespoke geological drilling system - the Antarctic Intermediate Depth Drill (AIDD). Jane spent two months in Antarctica this past summer on the SWAIS2C-KIS3 Hot Water Drilling Team, and will cover hot water drilling operation.
DARCY MANDENO
Drilling Field Leader
Any technical endeavour, particularly scientific drilling, can be challenging in Antarctica. This certainly proved to be the case this season. Darcy will talk about some of the technical challenges with collecting sediment samples from beneath the Ross Ice Shelf at KIS 3. He will discuss the progress we made, the issue that prevented us from drilling to our ultimate target on this ‘first attempt’, and how this field-based experience ultimately improves our chances of success next season.
LINDA BALFOORT
Scientist and Social Media
Without the buttressing of large ice shelves the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) would retreat and collapse, causing several metres of sea level rise. However, the mechanism, timing, and rate of retreat of both ice shelves and WAIS remain uncertain. Sediment cores provide direct evidence of past ice shelf/ice sheet behaviour, and this season’s hot water access provided the most successful short (~2 m) sediment cores from the Siple Coast thus far. Linda will discuss coring methods, preliminary results, and how these new records fit in with other short sediment cores from the region.
Presented by the Wellington branch of the New Zealand Antarctic Society in association with Te Herenga Waka-Victoria University of Wellington, and GNS Science.