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An ice-imaging instrument designed by Lamont scientists Robin Bell and Nick Frearson and bound for Greeland is discussed, along with Lamont Michael Kaplan's fieldwork in Antarctica.

The Madhabkundu Waterfall formed due to faulting of the Patheria anticline.

Up to now, each group in our Bangladesh project has worked individually on fieldwork in their subject of expertise. Now that our project is now in it’s third year, we decided it was time to get together in the field to integrate our results. A major focus of the project is the interaction of tectonic forces and sedimentary processes. This week, is our opportunity to have experts on each interpreting the same outcops together. We have gathered a group of 9 Americans and 7 Bangladeshis in Sylhet in NE Bangladesh to what we have termed the “conclave”. I guess we have to send up a puff of white smoke if we all agree. Sylhet is an area where the large basement block of the Shillong Plateau and the Dauki Fault that bounds it meets the fold belt of the Burma Arc with its tea garden covered anticlines. It is also has a rapidly subsiding basin being filled with sediments in which the level of the rivers go up and down with sea level. Lots to see through different prisms. On top of the excitement of the conclave, we have a film crew from the American Museum of Natural History with us for the first 6 days to make a video to be shown in the AMNH and other museums about our project and the science we have been working on. After they finish, will we have another film crew from a company that makes PBS documentaries following us.

Steve Goodbred examines the rocks at the Madhabkundu waterfall.

Everyone is doing their individual fieldwork before or after the conclave. Several of us arrived in Bangladesh just before the conclave, while others drove over from their fieldwork in western Bangladesh and two crossed the border from studying the Shillong Plateau in India. We all arrived and filled all of the rooms in the Shuktara Nature Retreat. For our first day, we headed to the Patheria Anticline with the Madhabkundu Waterfall. While the waterfall was spectacular, if took most of the day to get there. Pulling out maps after breakfast, we spent time discussing the region, slowed by the filming. Then the drivers took a wrong turn that took us and hour out of our water plus another ½ hour to double back via a faster road. It was 2:30 by the time we got there and almost 3:00 when we finally reached the falls. While there were great outcrops, we only had a hour there before having to start back. It was too late to visit our second stop and quite late before our cranky group got back to the resort for dinner. Overall, a disastrous first day.

Nano Seeber explaining the geology to the conclave group.

Having gotten our bad day out of the way early, we had nowhere to go but up. And it did. We headed north toward the border with India and the Shillong Plateau. At the first stop we got an overview and our first view of the 2000 m high mountain and the geology while standing on one of the folds that mark the frontal area of the Dauki thrust fault. Then we went on to the Rangapani River where the large boulders are washed down from the plateau. There is a huge industry in Bangladesh mining rocks and gravel from the rivers along the border. Bangladesh has a shortage of rock that can be used in construction, particularly making concrete. The Indian border is clearly marked by the presence of rocks. On the Bangladeshi side they have all been stripped away and they are digging

Mining of rocks from the Rangapani River. The edge of the boulders in the distance is the Indian border.

pits to mine the rocks from the older river sediments. This results in beautiful exposure of the sediment layers and we scrabbled around in a pit while the workers mined the rocks around us. After a brief stop at the border crossing where trucks bearing rocks enter Bangladesh, we went to Jaflong, where the mining industry is even larger. The amazing thing about Jaflong is that besides being an industrial site with rock mining and noisy rock crushers, it is also a tourist site where people come to see the mountain. There are tourist kiosks, snack stands and guides mixed in with the industry. For us, there were also outcrops of the older strata from before the uplift of the Plateau. Our final stop was a visit to our GPS and seismometer station at Jalfong. Humayun and I were filmed explaining our work there while the others visited the geology exposed on the side of the hill we were on.

Humayun and Chris discussing the geology at Jaflong with Eocene limestone in the background.

Day 3 was an exciting trip up the Shari River. We rented three wooden country boats and sailed up the river, crossing through exposures of sediments of various ages. The originally horizontal layers of strata have been deformed from the tectonics. The dip of the sediments started at 38° then increased to nearly vertical before decreasing back to ~45°. This folding is due to the sediments riding over structures beneath, possibly a fault. We also saw that the oldest sediments were marine and the seceding layers went to estuarine and then fluvial (rivers) due to the increasing amount of sediments coming from the Himalaya. Our boats traveled together and occasionally leap frogged from outcrop to outcrop. Chris Paola, our river specialist, also noted changes in the shape of the river indicating active tectonics. Our group of specialists is coalescing into a team. Meanwhile, we passed other teams of people dredging the sand and gravel from the river bottom using buckets into their boats.

Our boats arriving at an outcrop along the Shari River.

LC130 aircraft waits in the Stratton Air Force hangar for the IcePod instrument to be installed. (Photo M. Turrin)

Monday:The morning briefing room was filled with layers of engineers and technicians from the civilian side, matched with pilots, navigators and air support staff from the Air National Guard side. Spanning the middle were the two Systems Project Office (S.P.O.) representatives. Adding new instrumentation and equipment to any aircraft requires intense scrutiny, but on a military plane there are extra rounds of reviews and sign offs required, and it is the S.P.O. office that is responsible for overseeing this final testing and approval. Specialists at avionics (aircraft electrical systems) and aerodynamics (air interaction and flow meeting the aircraft/pod) the first part of the week was theirs as they observed, measured, questioned and weighed equipment as it was installed in the aircraft, and prepared to monitor the in-air operation of the pod for turbulence, and potential aircraft/equipment interference.

Crate containing the IcePod is prepared for the pod to be removed. (photo M. Turrin)

The IcePod team arrived at Stratton Air Force Base with a carefully planned schedule of equipment installation and flight-testing. One day of install followed by two days of S.P.O. testing and then five additional days available for our own flight maneuvers to test the full potential of the pod and instruments. Inside the airport hanger crates of electrical wiring, connectors, tools and supplies were piled around aircraft 21094 the LC130 labeled ‘Raven Gang’ that was selected for the test flight. The biggest item on the floor was the 700 lb. crate containing the IcePod. The plan was to finalize the installation of the 350 lb.avionics (AV) rack located inside the plane, and then move straight to installing the arm and hanging the pod. By close of business Monday the goal was that the S.P.O. ground tests to ensure all the equipment was functional could be completed.

View of the back of the AV rack thick with cables and equipment wires. (Photo R. Bell)

We were set back almost before we started. Rack pieces tightly matched to the curve of the plane body needed realigning, electrical connections needed adjusting, and by 7 p.m., the arm that would hold the pod was just being connected. Adjusted plans were agreed upon with an early morning return to add the pod and complete the ground check in the a.m. with a S.P.O. flight in the p.m. Snow was predicted over the evening but for flight the weather looked promising.

Fat arms of cables, the band of muscles that will make the pod arm work, are wrapped and tied up out of the way. (Photo M. Turrin)

Tuesday: The morning briefing covered plans for a 10 a.m. flight time, which quickly slipped to a noon decision on the possibility of an afternoon flight. With the 500-700 foot cloud base predicted to rise to 1500 feet in the afternoon, this was not unwelcome news. In the hangar, electricians and engineers worked with thick ropes of cables taming them into place, floor pieces were notched and the pod support arm and special door secured in anticipation of hanging the pod, but delays continued. Before noon, a no-flight decision for the day was reached, as work continued at a slow but steady pace to prepare for to pod. The hope was that the ground testing could be completed before the close of day and Wednesday morning would bring the first round of flight testing.

The pod is moved into position and attached. (Photo M. Turrin)

By mid-afternoon, the pod was moved into place and fastened to the arm. The first S.P.O. concern was that the pod weight be within the approved limit of 400 lbs.  Airport hangars have scales for weighing pallets of equipment but for this application a high degree of accuracy was needed. The first attempt showed a more accurate set of scales was needed. Each instrument, bracket, and set of cables added weight to the pod, so locating, calibrating and lowering the pod onto an accurate set of scales provided a few tense moments until the weight was established and S.P.O. clearance for test flights was provided.

The pod is weighed using twin scales for the first of the S.P.O. clearance tests. (Photo M. Turrin)

Test Flights included turbulence testing for laminar (smooth) airflow done by installing tapered lines on the pod ends with sections of string inset to demonstrate airflow – 174 sections of string were added like a lion’s mane to the pod, and extending back behind the domed door. Exterior accelerometers were added to detect and monitor vibration on the pod as the group approached a 9 p.m. close to the workday.  No matter what the status of the work the plane would be released from the hangar first thing in the a.m.

The pod covered with tapered lines and 174 sections of string to assess airflow. (Photo M. Turrin)

Wednesday: The weather dictated the day; socked in conditions with poor visibility meant no flights. S.P.O. ground testing was completed, but flying would be pushed off another day.

 

Thursday: High winds and driving rain arrived during the night with the morning briefing noting that although there was a high cloud ceiling and 3000-mile visibility, 25 mph winds and turbulence would keep us grounded early in the morning, but a 10 a.m. reassessment might allow a flight later in the day. Updates during the morning cited extreme turbulence for other flights forcing additional postponements. Mid-afternoon a decision was made to take up a minimal team to complete day one of inflight S.P.O. testing. On the runway engines are fired up, first 3 then 4 then 2 and 1, ready to go, but a problem with the Auxiliary Power Unit forced the mission to abort. Cancellation, and another day gone. As we headed out for the night we were warned that the APU issue could down the plane for up to two days.

Looking down on the pod from the belly of the LC130 on the first test flight. The skis of the LC130 landing gear can be seen in the top right of the photo. (photo M. Turrin)

Friday The hope is for at least one flight for this week, but we worry about the news on the APU. The morning briefing notes the APU seems to be holding and the first IcePod flight is a go! The plane is prepped; we are loaded onboard. Engine 3-4-2-1 fired up and we launch down the runway only to squeal to a stop. The domed door over the pod shows as not secure. The door is re-secured. A second attempt to move down the runway ends with the same results. Support is brought on-board and the door is reinforced for take off attempt #3.

10:56 a.m. we are up! The pod is deployed, lowering flawlessly. We begin the test flight at 5000 feet but lower to 2500 feet to move under the weather. The plan includes sets of cloverleaf maneuvers banked at 30 degrees to test GPS and lasers. The turns feel steep, and the ride is bumpy but after all the waiting we are happy to be in the air. There is no electromagnetic interference between the pod equipment and the aircraft, and the exterior accelerometers show a smooth ride for the pod. Test flight #1 for S.P.O. is complete, and everyone can head home for the weekend with a sense of accomplishment. In a week that seemed filled with adages (schedules are subject to change, everything hangs on the weather, anything that can go wrong will go wrong) at least we ended with …anything good is worth waiting for!

For more on the IcePod project see: http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/res/pi/icepod/

Columbia scientists have long been sounding the climate-change alarm. Will we listen now? Klaus Jacob, with his warnings about New York City's vulnerability to flooding, is profiled.

Lamont-Doherty scientist Mark Cane discusses a new study in Nature that finds that global warming from greenhouse gases produces less rainfall than solar heating.

A study co-authored by Lamont-Doherty scientist Mark Cane suggests that human-caused and natural global warming episodes affect rainfall rates differently. The finding could help scientists better forecast what's ahead.

When it comes to how climate change influences rainfall, temperature may be only part of the puzzle. In a new study co-authored by Lamont's Mark Cane, scientists report that warming spurred by greenhouse gases causes less overall precipitation than similar warming caused by solar heating, such as what occurred hundreds of years ago.

New York officials have dismissed the threat of earthquakes from drilling activities as they develop state rules for shale gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing, but Lamont-Doherty seismologist Geoff Abers says that's a bad idea.

Compared to global warming caused by solar radiation, global warming caused by greenhouse gases results in less rainfall, a new study co-authored by Lamont-Doherty scientist Mark Cane suggests.

Replacing waterfront buildings with parks is one way cities can adapt to climate change, says Lamont-Doherty scientist Klaus Jacob.

 Email for most users was down earlier this morning, January 29.   Service was restored around 9:30 AM..  We are

investigating the cause.

How will the tri-state area prepare for future storms? Lamont-Doherty scientist Klaus Jacob was part of a panel to address the question on Jan. 24 at the New York Academy of Sciences.

In this latest in a series of profile on Hurricane Sandy and its aftermath, NY 1 visits with Lamont-Doherty scientist Klaus Jacob who warned for years of a storm like Sandy.

The New York Times reviews Hali Felt's book "Soundings," a biography of the late Marie Tharp, a Lamont-Doherty scientist who helped produce the first comprehensive map of the global seafloor.

In this Q&A, Klaus Jacob, a geophysicist and disaster risk management expert at Lamont-Doherty, suggests ways for New York City to plan for inevitable sea level rise.

A forthcoming study co-authored by Lamont-Doherty scientist Adam Sobel shows that Hurricane Sandy's track was unprecedented in the historical record, and that major surge events are becoming more likely.

The new Common Science Support Pod (CSSP) Ice Imaging System for Monitoring Changing Ice Sheets (IcePod), designed by Lamont’s Polar Geophysics Group (Image M. Turrin).

In 2009 it was just a dream. But creative vision, sweat equity, good partnerships and funding can bring dreams to reality, and 2013 delivered.

It was four years ago that a small team of Lamont scientists, Polar Geophysicist Robin Bell, Engineer Nick Frearson and Ocean Climate Physicist Chris Zappa, began discussions of an instrument that could be used to collect measurements on polar ice during routine field-support flights in both the Arctic and Antarctic. Named the IcePod, it would fit onto the LC130 aircraft, a massive four-engine turboprop plane that is the workhorse of the U.S. polar support services. The pod design focused on a 9 foot long cylindrical “boot” that would hold a range of instruments and gather data on ice conditions as the aircraft carried out its seasonal polar mission. The pod would be removable, fitting in the rear paratroop door, and modular allowing for a range of instruments and ultimate utility.

New York Air National Guard directing the landing of the large LC130 aircraft, backbone of the flight support for NSF polar science. (image courtesy of NYANG)

Funding came through special Recovery Act Funding of a National Science Foundation Major Research Instrumentation grant. NSF saw this as an opportunity for the full science community to increase data collection and understanding of polar ice conditions, yet with a significant reduction in the logistical support needed.

The polar flights for the LC130 are coordinated through NSF but flown by the New York Air National Guard, requiring close planning and coordination with both groups as the Icepod was developed. Any design would need to meet full air safety standards, cause limited drag on the aircraft and be easily mounted or removed by the air-crew as needed.

(l-r) Nick Frearson (Lamont Engineer), Capt. Josh Hicks (NYANG pilot) and Bernie Gallagher (Lamont Senior Electrical Technician) review the interior mount of the removable door where the IcePod will be installed in the LC130 (Image M. Turrin)

Panel openings in the side of the IcePod instrument show two of the equipment boxes. There is an additional box between these two that remains covered in this photo, as well as space in the nose and tail caps of the pod. (Image M. Turrin)

The instruments housed in and around the pod would need to be insulated from any interference with the plane and its equipment. Additionally as the pod arm is extended below the aircraft, the instruments would need to be tightly sealed for temperature control and able to pass intense turbulence testing. Calling up visions of the electromagnetic shrinking machine from “Honey I shrunk the kids,” an additional challenge was the need to fit the instruments in the small interior cubicles of the pod. Instruments and equipment were compacted and streamlined.

The starting line up of instruments:

Radar (RAdio Detection And Ranging) uses radio waves to image through the ice. In order to collect both deep and shallow ice information Icepod will carry two types of radar. Deep-Ice Radar (DICE) is a blade antenna resembling black shark fins designed to collect data thorough more than 4 km (resolution of 10 m). The DICE radar antenna will work over the deep interior of the ice sheets to measure ice thickness and bed wetness where water may be lubricating the base of the ice sheet and changing conditions. The Shallow-Ice radar (SIR) is a horn antenna for penetrating closer to the surface of the icesheet, through approximately 300 meters of snow (25 cm resolution). SIR focuses on recent processes in the snow/ice system, looking at annual rates of snow accumulation and the layer of snow (firn layer) not yet compressed into glacial ice, estimated to range in depth from 40-100 m below the surface.

Two blade antenna for the Deep Ice Radar extend from the pod. (Image R. Bell)

Optics: Laser, is an instrument that uses light to image and collect data on surface elevation and snow texture.  Two different cameras will be used to collect data on reflectivity and temperature (visible-wave and infrared cameras). As we layer together all the information collected from the instruments we can integrate our understanding of the ice conditions at the base of the ice sheet up through the internal ice layers, to the ice sheet surface, and up to the reflective return from the ice.

Next week the Lamont’s Polar Geophysics Team will fly with the New York Air National Guard, bringing the long envisioned IcePod into the air for field-testing. The team is excited to take to the skies to see what the instruments can do, although with the first battery of tests flown close to home in upstate New York, not all the instruments can be performance tested. If all goes well and the go-aheads are received, a trip to Greenland is planned for later in the spring to allow full instrument testing in true polar conditions.

To learn more about the Icepod project see: http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/icepod/

For more on the Polar Geophysics Group: http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/polar-geophysics-group/

Funding for this project from #ANT 0958658 under the MRI initiative.

The new Common Science Support Pod (CSSP) Ice Imaging System for Monitoring Changing Ice Sheets (IcePod), designed by Lamont’s Polar Geophysics Group (Image M. Turrin).

In 2009 it was just a dream. But creative vision, sweat equity, good partnerships and funding can bring dreams to reality, and 2013 delivered.

It was four years ago that a small team of Lamont scientists, Polar Geophysicist Robin Bell, Engineer Nick Frearson and Ocean Climate Physicist Chris Zappa, began discussions of an instrument that could be used to collect measurements on polar ice during routine field-support flights in both the Arctic and Antarctic. Named the IcePod, it would fit onto the LC130 aircraft, a massive four-engine turboprop plane that is the workhorse of the U.S. polar support services. The pod design focused on a 9 foot long cylindrical “boot” that would hold a range of instruments and gather data on ice conditions as the aircraft carried out its seasonal polar mission. The pod would be removable, fitting in the rear paratroop door, and modular allowing for a range of instruments and ultimate utility.

New York Air National Guard directing the landing of the large LC130 aircraft, backbone of the flight support for NSF polar science. (image courtesy of NYANG)

Funding came through special Recovery Act Funding of a National Science Foundation Major Research Instrumentation grant. NSF saw this as an opportunity for the full science community to increase data collection and understanding of polar ice conditions, yet with a significant reduction in the logistical support needed.

The polar flights for the LC130 are coordinated through NSF but flown by the New York Air National Guard, requiring close planning and coordination with both groups as the Icepod was developed. Any design would need to meet full air safety standards, cause limited drag on the aircraft and be easily mounted or removed by the air-crew as needed.

(l-r) Nick Frearson (Lamont Engineer), Capt. Josh Hicks (NYANG pilot) and Bernie Gallagher (Lamont Senior Electrical Technician) review the interior mount of the removable door where the IcePod will be installed in the LC130 (Image M. Turrin)

Panel openings in the side of the IcePod instrument show two of the equipment boxes. There is an additional box between these two that remains covered in this photo, as well as space in the nose and tail caps of the pod. (Image M. Turrin)

The instruments housed in and around the pod would need to be insulated from any interference with the plane and its equipment. Additionally as the pod arm is extended below the aircraft, the instruments would need to be tightly sealed for temperature control and able to pass intense turbulence testing. Calling up visions of the electromagnetic shrinking machine from “Honey I shrunk the kids,” an additional challenge was the need to fit the instruments in the small interior cubicles of the pod. Instruments and equipment were compacted and streamlined.

The starting line up of instruments:

Radar (RAdio Detection And Ranging) uses radio waves to image through the ice. In order to collect both deep and shallow ice information Icepod will carry two types of radar. Deep-Ice Radar (DICE) is a blade antenna resembling black shark fins designed to collect data thorough more than 4 km (resolution of 10 m). The DICE radar antenna will work over the deep interior of the ice sheets to measure ice thickness and bed wetness where water may be lubricating the base of the ice sheet and changing conditions. The Shallow-Ice radar (SIR) is a horn antenna for penetrating closer to the surface of the icesheet, through approximately 300 meters of snow (25 cm resolution). SIR focuses on recent processes in the snow/ice system, looking at annual rates of snow accumulation and the layer of snow (firn layer) not yet compressed into glacial ice, estimated to range in depth from 40-100 m below the surface.

Two blade antenna for the Deep Ice Radar extend from the pod. (Image R. Bell)

Optics: Laser, is an instrument that uses light to image and collect data on surface elevation and snow texture.  Two different cameras will be used to collect data on reflectivity and temperature (visible-wave and infrared cameras). As we layer together all the information collected from the instruments we can integrate our understanding of the ice conditions at the base of the ice sheet up through the internal ice layers, to the ice sheet surface, and up to the reflective return from the ice.

Next week the Lamont’s Polar Geophysics Team will fly with the New York Air National Guard, bringing the long envisioned IcePod into the air for field-testing. The team is excited to take to the skies to see what the instruments can do, although with the first battery of tests flown close to home in upstate New York, not all the instruments can be performance tested. If all goes well and the go-aheads are received, a trip to Greenland is planned for later in the spring to allow full instrument testing in true polar conditions.

To learn more about the Icepod project see: http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/icepod/

For more on the Polar Geophysics Group: http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/polar-geophysics-group/

Funding for this project from #ANT 0958658 under the MRI initiative.

The flow of warm tropical water across the Atlantic that keeps European winters mild, right? Maybe not. New evidence supports a hypothesis from Lamont-Doherty scientist Richard Seager that atmospheric circulation patterns play a major role in making winters milder in Europe.

Lamont-Doherty climate scientist Maureen Raymo and postdoctoral researcher Alessio Rovere travel to South Africa to study where the seas stood 3 million years ago to understand how high they may go in the future.