Thwaites Glacier - THwaites Offshore Research (THOR)
(Collaborative project with Uni. Houston, Alabama, Rice, Virginia, Exeter and the British Antarctic Survey)
Thwaites Offshore Research (THOR) is a ship-based and ice-based project that will examine the sedimentary records both offshore from the glacier and beneath the ice shelf, together with glacial landforms on the sea bed, to reconstruct past changes in ocean conditions and the glaciers response to these changes.
Data collection will be split over two research cruises combining marine geophysical surveying and geological sampling. In addition, sediment cores will be collected beneath the ice sheet via access holes made by hot water drilling.
The first cruise will focus on surveying the seafloor in the region, using swath bathymetry, and obtaining a set of sediment cores. The second cruise will complete the survey coverage, and collect sediment cores targeted on the basis of the new survey data. The team will also collect seismic reflection profiles to reveal the three dimensional form of landforms and the distribution of sediments the continental shelf from which the glacier has retreated.
Official project page for more details
This
project is funded by NSF OPP