New project plans to retrieve South Pole ice core beginning in 2014-15

WAIS Divide team drills historic replicate ice core in West Antarctica

Global and Regional Climate Signals from Ice Cores
2012 SCAR Open Science Conference
16-19 July 2012
Portland, OR

Ice cores provide information about past climate and environmental conditions on time scales from decades to hundreds of millennia, and direct records of the composition of the atmosphere. As such, they are cornerstones of global change research. For example, ice cores play a central role in showing how closely climate and greenhouse gas concentrations were linked in the past, and in demonstrating that very abrupt climate switches can occur. In this session we invite contributions to our understanding of regional and global climate from Antarctic cores, on all time and spatial scales. Presentations on methods of climate reconstruction, and presentations that address the relationship of Antarctic climate with global or large scale regional climate are also welcome.

Meeting Web Site: http://scar2012.geol.pdx.edu/
Abstract Submission: http://www.scar.org/abstracts/submit.html (requires making an account first)
Abstract Deadline: February 15, 2012

The first Open Science Conference of the International Partnerships in Ice Core Sciences (IPICS) will be held from 1-5 October 2012 at the beautiful setting of the Belembra club, situated on the border of the Mediterranean Sea in one of the best spots of the French Côte d'Azur.

The objective of the conference is to present, discuss and put into perspective the most recent results of past and current ice core drilling projects (deep drillings such as EPICA, WAIS Divide, NEEM, TALDICE,... but also shallow drillings) in Antarctica and Greenland. Other ice core drilling projects conducted in non-polar glaciers or in other Arctic sites are also welcome. The four IPICS white papers will structure the conference programme. Gathering mostly ice core scientists, the conference expects to also attract researchers working on other paleoclimate archives as well as paleoclimate modelers and glaciologists.

For more information, please visit the conference web site at:
http://www.ipics2012.org/

Dear WAIS Divide Enthusiast -

We are ELATED to pass along the fantastic news that the WAIS Divide Ice Core project has reached its goal this year of drilling 3,330 meters into the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. We just received notice from the camp that this goal was achieved at 12:24 PM on January 28, 2011 local time (6:24 PM, January 27, 2011 EST), with a final borehole depth of 3,329.956 meters. This is the second deepest ice core ever collected and could not have been achieved without the resources, dedication, commitment, perseverance and comradely of hundreds of people.

We at the WAIS Divide Science Coordination Office, on behalf of the science community, want to sincerely thank everyone for their help and support in recovering this monumental ice core. Without you, we wouldn't be at this point today. Please join us now in a toast celebrating this historic accomplishment!

Cheers,

Ken Taylor - Chief Scientist (and currently at WAIS Divide)
Mark Twickler
Joe Souney

Heidi Roop will be hosting a live event from WAIS Divide to the States this Thursday Dec. 16th. Heidi will also host two other live events throughout the WAIS Divide drill season. This first event will focus on basic ice core science. People can phone in and watch a presentation live from the internet. The whole event will probably last about an hour. Last year, over 400 people joined the call to listen and ask questions. Please spread the word to anyone you think might be interested.

To register for the event and to receive instructions on how to join, go to:
http://www.polartrec.com/polar-connect/register

For those who will be at AGU, it will be run as a full session at the Marriott Hotel, Sierra Room K. Stop by and watch the presentation on a big screen!

If you can't make it to the call and are interested in the presentation, it will be archived on the PolarTREC website.

EVENT 1: Ice Core Science 101
PolarConnect Event with Heidi Roop and the Ice Core Drilling in West Antarctica 2010 Expedition
DATE: Thursday, 16 December 2010 TIME: 11:15 AM AST (12:15 PM PST, 1:15 PM MST, 2:15 PM CST, 3:15 PM EST) Note: We will be broadcasting this event live from the San Francisco Marriott, Sierra Room K at the American Geophysical Union Meeting in San Francisco, California.

EVENT 2: Life on an Ice Sheet- what is it like to live in the deep field in Antarctica?
PolarConnect Event with Heidi Roop and the Ice Core Drilling in West Antarctica 2010 Expedition
DATE: Friday, 7 January 2011 TIME: 9:00 AM AST (10:00 AM PST, 11:00 AM MST, 12:00 PM CST, 1:00 PM EST)

EVENT 3: Reaching Our Icy Goals: a summary of the last main drill season at WAIS Divide
PolarConnect Event with Heidi Roop and the Ice Core Drilling in West Antarctica 2010 Expedition
DATE: Friday, 21 January 2011 TIME: 9:00 AM AST (10:00 AM PST, 11:00 AM MST, 12:00 PM CST, 1:00 PM EST)