NASA Takes Flight Over Antarctica For Polar Ice Survey
A NASA plane, outfitted with lasers and ground-penetrating radar, made it first flight over Antarctica in hopes of better understanding how melting ice could swamp the planet.
On a mission to fly as low as 1,000 feet (300 meters) over the icy continent, the DC-8 left for an 11 hour trip out of Punta Arenas, Chile on Friday.
Their goal: to understand just how warm ocean currents may be pulling the ice sheets seaward, melting their undersides.
According to a study published in the journal Nature, the ice sheets are collapsing as fast as nine meters a year. If they disappear, far greater ice masses that lie on the Antarctic bedrock could then melt into the sea, submerging coastal communities around the globe.
NASA has been using satellites to track the impact of climate change in the Antarctic, but the satellite will be phased out at the end of the year. Friday’s flight is the first of many planned as part of Operation Ice Bridge, to bridge the gap in data that would otherwise result before the next satellite goes up in 2015.
Running their own instruments, investigators from the Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, the University of Washington and the University of Kansas will also be on board.
—
On the Net: