National Academies Press: OpenBook

Antarctic Science: Why U.S. Leadership and Investments Matter (2022)

Chapter: Cutting-Edge Science at the Edge of the World

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Suggested Citation:"Cutting-Edge Science at the Edge of the World." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Antarctic Science: Why U.S. Leadership and Investments Matter. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26617.
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Cutting-Edge Science at the Edge of the World

The scientists who study Antarctica today continue a tradition of bold ideas, open collaboration, and innovative infrastructure that has propelled Antarctic research for decades. Aided by numerous advances in technology and research methods in the past few years, researchers are pushing the bounds of our knowledge further than ever before to ask—and answer—urgent and longstanding questions about our changing world.

Some elements of Antarctic science have obvious, direct importance to human well-being, such as tracking space weather that can disable electronic technologies; understanding and managing risks to species that could influence our food supply through their role in marine food chains; and understanding the risks of sea level rise that could inundate many coastal communities. Other elements of this research may not (yet) have direct practical applications, but they represent the kind of basic discovery-

Suggested Citation:"Cutting-Edge Science at the Edge of the World." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Antarctic Science: Why U.S. Leadership and Investments Matter. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26617.
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driven research that is at the heart of human growth and progress—and that has always been a hallmark of the U.S. science enterprise.

As discussed in a 2020 statement from a coalition of national science academies,29 “Basic research is an essential complement to mission-oriented research and development, which target specific problems or commercial objectives…. It is a paradox of science that the road to revolutionary breakthrough is often an indirect, inquiry-driven approach that yields increased understanding of the natural world and ourselves, and enables transformative discoveries for real-world challenges.”

The 2015 National Academies report A Strategic Vision for NSF Investments in Antarctic and Southern Ocean Research recommended that Antarctic research investment both continue supporting the diverse array of novel investigations proposed by individuals and small research teams and support larger coordinated initiatives to advance understanding in three key areas: (1) the changing Antarctic ice sheet and how this change contributes to rising sea levels, (2) the genomic-level details of how organisms evolve and adapt to the changing Antarctic environment, and (3) the cosmic microwave background (CMB) signal that carries information about the origin of the Universe. Several exciting research programs are now planned or underway to advance knowledge in these and other key areas, as described below.

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Examples of scientific explorations in Antarctica. Left: Scientists install cameras for the Extreme Ice Survey. SOURCE: Erin Pettit.
Middle: Students in an NSF-sponsored training course collecting a water sample through a hole drilled in the ice. SOURCE: Deneb Karentz.
Right: Scientist Jean Pennycook carries an Adelie penguin in preparation for placing a satellite transmitter on its back. SOURCE: Elaine Hood, National Science Foundation.
Suggested Citation:"Cutting-Edge Science at the Edge of the World." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Antarctic Science: Why U.S. Leadership and Investments Matter. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26617.
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Observing the West Antarctic Ice Sheet

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The Nathaniel B. Palmer research vessel by the Thwaites Glacier. SOURCE: Aleksandra Mazur.

Recent studies suggest that the portion of Antarctica’s ice sheet over West Antarctica has been losing mass at an accelerating rate as a result of warming ocean waters. The International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration (ITGC)30 is a collaboration between the United States and the United Kingdom to study the Thwaites Glacier, one of the largest and fastest moving glaciers in this climatically sensitive area, which is thought to be particularly vulnerable to large-scale collapse.

The ITGC was launched with an initial preparatory field season in 2018–2019, and scientists conducted the first full season of fieldwork in 2019–2020. Although most fieldwork was subsequently paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the program provided important new data even in just its first year, and sensors installed on the ice have continued to provide status updates and data through satellite uplinks. For example, scientists observed the ocean circulation patterns and heat exchanges where the ice sheet extends beyond the coastline into the sea, pathways that feed warmer water to this area, and the calving fronts where ice breaks off to become icebergs. New modeling results have refined our understanding of where and when rapid ice loss may occur.

Among the many advances to date, the ITGC collaboration has: deployed new robotic and autonomous underwater vehicle technologies and seals tagged with temperature and salinity sensors; collected airborne geophysical and ground-penetrating radar surveys, and borehole measurements of the sub-ice conditions in at-risk regions; and advanced detailed computer simulations to study important processes by which Thwaites Glacier is evolving under a changing climate. ITGC observations have revealed large, growing fractures in some parts of the ice sheet—which suggests that even by the end of this decade, there could be significant changes that contribute to accelerating ice flow and greater contributions to sea level rise.

Suggested Citation:"Cutting-Edge Science at the Edge of the World." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Antarctic Science: Why U.S. Leadership and Investments Matter. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26617.
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These early successes are a testament to the value of collaboration across nations and research entities. In addition to the main partnership between the United States and the United Kingdom, the ITGC has included collaborators from South Korea, Germany, and Sweden. To complement U.S. activities led by NSF, researchers have also collaborated with NASA for remote sensing observations and ice sheet models.

The ITGC efforts to date have only begun to scratch the surface of understanding what makes portions of Antarctica’s ice sheet sensitive to climate variations and how the ice sheet might respond to continued warming. To complement these ongoing investigations of current and future ice sheet changes, plans are developing to expand investigations of past ice sheet changes through collection and analysis of a new deep ice core. Better understanding of past ice sheet collapse can yield valuable insights into possible future ice sheet dynamics and implications for global sea level rise.

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Scientists at Cavity Camp, Eastern Thwaites Glacier Ice Shelf, December 27, 2020. Credit: Ted Scambos, University of Colorado Boulder
Suggested Citation:"Cutting-Edge Science at the Edge of the World." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Antarctic Science: Why U.S. Leadership and Investments Matter. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26617.
×

Studying Antarctic Life at the Genomic Level

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A colony of crustaceans live on icy rocks in the Southern Ocean. Photo credit: Ivan Hoermann

The extraordinary organisms that inhabit Antarctica have long captivated scientists. For many decades, biologists and ecologists have marveled at the surprising adaptations of Antarctic life and mapped intricate interactions within the continent’s icy ecosystems. While these studies have generated important insights, scientists are only just beginning to explore a new and exciting approach for studying life at the extremes: the genomic frontier.

Genome sequencing capabilities and other technological advances have drastically expanded scientists’ ability to examine the biology of an organism, trace evolutionary lineages and the connections between groups, and unlock the biological pathways and functions that drive life. So-called “omics” technologies—genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, epigenomics, metabolomics, and others—can transform understanding of organisms and their relationships with one another. But most of these cutting-edge technologies have yet to be widely applied to Antarctic species.

Studying Antarctica’s unique life forms at this level could lead to advances in medicine and biotechnology—for example, by uncovering new compounds to fight cancer or antibiotic-resistant bacteria. These techniques can also help us understand the pressures and processes that may determine the “winners and losers” as Antarctic ecosystems grapple with increased warming, ocean acidification, introduced species, and other changes in the coming years.31

To date, most Antarctic -omics research has focused on fish, phytoplankton, algae, protists, bacteria, and viruses, mostly in marine environments. Opportunities are ripe to keep expanding this work—for instance, to more fully address invertebrates, birds, and mammals, and to explore ecological settings such as subglacial lakes and terrestrial soils. Transformative advances in understanding are possible, with opportunities for new partnerships with other U.S. agencies, polar research programs of other nations, and private and nonprofit research organizations that specialize in sequencing and other -omics services.

Suggested Citation:"Cutting-Edge Science at the Edge of the World." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Antarctic Science: Why U.S. Leadership and Investments Matter. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26617.
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Measuring the Cosmic Microwave Background

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The South Pole Telescope (center) and the Dark Sector Lab, with BICEP3 (Background Imaging of Cosmic Extragalactic Polarization) on the roof. SOURCE: Geoffrey Chen, University of New South Wales.

The CMB signal—an echo of the hot plasma generated during the formation of the Universe—has long been a source of deep interest to astrophysicists. CMB research has been flourishing for many years in two major experimental programs at the South Pole: the 10-meter dish South Pole Telescope and the Background Imaging of Cosmic Extragalactic Polarization (BICEP) array of small-aperture telescopes. These large, collaborative projects involving dozens of researchers from around the world have produced groundbreaking insights, for instance, by shedding light on the Universe’s first moments, providing evidence of the quantum nature of gravity, and allowing estimates of how much atomic matter, dark matter, and dark energy are in the Universe.

The research community has been developing ideas for expansion of this work in a program called CMB Stage 4 (S4), which could improve the sensitivity of CMB measurements by an order of magnitude. CMB-S4 would involve the installation of new telescopes at the South Pole and in the high-altitude deserts of Chile. Together these instruments would significantly advance U.S. research capabilities and provide another major step forward in understanding the origin and physics of the early Universe.

Suggested Citation:"Cutting-Edge Science at the Edge of the World." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Antarctic Science: Why U.S. Leadership and Investments Matter. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26617.
×

Other Groundbreaking Antarctic Research

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The McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica’s largest ice-free region and the coldest desert on the planet. SOURCE: Mike Goosef.

The USAP supports a tremendous array of other research projects, which range in size from small single-investigator efforts to large multi-institution collaborations. A few examples of recent and ongoing activities that illustrate both the scientific and societal importance of Antarctic research are highlighted here.

THE DRY VALLEYS LONG-TERM ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH PROGRAM

An area known as the McMurdo Dry Valleys is Antarctica’s largest ice-free region and the coldest desert on the planet. It is also one of the driest areas on the planet, thanks to its extremely low humidity and surrounding mountains that prevent the flow of ice from nearby glaciers. The area contains a variety of unusual features, such as salt deposits and sand dunes, and is home to communities of plants and microorganisms that exist at the very extreme of environmental limits. A wide variety of scientific research is currently conducted in the Dry Valleys, led primarily by the United States, New Zealand, and Italy’s Antarctic programs, and an interdisciplinary NSF Long Term Ecological Research project has been running in the region for nearly three decades.32 As one exciting outcome of this work, in 2015 scientists announced evidence of a salty aquifer that lies beneath the ground, which may support previously unknown microbial ecosystems and could even retain evidence of ancient climate change.33 This discovery, made using a helicopter-mounted sensor that can image the subsurface, could help scientists study possibilities for finding evidence of life in other cold, dry places—such as the surface of Mars.

Suggested Citation:"Cutting-Edge Science at the Edge of the World." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Antarctic Science: Why U.S. Leadership and Investments Matter. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26617.
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SUBGLACIAL LAKES RESEARCH

The solid surface of Antarctica’s giant ice sheet belies a complex network of liquid water hidden deep beneath the ice. Using airborne radio techniques, scientists have recently mapped several hundred large reservoirs of water—subglacial lakes—with streams flowing between them. These bodies of water are significant for understanding the physical forces that influence ice sheet dynamics; by lubricating the interface between an ice sheet and the land beneath it, subglacial lakes can allow ice streams to flow more rapidly. They also represent an unparalleled resource for biology; isolated from the outside world for millions of years in some cases, subglacial lakes may represent a refuge for life that exists nowhere else on Earth.

Two projects have begun to surface important insights from these bodies of water. The Whillans Ice Stream Subglacial Access Research Drilling project ran from 2010 to 2014 and focused on Lake Whillans, which lies 800 meters (2,600 feet) beneath the West Antarctic ice sheet. After boring through the ice sheet with a special hot-water drill, the team used thermal probes to measure temperatures in the sediments below the lake. The team detected a significant flow of geothermal heat at the bottom of the ice sheet, which may help explain how subglacial lakes form and why parts of the ice sheet flow rapidly as ice streams. In addition, the team discovered an abundant, diverse microbial ecosystem in this extreme, perpetually dark subglacial environment, raising new questions about the ability of life to thrive in extreme environments. A follow-on project called Subglacial Antarctic Lakes Scientific Access ran from 2016 to 2020 and focused on Subglacial Lake Mercer, which also lies beneath the West Antarctic ice sheet.

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An extensive network of rivers and lakes lies beneath the ice that covers the Antarctic continent. SOURCE: Zina Deretsky, National Science Foundation.
Suggested Citation:"Cutting-Edge Science at the Edge of the World." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Antarctic Science: Why U.S. Leadership and Investments Matter. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26617.
×
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The IceCube Neutrino Observatory is made up of thousands of digital optical modules suspended on strings within a cubic kilometer of ice (a block of ice more than 3,200 feet across). SOURCE: IceCube Collaboration.

THE ICECUBE NEUTRINO OBSERVATORY

The IceCube Neutrino Observatory34 is a set of detectors deployed in the deep ice (1.4–2.4 kilometers) under the South Pole Station, designed to capture signs of high-energy “neutrinos”—nearly massless subatomic particles that rarely react with normal matter—using the deep, clear ice at the South Pole as a giant detector medium to observe evidence of these elusive particles. It is made up of more than 5,000 digital optical modules suspended on strings within a cubic kilometer of ice (a block of ice more than 3,200 feet across). When neutrinos interact with the ice, they create electrically charged secondary particles that can be detected as blue light (known as “Cherenkov emission”). Studying these light “tracks” give scientists information about the type of neutrino involved and its origins, providing insights into high-energy cosmic events such as supernovae, black holes, gamma-ray bursts, active galactic nuclei, and other phenomena. In 2013, IceCube scientists observed the first evidence for the highest-energy neutrinos ever detected, one of the groundbreaking discoveries that helped establish neutrino astronomy as a new discipline for the exploration of the Universe.

Funded primarily by NSF with additional support from other countries, this large, international project has involved about 300 physicists from 12 countries. In order to fully exploit the potential of this new window to the Universe, the international IceCube Collaboration is planning a significant expansion of the IceCube detector. IceCube-Gen2 will enlarge the detector’s volume to a gigantic 8 cubic kilometers (nearly 5 miles across), increasing the detection rate of cosmic neutrinos by a factor of 10.

Suggested Citation:"Cutting-Edge Science at the Edge of the World." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Antarctic Science: Why U.S. Leadership and Investments Matter. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26617.
×

SENSOR NETWORKS ON LAND AND SEA

Technological advances have greatly expanded our ability to gather data in remote environments. Two efforts illustrate how autonomous systems are revolutionizing data collection in the Antarctic: the Southern Ocean Carbon and Climate Observations and Modeling (SOCCOM)35 project and the Polar Earth Observing Network (POLENET).36

Launched in 2014, SOCCOM is a project to study climate change and the cycling of key chemical elements by deploying a large array of floating sensors across the Southern Ocean. These sophisticated sensors can operate autonomously in ice-covered waters, sampling factors such as nutrients, pH, and phytoplankton biomass in the upper 2,000 meters (6,500 feet) of the ocean, including in places that are inaccessible via ship. To date, the project has deployed almost 200 floats, which have provided new knowledge of the seasonal cycles of carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen as well as insights into carbon exchange between the ocean and atmosphere, helping to inform the development of next-generation global climate and ocean models.

POLENET is a network of sensors that collects GPS and seismic data from autonomous systems deployed in both polar regions. Data from these sensors are valuable for studying large-scale interactions of the solid Earth, the cryosphere, the oceans, and the atmosphere. Coordinating satellite measurements with POLENET measurements also allows scientists to study how polar ice sheets contribute to changing sea levels around the world.

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Illustration of the Southern Ocean Carbon and Climate Observations and Modeling (SOCCOM) network, which gathers data about the Southern Ocean using floats, ships, and satellites. SOURCE: SOCCOM.
Suggested Citation:"Cutting-Edge Science at the Edge of the World." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Antarctic Science: Why U.S. Leadership and Investments Matter. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26617.
×
Suggested Citation:"Cutting-Edge Science at the Edge of the World." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Antarctic Science: Why U.S. Leadership and Investments Matter. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26617.
×
Suggested Citation:"Cutting-Edge Science at the Edge of the World." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Antarctic Science: Why U.S. Leadership and Investments Matter. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26617.
×
Page 28
Suggested Citation:"Cutting-Edge Science at the Edge of the World." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Antarctic Science: Why U.S. Leadership and Investments Matter. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26617.
×
Page 29
Suggested Citation:"Cutting-Edge Science at the Edge of the World." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Antarctic Science: Why U.S. Leadership and Investments Matter. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26617.
×
Page 30
Suggested Citation:"Cutting-Edge Science at the Edge of the World." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Antarctic Science: Why U.S. Leadership and Investments Matter. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26617.
×
Page 31
Suggested Citation:"Cutting-Edge Science at the Edge of the World." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Antarctic Science: Why U.S. Leadership and Investments Matter. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26617.
×
Page 32
Suggested Citation:"Cutting-Edge Science at the Edge of the World." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Antarctic Science: Why U.S. Leadership and Investments Matter. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26617.
×
Page 33
Suggested Citation:"Cutting-Edge Science at the Edge of the World." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Antarctic Science: Why U.S. Leadership and Investments Matter. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26617.
×
Page 34
Suggested Citation:"Cutting-Edge Science at the Edge of the World." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Antarctic Science: Why U.S. Leadership and Investments Matter. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26617.
×
Page 35
Suggested Citation:"Cutting-Edge Science at the Edge of the World." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Antarctic Science: Why U.S. Leadership and Investments Matter. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26617.
×
Page 36
Suggested Citation:"Cutting-Edge Science at the Edge of the World." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Antarctic Science: Why U.S. Leadership and Investments Matter. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26617.
×
Page 37
Suggested Citation:"Cutting-Edge Science at the Edge of the World." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Antarctic Science: Why U.S. Leadership and Investments Matter. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26617.
×
Page 38
Suggested Citation:"Cutting-Edge Science at the Edge of the World." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Antarctic Science: Why U.S. Leadership and Investments Matter. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26617.
×
Page 39
Next: Final Thoughts/Conclusion »
Antarctic Science: Why U.S. Leadership and Investments Matter Get This Book
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As the coldest, most remote, and most extreme environment on Earth, Antarctica provides a unique vantage point for investigating life adaptations, understanding the health of the global climate, and peering into the depths of the Universe. For example, ecological studies in the Dry McMurdo Valley help explain how life survives in extremes, observations of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet reveal vital information about our changing climate, and the Ice Cube Neutrino Observatory provides insights into supernovae, black holes, and similar phenomenon. Since 1959, the Antarctic Treaty has ensured the continent remains a haven for scientific investigation, offering up an invaluable model of global cooperation with U.S. leadership provided by the U.S. Antarctic Program.

This booklet, drawing primarily from reports of the National Academies, captures a multitude of insights gained - and sought - from U.S. research investments in this remarkable place. A continued commitment to science, cooperation, and a shared vision for the future are required to build on this rich history of discovery and answer crucial questions in the decades ahead.

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