Three Carleton grad students will be going to Antarctica later this month as part of a an international team participating in Students On Ice.
Environmental Engineering PhD student Matthew Russell has already backpacked around Europe and Asia and travelled up and down the Nile in Egypt but he says this will be the trip of a lifetime. “This expedition struck me as an amazing opportunity to explore Antarctica, a place that’s always been on my list of places to see. With this expedition, we’ll always be surrounded by a host of profs and experts who can answer our questions – really enhancing the entire journey.”
“We’ll be studying glaciers in Patagonia, sailing through the Drake Passage, zodiacking to land, studying the unique geology of the area, studying an exposed area on Seymour Island where there is evidence of the mass extinction 65 million years ago, walking with penguins, studying the oceanography, etc. – the list is long,” says Russell. “We also get to jump in to the cold Antarctic waters (tethered of course) and we’ll be jumping in an area where the sand is warmed by hot springs within a volcanic crater. To date, the coldest water I’ve been in was 14 C, so this should be quite the experience.”
Adds Russell: “I’m also hoping to take really good photos of penguins and seals as I’m told penguins waddle right up to you en masse.”
The field work is part of the coursework for two courses at Carleton that focus on the origin and evolution of Antarctica’s ecosystems over time. Group leader Dr. Claudia Schröder-Adams, professor of Earth Sciences says: “It’s an opportunity for both grad and undergrad students to be superbly introduced to Antarctic geoscience while gaining hands-on experience in a very fragile ecosystem.” Ten Carleton undergraduate students are also participating.
The Carleton grad students are also taking on mentorship roles on board the expedition vessel, including leading discussions with younger students to foster their interest in natural science and engineering fields and future university decisions.
Earth Sciences MSc student Danielle Dionne is participating “because it will give me the opportunity to see amazing new things and learn new aspects of the disciplines I have studied in the classroom in an area that most people never get the opportunity to visit.”
Dionne is researching how marine ecosystems have responded to extreme environments back in the Cretaceous 90 million years ago, when earth climates were very warm and no icecaps existed.
The third grad student to participate is Dave Melanson, an MSc earth sciences student. “This trip will give us all exposure to new research fields and techniques as well as a greater appreciation for environmental stewardship in such fantastic places,” says Melanson. “I’ve been lucky enough to experience mineral exploration in the Canadian Arctic and this opportunity in Antarctica will help me continue working in the North. As an avid photographer, I’m also pretty excited for the wildlife and spectacular scenery.”
For his master’s degree, Melanson is using a computer model to simulate a seismic survey in a copper/zinc/gold/silver mine in Flin Flon Manitoba. This is used to interpret the origin of reflections in real seismic data, which will allow the seismic response of the metallic ore in the mine to be highlighted and characterized. This could be used by mining companies to help locate new ore near their existing drill holes.
For more information about the trip, visit the Students on Ice website: http://uantarctic.org/ and the Carleton SOI team here: http://www.carletontoantarctica.com/participants.html
You can also visit the Students On Ice project on our FutureFunder page: http://futurefunder.carleton.ca/projects/students-on-ice/
You can view a video of the 2012 SOI expedition here: http://youtu.be/P2GXtDU87N4
Wednesday, December 4, 2013 in Grad Student Research, News
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