Sarah Sams Takes Over the AGU
03-09-2018
Category: Engagement
This past week, our very own Sarah Sams was the official #guestgrammer on the American Geophysical Union Instagram page. Check out some of her posts below, or head over to the AGU page itself!
Monday:
Hey there, AGU! I’m Sarah Sams (@sarahesams), and I’ll be taking over as a #guestgrammer for the next five days. I am a graduate student at Purdue University (@lifeatpurdue) under Dr. Nat Lifton and a member of the @magicdml research team. MAGIC-DML is an international collaboration focused on reconstructing the glacial history of Dronning Maud Land, #Antarctica. We are studying how the ice sheet has thinned in response to changes in the climate.
Today, I’ll be showing some of what is involved in the lead up to an Antarctic expedition. In October, the field team had a meeting in Flottsbro, Sweden to prepare for the upcoming field season. All of the field team members participated in hands-on first aid and safety training. Here you can see me practicing building equalized anchors.
Photo by Ida Kinner, Swedish Polar Research Secretariat (@polarforskning)
Stay tuned for more about MAGIC-DML, and check us out at magicdml.com
#magicdml #antarctica #glaciology#geology #geography #research #science#scienceteacher #npolar #nsf#vetenskapsrådet #dfg #sprs@polarforskning @norskpolarinstitutt @nsfgov @lifeatpurdue @stockholmuniversity @aberystwyth.university @uni_bremen
Tuesday:
Hey, AGU! Sarah (@sarahesams) here again! Today, I'll be talking a bit about day-to-day life in #Antarctica.
While out in the field, the @magicdml field team stayed in living modules with two people to each. Everyone fell into a routine of who had which responsibilities, like melting snow or cooking dinner, which gave some organization to the tight quarters. Each module had two benches that folded into a bed, a stove for cooking and heating, ample storage for food and gear, and a charging station for electronics and scientific equipment. Oh, and you can’t forget the blackout curtains so we could get some sleep in the 24-hour daylight! The living modules made Antarctic camping quite comfortable! We also had two tents, one for meetings and one for a toilet, set up at camp.
Photo by Carl Lundberg (@skitouringscandinavia)
Stay tuned for more about MAGIC-DML, and check us out at magicdml.com
#magicdml #antarctica #glaciology#geology #geography #research #science#scienceteacher #npolar #nsf#vetenskapsrådet #dfg #sprs @polarforskning @norskpolarinstitutt @nsfgov @lifeatpurdue @stockholmuniversity @aberystwyth.university @uni_bremen
Wednesday:
Safety always came first when out in the field. Before leaving SANAE, the South African research station in Dronning Maud Land, every member of the @magicdml team was trained in roping up for travelling in crevasse terrain and crevasse rescue, both as the rescuer and the one being rescued, which included building ice anchors and practicing self-arrest. Once out sampling, there were a few instances where we had to rope up to get through a crevassed area or on a steeper snow slope, and we were all well-prepared! Another key aspect was communication, both from the field team to base camp and from base camp to research stations and home organizations. Here you can see Fredrik Hägglund (@iamsoulbone), the expedition medical doctor, radioing back to base camp as we were leaving a field site. As a result of proper safety training and clear communication, everyone returned home safe and sound!
Photo 1 by Andreas Bergström (@andreas_bergstrom). Photos 2 and 4 by Derek Fabel (@derekfabel). Photo 3 by Carl Lundberg (@skitouringscandinavia).
Stay tuned for more about MAGIC-DML, and check us out at magicdml.com
#guestgrammer #magicdml #antarctica#glaciology #geology #geography#research #science #scienceteacher#npolar #nsf #vetenskapsrådet #dfg #sprs @polarforskning @norskpolarinstitutt @nsfgov @lifeatpurdue @stockholmuniversity @aberystwyth.university @uni_bremen
Thursday:
In order to calculate accurate exposure ages, @magicdml team members take special care to record additional field measurements. Many variables influence the cosmogenic nuclide concentration in the samples. For example, the more matter the cosmic rays travel through and interact with the fewer make it to the sample to create these rare nuclides. As a result, we need accurate elevation data, which we can get using a high-precision GPS system from @unavco. We also have to account for how much of the skyline is blocking incoming cosmic rays, so we record the horizon line using an inclinometer and a compass.
Photo by Sarah Sams (@sarahesams)
Stay tuned for more about MAGIC-DML, and check us out at magicdml.com
#guestgrammer #magicdml #antarctica#glaciology #geology #geography#research #science #scienceteacher#npolar #nsf #vetenskapsrådet #dfg #sprs @polarforskning @norskpolarinstitutt@nsfgov @lifeatpurdue @stockholmuniversity @aberystwyth.university @uni_bremen
Friday:
Hi, AGU! Sarah (@sarahesams) here for my last day as a #guestgrammer! Today I’ll be talking about the upcoming and ongoing work of the @magicdml team.
Once the MAGIC-DML team has measured the concentrations of the cosmogenic isotopes in each sample, an exposure age can be calculated. These exposure ages with their elevations are then used by the modeling team members to constrain and refine their model. To judge if a model is accurate, it must be able to recreate past ice sheet thickness changes at given times. The data collected in the field provides a check on the model. In Photo 1, you can see the reconstructed ice sheet thicknesses during the Pliocene, where areas of Dronning Maud Land are thicker during this time than at present-day. However, there are large uncertainties (Photo 2) associated with the models without the data collected being used to constrain them.
Figures by Irina Rogozhina and Jorge Bernales
Stay tuned for more about MAGIC-DML, and check us out at magicdml.com #guestgrammer #magicdml #antarctica#glaciology #geology #geography #research #science #scienceteacher #npolar #nsf#vetenskapsrådet #dfg #sprs @polarforskning @norskpolarinstitutt @nsfgov @lifeatpurdue @stockholmuniversity @aberystwyth.university @uni_bremen
Keep in touch with MAGIC-DML and all our team members by following us on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter!
#FieldWork #Education #TheTeam