2014-2015 USAP Field Season
A 1,500-meter ice core from South Pole
Dr. Murat Aydin
University of California Irvine
Project Web Site:
Supporting Stations: South Pole Station
The South Pole Ice Core (SPICE Core) project will collect a 1500-meter ice core from a site within five kilometers of the South Pole Station. The ice core will provide an environmental record spanning approximately 40,000 years that will be used to investigate the magnitude and timing of changes in climate and climate forcing through time. The target of 40,000 years includes the transition from the peak of the last glacial period when ice sheets were at their maximum extent, referred to as the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), to the present warm period (the Holocene) called an interglacial period. The main activities of this season are the shipping of all remaining ice cores (616 meters of core via three cold-deck LC-130 flights from South Pole to McMurdo Station) that are still onsite, disassembly of all remaining drilling and field equipment, including the drill tent, and concomitant shipping of equipment and cargo to the United States.
Field Season Overview
Ten participants will reside at the Elevated Station and will commute daily to the drill site. Using an Intermediate Depth Drill (supplied by I-164-S/IDDO) they will drilling to 700 meters and collect ice cores. The cores will be flown by LC-130 aircraft throughout the field season to McMurdo Station where they will be housed in one SAFECORE freezer until they are shipped north on the cargo vessel.
Deploying Team Members