Our teacher goes to Antarctica - How to get there and what research will be conducted?   

In the Field-What will we do?

I am working with scientists form UT San Antonio, Prof. Dr. Stephen Ackley, Dr. Hongjie Xie (check out his teaching lectures online) and Burcu Cicek (Ph.D. student) making sea ice and meteorological observations during the ODEN cruise to McMurdo, Antarctica. The data we are going to collect will help to increase our knowledge about “Global warming” and climate processes that  may also influence our Gulf of Mexico coast line. (photo of Dr. Ackley by Kaden 11/06, UTSA, TX)

(courtesy of Google earth modified )       click photo Ackley Point (click) was named in Antarctica to honor Professor Ackley for his outstanding sea ice work in Antarctica by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. Ackley Point is an ice covered spot located near McMurdo Sound where Dr. Ackley worked and conducted research for more than 25 years.

 
(Kaden, USCGC HEALY  Sep. 2005, leaving the Arctic packice behind going toward Tromso )
Sea Ice - Our Research target    Ice cover  movie 1MB

What is sea ice?     (Sea ice)     AWI (A. Wegener Institute, Germany)
• Sea ice or pack ice is simply frozen seawater. It forms, grows, floats and melts in the ocean. In contrast, icebergs, glaciers, ice sheets, and ice shelves all originate on land.

• The annual formation, consolidation and melt of the pack ice is one of Earth's greatest natural events and very important for biodiversity and the global climate.

• Sea ice influences the climate system in a number of ways by altering the heat and chemical exchanges between the atmosphere and oceans. It has a high albedo; that is, sea ice is a strong reflector of solar radiation.

• Sea ice also affects the movement of ocean waters. When sea ice forms, some of the salt in the ocean water is trapped in small pockets between the ice crystals; however, most of it is "ejected" into the ocean below. Because salty water is heavier, the density of the water increases and the water sinks. This “overturning” of the ocean waters contributes to the earth's overall ocean circulation.

• Sea water with a typical salinity of 35 parts per thousand freezes only at −1.8°C (28.9°F).  This is why salt is used to melt the snow or ice on a road pavement. The saltier the brine, the lower its freezing point. This is also why salt traditionally was added to the water–ice mixture used to make ice cream.

 Four main factors affect the development of sea ice:
 - Water temperature
 - Air temperature
 - Wave action
 - Ocean currents Distribution

Antarctic Sea Ice seasonal change  by European Space Agency (ESA) Quicktime movie 5+MB version Quicktime movie 1MB version

My travel to Antarctica
  Antarctica is a very remote place. Before anybody can travel to Antarctica on a NSF assignment  a medical clearance is necessary. I am in preparation mode... Lots to think about. Check out my travel itinerary.

UTSA seminar 11/17/06 (in the foreground  Gaby Sosa, a Hanna HS student 2003 graduate and my former physics student, back Dr. S. Ackley, U.Kaden)