“Under 4 Kilometers of Ice: Studying Lake Vostok” with Michael Studinger (Apr 2004)

Under 4 Kilometers of Ice: Studying Lake Vostok

with Michael Studinger
Originally presented 9 Apr 2004

 

 

 

Michael Studinger: Remote Sensing  of Lake Vostok 
Buried under 4 km (2 1/2 miles) of ice in the heart of the Antarctic continent lies Lake Vostok, one of the world’s biggest freshwater lakes. For up to 25 million years the Lake has been covered by an ice sheet and isolated from the atmosphere.  In 1996 European satellite imagery confirmed the lake’s existence, sparking scientific inquiry into the Lake and its processes.  Lamont scientists are using ice-penetrating radar data, and GPS measurements to study the melting and refreezing in the lake, and the direction of ice flow of the overlying glacier to understand better the dynamics of the water exchange system. The geologic origin of the lake provide important boundary conditions for the ecosystem. The magnetic and gravity field of the Earth are used to  interpret the geologic structures beneath the ice sheet.

 

 

Introduction to this Workshop

Here is the introductory slide show presented by Dr. Passow.

Click on your preferred format: PowerPoint or pdf.

 

 Classroom Resources

Here are selected links to related LDEO research projects:

http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/res/pi/vostok/
http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/~mstuding/
http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/~mstuding/vostok
http://www.earthinstitute.columbia.edu/news/vostok/vostok.swf
http://www.earthinstitute.columbia.edu/news/story3_2_01.html
http://www.earthinstitute.columbia.edu/news/2003/story01-21-03.html

    Satellites and other remote sensing strategies now provide  increasingly  important tools for scientists, planners, and emergency responders in connection with natural disasters. Here are links to two web sites explaining more about remote sensing techniques:

    ISS EarthKAM http://www.earthkam.ucsd.edu/public/educators/index.shtml
The International Space Station will not become fully functional for years, but since 1996, images have been taken from the ISS that provide scientists and students with great views of our planet. You can find out much more about the ISS through http://www.earthkam.ucsd.edu/.
Numerous activities for students have been created and are available on-line at http://www.earthkam.ucsd.edu/public/educators/activities/index.shtml

   For additional web sites of interest on this topic, go to the “Classroom Resources” and “Resources” sections for this Workshop.

 

Other Resources for This Topic

ANTARCTICA AND REMOTE SENSING

ANTARCTICA AND LAKE VOSTOK:

Here are selected links to related LDEO research projects about Lake Vostok:
http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/~mstuding/
http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/~mstuding/vostok
http://www.earthinstitute.columbia.edu/news/vostok/vostok.swf
http://www.earthinstitute.columbia.edu/news/story3_2_01.html
http://www.earthinstitute.columbia.edu/news/2003/story01-21-03.html

SELECTED CLASSROOM RESOURCES FOR TEACHING ABOUT ANTARCTICA (identified through a search with www.dlese.org)

   Classroom Antarctica http://classroomantarctica.aad.gov.au/index.html
Lessons and background information for students and teachers created by the Australian Antarctic Division

   British Antarctic Survey: About Antarctica
http://www.antarctica.ac.uk/About_Antarctica/index.html 

   Antarctic Field Trip
http://www.field-trips.org/sci/antarctic/index.htm

   Teachers Experiencing Antarctica and the Arctic
http://tea.armadaproject.org/

   The Great Ice Age (USGS)
http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/ice_age/index.html 

   NASA Goddard Space Flight Center scientific visualization studio animation
http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a000900/a000996/index.html

   NASA Space Science News: Europa and Antarctica
http://www.southpole.com/newhome/headlines/ast09sep99_1.htm

   National Academies Press Frontiers in Polar Biology in the Genomics Era
 http://www.nap.edu/books/0309087279/html/

   Glacial Tectonics
http://pbisotopes.ess.sunysb.edu/reports/dem_2/glaciotectonics.htm

   Robert Swan “2041”
http://www.2041.com/index.html

 

REMOTE SENSING:

    Satellites and other remote sensing strategies now provide  increasingly  important tools for scientists, planners, and emergency responders in connection with natural disasters. Here are links to two web sites explaining more about remote sensing techniques:

  ISS EarthKAM http://www.earthkam.ucsd.edu/public/educators/index.shtml
The International Space Station will not become fully functional for years, but since 1996, images have been taken from the ISS that provide scientists and students with great views of our planet. You can find out much more about the ISS through http://www.earthkam.ucsd.edu/.
Numerous activities for students have been created and are available on-line at http://www.earthkam.ucsd.edu/public/educators/activities/index.shtml. These include “Introductory” activities about using the ISS EarthKAM images (presented through a bingo game); Earth Science and geography lessons about deltas, volcanoes, and other features; studying weather from space; and mathematics.

RELATED ARTICLES

“Antarctic Has a Strong Ecosystem” (suggested by Diana Harding)

 

Multimedia

Images from the Workshop: Earth2Class with Michael Studinger

 

 

 

 

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