WebLog

Follow the expedition through the words and pictures of Lindsey Geary, an undergraduate student at FSU at her blog Antarctic Expedition 2005. You can also take a look at her video introduction. (Requires the Quicktime plugin. May take time to load.)

From March 25th through April 24th, six scientists and staff from the Department of Geology and the Antarctic Research Facility at FSU will be in the Antarctic participating in the SHALDRIL Project aboard the Icebreaker, the Nathaniel B. Palmer. The scientific compliment also includes scientists from Rice University, University of California, Santa Cruz, and Middlebury College. The science plan is to drill several coreholes in the James Ross Basin from a rig mounted on the icebreaker and collect sediments that will be available for studies on the evolution of climate and glacial history of the Antarctic continent. A workshop will be held in mid August at FSU for interested scientists to view the sediment cores and preliminary results of the project. Scientists will then be encouraged to submit research proposals to the National Science Foundation for funding.

Background

In 1994 a group of 14 scientists and a representative from the National Science Foundation Office of Polar Programs met in Houston, Texas, for a two day workshop to discuss scientific questions that could be addressed by shallow drilling on the Antarctic continental shelf. The group interested in shallow drilling on the Antarctic shelf evolved into a working group that now calls itself SHALDRIL. In 2000, the SHALDRIL steering committee learned about new and improved drilling systems. These systems can be operated from the NSF research vessel RV/IB Nathaniel B. Palmer. This cruise is the next phase of this long-term project, testing the systems in Antarctic waters.

For More Information

• Rice University Shaldril Project Page
• SHALDRIL Brochure (pdf) Low | High
• ARF SHALDRIL Project Page