Sediment Sampling Beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet to Understand its Fragility

Iceberg tunnel photographed off Portal Point (Antarctic Peninsula). Image: Unsplash

This AuScope Earth Sampling project funding will contribute to the International SWAIS2C project (Sensitivity of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet to 2-Degree Celsius), allowing Australian researchers to access scientific drilling infrastructure for sub-ice sediment sampling in remote West Antarctica.

Overview

SWAIS2C is a project under the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP), of which Australia is now a member. It aims to acquire samples and data from the Ross Ice Shelf that are crucial for forecasting rising sea levels and monitoring associated impacts on coastal regions worldwide.

SWAIS2C is conducting frontier science by utilising new technology to drill through an ice shelf into the seafloor to acquire sediment samples that were previously impossible to obtain. This drilling will sample the last interglacial period (~125,000 years ago) when Earth was around 1.5 degrees warmer than in pre-industrial times. In the coming decades, the Earth is predicted to rapidly return to similar temperature levels; the research conducted as part of this project will help broaden our understanding of these biodiversity changes, enabling better planning and adaptation to sea level and climate change.

The Challenge

The West Antarctic Ice Sheet is "one of the most vulnerable components in the Earth system to increasing atmospheric warming. Fundamentally, the scientific community does not know when and how fast the ice sheet will disintegrate and raise the global sea level by several meters.

By understanding how marine-based ice sheets respond to temperature increases and identifying the conditions leading to the collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, the environmental and social consequences of melting ice can be better predicted and mitigated.

Expected Outcomes

  • Attainment of sediment and rock core samples from the Kamb Ice Stream drill site.

  • Release of SWIAS-2C datasets (downhole logging data, sediment ancient DNA, paleomagnetism).

  • Delivery of project progress reports on field excursions and analysis sampling from drill sites.

  • Delivery of peer-reviewed research publications.

  • Release of outreach materials for the general public via the SWAIS-2C communication team.

  • Development of two Australian early-to-mid-career researchers to facilitate future international collaborations and upskill in complex research projects.

  • Pave the way for ongoing Australian involvement in the ICDP program

What are the benefits?

  • Streamlined Technologies: Developing and testing new, low-cost drilling technologies will enable better core ice and sediment/rock sampling beneath ice shelves, sea ice and ice rises. This will guide future studies to obtain critical environmental data to support scientific understanding.

  • Enhanced Scientific Collaboration: Samples and data from the expedition will be made available through key FAIR datasets to contribute to the science community's understanding of Antarctic paleoenvironments beyond the fossil record and document ecosystem-wide biodiversity changes over time.

  • Improved Capacity and Capability Building: Mentoring two early-to-mid-career researchers will help strengthen international collaborations, allowing cross-pollination of skills and expertise to guide future Antarctic initiatives.

Who will benefit

Researchers, scientists, government agencies, and industry professionals involved in the fields (or cross-collaboration) of climatology, paleoclimatology, geology, glaciology, sea-ice research, atmospheric research, biology (terrestrial, marine and freshwater), and oceanography.

Access

  • Data Access: core samples and data will be made available via open access after a two-year moratorium period following core description and sampling by the project science team.

Acknowledging AuScope

This project was made possible by support from the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) through AuScope. Acknowledging AuScope and NCRIS helps us demonstrate the value of shared research infrastructure, ensuring continued support and resources for the research community.

If you helped deliver this project or have benefited from its outputs, please credit AuScope so we can include your work in our impact reporting. For examples of acknowledgment, please visit our ‘How to Acknowledge AuScope’ page.

We’d love to see your work—please tag us on social media using:

@auscope | #AuScopeImpact | #NCRISimpact

 
 

Project Name
Sediment Sampling Beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet to Understand its Fragility

Project Lead

Featured
Dr Ron Hackney
Dr Ron Hackney

Timeframe
2024 to 2026

Status
Active

Funding
AuScope Pilots 4

Host
Australian National University (ANU)
University of Melbourne (UoM)

Other Collaborators
Antarctic Science Platform

AuScope Programs

ESAuScopeANU, UoM, ES, SWAIS-2C, Drilling, Antarctic, Climate Science, Ice Sheet, Strategic, Pilot 4