Going to sea to study glaciers

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I recently joined the UT Marine Geology and Geophysics field course on the Gulf of Mexico to learn about methods to study the seafloor.  When deployed at the fronts of glaciers, these techniques can help us identify the stability of glaciers that end in the ocean.

My research frequently draws on a wide variety of disciplines to answer questions about glacier behavior.  Seafloor sediments not only reveal when a glacier last occupied a specific location, but rapid submarine sediment accumulation can help to stabilize a tidewater glacier terminus.  When a terminus is in contact with a barrier of thick sediment, ice loss is decreased because the sediment can shield the glacier terminus from warm ocean water and reduce the rate of stretching at the glacier front.  These topics are pertinent to the past, present, and future dynamics of ocean-terminating glaciers.

While based out of Galveston, TX, I joined the UT MG&G field course for two days on a Gulf of Mexico research vessel.  We acquired CHIRP and reflection seismic data to investigate the properties of the seafloor subsurface at two different scales/resolutions (~cm resolution for ~10 m, and ~m resolution for ~100 m).  We also took vibracore samples of the top meter or so of the seafloor.  Not only did I learn a great deal about the capabilities of these techniques, I had a lot of fun.  Thanks to Dr. Sean Gulick, Dr. John Goff, Marcy Davis, and Dan Duncan for welcoming me to their program.

I look forward to including these techniques in future research to better understand the dynamics of tidewater glaciers in Greenland, Alaska, and elsewhere.

 Deploying the CHIRP instrument to toe behind the vessel while underway.

Securing a core barrel to the vibrating head that will sample the shallow seafloor sediments.

 Lowering the CHIRP off the back of the vessel.