Solicitation of Interest
Coulman High Project
Antarctic Geological Drilling
To complete the solicitation of interest survey, please go to:
http://www.andrill.org/science/ch-survey
For further information on the Coulman High project, see:
http://www.andrill.org/science/ch
The Antarctic Geological Drilling (ANDRILL) Science Committee (ASC) is
currently preparing for its next investigation, the Coulman High (CH)
Project, and is soliciting initial interest in the project via an online
survey. The survey is available at:
http://www.andrill.org/science/ch-survey.
The CH Project will investigate Early Miocene and Paleogene
paleoenvironmental and tectonic history by drilling at two sites on the
Ross Ice Shelf, approximately 150 kilometers east of McMurdo Station in
Antarctica, over the subsea geologic structure known as the Coulman
High. The goals of project are to:
- Determine the fundamental behavior of the Antarctic cryosphere,
including the magnitude and frequency of its changes on centennial
to million year time-scales;
- Understand the evolution and behavior of the West Antarctic Ice
Sheet in a high CO2 world;
- Obtain geological records from critical intervals in the
development of the Antarctic cryosphere to guide and constrain
glaciological and climatic models;
- Document the evolution, timing, and geologic history of the West
Antarctic rift system, and the stratigraphic development of
associated sedimentary basins; and
- Constrain West Antarctic geography through time to improve ice
sheet models.
During the 2010/2011 field season, the ANDRILL hot water drill will be
used to melt through more than 250 meters of ice to deploy oceanographic
moorings and other experiments including a vertical seismic profile
survey. These data will be used to model appropriate drilling
technologies to be used on an ice shelf moving at a rate of two meters
per day.
In an effort to gauge the community's interest in the CH Project,
ANDRILL is requesting community response to the online survey available
at: http://www.andrill.org/science/ch-survey. The ASC would like to
assess the participation interest in this project, as well as the areas
of investigation that the community would like to pursue. The
information collected during the current field season coupled with the
information provided through the online survey will help the ASC
determine the level of interest in the project, and will also be used
for the development of a full drilling proposal to be submitted in the
spring of 2011.
Expression of interest does not guarantee participation in the project.
Members of the scientific team will only be selected from nations that
belong to the ANDRILL Consortium for the CH Project. Inclusion in the CH
Science Team will require a formal application, review, and selection
process. For more information on joining the ANDRILL Consortium as a
participating member please contact Tim Naish, Chair of the ANDRILL
Science Committee (tim.naish [at] vuw.ac.nz).
More information about the Coulman High Project science objectives,
planning, and site survey activities are available at:
http://www.andrill.org/science/ch.
For questions, please contact:
Steven Fischbein
Email: sfischbein2 [at] unl.edu