Collaborative Research: Toward Dense Observation of Geothermal Fluxes in Antarctica Via Logistically Light Instrument Deployment

Our aim is to enable dense, widespread measurement-networks by advancing development of low-cost ice melt probe technology to deploy instruments. Ice melt probes use electrical energy to descend through thick ice with little support structure on the ice surface.

We are extending previous technology by using anti-freeze to maintain a partially open melt-hole above a descending probe, deploying as we go a new a new fiber-optic technology to measure ice temperature. Ice temperature measurements will reveal spatial patterns of heat welling up from the Earth beneath the ice, which in turn will contribute greatly to finding ancient ice that contains global climate records, and to understanding how ice flow may raise sea levels.