Science on ice -- literally

• Main Author: Pedraza, Juan Miguel
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: UND Scholarly Commons 2016
• Subjects: Antarctic; Bibby; Jaakko; Moraine Canyon; Ong Valley; The Antarctic; Theodore; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: https://commons.und.edu/news-archive/1292

National research publication reports on UND geomorphologist Jaakko Putkonen’s discovery of million-year-old ice under Antarctic dirt Bottom line up front: Who: University of North Dakota geomorphologist Jaakko Putkonen, director of the UND Harold Hamm School of Geology & Geological Engineering, part of the College of Engineering & Mines What: Publication about his research team’s discovery of million-year-old ice in dusty, dry, hard-to-access Antarctic valley in the latest issue of American Geophysical Union’s Geophysical Research Letters Where: Research conducted at several sites in Antarctica Background: This is about science on ice. And as science goes, the headline in the latest issue of the American Geophysical Union’s Geophysical Research Letters triggers excitement: “Million year old ice found under meter-thick debris layer in Antarctica.” It’s a report from research conducted by University of North Dakota geomorphologist Jaakko Putkonen, director of the UND Harold Hamm School of Geology & Geological Engineering, and a team that included one of his former graduate students, Theodore Bibby, now a Ph.D. who’s teaching and researching part-time for UND. Newsworthy? You bet! The team’s serendipitous discovery of previously unknown ice beneath a thick layer of dirt captured attention beyond the scientific community. The BBC, one of the world’s leading broadcasting companies, called Putkonen this week, wanting to know lots more about his team’s discovery in Antarctica’s dirt-covered Ong Valley and Moraine Canyon, one of the continent’s remotest—and ostensibly “ice free”—areas. Putkonen’s research team used a seriously high-tech tool to make their buried ancient ice discovery: a shovel. Putkonen, an expert in polar and high-mountain landscapes, stated earlier that the original goal of this particular research was to collect more data and more samples. The project aimed to describe changes in the Antarctic landscape over time; some of that may reflect natural climate change while other indicators may ...