NSERC jet heads to Antarctica

It's off to Antarctica for the UND-operated DC-8 research jet as the aircraft sets out on a month-long mission-dubbed Operation Ice Bridge-to study ice sheets around the South Pole.

The National Suborbital Research and Education Center (NSERC) airplane began the several hour trip from it's base at the Dryden Flight Research Center in California's Mojave Desert to Punta Arenas, Chile where it will be stationed for the next 30 days or so.

The four-engine jet was called into service after a NASA satellite that previously measured ice thickness went offline earlier this year. Another similar satellite won't go into orbit until 2014 or 2015. But with so much focus on diminishing ice sheets, NASA didn't want to lose out on what could amount to be six years of lost research and experimentation.

Previously, ICESat-I, the satellite that was recently decommissioned used laser beams to penetrate the ice all the way to the bedrock below to determine the thickness of the ice as well as its composition. It would take measurements on elevation and ice extent in both the arctic and Antarctic regions.

Over it's six-year life, Alexandra Novak, NSERC's Education and Public Outreach director, said it has taken around 1.9 billion measurements. "The next satellite won't launch until 2014 or 2015, so in the mean time, there is this really valuable polar climate data that needs to be retrieved," Novak said. "That's where this mission comes in. It bridges the data gap between the two satellites."

On board the aircraft, technicians have installed similar laser technology, much like that used on the satellites. Researchers hope to use the lasers on 17 planned flights over the Antarctic region along with several other radar instruments that will contribute to the research of the ice shelf.

The crew will also use instruments to map the region and map the extent of the sea ice. Along with that, the flights will also give researchers a unique opportunity to analyze atmospheric conditions in the area as well.

Because the new ICESat-II satellite won't fly until 2014 at the earliest, the Ice Bridge mission will occur several times over the next six years, analyzing both far northern and southern regions of our planet. "This is the time of the year that the scientists can get the most valuable data," Novak said. "It's best to get the ice when it's at its maximum and when it's at its minimum so we can compare the two results. Unlike the satellite, the plane cannot fly 365 days a year, so that's why now is the best time to study Antarctica."

Several researchers from beyond UND will also be involved in the flight. Scientists from the University of Kansas, who provided the radar technology will provide support alongside NASA officials and Columbia University researchers who will be using a gravimeter to measure the gravity over the surface to further determine ice thickness.

This certainly isn't the first time the aircraft and NSERC researchers have headed to the polar regions to study ice thickness and climate change. The airplane has been involved in several flights in 2004 and 2008.

For more information on Operation Ice Bridge or to view videos, photos and blogs from previous flights, visit the NSERC website, www.nserc.und.edu