Polar Perspective: NASA DC-8 Monitors Antarctica's Meltdown from the Skies
Monday, October 26, 2009 - 15:28
in Earth & Climate
A DC-8 rumbles down the runway in Punta Arenas, Chile, bound once again for the fickle weather of Antarctica. Chock full of scientific equipment, the nearly 48-meter-long plane--the core of NASA's Operation ICE Bridge--will fly as low as 300 meters above the glaciers and valleys of West Antarctica as well as the ice just off shore. Employing gravimeters, laser altimeters, even radar, the plane will attempt to get a handle on the rapid thinning of the Antarctic ice sheet --as well as fill in for the aging ICESat 1 satellite that is soon to be defunct. [More]
Read the whole article on Scientific American
More from Scientific American
Related
- NASA flies to Antarctica for largest airborne polar ice surveyThu, 8 Oct 2009, 17:45:56 EDT
- Map characterizes active lakes below Antarctic iceWed, 2 Sep 2009, 9:47:31 EDT
- New research provides insight into ice sheet behaviorMon, 20 Jul 2009, 13:32:57 EDT
- Dust may settle unanswered questions on AntarcticaSun, 29 Mar 2009, 14:51:17 EDT
- Antarctic glacier thinning at alarming rateFri, 14 Aug 2009, 9:47:04 EDT