Stockholm marine geologists research Southern Ocean

"The largest project is our marine geology and geophysics component which is a collaboration between Stockholm University and Rice University, USA," says Professor Martin Jakobsson. "Our goal is to study the mechanisms that led to the retreat of the Western Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) from the Antarctic continental shelf since the Last Glacial Maximum."

The team is trying to quantify how fast the ice sheet retreated as they believe it is critical to understand the mechanisms that cause marine ice sheets to collapse.

"The WAIS is particularly unstable," says Jakobsson. "We need to understand the ice sheet collapse in order to predict the behaviour of this ice sheet in the future. Particularly because the global sea level is predicted to rise."

A unique expedition

The researchers, who set off from the McMurdo Antarctic research centre located on the southern tip of Ross Island on February 8, have been working in Pine Island Bay – perhaps the most critical and dynamic area for the WAIS.

Ordinarily the bay is extremely difficult to access and filled with thick ice, but the Oden icebreaker has the capability to combat extremely difficult conditions.

Mild conditions in the region this year, however, have meant that Oden's capabilities haven't been put fully to the test.

"The bay was almost completely free of ice," says Jakobsson, "So we've gathered more data than we ever dreamed of!"

The data will help scientists understand how quickly the rest of the Pine Island glacier may retreat and drain WAIN.

Processing results takes time

"We've got some preliminary results directly from the multibeam sonar and other geophysical instruments," Professor Jakobsson confirmed, "but's there's a lot of post-processing involved."

In the meantime, scientists and journalists can keep up to date with events from the ship via Jakobsson's online account of the expedition.

"I don't really like to call it a blog. It's more a ship diary," explains Jakobsson. "I know there's a lot of people reading it. And it also helps me document the expedition."

Despite the conditions, Jakobsson and the team are delighted to be working in the Antarctic.

"It feels fantastic to be here!" Jakobsson says. "I've previously worked a lot in the Arctic where there are no big shelf ice systems as in the Antarctic, but it's likely there were in the past glacial periods. So it is like traveling back in time and seeing what I imagine we had in the Arctic. And Oden is a great ship to be on!"

Oden is expected to reach Punta Arenas on March 12.

Along with Martin Jakobsson, the team from Stockholm is comprised of:
Nina Kirchner – numerical ice sheet modeler, INK.
Richard Gyllencreutz – newly recruited lecturer in marine geology and
geophysics, IGG
Matt O'Regan – postdoc, specialist in sediment physical properties, IGG
Rezwan Mohammad –physical oceanographer and scientific programmer, IGG
Björn Eriksson – IT-Technician, IGG
Markus Karasti –Coring Technician

Professor Martin Jakobsson's online journal:
www.geo.su.se/forsk-maringeologi-projects/so2010-diary-2

Text and interview: Jon Buscall