News

Released on 11/28/2007, at 12:01 AM
Office of University Communications
University of Nebraska-Lincoln

McMurdo Station, Antarctica, November 28, 2007 -- A second season in Antarctica for the Antarctic Geological Drilling (ANDRILL) Program has exceeded all expectations, according to the co-chief scientists of the program's Southern McMurdo Sound Project.

During the austral summer of 2007 the ANDRILL Program is drilling from a sea-ice platform in Southern McMurdo Sound to obtain new information about the Neogene Antarctic cryosphere and evolution of Antarctic rift basins. A team of more than 56 on-ice scientists, engineers, technicians, students and educators are engaged in the recovery and study of sediment and rock cores recovered by drilling below the seafloor from a sea-ice platform supporting the drill rig and field camp. Additional work to characterize these cores is conducted by the ANDRILL team in the Crary Laboratory of McMurdo Station, and by groups of collaborators off-ice, working in their home institutions.

The Antarctic Geological Drilling (ANDRILL) Program drilled to a new record depth of 1,000 meters below the seafloor from the site on the Ross Ice Shelf near Scott Base in Antarctica Dec. 16.

A geologist with extensive management and scientific experience in ocean drilling programs has been named executive director of the Science Management Office of the ANDRILL Antarctic research program. Frank Rack, a researcher and administrator at Joint Oceanographic Institutions Inc. in Washington, D.C., since 1998, joins ANDRILL Aug. 1. He will also have an appointment as associate professor of geosciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, home of the ANDRILL Science Management Office.

From Julia Smith Wellner for the SHALDRIL Scientific Party: Following a successful drilling cruise in the northwestern Weddell Sea, we are pleased to let you know that the 2006 SHALDRIL report is now available to be downloaded. It includes a scientific summary, summary of the drilling logistics, and "barrel sheets" for each core. If you are interested in reading it, please see http://shaldril.rice.edu. The file is large (1 GB). If you have difficulty downloading the file, please reply to this email for FTP instructions or a DVD copy. There will be a SHALDRIL Town Hall at AGU in December for those interested in discussing either the cores we obtained or capabilities for future drilling.

The ANDRILL Science Management Office at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) has an immediate opening for the new position of Coordinator of Education and Public Outreach.

Educators: Are you interested in gaining authentic Antarctic geoscience experience through participation in an exciting multidisciplinary, multinational geological drilling program?

Note: An independent selection committee has selected the 2006 ARISE participants. Keep posted if you are interested in participating in ARISE during the McMurdo Ice Shelf (MIS) Project during IPY in 2007.

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The ANDRILL drill rig arrived in Antarctica and is being set up at the McMurdo Ice Shelf (MIS) drill site.

Below is an article discussing the drill rig that appeared in the Timaru Herald.

In April, 2005, over 120 scientists, educators, and journalists gathered in Denver, Colorado to discuss the objectives and goals of ANDRILL science, operations, education, and outreach. ANDRILL is using video collected at the conference to produce an interactive DVD.

Check out pictures and see the goings on of the site survey completed October-November of 2005.

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