{"82791":{"#nid":"82791","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Researchers Return to Antarctica in Pursuit of Elusive Scientific Mystery","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA mystery in the skies above Antarctica and in the ice below its snow pack is the subject of a new scientific expedition being led this month by a team of investigators from the Georgia Institute of Technology.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt is to be the first of two expeditions to the South Pole region that will provide data for the four-year, $1.8 million Antarctic Tropospheric Chemistry Investigation (ANTCI), a grant funded by the National Science Foundation\u0027s Office of Polar Programs.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETen other institutions are involved in the project, including major involvement by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado plus contributions from researchers at the University of California, Irvine and NASA\u0027s Langley Research Center in Virginia, among others. The National Center for Atmospheric Research is managed by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research under primary sponsorship by the National Science Foundation.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis first ANTCI expedition runs Nov. 15 through Jan. 4, 2004. A second expedition is planned for 2005 or 2006. The 2003 expedition includes the participation of Jill Beach, a teacher from Rockdale County High School in Conyers, Ga., who will communicate what she does at the South Pole with her students via an interactive Web site.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Antarctica is a land of mystery. But with these expeditions, we\u0027re going to be probing some fundamental questions posed by science about the region,\u0022 said Professor Emeritus Doug Davis, ANTCI\u0027s mission scientist and the project\u0027s co-principal investigator along with Principal Research Scientist Fred Eisele, both from Georgia Tech\u0027s School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022In fact, we\u0027re rewriting the book on atmospheric chemistry in Antarctica,\u0022 Davis said. \u0022The data we\u0027re collecting down there is changing our whole view of what\u0027s happening in the atmosphere, and why.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe broad goal of ANTCI is to gain a better understanding of the air above Antarctica. This includes measuring two major chemical families in the atmosphere and in the local environment - sulfur and nitrogen -- and the oxidizing agents that affect their levels. Scientists also plan to measure the levels of several other trace gases that affect atmospheric chemistry.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESulfur is of interest because it is a major component of the atmosphere above Antarctica, and it can be transferred from the air to the snow, where it eventually ends up in the ice. When it appears in ice-core samples going back thousands of years, it can be used to indicate major geophysical events from the past, such as volcanic eruptions, El Ninos and major climate changes.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut what has been puzzling about this data is that it shows much higher levels of sulfur in the atmosphere over the polar plateau than scientists have been able to explain, Davis said.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESimilarly, both recent and earlier studies of the air, snow pack, and ice cores show large fluctuations in levels of reactive nitrogen at the South Pole. Atmospheric nitric oxide - normally considered a pollutant in most regions of the world - appears to have a natural source at the South Pole and its levels are higher by nearly a factor of 10 than they are at all other polar sites. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis finding continues to be one of the most baffling made by the earlier studies conducted by Georgia Tech researchers, Davis said, and the unexpected findings are what led scientists to propose the ANTCI project.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cem\u003EBack to the South Pole for Answers\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThere are several reasons why they need to better understand the processes at work affecting these levels of sulfur and nitrogen in the atmosphere, Davis said. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EChief among them is that a better understanding of these two families of gases affects how scientists interpret ice-core samples, which in turn affects global understanding of past atmospheres and, hence, climate and what might affect it today.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Analysis of ice cores from the Antarctic glaciers are among the most important pieces of information we have for understanding past climates,\u0022 said Professor Judy Curry, chair of the School of Earth and Atmospheric Chemistry. \u0022Georgia Tech\u0027s major role in ANTCI reflects the strengths and unique capabilities of our atmospheric chemistry program.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EUsing specially outfitted aircraft this year and in 2005, ANTCI scientists will take air samples from a variety of locations above the polar region to gain a bigger and more detailed picture of what\u0027s happening to sulfur and nitrogen levels. Investigators also will make measurements at the South Pole\u0027s Atmospheric Research Observatory as well as take a variety of samples from the Antarctic snow pack.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The chemistry of the atmosphere is what interests us,\u0022 said Associate Professor Dave Tan, another member of the scientific expedition going to Antarctica this fall. \u0022Ultimately, atmospheric chemistry relates to climate, which affects us all. Previously, we thought that the Antarctic atmosphere was inert, but it turns out, it\u0027s not.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn fact, the region\u0027s atmosphere is quite active. In 1998, NASA satellite data showed that the Antarctic ozone hole was the largest on record, covering 27 million square kilometers -- bigger than Antarctica\u0027s entire 14 million square kilometers of surface area.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EResearchers in 1997 also found that increased ultraviolet light coming through the hole damages the DNA of ice fish, an Antarctic fish lacking hemoglobin, according to the CIA\u0027s World Factbook. It also reports that ozone depletion has been shown to harm one-celled Antarctic marine plants. And in 2002, significant areas of ice shelves disintegrated in response to regional warming.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis warming climate appears to be melting glaciers across the planet, Davis said, raising concern that the planet\u0027s sea levels may begin to rise in the coming decades, inundating coastlines from Florida to Indonesia. Scientists - not to mention policy makers and the general public - need to understand what might be happening in the atmosphere as a whole so as to understand that phenomenon, he said.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The question is no longer whether there is a global climate change,\u0022 Davis said. \u0022The only question is why is it happening?\u0022 \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBecause ANTCI is a regional experiment, the data collected during this project also will be added to and compared with samples taken from other parts of the planet by various teams of researchers - including those at Georgia Tech - to gain a better idea of what the global atmosphere is like today, Tan said.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We need to understand this,\u0022 he said. \u0022We\u0027ve got to know what we\u0027re doing to the atmosphere, how quickly we\u0027re doing it and how critical is it?\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cem\u003ESparking Interest in Science Among Students\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAn outreach component of the ANTCI project also involves the participation of Jill Beach, a teacher from Rockdale County High School in Conyers, Ga., who will communicate what she does at the South Pole with her students via e-mail and a daily journal posted on a Web site.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Everybody at the school is really excited about my trip, and so am I,\u0022 Beach said. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ERockdale is the site of a magnet program founded in 2000 that is devoted to intensive science study, and Georgia Tech faculty work actively with the school in a variety of projects. Beach teaches 59 students how to conduct research - from generating a research idea, to conducting experiments and reporting their results.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The hope is that with this trip to Antarctica, we will be able to generate some interest among the students in what I\u0027ll be studying, which is atmospheric research that looks at sulfur and nitrogen compounds in the air,\u0022 Beach said.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBeach will arrive in Antarctica around Nov. 19 and stay until about Dec. 5. Once there, she will assist ANTCI researchers in setting up experiments and compiling the data they collect.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDuring two ANTCI expeditions to the South Pole, researchers will use balloons and aircraft specially outfitted with spectrometers and other equipment that will test and sample the air in a variety of locations. This fall, they will use a deHavilland Twin Otter turboprop airplane to take two, four-hour missions a day between Nov. 21 and Dec. 7. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EInstruments and sampling techniques designed by Georgia Tech researchers to measure levels of nitrogen and sulfur in the atmosphere will be aboard. Beach will be there to help.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We\u0027ve been studying this organic sulfur chemistry for some time at Georgia Tech, and we\u0027ve developed new instruments that help us to understand the sulfur breakdown that\u0027s occurring in Antarctica and the many other chemical species that are facilitating this,\u0022 Davis said.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We don\u0027t know that what we see at the surface at South Pole extends out over the entire plateau - how far does it extend upwards and outwards? A kilometer? Ten kilometers? A hundred kilometers? How general is this phenomenon?\u0022 Davis said. \u0022Once you see something that is totally unique, you want to know how big is it? How extensive is it? We don\u0027t know whether this phenomenon covers the plateau region of Antarctica. And we don\u0027t know how deep it is. How high is it? How important is it to the regional atmosphere, and what effect does it have on the rest of the atmosphere?\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We need many new measurements,\u0022 Davis said. \u0022We have to have a very reliable measurements of many different species to understand the atmospheric chemistry there.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen the plane lands each day, downloading and compiling this important data will be one of Beach\u0027s tasks.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Jill is going to be a part of that data processing after the flights, and she also will assist with preparing instruments for each trip,\u0022 Davis said. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The goal in a lot of these field exercises is to involve high-school teachers, to share some of the excitement that this land of mystery has to offer,\u0022 he said. \u0022We\u0027re trying to get that excitement into the high schools themselves, and what better way is there to do that than by getting teachers involved in the actual science?\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIf teachers can become excited about current scientific questions, then they\u0027re going to take that excitement back with them to young people and, hopefully, spark an interest in science that will produce future investigators with more questions.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Jill\u0027s experience there is likely to spawn some projects that she can share and involve students with here,\u0022 Davis said. \u0022Once she\u0027s in Antarctica, then she\u0027ll be exposed to a broad cross section of other people working in the sciences. I\u0027m sure she\u0027ll walk away with ideas of projects she can do with her students.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"A mystery in the skies above Antarctica and in the ice below its snow pack is the subject of a new scientific expedition being led this month by a team of investigators from Georgia Tech.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27304","created_gmt":"2003-11-17 01:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:02:02","author":"Matthew Nagel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2003-11-17T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2003-11-17T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"82801":{"id":"82801","type":"image","title":"Antarctic Science is Hard Work","body":null,"created":"1449178087","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:28:07","changed":"1475894700","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:00"},"82811":{"id":"82811","type":"image","title":"Doug Davis at the South Pole","body":null,"created":"1449178087","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:28:07","changed":"1475894700","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:00"},"82821":{"id":"82821","type":"image","title":"ANTCI Logo","body":null,"created":"1449178087","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:28:07","changed":"1475894700","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:00"}},"media_ids":["82801","82811","82821"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.ncar.ucar.edu\/ncar\/","title":"National Center for Atmospheric Research"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.nsf.gov\/","title":"National Science Foundation"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.rockdale.k12.ga.us\/rchs\/beach\/index.htm","title":"Antarctic Diary of Jill Beach"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.eas.gatech.edu\/","title":"School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences"},{"url":"http:\/\/cos-web.admin.gatech.edu\/","title":"College of Sciences"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Tech Media Relations\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELaura Diamond\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:laura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Elaura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-894-6016\u003Cbr \/\u003EJason Maderer\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:maderer@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emaderer@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-660-2926\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["matthew.nagel@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}