Update

Dominique can also be followed on Facebook here and @EastAntarctica on Twitter!

View her archived PolarConnect event from 18 April 2015 here.

What Are They Doing?

The East Antarctic Ice Sheet
The East Antarctic Ice Sheet
The movement of warmer ocean water through or around relatively cooler ice sheets has the potential to lead to increased melting of the ice sheets. This project will determine the potential vulnerability of key ice streams to the infiltration of warmer ocean water and whether this could explain any of the observed thinning of the ice sheet. It will provide important information about a particular section of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet and therefore will be critical for future ice sheet models and investigations into the ice sheet's contributions to sea levels.

Where Are They?

The Nathanial B. Palmer icebreaker
The Nathanial B. Palmer icebreaker
The research team will be traveling on-board the icebreaker Nathaniel B. Palmer. The expedition will begin in New Zealand or Australia and will travel along the East Antarctic Margin and return to Punta Arenas, Chile. The vessel is named after Nathaniel Palmer, the first American credited with sighting Antarctica. It can operate safely year-round in Antarctic waters and is capable of supporting approximately four dozen scientists on expeditions that last for months. Learn more about life aboard the N.B. Palmer here.

Latest Journals

Four Years Later Four years ago today, I set sail on the R/V Nathaniel B Palmer out of Hobart, Australia headed for East Antarctica as the educator on a research expedition to map the seafloor and study ice stream dynamics. Today I’m prepping to fly back up to Fairbanks, Alaska to assist the next…
Expedition Lecture Being back in Los Angeles means back to outreach as well! Now I have all the experience, photos and facts from Antarctica to share with you. Join me at Cabrillo Marine Aquarium on Thursday, June 18th in the John M. Olguin Auditorium from 2pm-3pm to learn more about our research…
I'm finishing up packing and getting ready to airport hop my way back home. I will be back to let everyone know about upcoming outreach opportunities and the eventual results of the research done on this expedition, though that won't be for a while. Before I disappear I wanted to take the…
Update Today we disembarked the R/V Nathaniel B. Palmer. We cleaned up our cabins and turned in our equipment and gear. I was a little sad to leave the ship that has been my home and work for the past 6 weeks. This has been an incredible experience with incredible people. We'll be stopping by one…
Dates
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Location
Research Vessel Nathaniel B. Palmer
Project Funded Title
Vulnerability of East Antarctic ice streams to warm ocean water incursions
Dominique Richardson - Teacher
Teacher
Cabrillo Marine Aquarium

Dominique Richardson received her Bachelor of Science in Ecology, Behavior and Evolution from UCLA and her Master of Science in Environmental Science from CSULA. While she has always had a strong interest in science and research, in 2005 Dominique began working as a teaching assistant and has been engrossed in science education ever since. Dominique’s love of hands-on, inquiry based learning has lead her from her beginnings in formal science teaching to working as an informal science educator. Dominique currently works at Cabrillo Marine Aquarium where she mentors students on how to develop and execute their own original, independent research projects and teaches both students and the public about the ocean, marine life and marine conservation. When she’s not teaching or caring for animals at work, Dominique loves to travel, take lots of photos and spend time outdoors with her husband and dog.

Frank Nitsche - Researcher
Researcher
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory

Frank O. Nitsche received a MS in geophysics from the University of Kiel, Germany and a PhD from the University of Bremen, Germany. In 2001 he came to the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University where he started as a postdoctoral researcher and is now a research scientist. There he studies sediment processes and morphological conditions of the Hudson River Estuary and the Long Island Sound. In addition, he investigates the morphology of the Antarctic continental margin and is reconstructing the path of past ice streams and related sediment transport processes. He has participated in six expeditions to Antarctica and its surrounding Southern Ocean where he used acoustic mapping techniques and oceanographic measurements to understand past and present processes that shape the Antarctic continental margins and affect the ice sheet. He is involved in the creation of the International Bathymetric Chart of the Southern Ocean. Read more about Dr. Nitsche here.

Antarctic Ice Stream Dynamics Resources

The report is written by teacher participants upon return from their field expedition portion of the PolarTREC program. It summarizes the benefit of the expedition to the teacher, a description of activities, and a summary of how teachers plan to link this experience in classrooms and communities. This is a public document that will be posted in teacher portfolios and

Report
Antarctic
Less than 1 period
All Aged
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Overview

This mini exhibit explores the science behind climate change and introduces current climate change research to the public. Panels cover the topics of changing climate, ocean acidification and sea level rise, giving examples of how data is collected and current research in these fields. The exhibit also provides websites for further exploring climate change impacts.

Objectives

The

Activity
Arctic
n/a
All Aged
Download

This one hour webinar is a great look at the PolarTREC 2014-5 Antarctic expeditions. Each teacher presents on the research projects, implementation in the classroom, and outreach into communities.

Event
Antarctic
About 1 period
All Aged
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Overview

Oceanography is the study of the ocean. It covers a wide range of topics from marine life to the geology of the sea floor to the physical properties of the ocean. Physical oceanographers study the physical components of the ocean including light, waves, tides, currents and the composition of sea water. The physical properties of the ocean can

Lesson
Antarctic
Less than a week
Middle School and Up
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This one hour webinar is hosted by Dominique Richardson and the team studying the Antarctic Ice Stream Dynamics was a special event to celebrate Earth Day 2015.

Event
Antarctic
n/a
All Aged
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