What Are They Doing?
This project studied the opening of the Drake Passage between South America and Antarctica through a combined marine geophysical survey and geochemical study of dredged ocean floor basalts. Dating the passage's opening is key to understanding the formation of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, which plays a major role in worldwide ocean circulation, and whose formation is connected with the growth of the Antarctic ice sheet. The samples that were collected were used in various geochemical studies to determine their age and constrained mantle flow beneath the region.
The research team included graduate students, as well as undergraduate students, and a K-12 teacher. The cruise also involved international collaboration with the United Kingdom and is part of International Polar Year project, Plates and Gates, which aims to reconstruct the geologic history of polar ocean basins and gateways for computer simulations of climate change. Click here to learn more about the international work.
Where Are They?
The team traveled to and from Punta Arenas, Chile, where they boarded the research icebreaker Nathanial B. Palmer. From Punta Arenas, Chile, they traveled to the opening of the Drake Passage, between South America and Antarctica and into the Southern Ocean. Click here to learn more about icebreaker.
Latest Journals
Katie Peña currently teaches at Zilker Elementary School in Austin, Texas. This is her 4th year of teaching at the school where she has taught both the 4th and 5th grades. A graduate from the University of Texas at Austin, with a Bachelor in Science in Applied Learning and Development, Katie has always known she wanted to be a teacher. As far back as 3rd grade in Coppell, Texas, her teacher, Mrs. Howard, whose picture she still has, inspired her by changing her attitude about school and challenging her to have fun while learning. Mrs. Howard had changed Katie’s life, and she knew that she wanted to do the same for other children. Since becoming a teacher, Katie has continued her quest to help every child find joy in learning. Her daily goals for teaching are very simple, teach to each child and have a blast while doing it.
Dr. Lawver currently focuses his research on paleogeographic reconstructions of Gondwana, the Polar Regions, East Asia, and the Western Pacific, the development of paleo-seaways and their impact on climate, and the aerogeophysics of the Arctic region. He is particularly interested in two of the remaining problems in the study of plate tectonics: understanding the timing and process of the opening of the Canada Basin of the Arctic region, and the impact of plate tectonics on long-term climate change. Lawver uses marine magnetic anomaly, heat flow, and aerogeophysical data, as well as computer graphics, to aid in understanding the break-up and evolution of the Polar Regions. He has acquired heat flow, marine magnetic, and seismic data during cruises to the Antarctic Peninsula and the Ross Sea region of Antarctica. Recent work with his colleague Marta Ghidella of the Instituto Antartico Argentino has led to a new understanding of the early break-up history of the Weddell Sea region of Antarctica. As one of the principal investigators of UTIG's PLATES project, Lawver uses the PLATES global databases as an investigative tool in carrying out his research.
Ian W.D. Dalziel is a Senior Research Scientist at the Institute for Geophysics, University of Texas in Austin. Ian has dedicated most of his career to understanding global tectonic processes and to mapping out the geography of ancient times on a dynamic Earth. His 35 years of field experience have been devoted to work in the British Caledonides, the Canadian Shield, the Andes, and Antarctica. Recently, working with colleagues from the U.K. and Australia, Ian has turned his attention to unraveling the complicated tectonic history of Scotland, his homeland. Ian was president of the International Division of Geological Society of America from 1996 to 1997, has served as delegate to the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research of International Union of Geological Sciences since 1987, and has served as the International Secretary of the American Geophysical Union since 1996.