Kenichi Matsuoka's web site

A NSF-supported glaciology project is looking for two motivated undergraduates for science assistants in Antarctic field work between December 2006 and February 2007. Graduate stududents may also be considered.

Due date: June 12 ((Mon)

Project Summary
Study Area
Overview of the Field Work
Job Descriptions
Application Procedure
Further Readings

These positions are open for current undergraduate students from any university in the world, for people who plan to go to a graduate school in the near future, and for current graduate students. If you graduated from your 4-year college say June 2005, dont' worry about your eligibility. I welcome your application. (Kenny noted, May 23).

Project Summary

For a bigger picture of Matsuoka's projects in West Antarctica, check this page out.

The alignment of crystals in ice, called crystal-orientation fabrics (fabrics), has an important effect on ice deformation. As ice deforms, anisotropic fabrics are produced, which, in turn, influence further deformation. Consequently, measurements of fabric variations can help reveal the deformation history of the ice and indicate how the ice will deform in the future. Ice cores provide opportunities to determine a vertical fabric profile, but horizontal variations of fabrics remain unknown. Remote sensing with ice-penetrating radar is the only way to do that over large areas. We will investigate fabrics with ground-based radar measurements near the Ross/Amundsen Sea ice-flow divide where a deep ice core will be drilled. When fabric is not rotationally symmetric about a vertical axis, vertically-propagating radio waves are affected by bulk birefringence related to axis orientation of the fabric. Our previous research shows that well-established polarimetric methods can detect degree of horizontal anisotropy of fabrics and their orientation, even when they are nearly vertical-symmetric fabrics (Matsuoka et al., 2003).

We conducted successful field work in the 2005-6 field season. Antarctic Sun, NSF-sponsered weekly newspaper most popular in the continent, reported the WAISCORE project including our project. Student participants, first comers on ice, wrote up field note on the web about their stories. Brief summary of our field work can also be found at end-of-season report. In the second season between December 2006 and February 2007, we will use micro-wave radar to examine top several-hundred-meter ice. Together with lower-frequency radar measurements last season, radar data allow us to peer into the ice at depths from 50 m down to about 2000 m below the surface, corresponding back to 13,000 ~ 24,000 years BP depending on sites. In conjunction with polarimetric radar measurements at 19 sites, we will make ice strain measurements using global positioning system (GPS), and radar profiling connecting all the sites for polarimetric radar measurements. We installed markers last season and measured its position accurately using geodetic-scale GPS receivers. Re-occupation of these markers this season together with depth variation of radar-detected isochrones will enable us to derive modern strain rate configuration. We will simulate fabrics for shallow depths (~1,000 m) with these strain data. Using the simulated fabrics as a reference, we will examine mismatches between simulated and measured fabric azimuths and strengths, and their horizontal variation to infer possible divide migration in the past. In conjunction with ice deformation history, our first mapping of ice fabrics will contribute to modeling ice flow near the future ice core site. Furthermore, this could lead to new designs of future polarimetric radio-wave sensors for ice on the Earth and Mars.

The project will train a graduate student and provide research experiences for two undergraduate students both in field and laboratory. The project will contribute to ongoing WAISCORE efforts and to better evaluation of WAIS impact on global sea level rise, and support an international collaboration between US and Japan (we borrow the radar system from National Institute of Polar Research in Tokyo).

Primary Collaborators

Study Area

West Antarctica inland divide. Contour lines show ice-sheet elevation with 50 m intervals. Background color scale represents bed elevation compiled by BEDMAP project (Lythe et al., 2001) and SOAR (Morse et al., 2000). U.S. Antarctic Program will drill an ice core at the WAIS divide camp. Polarimetric radar measurements and strain measurements are done at 19 sites shown with open circles. Inset map show the location of this study area together with McMurdo Station, the US hub station in the Antarctica.

Overview of the Field Work

We will fly into McMurdo Station from Christchurch, New Zealand. After science and logistics preparation in McMurdo for about 2~3 weeks in early December, a field team of five personnel will fly in the divide camp. It takes about two weeks to do further preparation and conduct measurements from the camp day-trip basis. Then, we will establish remote camps and traverse with skidoos (see map above). The photo at the top of this page were taken at a remote camp that we established last season.

Job Descriptions

We are looking for motivated candidates who would like to assist in glaciological research in Antarctica. Undergraduate-level knowledge in a field of earth science, physics, or engineering is essential. Undergraduates with majors in science education are also encouraged to apply. Strong scientific interests as well as experience in outdoor activities are required. Undergraduates are preferred, but motivated graduate students with higher qualifications will also be considered. Students can earn credits for ESS499 (Undergraduate Research) through this field work. A stipend will be provided during the deployment ($300 per week or more, depending on funding availability). We will fly into McMurdo Station from Christchurch, New Zealand, on about December 3rd, 2006, and head back north from McMurdo on about February 6th, 2007(these dates are subject to change depending on flight schedules and weather).

This is a job announcement for Antarctic deployment posted in 1914 by Ernest Shackleton. Annotation is given to adjust our present activities. Please be aware that any activities in Antarctica are inherently dangerous, although safety is paramount; it has not changed since the early days of Antarctic exploration in the 19th and 20th centuries. If you would like to learn more about Antarctic field work, then have a look at the Antarctic Field Manual of the US Antarctic Programs (pdf, 4.5MB). The two successful candidates to be deployed down to Antarctica will undergo a physical and dental qualification. The project will reimburse the expense of the physical and dental exams, but won't cover the expenses for any treatment arising from the qualification procedure (e.g., we can't pay to have your wisdom teeth removed).

Application Procedure

E-mail your CV, a cover letter, and unofficial transcripts to Prof. Matsuoka by June 12. In the cover letter, please briefly describe your interest in the project, how this work contributes your own studies, relevant field experience you have, contact information of at least one reference, and anything else you feel that we should know. No recommendation letter is required at the time of the application. Short-listing and interviews will start June 13. In-person interviews are strongly preferred. However, phone interviews may also be acceptable if you will be out of town. If you will be out of town in the summer, please note the dates and give contact information in your cover letter. If you have questions, please feel free to contact us at matsuoka@ess.washington.edu General information on glaciology research activities in the Department of Earth and Space Sciences is available, click here.

Evolution of the central West Antarctic Ice Sheet using ice-penetrating radar (NSF-funded UW/ESS-based projects)

Undergraduate assistantships: two positions are now open