Antarctic research: a fleet of Alpina Sherpas supported the project

The trillion ton iceberg which recently broke off from the Larsen C ice shelf in Antarctica has got the world talking about the imminent risk it poses. Understanding the mass balance and evolution of Antarctic ice shelves is crucial for a better understanding of the Antarctic contributions to the global sea-level changes.

To undertake a detailed study of ice shelves and ice rises of coastal Dronning Maud Land (DML), an Indo-Norwegian project named MADICE (Mass balance, dynamics, and climate of the central Dronning Maud Land coast, East Antarctica) was initiated in 2016, and involves active collaboration between the scientists from National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research and the Norwegian Polar Institute.

During the 2016-17 field campaign, the glaciology team conducted a range of glaciological and geophysical surveys to examine ice shelf dynamics and ice rise evolution in the past, making a detailed kinematic GPS surveys over the two ice rises to precisely measure surface elevations. The surveys involved — among various tracked vehicles — four snowmobiles Alpina Sherpa. A second field campaign related to MADICE was undertaken during 2017-18 Antarctic season.

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Credits:
MADICE Project Team
National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research
Norsk Polarinstitutt