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About iSTAR

iSTAR is a NERC research programme, aimed at investigating the stability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS), with a particular focus on the Amundsen Sea sector and Pine Island Glacier. These are some of the areas of Antarctica that have seen the greatest rates of ice loss over the last decades. The goal of the programme is to improve our understanding of the processes affecting ice sheet stability, so we can better predict their future behaviour and impact on sea level rise.

iSTAR is adopting a two-pronged approach to these problems, looking at the ocean forcing on WAIS and the ice sheet response to this forcing. Within the ocean forcing stream of investigation, there are two projects, one focusing on the processes bringing warm water onto the continental shelves and towards the ice shelves and one focusing on the processes occurring beneath the ice shelves. Two projects will also investigate the response of the ice shelves, one focusing on the response of ice shelves to movement of the grounding line, and one looking at the overall impact of changes in the Amundsen Sea ice mass balance on global sea levels.

Three of these four projects have currently been funded, to start in the spring of 2013. Before then, work is underway to deploy the tractor trains that will be used for the ice sheet response investigations onto Pine Island Glacier by sea from Abbott Ice Shelf in Jan.-Feb. 2012. The oceanographic moorings in support of the ocean forcing projects will be deployed in Feb.-Mar. 2012.

Timetable for ocean forcing component:

• Nov. 2010-Jan. 2011: Preliminary cruise on RVIB Nathaniel B. Palmer, deploying two moorings.
• Nov. 2011: Equipment sent south for 2012 cruise.
• Jan.-Mar. 2012: Cruise on RV Araon to deploy further nine moorings in the Amundsen Sea.
• Antarctic Summer 2013-14: Science cruise on RRS James Clark Ross, retrieving moorings and performing further measurements.

Timetable for ice sheet response component:

• Nov. 2011: Equipment sent south for 2012 field season.
• Dec. 2011: Tractors “Polar 1″ and “Polar 2″ tested during the annual resupply of Halley Station.
• Feb. 2011: Tractor train to be landed on Abbot Ice Shelf and driven to the main depot on Pine Island Glacier, where it will be parked over the next two winters.
• Antarctic Summer 2013-14: First season of traverse.
• Antarctic Summer 2014-15: Second season of traverse.

Information for applicants

The information that was previously on this page and was mainly relevant to applicants has now been moved to a separate page.