NZ team first to use planes to measure sea ice
A New Zealand research team has achieved a major milestone – being the first in the world to measure the thickness of Antarctic sea ice from the air.
The team, led by University of Canterbury glaciologist Wolfgang Rack, has just published its findings, after using a modified plane towing special electromagnetic equipment to measure an 800-kilometre stretch of ice in the Ross Sea.
Rack said Antarctic sea ice would usually be around a metre thick, but in the region surveyed by the team, wind events had greatly increased the thickness.
‘‘On average, the ice was two metres thick, but at its thickest point, it was 16 metres thick.’’
He said they did not know how thick the ice was when starting out, and it was important to have baseline data.
‘‘If we want to know if ice is thinning, we need to measure its initial thickness in the first place.’’
Sea ice was important because it reflected sunlight, insulated the warm ocean from the cold Antarctic atmosphere, and its formation controlled global ocean circulation, Rack said.
‘‘How Antarctic sea ice responds to a warming planet is a key question in climate science, and data sets are limited, this research will help place future change in context.’’
Antarctica New Zealand chief executive Sarah Williamson said this type of study was extremely important.
‘‘Sea ice is a key part of the Antarctic environment, but there is still so much we don’t know of how and where it forms.
‘‘The more we learn about sea ice the better we understand the interactions between climate, ocean circulation and ecosystems in Antarctica.’’
The team is planning another trip to Antarctica next November, to carry out the same measurements across a larger region.