NSF East Asia and Pacific Summer Institute (EAPSI) for FY 2013 in China

Cox Thomas S, Brookings SD

Investigators

Abstract

This action funds Thomas S. Cox of South Dakota State University to conduct a research project in Geoscience during the summer of 2013 at Polar Research Institute of China in Shanghai, China. The project title is "Development of a Melter-based Analytical Technique for an East Antarctic Ice Core." The host scientist is Dr. Su Jiang. China is currently gearing up for a deep ice core project in East Antarctica (Dome A), as well as in the process of setting up an ice core analytical laboratory. The Polar Research Institute of China (PRIC) is the leading group involved in this deep ice core project, as well as charged with the construction of the ice core research laboratory. The Fellow's project builds on a 10-year collaborative relationship between the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at South Dakota State University (SDSU) and PRIC to utilize an analytical technique developed at SDSU that will likely contribute to the Dome A project. The Fellow is assisting in the installation and testing of the instrumentation required for the technique. The Fellow and researchers at PRIC are also analyzing a shallow core (less than 20 meters) drilled in the vicinity of the Dome A site to provide preliminary accumulation and chemical data for the deep ice core project. The primary data being generated by this project will be those of the detailed chemical analysis of a shallow ice core and the determination of average annual accumulation in the region (Dome A, East Antarctica). The results of this analysis will provide preliminary data for China's deep ice core project at Dome A. Broader impacts of an EAPSI fellowship include providing the Fellow a first-hand research experience outside the U.S.; an introduction to the science, science policy, and scientific infrastructure of the respective location; and an orientation to the society, culture and language. These activities meet the NSF goal to educate for international collaborations early in the career of its scientists, engineers, and educators, thus ensuring a globally aware U.S. scientific workforce. Furthermore, the data will be disseminated in scientific journal publications and meeting presentations. The chemical and accumulation data, along with metadata (e.g., instrumental technique used in measurement, average annual accumulation determination procedures, guidance for usage) will be submitted to and archived at national or international data centers such as the National Snow and Ice Data Center.