A research team from Stony Brook University has begun a new expedition to Antarctica, aiming to study the effects of global change. This trip is the third and final field campaign supported by a National Science Foundation grant, which is nearing its end.
The group left on November 9 and first arrived at McMurdo Station in New Zealand, an American Antarctic research facility located on Ross Island. They plan to reach the South Pole around November 20.
Weisen Shen, associate professor in the Department of Geosciences and principal investigator for the project, expressed hope that this mission will not be the last for Stony Brook in Antarctica. “The long-term goal for us is not to do just seasonal projects,” said Shen, “but that sometime in the near future Stony Brook can maintain its own geophysical observatory long-term infrastructure.”
Shen’s team focuses on studying the Antarctic ice sheet and underlying geology near the South Pole. The research aims to improve predictions about how these ice sheets might behave in response to climate change. Over the past two years, Shen has led expeditions spending two months each at the South Pole. With funding ending, this year’s journey will proceed without him.
“I’m the only PI, and I’ve been there for two full months each of the past two years,” he said. “I also have a three-year-old and a six-year-old, so this year I’m going to stay in town for the holiday season. Or else…”
Three graduate students from Stony Brook’s Department of Geosciences are now carrying out much of this work. Shen noted that his research has also included similar projects in Kenya’s Turkana Basin.
“Stony Brook’s footprint is global,” said Shen. “This technology is similar. It doesn’t matter whether you’re in a desert or at the South Pole. We do have to design them slightly differently because of power availability. For example, in the South Pole, you have half-a-year of no sun.”
Antarctic fieldwork requires traveling long distances over featureless terrain by vehicle guided by GPS before placing sensors and returning along their tracks.
“It’s like an ice desert that just keeps going,” Shen said. “It’s similar to being on a ship because you’re just driving and you don’t know where you’re going unless you’re looking at the GPS. Then you stop, put these sensors down, and turn around and follow your tracks all the way back.”
Shen emphasized Stony Brook's strengths in polar science research but stated that additional resources would be needed if they are to establish permanent facilities there.
“My goal is to facilitate some long-term infrastructure, but we’ll need a lot of resources to do that,” he said. “I want to help Stony Brook establish solid ground as a leader in polar science. I hope to have a chance to build that in the next three to five years. We have the connections and we have access to different parts of Antarctica. What we need now is resources to start.”
Although Antarctica is distant from Long Island, Shen pointed out that changes there could directly impact local communities through sea level rise: “This ice sheet is 2.5 kilometers thick, sitting on the continent, and we know it is changing fast,” he said. “But how fast? The sea level will rise and that will affect us here. Stony Brook Harbor, Port Jefferson Harbor, Northport Harbor….will they still be safe in the next 100 years? We want to monitor that piece of ice sheet because it will affect our local community.”
Shen recalled his introduction into Antarctic research came during his time at Washington University in St Louis when he was persuaded away from industry work by promises of Antarctic fieldwork rather than higher pay.
He uses similar stories when recruiting graduate students such as Hanxio Wu: “I told her, ‘If you join us, we’ll put you in the field in Antarctica,’” said Shen.
Wu and fellow assistant Thomas Reilly have both worked with Shen conducting field studies both at Earth’s poles as well as Kenya's deserts.
“At the South Pole," Reilly explained about their process coordinating with USAP (the United States Antarctic Program), "we submit our line...they look at satellite imagery...and if not [dangerous], we just drive straight...until work done." He compared this experience with their operations across Africa's Turkana Basin involving rapid sensor placement under more complex conditions.
First-year doctoral student Andrew Groh joins them this season focusing on developing improved instruments for use under polar conditions.
According to Shen: "Stony Brook is known for having research stations outside of United States...in Turkana...in Madagascar...I think it’s just a matter of deciding if we want this [permanent presence]...at [the] place most sensitive" regarding global change impacts.
Ultimately addressing broader questions about climate adaptation versus denialism—"We know that problem will not go away," said Shen—he urged continued investment both for advancing science education and supporting infrastructure vital for coastal communities’ future resilience against rising seas.