Frozen Planet, BBCs new landmark natural history seven part TV series on the frozen wildernesses of the Arctic and Antarctic, has just finished showing in the UK. The last episode includes some spectacular location footage of the research project I’m involved in. This includes watching my boss, Alun Hubbard, abseil down a moulin into the depths of the Greenland Ice Sheet (see here).
The footage covers the drainage of a meltwater lake as it gushes down glacier incising channels into the ice before descending down a moulin (vertical shaft) through a kilometer of ice to the bed. My own involvement in the research project is to model the effects this water has on the flow of the overlying ice. Check out our new website to learn more:
http://www.aber.ac.uk/greenland/index.html
My contribution can be found in the Modelling section of this link:
http://www.aber.ac.uk/greenland/Russell.html
December 8, 2011 at 5:14 pm
Gee it is great to see the Glacier and of course Alun in all their glory! What magnificant photos. I am sorry to have missed the showing on television. I love the comparison picture demonstrating how it is melting away…Thanks for sharing…I found it very interesting, Sam.
December 8, 2011 at 7:31 pm
Dear Sam: I’m going to allocate myself sufficient time out of my retirement day tomorrow and sit down and educate myself all about your Glacier research.I’m going to learn about Moulins,drainage insising channels,the flow of overlying ice and Glaciology generally. If I study hard and Long enough maybe one day Sam you could call me your “assistant”….sort of Teacher / Student relationship….you could be Leonardo De Vinchie and I could be Michael Angelo…so to speak.But…probably…by the time I could be of any help to you you’ll be fifty-five and I’ll be ……..!!
Great Stuff Sam,hang in there my man,it’s just a matter of time till you hit the big time.Sincerely.DAD.