{"id":209348,"date":"2019-01-19T11:35:38","date_gmt":"2019-01-19T16:35:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/?p=209348"},"modified":"2019-10-24T15:42:05","modified_gmt":"2019-10-24T19:42:05","slug":"next-stop-antarctica","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/2019\/01\/19\/next-stop-antarctica\/","title":{"rendered":"Next Stop Antarctica"},"content":{"rendered":"

As a pioneering polar scientist in the field of internationally coordinated Antarctic research, Earth and Environmental Studies Professor Sandra Passchier has completed five expeditions to Antarctica. On January 23, she will set sail from Punta Arenas, Chile, on drillship JOIDES Resolution<\/em> on her sixth Antarctic expedition and her third with the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP).<\/p>\n

Passchier, along with fellow members of IODP Expedition 379\u2019s international team of scientists and crew, will make history by drilling for sedimentary records in the Amundsen Sea Embayment of Antarctica in order to reconstruct full cycles of ice growth and melt over hundreds of thousands of years \u2013 and predict climate change. \u201cNo ship has ever drilled deep into the seabed in this area,\u201d says Passchier. \u201cHence, we know very little about its history.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Passchier, the Amundsen Sea is the focal point of ice discharge from West Antarctica into the ocean. \u201cSince 2012 an area of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet the size of California has been losing ice mass so rapidly that scientists are questioning whether a full or partial collapse is imminent,\u201d she says. \u201cThe long drillcores that we will collect are expected to show us when \u2013 and under what conditions \u2013 the West Antarctic Ice Sheet last experienced a full or partial collapse.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the IODP is funded by the National Science Foundation and its international partners, Passchier\u2019s participation in the expedition is funded through a subcontract with the IODP\u2019s U.S. Science Support Program at Columbia University. For two months \u2013 from January 23 to March 20 \u2013 she will be living on the drillship, where she says she will have \u201cno opportunity to get off.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 470-foot drillship sleeps two people per cabin, with one person on the night shift and one on the day shift, so that the scientists technically have the small cabins to themselves when off shift. The ship is outfitted with a pantry, dining room, movie room and a gym. \u201cTry running on a treadmill when the floor is going up and down and rocking sideways as the ship moves around in potentially stormy seas dodging icebergs and floes,\u201d Passchier says.<\/p>\n

She is eager to work with top scientists from the United States and other countries, including Germany, the United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden, Japan, China, India, France and New Zealand who share her interests. \u201cIt\u2019s a privilege to be able to focus on science 12 hours a day,\u201d she notes. \u201cThis is an enormous opportunity for faculty professional development that will also indirectly benefit Montclair State students. I\u2019m looking forward to taking this experience into the classroom and to bring back samples for student research projects.\u201d<\/p>\n

Passchier also relishes the exploratory nature of Expedition 379. \u201cWe won\u2019t know exactly what we\u2019ll find in advance because this is the first ever deep-sea drilling in the Amundsen Sea \u2013 so we may discover buried secrets we haven\u2019t anticipated,\u201d she explains. \u201cFor example, we know very little about the geology of West Antarctica because it\u2019s covered in a thick sheet of ice. We may recover rocks eroded by glaciers and transported by icebergs offshore that can tell us something about the land buried beneath the ice.\u201d<\/p>\n

While cell phones won\u2019t work on board the JOIDES Resolution<\/em>, Passchier intends to access the internet from lab workstations, where she will be blogging and tweeting as time and limited bandwidth at some drill sites will permit. Follow her journey of discovery on msuinantarctica.blogspot.com<\/a> or @earthmontclair#Exp379.<\/p>\n

Passchier is among the transdisciplinary Ph.D in Environmental Management program faculty.\u00a0 World-class Earth and Environmental Studies, Biology, Mathematical Sciences, Nutrition and Food Studies, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Computer Science and Marketing professors prepare environmental professionals to assume leadership roles in solving society\u2019s most pressing environmental problems.\u00a0 <\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

To learn more about this trailblazing program \u2013 or to apply \u2013 contact Program Director Mark Chopping at <\/em>chopping@montclair.edu<\/em><\/a> or visit <\/em>https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/environmental-management-phd\/information-for-prospective-students\/<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0 The application deadline for students seeking a Fall 2019 start date is March 15.<\/em><\/p>\n

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