In summer 2024, scientists from the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics and partner universities set sail to conduct the first ever underwater exploration of three of Greenland’s glaciers. The international research team aboard the vessel includes 24 researchers, engineers and students from UT Jackson School of Geosciences, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, University of Florida, Oregon State University, Rutgers University, Tufts University, and Aarhus University, Denmark. To get as much science as possible out of this unprecedented mission, the expedition team covers a varied portfolio of specializations including experts in sedimentology, glaciology, oceanography, marine geophysics and computational modeling.

Expedition TERMINUS General Information

Location: West Greenland (Live location)
Dates: July 30 – August 22, 2024
Chief Scientist: Ginny Catania

Expedition Summary and Scientific Objectives

Overall mass loss of the Greenland Ice Sheet is increasing over time, but the specific outlet glaciers that contribute to this mass loss exhibit heterogeneous response to climate change. Some glaciers are not retreating, while neighboring glaciers are. In addition, recent observations in Alaska suggest that sedimentation at outlet glacier termini might build topography at rates of several meters per year, exceeding the topographic change associated with rebound-induced uplift, which is thought to be important to constrain future mass loss of the ice sheets. Thus, sedimentation at grounding lines of outlet glaciers may be an important process that builds topography possibly contributing to the diverse response of glaciers to climate change and may buffer some amount of sea level rise from ice sheets.

This project aims to quantify the rates of processes contributing to sediment build-up at the termini of outlet glaciers (producing moraines). Our observations will:

• determine the processes contributing to sediment mass-balance within moraines at active outlet glacier termini
• determine rates of sedimentation for each process from in situ field observations
• link processes to drivers (ice sheet, climate, geometric etc)

Our observations will form the basis for parameterizations of ice sheet sedimentation that, when coupled to ice sheet models provide a more realistic depiction of glacier variability over time.

Project Methods

Our objectives will be accomplished with first-of-their-kind observations and sampling at active terminal moraines in Greenland using a Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV), Nereid Under Ice (NUI). NUI can image the sea floor with optical cameras and multibeam (side- and bottom-looking) and we are outfitting it with ADCP, chirp, and additional sensors. An added advantage to NUI is that it has a sampling arm for grab samples and push cores .

We will also be conducting extensive measurements from the ship, R/V Celtic Explorer. This includes fjord surveys with chirp and marine seismic, sediment cores, oceanographic and drone surveys. Fieldwork occurs in August 2024 with a target of three glaciers in Central West Greenland.

Science Party

Ginny Catania
Chief Scientist
University of Texas Institute for Geophysics
gcatania@ig.utexas.edu

Molly Curran
NUI Expedition Leader
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Mike Jakuba
NUI Technical Lead
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

John Jaeger
Lead scientist: sedimentology
University of Florida

Sean Gulick
Lead scientist: marine geology and geophysics
University of Texas Institute for Geophysics

Becca Jackson
Lead scientist: oceanography
Tufts University

Offshore Team

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Media Contact

Constantino Panagopulos
Communication Coordinator
University of Texas Institute for Geophysics
costa@ig.utexas.edu
+1 512 574 7376