An expedition, led by
Prof. John Higgins, left for Antarctica on
November 5, 2015. The team of five scientists, three from the Princeton
Department of Geosciences, have a goal to collect the oldest ice ever
recorded on Earth. The other members of the Princeton team are current
Grad Student
Yuzhen Yan and Research Specialist
Preston C. Kemeny who
graduated from the undergraduate program last June. After the research
samples are determined, the team will then age the ice using novel
methods and measure its greenhouse gas concentrations, hoping to extend
the record of previous climate change. This work is critical for helping
climate scientists predict how man-made gas release may alter change in
the future. After leaving McMurdo Station, they will camp on the ice at Allan Hill, Antarctica, for 6-7 weeks.
Caption: The team setting up their tent at the U.S. McMurdo Research
Station. As a precaution, they are inspecting the tent for holes before
leaving for the cold and icy terrain of Antarctica. Video by Preston Kemeny '15