The New York Times has an article on the dangerous but vital research being carried out on the Greenland ice sheet by scientists as they try to measure the dynamics of melting water flow, the better to improve their models. The conditions are harsh, the ice sheet is challenging - and people are putting their lives at stake to get the data we need.
The interactive article by Coral Davenport, Josh Haner, Larry Buchanan, and Derek Watkins has some beautiful imagery showing what happens as melt water collects, forms into rivers carving into the ice, disappearing down Moulins (sinkholes) to do... well they'd really like to know. Melting of the Greenland Ice Cap could raise sea level 20 feet on average around the world.
“We scientists love to sit at our computers and use climate models to make those predictions,” said Laurence C. Smith, head of the geography department at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the leader of the team that worked in Greenland this summer. “But to really know what’s happening, that kind of understanding can only come about through empirical measurements in the field.”
The article has some fascinating graphics and video. It gives a look into the world of a scientist at work in the field, coping with unexpected complications and improvising answers to get accurate data. The Times reporters add to the story by using a drone to capture images they couldn't get any other way.
That's a story in itself.
Go to take a look for the images, stay to read the article - it's that good. And they also call out a Republican Congress currently engaged in an anti-science witch hunt.
Leading the Republican charge on Capitol Hill is Representative Lamar Smith of Texas, the chairman of the House science committee, who has sought to cut $300 million from NASA’s budget for earth science and has started an inquiry into some 50 National Science Foundation grants. On Oct. 13, the committee subpoenaed scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, seeking more than six years of internal deliberations, including “all documents and communications” related to the agency’s measurement of climate change.
Any cuts could directly affect the work of Dr. Smith and his team, who are supported by a three-year, $778,000 grant from NASA, which must cover everything, including researchers’ salaries, flights, food, computers, scientific instruments and camping, safety and extreme cold-weather gear. Every scientist, Dr. Smith said, is keenly aware that the research costs “a tremendous amount of taxpayer money.”