PhD student Joana Baptista (CEG/IGOT-ULisboa) participated in the EGU General Assembly held in Vienna from April 14th to 19th. Thanks to funding support from the POLAR2E grant for young researchers to attend international conferences, she was able to engage in Cryosphere sessions and other initiatives organized by the Union throughout the week. During the session CR4.2 on Permafrost dynamics, interactions, feedbacks, disturbances, and GHGs across scales: perspectives from observation to modelling, she delivered an oral presentation titled "Cryogrid potential for modeling permafrost temperature in Maritime Antarctica (Barton Peninsula, King George Island)". Farzamian, M. et al. (2024) published a new study entitled "Advancing permafrost monitoring with Autonomous Electrical Resistivity Tomography (A-ERT): Low-cost instrumentation and open-source data processing tool" in Geophysical Research Letters. The publication is available at https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL105770.
Baptista, J. et al. (2024) published a new study entitled "Ground surface temperature regimes are controlled by the topography and snow cover in the ice-free areas of Maritime Antarctica" in Catena. The publication is available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2024.107947.
Successful Conclusion of COASTANTAR Expedition 2024: A Landmark Achievement for the PROPOLAR3/18/2024
At the conclusion of the COASTANTAR Expedition, the scientists aboard gathered for an initial assessment of the expedition's achievements, limitations, and challenges. While most of the proposed tasks of the 10 scientific projects were completed, technical and meteorological constraints led to a shorter duration on land and fewer locations visited than desired. However, these constraints are inherent to logistical management in Antarctica and require adaptability. The overarching consensus is that this model effectively supports an Antarctic campaign undertaken by PROPOLAR. At the conclusion of the expedition, the 12 participants in the mission gained a unique experience at sea and on land, and beyond scientific gains, this mission has laid the groundwork for a more logistically efficient PROPOLAR. During the 2023-2024 Antarctic Campaign, the THAWIMPACT project had researchers organised in teams, positioned in different sites of the Antarctic Peninsula and aboard of the COASTANTAR Expedition. These teams were primarily focused on two areas: the study of permafrost and the study of contaminants found in the ice-free areas of the Antarctic Peninsula. The team dedicated to studying permafrost spent one week on Deception Island conducting maintenance on the PERMANTAR observatories and the installed ERT system. They then moved to Hurd Peninsula, Livingston Island, where they performed the maintenance of the PERMANTAR observatories, made ERT profiles in sites of interest due to elevation and presence of geomorphological features and conducted DGPS surveys on a rock glacier and slopes with solifluction lobes. During the COASTANTAR Expedition, this team visited Antarctic Peninsula observatories to perform the maintenance on instruments, conduct ERT surveys and fly UAV equipped with a thermal camera, which provided valuable insights into ground surface temperatures. The team focused on studying contaminants initiated their campaign in the Hurd Peninsula, collecting water and soil samples along transects following altitudinal gradients, proximity to glacier bases, and snow patches. During the COASTANTAR Expedition, this team collected samples from the ice-free areas visited during the journey. The public presentation of the 1st Portuguese Scientific Expedition aboard a sailing vessel, organised by the Portuguese Polar Program (PROPOLAR) and the College of Polar Sciences and Extreme Environments of the University of Lisbon (POLAR2E/ULisboa), took place on January 26 at the TTC University of Lisbon auditorium. During the public session, Professor Gonçalo Vieira, the coordinator, presented the COASTANTAR Expedition. This expedition was developed under a low-impact logistical model, resulting in an innovative and efficient approach for PROPOLAR. Aimed at advancing scientific research in the remote coastal areas of the Antarctic Peninsula to better understand the impacts of climate change in this sensitive region. The expedition involved the participation of 11 scientists associated with projects covering various scientific disciplines, including biology, ecology, geography, atmosphere, risk assessment, architecture, and diplomacy. Additionally, a film director accompanied the expedition to create a documentary in which the scientific activities, team’s dynamic and life aboard will be shown. The COASTANTAR Expedition followed a transect along the Antarctic Peninsula, starting from King George Island and extending to the Palmer Archipelago, with visits to several areas of interest. Funding for this expedition was provided by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and the University of Lisbon. COASTANTAR 2024 Expedition website was launched! Visit the webpage at https://coastantar.wordpress.com/ to find out more about the mission, associated projects and team involved.
Prates, G. et al. (2023) published a new study entitled " Surface Displacement of Hurd Rock Glacier from 1956 to 2019 from Historical Aerial Frames and Satellite Imagery (Livingston Island, Antarctic Peninsula)" at the Remote Sensing. Available at https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15143685.
In the last couple of months, THAWIMPACT and PERCONTACT team has been working at Centro de Ciências e Tecnologias Nucleares do Técnico (C2TN) analysing soil samples collected in Deception Island, Antarctica. The main goal is to study the content of specific trace-elements and to acquire knowledge about their bioavailability. Deception Island is a unique environment within the South Shetland archipelago and due to its volcanic characteristics is mainly covered by pyroclastic deposits which are very porous and insulating. AT C2TN the Inductive Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) was used to chemically characterize permafrost soils, focusing on elements such as As, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn, aiming to understand whether Deception's soils are influenced by human or volcanic activity. COASTANTAR participants were reunited at a mountain retreat in Lagoa Comprida (Serra da Estrela) between the 24th and 26th of November to discuss the details of the COASTANTAR 2024 Expedition that will sail along the Western Coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. With presentations from each project involved, it was a good opportunity to enhance collaborations and gather participants in an informal environment, promoting social interactions. THAWIMPACT will participate in the expedition with one group focused on permafrost monitoring and another on soil and water contaminants. Hrbáček, F. et al. (2023) published a new study entitled " Variability of soil moisture on three sites in the Northern Antarctic Peninsula in 2022/23" at the Czech Polar Reports. Available at https://doi.org/10.5817/CPR2023-1-2
The participation of the THAWIMPACT at the COASTANTAR 2024 Expedition is being prepared. On November 11th the team had a training formation with sea survival equipment provided by FOR-MAR at the Professional Training Center for Fisheries and the Sea. This formation aims to capacitate the expedition participants in sea survival techniques and on the use of rescue equipment.
The XV Portuguese Conference of Polar Sciences, held at Instituto Superior Técnico on November 3, brought together the national scientific community to present recent advances in Arctic and Antarctic research ❄. During this edition, master and PhD students involved in the THAWIMPACT project presented their work developed in the Western region of the Antarctic Peninsula. Catarina Louro (IST-ULisboa) and Henrique Zilhão (IST-ULisboa) participated with an oral presentation focusing on the presence of mercury in the soils of King George and Deception Islands. Joana Baptista (IGOT-ULisboa) discussed Cryogrid's potential for modelling permafrost temperatures in Maritime Antarctica, using the Barton Peninsula on King George Island as an example. Vasco Miranda (IST-ULisboa) presented his research on vegetation mapping, spanning from the late 1980s to the present, using remote sensing and machine learning techniques in the Barton Peninsula on King George Island. At the XV Portuguese Conference of Polar Sciences held at Instituto Superior Técnico on November 3, 2023, Professor Gonçalo Vieira from CEG/IGOT-ULisboa unveiled the COASTANTAR 2024 Expedition. This exciting adventure will take place aboard a sailing boat that will travel along the Western Region of the Antarctic Peninsula, with several research projects. One of the participating teams is from THAWIMPACT, and their mission is to monitor permafrost temperature on the PERMANTAR observatories, collect soil and water samples for contaminant assessment, perform ERT surveys and conduct UAV surveys with thermal cameras. The kick-off meeting of THAWIMPACT - took place on the 31 May at IGOT. This 3-year FCT-funded project counts with the participation of CEG/IGOT, CQE/IST, DCT- University of Coimbra and IPMA. The project focus on better understanding the present state and future dynamics of the ice-free environments of the Western Antarctic Peninsula and counts with the collaboration of the University of Alcalá (Spain), Federal de Viçosa (Brazil), Mazaryk Brno (Czech Republic), Korean Polar Research Institute and Bulgarian Antarctic Institute.
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