Ghost stories are everywhere. For centuries, people have heard about haunted houses and spirits with unfinished business. But here's one that isn't your average ghost story: the Gamburtsev "ghost mountains," a mountain range buried below 500 to 600 meters of ice in the East Antarctic ice sheet.
According to David Braaten, assistant director of the Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets (CReSIS) at KU, scientists have known of the existence these mountains since the fifties, but very little is actually known about them.
"There was a traverse made by soviet scientists," Braaten said. "Some seismic traces were taken and showed that there was something down there. We think they're the size of the Alps."
On December 8, Braaten will join a research group from Colombia University in the South Pole to uncover the story behind the Gamburtsev mountain range. The project is in conjunction with a program called GAMBIT (Gamburtsev Aerogeophysical Mapping of Bedrock and Ice Targets), which is partnered with CReSIS.
Braaten will analyze data collected by the Colombia researchers, who will fly over the Gamburtsev range and get information using a set of tools that measure for gravity, magnetics and ice surface elevation.
"They're going to fly over a grid using flight lines that we've laid out, and keep for as long as possible each day," Braaten said. "Our goal, when we're done, is to have some kind of preliminary map to show the public."
In the time leading up to his departure, Braaten has been working with CReSIS graduate student Mitch Oswald on formatting software the Colombia researchers will use to take data on the mountains.
"It's a tie-in with another project we did, a polar grid, with the University of Illinois," Braaten said. "We're brining that software with us into the field to make the process easier and more effective."
Oswald said the need for modification had to do with converting GPS data into information that could be easily read.
"We were having some issues getting the coordinates right when the data came back from our earlier project in Greenland," Oswald said. "Basically we just took the old code and modified it. I was really happy, since I spent at least two weeks trying to figure that code out."
Oswald said he was given the opportunity to go to Antarctica, but turned it down due to scheduling problems.
"If the opportunity presented itself again, and I had more notice to think about it, I'd like to go," Oswald said.
This will be Braaten's sixth time going to Antarctica. Based on his past experience, he said he knows the work will not be easy.
"Basically we'll sleep and eat and work," Braaten said. "It's great, but it gets tiring. There's not really any time to kick back, and there wouldn't be much to do if you could."
Braaten said the landscape of Antarctica, although stark, can also be stunning.
"It's incredibly beautiful on the coasts," Braaten said. "The field camps are pretty much just white and flat, but they can be beautiful, too. There are lots of interesting optical phenomena down there."
According to David Braaten, assistant director of the Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets (CReSIS) at KU, scientists have known of the existence these mountains since the fifties, but very little is actually known about them.
"There was a traverse made by soviet scientists," Braaten said. "Some seismic traces were taken and showed that there was something down there. We think they're the size of the Alps."
On December 8, Braaten will join a research group from Colombia University in the South Pole to uncover the story behind the Gamburtsev mountain range. The project is in conjunction with a program called GAMBIT (Gamburtsev Aerogeophysical Mapping of Bedrock and Ice Targets), which is partnered with CReSIS.
Braaten will analyze data collected by the Colombia researchers, who will fly over the Gamburtsev range and get information using a set of tools that measure for gravity, magnetics and ice surface elevation.
"They're going to fly over a grid using flight lines that we've laid out, and keep for as long as possible each day," Braaten said. "Our goal, when we're done, is to have some kind of preliminary map to show the public."
In the time leading up to his departure, Braaten has been working with CReSIS graduate student Mitch Oswald on formatting software the Colombia researchers will use to take data on the mountains.
"It's a tie-in with another project we did, a polar grid, with the University of Illinois," Braaten said. "We're brining that software with us into the field to make the process easier and more effective."
Oswald said the need for modification had to do with converting GPS data into information that could be easily read.
"We were having some issues getting the coordinates right when the data came back from our earlier project in Greenland," Oswald said. "Basically we just took the old code and modified it. I was really happy, since I spent at least two weeks trying to figure that code out."
Oswald said he was given the opportunity to go to Antarctica, but turned it down due to scheduling problems.
"If the opportunity presented itself again, and I had more notice to think about it, I'd like to go," Oswald said.
This will be Braaten's sixth time going to Antarctica. Based on his past experience, he said he knows the work will not be easy.
"Basically we'll sleep and eat and work," Braaten said. "It's great, but it gets tiring. There's not really any time to kick back, and there wouldn't be much to do if you could."
Braaten said the landscape of Antarctica, although stark, can also be stunning.
"It's incredibly beautiful on the coasts," Braaten said. "The field camps are pretty much just white and flat, but they can be beautiful, too. There are lots of interesting optical phenomena down there."
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