---
title: Research at the Frozen End of the Earth
date: 2023-02-02T05:30:00-05:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/research-at-the-frozen-end-of-the-earth"
section: Articles
---
# Research at the Frozen End of the Earth

*February 2, 2023* — by [Karen Shih ’09](/author/karen-shih)


> On Coast of Antarctica, Geology Team Investigates Ins and Outs of World’s Largest Ice Shelf

*20221206 100344 1920x1080 — The rift on the Ross Ice Shelf as seen from a plane. A trio of geology researchers braved wind, snow and wind chills in the single digits to collect valuable data in Antarctica.*

With snow swirling and visibility falling, University of Maryland geology researchers put their faith in their pilots and mountaineers as they flew over the Ross Ice Shelf, a massive, floating, frozen sheet off the edge of Antarctica.

The mission: To deploy and retrieve valuable scientific equipment without being swallowed by one of the many crevasses hidden beneath the snowdrifts, which can cause humans—and even planes—to vanish without a trace.

Through a combination of in-the-air technology, with radar scanning for cracks, and on-the-ice testing—a low-tech, long pole to tap for weak spots—the skilled support staff of McMurdo Station made sure Associate Professor Nick Schmerr, Assistant Professor Mong-Han Huang and doctoral student Kathrine Udell Lopez were able to safely collect data that couldn’t be acquired anywhere else on the planet.


*researchers with equipment and plane in Antarctica — Associate Professor Nick Schmerr, left, with pilot Troy McKerral, behind a GPS station with a solar panel, recording unit, and antenna. The bamboo pole helps the retrieval team find the equipment, since the ice shelf can move a meter per day.*


*Two people in big red coats standing in the snow — Assistant Professor Mong-Han Huang, left, with Ph.D. student Kathrine Udell Lopez in the famous "Big Red" coats out on the Ross Ice Shelf.*


*ice melting — Sea ice breaking up into the ocean.*



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*researcher poses next to McMurdo Station, Antarctica sign — Nick Schmerr at McMurdo Station, the largest U.S. research facility in Antarctica.*



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*aerial view of scenery in Antarctica — Aerial shot of McMurdo station, which is on the coast of the volcanic Ross Island.*



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*seals on the ice in Antarctica — Weddell seals on the sea ice. They are among the unique wildlife that can be seen around McMurdo station, including penguins, whales and sea birds.*




**Topics:** [Research](https://today.umd.edu/tags/research)


**Tags:** [Geological, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences](https://today.umd.edu/topic/geology), [Research](https://today.umd.edu/topic/research)


**Units:** [College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences](https://today.umd.edu/topic/college-computer-mathematical-and-natural-sciences)