2025 Geodynamics Program

THURSDAYS: 1:30 – 2:30 P.M.
CLARK LAB 507, QUISSETT CAMPUS, WHOI

(Unless otherwise noted on speaker schedule)

Icebergs, Antarctica, and the Southern Ocean: the Flywheel of the Global Climate System

The Southern Ocean is the “hub” of the global ocean, connecting the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans. It flows, nearly uninterrupted, around the Antarctic continent, home to the world’s most massive ice sheet that contains 90 percent of Earth's total ice volume and 70 percent of its fresh water. The Southern Ocean is dominated by the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, of the fastest currents in the world, and drives global circulation and exchange of salt, nutrients, and oxygen, among other things. All of the interacting physical, chemical, and biological processes within this system are central to a healthy global ocean and Earth System; however, it is also rapidly changing as climate change progresses.

The main goals of this Geodynamics Seminar Series will be to provide insights into the ways in which the Southern Ocean modulates the global climate system, and how we study those. These include: Antarctic system science; sea level rise, paleoclimate knowledge and future projections; polar marine biology; polar exploration and technology development; biophysical interactions in the Southern Ocean; glaciology and the study of ice sheet behaviors; icebergs and lower-latitude connections; and human/infrastructure hazards in a rapidly changing climate.

The Study Tour to accompany this year’s Geodynamics Seminar Series will be to the Patagonia ice fields and fjords, the last remnants of the former Southern Hemisphere ice sheet outside of Antarctica. The tour will start and end in Chile and visit the ice fields, glaciers and fjords. We plan for the Study Tour to feature expeditionary science, including data collection at a variety of locations throughout the trip, to enable participants to experience polar work and collect data that could potentially catalyze future studies.

Sarah Das 
Geodynamics Program Director

Meg Gresh
Geodynamics Program Coordinator