Under the Ice Sheets

A prototype is in the works that will make tracking climate change simpler. Called a "geoPebble," the device doesn't need cables and wires to operate, important to researchers in harsh environments. On a cloudy day in Antarctica, it's impossible to see the snow. With the sunlight diffused behind the clouds, there are no shadows and even tall drifts are invisible in the endless sea of white. Researchers here use bamboo poles to mark their path and to help orient themselves as they tread the ice sheet, looking for clues about how climate has changed over time. Sridhar Anandakrishnan, a Penn State geosciences professor, is part of a team of university researchers that travels to Antarctica and Greenland to study what the ice sheets can reveal about climate change. He's also using some of the latest information technologies to develop a new type of seismometer, a device that measures the way seismic waves move through the ice.