Triumphant Conclusion to the 2024-2025 ANET-POLENET Antarctic Field Season

Group of ten people standing in front of a red and white plane on a snowy landscape with mountains in the background. — Meet the team! The full field team assembles at ALE Union Glacier Camp, West Antarctica. From left to right: science team members Jim Normandeau, Franco Sobrero, and Erica Lucas, KBA mechanic Philip Pilon, KBA co-pilot 'first officer' Griffin Kelly, ANET-POLENET lead-PI Terry Wilson, KBA pilot Troy McKerral, science team member Nicolas Bayou, and mountaineer Mark Whetu.

Byrd Center's ANET-POLENET team, under the leadership of Professor Emeritus Terry Wilson (Earth Sciences) began its field season in November 2024 in West Antarctica, operating from Union Glacier Camp, managed by Antarctic Logistics & Expeditions (ALE).

A group of seven people posing in front of the monument under a clear sky. — In keeping with tradition, the team visits the memorial to Ferdinand Magellan and 'rubs the toe' to ensure safe passage from Punta Arenas to Antarctica. Pictured above from left to right: Science team members Franco Sobrero, Terry Wilson, Erica Lucas, Jim Normandeau, Mark Whetu (mountaineer), and Nicolas Bayou assemble in front of the Ferdinand Magellan statue before departing for Antarctica.

The ANET-POLENET team's objective was to make the GNSS and seismic sites fully operational and to retrieve the seismic data for analysis.

Three individuals inspecting scientific equipment on a snowy mountain. — From left to right: Field team members Franco Sobrero, Mark Whetu, and Nicolas Bayou wrestle with an ice-covered GNSS/GPS site at Lepley Nunatak (LPLY).

Equipment set up on a snowy mountain landscape under a clear sky. — At site Miller Crag (MCRG) a broken GNSS/GPS enclosure and damaged wind turbine will need to be repaired during the future maintenance visit.

Researchers work in a deep snow pit equipped with scientific tools in Antarctica. — KBA mechanic Phil Polin and science team member Erica Lucas retrieve precious data from the Upper Thwaites seismic site (UPTW). Photo credit: Franco Sobrero.

In Early January 2025, the team completes their field season work. A final text from lead-PI Terry Wilson reads:

"After 5 weeks at Union Glacier, we completed our site servicing for the season only 2 days before our scheduled departure. The team turned to the big task at the end of the field season - packing up all the equipment for shipping off the ice, first to Punta Arenas and then onward to the U.S."

A map showing various GPS satellite ground stations across Antarctica, marked with red stars and labeled with unique station codes. The map also includes a scale for reference and a legend explaining the symbols used for the GPS sites elated to specific scientific activity. — The above map shows site visits completed during the ANET-POLENET 2024-2025 field season. Dates indicate the day of the site visit. A special thanks to ALE (Antarctic Logistics & Expeditions), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the United States Antarctic Program (USAP) for making this field season possible.

For a deeper exploration of engaging content—including captivating images and immersive field videos—that encapsulates the experience of fieldwork in Antarctica, please visit the 2024-2025 ANET-POLENET Field Season Progress page.

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