West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide Ice Core Project

The U.S research community is conducting a deep ice coring project in West Antarctica for studies of climate, ice sheet history and cryobiology. This project is collecting a deep ice core from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) ice flow divide and integrating approximately 20 separate but synergistic projects to analyze the ice and interpret the records. Learn more about WAIS Divide.

Important Information for Scientists Investigators from the United States need to submit a proposal to the National Science Foundation (NSF) to obtain ice samples or access the borehole. If you are planning on submitting a proposal to NSF, you must contact the WAIS Divide Science Coordination Office (SCO) before submitting your proposal and obtain a letter from the SCO stating that your proposal is consistent with the WAIS Divide operation plan. In order to initiate this process, investigators must submit a Sample Request Form to the SCO. Sample requests may take up to 6 weeks to process depending on the complexity of the request and other workloads. If the SCO approves your Sample Request, the SCO will provide you with a Letter of Support stating that your proposal is consistent with the WAIS Divide operation plan. ** This Letter of Support needs to be submitted with your NSF proposal. ** For more information, please read this.

Latest News & Information

Registration is Now Open for the 2010 Science Meeting The 2010 WAIS Divide ice core project science meeting will be held on September 30 and October 1 at the Scripps Seaside Forum in La Jolla, California. The meeting will have activities for all of both days and the evening of the 30th. More...

WAIS Divide on Front Page of Wall Street Journal The WAIS Divide Ice Core Project is a front page story of the May 29, 2010 edition of the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). There is also an accompanying WSJ video. More...

April 2010 Quarterly Update The April 2010 Quarterly Update from the Science Coordination Office is now available. More...

Nature News Article Published About WAIS Divide Icy hunt for old air - Antarctic drilling project aims for a definitive record of climate. Read...