ice

exploring, learning, teaching

We explore the world through both ART and SCIENCE. Together, they can be powerful.

Over the last 10 years, a team of scientists, engineers, and support staff have worked together to drill an ice core 3405m deep through the center of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet - the WAIS Divide Ice Core. We have made new observations and generated new ideas about climate history from this ice core and related studies.

Along the way, we have had an artist - Anna McKee - directly involved in expressing and interpreting the data and ideas through her paintings, prints, and installations. Anna's painting is the background for the contest cover page. Visual Art is not the only way to explore the data and ideas of WAIS. Paul Miller (aka DJ Spooky) is a National Geographic Emerging Explorer who integrates art, music and scientific data in multimedia compositions.

Thank you to all those who contributed to the WAIS Divide Art Contest.

art contest details

Please visit Art in Antarctica to view the exhibit

Learn more about the science here

Anna McKee, print inspired by ice-penetrating-radar data from WAIS Divide.

Learn more about Anna's WAIS art here and here

The observations from WAIS Divide range from colorful thin section imagery of ice through cross polarizing lenses (shown at left) to patterns of climate change exhibited in the oxygen isotopes shown below. In this art contest, you can use any of the imagery or data sets available to explore and interpret the stories of WAIS Divide.

WAIS Divide Project Members, Nature, 2013

For teachers! Explore the art-science connection with your class. Click here for a Teacher's Guide

art science lesson plan