Seismic image showing sediment layers on the ocean floor beneath McMurdo Sound
Data: Jo Whittaker,
Geoscientist, University of Sydney
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I am gathering Antarctic texts to animate.
Last week I recorded the voice of Jo Whittaker describing some of her most memorable moments in the ice.
Jo has been looking at changes on the ocean floor beneath McMurdo Sound, on the Ross Ice Shelf, producing and analysing images that contribute to our knowledge of climate change.
Her voice and her images are texts to which we can respond, through moving and drawing, to animate her point of view.
This image is one of several that show how sediment has been accumulating in layers.
Layers are composed of sludge containing millions of diatoms that have died and sunk to the bottom of the ocean over millions of years.
Under compression over time, this sludge becomes crude oil.
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Words:
bathymetry: depth measuring
seismic: data acquired by reflecting sound from underground strata
reflection profiles: images reflecting sound waves moving through and bouncing back from different layers of sediment