By Stephanie Fox, Nov. 1, 2018 –

Antarctic ice sheets anchored on land show evidence of expanding even as atmospheric and oceanic warming accelerates, according to research conducted by an undergraduate scientist.

The data shows that the expansion of alpine glaciers, or tall glaciers found within bowl-shaped hollows on mountains, may have been occurring for nearly 3,000 years or possibly more, at the same time as ice sheets anchored in the ocean are melting.

After a 10-day journey from Maine to New Zealand to Antarctica, Laura Mattas—a senior studying Earth and climate science at the University of Maine—arrived in Garwood Valley, Antarctica, accompanied by her thesis adviser, geologist Brenda Hall, and with two other University of Maine students. With Hall’s guidance, Mattas set out to gain further insight on an ongoing debate as to whether Antarctic ice sheets are losing or gaining mass as global temperatures rise.