Montana State researcher featured in New York Times science story

BOZEMAN - A Montana State University assistant research professor of civil engineering was featured in a recent New York Times article regarding his work using airborne radar to study one of the largest glaciers in Antarctica. Christopher Pierce also holds a Ph.D. from MSU's Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering that he earned in 2024.

The Jan. 27 New York Times article, "Scanning Ice for Monster Cracks, on This World and Another," highlights the work of Pierce and three colleagues from the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics on the fast-shrinking Thwaites Glacier in a remote corner of West Antarctica. Pierce and his team are using radar mounted to a helicopter to peer deep into the ice, which has been damaged from "sliding so quickly out to sea," according to the newspaper. The radar could shed light on how the glacier is breaking apart as it moves, and how it's contributing to rising global sea levels.

Understanding damaged ice on Thwaites' floating ice tongue could also help scientists understand frozen terrain of Jupiter's moon, Europa. A region called Thera Macula on Europa features fractures in the thick icy shell overlying a liquid ocean. Thera Macula is often referred to as "chaos terrain" which resembles the fractured ice of Thwaites Glacier.

"If you look at satellite imagery of the western shelf of Thwaites, it's pretty much the same," Pierce told reporter Raymond Zhong of The New York Times.

The work in the Antarctic, Pierce told the newspaper, may also provide insight as to whether Europa is capable of supporting life. Europa's chaos terrains are of scientific interest because they might play a role in making the ocean below the moon's thick ice habitable. The crevasses, in theory, could be a conduit for oxygen-bearing compounds between the moon's surface and the ocean. If those oxidants were to mix with chemicals in the ocean below, reports The New York Times, it could possibly produce conditions needed to support life.

On Feb. 10, Pierce participated in a Pocket Lab live video stream from the Antarctic for middle and high school students. The archived video is available to view online. Free registration is required to view the video. Pierce's segment begins around the 61-minute mark. Pierce and his research were also featured Feb. 12 on PBS News Hour. His segment begins at the 2:20 mark.