Patagonian Icefield Reasearch Program 2023
Grey Glacier, Torres del Paine National Park, Chile
PIRP 2023 was the third expedition and the first to adopt English as its official language and invite international students. All these changes transformed it into an even more fascinating experience, enriched by a wide diversity of research fields, cultures, and personalities that somehow coalesced in a team with a fun and stimulating dynamics.
The campsite was located on the west side of Grey Glacier, an area reserved for conservation and research; no tourists were allowed. This gave us the privilege of enjoying the wilderness of Patagonia in solitude and peace, which was broken only by the work and laughs of our expedition mates or an iceberg falling off the glacier front.
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Dates: November 11 to 26, 2023
Duration: 16 days
Fieldwork: 12 days
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The expedition was led by Natalia Martinez and Camilo Rada. And counted with an amazing group of faculty composed of Dr. Brianna Rick (Alaska Climate Adaptation Science Center), Dr. Cristina San Martín (Universidad Nacional de Tierra del Fuego AeIAS), Dr. Seth Saltiel (University of Nevada, Reno), Dr. Sergio Leon-Rios (Universidad de Chile) and the locals Dr. Rodrigo Soteres and Dr. Gino Casassa (Universidad de Magallanes).
The staff that managed the logistics and mountaineering curriculum was composed of Natalia Martinez, Katty Meyer (local guide), and Diego Gamonal, a former PIRP 2022 student.
This outstanding team was completed with the participation of Gastón Peralta, a journalist and cameraman at Universidad de Magallanes who crafted an excellent series of five 25-minute chapters about this expedition, and Donald Guichapani, a Park Ranger at Torres del Paine National Park who generously shared all his local knowledge and helped us in all possible ways.
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This twelve-strong team was there to support ten extraordinary students coming from all around the world.
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Amilcar Juarez, an Argentinean Ph.D. student at Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Argentina. Working on setting up GNSS receivers for oceanic loading studies and to compute accurate GNSS solutions for all the projects that required precise geolocation.
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Anouk Volery, a Swiss graduated Ms.C. student at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland. Working on studying the influence of surface albedo and temperature on ice melting rates.
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Catalina Fernández García, a Chilean Ms.C. student at Universidad de Magallanes. Working on building a tree ring chronology on the Nothofagus forest around Grey Glacier.
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Danielle Grau, an American Ph.D. student at the Georgia Institute of Technology, USA. Working on identifying and characterizing calving events from underwater sound recodings.
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Fernando Fritz, a Chilean Ms.C. student at Universidad de Magallanes. Working on identifying and characterizing microplastic content on glacial sediments and water.
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Gonzalo Bertolotto, a Chilean Ms.C. student at Universidad de Magallanes. Working on surface elevation change detection using UAV photogrammetry.
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Ivan Rojas, a Colombian Ph.D. student at Universidad Austral de Chile. Working glacial change characterization combining Ground Penetrating Radar and UAV photogrammetry.
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Kiera Tran, a Vietnamese Ph.D. student at the Georgia Institute of Technology, USA. Working glacial change characterization combining Ground Penetrating Radar and UAV photogrammetry.
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Paul Sandoval, a Chilean Ms.C. student at Universidad Austral de Chile. Working on supraglacial stream dynamics and discharge variability of a proglacial river.
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Victoria Benson, an American Ph.D. student at the University of Oregon, USA. Working on the bathymetry of the calving front using a DIY remote control echosounder boat.​​​
PIRP 2023 expedition team. Top row from left to right: Gaston, Sergio, Donald, Rodrigo, Diego, Katty, Cristina, Danielle, Brianna, Fernando, Camilo, Natalia. Lower row: Paul, Seth, Catalina, Kiera, Amilcar, Victoria, Anouk, Ivan, Gino and Gonzalo.
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Take a trip into PIRP 2023 through Gaston Peralta's short documentary series, "Grey, el camino del hielo" (Grey, the path of the ice). All chapters are subtitled in English.
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Trailer "Grey, el camino del hielo)
Chapter I: Una helada bienvenida (A frosty welcome)
Chapter II: Una ruda fragilidad (A rough fragility)
Chapter III: Una cuestión de tiempo (A matter of time)