Chloe Gustafson, PhD

SALSA EM

SALSA EM is an electromagnetic geophysical investigation of groundwater beneath Whillans Ice Plain, West Antarctica. During the austral summer of 2018/2019, we collected magnetotelluric surveys over an active subglacial lake, Whillans Subglacial Lake (SLW), and the Whillans Grounding Zone (WGZ), where the waters from SLW are modeled to drain into the Southern Ocean. We imaged thick (>1km) sediments that contain salty groundwater, which has implications for basal hydrologic budgets, deep subglacial life, and past ice sheet conditions. This work is in preperation for publication. Results from this work may be found in chapters 3 - 6 of my PhD Dissertation. The website for this project can be found here.

Offshore Freshwater on the US Atlantic Coast

In 2015, we collected marine controlled source electomagnetic (CSEM) and magnetotelluric data offshore the US Atlantic margin in order to map fresh groudwater contained within the contintental shelf sediments. Offshore both New Jersey and Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, we found relatively fresh groundwater extends from the coast out to 90 km offshore. We estimate there is ~2800 km³ of low-salinity offshore groundwater between New Jersey and Martha's Vineyard. This work is published in Scientific Reports and can be found here. The website for this project can be found here.

Wet hot rocks and cool geophysics: does subglacial groundwater lubricate Antarctic ice flow? (~45 minutes) University College London Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction Seminar. November 17, 2020.

Imaging salty groundwater in sedimentary basins beneath Whillans Ice Plain, West Antarctica. (~8 minutes) West Antarctica Ice Sheet Workshop. September 24, 2020.

Wet hot rocks and cool geophysics: does subglacial groundwater lubricate Antarctic ice flow? (~45 minutes) IGS Global Seminar. July 15, 2020.

Exploring Antarctic subglacial hydrology using magnetotellurics. (~7 minutes) Magnetotelluric Science Vignettes, SAGE MT Facility Webinar Series. April 23, 2020.

Characterizing extensive hydrogeologic systems beneath ice sheets and oceans using electromagnetic methods. (~45 minutes) Australian Society of Exploration Geophysicists webinar. April 21, 2020.

TV and Video

PBS SciTech News. (01:00 - 08:23) March 25, 2020.

Scientists Just Discovered Fresh Water Under the Ocean, and It’s HUGE. Seeker (Youtube). July 24, 2019.

Radio

BBC Science in Action. (07:55 - 15:04) June 27, 2019.

Print

Huge Aquifer Imaged off the Atlantic Coast. EOS- July 30, 2019

Off the Jersey Shore, a vast deposit of fresh water lies beneath the ocean floor. Philadelphia Inquirer – June 28, 2019

A vast water reservoir has been discovered deep beneath the Atlantic Ocean. NBC MACH – June 28, 2019

Scientists found a giant freshwater aquifer off the East Coast. Axios – June 27, 2019

Researchers Discover Giant Reservoir Of Freshwater Underneath The Atlantic Seabed. Tech Times – June 27, 2019

Massive Freshwater Aquifer Discovered Below Seafloor Off The US East Coast. IFL Science – June 25, 2019

Massive Freshwater Aquifer Discovered Beneath the Atlantic Ocean. International Business Times – June 25, 2019

Massive freshwater deposit could solve global water crisis. CTV News (Canada) – June 25, 2019

A massive freshwater reservoir has been discovered deep beneath the Atlantic. Inverse – June 25, 2019

Freshwater Reservoir Discovered Beneath The Ocean. Science Times – June 25, 2019

Largest freshwater aquifer of its kind found off the U.S. Northeast coast. ZME Science – June 25, 2019

Scientists find gigantic freshwater reservoir beneath Atlantic Ocean. New York Post – June 24, 2019

Huge Reservoir of Fresh Water Discovered Hidden Deep Beneath the Ocean off U.S. East Coast. Newsweek – June 24, 2019

A Massive Reservoir Of Freshwater Was Just Discovered Offshore New England. Forbes – June 24, 2019

Mysterious freshwater reservoir found hidden beneath the ocean. Fox News – June 24, 2019

Study: A gigantic deposit of fresh water is hidden off the Northeast coast. Boston Globe – June 24, 2019

A Massive Freshwater Sea Is Buried Beneath the Atlantic Ocean. Live Science – June 24, 2019

Scientists Discover a Vast Reservoir of Fresh Water Beneath the Ocean Science Alert – June 24, 2019

Giant aquifer harbors miles of fresh water off the U.S. East Coast. Earth.com – June 24, 2019

An Enormous Aquifer Extends Below the Sea Off the U.S. Coast. Europapress (Spain) – June 24, 2019. (wire service report; widely syndicated in different media)

They discover a vast reservoir of fresh water under the Atlantic Ocean. La Voz de Galicia (Spain) – June 24, 2019

Newly Discovered Deposits of Fresh Water ‘Could Become an Important Resource in Parts of the World’ Expresso (Portugal) – June 24, 2019

Huge water reservoir under the ocean floor. Scinexx (Denmark) – June 24, 2019

Massive Undersea Freshwater Aquifer Discovered Off U.S. Northeast Bangla Tribune (Bangladesh) – June 23, 2019

Gigantic Reserve of Fresh Water Discovered Hidden Under the Waters of the Atlantic. ABC (Spain) – June 23, 2019

Sub-Seafloor Aquifer Discovered Along U.S. Northeastern Coast. Labroots – June 23, 2019

Scientists Map Huge Underwater Aquifer Off Northeastern U.S.. Space Daily – June 23, 2019

Massive Aquifer Big Enough to Fill a 15,000-Square-Mile Lake is Found Off the U.S. East Coast. Daily Mail (UK) – June 22, 2019

Scientist Have Discovered a Sea of Fresh Water Under the Ocean. Quartz- June 22, 2019

Scientists Make Surprising Discovery of Fresh Water Aquifer Off Northeast U.S.. Science Times – June 22, 2019

Scientists Discover Giant Fresh Water Aquifer Off U.S. East Coast. Gizmodo – June 21, 2019

Researchers Identify a Fresh Water Aquifer Stretching From Massachusetts to New Jersey. New York Daily News – June 21, 2019