Seequent has been guiding and informing groundbreaking research in Antarctica

Software from Christchurch headquartered global company Seequent is guiding and informing groundbreaking research in Antarctica.

A team of researchers on board a South Korean Antarctic research vessel returned to Lyttelton mid-February after spending two months on retreating ice glaciers in both the West and East Antarctic ice sheets.  US researcher Jamin Greenbaum of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the University of California, San Diego was seeking direct evidence that water flowing out to sea from beneath the glaciers might be enhancing ice melt and glacier retreat.  

He’s been using Seequent technology to analyse data collected from underneath Thwaites Glacier, which is vital to understand the rate of sea-level rise and establish the need for future planning for coastal communities and industry.   

Graham Grant, CEO of Seequent, says, ‘Seequent is incredibly proud that our software is being used to further human understanding of the earth, and it’s wonderful to see the results of Dr Greenbaum’s work contributing to global science.’ 

Technology is increasingly being applied to understand extreme conditions as well as climate change, with Dr Greenbaum's work being one example, using Seequent’s Oasis montaj software for interpreting airborne geophysical surveys and acquired complex data.  Seequent’s innovative geoscience analysis, modelling, and collaborative technologies contribute to a better understanding of the earth's subsurface and are being used on every continent to enable better decisions about earth, environment and energy challenges. More than 500 universities around the world are using Seequent software to further our understanding of the earth, through the company’s academic program.  

Dr Greenbaum says the software has been incredibly helpful and perfect for their purpose. 

“Visualizing data in the field needs to be snappy and easy to compare because we’re usually under pressure to make informed decisions quickly under various evolving constraints. Back at home we can use the data to reveal what’s going on at Thwaites and extend that knowledge to other glaciers and provide updated sea level rise projections” 

Dr Greenbaum also credits collaboration with the Korea Polar Research Institute (KOPRI) as pivotal to his research on the icy continent. He says it’s a special ship because it can do lots of interdisciplinary science on any given voyage. 

“It's wonderful working with them” he says of the KOPRI team “Plus because they support helicopters and our work involves airborne geophysics and airborne oceanography, there’s no better ship to perform my work on.” 

South Korea are one of the international Antarctic programmes that use Christchurch as their gateway to Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. ChristchurchNZ’s Antarctic Office works as a conduit to shape opportunities for these programmes to explore, conduct research and examine climate awareness.  

Head of the Christchurch Antarctic Office Dave Tayler says it's exciting to see a collaboration between the national Antarctic programs of the United States and South Korea, both based in Christchurch. He also finds it exciting to witness how a local business, Seequent, is supporting the advancement of scientific outcomes. 

"The role of the Christchurch Antarctic Office is to co-ordinate the opportunities afforded by our Antarctic Gateway status. Relationships are fundamental, and Christchurch serves as a hub that fosters connections, facilitating crucial research on the ice. Moreover, it generates cultural, political, and economic opportunities for the city". 

Seequent are a member of Christchurch’s Antarctic Network (CAN) a directory of 80 plus members and is an online resource for National Antarctic programmes to utilise businesses who provide innovation, goods, and services to support and strengthen their work in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean.   

Dr Greenbaum's research trip was supported by the National Science Foundation in the US, NASA, The Explorers Club through the generosity of Greg and Mary Moga, UC San Diego, and the G Unger Vetlesen Foundation.