Ice Stories
Exploratorium Home

Kelly CarrollKelly Carroll, a geologist for The Polar Earth Observing Network (POLENET), grew up backpacking and hiking in the Appalachian Mountains. Interested in the outdoors, he was curious how the great vistas he was seeing were created.  Kelly decided to change from a successful career in the corporate world to pursue an undergraduate degree in environmental geology.   After years with the US Geological Survey, Kelly entered a graduate program  in hydrogeology at The Ohio State University, where his interest in polar research began. He studied lake ice in Dry Valleys, Antarctica and discovered an interest in teaching and sharing science with the public. Kelly switched his career again from doing science research to educating students and the public about the polar regions.

Project Page: Pulse of the Poles

All Posts By Kelly Carroll


An Airport Made of Ice

MCMURDO STATION, ANTARCTICA-- Our project takes us all over the continent to install equipment but to get there we have to leave from Williams Field, an airport near McMurdo Station. Willy Field has a runway equipped to handle the largest aircraft that fly into Antarctica. However, this runway is different... {Read More »}



How We Commute to Work in Antarctica

MCMURDO STATION, ANTARCTICA-- They are many ways that people commute to work in the morning -- some by car, or bus, or maybe walk or ride a bike. Getting to work in Antarctica can be just as varied. One of them is by helicopter... {Read More »}



Why We Install GPS Systems

DEVERALL ISLAND, ANTARCTICA-- The POLENET project installed their newest high-precision GPS system on Deverall Island, Antarctica. These GPS systems tell us how much the ground underneath the ice sheet is moving upward... {Read More »}



Holiday Weather in McMurdo

MCMURDO STATION, ANTARCTICA-- Thanksgiving Day weather at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, turned out to be pretty interesting, as weather always can change quickly here. Our holiday weekend greeted us with 50 mph winds, but it didn't effect the great feast we had in the dining hall... {Read More »}



Tango 1 and the Air We Breathe

MCMURDO STATION, ANTARCTICA-- We have been preparing for a week to move to our deep field location, Tango 1. Tango 1 is a camp deep in the Transantarctic Mountains about 800 miles from the McMurdo Station. This is going to be a completely new Antarctic experience for me... {Read More »}



It Takes a Lot to Get Here

MCMURDO STATION, ANTARCTICA-- This is my first official day at the main US research base in Antarctica: McMurdo Station. I am very excited to start bringing you the stories of POLENET science and what life is like as we do our work from one of the most remote places on the face of the planet... {Read More »}