Track of the vessel Nathaniel B. Palmer in the Weddell Sea, with the remnants of the Larsen-B Ice Shelf and Antarctic Peninsula in the background. Image via Alpha Galileo/ McGill University/ Galen Halverson.

Galen Halverson of McGill University took this wonderful photo. He has a new study out on the origin of Antarctica’s glaciers, in which he links 2 competing theories on how Antarctica’s ice sheets formed so rapidly, about 34 million years ago.

The ship that made this track in the sea ice around the Antarctic continent is the U.S. Antarctic Programs’ Nathaniel B. Palmer. It’s a scientific research vessel, a platform for global change studies in biology, oceanography, geology, and geophysics. It can accommodate 37 scientists, has a crew of 22, and is capable of 75-day missions.

Read more about the origin of Antarctica’s ice sheets

Read more about the Nathaniel B. Palmer

Deborah Byrd

Deborah Byrd created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Today, she serves as Editor-in-Chief of this website. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named 3505 Byrd in her honor. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. "Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers," she says.