Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences

CIRES scientists in Antarctica

Xinzhao Chu's group traveled to McMurdo to study space and the atmosphere

A person in a red winter coat standing in front of ice and water with their arms in the air
Xinzhao’s New Year wishes with the Discovery Hut that holds a history of over 100 years of Antarctica expedition.
Fieldwork

In late December 2024, CIRES Fellow Xinzhao Chu and a team of undergraduate and graduate students arrived in Antarctica to make lidar measurements of space and the atmosphere. The trip is Chu's eighteenth visit to Antarctica — and January 2025 marks the fifteenth year of continuous lidar observations at McMurdo.

“With many eye-opening discoveries made from our lidar data… we hope this legendary lidar expedition will open a new chapter for humans’ exploration of the Sun-Earth system and space-atmosphere sciences via global collaborations in Antarctica — the last frontier,” Chu said.

Four images. Top: A dark, rocky shoreline and icy water. Bottom left: three people smiling in front of a stage. Bottom middle: five people posting together near equipment in a lab. Bottom right: Three people post in front of an airplane.

Top: Panorama of McMurdo Station from the Hut Point.

Bottom left: Ari (left), Shay (middle), and Jack (right) at the Ice Stock.

Bottom middle: Group photo inside the lidar lab in December 2024.

Bottom right: Boarding a C-130 flight to Antarctica.