WASHINGTON — NASA will hold a media teleconference at 2 p.m. EST on Monday, Nov. 15, from Punta Arenas, Chile, to discuss the agency’s Operation IceBridge. Researchers are using seven instruments aboard NASA’s DC-8 flying laboratory to map Antarctic ice surfaces and the features hidden below. The data are critical for understanding the dynamics of ice in West Antarctica and its impact on sea-level rise.

During the briefing, IceBridge scientists will provide an overview of the multi-year mission and an update on flights under way over Antarctica. They also will describe some of the observations made since flights began on Oct. 26.

The briefing participants are:

– Michael Studinger, IceBridge project scientist, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center/University of Maryland, Baltimore County

– Seelye Martin, research scientist (sea ice), University of Washington, Seattle

– Chris Shuman, research scientist (land ice), Goddard Space Flight Center/University of Maryland, Baltimore County

For dial-in information, journalists must e-mail their name, media affiliation and telephone number to Kathryn Hansen at kathryn.h.hansen@nasa.gov.

Audio of the teleconference will be streamed live at: http://www.nasa.gov/newsaudio

This is Operation IceBridge’s second year monitoring Antarctic sea ice, ice sheets and glaciers. For more information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/icebridge