Brief communication: Candidate sites of 1.5 Myr old ice 37 km southwest of the Dome C summit, East Antarctica
The search for ice as old as 1.5 Myr requires the identification of places that maximize our chances to retrieve old, well-resolved, undisturbed and datable ice. One of these locations is very likely southwest of the Dome C summit, where elevated bedrock makes the ice thin enough to limit basal...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2018-06-01
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| Series: | The Cryosphere |
| Online Access: | https://www.the-cryosphere.net/12/2167/2018/tc-12-2167-2018.pdf |
| Summary: | The search for ice as old as 1.5 Myr requires the identification
of places that maximize our chances to retrieve old, well-resolved,
undisturbed and datable ice. One of these locations is very likely southwest
of the Dome C summit, where elevated bedrock makes the ice thin enough to
limit basal melting. A 3-D ice flow simulation is used to calculate five selection criteria,
which together delineate the areas with the most appropriate glaciological properties. These selected areas
(a few square kilometers) lie on the flanks of a bedrock high, where a balance is found
between risks of basal melting, stratigraphic disturbances and sufficient age
resolution. Within these areas, several sites of potential 1.5 Myr old
ice are proposed, situated on local bedrock summits or ridges. The
trajectories of the ice particles towards these locations are short, and the
ice flows over a smoothly undulating bedrock. These sites will help to choose
where new high-resolution ground radar surveys should be conducted in
upcoming field seasons. |
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| ISSN: | 1994-0416 1994-0424 |