Located on the centre of ice drainage range, the highest Dome Argus （Dome A） of East Antarctic Ice Sheet （EAIS）, could be represented as an ideal site for deep ice cores drilling containing oldest paleo-climate re...Located on the centre of ice drainage range, the highest Dome Argus （Dome A） of East Antarctic Ice Sheet （EAIS）, could be represented as an ideal site for deep ice cores drilling containing oldest paleo-climate records. To select a suitable drilling site for deep ice core, it needs gather all information pertaining to the local meteorology, ice sheet landforms, ice thickness, subgla- cial topography of bed rocks, ice velocity, internal structures of ice sheet, etc. Based on the International Partnerships in Ice Core Sciences （IPICS）, we present recent achievement of glaciological research and its perspective at Dome A in this paper. We system- atically discussed the merits and possible ventures of potential drilling sites around Dome A. Among all the candidates, we find that the Chinese Antarctic Kunlun Station is the best site for and assess further the possibility to obtain a replicate core for carrying out the first deep ice core drilling campaign. We emphasize studying dynamics and evolution of climate change.展开更多
Dome A (Kunlun Station) is considered a likely place for finding an ice core record reaching back to one million years. The internal isochronous layering of the Antarctic Ice Sheet, revealed by ice radar, is a prerequ...Dome A (Kunlun Station) is considered a likely place for finding an ice core record reaching back to one million years. The internal isochronous layering of the Antarctic Ice Sheet, revealed by ice radar, is a prerequisite for selecting sites for deep ice core drilling that can be used for studying the paleoclimatic record. In 2004/2005, during the 21st Chinese National Antarctic Research Expedition (CHINARE 21), a 200-km long, continuous radar profile was obtained across Dome A. The internal layers along the profile were derived from the stratigraphy detected by the radar. The morphology of the isochronous layers shows that: (1) The internal layers in the shallow ice sheet (0-500 m) are generally flat, with no more than 50 m of layer intervals, and have typical synclines and anticlines in some localized regions. (2) At 500-2000 m below the surface of the ice sheet, the layers appear as 'bright layers', and the width of the layer intervals expands to 50-100 m. (3) When the basal topographic wavelengths are approximate to the thickness of the ice (3 km), the traced internal layers, with localized bumps or concave folds, are asymptotic parallel to the subglacial topography. For the longer topographic wavelengths (~20 km) wider than the thickness of the ice, the layers do not rise and fall with the basal topography. The internal layers surrounding some mountain peaks representing the most extreme variation in the terrain are sharply disturbed by the subglacial topography. (4) Layer discontinuity and fracture were detected in the basal ice sheet. Finally, by combining this new information with that derived from existing data regarding ice thickness, we were able to select three potential sites for reconstructing the age-depth relationship of the ice core.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant no. 40906101)the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program, Grant no. 2012CB957702)the Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration (Grant no. IC201214)
文摘Located on the centre of ice drainage range, the highest Dome Argus （Dome A） of East Antarctic Ice Sheet （EAIS）, could be represented as an ideal site for deep ice cores drilling containing oldest paleo-climate records. To select a suitable drilling site for deep ice core, it needs gather all information pertaining to the local meteorology, ice sheet landforms, ice thickness, subgla- cial topography of bed rocks, ice velocity, internal structures of ice sheet, etc. Based on the International Partnerships in Ice Core Sciences （IPICS）, we present recent achievement of glaciological research and its perspective at Dome A in this paper. We system- atically discussed the merits and possible ventures of potential drilling sites around Dome A. Among all the candidates, we find that the Chinese Antarctic Kunlun Station is the best site for and assess further the possibility to obtain a replicate core for carrying out the first deep ice core drilling campaign. We emphasize studying dynamics and evolution of climate change.
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 40906101 and 40476005)National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2006BAB18B01)+1 种基金IPY Chinese Programme (Grant No. IPY2008-P050400101)Polar Strategy Research Foundation in China (Grant No. 20070215)
文摘Dome A (Kunlun Station) is considered a likely place for finding an ice core record reaching back to one million years. The internal isochronous layering of the Antarctic Ice Sheet, revealed by ice radar, is a prerequisite for selecting sites for deep ice core drilling that can be used for studying the paleoclimatic record. In 2004/2005, during the 21st Chinese National Antarctic Research Expedition (CHINARE 21), a 200-km long, continuous radar profile was obtained across Dome A. The internal layers along the profile were derived from the stratigraphy detected by the radar. The morphology of the isochronous layers shows that: (1) The internal layers in the shallow ice sheet (0-500 m) are generally flat, with no more than 50 m of layer intervals, and have typical synclines and anticlines in some localized regions. (2) At 500-2000 m below the surface of the ice sheet, the layers appear as 'bright layers', and the width of the layer intervals expands to 50-100 m. (3) When the basal topographic wavelengths are approximate to the thickness of the ice (3 km), the traced internal layers, with localized bumps or concave folds, are asymptotic parallel to the subglacial topography. For the longer topographic wavelengths (~20 km) wider than the thickness of the ice, the layers do not rise and fall with the basal topography. The internal layers surrounding some mountain peaks representing the most extreme variation in the terrain are sharply disturbed by the subglacial topography. (4) Layer discontinuity and fracture were detected in the basal ice sheet. Finally, by combining this new information with that derived from existing data regarding ice thickness, we were able to select three potential sites for reconstructing the age-depth relationship of the ice core.
