Abstract
The glacio-meteorological characteristics of Princess Elizabeth Land in East Antarctica are poorly known due to a lack of measurement. This is problematic given the importance of this area for understanding ice sheet dynamics and climate change. We present a comprehensive approach (including field surveys, reanalysis data, remote sensing, and ice flow models) to investigate the glaciological and meteorological conditions in the vicinity of the new Chinese Taishan Station (73.864°S, 76.974°E) in Princess Elizabeth Land. We collected the datasets of satellite-derived ice surface velocities, surface mass balance, and wind field; mapped the ice thickness and internal layers around the Taishan Station site; and constructed profiles of the surface snow temperature and snow density. Also, we used transient thermodynamical 1-D vertical models to simulate the age of ice and the basal temperature with surface meteorological data and subglacial topography as boundary conditions. These investigations showed that Taishan Station is subject to a relatively high wind velocity, low temperatures (about -36 °C), and simple ice flow. The well-behaved internal layer stratigraphy implies that the ice flow of Taishan Station has been relatively stable, possibly for a long time. The fact that the internal layers are conformal with bed topography, there is a relatively higher basal ice age from ice modelling, and that the site lies over a bed depression filled with ice 1900 m thick, suggests that Taishan Station may be a good location for obtaining undisturbed old ice at depth. The combination of glacio-meteorological parameters suggests that Taishan Station is a potential drill site for the Chinese Antarctic Research Expedition (CHINARE) and an ideal logistical support location for proposed scientific field activities in the East Antarctic ice sheet (e.g. Dome A, Grove Mountains, and Princess Elizabeth Land).
Highlights
The Antarctic ice sheet has been losing ice mass to glacier dynamic thinning in recent decades, and the mass losses in 2012–2016 were likely greater than those from 2002 to 2011 (Meredith et al, 2019)
The age control and englacial temperature from the internal layers seen in the radar data and ice modeling suggested a range of 50–150 kyr and no melting over the basal ice
The internal layer structure indicated that the ice around the Taishan Station site has been stable, with smaller undulations and disturbances at the shallower depth
Summary
The Antarctic ice sheet has been losing ice mass to glacier dynamic thinning in recent decades, and the mass losses in 2012–2016 were likely greater than those from 2002 to 2011 (Meredith et al, 2019). High-resolution ice radar profiles can effectively evaluate the subglacial topography, ice thickness, and internal structure of ice sheets (Figures 4, 5) Those profiles allowed us to establish the fundamental glaciological characteristics of the ice surface and bedrock in the vicinity of Taishan Station (Figures 4A, 5A). Because the ice flow of Taishan Station is relatively stable and preserves the complete layered structure, to analyze its vertical variation along the temperature profile is of great value. Taishan Station has a MSLP of 1000 hPa. Corresponding to the high pressure over East Antarctica, the surface wind field here shows a large anticyclonic circulation (Figure 12C). The snow mass, concentration, and isotopic composition of NO3− (δ15N and δ18O) near the site are constant during a 16-day experiment, and volatilization of NO 3− is estimated to decrease δ15 N and δ18 O in the snowpit by 0–3 and 0–6 , respectively (Shi et al, 2019)
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