Radio Echo Sounding (RES) investigations at Talos Dome (East Antarctica): bedrock topography and ice thickness

I E Tabacco I E Tabacco,A Forieri A Forieri,L Cafarella L Cafarella,A Zirizzotti A Zirizzotti,C Bianchi C Bianchi,P De Michelis P De Michelis,M Frezzotti M Frezzotti

doi:10.4401/ag-3471

Abstract

Radio echo sounding measurements were collected during two Antarctic expeditions to determine the ice thick- ness and the sub-glacial morphology of Talos Dome in the region around 72°48'S; 159°06'E (about 6400 km 2 ) on the edge of the East Antarctic plateau adjacent to Victoria Land in the western Ross Sea sector. The increas- ing interest in this region is due to the fact that in this area the ice accumulation is higher than in other sites in East Antarctica. Because of this, Talos Dome could be a new site for a project of a deep ice core drilling to ob- tain information on climate changes near the coast of Antarctica. In this frame, the knowledge of the bedrock to- pography is of great importance to choose the best location for the drilling site. In this paper, airborne radio echo sounding results from two Antarctic expeditions (1997 and 1999) are presented. Bedrock topography in bi- and three-dimensions for the Talos Dome region are discussed.

Highlights

Radio Echo Sounding (RES) is an active remote-sensing method that uses electromagnetic wave penetration in ice to obtain information on the level of the bedrock, the ice thickness and ice inhomogeneties
We focused our attention on Talos Dome site in East Antarctica
This paper presented the results of airborne Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV)-IT radar measurements collected in two Antarctic expeditions (1997 and 1999) on an area of about 6400 km2 in the East Antarctic plateau adjacent to Victoria Land mountain in Western Ross Sea

Summary

Introduction

Radio Echo Sounding (RES) is an active remote-sensing method that uses electromagnetic wave penetration in ice to obtain information on the level of the bedrock, the ice thickness and ice inhomogeneties (e.g., the internal layering). A deep drilling project at Talos Dome could improve knowledge on the response of near coastal sites to climate changes and Holocene history of accumulation rates in the Ross Sea region. For this reason, Talos Dome could be a new possible site for an international deep ice-core drilling. The knowledge of bedrock topography of Talos Dome will allow modelling of the depth age relation which can be made to date an ice core (Reeh et al, 1985)

Data sources: the RES system

Sub-glacial topography

Conclusions