Dating a 109.9 m ice core from Dome A(East Antarctica) with volcanic records and a firn densification model

A 109.9 m ice core was extracted at a location about 300 m away from the Dome A summit(80°00′S,77°21″E) by the Chinese team of the International Trans-Antarctic Science Expedition(ITASE) during the 21st Chinese National Antarctica Research Expedition(CHINARE) in January 2005.Two independent methods were used for dating the ice core,volcanic event markers shown by prominent non-sea-salt sulfate(nss-SO42) and the Herron and Langway(H-L) firn densification model.Six promi-nent volcanic events(Agung 1963 AD,Tambora 1815 AD,Kuwae 1453 AD,Unknown 1259 AD,Taupo 186 AD and Pinatubo 1050 BC) were identified by comparison with other Antarctic ice cores.Based on the mean accumulation rates be-tween adjacent events,we estimate the age at the firn pore close-off depth(102 m) was 3516±100 a BP.This is the oldest close-off age ever reported from the Antarctic and the Greenland ice sheets.Calculations using the H-L model show that the age at the same depth is 3581±100 a BP.The two dating techniques differ by 65 years,or～1.8% of the record.We calculated the bottom age of the ice core as 4009±150 a BP using the volcanic dating method and 4115±150 a BP using the H-L model method.     

Preliminary results of the close-off depth and the stable isotopic records along a 109.91 m ice core from Dome A,Antarctica

A 109.91 m ice core was recovered from Dome A (or Dome Argus), the highest ice feature in Antarctica, during the 2004/05 austral summer by the 21st Chinese National Antarctic Research Expedition (CHINARE-21). Both methane profile along the core and firn densification model calculation suggest that the close-off depth is at about 102.0 m with an ice age about 4200 a. Stable isotopes (δ18O and δD) of the chips samples produced during each run of ice core drilling at Dome A, together with those of the other co...     

Subglacial Preservation of Valley Morphology at Amundsenisen,Western Dronning Maud Land,Antarctica

On the high altitude polar plateau of Amundsenisen, western Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica, a subglacial valley, with a broad horizontal valley floor interpreted as a sediment floodplain or valley delta, was studied by radio echo sounding. In addition, a small, probably glacial, valley was mapped within the same subglacial massif. Basal ice temperatures were calculated using field data on precipitation, air temperature and ice sheet thickness. Discoveries of old landforms which have been preserved more or less intact beneath the former Fennoscandian and Laurentide ice sheets have received increasing attention during the last decade. The aim of this study is to investigate whether preservation of landforms occurs under the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, and to discuss under that climatological and glaciological circumstances preservation may take place. The results show that the ice sheet covering the investigated localities is frozen to bed, and therefore has an insignificant erosional capability. The observations suggest that a large-scale subglacial sediment deposit and a small valley formed by glacial erosion have survived beneath a cold-based ice sheet marginal zone for a long time period. The process of glacial preservation, recognized for bedrock features and tentatively observed for sediment accumulations, should act on similar large-scale landforms under any cold-based ice sheet, present or past. On the basis of existing studies of the age and stability of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, a Middle Pliocene age is suggested for the preserved landforms. The presence of the presumed sediment-filled valley further indicates that no prolonged periods of basal melting have occurred at the Amundsenisen study area during the ice sheet history, which includes the Quaternary glaciation periods. Finally, calculations of basal temperature for localities at different altitudes within the same subglacial massif were used to demonstrate local altitudinal control of glacial preservation. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.