Two-way traveltimes of internal layers and ice thickness between Dome C - Vostok - Dome A

Chinese scientists will start to drill a deep ice core at Kunlun station near Dome A in the near future. Recent work has predicted that Dome A is a location where ice older than 1 million years can be found. We model flow, temperature and the age of the ice by applying a three-dimensional, thermomechanically coupled full-Stokes model to a 70 × 70 km**2 domain around Kunlun station, using isotropic non-linear rheology and different prescribed anisotropic ice fabrics that vary the evolution from isotropic to single maximum at 1/3 or 2/3 depths. The variation in fabric is about as important as the uncertainties in geothermal heat flux in determining the vertical advection which in consequence controls both the basal temperature and the age profile. We find strongly variable basal ages across the domain since the ice varies greatly in thickness, and any basal melting effectively removes very old ice in the deepest parts of the subglacial valleys. Comparison with dated radar isochrones in the upper one third of the ice sheet cannot sufficiently constrain the age of the deeper ice, with uncertainties as large as 500 000 years in the basal age. We also assess basal age and thermal state sensitivities to geothermal heat flux and surface conditions. Despite expectations of modest changes in surface height over a glacial cycle at Dome A, even small variations in the evolution of surface conditions cause large variation in basal conditions, which is consistent with basal accretion features seen in radar surveys.

Pre-glacial to glacial sediment thickness grids for the Southern Pacific Margin of West Antarctica, NetCDF files

Circum-Antarctic sediment thickness grids provide constraints for basin evolution and paleotopographic reconstructions, which are important for paleo-ice sheet formation histories. By compiling old and new seismic data, we identify sequences representing pre-glacial, transitional and full glacial deposition processes along the Pacific margin of West Antarctica. The pre-glacial sediment grid depicts 1.3 to 4.0 km thick depocenters, relatively evenly distributed along the margin. The depocenters change markedly in the transitional phase at, or after, the Eocene/Oligocene boundary, when the first major ice sheets reached the shelf. Full glacial sequences, starting in the middle Miocene, indicate new depocenter formation North of the Amundsen Sea Embayment and localized eastward shifts in the Bellingshausen Sea and Antarctic Peninsula basins. Using present-day drainage paths and source areas on the continent, our calculations indicate an estimated observed total sedimentary volume of ~10 x 10**6 km**3 was eroded from West Antarctica since the separation of New Zealand in the Late Cretaceous. Of this 4.9 x 10**6 km**3 predates the onset of glaciation and need to be considered for a paleotopography reconstruction of 34 Ma. Whereas 5.1 x 10**6 km**3 postdate the onset of glaciation, of which 2.5 x 10**6 km**3 were deposited in post mid-Miocene full glacial conditions.

Surface elevation and ice thickness measurements of an airborne radar survey made in the Sør Rondane Mountains, Antarctica

We present surface elevations and ice thicknesses along an airborne radar survey made in Eastern Dronning Maud Land. The survey was carried out above 4 major outlet glaciers which flows around Sør Rondane Mountains with AWI's radar mounted on Polar 5 plane. The data were collected between the 21st and the 23th of January 2011. A full description of the data can be found in Callens et al. (see further detatils).

Monthly air temperatures, snow density and snow and ice thickness at Malcolm Ramsay Lake, North America

In northern regions where observational data is sparse, lake ice models are ideal tools as they can provide valuable information on ice cover regimes. The Canadian Lake Ice Model was used to simulate ice cover for a lake near Churchill, Manitoba, Canada throughout the 2008/2009 and 2009/2010 ice covered seasons. To validate and improve the model results, in situ measurements of the ice cover through both seasons were obtained using an upward-looking sonar device Shallow Water Ice Profiler (SWIP) installed on the bottom of the lake. The SWIP identified the ice-on/off dates as well as collected ice thickness measurements. In addition, a digital camera was installed on shore to capture images of the ice cover through the seasons and field measurements were obtained of snow depth on the ice, and both the thickness of snow ice (if present) and total ice cover. Altering the amounts of snow cover on the ice surface to represent potential snow redistribution affected simulated freeze-up dates by a maximum of 22 days and break-up dates by a maximum of 12 days, highlighting the importance of accurately representing the snowpack for lake ice modelling. The late season ice thickness tended to be under estimated by the simulations with break-up occurring too early, however, the evolution of the ice cover was simulated to fall between the range of the full snow and no snow scenario, with the thickness being dependant on the amount of snow cover on the ice surface.