Joint Inversion for Surface Accumulation Rate and Geothermal Heat Flow from Ice‐Penetrating Radar Observations at Dome A, East Antarctica. Part I: Model Description, Data Constraints, and Inversion Results

Author(s):  
M.J. Wolovick ◽  
J.C. Moore ◽  
L. Zhao
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Wolovick ◽  
John Moore ◽  
Liyun Zhao

<p>Dome A is the summit of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS), underlain by the rugged Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains (GSM).  The rugged basal topography produces a complex hydrological system featuring basal melt, water transport and storage, and freeze-on.  Here, we present the results of an inverse model used to infer the spatial distributions of geothermal heat flow (GHF) and accumulation rate that best fit a variety of observational constraints.  Our model agrees well with the observed water bodies and freeze-on structures, while also predicting a significant amount of unobserved water and suggesting a change in stratigraphic interpretation that reduces the volume of the freeze-on units.  Our model stratigraphy agrees well with observations, and we predict that there will be two distinct patches of ice up to 1.5 Ma suitable for ice coring underneath the divide.  Past divide migration could have interrupted stratigraphic continuity at the old ice patches, but various indirect lines of evidence suggest that the divide has been stable for about the last one and a half glacial cycles, which is a hopeful but by no means definitive sign for stability in the longer term.  Finally, our GHF estimate is higher than previous estimates for this region, but consistent with possible heterogeneity in crustal heat production.     </p>


2012 ◽  
Vol 58 (207) ◽  
pp. 65-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Su Jiang ◽  
Jihong Cole-Dai ◽  
Yuansheng Li ◽  
Dave G. Ferris ◽  
Hongmei Ma ◽  
...  

AbstractA detailed history of volcanism covering the last 2840 years is reconstructed from the top 100.42 m of a 109.91 m ice core from Dome A (DA2005 ice core), East Antarctica. Using two known volcanic stratigraphic markers, the mean accumulation rate during the period AD 1260-1964 is found to be 23.2 mmw.e. a-1, consistent with the previously reported accumulation rate at Dome A. This mean accumulation rate is used to date the entire core. Volcanic eruptions in the period 840 BC-AD1998 are detected as outstanding sulphate events. Seventy-eight eruptions are identified, with a mean of 2.7 eruptions per century. Comparisons with previous Antarctic ice-core volcanic records are made to assess the quality of this new DA2005 record. In terms of dates for volcanic events, the DA2005 record is in good agreement with previous records in the second millennium ad (ad 1000-1998). A series of volcanic signatures found in both the DA2005 record and several other Antarctic ice-core records in the first millennium ad (ad 1-1000) appear to validate the DA2005 record during this time period. For the older periods, direct comparisons are difficult between the DA2005 record and other Antarctic ice-core records due to the lack of well-dated stratigraphic horizons.


Resources ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 31
Author(s):  
Stanislav Jacko ◽  
Roman Farkašovský ◽  
Igor Ďuriška ◽  
Barbora Ščerbáková ◽  
Kristína Bátorová

The Pannonian basin is a major geothermal heat system in Central Europe. Its peripheral basin, the East Slovakian basin, is an example of a geothermal structure with a linear, directed heat flow ranging from 90 to 100 mW/m2 from west to east. However, the use of the geothermal source is limited by several critical tectono-geologic factors: (a) Tectonics, and the associated disintegration of the aquifer block by multiple deformations during the pre-Paleogene, mainly Miocene, period. The main discontinuities of NW-SE and N-S direction negatively affect the permeability of the aquifer environment. For utilization, minor NE-SW dilatation open fractures are important, which have been developed by sinistral transtension on N–S faults and accelerated normal movements to the southeast. (b) Hydrogeologically, the geothermal structure is accommodated by three water types, namely, Na-HCO3 with 10.9 g·L−1 mineralization (in the north), the Ca-Mg-HCO3 with 0.5–4.5 g·L−1 mineralization (in the west), and Na-Cl water type containing 26.8–33.4 g·L−1 mineralization (in the southwest). The chemical composition of the water is influenced by the Middle Triassic dolomite aquifer, as well as by infiltration of saline solutions and meteoric waters along with open fractures/faults. (c) Geothermally anomalous heat flow of 123–129 °C with 170 L/s total flow near the Slanské vchy volcanic chain seems to be the perspective for heat production.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agnes Wansing ◽  
Jörg Ebbing ◽  
Mareen Lösing ◽  
Sergei Lebedev ◽  
Nicolas Celli ◽  
...  

<p>The lithospheric structure of Greenland is still poorly known due to its thick ice sheet, the sparseness of seismological stations, and the limitation of geological outcrops near coastal areas. As only a few geothermal measurements are available for Greenland, one must rely on geophysical models. Such models of Moho and LAB depths and sub-ice geothermal heat-flow vary largely.</p><p>Our approach is to model the lithospheric architecture by geophysical-petrological modelling with LitMod3D. The model is built to reproduce gravity observations, the observed elevation with isostasy assumptions and the velocities from a tomography model. Furthermore, we adjust the thermal parameters and the temperature structure of the model to agree with different geothermal heat flow models. We use three different heat flow models, one from machine learning, one from a spectral analysis of magnetic data and another one which is compiled from a similarity study with tomography data.</p><p>For the latter, a new shear wave tomography model of Greenland is used. Vs-depth profiles from Greenland are compared with velocity profiles from the US Array, where a statistical link between Vs profiles and surface heat flow has been established. A similarity function determines the most similar areas in the U.S. and assigns the mean heat-flow from these areas to the corresponding area in Greenland.</p><p>The geothermal heat flow models will be further used to discuss the influence on ice sheet dynamics by comparison to friction heat and viscous heat dissipation from surface meltwater.</p>


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuzhen Yan ◽  
Nicole E. Spaulding ◽  
Michael L. Bender ◽  
Edward J. Brook ◽  
John A. Higgins ◽  
...  

Abstract. The S27 ice core, drilled in the Allan Hills Blue Ice Area of East Antarctica, is located in Southern Victoria Land ~80 km away from the present-day northern edge of the Ross Ice Shelf. Here, we utilize the reconstructed accumulation rate of S27 covering the Last Interglacial (LIG) period between 129 and 116 thousand years before present (ka) to infer moisture transport into the region. The accumulation rate is based on the ice age-gas age differences calculated from the ice chronology, which is constrained by the stable water isotopes of the ice, and an improved gas chronology based on measurements of oxygen isotopes of O2 in the trapped gases. The peak accumulation rate in S27 occurred at 128.2 ka, near the peak LIG warming in Antarctica. Even the most conservative estimate yields a six-fold increase in the accumulation rate in the LIG, whereas other Antarctic ice cores are typically characterized by a glacial-interglacial difference of a factor of two to three. While part of the increase in S27 accumulation rates must originate from changes in the large-scale atmospheric circulation, additional mechanisms are needed to explain the large changes. We hypothesize that the exceptionally high snow accumulation recorded in S27 reflects open-ocean conditions in the Ross Sea, created by reduced sea ice extent and increased polynya size, and perhaps by a southward retreat of the Ross Ice Shelf relative to its present-day position near the onset of LIG. The proposed ice shelf retreat would also be compatible with a sea-level high stand around 129 ka significantly sourced from West Antarctica. The peak in S27 accumulation rates is transient, suggesting that if the Ross Ice Shelf had indeed retreated during the early LIG, it would have re-advanced by 125 ka.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document