More Like this

1. COLDEX Unfocused Airborne VHF Radar Transects: 2023-2024 South Pole Field Season

   https://doi.org/10.18738/T8/FV6VNT  

   Young, Duncan; Singh, Shivangini; Kerr, Megan E; Ng, Gregory; Buhl, Dillon P; Blankenship, Donald D; Young, Duncan (January 2024, Texas Data Repository)

   These transect organized radargrams were collected as part of the Center for Oldest Ice Exploration (COLDEX) Science and Technology Center (https://www.coldex.org) in the 2023/24 (CXA2) airborne reconnaissance field season. The raw 3 TB data is deposited at the USAP data center at https://doi.org/10.15784/601768. Flight organized data with additional processing by the University of Kansas to remove electromagnetic interference can be found at the Open Polar Radar server (https://www.openpolarradar.org). The science goal was to characterize the ice sheet between Antarctica's Dome A and Amundsen Scott South Pole Station, to locate sites of interest for the drilling of an ice core with ages spanning the mid-Pleistocene. The radar was deployed on Balser C-FMKB, and flown at ranges of up to 800 km from South Pole Station at velocities of 90 m/s and typical altitude above ground of 600 m. Other instruments included a UHF array system provided by the University of Kansas, a gravity meter, a magnetometer, a laser altimeter, and multiple global navigation satellite systems receivers. The radar data is used for finding ice thickness, bed character, englacial structure and surface assessment. Dataset organization Transects are provided a P/S/T nomenclature, organized by the Project they are flying in, the acquisition System (typically named after the aircraft) and the Transect within the Project. Transects were collected in preplanned systems with the following parameters: CLX radials (CLX/MKB##/R###), attempting to emulate flow lines from Dome A and radiating (in the EPSG:3031 polar stereographic projection) from easting 965 km northing 385 km, with a separation of 0.25 degrees. CLX corridor (CLX/MKB##/X###) rotated from the EPSG:3031 polar stereographic projection at -150 degrees and separated by 10 km in the Y direction and 3.75 km in the X direction CLX2 corridor (CLX2/MKB##/X###) rotated from the EPSG:3031 polar stereographic projection at -150 degrees and separated by 2.5 km in its Y direction and 2.5 km in its X direction NPXE radials (NPXE/MKB##/R####) primarily designed to survey the Upper Byrd Glacier Catchment, constitute spokes radiating from South Pole separated by 2 degrees, in the EPSG:3031 polar stereographic projection Untargeted transit lines used the name of the expedition (CXA2) as the project, and used the flight and the increment within the flight to name the Transect (eg (CXA2/MKB2n/F10T02a). Processing These data represent range compressed VHF radargrams as collected and analyzed in the field. The data are from the MARFA radar system, a 60 MHz ice penetrating radar system that has operated in several different guises over the years. MARFA operates with a 1 microsecond chirp with a design bandwidth of 15 MHz, allowing for ~8 meter range resolution. The record rate after onboard stacking is 200 Hz. High and low gain channels are collected from antennas on each side of the aircraft. In ground processing, the data were stacked 10x coherently to reduce range delayed incoherent surface scattering, and then stacked 5 times incoherently to improve image quality. In this preliminary processing, the effective resolution of deep scattering is several hundred meters due to range ambiguities at depth. Data format These data collection represents georeferenced, time registered instrument measurements (L1B data) converted to SI units. The data format are netCDF3 files, following the formats used for NASA/AAD/UTIG's ICECAP/OIB project at NASA's NSIDC DAAC (10.5067/0I7PFBVQOGO5). Metadata fields can be accessed using the open source ncdump tool, or c, python or matlab modules. A Keyhole Metadata Language (KML) file with geolocation for all transects is also provided. See https://www.loc.gov/preservation/digital/formats/fdd/fdd000330.shtml for resources on NetCDF-3, and https://nsidc.org/data/IR2HI1B/versions/1 for a description of the similar OIB dataset. Acknowledgements This work was supported by the Center for Oldest Ice Exploration, an NSF Science and Technology Center (NSF 2019719). We thank the NSF Office of Polar Programs, the NSF Office of Integrative Activities, and Oregon State University for financial and infrastructure support, and the NSF Antarctic Infrastructure and Logistics Program, and the Antarctic Support Contractor for logistical support. Additional support was provided by the G. Unger Vetlesen Foundation. 

   more » « less
2. COLDEX Unfocused Airborne VHF Radar Transects 2022-2023 South Pole Field Season

   https://doi.org/10.18738/T8/XPMLCC  

   Young, Duncan; Greenbaum, Jamin S; Kerr, Megan E; Singh, Shivangini; Chan, Kristian; Buhl, Dillon P; Ng, Gregory C; Kempf, Scott D; Echeverry, Gonzalo; Blankenship, Donald D (January 2024, Texas Data Repository)

   These transect organized radargrams were collected as part of the Center for Oldest Ice Exploration (COLDEX) Science and Technology Center (https://www.coldex.org) in the 2022/23 (CXA1) airborne reconnaissance field season. The raw 3 TB data is deposited at the USAP data center at https://doi.org/10.15784/601768. Flight organized data with additional processing by the University of Kansas to remove electromagnetic interference can be found at the Open Polar Radar server (https://www.openpolarradar.org). The science goal was to characterize the ice sheet between Antarctica's Dome A and Amundsen Scott South Pole Station, to locate sites of interest for the drilling of an ice core with ages spanning the mid-Pleistocene. The radar was deployed on Balser C-FMKB, and flown at ranges of up to 800 km from South Pole Station at velocities of 90 m/s and typical altitude above ground of 600 m. Other instruments included a UHF array system provided by the University of Kansas, a gravity meter, a magnetometer, a laser altimeter, and multiple global navigation satellite systems receivers. The radar data is used for finding ice thickness, bed character, englacial structure and surface assessment. Dataset organization Transects are provided a P/S/T nomenclature, organized by the Project they are flying in, the acquisition System (typically named after the aircraft) and the Transect within the Project. Transects were collected in preplanned systems with the following parameters: CLX radials (CLX/MKB##/R###), attempting to emulate flow lines from Dome A and radiating (in the EPSG:3031 polar stereographic projection) from easting 965 km northing 385 km, with a separation of 0.25 degrees. CLX corridor (CLX/MKB##/X###) rotated from the EPSG:3031 polar stereographic projection at -150 degrees and separated by 10 km in the Y direction and 3.75 km in the X direction CLX2 corridor (CLX2/MKB##/X###) rotated from the EPSG:3031 polar stereographic projection at -150 degrees and separated by 2.5 km in its Y direction and 2.5 km in its X direction SAD corridor (SAD/MKB##/X###|Y####) designed to characterize the Saddle region near South Pole approximately perpendicular to the flow lines, rooted from the EPSG:3031 polar stereographic projection at -73.8 degrees and separated by 2.5 km in its Y direction and 2.5 km in the its X direction Untargeted transit lines used the name of the expedition (CXA1) as the project, and used the flight and the increment within the flight to name the Transect (eg (CXA1/MKB2n/F10T02a). Processing These data represent range compressed VHF radargrams as collected and analyzed in the field. The data are from the MARFA radar system, a 60 MHz ice penetrating radar system that has operated in several different guises over the years. MARFA operates with a 1 microsecond chirp with a design bandwidth of 15 MHz, allowing for ~8 range resolution. The record rate after onboard stacking is 200 Hz. High and low gain channels are collected from antennas on each side of the aircraft. In ground processing, the data were stacked 10x coherently to reduce range delayed incoherent surface scattering, and then stacked 5 times incoherently to improve image quality. In this preliminary processing, the effective resolution of deep scattering is several hundred meters due to range ambiguities at depth. Data format These data collection represents georeferenced, time registered instrument measurements (L1B data) converted to SI units. The data format are netCDF3 files, following the formats used for NASA/AAD/UTIG's ICECAP/OIB project at NASA's NSIDC DAAC (10.5067/0I7PFBVQOGO5). Metadata fields can be accessed using the open source ncdump tool, or c, python or matlab modules. A Keyhole Metadata Language (KML) file with geolocation for all transects is also provided. See https://www.loc.gov/preservation/digital/formats/fdd/fdd000330.shtml for resources on NetCDF-3, and https://nsidc.org/data/IR2HI1B/versions/1 for a description of the similar OIB dataset. Acknowledgements This work was supported by the Center for Oldest Ice Exploration, an NSF Science and Technology Center (NSF 2019719). We thank the NSF Office of Polar Programs, the NSF Office of Integrative Activities, and Oregon State University for financial and infrastructure support, and the NSF Antarctic Infrastructure and Logistics Program, and the Antarctic Support Contractor for logistical support. Additional support was provided by the G. Unger Vetlesen Foundation. 

   more » « less
3. Investigating tectonic uplift and glacial incision in West Antarctica using detrital thermochronology and thermo-kinematic modeling

   Taylor, J; Siddoway, CS; Thomson, SN; Teyssier, C (December 2025, American Geophysical Union)

   Cenozoic exhumation in Marie Byrd Land (MBL), West Antarctica, has been dominated by uplift of the MBL dome, an ~800 by ~300 km topographic swell thought to be supported by a hot mantle anomaly, and West Antarctic ice sheet (WAIS) development resulting in deeply incised glacial troughs with up to 3 km of local relief. WAIS expansion is thought to potentially coincide with uplift of the MBL dome, which would have provided the elevated topography necessary to nucleate and grow a continental ice sheet beginning sometime between 34 – 20 Ma. Temporal and spatial relationships between these events remain unclear, however. This study investigates the timing, magnitude, and spatial relationships between tectonic uplift and glacial incision in MBL by leveraging thermo-kinematic modeling informed by detrital low-temperature thermochronology. We investigated Neogene detrital seafloor sediment samples from 14 dredge and core sites along the coast of MBL. Apatite He ages (closure temp ~60°C) of detrital samples range from 23.5 to >80 Ma. Most detrital ages are significantly younger than the ~80 Ma ages typical of exposed bedrock across the region, suggesting these originate from deeply incised bedrock of glacial troughs. The youngest ages obtained for samples retrieved from offshore central and eastern MBL are also significantly younger than the youngest ages obtained for samples from western MBL, suggesting spatial heterogeneity in the timing and/or magnitude of exhumation across the region. Thermo-kinematic modeling of western MBL suggests the regional exhumation rate has been low (10-3 km/myr) since 80 Ma, although focused erosion in glacial troughs produced local late Cenozoic exhumation rates as high as 0.15 km/myr. Preliminary models of the DeVicq glacial trough region of central MBL support these patterns of exhumation. Although model predictions generally agree with observed detrital age distributions, incorporation of detrital ages into these models is expected to provide new insight into the timing of WAIS inception, as well as rates and magnitudes of glacial incision across MBL. 

   more » « less
4. Unveiling the geologic history of Marie Byrd Land, West Antarctica: insights from thermo-kinematic modeling and low-temperature thermochronology

   Adkins, Roxanne; Taylor, Jennifer M; Siddoway, C; Thomson, SN; Teyssier, C (July 2024, Geological Society of America, https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2024AM/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/402995)

   Marie Byrd Land (MBL), West Antarctica, is poorly studied geologically due to its ice cover and remoteness. As a result, the timing and magnitude of tectonic and erosional events, such as the tectonic uplift of the Marie Byrd Land dome and the incision of the DeVicq Glacial Trough, are debated. When faced with problems difficult to study and solve through in-person field work, it becomes necessary to turn to modeling. Pecube is a thermo-kinematic modeling program that uses topographic and crustal thermal data to calculate thermochronologic ages across a landscape. Thermochronology uses radiometric dating of mineral systems that are sensitive to specific temperatures and can be used to track cooling related to the tectonic and exhumation history of a region. Model predictions can be compared to observed ages to test the viability of tectonic or geomorphic scenarios. Observed ages used here include dates derived from apatite fission track analysis (AFT; closure temperature ~ 110 °C) and apatite (U-Th)/He dating (AHe; closure temperature ~ 60 °C) of detrital material recovered from offshore MBL that presumably originated from the DeVicq Trough region of MBL. Ongoing modeling efforts will determine how closely calculated bedrock ages compare to new detrital AHe ages, ranging from 23.5-82.8 Ma, and AFT ages, ranging from 49.7-83.6 Ma. These ages broadly correspond to late breakup of Gondwana (~100-85Ma), erosion during and after the uplift of the Marie Byrd Land dome (~30Ma), and glacial incision (beginning at 34 or 20Ma). In light of these new data, alterations were made to existing Pecube models for the DeVicq Trough region to rule out and narrow down the timings and rates possible for both glacial incision at the DeVicq Glacial Trough and exhumation of the Marie Byrd Land dome. Preliminary results suggest that varying glacial incision start time between 34 and 20 Ma, dates proposed for the initiation of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, does not change resulting bedrock ages significantly. However, varying background exhumation rates results in ages that are broadly consistent with observed ages. Ongoing modeling efforts seek to refine this range further to give insight on the exhumation history and tectonic processes of this region. doi: 10.1130/abs/2024AM-402995 

   more » « less
5. Unveiling the geologic history of Marie Byrd Land, West Antarctica: Insights from thermo-kinematic modeling and low-temperature thermochronology

   https://doi.org/10.1130/abs/2024AM-402995  

   Adkins, Roxanne; Taylor, Jennifer M; Siddoway, Christine; Thomson, Stuart N; Teyssier, Christian (September 2024, Geological Society of America)

   Marie Byrd Land (MBL), West Antarctica, is poorly studied geologically due to its ice cover and remoteness. As a result, the timing and magnitude of tectonic and erosional events, such as the tectonic uplift of the Marie Byrd Land dome and the incision of the DeVicq Glacial Trough, are debated. When faced with problems difficult to study and solve through in-person field work, it becomes necessary to turn to modeling. Pecube is a thermo-kinematic modeling program that uses topographic and crustal thermal data to calculate thermochronologic ages across a landscape. Thermochronology uses radiometric dating of mineral systems that are sensitive to specific temperatures and can be used to track cooling related to the tectonic and exhumation history of a region. Model predictions can be compared to observed ages to test the viability of tectonic or geomorphic scenarios. Observed ages used here include dates derived from apatite fission track analysis (AFT; closure temperature ~ 110 °C) and apatite (U-Th)/He dating (AHe; closure temperature ~ 60 °C) of detrital material recovered from offshore MBL that presumably originated from the DeVicq Trough region of MBL. Ongoing modeling efforts will determine how closely calculated bedrock ages compare to new detrital AHe ages, ranging from 23.5-82.8 Ma, and AFT ages, ranging from 49.7-83.6 Ma. These ages broadly correspond to late breakup of Gondwana (~100-85Ma), erosion during and after the uplift of the Marie Byrd Land dome (~30Ma), and glacial incision (beginning at 34 or 20Ma). In light of these new data, alterations were made to existing Pecube models for the DeVicq Trough region to rule out and narrow down the timings and rates possible for both glacial incision at the DeVicq Glacial Trough and exhumation of the Marie Byrd Land dome. Preliminary results suggest that varying glacial incision start time between 34 and 20 Ma, dates proposed for the initiation of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, does not change resulting bedrock ages significantly. However, varying background exhumation rates results in ages that are broadly consistent with observed ages. Ongoing modeling efforts seek to refine this range further to give insight on the exhumation history and tectonic processes of this region. 

   more » « less