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Aggregate DOI for GPS/GNSS stations: Long-term continuous or semi-continuous occupations at multiple locations 

Abstract Geothermal heat plays a vital role in Antarctic ice sheet stability. The continental geothermal heat flow distribution depends on lithospheric composition and ongoing tectonism. Heat‐producing elements are unevenly enriched in the crust over deep time by various geological processes. The contribution of crustal heat production to geothermal heat flow is widely recognized; however, in Antarctica, crustal geology is largely hidden, and its complexity has frequently been excluded in thermal studies due to limited observations and oversimplified assumptions. Li and Aitken (2024),https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL106201take a significant step forward, focusing on Antarctic crustal radiogenic heat. Utilizing gravity inversion and rock composition data, they show that the crustal heterogeneity introduces considerable variability to heat flow. However, modeling crustal heat production proves challenging because it lacks distinct associations with geophysical observables and has a narrow spatial association. Robust quantification of geothermal heat production and heat flow must incorporate explicit aspects of geology. 

Geothermal heat flow (GHF) is an elusive physical property, yet it can reveal past and present plate tectonic processes. In Antarctica, GHF has further consequences in predicting the response of ice sheets to climate change. In this Review, we discuss variations in Antarctic GHF models based on geophysical methods and draw insights into tectonics and GHF model usage for ice sheet modelling. The inferred GHF at continental scale for West Antarctica (up to 119 mW m−2, 95th percentile) points to numerous contributing influences, including non- steady state neotectonic processes. Combined influences cause especially high values in the vicinity of the Thwaites Glacier, a location critical for the accurate prediction of accelerated loss of Antarctic ice mass. The inferred variations across East Antarctica are more subtle (up to 66 mW m−2, 95th percentile), where slightly elevated values in some locations correspond to the influence of thinned lithosphere and tectonic units with concentrations of heat- producing elements. Fine- scale anomalies owing to heat- producing elements and horizontal components of heat flow are important for regional modelling. GHF maps comprising central values with these fine- scale anomalies captured within uncertainty bounds can thus enable improved ensemble- based ice sheet model predictions of Antarctic ice loss.