Уникальные геологические структуры района купола Лоу и ледников Вандерфорда и Тоттена (Земля Уилкса) по данным геофизических исследований

Wilkes Land is a key region for Gondwana reconstruction, however it remains one of the largest regions on Earth with poorest knowledge of geology. This study comprehensively reviews the ICECAP/ IceBridge geophysical data for the Law Dome region including Vanderford and Totten adjacent glaciers over Wilkes Land and their role in obtaining new insight on the East Antarctic geology hidden under the ice cover. We analyzed more than 100,000 line kilometers of new magnetic, gravity and subglacial bedrock topography data that are available through the National Snow and Ice Data Center (USA). The newly acquired data supports our previous idea of the continuous rift structure existence at the southern boundary of Law Dome that runs between Vanderford and Totten Glaciers. The rift length exceeds 400 km and width varies from 50 to 100 km. In accordance with results of depth to Moho estimations and density modelling, for axial part of the rift it is characteristic an essential thinning of the Earth crust thickness, it is raised up to 24–26 km and continue to be elevated along entire length of this structure. The thickness of sedimentary rocks within the rift exceeds 3 km, their high density probably evidence that they were formed during Late Paleozoic – Early Mesozoic. The results of our investigations support tectonic nature of this structure as continuous rift developed since the Mesozoic extension phase (~160 Ma) of the Wilkes Land continental margin. Second distinctive structure is the strong reversely magnetized Law Dome magnetic anomaly with an area of about 9,500 km2. This anomaly would map out one of the largest mafic/ultramafic intrusions of the Earth, similar in extent to Norway’s Bjerkreim-Sokndal layered intrusion, the Coompana Block gabbro in Australia, or even the granitic-gneiss complex in the Adirondack Mountains of North America.В работе анализируются геофизические данные проекта ICECAP/IceBridge для района купола Лоу на Земле Уилкса, которые подтверждают ранее высказанную идею о существовании рифтогенной структуры, подстилающей ледники Вандерфорда и Тоттена. Протяженность рифта превышает 400 км, а его ширина варьирует от 50 до 100 км. Результаты расчетов глубин до поверхности Мохоровичича свидетельствуют, что для осевой части рифта характерно существенное утонение коры до 24–26 км. Мощность осадочных отложений в пределах рифта превышает 3 км. Интенсивная отрицательная магнитная аномалия на куполе Лоу обусловлена обратным намагничением пород, ее площадь составляет порядка 9500 км2. Как наиболее вероятный источник аномалии рассматриваются породы гранитного или гранито-гнейсового состава

Recent magnetic views of the Antarctic lithosphere

Magnetic anomaly investigations are a key tool to help unveil subglacial geology, crustal architecture and the tectonic and geodynamic evolution of the Antarctic continent. Here, we present the second generation Antarctic magnetic anomaly compilation ADMAP 2.0 (Golynsky et al., 2018), that now includes a staggering 3.5 million line-km of aeromagnetic and marine magnetic data, more than double the amount of data available in the first generation effort. All the magnetic data were corrected for the International Geomagnetic Reference Field, diurnal effects, high-frequency errors and leveled, gridded,and stitched together. The new magnetic anomaly dataset provides tantalising new views into the structure and evolution of the Antarctic Peninsula and the West Antarctic Rift System within West Antarctica, and Dronning Maud Land, the Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains, the Prince Charles Mountains, Princess Elizabeth Land, and Wilkes Land in East Antarctica, as well as key insights into oceanic gateways. Our magnetic anomaly compilation is helping unify disparate regional geologic and geophysical studies by providing larger-scale perspectives into the major tectonic and magmatic processes that affected Antarctica from Precambrian to Cenozoic times, including e.g. the processes of subduction and magmatic arc development, orogenesis, accretion, cratonisation and continental rifting, as well as continental margin and oceanic basin evolution. The international Antarctic geomagnetic community remains very active in the wake of ADMAP 2.0, and we will showcase some of their key ongoing study areas, such as the South Pole and Recovery frontiers, the Ross Ice Shelf, Dronning Maud Land and Princess Elizabeth Land

Heat flux distribution of Antarctica unveiled

Antarctica is the largest reservoir of ice on Earth. Understanding its ice sheet dynamics is crucial to unraveling past global climate change and making robust climatic and sea level predictions. Of the basic parameters that shape and control ice flow, the most poorly known is geothermal heat flux. Direct observations of heat flux are difficult to obtain in Antarctica, and until now continent-wide heat flux maps have only been derived from low-resolution satellite magnetic and seismological data. We present a high resolution heat flux map and associated uncertainty derived from spectral analysis of the most advanced continental compilation of airborne magnetic data. Small-scale spatial variability and features consistent with known geology are better reproduced than in previous models, between 36% and 50%. Our high-resolution heat-flux map and its uncertainty distribution provide an important new boundary condition to be used in studies on future subglacial hydrology, ice-sheet dynamics and sea-level chang

Study of the eastern margin of the Antarctic Peninsula based on gravimetric and magnetic data

La península Antártica, constituida fundamentalmente por rocas ígneas y metamórficas, forma parte del cinturón orogénico andino de edad mesozoico-cenozoica, y fue separada de Sudamérica tras la apertura del paso de Drake desde el Oligoceno. La península está formada por procesos relacionados con la subducción de la corteza oceánica del Pacífico en su margen occidental, que aún hoy es activa al NE de la zona de fractura Hero, dando lugar a la formación de la cuenca de trasarco de Bransfield. El margen oriental es el menos conocido por su inaccesibilidad, es de tipo pasivo y se caracteriza por una plataforma continental extensa con un tránsito gradual hacia el dominio oceánico del mar de Weddell. La modelización de 2 perfiles magnéticos y gravimétricos indica [1] que la estructura cortical presenta un adelgazamiento progresivo de la corteza hacia el SE, [2] una gran variación del espesor de sedimentos y [3] la existencia de una zona de diques basálticos asociada al borde occidental del mar de WeddellThe Antarctic Peninsula, mainly composed of igneous and metamorphic rocks, was separated from South America during the opening of the Drake Passage from the Oligocene, as part of the Mesozoic-Cenozoic Andean orogenic belt. It was formed by processes related to the subduction of Pacific Ocean floor at its western margin, still active northwards of the Hero fracture zone, where the Bransfield backarc basin was developed. The eastern margin is less known due to its inaccessibility and is described as a continental passive margin gradually in transition to the Weddell Sea ocean floor. The modelling of 2 magnetic and gravimetric profiles shows [1] that the eastern margin of the Antarctic Peninsula depicts a progressively thinning of the upper crust towards the SE, [2] a remarkable sediment thickness changes, and [3] basaltic dikes related to the western edge of the Weddell Se

ADMAP-2: The next-generation Antarctic magnetic anomaly map

The Antarctic Digital Magnetic Anomaly Project compiled the first international magnetic anomaly map of the Antarctic region south of 60\ubaS (ADMAP-1) some six years after its 1995 launch (Golynsky et al., 2001; Golynsky et al., 2007; von Frese et al., 2007). This magnetic anomaly compilation provided new insights into the structure and evolution of Antarctica, including its Proterozoic-Archaean cratons, Proterozoic-Palaeozoic orogens, Palaeozoic-Cenozoic magmatic arc systems, continental rift systems and rifted margins, large igneous provinces and the surrounding oceanic gateways. The international working group produced the ADMAP-1 database from more than 1.5 million line-kilometres of terrestrial, airborne, marine and satellite magnetic observations collected during the IGY 1957-58 through 1999. Since the publication of the first magnetic anomaly map, the international geomagnetic community has acquired more than 1.9 million line-km of new airborne and marine data. This implies that the amount of magnetic anomaly data over the Antarctic continent has more than doubled. These new data provide important constraints on the geology of the enigmatic Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains and Prince Charles Mountains, Wilkes Land, Dronning Maud Land, and other largely unexplored Antarctic areas (Ferraccioli et al., 2011, Aitken et al., 2014 \u327 Mieth & Jokat, 2014, Golynsky et al., 2013). The processing of the recently acquired data involved quality assessments by careful statistical analysis of the crossover errors. All magnetic data used in the ADMAP-2 compilation were delivered as profiles, although several of them were in raw form. Some datasets were decimated or upward continued to altitudes of 4 km or higher with the higher frequency geological signals smoothed out. The line data used for the ADMAP-1 compilation were reprocessed for obvious errors and residual corrugations. The new near-surface magnetic data were corrected for the international geomagnetic reference field and diurnal effects, edited for high-frequency errors, and levelled to minimize line-correlated noise. The magnetic anomaly data collected mainly in the 21-st century clearly cannot be simply stitched together with the previous surveys. Thus, mutual levelling adjustments were required to accommodate overlaps in these surveys. The final compilation merged all the available aeromagnetic and marine grids to create the new composite grid of the Antarctic with minimal mismatch along the boundaries between the datasets. Regional coverage gaps in the composite grid will be filled with anomaly estimates constrained by both the near-surface data and satellite magnetic observations taken mainly from the CHAMP and Swarm missions. Magnetic data compilations are providing tantalizing new views into regional-scale subglacial geology and crustal architecture in interior of East and West Antarctica. The ADMAP-2 map provides a new geophysical foundation to better understand the geological structure and tectonic history of Antarctica and surrounding marine areas. In particular, it will provide improved constraints on the lithospheric transition of Antarctica to its oceanic basins, and thus enable improved interpretation of the geodynamic evolution of the Antarctic lithosphere that was a key component in the assembly and break-up of the Rodinia and Gondwana supercontinents. This work was supported by the Korea Polar Research Institute

New Magnetic Anomaly Map of the Antarctic

The second generation Antarctic magnetic anomaly compilation for the region south of 60 degrees S includes some 3.5 million line-km of aeromagnetic and marine magnetic data that more than doubles the initial map's near-surface database. For the new compilation, the magnetic data sets were corrected for the International Geomagnetic Reference Field, diurnal effects, and high-frequency errors and leveled, gridded, and stitched together. The new magnetic data further constrain the crustal architecture and geological evolution of the Antarctic Peninsula and the West Antarctic Rift System in West Antarctica, as well as Dronning Maud Land, the Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains, the Prince Charles Mountains, Princess Elizabeth Land, and Wilkes Land in East Antarctica and the circumjacent oceanic margins. Overall, the magnetic anomaly compilation helps unify disparate regional geologic and geophysical studies by providing new constraints on major tectonic and magmatic processes that affected the Antarctic from Precambrian to Cenozoic times.Korea Polar Research Institute (KOPRI) programs, PM15040 and PE17050Germany's AWI/Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine ResearchFederal Institute for Geosciences and Natural ResourcesBritish Antarctic Survey/Natural Environmental Research CouncilItalian Antarctic Research ProgrammeRussian Ministry of Natural ResourcesU.S. National Science Foundation and National Space and Aeronautics AdministrationAustralian Antarctic Division and Antarctic Climate & Ecosystem Cooperative Research CentreFrench Polar InstituteGlobal geomagnetic observatories network (INTERMAGNET

Air and shipborne magnetic surveys of the Antarctic into the 21st century

The Antarctic geomagnetics' community remains very active in crustal anomaly mapping. More than 1.5 million line-km of new air- and shipborne data have been acquired over the past decade by the international community in Antarctica. These new data together with surveys that previously were not in the public domain significantly upgrade the ADMAP compilation. Aeromagnetic flights over East Antarctica have been concentrated in the Transantarctic Mountains, the Prince Charles Mountains – Lambert Glacier area, and western Dronning Maud Land (DML) — Coats Land. Additionally, surveys were conducted over Lake Vostok and the western part of Marie Byrd Land by the US Support Office for Aerogeophysical Research projects and over the Amundsen Sea Embayment during the austral summer of 2004/2005 by a collaborative US/UK aerogeophysical campaign. New aeromagnetic data over the Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains (120,000 line-km), acquired within the IPY Antarctica's Gamburtsev Province project reveal fundamental geologic features beneath the East Antarctic Ice sheet critical to understanding Precambrian continental growth processes. Roughly 100,000 line-km of magnetic data obtained within the International Collaboration for Exploration of the Cryosphere through Aerogeophysical Profiling promises to shed light on subglacial lithology and identify crustal boundaries for the central Antarctic Plate. Since the 1996/97 season, the Alfred Wegener Institute has collected 90,000 km of aeromagnetic data along a 1200 km long segment of the East Antarctic coast over western DML. Recent cruises by Australian, German, Japanese, Russian, British, and American researchers have contributed to long-standing studies of the Antarctic continental margin. Along the continental margin of East Antarctica west of Maud Rise to the George V Coast of Victoria Land, the Russian Polar Marine Geological Research Expedition and Geoscience Australia obtained 80,000 and 20,000 line-km, respectively, of integrated seismic, gravity and magnetic data. Additionally, US expeditions collected 128,000 line-km of shipborne magnetic data in the Ross Sea sector

Revealing the crustal architecture of the least understood composite craton on Earth: East Antarctica

East Antarctica hosts one of the largest Precambrian cratons on Earth. Meager coastal exposures and sediment provenance studies provide glimpses into up to 3 billion years of its geological history. Extensive ice sheet cover hampers however our knowledge of crustal architecture, and consequently the geodynamic processes responsible for the growth and amalgamation of East Antarctica have remained elusive. Here we exploit recent aerogeophysical exploration efforts to help unveil the large-scale crustal architecture of East Antarctica. We focus on three sectors of East Antarctica: the Transantarctic Mountains and Wilkes Basin area; the Recovery/Dronning Maud Land area and the Gamburtsev Province. These areas provide new insights into both the margins of the so called Mawson craton and the processes that affected its interior. A 1,900 km-long linear magnetic and gravity boundary is imaged along the western flank of the Wilkes Basin and interpreted here as a crustal-scale Paleoproterozoic suture zone (ca 1.7 Ga) that inverted a former passive margin. Two ribbon-like Archean and Paleoproterozic microcontinents were assembled during this stage, resembling modes of amalgamation of Paleoproterozoic microcontinental ribbons in Australia. The proposed Proterozoic sutures and microcontinent boundaries also influenced Neoproterozoic rifted margin and early Cambrian back-arc basins in the Wilkes Basin/Transantarctic Mountains region. In the Recovery/Dronning Maud Land region our new potential field compilations reveal a wide tract of anastomising crustal-scale shear zones, likely of Pan-African age that flank and variably deform the margins of several distinct Archean, Paleo-Mesoproterozoic and Grenvillian age crustal blocks. In the Gamburtsev Province new magnetic and gravity models provide insights into the Gamburtsev Suture (Ferraccioli et al., 2011, Nature) that separates the Ruker Province from an inferred Grenvillian-age orogenic Gamburtsev Province with remarkably thick crust (up to 60 km thick) and thick lithosphere (over 200 km thick). We suggest that a recently inferred Tonian-age accretionary belt identified in the Sor Rondane region continues further inland in the Gamburtsev Province and was likely also reactivated during Pan-African age transpression linked to Gondwana assembly

Bathymetry Beneath Ice Shelves of Western Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica, and Implications on Ice Shelf Stability

Antarctica's ice shelves play a key role in stabilizing the ice streams that feed them. Since basal melting largely depends on ice-ocean interactions, it is vital to attain consistent bathymetry models to estimate water and heat exchange beneath ice shelves. We have constructed bathymetry models beneath the ice shelves of western Dronning Maud Land by inverting airborne gravity data and incorporating seismic, multibeam, and radar depth references. Our models reveal deep glacial troughs beneath the ice shelves and terminal moraines close to the continental shelf breaks, which currently limit the entry of Warm Deep Water from the Southern Ocean. The ice shelves buttress a catchment that comprises an ice volume equivalent to nearly 1 m of eustatic sea level rise, partly susceptible to ocean forcing. Changes in water temperature and thermocline depth may accelerate marine-based ice sheet drainage and constitute an underestimated contribution to future global sea level rise