Airborne geophysics as a tool for geoscientific research in Antarctica: Some recent examples

• Main Authors: F. Ferraccioli, P. C. Jones, P. Leat, T. A. Jordan
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antarctic; Antarctic Peninsula; Coats Land; Dronning Maud Land; Pacific; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarctica; British Antarctic Survey
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.496.8959; http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2007/1047/srp/srp056/of2007-1047srp056.pdf

Abstract The polar regions play an important role in Earth's geodynamic and climatic systems. Modern airborne geophysical surveys combine radio-echo sounding, aeromagnetic and aerogravity methods to explore the geology of these regions. This paper reviews some recent aerogeophysical investigations undertaken by the British Antarctic Survey to: 1) Image subglacial rifts of Jurassic age in western Dronning Maud Land, which were associated with early Gondwana break-up; 2) Investigate crustal growth over the Antarctic Peninsula by Cretaceous arc magmatism and terrane accretion along the paleo-Pacific margin of Gondwana; 3) Analyse geological boundary conditions for present-day ice dynamics over Coats Land.