Where to Find 1.5 Million Yr Old Ice for the IPICS "Oldest Ice" Ice Core

• Published in: Climate of the Past
• Main Authors: Fischer, H., Severinghaus, J., Brook, E., Wolff, E., Albert, M.
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: Dartmouth Digital Commons 2013
• Subjects: climate change; earth-ocean atmosphere systems; Earth Sciences; Glaciology; Physical Sciences and Mathematics; Antarctic; East Antarctic Ice Sheet; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarctica; EPICA; ice core; Ice Sheet
• Online Access: https://digitalcommons.dartmouth.edu/facoa/709; https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-2489-2013; https://digitalcommons.dartmouth.edu/context/facoa/article/1711/viewcontent/cp_9_2489_2013.pdf

Abstract. The recovery of a 1.5 million yr long ice core from Antarctica represents a keystone of our understanding of Quaternary climate, the progression of glaciation over this time period and the role of greenhouse gas cycles in this pro- gression. Here we tackle the question of where such ice may still be found in the Antarctic ice sheet. We can show that such old ice is most likely to exist in the plateau area of the East Antarctic ice sheet (EAIS) without stratigraphic distur- bance and should be able to be recovered after careful pre- site selection studies. Based on a simple ice and heat flow model and glaciological observations, we conclude that po- sitions in the vicinity of major domes and saddle position on the East Antarctic Plateau will most likely have such old ice in store and represent the best study areas for dedicated reconnaissance studies in the near future. In contrast to pre- vious ice core drill site selections, however, we strongly sug- gest significantly reduced ice thickness to avoid bottom melt- ing. For example for the geothermal heat flux and accumu- lation conditions at Dome C, an ice thickness lower than but close to about 2500 m would be required to find 1.5 Myr old ice (i.e., more than 700m less than at the current EPICA Dome C drill site). Within this constraint, the resolution of an Oldest-Ice record and the distance of such old ice to the bedrock should be maximized to avoid ice flow disturbances, for example, by finding locations with minimum geothermal heat flux. As the geothermal heat flux is largely unknown for the EAIS, this parameter has to be carefully determined be- forehand. In addition, detailed bedrock topography and ice flow history has to be reconstructed for candidates of an Oldest-Ice ice coring site. Finally, we argue strongly for rapid access drilling before any full, deep ice coring activity com- mences to bring datable samples to the surface and to allow an age check of the oldest ice.