Mapping of Massive Ground Ice Using Ground Penetrating Radar Data in Taylor Valley, McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica

• Main Author: Drake, Alexandra
• Format: Bachelor Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för geovetenskaper 2015
• Subjects: McMurdo Dry Valleys; Taylor Valley; massive ice; ground penetrating radar; Glacial Lake Washburn; climate change; McMurdos torrdalar; massiv markis; markradar; klimatförändringar; Physical Geography; Naturgeografi; Glacial Lake; Washburn; Wright Valley; Antarc*; Antarctica; Antarktis*
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-260357

The distribution of massive ground ice in the ground in Taylor Valley of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica, is quite unknown, and could provide answers to questions such as where the ice comes from, if it has been affected and removed by proglacial lakes and how landscapes underlain by massive ground ice responds to climate change. It could also be a source for atmospheric information in the past and hence a key in climate research. The main goal with this project was therefore to map the distribution of massive ground ice mainly in Taylor Valley, but also in the adjacent Salmon Valley and Wright Valley, using ground penetrating radar to see how the distribution varied and if there was any spatial patterns. The technical computing programme MATLAB was used for editing of the raw radar data, merging of GPR profiles and digitalization of reflectors for possible massive ground ice and several compilations of different files. The data obtained from MATLAB was imported and interpreted using the geographic information system ArcGIS. A series of histograms showing the distribution of massive ground ice depending on the parameters elevation, slope and aspect were made by using the spreadsheet application Microsoft Excel. The results showed that the distribution of massive ground ice was more common at elevations up to 200 m, at the mouth of the valleys and also more frequent in Taylor Valley than in Wright Valley. There was a slightly higher amount of massive ground ice at northeast-east aspects, probably due to different incoming solar radiation. The lack of, or not that prominent, differences for slope and aspect can be due to lack of data, a not enough detailed digital elevation model or that it have existed for a too short period of time to display big differences caused by effects from these parameters. The higher frequency of massive ground ice in Taylor Valley can be due to a thicker sediment cover when compared with the situation in Wright Valley. The distribution of massive ground ice at different slopes ...