Details of Award

NERC Reference : NER/G/S/2002/00009

Glacial-interglacial changes in the lost drainage basin on the West Antarctic ice sheet.

Principal Investigator:: Dr RD Larter, NERC British Antarctic Survey, NERC BAS - Cambridge
Co-Investigator:: Professor JA Dowdeswell, University of Cambridge, Scott Polar Research Institute
Co-Investigator:: Dr C Pudsey, NERC British Antarctic Survey, NERC BAS - Cambridge
Grant held at:: NERC British Antarctic Survey, NERC BAS - Cambridge

ENRIs:: Global Change; Environmental Risks and Hazards
Science Topics:: Sediment/Sedimentary Processes; Quaternary Science; Glacial & Cryospheric Systems; Geohazards

Abstract:: Sparse existing data suggest that a very dynamic glacial system has deposited vast quantities of sediment in the Bellingshausen Sea. From approximately 84-88 degrees W the continental slope comprises a trough-mouth fan (TMF) with a gradient of approximately 1.5 degrees, in sharp contrast to the slope farther NE which is much steeper (greater than 10 degrees). A 150 km-wide trough on the outer shelf suggests that the TMF was fed by a major, previously unrecognised ice stream, that may have drained greater than 300,000 km2 of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS). We will use swath bathymetry and acoustic profiles to track the course of this ice stream back towards its source, inferring subglacial processes from shelf morphology. Sediment cores on the shelf and slope will reveal the nature of glacial and post-glacial deposition, and the timing of ice retreat. Palaeo-ice stream dimensions will be used to constrain thermo-mechanical models of the WAIS.

Authorised funds only

This grant award has a total value of £171,559

Total - Staff	Total - T&S	Total - Other Costs	Total - Indirect Costs	Total - Equipment
£89,557	£4,078	£34,777	£41,197	£1,950

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