NSIDC-0282
GPR and GPS Data: Characteristics of Snow Megadunes and their Potential Effects on Ice Core Interpretation
Ted Scambos
GPR and GPS Data: Characteristics of Snow Megadunes and their Potential Effects on Ice Core Interpretation
2006-06-10
Boulder, Colorado USA
NSIDC: National Snow and Ice Data Center
http://nsidc.org/data/nsidc-0282.html
http://dx.doi.org/10.7265/N5Q23X5F
Investigator
Ted
Scambos
scambos@nsidc.org
University of Colorado
Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science
National Snow and Ice Data Center
CIRES, 449 UCB
Boulder
CO
80309-0449
Investigator
Rob
Bauer
bauerr@kryos.colorado.edu
1 303 492 2378
University of Colorado
Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences
University of Colorado
CIRES 449 UCB
Boulder
CO
80309
USA
Technical Contact
NSIDC
User Services
nsidc@nsidc.org
1 303 492-6199 x
1 303 492-2468 x
National Snow and Ice Data Center
CIRES, 449 UCB
University of Colorado
Boulder
CO
80309-0449
USA
EARTH SCIENCE
Cryosphere
Glaciers/Ice Sheets
Firn
EARTH SCIENCE
Cryosphere
Glaciers/Ice Sheets
Ice Sheets
EARTH SCIENCE
Cryosphere
Snow/Ice
Snow Stratigraphy
Internal Layering
EARTH SCIENCE
Land Surface
Geomorphology
Glacial Landforms/Processes
EARTH SCIENCE
Terrestrial Hydrosphere
Snow/Ice
Snow Stratigraphy
Climatology/Meteorology/Atmosphere
AGDC
Antarctica
East Antarctic Plateau
Glaciology
GPS
GPS data
internal layering
Megadunes
Paleoenvironments
Radar
Surface Morphology
Surface Winds
GPR
Ground Penetrating Radar
GPS
Global Positioning System
GPS
Global Positioning System Satellites
GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS
2002-12-05
2002-12-05
2004-01-03
2004-01-07
2000 ybp
complete
-80.7802
-80.5304
124.0218
126.0302
CONTINENT
ANTARCTICA
EAST ANTARCTIC PLATEAU
English
NSIDC_AGDC
NSIDC
National Snow and Ice Data Center
http://nsidc.org
Data Center Contact
NSIDC
User Services
nsidc@nsidc.org
1 303 492-6199
1 303 492-2468
National Snow and Ice Data Center
CIRES, 449 UCB
University of Colorado
Boulder
CO
80309-0449
USA
NSIDC_AGDC
NSIDC Antarctic Glaciological Data Center
http://nsidc.org/agdc/
Data Center Contact
NSIDC AGDC
User Services
nsidc@nsidc.org
1 303 492-6199
1 303 492-2468
National Snow and Ice Data Center
CIRES, 449 UCB
University of Colorado
Boulder
CO
80309-0449
USA
NSIDC_USADCC
NSIDC U.S. Antarctic Data Coordination Center
http://nsidc.org/usadcc/
Data Center Contact
NSIDC USADCC
User Services
nsidc@nsidc.org
1 303 492-6199
1 303 492-2468
National Snow and Ice Data Center
CIRES, 449 UCB
University of Colorado
Boulder
CO
80309-0449
USA
FTP
0.17 - 15.7 MB
JPEG
FTP
28.5 KB
ASCII Text
FTP
89.5 KB
Microsoft Excel
Fahnestock, M. A., T. A. Scambos, C. A. Shuman, et. al. 2000. Snow megadune fields on the East Antarctic Plateau: extreme atmosphere-ice interaction. Geophysical Research Letters 27(22): 3719-3722.
The Antarctic megadune research was conducted during two field seasons, one in November 2002 and the other in December 2003 through January 2004. The megadune field site is located on the East Antarctic Plateau, southeast of Vostok station. The objectives of this multi-facetted research are to determine the physical characteristics of the firn across the dunes including typical climate indicators such as stable isotopes and major chemical species and to install instruments to measure the time variation of near-surface wind and temperature with depth, to test and refine hypotheses for megadune formation. It is important to improve our current understanding of the megadunes because of their extreme nature, their broad extent, and their potential impact on the climate record. Megadunes are a manifestation of an extreme terrestrial climate and may provide insight on past terrestrial climate or on processes active on other planets.
Snow megadunes are undulating variations in accumulation and surface texture with wavelengths of 2 to 5 km and amplitudes up to 5 meters. The features cover 500,000 km<sup>2</sup> of the East Antarctic plateau, occurring in areas of moderate regional slope and low accumulation on the flanks of the ice sheet between 2500 and 3800 meters elevation. Landsat images and aerial photography indicate the dunes consist of alternating surfaces of glaze and rough sastrugi, with gradational boundaries. This pattern is oriented perpendicular to the mean wind direction, as modeled in katabatic wind studies. Glaze surfaces cover the leeward faces and troughs; rough sastrugi cover the windward faces and crests. The megadune pattern is crossed by smooth to eroded wind-parallel longitudinal dunes. Wind-eroded longitudinal dunes form spectacular 1-meter-high sastrugi in nearby areas.
This data set contains ground penetrating radar (GPR) data showing surface morphology and internal layering structure along with global positioning system (GPS) data collected within an area of 60 km<sup>2</sup>. GPS data are provided in space-delimited ASCII text Microsoft Excel formats, while GPR data are in JPEG format. Data are available via FTP.
VIEW PROJECT HOME PAGE
http://nsidc.org/antarctica/megadunes/
Antarctic Megadunes: Research at the Edge of the Earth
VIEW RELATED INFORMATION
http://nsidc.org/data/nsidc-0283.html
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AMD/US
CEOS IDN DIF
9.7
2006-06-10
2013-03-18
Added DOI