A new three-dimensional finite-element model of the steady-state dynamics of temperate glaciers has been developed and applied to Johnsons Glacier, Livingston Island, Antarctica, with the aim of determining the velocity and stress fields for the present glacier configuration. It solves the full Stokes system of differential equations without recourse to simplifications such as those involved in the shallow-ice approximation. Rather high values of the stiffness parameter B (∼0.19–0.23MPaa1/3) are needed to match the observed ice surface velocities, although these results do not differ much from those found by other authors for temperate glaciers. Best-fit values of the coefficient k in the sliding law (*2.2–2.7 x 103m a–1MPa–2) are also of the same order of magnitude as those found by other authors. The results for velocities are satisfactory, though locally there exist significant discrepancies between computed and observed ice surface velocities, particularly for the vertical ones. This could be due to failures in the sliding law (in particular, the lack of information on water pressure), the use of an artificial down-edge boundary condition and the fact that bed deformation is not considered. For the whole glacier system, the driving stress is largely balanced by the basal drag (80% of the driving stress). Longitudinal stress gradients are only important in the divide areas and near the glacier terminus, while lateral drag is only important at both sides of the terminal zone.

The power strength of the radio-echo signal coming from reflecting sub-ice surfaces is used to determine the nature of the reflecting surface, i.e. rock, water or sea water. Electromagnetic analysis shows that the amplitude variations detected by radio-echo sounding are mainly due to the nature of the interface as well as the concave or convex shape of the reflectors. In this paper, some relevant profiles showing the power variations due to the different nature of the interface and the shape of the reflectors are presented. These results are important both for surface shape determination and for subglacial lake detection.

A simple quasi-analytical model is used to study the sensitivity of the Antarctic ice sheet to climate change. The model is axisymmetrical and has a profile that only depends on the ice-sheet radius. The climatic conditions are represented by three parameters: the altitude of the runoff line, the accumulation rate above the runoff line, and the balance gradient below the runoff line. The ice sheet may extend into the sea. At the grounding line the ice velocity is assumed to be proportional to the water depth. For this set-up, an explicit algebraic expression for the total mass budget of the ice sheet can be derived. After calibration of the model with respect to the present-day ice sheet, equilibrium states are studied for a wide range of temperatures. The model predicts a maximum ice volume (+3.4%) for a temperature that is 2.5 K above the present value. For a temperature increase of 7 K, mass loss by runoff and calving are about the same. In this case the ice volume is about 82% of the current value. The ice-sheet model is used to correct the Cenozoic deep-sea temperature record (δ18O record from benthic foraminifera in ocean sediments) for Antarctic ice volume. The model is forced with the oxygen isotope record, which is then corrected for the calculated ice volume. Therefore, the resulting deep-sea temperature and Antarctic ice-volume curves are mutually consistent. It is concluded that for the last 35×106 years the δ18O record truly is a mixed temperature/ice-volume record, in which the contributions from these parameters have the same order of magnitude.

Patriot Hills is located at 80˚18’ S, 81˚22’W, at the southernmost end of the Heritage Range, Ellsworth Mountains, West Antarctica. A comparison of glacier elevation data and ice velocities obtained by the differential global positioning system in the period 1996–97 is presented. Ablation/accumulation rates measured at a network of stakes in Horseshoe Valley show average accumulation of 70 kg m–2 a–1 in the central part of the valley, and a maximum ablation of ∼170 kg m–2 a–1 at the edge of the blue-ice area, close to Patriot Hills. Changes in the surface elevation of the glacier measured at 81 stakes in the period 1995–97 show a mean thickening of +0.43±0.42ma–1, which, considering the uncertainties, indicates that the ice sheet around Patriot Hills is in near steady state. Surface velocities, in combination with ice thicknesses obtained by ground-based radio-echo sounding, are used to compute the ice flux across the Horseshoe Valley transect. A total outflow of 0.44 ±0.08km3 a–1 is obtained. Considering a catchment area for Horseshoe Valley of 1087 km2 upstream from the flow transect, and a net accumulation rate of 100 kg m–2 a–1, a total input of 0.11 ±0.04km3 a–1 by snow accumulation is obtained. Accepting a near-equilibrium condition for the ice sheet, the flux difference, i.e. 0.33 km3 a–1, must be supplied by flow from the inland ice sheet through ice cliffs located in mountain gaps in the Heritage Range. If Horseshoe Valley is not in steady state but is thickening, the positive mass balance could be due to increased snow accumulation or enhanced ice flow from the interior of the ice sheet. New data are needed to elucidate this.

Laboratory-made snow doped with either hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) or formaldehyde (HCHO) was exposed to radiation in the ultraviolet and visible range, resulting in a decomposition of both compounds. These experiments demonstrate that, besides the photolysis of nitrate, further photochemical reactions of atmospheric relevant compounds can take place in snow. Under similar conditions the decomposition of H2O2 is more efficient than that of HCHO. Since the decompositions in the experiments follow first-order reaction kinetics, we suggest that the same products as in photolysis reactions in the liquid phase are produced. If similar reactions also take place in natural snow covers, these reactions would have several important consequences. The reactions could represent pathways for the generation of highly reactive radicals in the condensed phase, enhancing the photochemical activity of surface snow and modifying the oxidation capacity of the atmospheric boundary layer. The photolysis could also constitute an additional sink for H2O2 and HCHO in surface snow, which should be taken into account for the reconstruction of atmospheric concentrations of both compounds from concentration profiles in surface snow and ice cores.

Ultra-high-resolution firn-core records covering four annual cycles of oxygen isotope ratios (Δ18O) and trace-ion species were generated from a high-accumulation site on Law Dome, East Antarctica. Event-scale dating of the records was established using hourly snow accumulation measurements from a co-located automatic weather station (AWS). These net accumulation events were used to examine the seasonal timing of Δ18O and a suite of trace-ion species including marine biogenic sulphur compounds (methanesulphonic acid (MSA), non-sea salt sulphate), nitrate and major sea-salt species (sodium, chloride, magnesium). The ultra-high-resolution nature of this study and independent dating scale provide an opportunity to examine exact timings in the seasonality of each species. The traditional summer-maximum species of Δ18O and MSA show consistent relative phasing during midsummer over the four annual cycles. Nitrate shows an erratic seasonal cycle with a general trend characterized by narrow peaks during spring and early summer, preceding the mid-summer peaks in Δ18O and MSA. Non-sea-salt sulphate cycles indicate similar characteristics to MSA signals during summer, but are more comparable to nitrate signals during spring, autumn and winter. This suggests the summer non-sea-salt sulphate signal is driven by biological activity, although this species appears to be linked with nitrate signals outside the summer season. Finally, the sea-salt species indicate a seasonal cycle characterized by maximum concentrations during spring, winter and autumn. Event-scale dating of the firn-core records allows direct comparisons between the seasonal cycles and meteorological conditions. Contemporaneous local air-temperature measurements are compared with the high-resolution Δ18O record. This allows a detailed investigation of the relationship between site temperature and Δ18O signals in the ice core.

The relationship between δ18O and air temperature at Neumayer station, Ekstrmisen, Antarctica, was investigated using fresh-snow samples from the time period 1981–2000. A trajectory model that calculated 5 day-backward trajectories was used to study the influence of different synoptic weather situations and thus of different moisture sources on this correlation. Generally a high correlation between air temperature and δ18O was found, but the quality of the δ18O–T relationship varied with the different trajectory classes. Additionally, the sea-ice coverage on the travel path of the moist air was considered. The amount of open ocean water underneath the trajectory has a large influence on the δ18O–T relationship. For trajectories that lead completely above open water, no significant correlation between δ18O and T was found, because mixing with air masses containing additionally evaporated water vapour from the ocean influences the isotope ratio of precipitation. A very high correlation, however, was found for transports over the completely ice-covered Weddell Sea.

We outline how to incorporate microscale effects of polycrystalline ice into a continuum description. Actually, analyses of ice cores in Antarctica show that different microstructures generally produce different responses, i.e. a non-uniform distribution of c axes gives rise to anisotropic behaviour. It has been recognized that, to describe certain microstructural processes, like recrystallization or polygonization, we need a parameter able to switch them on (e.g. dislocation density or its associated lattice distortion energy). With this in mind, balance equations for a continuum theory of an anisotropic ice sheet undergoing recrystallization have been recently proposed. In this work, we examine relations for some constitutive quantities, in order to take into account the effects of grain-boundary migration, nucleation and polygonization. We check our assumptions by explicit comparison with the first 1200 m of the Byrd (Antarctica) ice core. Current literature usually gives a relation between normal grain growth and grain boundary migration rate. Here, an equation for normal grain growth which also incorporates the influence of polygonization is suggested. It is based on experimental data from the same core in Antarctica. Polygonization is a microscopic process, but here we present a continuum description of the bending stresses which promote the fragmentation of crystallites in terms of the theory of mixtures with continuous diversity.

The study of aerosol composition and air–snow exchange processes is relevant to the reconstruction of past atmosphere composition from ice cores. For this purpose, aerosol samples, superficial snow layers and firn samples from snow pits were collected at Dome Concordia station, East Antarctica, during the 2000/01 summer field season. The aerosol was collected in a ‘coarse’ and a ‘fine’ fraction, roughly separated from each other by a stacked filter system (5.0 and 0.4 μm). Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) direct measurements on the fine fraction showed that 72% of surface size distribution ranges from 1.0 x 105 to 1.2 x 106 nm2. Assuming a spherical model, the volume size distribution of particles smaller than 5.0 μm shows a mode in the radius range 0.2–0.6 μm. Ion chromatographic (IC) measurements of selected chemical components allowed calculation of the ionic balance of the two size fractions. The fine fraction is dominant, representing 86% of the total ionic budget, and it is characterized by high content of sulphate and acidity. Principal component analysis (PCA) identified sea-spray and biogenic aerosol sources and showed some particulars of the transport and depositional processes of some chemical components (Ca2+, MSA, nssSO42–). Comparative analysis of aerosol, surface hoar and superficial snow showed differences in chemical composition: nitrate and chloride exhibit very high concentrations in the uppermost snow layers and in the surface hoar, and low values in the aerosol. This evidence demonstrates that nitrate and chloride are mainly in gas phase at Dome C and they can be caught on the snow and hoar surface through dry deposition and adsorption processes.

The microstructure of snow and firn controls the transport of chemical species from the atmosphere into and out of the underlying firn. Permeability and thick-section microstructure measurements have been made from snow-pit and firn-core samples retrieved near the proposed deep-drilling site for the inland West Antarctic ice sheet. Measurements in past investigations of polar firn show that the permeability of the snow gradually increases with depth into the core to about 2 m, then decreases. In this core, there is a second maximum in permeability at approximately 12 m that is likely due to changes in meteorological conditions at the site. Either lower temperatures or higher accumulation rates in the most recent three to four decades could cause the changes in microstructure and permeability in this core. We suggest that climate shifts may alter gas records ultimately preserved in the ice because of the local climate’s effect on the permeability profile.

Deep beneath the thick ice cover of the Antarctic continent there exist subglacial hydrological networks, within which basal meltwater can flow. In this paper, we use surface elevation data from European Remote-sensing Satellite radar altimetry to map these subglacial hydrological networks for the whole continent. We observe a confused pattern of subglacial systems, linking regions where basal melting takes place. In some regions, channels can be followed over some hundreds of kilometres. Some of these meet the ice-sheet margin, suggesting that meltwater can be transported all the way to the ocean. We observe an east–west gradient in the distribution of hydrological networks that could be explained by the geothermal flux pattern.

Snow and firn properties control the transport of vapor, gases and water between the atmosphere and the underlying strata. An understanding of this transport and the properties that control it is important for predicting air–snow transfer of chemical species and for interpreting ice cores. Remote-sensing images of East Antarctica show large areas of alternating light and dark bands. These low-amplitude, long-wavelength features have glazed downwind faces and rough upwind faces and are called megadunes. The first linked measurements of the permeability and the associated microstructure for a glazed area within a well-defined megadune area are reported in this paper. Permeability and density were measured, along with grain-scale properties derived from digital image processing of preserved thick sections, at this cold, low-accumulation glazed site. A clear layering pattern exists. In the top meter the firn density ranges from 0.24 to 0.50 g cm–3. Permeability measurements range from 50 x 10–10 to 200 x 10–10μ2, several times greater than corresponding profiles from warmer, higher-accumulation sites like Siple Dome, Antarctica. It is shown that buoyancy-driven natural convection may be important in post-depositional processes in very cold, low-accumulation sites like this.

Ice-penetrating radar and modelling data are presented suggesting the presence of a zone of temperate ice, water ponding or saturated sediment beneath the tongue of Taylor Glacier, Dry Valleys, Antarctica. The proposed subglacial zone lies 3–6 km up-glacier of the terminus and is 400– 1000m across. The zone coincides with an extensive topographic overdeepening to 80m below sea level. High values of residual bed reflective power across this zone compared to other regions and the margins of the glacier require a high dielectric contrast between the ice and the bed and are strongly indicative of the presence of basal water or saturated sediment. Analysis of the hydraulic equipotential surface also indicates strong convergence into this zone of subglacial water flow paths. However, thermodynamic modelling reveals that basal temperatures in this region could not exceed –7˚C relative to the pressure-melting point. Such a result is at odds with the radar observations unless the subglacial water is a hypersaline brine.

The temperature–depth profiles measured in 22 boreholes drilled on the West Antarctic ice sheet exhibit two distinctly different thermal states of its basal ice. The warm state shows on Siple Dome and on Whillans Ice Stream. A relatively colder state, found at the Unicorn, Kamb Ice Stream (former Ice Stream C) and Bindschadler Ice Stream (former Ice Stream D), has basal temperature gradients greater than 50 K km–1. A large block of cold ice stranded and frozen to the bed at the Unicorn and simultaneously much warmer ice existing only a few kilometers across the Dragon shear margin in fast-moving Alley Ice Stream (former Ice Stream B2) poses a paradox. The relatively cold ice at the Unicorn must have come from a source different from the present Whillans Ice Stream catchment area. It is hypothesized that the Unicorn paradox was created by a super-surge. Also, the stagnant Siple Ice Stream, many relict shear margins, cold patches of ice at the Crary Ice Rise, ice rafts embedded in the Ross Ice Shelf, all point to a major event triggered either by an internal instability or by a subareal volcanic eruption. Most of these features appeared to have been formed about 500 years ago. Subsequent freeze-on of a 10–20m thick basal layer of debris-laden ice and water loss caused a slowdown of ice streams and, in the case of Kamb Ice Stream, an almost complete stoppage.

Two deep ice cores are being drilled in Antarctica in the frame of the European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica (EPICA). The Dome C ice core will provide more information about mechanisms of global climatic changes over several climatic cycles. The DML core, drilled at Kohnen station, will provide a detailed record over the last climatic cycle, which can be compared with Greenland records. The drilling at Dome C reached 3200 m depth during field season 2002/03, and the age of the ice at the bottom of the hole could be 900 000 years according to preliminary estimates. The depth at Kohnen station is 1564.6 m at present, corresponding to an age of about 55 000 years. Analyses along the top parts of both ice cores have provided interesting first results. A few selected results from these parts, mostly published already, are summarized. Only a few measurements are available from the deeper parts of both cores. Dielectric profiling and electrical conductivity measurements, performed in the field, provide continuous and high-resolution records concerning the acidity and the salt concentration of the ice. Continuous flow analyses and Fast Ion Chromatography also provide high-resolution records of several chemical compounds. These records give some clues as to the age scale of the EPICA Dome C ice core, but they also leave us with many open questions.

Results of analyses of snow annual accumulation variability, density and crystal growth measurements in firn and ice cores recovered from the upper layers of the West Antarctic ice sheet during the US component of the International Trans-Antarctic Scientific Expedition (ITASE) are presented. Annual-layer structure was analyzed on the basis of the visible stratigraphy and electrical conductivity measurement record in each core. Annual accumulation varied appreciably between core sites and within cores at individual sites where undulating surface topography appears to be exerting a significant impact on the magnitude of snow deposition. All density profiles except one exhibited densification that was normal with respect to snow annual accumulation and 10 m firn temperatures. Snow annual accumulation was determined stratigraphically, and 10m firn temperatures were either measured in the holes drilled for cores or inferred using elevation changes relative to Byrd Station, the 10m temperature at Byrd Station and an assumed lapse rate. Measurements at the one exceptional location indicated that the firn had undergone extremely rapid densification to ice, with the transition to ice occurring at 35–36m depth. Furthermore, thin-section measurements of grain-size show that the growth of crystals accelerated below the firn–ice transition. The behavior at this one site is attributed to localized deformation in the upper layers of firn and ice. Enhanced crystal growth was also observed at another site. At all other locations where grain-sizes were measured, the rates of crystal growth were in accord with age–temperature relationships observed by other researchers in Antarctica and Greenland. Profiles illustrating pore–crystal structure changes with increasing depth of burial are also presented.

In this work, we present the records of insoluble silicon (Si), iron (Fe) and titanium (Ti) from continental mineral particles (dust) archived in the first 2200m of the EPICA Dome C (EDC) ice core. More than 200 samples covering the last 220 kyr, back to marine isotopic stage 7.4, were analyzed using the particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) technique, applied here for the first time to the investigation of the mineral content of an Antarctic ice core. The measurements were made exclusively on the insoluble fraction, obtained from filtration of the melted ice samples. The mineral fraction of the particle mass determined from the PIXE measurements is highly correlated to the total dust mass determined by particle counting using a Coulter©Counter. The principal variations during the different climatic periods are very coherent between the PIXE analysis results and the total dust mass determined by counting. Both sets of results show increasing concentration values during glacial stages 2, 4 and 6 and very low particle content during interglacials (Holocene and stage 5e). The large increase in atmospheric dustiness during cold stages is assumed to be caused by several factors, among which are the enhanced vigour of atmospheric transport. However, the PIXE results from this work highlight some slight differences in Si, Fe and Ti concentrations with respect to the total dust mass during the different climatic periods. As a hypothesis, such variations could reflect either different atmospheric processes affecting particles during transport, or changes that occurred in the dust source regions.

Output of a 14 year integration with a high-resolution (55 km ×55 km) regional atmospheric climate model is used to study the response of Antarctic near-surface climate to the Antarctic Oscillation (AAO), the periodical strengthening and weakening of the circumpolar vortex in the Southern Hemisphere. In spite of the relatively short record, wind, temperature and precipitation show widespread and significant AAO-related signals. When the vortex is strong (high AAO index), northwesterly flow anomalies cause warming over the Antarctic Peninsula (AP) and adjacent regions in West Antarctica and the Weddell Sea. In contrast, cooling occurs in East Antarctica, the eastern Ross Ice Shelf and parts of Marie Byrd Land. Most of the annual temperature signal stems from the months March–August. The spatial distribution of the precipitation response to changes in the AAO does not mirror temperature changes but is in first order determined by the direction of flow anomalies with respect to the Antarctic topography. When the vortex is strong (high AAO index), the western AP becomes wetter, while the Ross Ice Shelf, parts of West Antarctica and the Lambert Glacier basin, East Antarctica, become drier.

Annually dated ice cores from West and East Antarctica provide proxies for past changes in atmospheric circulation over Antarctica and portions of the Southern Ocean, temperature in coastal West and East Antarctica, and the frequency of South Polar penetration of El Niño events. During the period AD 1700–1850, atmospheric circulation over the Antarctic and at least portions of the Southern Hemisphere underwent a mode switch departing from the out-of-phase alternation of multi-decadal long phases of EOF1 and EOF2 modes of the 850 hPa field over the Southern Hemisphere (as defined in the recent record by Thompson and Wallace, 2000; Thompson and Solomon, 2002) that characterizes the remainder of the 700 year long record. From AD 1700 to 1850, lower-tropospheric circulation was replaced by in-phase behavior of the Amundsen Sea Low component of EOF2 and the East Antarctic High component of EOF1. During the first phase of the mode switch, both West and East Antarctic temperatures declined, potentially in response to the increased extent of sea ice surrounding both regions. At the end of the mode switch, West Antarctic coastal temperatures rose and East Antarctic coastal temperatures fell, respectively, to their second highest and lowest of the record. Polar penetration of El Niño events increased during the mode switch. The onset of the AD 1700–1850 mode switch coincides with the extreme state of the Maunder Minimum in solar variability. Late 20th-century West Antarctic coastal temperatures are the highest in the record period, and East Antarctic coastal temperatures close to the lowest. Since AD 1700, extratropical regions of the Southern Hemisphere have experienced significant climate variability coincident with changes in both solar variability and greenhouse gases.