Expressions of Intent for International Polar Year 2007-2008 Activities

Expression of Interest Details

PROPOSAL INFORMATION

Geoscientific Insights of Greater Antarctica in the area from Gamburtsev Mountains, Amery Ice Shelf to Prydz Bay  (GigaGAP)

Outline
GigaGAP is a multinational campaign to collect a range of data that will impact on our understanding of the Earth as a bipolar coupled system, where Antarctica’s evolution impacts on global scale changes of sea level and climate. GigaGAP will involve a transect from the centre of the Antarctic continent, where the ice sheet is underlain by the Gamburtsev Mountains, northwards into Prydz Bay. The transect will incorporate a multidisciplinary approach, involving geology, geomorphology, glaciology and geophysics and will be integrated with ice-sheet and climatic models to establish the geological, environmental and glaciological evolution of the Antarctic continent from its interior into the Southern Ocean. The objective is to derive a four dimensional evolutionary history of the area of East Antarctica affected by the world’s largest glacier (Lambert) and associated ice shelf (Amery). The project is focused in an area that exhibits the largest set of geological exposures in East Antarctica (Prince Charles Mountains). This southern part of the transect will cover the Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains. Nothing is known about the nature of this ice-covered Antarctic “highland”. It was from this region that the expanding Antarctic ice sheet originated and it has been suggested that during warmer periods, this terrain was drained first by ice streams and then, nearer the coast, by rivers from which thick sediments accumulated. In the Late Palaeozoic and Mesozoic these sediments probably included the Amery Group of East Antarctica together with a huge succession of similarly aged sediments that were deposited in Africa, India and Australia. The modern East Antarctic ice sheet is also thought to have nucleated on this “highland”, and progressively expanded from there to cover the continent as Antarctica gradually cooled.The marine sub-project will target the Lambert Rift system in the area of Prydz Bay with acquisition of deep crustal geophysical data and sediment cores that will be integrated with the continental based data sets. The sedimentary and glacial history of Prydz Bay and the structural grain of its uppermost basement are relatively well known from extensive shallow to medium depth seismic reflection profiling and ODP Legs 119 and 188. This existing information will serve as an important parameter basis to build deep dynamic crustal and lithospheric models of the evolution of the Lambert Rift system and its role in the ice-sheet dynamics of East Antarctica.The marine geoscience activities will be facilitated through the deployment of the RV “Polarstern” and the RV “Akademik Alexander Karpinsky” in 2007, with a continental based program in the Prince Charles Mountains and the Gamburtsev Mountains during the 2007/08 austral summer.

What significant advance(s) in relation to the IPY themes and targets can be anticipated from this project?
Theme 1: GigaGAP will provide an unprecedented topographical and geodynamic data base to enhance ice-sheet and climate modelling and to constrain the nature of the thermal flux arising from the bedrock surface of East Antarctica.Theme 2: Knowledge of the time of formation of the subglacial highlands will determine whether temperate or polar glaciation occurred at the nucleation sites and will provide an input to climate models.Theme 3: Nucleation and growth of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet has been the primary modulator of global sea level for approximately 30 million years and understanding its nucleation sites is critical.Theme 4: Exploring the Gamburtsev Mountains and one of the largest continental rift systems represent some of remaining great polar challenges into the unknown.

What international collaboration is involved in this project?
Australia, Germany and Russia will be contributing funds and resources to this program. Co-ordination and collaboration with American airborne and Chinese deep ice drilling programs is anticipated.

FIELD ACTIVITY DETAILS

Geographical location(s) for the proposed field activities:
GigaGAP will involve marine geoscientific activities in Prydz Bay that will link up with a continental transect through the Prince Charles Mountains to an ice covered area over the Gamburtsev Mountains, where an airborne geophysics program will survey an area of more than 135,000 km2.

Approximate timeframe(s) for proposed field activities:
Arctic: n/a
Antarctic: 01/2007 – 04/2007      11/2007– 03/2008      

Significant facilities will be required for this project:
· Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research will be supplying research vessel RV ‘Polarstern’· Russia’s Polar Marine Geological Research Expedition (PMGRE) will supply RV ‘Akademik Alexander Karpinsky’· Bundesanstalt fuer Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe and Australian Antarctic Division will supply geophysical platform and helicopters.· Geoscience Australia will be supplying GPS equipment.

Will the project leave a legacy of infrastructure?
No infrastructures will be left in Antarctica. However, there will be a large meta-data resource that can be used for future earth science programs.

How is it envisaged that the required logistic support will be secured?

Australian Antarctic Division will be lead agency in supplying logistic support in collaboration with Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Bundesanstalt fuer Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe, PMGRE and VNIIOkeangeologia (Research Institute for Geology and Mineral Resources of the World Ocean).

Has the project been "endorsed" at a national or international level?
Further details – The GigaGAP proposal is currently being reviewed by the Australian Antarctic Science Grants Committee and a submission has been made to Australian National Committee for Antarctic Research. The national IPY committee of Germany endorse the project. Endorsement for Russia’s participation is shared among several agencies and formal authorization is still being negotiated. Some objectives of GigaGAP have been endorsed by SCAR (e.g. document SCAR comments on the IPY 2007-2008, paper 41, section “Mountain building”.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND STRUCTURE

Is the project a short-term expansion (over the IPY 2007-2008 timeframe) of an existing plan, programme or initiative or is it a new autonomous proposal?
yes

GigaGAP is a new multinational campaign that will provide new fundamental data

How will the project be organised and managed?
The Australian Antarctic Division will provide the management and primary support for GigaGAP. A "Project Agreement" will be established between the BGR and AAD; there is already an existing agreement with AWI and the AAD through the ACECRC. Specialist personnel involved in individual programs will be drawn from AWI, BGR, PMGRE/VNIIOkeangeologia and Universities in Australia and Germany; all personnel will have to meet expedition requirements laid down by the AAD.

What are the initial plans of the project for addressing the education, outreach and communication issues outlined in the Framework document?
In implementing GigaGAP extensive initiatives involving the media and the education sector will be used to foster the outcomes of these investigations on our society and to the next generation of scientists. This will be undertaken in conjunction with the Royal Society of Victoria’s outreach IPY proposal.

What are the initial plans of the project to address data management issues (as outlined in the Framework document?
GigaGAP involves coordinating with other groups in defining target areas and data release policies. After the final field season, we plan a workshop to release the data to the community and discuss paths for its interpretation. The AAD hosts the Australian Antarctic Data Centre (AADC) in order to help fulfil its data sharing obligations under the Antarctic Treaty. It is an AAD grant requirement that all data collected by Australian scientists will be lodged within the AADC for free access by the global community.

How is it proposed to fund the project?
The Australian Antarctic Science Grants Committee is currently reviewing funding and logistic support for GigaGAP. The "Project Agreement" between the BGR and AAD will also provide for a sharing of costs. Post-GigaGAP data processing will be supported by Australian Research Council and Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft applications. The Alfred Wegener Institute will fund the marine survey with RV Polarstern. PMGRE/VNIIOkeangeologia will fund the marine survey with RV Akademik Alexander Karpinsky.

Is there additional information you wish to provide?
Jan-Apr 2007: The marine geological and geophysical expeditions with RV ‘Polarstern’ and RV ‘Akademik Alexander Karpinsky’ in the Prydz Bay area will be at the start of the IPY. This will provide a unique opportunity to herald the start of the IPY activities from ships that are engaged in an IPY project.CHINARE, through the Chinese Polar Research Institute and Chinese Academy of Sciences is proposing a deep ice drilling program over the Gambertsev Mountains with geology related activities in the Grove Mountains (adjacent to PCMs) during the IPY. Discussions have already commenced for co-ordinating logistic support with the Chinese program.

PROPOSER DETAILS

Professor Christopher J.L. Wilson
School of Earth Sciences
The University of Melbourne
Victoria,
3010
Australia

Tel: 61+3+8344 6538
Mobile: no
Fax: 61+3+8344 7761
Email:

Other project members and their affiliation