Expressions of Intent for International Polar Year 2007-2008 Activities

Expression of Interest Details

PROPOSAL INFORMATION

NEOGENE ICE STREAMS AND SEDIMENTARY PROCESSES ON HIGH-LATITUDE CONTINENTAL MARGINS  (NICE-STREAMS)

Outline
The main objective of this initiative is to develop new models of fast flow in ice-streams, based on analyses of sedimentary records of erosion and deposition of former ice-streams. Ice-streams are critical to dynamics and stability of modern ice sheets, and paleo-ice streams are thought to have played an important role in evolution of former ice sheets. The dynamics of ice-streams are closely related to deformation and transport of subglacial sediments to the ice margin, although this relationship is not fully understood. In many ways, it is easier to study ice-stream processes by looking at the beds of former ice sheets, because modern systems are relatively inaccessible, being buried beneath thick ice. We propose to study the sedimentary records of large former ice-stream systems in the two hemispheres. In the northern hemisphere, one study area will be the main drainage route for the largest ice streams of the former Fennoscandian-Barents Sea ice sheet during successive shelf edge glaciations, the Bjørnøyrenna with its Trough Mouth Fan, which preserves a 3-4 km archive of Plio-Pleistocene ice-stream activity. Another study area will be a large terrestrial paleo-ice stream in Arctic Canada, which affected the fast retreat of the Laurentide Ice Sheet after the last glacial maximum (LGM). In the southern hemisphere, one study area will be the glacial troughs that during the LGM hosted a set of ice streams draining the Northern Antarctic Peninsula (NAP), a climatically sensitive area where a relative warm maritime setting and high precipitation produces particularly dynamic glacial systems with high net-balance gradients. The second study area is the East Antarctic margin, to compare changes in the sedimentary patterns of erosion and deposition in temperate and polar conditions. Scientific problems to be addressed are: - Temporal and spatial variation in the processes of sediment erosion and transport beneath ice-streams, in relation to substrate types and meltwater regime. - The duration of former ice-streams, and mechanisms of onset and shutdown. - The architecture of pro-glacial deposits across the shelf, slope and rise, in order to link subglacial processes to deposition in the deep ocean. Existing geophysical and geological data will be interrogated from new perspectives, while acquisition of new multibeam bathymetry, high-resolution 2D- and 3D-seismic and sediment cores will allow inter-disciplinary analyses of geomorphology, stratal architecture and seismic attributes, bringing new insights into the studies of ice-stream processes and their sedimentary products. The results will be related to changes in oceanography and climate, compared with ice-stream systems in other paleo-ice sheets, and with modern ice-streams in Antarctica, and included in modelling of ice sheets and of sub-ice stream sediment deformation.

What significant advance(s) in relation to the IPY themes and targets can be anticipated from this project?
The main objective is a better understanding of the dynamics of fast ice-flow, its onset, shutdown, and its duration. A key focus is examining the spatial and temporal variability of ice-stream operation in the two hemispheres over Neogene timescales, in order to place modern dynamics in a longer time context. We will integrate existing databases with new, state-of the-art sub-ice-stream data from key areas, use advanced interpretation techniques, and combine knowledge of glacial geological and glaciological processes. The results will be of importance in reconstructing histories of former ice sheets, and to better understand the stability of today’s ice sheets, contributing to IPY-themes 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.

What international collaboration is involved in this project?
University of Barcelona, Geociències Marines, SpainIstituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofosica Sperimentale (OGS), Trieste, ItalyNational Oceanography Centre, Southampton, United KingdomUniv. of Sheffield, Dept.Geography and Centre for Earth Observation Sciences, UKUniv. of Calif. Santa Cruz, Dept. Earth Sciences, Santa Cruz, CA, USAThe University Courses on Svalbard, NorwayStockholm University, Sweden

FIELD ACTIVITY DETAILS

Geographical location(s) for the proposed field activities:
In the northern hemisphere, the southwestern Barents Sea margin, and the Canadian Arctic (on land in Keewatin and Victoria Island). In the southern hemisphere, the Bransfield Basin and Pacific margin of the Northern Antarctic Peninsula, and the Wilkes Land margin and Prydz Bay of East Antarctica.

Approximate timeframe(s) for proposed field activities:
Arctic: March/2007 – September/2007      March/2008 – September/2008      
Antarctic: December/2006 – February 2007      December/2008 – March/2009      

Significant facilities will be required for this project:
The project will involve ice-strengthened research vessels from Norway, Spain and Italy, with onboard geophysical and geological equipment for studies of the seafloor and sub-seafloor sediments. Cruises will be shared with IPY-projects WARMPAST, POLAREARTH (UiT), and COMBINE (OGS). Fieldwork in Arctic Canada will require light aircraft support, snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles and boats.

Will the project leave a legacy of infrastructure?
The main legacy of the project will be one of knowledge, embodied in a large geophysical and geological database. The database can be used in future studies, e.g. modelling.

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

Has the project been "endorsed" at a national or international level?
The proposal will be submitted to national IPY committees of the participating countries.

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

This is a new autonomous proposal, although some of the Antarctic activities are linked to a recently submitted proposal to the Italian national polar agency (PNRA). NICE-STREAMS will also contribute to the IPY initiatives WARMPAST and POLAREARTH, proposed by Univ. of Tromsoe, COMBINE, proposed by OGS and ICEPIC, proposed by Univ. of Sussex.

How will the project be organised and managed?
The project will be organized in Work Packages, and leaders of each work package will, together with the project coordinator act as a Project Steering Committee.Scientific work shops, annual project meetings, and a detailed plan for exchange of PhD students and scientists will be organized.

What are the initial plans of the project for addressing the education, outreach and communication issues outlined in the Framework document?
- Training courses for PhD and Post Docs will be arranged and also be open for Master students- A project website will be set up and have links to e-learning modules that will be produced and published in the electronic EAGE journal Learning Geoscience (www.learninggeoscience.net)- A UNESCO Training-Through-Research cruise will be proposed (http://ioc.unesco.org/ttr/)- An international symposium will be arranged- Students at PhD and Master level will participate in the project

What are the initial plans of the project to address data management issues (as outlined in the Framework document?
Data will be archived, published and distributed through the World Data Centre for Marine Environmental Sciences (WDC-MARE) using the information system PANGAEA (http://www.pangaea.de) and MAREANO (http://www.mareano.no/). Data will be stored in a consistent format with related meta-information in a relational database. The network between project partners will be established as a client/server system on the Internet. Data will be geo-coded in time and space allowing the extraction of any subset of data from the inventory, e.g. for further modelling.

How is it proposed to fund the project?
Funding for an umbrella organisation will be sought through ESF or EU initiatives. NICE-STREAMS participating projects will be funded through planned or already submitted proposals to national research funding agencies.

Is there additional information you wish to provide?
Several of the NICE-STREAMS research groups have a proven track record of collaborative field-based research, while others have worked on similar problems in geographically separate areas. The project would greatly benefit from the combination of expertise and working methods. In particular, comparison of what has been learnt regarding ice-stream imprints in subglacial marine and terrestrial environments is likely to be highly valuable, and we note that our collaborators include those with experience of existing ice streams in West Antarctica.

PROPOSER DETAILS

Associate Professor Karin Andreassen
Department of Geology, University of Tromsoe, Norway


N-9037
Norway

Tel: 4777644420
Mobile: 97633622
Fax: 4777645600
Email:

Other project members and their affiliation