ICECAP-2 consortium processed airborne ice thickness data from the Princess Elizabeth Land, East Antarctica

Abstract

Airborne ice thickness data from the Princess Elizabeth Land (PEL), East Antarctica was collected in four separate seasons. During the first ICECAP2 season (2015/16), a survey acquiring exploratory ‘fan-shaped’ radial profiles to maximize range and data return on each flight was completed across the broadly unknown region of PEL. These flight lines extend from the coastal Progress Station to the interior ice-sheet divide at Ridge B. In the second and third seasons (2016/17 and 2017/18), a survey ‘grid’ was completed, targeting enhanced resolution over a proposed subglacial lake and a series of basal canyons (Jamieson et al., 2016). In the fourth season (2018/19), a few additional transects were completed to fill the largest data gaps within aircraft range. Field data acquisition was achieved using the “Snow Eagle 601” aero geophysical platform; a BT-67 airplane operated by the Polar Research Institute of China for the Chinese National Antarctic Research Expedition (CHINARE) program. The suite of instruments configured on the airplane include a phase-coherent radio-echo sounder system, operating at a central frequency of 60 MHz and a peak power of 8 kW, making it capable of penetrating deep (>3 km) ice in Antarctica. After applying coherent integration and pulse compression at a bandwidth of 15 MHz, which gave an along-track spatial sampling rate and a vertical resolution of ~10 m and ~5.6 m, respectively.

Airborne ice thickness data from the Princess Elizabeth Land (PEL), East Antarctica was collected in four separate seasons. During the first ICECAP2 season (2015/16), a survey acquiring exploratory ‘fan-shaped’ radial profiles to maximize range and data return on each flight was completed across the broadly unknown region of PEL. These flight lines extend from the coastal Progress Station to the interior ice-sheet divide at Ridge B. In the second and third seasons (2016/17 and 2017/18), a survey ‘grid’ was completed, targeting enhanced resolution over a proposed subglacial lake and a series of basal canyons (Jamieson et al., 2016). In the fourth season (2018/19), a few additional transects were completed to fill the largest data gaps within aircraft range. Field data acquisition was achieved using the “Snow Eagle 601” aero geophysical platform; a BT-67 airplane operated by the Polar Research Institute of China for the Chinese National Antarctic Research Expedition (CHINARE) program. The suite of instruments configured on the airplane include a phase-coherent radio-echo sounder system, operating at a central frequency of 60 MHz and a peak power of 8 kW, making it capable of penetrating deep (>3 km) ice in Antarctica. After applying coherent integration and pulse compression at a bandwidth of 15 MHz, which gave an along-track spatial sampling rate and a vertical resolution of ~10 m and ~5.6 m, respectively.