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The ANDRILL drilling project - 1284.87 m and 1138.54 m sediment cores from below the McMurdo/Ross Ice Shelf

Entry ID: K001_ANDRILL

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Summary

Abstract: ANDRILL (ANtarctic DRILLing project) is a multinational (Germany, Italy, New Zealand and USA) initiative to investigate the climate and tectonic history of Antarctica by recovering deep sediment cores from the sedimentary basins beneath the floating McMurdo/Ross Ice Shelf (RIS). The response of Antarctic ice sheets to projected greenhouse warming of up to 5.8°C by the end of the century is ... unknown and models on which predictions are based need to be constrained by geological data of the ancient ice sheets during past times when earth was known to be warmer than it is today. Future stability of the RIS, which is coupled to the behaviour of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS), is of wide interest in the context of current global warming projections. The RIS is considered stable but it is being undernourished with ice from West Antarctica as its ice stream feeders are slowing down. A continued reduction in discharge could trigger retreat and/or widespread break up. Collapse of the RIS could affect global climate in a number of ways including altering the production of salty bottom water around Antarctica thus altering the global thermohaline circulation system and global climate, altering the albedo and causing regional warming (ice-albedo feedback) and the exchange of heat and water vapour between the ocean and the atmosphere could lead to accelaerated loss and eventual collapse of the marine based WAIS, raising sea level by 5-6m. The goal of ANDRILL was to gain an understanding of the past behaviour of the Antarctic Ice Sheets (east and west) and the McMurdo/Ross Ice Shelf and their role on global climate change. A team of over 200 scientists, technicians, educators and support staff from all countries collaborated over two main seasons of drilling and four prior seasons of drill site investigations to recover sediment core below the sea floor that represent a nearly unbroken geological history of Antarctic ice shelf/sheet advance and retreat during the last 5 million years. Drilling operated during the 2006-2007 (McMurdo Ice Shelf) and 2007-2008 (Ross Ice Shelf) season, recovering 1284.87 m and 1138.54 m of sediment cores each season respectively (both with 98% recovery), a record depth of sub-bottom penetration in the Antarctic region and the first drilling rig to operate through a floating ice shelf. The ice core was analysed to determine how the Antarctic ice sheets behaved during periods of global warmth greater than the present day and climate and ice sheet models were created to extend the results to provide guidance regarding potential response by the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and Ross Ice Shelf to future scenarios of global warming. All of the cores were sent to Florida State University, Tallahassee, USA.

Related URL

Link: VIEW EXTENDED METADATA

Description: Five other related metadata entries for ANDRILL and site investigations. Titles are as follows:
Antacrctic geological DRILLing (ANDRILL) drilling rig
New Harbour and Windless Bight seismic data for ANDRILL
Oceanography and sedimentation beneath the MRIS in Windless Bight
GPS surveying to obtain ice flow densities for the SMIS
GPR surveys of an ice rise on the SMIS
Geophysical investigations (seismic, aero and ground base magnetic, gravity, GPR and bathymetry surveys) of the tectonic, sedimentary and volcanic history of the Victoria Land Basing - site survey for ANDRILL project

Link: VIEW PROJECT HOME PAGE

Description: The ANDRILL homepage

Geographic Coverage

(Click for Interactive Map)

Spatial coordinates


Min Depth: 0 Max Depth: 1284.87 MBSL

	N: -77.76	S: -77.76	E: 165.28	W: 165.28

Min Depth: 0 Max Depth: 1138.54 MBSL

Temporal Coverage

Start Date: 2006-01-01

Stop Date: 2007-12-31

Start Date: 2007-08-20

Stop Date: 2008-02-15

Location Keywords

CONTINENT > ANTARCTICA

CONTINENT > ANTARCTICA > MCMURDO SOUND

Data Resolution

Latitude Resolution: 0.000032 m
Longitude Resolution: 0.000032 m

Science Keywords

SOLID EARTH > GEOMORPHIC LANDFORMS/PROCESSES > COASTAL LANDFORMS

SOLID EARTH > GEOMORPHIC LANDFORMS/PROCESSES > AEOLIAN LANDFORMS

ISO Topic Category

GEOSCIENTIFIC INFORMATION

Platform

MAPS

Access Constraints none

Use Constraints Uses of this digital geologic map should not violate the spatial
resolution of the data. Although the digital form of the data removes
the constraint imposed by the scale of a paper map, the detail and
accuracy inherent in map scale are also present in the digital
data. The fact that this database was edited for a scale of 1:24,000
means that higher resolution ...

Ancillary Keywords

geology

bedrock geology

Data Set Progress

COMPLETE

Originating Center

USGS

Data Center

Publications-Western Region,Geological Division, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Department of the Interior

Data Center URL: http://geopubs.wr.usgs.gov/
Dataset ID: USGS Open File Report 00-351

Data Center Personnel
Name: CAROLYN A. DONLIN Phone: 650-329-5015 Fax: 650-329-5119 Email: cdonlin at usgs.gov Contact Address: U.S. Geological Survey Geology Division 345 Middlefield Road City: Menlo Park Province or State: California Postal Code: 94025 Country: USA

Distribution

Distribution Media: online

Distribution Size: 30 megabytes

Distribution Format: ARCExport

Fees: none

Personnel

CHRIS B. DUROSS

Role: TECHNICAL CONTACT

Phone: 650-566-9772

Email: cduross at usgs.gov

Contact Address:

U.S. Geological Survey

345 Middlefield Road, MS 975

City: Menlo Park

Province or State: CA

Postal Code: 94025

Country: USA

Publications/References

Tolan, T.L., and Beeson, M.H., 2000, Geologic map and database of the Salem
East and Turner 7.5 minute quandrangles, Marion County, Oregon: A digital
database: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 00-351, U.S. Geological
Survey, Menlo Park, CA.

Creation and Review Dates

Last DIF Revision Date: 2006-09-25

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