Rare ice-base temperature measurements in Antarctica reveal a cold base in contrast with predictions
Abstract The Antarctic bed demonstrates complex behaviour comprising alternating warm- and cold-based areas. However, the distribution of warm- and cold-based areas, basal melting rates, and the structure and age of the basal ice are not yet fully known. In the 2023–2024 season, we drilled an access...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Communications Earth & Environment |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02127-1 |
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| author | Pavel G. Talalay German Leitchenkov Vladimir Lipenkov Youhong Sun Nan Zhang Da Gong Yunchen Liu Yazhou Li Yuchen Sun Ilnur Abdrakhmanov Mstislav Vorobyev Damir Khalimov Xiaopeng Fan Andrey Salamatin Alexey A. Ekaykin Bing Li |
| author_facet | Pavel G. Talalay German Leitchenkov Vladimir Lipenkov Youhong Sun Nan Zhang Da Gong Yunchen Liu Yazhou Li Yuchen Sun Ilnur Abdrakhmanov Mstislav Vorobyev Damir Khalimov Xiaopeng Fan Andrey Salamatin Alexey A. Ekaykin Bing Li |
| author_sort | Pavel G. Talalay |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The Antarctic bed demonstrates complex behaviour comprising alternating warm- and cold-based areas. However, the distribution of warm- and cold-based areas, basal melting rates, and the structure and age of the basal ice are not yet fully known. In the 2023–2024 season, we drilled an access borehole through 541 m thick ice at Princess Elizabeth Land, 28 km south of the coast. Temperature measurements at the bottom of the borehole revealed a cold underlying base despite a warm-based interface being predicted in advance as the most likely estimate. Our results imply that the Antarctic base can be locally colder than currently assumed, and that thermal models, especially basal boundary conditions, should be carefully specified and provided with the confirmed input data. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e59c33d4e19a441dbcf5e1e32799f77f |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2662-4435 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Communications Earth & Environment |
| spelling | doaj-art-e59c33d4e19a441dbcf5e1e32799f77f2025-08-20T03:05:49ZengNature PortfolioCommunications Earth & Environment2662-44352025-03-01611710.1038/s43247-025-02127-1Rare ice-base temperature measurements in Antarctica reveal a cold base in contrast with predictionsPavel G. Talalay0German Leitchenkov1Vladimir Lipenkov2Youhong Sun3Nan Zhang4Da Gong5Yunchen Liu6Yazhou Li7Yuchen Sun8Ilnur Abdrakhmanov9Mstislav Vorobyev10Damir Khalimov11Xiaopeng Fan12Andrey Salamatin13Alexey A. Ekaykin14Bing Li15Institute of Polar Science and Engineering, College of Construction Engineering, Jilin UniversityAll-Russian Scientific Research Institute for Geology and Mineral Resources of the Ocean (VNIIOkeangeologia)Arctic and Antarctic Research InstituteSchool of Engineering and Technology, China University of Geosciences (Beijing)Institute of Polar Science and Engineering, College of Construction Engineering, Jilin UniversityInstitute of Polar Science and Engineering, College of Construction Engineering, Jilin UniversityInstitute of Polar Science and Engineering, College of Construction Engineering, Jilin UniversitySchool of Engineering and Technology, China University of Geosciences (Beijing)School of Engineering and Technology, China University of Geosciences (Beijing)All-Russian Scientific Research Institute for Geology and Mineral Resources of the Ocean (VNIIOkeangeologia)Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of SciencesAll-Russian Scientific Research Institute for Geology and Mineral Resources of the Ocean (VNIIOkeangeologia)College of Geoexploration Science and Technology, Jilin UniversityArctic and Antarctic Research InstituteArctic and Antarctic Research InstituteSchool of Engineering and Technology, China University of Geosciences (Beijing)Abstract The Antarctic bed demonstrates complex behaviour comprising alternating warm- and cold-based areas. However, the distribution of warm- and cold-based areas, basal melting rates, and the structure and age of the basal ice are not yet fully known. In the 2023–2024 season, we drilled an access borehole through 541 m thick ice at Princess Elizabeth Land, 28 km south of the coast. Temperature measurements at the bottom of the borehole revealed a cold underlying base despite a warm-based interface being predicted in advance as the most likely estimate. Our results imply that the Antarctic base can be locally colder than currently assumed, and that thermal models, especially basal boundary conditions, should be carefully specified and provided with the confirmed input data.https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02127-1 |
| spellingShingle | Pavel G. Talalay German Leitchenkov Vladimir Lipenkov Youhong Sun Nan Zhang Da Gong Yunchen Liu Yazhou Li Yuchen Sun Ilnur Abdrakhmanov Mstislav Vorobyev Damir Khalimov Xiaopeng Fan Andrey Salamatin Alexey A. Ekaykin Bing Li Rare ice-base temperature measurements in Antarctica reveal a cold base in contrast with predictions Communications Earth & Environment |
| title | Rare ice-base temperature measurements in Antarctica reveal a cold base in contrast with predictions |
| title_full | Rare ice-base temperature measurements in Antarctica reveal a cold base in contrast with predictions |
| title_fullStr | Rare ice-base temperature measurements in Antarctica reveal a cold base in contrast with predictions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Rare ice-base temperature measurements in Antarctica reveal a cold base in contrast with predictions |
| title_short | Rare ice-base temperature measurements in Antarctica reveal a cold base in contrast with predictions |
| title_sort | rare ice base temperature measurements in antarctica reveal a cold base in contrast with predictions |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02127-1 |
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