Articles | Volume 17, issue 8
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3461-2023
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3461-2023
Research article
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24 Aug 2023
Research article | Highlight paper |  | 24 Aug 2023

Stagnant ice and age modelling in the Dome C region, Antarctica

Ailsa Chung, Frédéric Parrenin, Daniel Steinhage, Robert Mulvaney, Carlos Martín, Marie G. P. Cavitte, David A. Lilien, Veit Helm, Drew Taylor, Prasad Gogineni, Catherine Ritz, Massimo Frezzotti, Charles O'Neill, Heinrich Miller, Dorthe Dahl-Jensen, and Olaf Eisen

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Cited articles

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Co-editor-in-chief
Oldest Ice is a large project with broad interest and appealing targets. This study shows (i) that the current Beyond EPICA and Million Year Ice Core drilling projects at Little Dome C in Antarctica are expected to extract continuous ice core of almost 1.5 million years; and (ii) estimates the spatial extent of a stagnant ice layer in the Dome C region. This layer of ice could be millions of years old and could have large scale implications for the whole Antarctic ice sheet dynamics.
Short summary
We combined a numerical model with radar measurements in order to determine the age of ice in the Dome C region of Antarctica. Our results show that at the current ice core drilling sites on Little Dome C, the maximum age of the ice is almost 1.5 Ma. We also highlight a new potential drill site called North Patch with ice up to 2 Ma. Finally, we explore the nature of a stagnant ice layer at the base of the ice sheet which has been independently observed and modelled but is not well understood.