Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2022-204
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2022-204
26 Oct 2022
 | 26 Oct 2022
Status: a revised version of this preprint is currently under review for the journal TC.

A one-dimensional temperature and age modeling study for selecting the drill site of the oldest ice core around Dome Fuji, Antarctica

Takashi Obase, Ayako Abe-Ouchi, Fuyuki Saito, Shun Tsutaki, Shuji Fujita, Kenji Kawamura, and Hideaki Motoyama

Abstract. The recovery of a new Antarctic ice core spanning the last ~1.5 million years will advance our understanding of climate system dynamics during the Quaternary. Recent glaciological field surveys have been conducted to select the most suitable core location near Dome Fuji (DF), Antarctica. Specifically, ground-based radar-echo soundings have been used to acquire highly detailed images of bedrock topography and internal ice layers. In this study, we use a one-dimensional (1-D) ice flow model to compute the temporal evolutions of age and temperature, in which the ice flow is linked with not only transient climate forcing associated with past glacial‒interglacial cycles, but also transient basal melting diagnosed along the evolving temperature profile. We investigated the influence of ice thickness, accumulation rate, and geothermal heat flux on the age and temperature profiles. The model was constrained by the observed temperature and age profiles reconstructed from DF ice‒core analysis. The results of sensitivity experiments indicate that ice thickness is the most crucial parameter influencing the computed age of the ice because it is critical to the history of basal temperature and basal melting, which can eliminate old ice. The 1-D model was applied to a 54 km long transect in the vicinity of DF and compared with radargram data. We found that the basal age of the ice is mostly controlled by the local ice thickness, demonstrating the importance of high spatial resolution surveys of bedrock topography for selecting ice-core drilling sites.

Takashi Obase et al.

Status: final response (author comments only)

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on tc-2022-204', Frédéric Parrenin, 04 Nov 2022
    • AC1: 'Response to all comments', Takashi Obase, 27 Jan 2023
  • RC2: 'Comment on tc-2022-204', Anonymous Referee #2, 11 Nov 2022
    • AC1: 'Response to all comments', Takashi Obase, 27 Jan 2023
  • RC3: 'Review of Obase et al.: 1D temperature and age modeling at Dome Fuji', Anonymous Referee #3, 26 Nov 2022
    • AC1: 'Response to all comments', Takashi Obase, 27 Jan 2023

Takashi Obase et al.

Takashi Obase et al.

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Short summary
We use a one-dimensional ice flow model to examine the most suitable core location near Dome Fuji (DF), Antarctica. This model computes the temporal evolutions of age and temperature from past to present. We investigate the influence of different parameters of climate and ice sheet on the ice's basal age, and compare the results with ground radar surveys. We find that the local ice thickness primarily controls the age because it is critical to the basal melting, which can eliminate the old ice.