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Victoria University Antarctic Research Expedition Science and Logistics Reports 2001-02: VUWAE 46

2 Proposed Programme

2 Proposed Programme

Our proposed scientific programme had two aims. Firstly, to accurately define the structural and stratigraphic architecture of the southern Victoria Land Basin in McMurdo Sound for the location of proposed ANDRILL Project drill sites. Secondly, to use this information to test and develop models of rift evolution and uplift of the Transantarctic mountains. Both objectives were to be achieved through an integrated geophysical survey involving a seismic reflection, ground-based gravity and magnetic measurements and an aeromagnetic survey. Collectively, the imaging/remote sensing of geological properties and Earth models derived from these techniques can provide information on the subsurface distribution, geometry and structure of (1) the basement floor of the basin, (2) rift-related and intraplate volcanoes, and (3) sediments infilling the basin.

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Recent geological drilling, glacial geology and geophysical investigations demonstrate that understanding the evolution of sedimentary basins beneath the Ross Sea and Ross/McMurdo Ice Shelf is key to deciphering the evolution of the West Antarctic Rift, uplift of the Trans Antarctic Mountains (TAM) and Cenozoic ice cover history. The Victoria Land Basin has developed in response to the propagation of a rift system through west Antarctica and its sediments should record the mechanism and timing of uplift of the TAM together with its influence in Antarctic climate and ice sheet development.

This year, the programme acquired 40km of seismic reflection data in the New Harbour area and on the Ross/McMurdo ice shelf between Hut Point Peninsula and Ross Island. Three, 80 km line grids (New Harbour, Windless Bight/McMurdo Ice Shelf, Southern McMurdo Sound/McMurdo Ice Shelf) were traversed with magnetometer and gradiometer for gravity and magnetic measurements. An area of 5000km2 was covered by a helicopter-borne aeromagnetic survey between Hut Point Peninsula, White Island and Minna Bluff/Brown Peninsula. Additionally differential GPS was used to estimate ice movement in the vicinity of proposed drill sites.

Our geophysical programme (of which year 1 is complete) is already providing information that can directly address some of the above issues. However, the value of this geophysical work will be fully realised once integrated with drill core records to be recovered by the ANDRILL project. Major progress has been made towards addressing the immediate goals of the research which are two-fold: (1) Use data to design a safe and successful drilling programme, and (2) to publish a geophysical account of the internal stratigraphic architecture of the Victoria Land Basin in southern McMurdo Sound region, particularly beneath the Ross/McMurdo Ice Shelf.

The research team lead by the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences involved collaboration from the following institutes and countries:
  • University of Oxford, UK. NERC-funded "Evolution of Sedimentary Basins in Southern McMurdo Sound: Implications for Antarctic tectonic and climate history".
  • British Antarctic Survey, UK - use of seismic equipment
  • University of Nebraska, USA - NSF-funded "Seismic and stratigraphic data acquisition and integration for Cenozoic tectonic and paleoenvironmental analysis in McMurdo Sound"
  • Geological and Nuclear Sciences, NZ – FRST-funded "Neogene Global Cooling – ANDRILL Site Survey Task'
  • Victoria University of Wellington, Antarctic Research Centre – Internal funding
  • Bundesanstalt fuer Geowissenscaften und Rohstoffe, Germany
  • Webster Drilling and Exploration (Sub-contract)