1. Popular Summery of Scientific Work Achieved

The dynamic climate system of Victoria Valley is created by the interacting influences of the Dry Valleys, the East Antarctic Ice Sheet and the Ross Sea. The sensitive balance and strong contrasts in this system means even subtle shifts in the regional annual temperature, sea ice extent, snow cover etc. significantly alter the local weather pattern. As such, a climate record of the Victoria Valley provides an ideal opportunity to study rapid, high frequency climatic variations.

During season 1999/2000 several shallow (30m) firn cores have been recovered from Victoria Lower and Baldwin Glacier. Their chemical and isotopic signals display the dynamics of the Victoria Valley, confirming the value of a long paleoclimate record from Victoria Lower Glacier (VLG). A 240m core from VLG is expected to provide a continuous data set of 10,000 years climate history, and will be recovered during the 2001/2002 season.

To fully explore the paleoclimatic significance of the ice cores, the Lower Victoria glacial system and the local climatic pattern have to be understood. For this bedrock topography and interior structures of VLG have been mapped, snow pits at VLG, Baldwin Glacier and Wilson Piedmont Glacier investigated and sampled, and current mass balance measured. A weather station, dust traps and ablation stakes haven been installed at VLG for the duration of eight weeks (Map 1).

In order to extend our record beyond 10,000 years, ice at the western snout of VLG (VIC2), has been investigated and sampled to determine its likely Pleistocene age.