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Victoria University Antarctic Research Expedition Science and Logistics Reports 2005-06: VUWAE 50

Snow Accumulation at Mt Erebus Saddle

Snow Accumulation at Mt Erebus Saddle

We have recovered a 200m deep ice core from the slopes of Mt Erebus Saddle during the 2004/05 Antarctic field season. The site topography promotes strong winds leading to significant compaction of the surface snow (~0.45 gcm−3). Furthermore, average snow accumulation lies in the range of 72 – 150 cm yr−1 water equivalent. This is more than one order of magnitude higher than the regional average [Bertler et al. 2004a; Bertler et al. 2004b; Bromwich 1988; Bromwich et al. 1998] and provides ideal characteristics for a high resolution ice core gas record. To measure the accumulation rate at the drill site we deployed three snow stakes, which we hope will endure the high wind velocities and snow accumulation.