Hot rocks in a cold place: high sub-glacial heat flow in east Antarctica  

Authors / CoAuthors

Carson, C. | McLaren, S. | Roberts, J. | Boger, S.D. | Blankenship, D.

Abstract

Numerical models are the primary predictive tools for understanding the dynamic behavior of the Antarctic ice sheet. But a key boundary parameter - the magnitude of sub-glacial heat flow - is controlled by geological factors and remains poorly constrained. We show that variations in the abundance and distribution of heat producing elements (U, Th and K) within the Antarctic continental crust give rise to regional sub-glacial heat flows as much as 2-3 times greater than previously assumed in ice modeling studies. We also recognize that, prior to the breakup of Gondwana, much of the East Antarctic continental crust was contiguous with southern Australia where extensive high-heat producing Proterozoic-aged rocks, and correspondingly elevated regional heat flows, are well documented. Such crustal rocks almost certainly extend beneath the modern east Antarctic ice sheet. This means that high sub-glacial heat flows are likely to be a regional phenomenon. Such fundamental geological controls on sub-glacial heat flow must be considered in accurately modelling ice dynamics, permitting more refined predictions of ice mass balance and sea level change.

Product Type

nonGeographicDataset

eCat Id

75002

Contact for the resource

Keywords

• External PublicationScientific Journal Paper

( Theme )

• geothermal

( Theme )

• Antarctic data

( Theme )

• antarctica

• AQ

Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC)

• Earth Sciences

• Published_External

Publication Date

2012-11-15T00:00:00

Creation Date

Security Constraints

Australian Government Security ClassificationSystem    

Classification - unclassified

Legal Constraints

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence    

Access - restricted

Use - license

Status

Purpose

Maintenance Information

unknown

Topic Category

geoscientificInformation

Series Information

Lineage

Unknown

Parent Information

Extents

[-70, -60, 75, 150]

Reference System

Spatial Resolution

Service Information

Associations

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Related product: Hot rocks add heat to ice sheet models  

Related product: A reconnaissance crustal heat production assessment of the Australian Antarctic Territory (AAT)  

Related product: Crustal Heat Production in the Australian Antarctic Territory  

Source Information

Paper describes geothermal heat flow from two areas within the Australian Antarctic Territory, 1) Prydz Bay coastline and 2) George V Land. 75 80 -70 -65