Earth’s Cryosphere, 2017, Vol. XXI, No. 1, p. 67-77

THE STRUCTURE OF THE UPPER PART OF THE GLACIER IN THE AREA OF A SNOW-RUNWAY OF MIRNY STATION, EAST ANTARCTICA (BASED ON THE DATA COLLECTED IN 2014/15 FIELD SEASON)

S.V. Popov1, S.P. Polyakov2, S.S. Pryakhin2, V.L.Mart’yanov2, V.V. Lukin2

1 Polar Marine Geosurvey Expedition,
24, Pobeda str., St. Petersburg, Lomonosov, 198412, Russia
2 Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute,
38, Beringa str., St. Petersburg, 199397, Russia; spopov67@yandex.ru

The main results of GPR sounding and ice core sampling carried out in the area of the Russian Mirny Station area during the austral summer field season of 60th Russian Antarctic Expedition (2014/15) are presented. The GPR data were collected at the frequencies of 270 MHz and 900 MHz. The total length of the profiles was 20 km. Five ice cores about 7 m long were selected. The upper part of the glacier was found to consist of a snow-firn layer and meteoric ice underneath. The effective permittivity of the media were determined to be 2.13 and 3.0, accordingly. The snow-firn layer thickness varied between zero (‘blue ice’) and approximately 40 m.

East Antarctica, Mirny Station, GPR sounding, ice core sampling, diffracted waves, snow-firn layer

DOI: 10.21782/EC2541-9994-2017-1(67-77)