Fire and Ice: Examining the Potential for Sampling a West Antarctic Sub-Ice Volcano

这一小笔探索性研究赠款利用遥感研究的数据来确定西南极冰盖下拟议的活火山是否具有比周围地区更高的热流。冰盖本身的特征，特别是火山下游缺失的冰块，将被用作地热探测器。该方法结合了潜在的现场数据、冰层穿透雷达、冰面的卫星图像以及对南极岩石圈结构的区域估计。如果成功，这项工作将提高我们对南极大陆地球动力学历史的了解，并展示如何将冰盖用作大陆尺度的天然热流探测器。鉴于西南极以下的许多地区已被识别为火山地体，而且该地区的构造历史约束如此之差，这些都是理解南极大陆地球动力学历史的关键问题。对区域热通量的估计也是模拟冰盖形成和演化的关键不确定性之一。这项工作的更广泛影响包括对博士后的教育和增进对南极冰盖形成和演化的了解，这些都是全球气候变化和海平面上升的关键因素。

This Small Grant for Exploratory Research utilizes data from remote sensing studies to determine whether a proposed active volcano beneath the West Antarctic ice sheet has a higher heat flux than surrounding areas. The characteristics of the ice sheet itself, especially the missing mass of ice downstream of the volcano, will be used as a geothermal probe. The approach unites potential field data, ice-penetrating radar, satellite images of the ice surface, and regional estimates of the structure of the Antarctic lithosphere. If successful, the work would improve our knowledge of the geodynamic history of the Antarctic continent, and demonstrate how ice sheets can be used as natural continental-scale heat flow probes. Given that many areas beneath West Antarctica have been identified as volcanic terrains, and the tectonic history of this area is so poorly constrained, these are key questions for understanding the geodynamic history of the Antarctic continent. Estimates of regional heat flux are also one of the key uncertainties in modeling the formation and evolution of the ice sheets. The broader impacts of this work include education of a postdoctoral student and improving understanding of the formation and evolution of the Antarctic ice sheets, which are key factors in global climate change and sea level rise.