Unveiling the 4D variability in the lithospheric cradle of the Antarctic ice sheet

研究的重要性和及时性与其他大陆相比，人们对南极洲下面的岩石圈知之甚少，但它具有重要意义，因为它也为巨大的冰盖提供了基本的摇篮。南极洲的床地形、冰下地质和更深的结构都影响地热通量，这是一个特别不受约束的参数，需要更好地估计，以便及时确定影响冰盖动态的关键基础条件，包括冰下水文。欧洲航天局（ESA）通过卫星重力梯度和卫星磁任务进行地球观测的最新进展，加上新的国际航空磁、航空重力和雷达数据汇编，再加上3D建模方法的进展，为更好地综合南极岩石圈和冰盖研究提供了诱人的新机会。本博士项目依托欧空局（ESA, 4D Antarctica）的一个新的EO项目，对南极岩石圈进行调查和模拟，并评估其对地热通量变率的影响。这个博士项目的主要目的是为选定的南极研究区域开发最先进的2D和3D模型，并解释地壳和岩石圈结构和热结构，包括南极周围的PolarGAP，那里的卫星EO数据缺口最近被新的航空地球物理观测所填补。该项目的目标是模拟地壳和岩石圈及其在东南极洲Pensacola-Pole冰下盆地下的演变，该盆地还拥有各种动态和静态冰下湖泊。然后将开发南极西部和东部冰盖下岩石圈和地热热通量变化的更大尺度模型，并与更好理解的罗斯海、横贯南极山脉和威尔克斯冰川下盆地区域进行比较。Wilkes盆地和Pensacola-Pole盆地之间的比较研究将首次将两个地区的基岩地形、地质、深部构造、地热热通量和冰下水文联系起来。我们预计，该项目将提供对南极边界下地壳和岩石圈结构的关键新见解，对大规模冰下地热通量变化的新地球物理估计，对床地形，地质，水下水文和冰盖动力学之间相互作用的新观点，以及岩石圈-冰盖综合研究的方法进步。

Importance and timeliness of the researchThe lithosphere beneath Antarctica remains poorly understood compared to other continents but is of major significance, as it also provides the fundamental cradle on which its vast ice sheets flow. Antarctica's bed topography, subice geology and deeper structure all influence geothermal heat flux, a particularly ill-constrained parameter that needs to be better estimated in the timely quest to determine key basal conditions that affect ice sheet dynamics, including subglacial hydrology.Recent advancements in Earth Observation via satellite gravity gradient and satellite magnetic missions of the European Space Agency (ESA), augmented by new international compilations of aeromagnetic, aerogravity and radar data, coupled with progress in 3D modelling methodologies provide tantalising new opportunities for better integrated Antarctic lithosphere and ice sheet studies.Project SummaryThis PhD project leverages on a new EO project of ESA, 4D Antarctica, which aims to investigate and model the Antarctic lithosphere and assess its effects on geothermal heat flux variability.The main aim of this PhD project is to develop state of the art 2D and 3D models and interpretations of crustal and lithosphere structure and thermal structure for selected Antarctic study regions, including the PolarGAP surrounding South Pole, where the satellite EO data gap has recently been filled with new airborne geophysical observations. The project will target modelling the crust and lithosphere and its evolution beneath the Pensacola-Pole subglacial basin in East Antarctica that also hosts a variety of dynamic and static subglacial lakes. Larger scale models of the lithosphere and geothermal heat flux variability beneath the West and East Antarctic ice sheets will then be developed and compared with the better understood Ross Sea, Transantarctic Mountains and Wilkes Subglacial Basin region. Comparative studies between the Wilkes and Pensacola-Pole basins will link bedrock topography, geology, deep structure, geothermal heat flux and subglacial hydrology in both regions for the first time.We anticipate that the project will provide key new insights into crustal and lithosphere structure beneath the South Pole frontier, new geophysical estimates of large-scale subglacial geothermal heat flux variability, novel views of the interplays between bed topography, geology, subice hydrology and ice sheet dynamics, and methodological advancements in integrated lithosphere-ice sheet studies.