Rare ice-base temperature measurements in Antarctica reveal a cold base in contrast with predictions
The Antarctic bed demonstrates complex behaviour comprising alternating warm- and cold-based areas. However, the distribution of warm- and cold-based areas, basal melting rates, and the structure and age of the basal ice are not yet fully known. In the 2023–2024 season, we drilled an access borehole through 541 m thick ice at Princess Elizabeth Land, 28 km south of the coast. Temperature measurements at the bottom of the borehole revealed a cold underlying base despite a warm-based interface being predicted in advance as the most likely estimate. Our results imply that the Antarctic base can be locally colder than currently assumed, and that thermal models, especially basal boundary conditions, should be carefully specified and provided with the confirmed input data. Temperature measurements at bedrock below 541 meters of ice in Antarctica’s Princess Elizabeth Land show a cold base with basal ice solidly frozen to the bedrock, in contrast with advance predictions of a warm bed, as found in an access borehole in 2024.
Authors
- Yuchen Sun (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2449-8718)
- Yazhuo Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6636-5094)
- Pavel G. Тalalay (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8230-4600)
- И. Б. Абдрахманов (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7609-5443)
- Da Gong
- Andrey N. Salamatin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5988-6024)
- M.A. Vorobyev (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4901-5556)
- Alexey Ekaykin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9819-2802)
- German Leitchenkov (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6316-8511)
- V. Lipenkov (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4221-5440)
- Xiaopeng Fan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9660-3636)
- Bing Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5317-4798)
- Nan Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2278-7508)
- Youhong Sun
- Yunchen Liu
- Damir Khalimov
Institutions
- Jilin University (CN)
- Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (RU)
- China University of Geosciences (Beijing) (CN)
- All Russian Research Institute of Geology and Mineral Resources of the World Ocean (RU)
- Institute of Geography (RU)
- Jilin Province Science and Technology Department (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Communications Earth & Environment
- Published
- 2025-03-08
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02127-1
- Citations
- 6
- Primary Topic
- Cryospheric studies and observations
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 7.80
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China