Aerogeophysical Mapping of Sub Ice Geology in Antarctica: From Tectonics to Climate Change

Dr. Carol Finn, US Geological Survey

Antarctica plays a central role in Earth’s geodynamic and climatic systems, yet we still lack fundamental geologic and geophysical data from the deep interior of this vast continent.  Coastal exposures record the 3500 million-year history of a continent that participated in the formation and breakup of two supercontinents, Rodinia and Gondwana.  East Antarctica occupied the center of both supercontinents and may represent ~15% of Earth’s early crust.  Despite the key role that Antarctica has played in shaping the present global environment, basic, first-order parameters such as bedrock elevation, lithology, structure, age, tectonic history and ice volume remain poorly known over large portions of the continent.  This talk will begin with the basics of earth magnetism and describe aeromagnetic mapping of sub ice geology and links between the geology and today’s ice sheet.

Sponsored by the Grace A. Whittier Endowment