Antarctica2k scientific goals

Obtaining well-resolved ice cores over large parts of Antarctica is a challenge, but one that is becoming more tractable with the use of new technology. Antarctica2k sought to integrate such records with other available proxies in order to address the goals of PAGES' 2k Network.

Where possible, complementary records from lacustrine, terrestrial and marine sources were utilized to characterize climate variability and change as recorded in systems with different seasonal biases.

Phase 2 research topics

Four topics were identified for focus in Phase 2:

1) Past snow accumulation rate reconstruction (co-leaders Massimo Frezzotti and Michael Sigl)

2) Low-resolution temperature reconstruction from both ice cores and also other archives (co-leaders Valerie Masson-Delmotte and Zicheng Yu)

3) Reconstruction of sea ice using both ice cores and marine coastal records (co-leaders Xavier Crosta, Liz Thomas and Eric Wolff)

4) Past atmospheric circulation indices - chemical proxies from ice cores (co-leader Daniel Dixon)

Phase 2 deliverables

For the 2015-16 period (Phase 2 of the 2k Network) two deliverables were identified:

1) A low resolution (decadal scale) T reconstruction for Antarctica.

2) A reconstruction of past surface mass balance (snow accumulation rate) at decadal scale.