ITASE-Objective

The focus of the New Zealand ITASE group is to provide information from the climate sensitive, low altitude, coastal sites. This will capture the climate signature of the troposphere, which represents a regional account on the Ross Sea climate. The ice core data are expected to provide a record of air temperature, snow accumulation, precipitation source, atmospheric circulation strength, storm frequency, sea ice variation, ocean productivity, and anthropogenic influences. The results will help to decide whether the Ross Sea region is currently cooling or warming with a longer-term prospective, taking low frequency climate variability (100 to 1000 year cycles) into account. Furthermore, proposed tele-connections such as the Amundsen Low-ENSO correlation [Meyerson et al., 2002; Bertler et al., 2004] or the Southern Hemisphere Annual Mode [Thompson and Solomon, 2002] can be further constrained.

Latitudinal Gradient Project Objective

The project is expected to contribute substantially to the Latitudinal Gradient Project, as it can provide a history of temperature, humidity, sea ice cover, precipitation source, atmospheric circulation, and ocean productivity along the Victoria Coast for the last 200 to 10,000 years. Furthermore, the timing and velocity of the Ross Ice Shelf retreat some 9 to 5ka years ago is still discussed controversially [Steig et al., 1998; Hall and Denton, 2000; Steig et al., 2000].

ANDRILL Objective

The ice core locations 2 and 3 (Evans Piedmont Glacier and Mt. Erebus Saddle) are in the vicinity of planned ANDRILL coring locations (Granite Harbour and Windless Bight). The ice core records will provide a high resolution climate dataset, which serves as a reference for the younger part of marine record recovered through ANDRILL.

Longer-Term Mass Balance Objective

During the 1999/2000 season mass balance measurement devices (submerge velocity method [Hamilton et al., 1998; Hamilton and Whillans, 2000]) have been deployed at Victoria Lower Glacier. The device has since been revisited during season 2000/2001 and 2001/2002. The measurements show that the glacier has a slightly negative mass balance, losing around 12cm thickness per year. A continuation of the measurements will allow monitoring changes in the ablation intensity of the McMurdo Dry Valleys.

The Antarctic – New Zealand Connection Objective

New Zealand's future economic and social development, environmental sustainability, and infrastructural planning relies critically upon the accurate assessment of the impact of "global warming" in our sector of the planet. Future climate change is a result of both natural variability and anthropogenic influence. A joint programme between IGNS, University of Maine, Victoria University is investigating ice core records from New Zealand (Tasman Glacier and Mt. Ruapehu ice field). The comparison between our NZ and Antarctic ice core records will provide much needed data for the development of realistic regional climate models to predict NZ climate in the 21^th Century [Mullan et al., 2001].