ICE DECODE: Investigating the Characteristics of Antarctica's basal ice by means of radio-echo sounding reflection analysis

• Applicant: Dr. Steven Franke
• Subject Area: Geophysics
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 541978456

The compelling rationale behind undertaking ICE DECODE is to address a persistent dilemma in the field of glaciology — a lack of suitable observations for the accurate determination of critical physical parameters of the ice sheet system. These parameters encompass fundamental aspects such as the basal ice temperature, the occurrence of melting or freezing at the ice base, and the nature of subsurface material, e.g., hard bedrock or deformable sediment. These parameters hold immense significance for the precision and fidelity of ice sheet evolution models. Hence, the main objective of ICE DECODE is to systematically identify observation-based concrete physical conditions on regions where for instance the basal ice remains frozen or regions where loose sediment at the ice base is very likely. Besides the fundamental scientific insight, such information serves as pivotal reference points within ice sheet evolution models allowing for more accurate reference data with empirically derived parameters.

• DFG Programme: Infrastructure Priority Programmes
• Subproject of: SPP 1158: Infrastructure area - Antarctic Research with Comparative Investigations in Arctic Sea Ice Areas