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P. Berkman1, C. M. Goad2, and J. Kwon2

1Byrd Polar Research Center; 2Department of Geodetic Sciences, The Ohio State University



The Victoria Land Coast of Antarctica has raised beaches with fossil deposits that reflect eustatic sea-level and West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) changes since the Last Glacial Maximum. During the 1994-95 austral summer, these raised marine features were investigated from McMurdo Sound (78°S) to Terra Nova Bay (74°S) by: (1) collecting fossils for subsequent geochemical analysis; (2) analyzing the stratigraphy of the fossil deposits; (3) assessing the surrounding glacial geomorphology; and (4) surveying the fossil locations with Trimble 4000 SSE dual-frequency GPS receivers.

Permanent site markers were installed by embedding 'Bevis' pins into bedrock to create static sites for local kinematic surveys along the Victoria Land Coast. These static sites were recorded for 8-hour periods with 15-second epochs. An orbit determination model produced by the Department of Geodetic Sciences at Ohio State University (GODIVA) was used for calculating the means and standard deviations of the static-site positions (see Table). These static-site position measurements had the same level of precision as 1994 McMurdo Station(McMu), which was a continuously-recorded IGS site.

Additional comparisons to McMu also can be made with regard to the static site at Explorers Cove (VCE944), which was anchored into the cement casing surrounding the drill-core stem from Hole 8-10 of the Dry Valley Drilling Project. These two sites both have levelled-height measurements which were consistent with their calculated orthometric heights as determined from their geoid-model (OSU91a) and ellipsoid heights (see Table). Conversely, the levelling and ellipsoid data provide support for the validity of the geoid models in the Ross Sea region of Antarctica.

The static sites were used for the kinematic surveys of the positions and elevations of the nearly 100 marine-fossil sites which were identified in Explorers Cove and Marble Point; raised-beach strandlines and fossiliferous marine terraces in Marble Point and other coastal regions; and various glacial geomorphological features from McMurdo Sound to Terra Nova Bay. These kinematic surveys are contributing to the interpretation of the sea-level and WAIS impacts along the Victoria Land Coast after the Last Glacial Maximum.

Static site coordinates along the Victoria Land coast, Antarctica
STATION NAMELATITUDE (DMS)LONGITUDE (DMS)ELLIPSOID HEIGHT (m)GEOID HEIGHT (m)CALCULATED ORTHOMETRIC HEIGHT (m)LEVELLED ORTHOMETRIC HEIGHT (m)SURVEY DAYS
McMurdo Station (McMu)-77°50'55.127" ±0.3493E-03"166°40'31.135" ±.1555E-02"-1.0553 ±0.0249-54.58153.52653.226
Explorers Cove Rock (VCE943)-77°33'21.083" ±0.6461E-03"163°31'18.337" ±0.2085E-03"-39.9256 ±0.0377-55.21715.291 2
Explorers Cove Drill Stem (VCE944)-77°34'38.448" ±0.2271E-03"163°31'5.530" ±0.6525E-03"-51.7300 ±0.0306-55.1933.4632.84
Marble Point (WALT)-77°25'56.947" ±0"163°49'15.082" ±0"-22.4758 ±0-55.33932.863 1
South Stream (VCE946)-77°27'3.237" ±0.8258E-03"163°44'46.385" ±0.3160E-02"-42.6855 ±0.0722-55.32012.635 3
Gneiss Point (VCE948)-77°25'11.295" ±0.6459E-03"163°44'12.846" ±0.2323E-02"-46.4402 ±0.0226-55.3758.935 2
Evans Cove (VCE949)-74°52'45.349" ±0.3028E-03"163°55'29.889" ±0.2741E-02"-34.2381 ±0.0724-60.68226.444 4
Adelie Cove (VCE9410)-74°45'19.275" ±0.2050E-03"163°59'23.540" ±0.1330E-02"263.1833 ±0.0172-60.323323.506 3
Terra Nova Bay Station (NOVA)-74°41'38.949" ±0.4423E-03"164°6'49.758" ±0.1286E-02"-41.0303 ±0.0426-60.19319.163 3

Last modified Tuesday, 09-May-2006 12:14:00 MDT
 

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