This proposal discusses a planned study for a 200-m deep ice core and various surface sample collections to be made at, and in the vicinity of Byrd Station, Antarctica. The 200-m deep ice core is estimated to represent approximately 10 centuries of snow accumulation. It will extend from the present snow surface and overlap the profile of the deep ice core augered to bedrock there in 1967 and 1968. The recovered core and surface samples will be measured and analyzed for stable isotopes, volcanic activity, megascopic stratigraphy, ionic concentrations, trace metals, dust concentrations, gas content and composition, and physical properties. The entire investigation will provide new continuous results for the last millennium for this scientifically important Antarctic location. Results will include updated information on the short- and long-term changes in the accumulation record and climate variability, the anthropogenic trends, the volcanic disturbances and the variations in the chemical composition of the atmosphere as they are all reflected in the deposited snow layers. The various chronologies will extend down to, overlap and be compared with existing records from the deep ice core obtained at Byrd Station and other Antarctic locations. Significant geochemical and climatological signals will be compared with similar environmental records already obtained from studies of Greenland ice cores.
