Abstract: This study is based on the analysis of detailed measurements of firn dielectric properties performed in Antarctica through coring down to 106 m. Dielectric measurements in the frequency band (0.4–2.5 GHz) have been carried out using an open−resonator probe. Density was also measured for the same samples. The experimental results confirmed the well−known dependence of the real part of permittivity ε′ on depth and density, showing an increase of ε′ with density. The imaginary part also increases with depth with a rather complex dependence on frequency, probably due to the presence of salts or impurities. The analysis of the experimental data was performed by implementing 3D and 2D full wave numerical models, to simulate a mixture of firn crystals at prescribed densities, corresponding to the measured densities on the ice cores. The numerical analysis of the ensemble of inclusions showed that the usual symmetric formulae used for modeling ice dielectric properties agree with the average results of the simulation, but they are not able to explain the spreading of the measured data at given density. A dielectric model was then developed allowing for quantification of the dependence of dielectric properties on density, by combining two models: one consisting in firn crystals into an air host, the other assuming the presence of air inclusions into a homogeneous firn host. The weighted equation is based on the volume fraction. A simple geometric shape (ellipsoidal) is assumed for both ice crystals and air inclusions. This kind of shape is reasonable for the purpose of the dielectric study. The result is a mixture, smoothly changing from firn particles in air (low density) to air bubbles in an ice matrix (high density). A statistical analysis has been accomplished to investigate the dependence of the dielectric properties on the geometrical arrangement of the inclusions. For that purpose, a large number of simulations with different arrangements (micro−states) giving rise to the same average density (macro−states) has been carried out. The permittivity change due to micro−state variability appears to be at least two−three times the model variation due to density alone, and comparable to the measured variability at a given depth, suggesting that firn structure has a significant effect on the dielectric properties.

Abstract: We use seismic data together with a subglacial bedrock relief from the BEDMAP2 database to obtain a new three-layer model of the consolidated (crystalline) crust of Antarctica that locally improves the global seismic crustal model CRUST1.0. We collect suitable data for constructing crustal layers, analyse them and build maps of the crustal layer thickness and seismic velocities. We use the subglacial relief according to a tectonic configuration and then interpolate data using a statistical kriging method. The P-wave velocity information from old seismic profiles have been supplemented with the new shear-wave velocity models. We adjust the thickness of crustal layers by multiplying a total crustal thickness by a percentage ratio of each individual layer at each point. Our results reveal large variations in seismic velocities between different crustal blocks forming Antarctica. The most pronounced differences exist between East and West Antarctica. In East Antarctica, a high P-wave velocity (vP > 7 km/s) layer in the lower crust is absent. The P-wave velocity in the lower crust changes from 6.1 km/s beneath the Lambert Rift to 6.9 km/s beneath the Wilkes Basin. In West Antarctica, a thick mafic lower crust is characterized by large P-wave velocities, ranging from 7.0 km/s under the Ross Sea to 7.3 km/s under the Byrd Basin. In contrast, velocities in the lower crust beneath the Transantarctic and Ellsworth-Whitmore Mountains are ~6.8 km/s. The P-wave velocities in the upper crust in East Antarctica are within the range 5.5–6.4 km/s. The upper crust of West Antarctica is characterized by the P-wave velocities of 5.6–6.3 km/s. The P-wave velocities in the middle crust vary within 5.9–6.6 km/s in East Antarctica and within 6.3–6.5 km/s in West Antarctica. A low-velocity layer (5.8–5.9 km/s) is detected at depth of ~20–25 km beneath the Princes Elizabeth Land.

Abstract: Understanding the movements of animals that spend much of their life at sea is difficult but important for effective conservation. Determining the at-sea distributions of Macaroni (Eudyptes chrysolophus) and Royal (Eudyptes schlegeli) Penguins poses particular challenges, including their occurrence in remote locations and difficulties in species identification owing to overlap in morphological characters, particularly in immature birds. Here we use DNA sequencing to examine vagrant Macaroni and Royal Penguins from Antarctica and New Zealand in order to improve understanding of their non-breeding distributions. Our sampling included samples from living birds, museum specimens and scavenged penguin remains recovered from the stomachs of Antarctic toothfish (Dissostichus mawsoni) caught north of the Ross Sea. Mitochondrial control region (HVRI) sequences indicated that the two samples from New Zealand were likely Royal Penguins as were the scavenged penguins. Both Macaroni and Royal Penguins were detected at Terre Adélie, Antarctica, despite the nearest breeding colony of Macaroni Penguins being 4000 km away. We provide the first evidence of Royal Penguins reaching the Ross Dependency. All but one of the vagrants were immature birds, supporting suggestions that this age group is the most likely to disperse large distances from the breeding colonies. Our study demonstrates how DNA sequences can assist in identifying taxa with similar or overlapping morphologies, as well as fragmentary bird remains.

Abstract: Several recent dendrochronological, macrofossil and palynological studies have surveyed modern spruce forests at multiple locations in the Nain region of coastal Nunatsiavut (north-central Labrador) in order to reconstruct past forest composition, growth rates, species diversity and harvesting patterns. The present paper synthesizes original and previously collected data to evaluate the extent to which the dynamics of the region’s spruce forests over the past five centuries have been related to anthropogenic impacts. In three key case studies, Picea growth release events demonstrate multiple isolated forest disturbances prior to the late 19th century. In general, these events correspond to the local human settlement history rather than to regional climatic trends, suggesting that ongoing human impacts on the forest extend as far back as the 17th century. Disturbance regimes accelerated by ca 1875 and afterward in all of the study sites. This increase in forest disturbance corresponds to increased demands for wood triggered by socio-economic changes experienced by the region’s Inuit and Settler communities. Ongoing surveys demonstrate the presence of markers of human exploitation of forests throughout the study region, and especially in coastal locations, suggesting that anthropogenic impacts are in fact generalised and not limited to specific areas of recent settlement.

Abstract: The global climate shift currently underway has significant impacts on both the quality and quantity of snow precipitation. This directly influences the spatial variability of the snowpack as well as cumulative snow height. Contemporary glacier retreat reorganizes periglacial morphology: while the glacier area decreases, the moraine area increases. The latter is becoming a new water storage potential that is almost as important as the glacier itself, but with considerably more complex topography. Hence, this work fills one of the missing variables of the hydrological budget equation of an arctic glacier basin by providing an estimate of the snow water equivalent (SWE) of the moraine contribution. Such a result is achieved by investigating Structure from Motion (SfM) image processing that is applied to pictures collected from an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) as a method for producing snow depth maps over the proglacial moraine area. Several UAV campaigns were carried out on a small glacial basin in Spitsbergen (Arctic): the measurements were made at the maximum snow accumulation season (late April), while the reference topography maps were acquired at the end of the hydrological year (late September) when the moraine is mostly free of snow. The snow depth is determined from Digital Surface Model (DSM) subtraction. Utilizing dedicated and natural ground control points for relative positioning of the DSMs, the relative DSM georeferencing with sub-meter accuracy removes the main source of uncertainty when assessing snow depth. For areas where snow is deposited on bare rock surfaces, the correlation between avalanche probe in-situ snow depth measurements and DSM differences is excellent. Differences in ice covered areas between the two measurement techniques are attributed to the different quantities measured: while the former only measures snow accumulation, the latter includes all of the ice accumulation during winter through which the probe cannot penetrate, in addition to the snow cover. When such inconsistencies are observed, icing thicknesses are the source of the discrepancy that is observed between avalanche probe snow cover depth measurements and differences of DSMs.