Japanese-German joint airborne geophysical surveys around Syowa Station, Antarctica
The evolution of Antarctica and the Antarctic Ocean is vital to understanding the growth and breakup of super continent Gondwana. The area around Syowa Station, the Japanese Antarctic wintering Station in L_tzow-Holm Bay, is considered to be a junction of Africa, India, Madagascar, and Antarctic continents from the reconstruction model of Gondwana. Therefore this area is a key to investigate the formation and fragmentation of Gondwana. However, the tectonic evolution is still speculative because geological evidence is limited to a few isolated outcrops and the coverage with geophysical surveys in this area is poor. To reveal the tectonic evolution related to Gondwana formation and breakup in this area, joint Japanese-German airborne geophysical surveys around Syowa Station had been conducted in January 2006 during the 47th Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition. Ice radar, magnetic, and gravity data are obtained onshore and offshore areas using the AWI owned Polar2, a fixed wing Dornier aircraft (Do228-101) on skis. We present preliminary results of magnetic, gravity, and ice thickness (bed rock topography) measurements around Syowa Station obtained by the airborne geophysical survey 2006 and discuss the tectonic evolution in this area.
Helmholtz Research Programs > MARCOPOLI (2004-2008) > MAR2-Palaeo Climate Mechanisms and Variability