US Global Ice Core Research Program
West Antarctica and Beyond

4.2.3 Paleoenvironmental Records at Lower Latitudes:
Intermediate and shallow depth cores.

Ice masses suitable for paleoenvironmental studies are found in a number of non-polar, high-altitude regions of the earth. These are important to extend our knowledge of spatial changes in paleoenvironmental information recorded in ice cores and to provide a link between ice core records and paleoenvironmental indicators preserved nearby at lower elevations in tree rings, peat bogs, lake sediments, loess, etc. Potentially useable ice masses are found on the arctic islands of Canada (Ellesmere, Devon, Baffin Island), Norway (Svalbard), and the USSR (Novaya Zemlya, Severnaya Zemlya, Franz Josef Land), in the high mountain ranges along the Pacific Coast of the Americas (especially in the Alaska Range, Wrangell Mountains-St. Elias Mountains, and the Andes), and in the high areas of central Asia (Tibetan Plateau, Himalaya, Karakoram Range). These areas provide north-south transects in the region 70-140OW and 60-1000E. In addition glaciers on Mt. Kenya and Mt. Kilimanjaro, in New Guinea, and on the South Island of New Zealand deserve attention.

In general a core through these lower latitude ice masses can be obtained in one season by a relatively small group using a light, dry-hole drill. Examples are the successful programs on Quelccaya, Peru, and Dunde, China. This does not create a heavy logistics demand. Development of a low-latitude ice core site should therefore preferably be done by an individual PI or group of PI's. In their dealings with authorities and colleagues of the country where the site is located they should, where needed, receive strong support from the ice core research community, NSF, and the US government. NSF should strive to facilitate free exchange of science and samples for such projects under the International Geosphere-Biosphere Project. This independent, individual approach will stimulate parallel efforts in different parts of the world and thereby speed the development of a global ice core database.

Once it has been established that an ice mass contains a useful paleoenvironmental record and a drill site has been identified, the PI who developed the site must complement the analytical capabilities of his/her own group by collaboration with other PI's as needed to ensure that the full set of valuable paleoenvironmental indicators in the core is measured in a timely manner. After two years the core data should be made generally. available to aid in the interpretation of other core records, just as those of polar cores. Special emphasis is to be placed on logistical support to preserve core/sample quality during transport to the laboratories.

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