TALOS DOME MIGRATION : PRELIMINARY RESULT

Ice divide-dome migration is a key parameter in mass balance studies and in the interpretation of ice cores. The stability of the dome and position of the ice divide must be known to accurately interpret ice core records and to complete mass balance studies. Models of depth-age relations for deep ice cores are sensitive to migration of the dome position (Anandakrishnan et al., 1994). The evolution of an ice divide is driven by the accumulation-rate history, its spatial pattern and conditions at ice-sheet boundaries (e.g. Frezzotti et al., 2004; Hindmarsh, 1996; Nereson et al. 1998). Ice divide migration is also important in determining the input parameter of large Antarctic drainage basins. Due to the very low slope (less than a decimetre per km) of the East Antarctic domes and to the surface morphology (e.g. sastrugi), it is very difficult to determine the summit point of the dome and its migration in time. In 2004 a new ice coring project, TALDICE (Talos Dome Ice Core Project), started at TD to recover 1550 m of ice spanning the last 120,000 years (Frezzotti et al., 2004). The objective of the paper is to discuss the preliminary result of the present and past morphology of the Talos Dome from detailed snow accumulation, radar derived isochrons and ice velocity measurements in the last 10 years .