The Italian-British Antarctic geophysical and geological survey in northern Victoria Land 2005-06 – towards the International Polar Year 2007-08

During the summer season 2005-06 a major scientific collaboration between the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and the Italian Programma Nazionale di Ricerche in Antartide (PNRA) carried out airborne geophysical investigations in northern Victoria Land. The survey was undertaken from the end of October 2005 to the end of January 2006 with equipped Twin Otters and enabled the largest aerogeophysical campaign flown so far over the Transantarctic Mountains and Wilkes Subglacial Basin. In total over 60 000 line km of new data were collected over an area 2.5 times the size of Italy, which will provide new constraints on regional crustal structure and East Antarctic Ice Sheet stability. A separate agreement between the French, Italian and British Antarctic programmes enabled 3 flights to be flown over the Dome C subglacial lake district. Ground geophysical stations were also installed to assist imaging crustal structure. Geological investigations were carried out from two remote field camps deployed at Litell Rocks and Redcastle Ridge in order to study Cenozoic magmatism, tectonics and the Ross-age basement.

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