Expedition GEA III to GEA IV (2012/13 und 2014/15)
Report of the project:
During the consecutive Antarctic seasons 2012/13 and 2014/15, the GEA programme was continued (GEA III and GEA IV). Once again, the Cape Town-based DROMLAN network was used to enter Antarctica.
Working area GEA III & IV
Source: BGR
The Belgian Princess Elisabeth Station in Sør Rondane was used as base station for aerogeophysical survey flights, which were carried out with the AWI's research aircraft "Polar-6" The flight campaigns included magnetic and gravimetric measurement, ice thickness and surface determination, aerial photography and meteorological measurements. In addition, magnetic and GPS base stations were deployed in Novolazarevskaya and Princess Elisabeth Station.
Mountain view during survey flight with Polar-6
Source: BGR
During GEA III the flight line pattern over the main mountain range of Sør Rondane was completed, which was extended during GEA IV to the east and thus can be joined with existing data over the Lützow Holm Bay. With all four expeditions so far, the GEA team was able to better define the origin and structure of crustal fragments that formed the supercontinent Gondwana. One major finding is the existence of a new crustal fragment, which is termed “Tonian Oceanic Arc Super Terrane” (TOAST) and mostly covered by ice and snow.