CGG Action Group Report 2022 Popular

Connecting Geophysics with Geology (CGG) 2020-22 Report

Action Group of the Geosciences Group

Report Author(s): Joachim Jacobs (Norway), Fausto Ferraccioli (Italy) and Andreas Läufer (Germany)

Summary of activities from 2020-22

The past two years have been strongly influenced by the pandemic, which has resulted in considerable delays and in part cancellation of field activities.

• BGR expedition “GANOVEX XIV-BOOST” with high-resolution aeromagnetic survey and geological field work in northern Victoria Land successfully conducted.
• Planned sampling/analyses of ice-rafted debris/moraine material off/in Dronning Maud Land could not be conducted due to the pandemic. Instead, sedimentary rocks of the critical Shackleton Range were targeted, by sampling material taken during previous expeditions by BGR and stored in the German National Polar Sample Archive (NAPA) in Berlin. Mineral separation and analyses in progress.
• Contribution to the new Gondwana Map (Antarctic part), editor R. Schmitt, Rio de Janeiro. The new Gondwana map is almost finalised. Last issues with respect to Antarctica addressed particularly the reconstruction of the Antarctic microblocks which still remain to be solved.
• An SRP planning meeting in Bergen, Norway, originally planned for early 2021, had to be postponed due to the pandemic. We now plan to meet in autumn 2022 or 2023 either in Bergen, Hannover or Trieste.
• A proposal for new aerogeophysical surveys of Princess Elizabeth Land in East Antarctica (GEOEAIS), led by India & UK, was submitted in 2020. However, NERC funding was not awarded in 2021. Whether to resubmit it, or to pursue alternative collaboration with China who have also collected new datasets in the study area will be further considered at the next planning meeting.
• 4D Antarctica geophysical interpretation and modelling efforts to help constrain crustal and lithosphere structure and its influence on Antarctic geothermal heat flux heterogeneity has progressed, despite major restrictions in international collaborative visits and work. The results so far are reported in 4 new papers (see list in the report). These activities are planned to continue at least till Spring 2023.
• Contributions to the new International Lithosphere Programme on East Antarctica (2020-2025) have been made via presentations on East Antarctica delivered at AGU 2020 & AGU 2021 and EGU 2021 and EGU 2022.
• A conference session on Antarctic and Arctic lithosphere structure and evolution was organized at AGU Fall Meeting 2020 (lead convenor Ferraccioli). It was successful, despite severe limitations related to the pandemic that imposed virtual only attendance. However, we decided not to propose other sessions until safer on-site conference attendance becomes more viable (e.g. EGU 2023 or AGU 2023).