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South Pole

General Information

South Pole Ice Core (SPICE; SPC14)

On January 23, 2016, the South Pole Ice Core (SPICEcore) project reached its final depth of 1751 meters (5745 feet; 1.1 miles), extending more than 54,000 years into the past. The 9.8 cm diameter ice core was drilled during the 2014/15 field season (0 to 736 meters) and 2015/16 field season (736 to 1751 meters) using the U.S. Intermediate Depth Drill. The South Pole ice core is the highest-resolution interior East Antarctic ice core that extends into the last glacial period and is the first record longer than 3000 years collected south of 82° latitude. For more information about the South Pole ice core, visit the project’s website.

2004 Cores

During the 2004/05 austral summer, six cores were drilled at a site 4.7 km west of the Amundsen‐Scott South Pole Station for Jihong Cole-Dai. Four of the cores were ~40 m long firn cores, one core was 182 m in depth (SP04-C5), and one core was 102 m in depth (SP04C6). None of the cores have a continuous archive remaining, and all six of the cores are on the de-accession list.

SPRESSO

The SPRESSO (South Pole Remote Earth Science and Seismological Observatory) core (ICF core ID: SPRESSO02) was drilled by ICDS during the 2002/03 Antarctic field season at 89.93°S, 144.39°W to a depth of 291.26 meters. The core was sampled by the United States International Trans Antarctic Scientific Expedition (ITASE) team and subsequently archived at the NSF-ICF. The core has subsequently been heavily sampled, but there still is a continuous (albeit small) archive remaining. No drilling fluid was used during the drilling of the core.

2001 Cores

As a result of a firn pumping experiment at the South Pole by Mark Battle and Michael Bender, two ~123 meter cores (SP01-1 and SP01-2) were drilled at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, Antarctica. Both cores were shipped to the ICF. Neither core has a continuous archive remaining, and both cores are on the de-accession list.

Core(s) Available

Core Name Core ID Years Drilled Lat/Long Core Top (m) Core Bottom (m) Core Diameter (cm) Site Elevation Drilling Method Drillers Drilling Fluid Original PI PI Affiliation De-accessed
South Pole 01 hole 1 SP01-1 2001 -90, 0 0.57 122.91 8.00 2835 Electromechanical Dry Michael Bender Princeton University Yes
South Pole 01 hole 2 SP01-2 2001 -90, 0 0.47 121.78 8.00 2835 Electromechanical Dry Michael Bender Princeton University Yes
South Pole 04 hole 1 SP04-C1 2004 -89.95778, -17.83611 0.00 39.94 10.20 2835 Electromechanical ICDS Dry Jihong Cole-Dai South Dakota State University Yes
South Pole 04 hole 2 SP04-C2 2004 -89.95778, -17.80028 0.00 40.78 10.20 2835 Electromechanical ICDS Dry Jihong Cole-Dai South Dakota State University Yes
South Pole 04 hole 3 SP04-C3 2004 -89.95, -17.53333 0.00 39.84 10.20 2835 Electromechanical ICDS Dry Jihong Cole-Dai South Dakota State University Yes
South Pole 04 hole 4 SP04-C4 2004 -89.95778, -17.66722 0.00 39.84 10.20 2835 Electromechanical ICDS Dry Jihong Cole-Dai South Dakota State University Yes
South Pole 04 hole 5 SP04-C5 2004 -89.95749, -17.6 0.00 181.59 10.20 2835 Electromechanical ICDS Dry Jihong Cole-Dai South Dakota State University Yes
South Pole 04 hole 6 SP04-C6 2004 -89.95, -17.533329 0.00 101.55 10.20 2835 Electromechanical ICDS Dry Jihong Cole-Dai South Dakota State University Yes
SOUTH POLE 2 SP 2 1994 -90, 0 0.00 123.40 10.00 2835 Electromechanical PICO-Dave Giles Dry Michael Bender Princeton University Yes
SPICE SPC14 2014/15 and 2015/16 -89.98, -98.15 5.15 1751.11 9.80 2835 Electromechcanical / U.S. Intermediate Depth Drill IDDO Estisol 140 Murat Aydin Univ. California Irvine No
SPRESSO02 SPRESSO02 2002/03 -89.93, -144.39 0.00 291.26 10.20 2860 Electromechanical ICDS Dry Kent Anderson USGS No
Data

South Pole Ice Core (SPICE; SPC14)

2004 Cores

SPRESSO

2001 Cores

Publications

2014-2016 South Pole Ice Core (SPICE; SPC14)

2004 Ice Cores

SPRESSO

  • Aydin M, Williams MB, Tatum C, and Saltzman ES (2008) Carbonyl sulfide in air extracted from a South Pole ice core: a 2000 year record. Atmos. Chem. Phys., 8, 7533-7542. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-8-7533-2008
  • Fegyveresi JM, Fudge TJ, Ferris DG, Winski DA, Alley RB (2019) Visual Observations and Stratigraphy of the South Pole Ice Core (SPICEcore): A Preliminary Holocene (~10.2 ka) Accumulation Record and Depth-Age Chronology. ERDC/CRREL TR-19-10, 1-44. http://dx.doi.org/10.21079/11681/33378
  • Korotkikh E (2019) A 2000 Year Detailed Climate Reconstruction Using a South Pole Ice Core. Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 3104. https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/etd/3104
  • Korotkikh EV, Mayewski PA, Dixon D, Kurbatov AV, Handley M (2014) Recent increase in Ba concentrations as recorded in a South Pole ice core. Atmospheric Environment, 89, 683-687. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2014.03.009
  • Williams MB, Aydin M, Tatum C, and Saltzman ES (2007) A 2000 year atmospheric history of methyl chloride from a South Pole ice core: Evidence for climate‐controlled variability, Geophysical Research Letters, 34, L07811. https://doi.org/10.1029/2006GL029142

2001 Ice Cores