Ice dynamics features and climatic surface parameters in East Antarctica from Terra Nova Bay to Talos Dome and Dome C: ITASE Italian traverses

As part of the ITASE project, the Italian Antarctic research programme undertook two overland traverses from the Terra Nova Bay Station to Talos Dome and Dome C, across a previously unknown part of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. An analysis of the Digital Terrain Model has provided information on the ice divide location along the traverse and correlated this with bottom topography and geophysical characteristics of the bedrock. The modern western ice divide position of the Scott Coast is part of the encroachment on the Ross Ice Shelf system that could be under way since the mid-Holocene era. By examining the relationships between the snow temperature and climatic-controlling factors such as elevation and latitude, this report attempts to elucidate the climatological features in the Dome C drainage area. The analysis of snow accumulation by stakes measurements, surface morphology and surface elevation suggests that surface accumulation is strongly influenced by the local slope and katabatic wind intensity.