International Trans Antarctic Scientific Expedition (ITASE)

As in Greenland, the high accumulation rate and great ice thickness will permit high-confidence borehole thermometry-based temperature estimates for the past glacial period. Other Antarctic borehole thermometry efforts have been stymied by the low accumulation rate. WAIS Divide should provide the fi rst reliable direct temperature estimate of the last glacial maximum in Antarctica. Other borehole logging (optical, sonic) will place unique constraints on ice deformation, which combined with accurate surface temperature history, timescale, and accumulation rate, will make a potent synergy for glaciological modeling of the history of the WAIS. This effort will address questions about the stability of this marine-based ice sheet, which would raise sea level 5 m if melted.