UKRAINE PROPOSAL AND ACTIVITIES FOR 2007/08 IPY

1. Introduction and Objectives

Ukraine has formed the Initiative Group (IG) for creation the National Committee and Program for IPY. Dr. Valery Lytvynov, Director Ukrainian Antarctic Center (UAC) is the chairman, Dr. Gennadi Milinevsky, Deputy Director of UAC is the action secretary of the IG. The Initiative Group to the end of 2004 will prepare the concept of IPY for accepting by the Ukraine government and seeking funding for the Ukraine planning activities in 2007/08. Ukraine is wishing to involve in the 2007-2008 IPY activities and is going to make contributions on the following scientific areas. We are willing to participate in the international cooperation both in scientific research and logistic support in Antarctic operations. We consider the international cooperation as an important part to provide the better understanding of the role of Antarctica in global change through establishing bilateral or multi-lateral scientific program, facilitating share of resources, data exchange, organizing meetings and workshops.

2. Field of Activity

Present change of environment, climate and ecosystems: to obtain the state of conditions for present and short-term environmental and climate changes as main objectives in the framework of two Programs: (1) Research of processes of energy distribution from a surface of the Earth up to ionosphere and magnetosphere; (2) Research of sea and coastal eco-geo-system changes of the Antarctic Peninsula, and seas of Western Antarctic Region.

3. Proposals for IPY 2007/8

3.1. Circum-Antarctic Geological Survey: geochemical study of the large detrital zircon populations that reflect sub glacial provenance (CAGS).

The idea of the project is based on region-scale geological investigation of the subglacial terrains of Antarctica: main rock types identification and terrain-scale geological/metallogenic events determination on a basis of single-grain trace element geochemistry of wide-spread accessory minerals from marine glacial deposits. The standard procedures for regional geological/metallogenic investigations and crustal evolution determination are inapplicable within this subglacial region. Comparable results may be derived from single-grain trace element geochemistry of zircon (monazite, apatite etc.) large detrital populations from marine glacial sediments of Antarctic continental shelf that reflect provenance (age and composition of rock types widely distributed within the drained subglacial area). This project could be joined (logistically) in framework of Australia's proposition for the Census of Antarctic Marine Life.

3.2. Investigation of global lightning activity using the worldwide ELF interferometer (involving Vernadsky, Syowa, Amundsen-Scott in Antarctica, Tohoku University in Japan, and Institute of Radio Astronomy in Ukraine).

Four years of ELF polarization measurements of the global lightning activity at the Antarctic station Vernadsky, and development of a new gyrotropic theoretical model of the Schumann resonance cavity provide a possibility for investigating the thunderstorm activity of three main equatorial lightning centres. The development of a synchronous net of spaced receiving sites in Antarctica and in the Northern hemisphere and coherent data processing will allow creating a global ELF interferometer to recover locations and intensities of thunderstorms, and their temporal trends. The Project could be fulfilled in the framework of the ICESTAR Programme.

3.3. The "electromagnetic pollution" of Antarctica from industrial regions of the Northern hemisphere.

The high performance ULF, ELF and HF detectors that have been deployed at Vernadsky Antarctic station permit monitoring the natural and industrial electromagnetic noise level in a wide frequency range from 0.01 Hz up to tens of MHz. The records obtained during three past years demonstrate a tendency toward increase in the level of electromagnetic pollution in Antarctica. It is suggested to perform similar observations at several widely separated Antarctic stations. The Project could be part of the SCAR ICESTAR Programme.

3.4. The propagation of the AGW of tropospheric origin upwards to the ionosphere/magnetosphere using a network of automatic meteo-magnetic stations in the Antarctic Peninsula region.

The Project is based on the data of energy transport from the surface to the upper ionosphere by atmospheric gravity waves (AGW). A network of observation sites spaced by 50-100 km will be created on and close to the Antarctic Peninsula to study the processes of energy transfer from atmospheric fronts to geospace altitudes. Low power-consuming, automatic meteo-magnetic stations have been developed with total power consumption 2.5 mW. To organize the project Ukraine seeks logistical support from other countries to distribute the net. The Project could be fulfilled in the framework of the ICESTAR Programme.

3.5.Antarctic Peninsula: key region for understanding the rapid environment change study.

There is great difference in regional climate changes on the Earth - rapid warming in Alaska region, East Siberia, Antarctic Peninsula, cooling in Greenland, East Antarctica. For understanding the changes the Antarctic Peninsula region could serve as the range to clarify the processes that are the reasons for climate trend differentiation. The long-term changes in hydrosphere and hydrology anomalies, sea-ice dynamics, rapid disintegration of (small) glacier and ice shelf, surface temperature changes, ozone layer dynamics, ionosphere layers height changes observed at Faraday/Vernadsky - are the evidence and the database for research. The project could be included in the framework of the APTIC and ICESTAR Program.

The part of proposed project is sub-Project "Small glaciers and island ice caps as sensitive indicators for regional climate changes in Antarctica". The sub-Project is based on idea that the small glaciers and island ice caps more rapidly follow to regional climate changes. The information on shape and dynamics of small glaciers (including the historical surveys, map, pictures, aerial photography) gives possibility to obtain additional information on regional climate trends. The creation of CD database on small glaciers and island ice caps and fulfil the recent survey, compare to other region (small mountain glaciers) are the objective the sub-Project.

3.6. The deep geoelectric model of Antarctic Peninsula.

In spite of activity of geoelectric sounding on the other continents there is only a few deep magnetovariational estimation in Antarctic region. We propose the project of deep geoelectric structures investigation and creation of Antarctic Peninsula geoelectric model. Geoelectric sounding will be carry out in different points of Antarctic Peninsula on the bases of permanent Antarctic station (5-6 points) and in other points (field camp, 15-20 points) during summer seasons. We seek the logistics support and cooperation in Antarctic Peninsula region.

3.7. The deep structure and principal evolution stages of West Antarctica (on the base of geophysical, petrologic, geochronology and palaeomagnetic data).

West Antarctica, being an agglomeration of lithosphere terrains, is one of the key fragment of understanding the Proterozoic and Phanerozoic evolution of the Earth. The main aim of this project is reconstruction of the principal stages of development of West Antarctica terrains, their special role in Antarctic geodynamic system, relationships between the Precambrian, Middle Paleozoic and Mesozoic Complexes on the base of new geological – geophysical data, investigation of the main feature of the deep structure of the region. The working hypothesis is existence of Rodinia and Pangea Supercontinents in Proterozoic and Early Palaeozoic, build up and breakup of Gondwanaland during Phanerozoic. The new data including petrologic, petrophysics, geochronology, tectonophysic and palaeomagnetic investigations will be collect during joint Ukrainian and foreign field expeditions in the key point (outcrops) of Antarctic Peninsula and near-by regions. New geophysical data (gravimetric and magnetometric survey on Belli

ngshausen and Scotia sea) with well-known seismological profiles and a new seismotomography data will be the base of deep model construction and they time-spatial evolution.

3.8. Modelling of the Antarctic and Arctic Polar Regions’ Interior Structure and Geodynamic Features Using the Gravimetric Tomography Technique.

The database of the project is the data of spherical harmonics of the gravimetric potential expansion by the geoid model and satellite altimetry. The Gravimetric Tomography method allows calculating and developing the images of a deep structure from surface to the core for any transect and polar stereographic maps of a distribution of the tectonosphere’s density inhomogeneity on impact of geodynamic processes on different depths. Values of the gravity potential in units of heights of the geoid and values of density harmonic anomalies in g/cm3 are computed with an interval 0.25 degree. This information on CD can be presented for SCAR and all researches on their regions. The project could be a part of SCAR ANTEC Program.

3.9. Bathymetry, Mapping and Sedimentation Processes of Unsurveyed Shallow Archipelagos of the West Antarctica

Boat echo sounding, tidal measurements, “rover” GPS positioning and geological core sampling will be carried out during several seasons. Bathymetric and geomorphologic maps and geotectonic analysis will be presented as attachments to the International Bathymetric Chart of the South Ocean. The project could be part of the SCAR IBCSO Program.

3.10. Climate variability and its influences to the state of glaciation of the Antarctic Peninsula region.

The aim of the project is to estimate the present-day state of regional climate system and its influence to the state of glaciations of the Antarctic Peninsula region. One of the main reasons for this project presentation is lacking information about the state of continental glaciers and lower troposphere over them. The proposed work will be started from the comprehensive field research, with establishment of new measuring points at the Antarctic Peninsula and adjacent islands therefore creating the climatic profile between them, and organization of new remote glaciological polygon with field base. Also creation of weather diagnostic/prognostic center at the Vernadsky base as coordinating point for successful navigation during the time of IPY 2007—08 is proposed.

3.11. Long-term ecosystem monitoring of the Vernadsky station region.

Nowadays the creation of the database of species consists of penguin, skua, shag and other birds, krill, fishes, invertebrate, mammals (observation only), plants (algae, mosses, lichen and other) and microorganisms is started. The methods used include observations, morphological measurements, individual marking, ringing, and a set of contemporary protocols of biochemistry, genetics, microbiology and other laboratory methods. Since 2002 the observations of gentoo penguins colony of the Petermann Island as the part for the proposal program of long-term ecosystem monitoring (LTEM) has been started. The colony of gentoo at this island is the most south one and its changes (gene pool and population number) may be a good indicator of environmental impact and changes of ecosystem. The aim of the LTEM is tracking of simultaneous changes of climate and living organisms (species composition, gene pool of indicator species) for prediction of possible changes of ecosystem. The development of the program could be made

in the framework of international cooperation.

3.12. Complex study of the deep Earth’ structure, break tectonics of the Earth crust in the Scotia Sea region and Pacific shelf of the Antarctic Peninsula, internal physical processes connected with energy active reactions into the external and internal core of the Earth.

3.13. Using of the energy balance model of the global Earth climate to modeling of the regional Antarctic Peninsula climate peculiarities, and atmospheric processes in the South Polar area.

3.14. The development of the physical background of the earthquake in the Scotia Sea in order to improve the prognosis methods on the base of the radon emission observation, the geomagnetic field variation and seismic observations at the Vernadsky station.

3.15. Physical and radio physical investigations of the Antarctic geological and geophysical objects on the base of their own superhigh frequency radiation.

Contact:

Dr Valery Lytvynov

Chairman of the Ukraine IPY Initiative Group

Director Ukrainian Antarctic Center

16 blvd Tarasa Shevchenka, 01601 Kyiv, Ukraine

Tel +38 044 246 3810, Fax +38 044 246 3880

uac@uac.gov.ua

Dr Gennadi Milinevsky

Action secretary of the Ukraine IPY Initiative Group

Deputy Director of Science Ukrainian Antarctic Center

16 blvd Tarasa Shevchenka, 01601 Kyiv, Ukraine

Tel +38 044 246 3883, Fax +38 044 246 3880

science@uac.gov.ua

e-mail: mailto:admin@uac.gov.ua Copyright ©2003 UA