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The microclimate of Mawson's Hut based on snow and ice core analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 October 2012

Shavawn Donoghue ,
Tim H. Jacka ,
Vin Morgan  and
Estelle Lazer
Shavawn Donoghue
Affiliation:
Antarctic, Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre, University of Tasmania, Hobart TAS 7001, Australia (sdonoghu@utas.edu.au)
Tim H. Jacka
Affiliation:
Antarctic, Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre, University of Tasmania, Hobart TAS 7001, Australia (sdonoghu@utas.edu.au)
Vin Morgan
Affiliation:
Antarctic, Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre, University of Tasmania, Hobart TAS 7001, Australia (sdonoghu@utas.edu.au)
Estelle Lazer
Affiliation:
Faculty of Architecture, Design and Planning, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
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Abstract

We report the oxygen isotope ratio (δ18O) and structural analysis of four 2m long firn cores collected in 1997 from inside Mawson's Hut (consisting of a Main Hut and a Workshop), Commonwealth Bay, Antarctica, and 25 snow samples collected in 2001 in the vicinity of the huts. Our aim is to examine the microclimate within the huts. Structural analyses of the cores and snow samples indicate there were no significant melt and refreeze events, however there is evidence of water seepage into the huts from the roof. Oxygen isotope data from the two cores from the Main Hut indicate that the hut filled slowly after being abandoned in 1914. Two cores adjacent to the Workshop suggest comparatively rapid snow filling after it was cleared of snow in 1978. Oxygen isotope analysis of individual samples collected outside Mawson's Hut suggests snow, accumulated south of Cape Denison, is deposited by katabatic winds.

Type
Research Article
Information
Polar Record , Volume 50 , Issue 1 , January 2014 , pp. 37 - 42
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012 

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