TEM data from the McMurdo area

The MCM-SkyTEM project during the 2011-12 austral season mapped resistivity in the McMurdo Dry Valleys and at Cape Barne on the Ross Island using an airborne transient electromagnetic method. The SkyTEM system is mounted to a helicopter, which enabled a broad geophysical survey of subsurface resistivity structure over terrain that was previously considered inaccessible to traditional ground-based methods. The resistivity measurements obtained distinguish between highly resistive geologic materials such as glacier ice, bedrock and permafrost, and conductive materials such as unfrozen sediments or brine pockets to depths of about 300 m. The 2011-12 SkyTEM proof-of-concept survey of subsurface resistivity in McMurdo Dry Valleys (McM-DV) and on Ross Island has proven to be exceedingly successful in terms of spatial coverage and data quality. It provides an unprecedented insight into the subsurface conditions in these two regions, including into their suitability as potential microbial habitats.