KErguelen Surface Ablation, Accumulation and Climate Observation (KESAACO)
During the last six years, in the framework of the GLACIOCLIM-KESAACO and KCRuMBLE programs, we implemented key glaciological and meteorological networks on Kerguelen Archipelago. 5 AWS and 1 hydrological station (a pressure gauge installed in la Diosaz river) were set up, and the data collected on the islands offered crucial informations to understand the glaciers retreat in this region. This new field campaign will offer additional glaciological measurements on the Ampère glacier (DGPS, GPR) and new data from the 5 AWS and from the pressure gauge. Moreover, additional rock samples will be collected in the Bontemps lake valley, along the flanks of nunataks and on summits around Cook Ice cap to go a step further in the understanding of the glacier retreat chronology since the last glacial maximum. The analysis of rock samples is funded by a new French INSU LEFE project Glacepreker (2016-2019). The sensors installed in the vicinity of the Ampere glacier will be removed at the end of the field campaign, meaning that this field campaign will be the last of the GLACIOCLIM-KESAACO program.