Abstract The productivity of wells in fractured reservoirs depends, in terms of rate and sustainability, on the heterogeneity and variable connectivity of the open fracture network. Outcrop studies in Cretaceous carbonates from the Catalan Pyrenees illuminate this issue and reveal the degree of uncertainty associated with the interpretation of fracture data from wells and seismic. Three examples are chosen to provide verifiable data, parameters and concepts which can be applied to the workflow of fractured reservoir characterization. We discuss fracture properties and distributions in the subseismic volume, the coupled behaviour between litho-mechanical properties, in situ stress and fracturing, and the permeability properties of fault damage zones. The outcrops also highlight some of the difficulties involved in constructing static reservoir models and evaluating fracture interpretations derived from software-based techniques such as surface curvature.

Abstract The Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains (GSM), located in the central part of East Antarctica, have become the subject of great scientific interest because the mechanism driving the uplift of the range, which resembles younger mountain ranges in shape, in the middle of the old Antarctic Plate is unknown. The next step planned in the exploration of the GSM will be focused on direct examination of the ice sheet bed by drilling. The use of cable-suspended drilling technology is proposed. All of the drilling equipment will be installed inside a movable, sledge-mounted, temperature-controlled, and wind-protected drilling shelter and workshop connected by steel pathway. To drill through ice and bedrock, a new version of the cable-suspended ice and bedrock electromechanical drill was designed and tested. During the 2017–18 season, the drilling shelter and workshop will be assembled near the Zhongshan Station and first field tests will be carried out. Drilling for bedrock on the GSM is planned as soon as full financial and logistical support is obtained for the project.

Abstract In January 2013, the US WISSARD programme measured and sampled Lake Whillans, a subglacial water body at the edge of West Antarctica, in a clean and environmentally sensitive manner, proving the existence of microbial life beneath this part of the ice sheet. The success of WISSARD represented a benchmark in the exploration of Antarctica, made possible by a rich and diverse history of events, discoveries and discussions over the past 60 years, ranging from geophysical measurement of subglacial lakes to the development of scientific hypotheses concerning these environments and the engineering solutions required to test them. In this article, I provide a personal account of this history, from the published literature and my own involvement in subglacial lake exploration over the last 20 years. I show that our ability to directly measure and sample subglacial water bodies in Antarctica has been made possible by a strong theme of international collaboration, at odds with the media representation of a scientific ‘race’ between nations. I also consider plans for subglacial lake exploration and discuss how such collaboration is likely to be key to success of future research in this field.

Abstract Long-range airborne geophysical measurements were carried out in the ICEGRAV campaigns, covering hitherto unexplored parts of interior East Antarctica and part of the Antarctic Peninsula. The airborne surveys provided a regional coverage of gravity, magnetic and ice-penetrating radar measurements for major Dronning Maud Land ice stream systems, from the grounding lines up to the Recovery Lakes drainage basin, and filled in major data voids in Antarctic data compilations, such as AntGP for gravity data, ADMAP for magnetic data and BEDMAP2 for ice thickness data and the sub-ice topography. We present the first maps of gravity, magnetic and ice thickness data and bedrock topography for the region and show examples of bedrock topography and basal reflectivity patterns. The 2013 Recovery Lakes campaign was carried out with a British Antarctic Survey Twin Otter aircraft operating from the Halley and Belgrano II stations, as well as a remote field camp located at the Recovery subglacial Lake B site. Gravity measurements were the primary driver for the survey, with two airborne gravimeters (Lacoste and Romberg and Chekan-AM) providing measurements at an accuracy level of around 2 mGal r.m.s., supplementing GOCE (Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer) satellite data and confirming an excellent sub-milligal agreement between satellite and airborne data at longer wavelengths.

Abstract The Antarctic continent, which contains enough ice to raise sea level globally by around 60 m, is the last major scientific frontier on our planet. We know far more about the surfaces of the Moon, Mars and around half of Pluto than we do about the underside of the Antarctic ice sheet. Geophysical exploration is the key route to measuring the ice sheetâs internal structure and the land on which the ice rests. From such measurements, we are able to reveal how the ice sheet flows, and how it responds to atmospheric and ocean warming. By examining landscapes that have been moulded by former ice flow, we are able to identify how the ice sheet behaved in the past. Geophysics is therefore critical to understanding change in Antarctica.