DOCSLIB.ORG

Surface Mass Balance Over Dome Argus, Antarctica

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Surface Mass Balance Over Dome Argus, Antarctica RESEARCH/REVIEW ARTICLE Re-assessment of recent (2008 2013) surface mass balance over Dome Argus, Antarctica Á Minghu Ding,1,2 Cunde Xiao,1,2 Yuande Yang,3 Yetang Wang,4 Chuanjin Li,2 Naiming Yuan,1 Guitao Shi,5 Weijun Sun4 & Jing Ming2 1 Institute of Climate System, Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing 100081, China 2 State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China 3 Chinese Antarctic Center of Surveying and Mapping, Wuhan University, 129 Luoyu Road, Wuhan 430079, China 4 College of Population, Resources and Environment, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250014, China 5 Polar Research Institute of China, Shanghai 200136, China Keywords Abstract Snow accumulation; Kunlun Station; CHINARE; digital elevation model; deep ice At Dome Argus, East Antarctica, the surface mass balance (SMB) from 2008 core sites; East Antarctic Ice Sheet. to 2013 was evaluated using 49 stakes installed across a 3030 km area. Spatial analysis showed that at least 12 and 20 stakes are needed to obtain reliable Correspondence estimates of SMB at local scales (a few hundred square metres) and regional Cunde Xiao, Institute of Climate System, scales (tens of square kilometres), respectively. The estimated annual mean Chinese Academy of Meteorological SMB was 22.995.9 kg m2 yr1, including a net loss by sublimation of 2.229 Sciences, Beijing 100081, China. E-mail: 0.02 kg m2 yr1 and a mass gain by deposition of 1.3790.01 kg m2 yr1. [email protected] Therefore, ca. 14.3% of precipitation was modified after deposition, which should be considered when interpreting snow or ice core records produced by future drilling projects. The surface snow density and SMB in the western portion of Dome Argus are higher than in other areas, and these differences are likely related to the katabatic wind, which is strengthened by topography in this sector. A new digital elevation model (DEM) of Dome Argus was generated, confirming that both peaks of the dome can be considered as the summit of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. Findings from this study should be valuable for validating SMB estimates obtained from regional climate models and DEMs established using remote-sensing data. To access the supplementary material for this article, please see the supplementary file under Article Tools, online. As the highest region of the EAIS, Dome Argus is one of contributed important information to the selection of the the most important candidate sites from which to acquire best site for ice core drilling and for the construction of the oldest East Antarctic ice core (Fig. 1). Previous studies Kunlun Station, which is located between the two highest have shown that on-going deep ice core drilling may points of Dome Argus (Fig. 1a). provide a unique paleoclimate record extending to 1.2 SMB, snow accumulation rate and surface ice velocity Mya (e.g., Xiao et al. 2008). In preparation for the project, are key parameters for glaciological and meteorological the surface topography was investigated, and an AWS studies. To estimate the SMB, snow pit and stake array was deployed by the 21st CHINARE in the austral summer measurements were collected on the northern peak of the of 2004/05 (Zhang et al. 2007; Cheng et al. 2009; Ma Dome Argus area. The b activity horizon in the snow pit et al. 2010). Ice sheet thickness and bed topography were revealed an SMB value of 23 kg m2 yr1 during the surveyed with ground-based ice-penetrating radar by the period 1966Á2005 (Hou et al. 2007). During the period 24th CHINARE in 2007/08 (Bo et al. 2009). These efforts 2005Á08, stake array measurements indicated an SMB of Polar Research 2016. # 2016 M. Ding et al. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 1 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), permitting all non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Citation: Polar Research 2016, 35, 26133, http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/polar.v35.26133 (page number not for citation purpose) Surface mass balance over Dome Argus, Antarctica M. Ding et al. Argus, as well as new estimates of SMB and surface Abbreviations in this article AWS: automatic weather station sublimation rates for the period of January 2008 to CHINARE: Chinese National Antarctic Research January 2013. Expedition CV: coefficient of variation DA: 100100 m stake array on Dome Argus Field observations DEM: digital elevation model DZ: 3030 km stake array around Dome Argus In January 2008, during the 24th CHINARE, 49 bamboo EAIS: East Antarctic Ice Sheet poles were installed to measure the SMB across a 3030 ECMWF: European Centre for Medium-Range Weather km square area (Fig. 1b). The distance between the stakes Forecasts was ca. 5 km. In January 2011, the 27th CHINARE GPS: Global Positioning System re-measured the heights of these stakes and examined JRA-55: Japan Meteorological Agency 55-year re-analysis the snow layers at sites with damaged stakes. In January LE: latent heat flux 2013, a second re-measurement campaign was con- MERRA: Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for ducted. Hence, snow height change observations have Research and Applications been collected for two periods: 2008Á2011 and 2011Á13. NCEP: National Centers for Environmental Prediction The surface density to a depth of 0.20 m was calculated P-E: precipitation minus evaporation/sublimation RTK: real-time kinematic analysis using a tube sampler. To reduce local spatial noise, at least SHC: surface height change two measurements at each site were collected with SMB: surface mass balance an interval of about 4 m. If the difference between the two measurements exceeded 5%, another sample, 19 kg m2 yr1 (Ding et al. 2011). During the austral located so as to form an equilateral triangle with the first summer of 2004/05, a 109.91 m ice core was drilled two measurement sites, was collected. Because of the low to study the preliminary climatic information of Dome A; snowfall rate and weak winds around Dome Argus, the however, the dating results differed greatly between two densification process is negligible on a time scale of five research groups. One team suggested a 2840-year history years (Ding et al. 2015). Therefore, the use of the surface for the top 104.42 m, whereas the other group suggested density to translate snow height changes into SMB does a 41159150-year history for the entire core (Jiang et al. not reduce the reliability of the results. The calculated 2012; Li et al. 2012). Additionally, many studies have SMB uncertainty should be within 2% if visual error of shown that single site measurements may have low local stake height measurement is also considered. representativeness (e.g., Frezzotti et al. 2007; Kameda GPS coordinates of the SMB measurement sites were et al. 2008). also recorded and used to construct a DEM and a surface Better knowledge of the SMB distribution over Dome velocity map for Dome Argus. The GPS data were gathered Argus is needed to support future glaciological studies in using RTK and differential GPS analysis. In January 2013, this region. In this study, we present a new DEM of Dome two Leica AS10 GPS receivers were used to produce the Fig. 1 (a) Location of Dome Argus, East Antarctica. The locations of Dome Fuji, Dome B, Vostok, Dome C and South Pole are also shown. (b) Sketch map of sites for GPS and stake measurements. The base map was generated using QGIS 2.6 (http://www.qgis.com/). Contour line intervals are 500 m. 2 Citation: Polar Research 2016, 35, 26133, http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/polar.v35.26133 (page number not for citation purpose) M. Ding et al. Surface mass balance over Dome Argus, Antarctica DEM of Dome Argus. One GPS receiver was used as a optimal number that minimizes spatial noise at local and reference station at Kunlun Station and made continuous regional scales. measurements from 8 to 14 January 2013 at 5 s intervals. To determine this optimal number, the Monte Carlo The other receiver was used as a roving station to collect method (Metropolis & Ulam 1949) was used to generate data near the stakes. For the roving station, the GPS different combinations of stake numbers. Then, the CV, receiver operated in RTK mode and collected data for also known as relative standard deviation, of each combi- two minutes under good communication conditions. nation was calculated using the following equation: Otherwise, at least 25 min were required to collect data 2sPffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiÂÃ3 r z in differential GPS mode. The collected data were post- 6 j Aj À A 7 ri;r ¼ 6 7 (1) processed, and the horizontal and vertical errors were 6 r 7 i estimated to be 1.2 and 3.9 cm, respectively. The DEM uncertainty is estimated to be B0.03 m and B0.10 m in n25 for DA or n49 for DZ; 25r5n1; j1, ..., r; r the horizontal and vertical respectively. and i1, ..., Cn. The Dome Argus stake array, which included a 55 Here, s represents the CV, and {Aj}, in which j1,..., matrix over a 100100 m area, was also measured to r, is a combinationP when r is the number of degrees of record snow accumulation during the fieldwork (Fig. 1). freedom and A ¼ Aj =r. The mean CV is then calculated These observations were used to determine the SMB and using this equation: P assess the reliability of local-scale single-stake measure- Cr n r ments. Here, DA designates the smaller scale of the two r ¼ i¼1 i;r (2) r arrays (100100 m), that is the Dome Argus stake array, Cn whereas DZ represents the larger scale array (3030 To illustrate the relative error on the estimated degree of km), comprising 49 stakes installed across a wider area spatial coherence, we also calculated the CV of si,r for around Dome Argus.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • China's Expanding Antarctic Interests
    CHINA’S EXPANDING ANTARCTIC INTERESTS: IMPLICATIONS FOR NEW ZEALAND Professor Anne-Marie Brady1 | University of Canterbury | [email protected] Policy brief no. 2 | June 3, 2017 Presented at the conference: ‘Small States and the Changing Global Order: New Zealand Faces the Future’ at University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand, 3-4 June 2017 China is rapidly expanding its activities in Antarctica and some of its behaviour appears to breach the terms of the Antarctic Treaty. New Zealand must rethink its assessment of risk in Antarctica and devise a strategy to protect its interests there. Key findings • Some of China's interests and activities in Antarctica, which include undeclared military activities and mineral exploration, may be at odds with New Zealand strategic interests and they potentially breach international law. • China is rapidly expanding its presence in a triangle-shaped area it calls the "East Antarctic Sector" and has stated in policy documents that it reserves the right to make a claim in Antarctica. • New Zealand must rethink its assessment of risk in Antarctica and devise a strategy to protect its interests there. Executive summary China has rapidly expanded its activities in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean in recent years. The 2016 White Paper on Defence defines China as a "key strategic partner" for New Zealand.2 New Zealand has strong and expanding relations with China; while our top trading partners also have China as their major market. New Zealand benefits hugely from the economic opportunities associated with China's economic growth. At the same time, China's economic growth has funded a dramatic expansion in military capabilities and is challenging the longstanding strategic order in Northeast Asia and the Indo-Asia-Pacific.
    [Show full text]
  • Site Testing Dome A, Antarctica
    Site testing Dome A, Antarctica J.S. Lawrencea*, M.C.B. Ashleya, M.G. Burtona, X. Cuib, J.R. Everetta, B.T. Indermuehlea, S.L. Kenyona, D. Luong-Vana, A.M. Moorec, J.W.V. Storeya, A. Tokovinind, T. Travouillonc, C. Pennypackere, L. Wange, D. Yorkf aSchool of Physics, University of New South Wales, Australia bNanjing Institute of Astronomical Optics and Technology, China cCalifornia Institute of Technology, USA dCerro-Tololo Inter-American Observatories, Chile eLawrence Berkeley Lab, University of California/Berkeley, USA fUniversity of Chicago, USA ABSTRACT Recent data have shown that Dome C, on the Antarctic plateau, is an exceptional site for astronomy, with atmospheric conditions superior to those at any existing mid-latitude site. Dome C, however, may not be the best site on the Antarctic plateau for every kind of astronomy. The highest point of the plateau is Dome A, some 800 m higher than Dome C. It should experience colder atmospheric temperatures, lower wind speeds, and a turbulent boundary layer that is confined closer to the ground. The Dome A site was first visited in January 2005 via an overland traverse, conducted by the Polar Research Institute of China. The PRIC plans to return to the site to establish a permanently manned station within the next decade. The University of New South Wales, in collaboration with a number of international institutions, is currently developing a remote automated site testing observatory for deployment to Dome A in the 2007/8 austral summer as part of the International Polar Year. This self-powered observatory will be equipped with a suite of site testing instruments measuring turbulence, optical and infrared sky background, and sub-millimetre transparency.
    [Show full text]
  • Where Is the Best Site on Earth? Domes A, B, C, and F, And
    Where is the best site on Earth? Saunders et al. 2009, PASP, 121, 976-992 Where is the best site on Earth? Domes A, B, C and F, and Ridges A and B Will Saunders1;2, Jon S. Lawrence1;2;3, John W.V. Storey1, Michael C.B. Ashley1 1School of Physics, University of New South Wales 2Anglo-Australian Observatory 3Macquarie University, New South Wales [email protected] Seiji Kato, Patrick Minnis, David M. Winker NASA Langley Research Center Guiping Liu Space Sciences Lab, University of California Berkeley Craig Kulesa Department of Astronomy and Steward Observatory, University of Arizona Saunders et al. 2009, PASP, 121 976992 Received 2009 May 26; accepted 2009 July 13; published 2009 August 20 ABSTRACT The Antarctic plateau contains the best sites on earth for many forms of astronomy, but none of the existing bases was selected with astronomy as the primary motivation. In this paper, we try to systematically compare the merits of potential observatory sites. We include South Pole, Domes A, C and F, and also Ridge B (running NE from Dome A), and what we call `Ridge A' (running SW from Dome A). Our analysis combines satellite data, published results and atmospheric models, to compare the boundary layer, weather, aurorae, airglow, precipitable water vapour, thermal sky emission, surface temperature, and the free atmosphere, at each site. We ¯nd that all Antarctic sites are likely to be compromised for optical work by airglow and aurorae. Of the sites with existing bases, Dome A is easily the best overall; but we ¯nd that Ridge A o®ers an even better site.
    [Show full text]
  • Download Factsheet
    Antarctic Factsheet Geographical Statistics May 2005 AREA % of total Antarctica - including ice shelves and islands 13,829,430km2 100.00% (Around 58 times the size of the UK, or 1.4 times the size of the USA) Antarctica - excluding ice shelves and islands 12,272,800km2 88.74% Area ice free 44,890km2 0.32% Ross Ice Shelf 510,680km2 3.69% Ronne-Filchner Ice Shelf 439,920km2 3.18% LENGTH Antarctic Peninsula 1,339km Transantarctic Mountains 3,300km Coastline* TOTAL 45,317km 100.00% * Note: coastlines are fractal in nature, so any Ice shelves 18,877km 42.00% measurement of them is dependant upon the scale at which the data is collected. Coastline Rock 5,468km 12.00% lengths here are calculated from the most Ice coastline 20,972km 46.00% detailed information available. HEIGHT Mean height of Antarctica - including ice shelves 1,958m Mean height of Antarctica - excluding ice shelves 2,194m Modal height excluding ice shelves 3,090m Highest Mountains 1. Mt Vinson (Ellsworth Mts.) 4,892m 2. Mt Tyree (Ellsworth Mts.) 4,852m 3. Mt Shinn (Ellsworth Mts.) 4,661m 4. Mt Craddock (Ellsworth Mts.) 4,650m 5. Mt Gardner (Ellsworth Mts.) 4,587m 6. Mt Kirkpatrick (Queen Alexandra Range) 4,528m 7. Mt Elizabeth (Queen Alexandra Range) 4,480m 8. Mt Epperly (Ellsworth Mts) 4,359m 9. Mt Markham (Queen Elizabeth Range) 4,350m 10. Mt Bell (Queen Alexandra Range) 4,303m (In many case these heights are based on survey of variable accuracy) Nunatak on the Antarctic Peninsula 1/4 www.antarctica.ac.uk Antarctic Factsheet Geographical Statistics May 2005 Other Notable Mountains 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Where Is the Best Site on Earth? Domes A, B, C and F, and Ridges a and B
    Where is the best site on Earth? Domes A, B, C and F, and Ridges A and B Will Saunders' 2 , Jon S. Lawrence' 2 3 , John W.V. Storey', Michael C.B. Ashley' 1School of Physics, University of New South Wales 2Anglo-Australian Observatory 3Macquarie University, New South Wales [email protected] Seiji Kato, Patrick Minnis, David M. Winker NASA Langley Research Center Guiping Liu Space Sciences Lab, University of California Berkeley Craig Kulesa Department of Astronomy and Steward Observatory, University of Arizona ABSTRACT The Antarctic plateau contains the best sites on earth for many forms of astronomy, but none of the existing bases were selected with astronomy as the primary motivation. In this paper, we try to systematically compare the merits of potential observatory sites. We include South Pole, Domes A, C and F, and also Ridge B (running NE from Dome A), and what we call ‘Ridge A’ (running SW from Dome A). Our analysis combines satellite data, published results and atmospheric models, to compare the boundary layer, weather, free atmosphere, sky brightness, pecipitable water vapour, and surface temperature at each site. We find that all Antarctic sites are likely compromised for optical work by airglow and aurorae. Of the sites with existing bases, Dome A is the best overall; but we find that Ridge A offers an even better site. We also find that Dome F is a remarkably good site. Dome C is less good as a thermal infrared or terahertz site, but would be able to take advantage of a predicted ‘OH hole’ over Antarctica during Spring.
    [Show full text]
  • Site Testing for Submillimetre Astronomy at Dome C, Antarctica
    A&A 535, A112 (2011) Astronomy DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201117345 & c ESO 2011 Astrophysics Site testing for submillimetre astronomy at Dome C, Antarctica P. Tremblin1, V. Minier1, N. Schneider1, G. Al. Durand1,M.C.B.Ashley2,J.S.Lawrence2, D. M. Luong-Van2, J. W. V. Storey2,G.An.Durand3,Y.Reinert3, C. Veyssiere3,C.Walter3,P.Ade4,P.G.Calisse4, Z. Challita5,6, E. Fossat6,L.Sabbatini5,7, A. Pellegrini8, P. Ricaud9, and J. Urban10 1 Laboratoire AIM Paris-Saclay (CEA/Irfu, Univ. Paris Diderot, CNRS/INSU), Centre d’études de Saclay, 91191 Gif-Sur-Yvette, France e-mail: [pascal.tremblin;vincent.minier]@cea.fr 2 University of New South Wales, 2052 Sydney, Australia 3 Service d’ingénierie des systèmes, CEA/Irfu, Centre d’études de Saclay, 91191 Gif-Sur-Yvette, France 4 School of Physics & Astronomy, Cardiff University, 5 The Parade, Cardiff, CF24 3AA, UK 5 Concordia Station, Dome C, Antarctica 6 Laboratoire Fizeau (Obs. Côte d’Azur, Univ. Nice Sophia Antipolis, CNRS/INSU), Parc Valrose, 06108 Nice, France 7 Departement of Physics, University of Roma Tre, Italy 8 Programma Nazionale Ricerche in Antartide, ENEA, Rome Italy 9 Laboratoire d’Aérologie, UMR 5560 CNRS, Université Paul-Sabatier, 31400 Toulouse, France 10 Chalmers University of Technology, Department of Earth and Space Sciences, 41296 Göteborg, Sweden Received 25 May 2011 / Accepted 17 October 2011 ABSTRACT Aims. Over the past few years a major effort has been put into the exploration of potential sites for the deployment of submillimetre astronomical facilities. Amongst the most important sites are Dome C and Dome A on the Antarctic Plateau, and the Chajnantor area in Chile.
    [Show full text]
  • YOPP-SH2 Report Final2.Pdf
    WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANIZATION WWRP POLAR PREDICTION PROJECT (WWRP-PPP) YEAR OF POLAR PREDICTION IN THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE PLANNING MEETING 2 (YOPP-SH2) 28–29 JUNE 2017 NATIONAL CENTER FOR ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH (NCAR) NCAR FOOTHILLS LABORATORY 3450 MITCHELL LANE, BOULDER, COLORADO, USA, 80301 Group Photo by Kris Marwitz, NCAR (back row, from left) Naohiko Hirasawa, Kirstin Werner, Lei Han, Kevin Speer, Katsuro Katsumata, Alexander Klepikov, Benjamin Schroeter, Katherine Leonard, Jean-Baptiste Madeleine, Holger Schmithüsen, Karl Newyear, Jordan Powers, Stefano Dolci, Peter Milne, David Mikolajczyk, Deniz Bozkurt, Kyohei Yamada, Eric Bazile, John Fyfe. (middle row, from left) Joellen Russel, David Bromwich, Qizhen Sun, Alvaro Scardilli, Penny Rowe, Aedin Wright, Julien Beaumet, Diana Francis, Matthew Lazzara, Irina Gorodetskaya, Annick Terpstra, Scott Carpentier. (front row, from left) Lynne Talley, Jorge Carrasco, Patrick Heimbach, Mathew Mazzloff, Alexandra Jahn, François Massonnet, Robin Robertson, Sharon Stammerjohn, Inga Smith. YOPP-SH2 28/29 June 2017 Final Report Page 1/44 1. OPENING The second planning meeting for the Year of Polar Prediction (YOPP) in the Southern Hemisphere (YOPP-SH) subcommittee was held from 28–29 June 2017 at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, USA. David Bromwich, member of the Polar Prediction Project Steering Group (PPP-SG), opened this second meeting (YOPP-SH2). He welcomed participants and explained the two key goals of the meeting. One of these was to compile information on the national activities that will contribute to YOPP-SH (during the June 28th afternoon session). Bromwich pointed out the benefits that all nations will have from a joint effort to improve forecasts in the Southern Hemisphere, in particular with regards to logistics needed to carry out research in and around Antarctica.
    [Show full text]
  • China's Rise in Antarctica? Author(S): Anne-Marie Brady Source: Asian Survey, Vol
    China's Rise in Antarctica? Author(s): Anne-Marie Brady Source: Asian Survey, Vol. 50, No. 4 (July/August 2010), pp. 759-785 Published by: University of California Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/as.2010.50.4.759 . Accessed: 13/03/2015 04:33 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. University of California Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Asian Survey. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 89.206.119.114 on Fri, 13 Mar 2015 04:33:18 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions ANNE-MARIE BRADY China’s Rise in Antarctica? ABSTRACT China has begun a new phase in its Antarctic engagement. Beijing has dramatically increased Chinese scientific activities on the frozen continent and is looking to take on more of a leadership role there. This paper draws connections between China’s expanded Antarctic program and debates on its foreign and domestic policies. KEYWORDS: China’s rise, Antarctica, foreign policy, resource conflict China is entering a new historical phase in its engagement with Ant- arctica. Since 2005, the Chinese government has dramatically increased its expenditure on Antarctic affairs and has stepped up domestic (though less so foreign) publicity on those activities.
    [Show full text]
  • And Better Science in Antarctica Through Increased Logistical Effectiveness
    MORE AND BETTER SCIENCE IN ANTARCTICA THROUGH INCREASED LOGISTICAL EFFECTIVENESS Report of the U.S. Antarctic Program Blue Ribbon Panel Washington, D.C. July 2012 This report of the U.S. Antarctic Program Blue Ribbon Panel, More and Better Science in Antarctica Through Increased Logistical Effectiveness, was completed at the request of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the National Science Foundation. Copies may be obtained from David Friscic at [email protected] (phone: 703-292-8030). An electronic copy of the report may be downloaded from http://www.nsf.gov/od/ opp/usap_special_review/usap_brp/rpt/index.jsp. Cover art by Zina Deretsky. MORE AND BETTER SCIENCE IN AntarctICA THROUGH INCREASED LOGISTICAL EFFECTIVENESS REport OF THE U.S. AntarctIC PROGRAM BLUE RIBBON PANEL AT THE REQUEST OF THE WHITE HOUSE OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY AND THE NatIONAL SCIENCE FoundatION WASHINGTON, D.C. JULY 2012 U.S. AntarctIC PROGRAM BLUE RIBBON PANEL WASHINGTON, D.C. July 23, 2012 Dr. John P. Holdren Dr. Subra Suresh Assistant to the President for Science and Technology Director & Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy National Science Foundation Executive Office of the President of the United States 4201 Wilson Boulevard Washington, DC 20305 Arlington, VA 22230 Dear Dr. Holdren and Dr. Suresh: The members of the U.S. Antarctic Program Blue Ribbon Panel are pleased to submit herewith our final report entitled More and Better Science in Antarctica through Increased Logistical Effectiveness. Not only is the U.S. logistics system supporting our nation’s activities in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean the essential enabler for our presence and scientific accomplish- ments in that region, it is also the dominant consumer of the funds allocated to those endeavors.
    [Show full text]
  • Astronomy in Antarctica
    The Astronomy and Astrophysics Review (2011) DOI 10.1007/s00159-010-0032-2 REVIEWARTICLE Michael G. Burton Astronomy in Antarctica Received: 3 May 2010 c Springer-Verlag 2010 Abstract Antarctica provides a unique environment for astronomers to practice their trade. The cold, dry and stable air found above the high Antarctic plateau, as well as the pure ice below, offers new opportunities for the conduct of obser- vational astronomy across both the photon and the particle spectrum. The sum- mits of the Antarctic plateau provide the best seeing conditions, the darkest skies and the most transparent atmosphere of any earth-based observing site. Astro- nomical activities are now underway at four plateau sites: the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, Concordia Station at Dome C, Kunlun Station at Dome A and Fuji Station at Dome F, in addition to long duration ballooning from the coastal station of McMurdo, at stations run by the USA, France/Italy, China, Japan and the USA, respectively. The astronomy conducted from Antarctica includes op- tical, infrared, terahertz and sub-millimetre astronomy, measurements of cosmic microwave background anisotropies, solar astronomy, as well as high energy as- trophysics involving the measurement of cosmic rays, gamma rays and neutrinos. Antarctica is also the richest source of meteorites on our planet. An extensive range of site testing measurements have been made over the high plateau sites. In this article, we summarise the facets of Antarctica that are driving developments in astronomy there, and review the results of the site testing experiments undertaken to quantify those characteristics of the Antarctic plateau relevant for astronomical observation.
    [Show full text]
  • A Brief History of Ice Core Science Over the Last 50 Yr
    Clim. Past, 9, 2525–2547, 2013 Open Access www.clim-past.net/9/2525/2013/ Climate doi:10.5194/cp-9-2525-2013 © Author(s) 2013. CC Attribution 3.0 License. of the Past A brief history of ice core science over the last 50 yr J. Jouzel1 1Laboratoire des Sciences de Climat et de l’Environnement/Institut Pierre Simon Laplace, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ – UMR8212, CEA Saclay, L’Orme des Merisiers, Bt. 701, 91191 Gif/Yvette, Cedex, France *Invited contribution by J. Jouzel, recipient of the EGS Milutin Milankovic Medal 1997. Correspondence to: J. Jouzel ([email protected]) Received: 30 April 2013 – Published in Clim. Past Discuss.: 3 July 2013 Revised: 24 September 2013 – Accepted: 30 September 2013 – Published: 6 November 2013 Abstract. For about 50 yr, ice cores have provided a about “The history of early polar ice cores” and on many wealth of information about past climatic and environmen- other scientific articles, reports and websites. I was also in- tal changes. Ice cores from Greenland, Antarctica and other terested in looking at how ice core research, which for about glacier-covered regions now encompass a variety of time fifty years has produced such a wealth of information about scales. However, the longer time scales (e.g. at least back past changes in our climate and our environment, is perceived to the Last Glacial period) are covered by deep ice cores, outside our scientific community; one well-documented ex- the number of which is still very limited: seven from Green- ample is given by Spencer Weart, an historian of science, land, with only one providing an undisturbed record of a part who has written a book called “The discovery of global of the last interglacial period, and a dozen from Antarctica, warming” (Weart, 2008, updated in 2013) with a chapter on with the longest record covering the last 800 000 yr.
    [Show full text]
  • Site Testing Dome A, Antarctica
    Site testing Dome A, Antarctica J.S. Lawrencea*, M.C.B. Ashleya, M.G. Burtona, X. Cuib, J.R. Everetta, B.T. Indermuehlea, S.L. Kenyona, D. Luong-Vana, A.M. Moorec, J.W.V. Storeya, A. Tokovinind, T. Travouillonc, C. Pennypackere, L. Wange, D. Yorkf aSchool of Physics, University of New South Wales, Australia bNanjing Institute of Astronomical Optics and Technology, China cCalifornia Institute of Technology, USA dCerro-Tololo Inter-American Observatories, Chile eLawrence Berkeley Lab, University of California/Berkeley, USA fUniversity of Chicago, USA ABSTRACT Recent data have shown that Dome C, on the Antarctic plateau, is an exceptional site for astronomy, with atmospheric conditions superior to those at any existing mid-latitude site. Dome C, however, may not be the best site on the Antarctic plateau for every kind of astronomy. The highest point of the plateau is Dome A, some 800 m higher than Dome C. It should experience colder atmospheric temperatures, lower wind speeds, and a turbulent boundary layer that is confined closer to the ground. The Dome A site was first visited in January 2005 via an overland traverse, conducted by the Polar Research Institute of China. The PRIC plans to return to the site to establish a permanently manned station within the next decade. The University of New South Wales, in collaboration with a number of international institutions, is currently developing a remote automated site testing observatory for deployment to Dome A in the 2007/8 austral summer as part of the International Polar Year. This self-powered observatory will be equipped with a suite of site testing instruments measuring turbulence, optical and infrared sky background, and sub-millimetre transparency.
    [Show full text]