Dome F

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Japanese Antarctica bases
Japanese Antarctica bases

Dome F, also known as Dome Fuji (ドーム富士 Dōmu Fuji) or Valkyrjedomen, is located in east Queen Maud Land at 77°19′S 39°42′E. With an altitude of 3,810 m or 12,500 ft above sea level, it is the second-highest summit or "dome" of the Antarctic ice sheet. Dome F is the site of a research station operated by Japan.

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[edit] Environment

Owing to its location on the Antarctic plateau and the high elevation, Dome F is one of the coldest places on Earth. Temperatures rarely rise above -30°C in summer and can drop to -80°C in winter. The annual average air temperature is -54.3°C. The climate is that of a cold desert, with very dry conditions and an annual precipitation of about 25 millimeters of water equivalent, which falls entirely as snow.[1]

[edit] Dome Fuji Station

Dome Fuji Station (ドーム富士基地 Dōmu Fuji Kichi) was established as "Dome Fuji observation base" (ドーム富士観測拠点 Dōmu Fuji Kansoku Kyoten) in January 1995. Its name was changed to "Dome Fuji Station" on April 1, 2004. It is separated from Showa Station by about 1,000 km, and everyone moves in and out by helicopter.

[edit] Glaciology

Deep ice core drilling at Dome F was started in August 1995, and in December 1996 a depth of 2503 m was reached.[2] This first core covers a period back to 320,000 years.

A second deep core was started in 2003. Drilling was carried out during four subsequent austral summers from 2003/2004 until 2006/2007, and by then a depth of 3035.22 m was reached. The drill did not hit the bedrock, but rock particles and refrozen water have been found in the deepest ice, indicating that the bedrock is very close to the bottom of the borehole.[3] This core greatly extends the climatic record of the first core, and, according to a first, preliminary dating, it reaches back until 720,000 years. The ice of the second Dome F core is therefore the second-oldest ice ever recovered, only outranged by the EPICA Dome C core.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Watanabe, O.; and 11 others (2003). "General tendencies of stable isotopes and major chemical constituents of the Dome Fuji deep ice core". Global scale climate and environmental study through polar deep ice cores: 1-24, Tokyo, Japan: National Institute of Polar Research. 
  2. ^ Dome-F Deep Coring Group (1998). "Deep ice-core drilling at Dome Fuji and glaciological studies in east Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica". Annals of Glaciology 27: 333-337. 
  3. ^ National Institute of Polar Research, Tokyo, Japan (2007-01-26). On the Antarctic Dome Fuji Station (in Japanese). Press release.
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