Elevation determination of nunataks in the Grove Mountains

• Main Authors: Zemin, Wang, Songtao, Ai, Shengkai, Zhang, Yujun, Du
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Polar Research Institute of China - PRIC 2011
• Subjects: Terrestrial; Antarctic; The Antarctic; Grove Mountains; Wilson Ridge; Advances in Polar Science; Antarc*; Antarctica; Polar Science
• Online Access: http://library.arcticportal.org/2429/; http://library.arcticportal.org/2429/1/A20110308.pdf

A majority of the exposed nunataks located in the Grove Mountains of the Antarctic interior have yet to have had their elevations measured. The elevations of Mason Peak and Wilson Ridge were precisely determined by the Grove Team of the 26th CHINARE in 2010, with Mason Peak turning out to be the highest of the Grove Mountains. Considering that both Mason Peak and Wilson Ridge are difficult to climb because of their cragginess, we first selected three control points on the ice surface near Mason Peak and positioned them with GPS. Thus, accurate elevations of Mason Peak and Wilson Ridge could be calculated from three directions using forward intersection and trigonometric leveling of a high-precision theodolite at the chosen control points. The results provide basic geodetic information that can be referred to as high-precision control points for surveying and mapping in this part of Antarctica. This paper elaborates on the process of measurement and computation of the mountains summit elevations, and also analyzes the details of the principal elements influencing the accuracy of trigonometric leveling, the determination of refraction coefficients k, and observations of structure and distance.