Glaciological observations at Dome Argus, East Antarctica

• Main Authors: Chunlei, An, Yetang, Wang, Shugui, Hou
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Polar Research Institute of China - PRIC 2017
• Subjects: Atmosphere; Cryosphere; East Antarctica; Dome Argus; Argus Dome; Argus, Dome; Advances in Polar Science; Antarc*; Antarctica; ice core; Polar Science
• Online Access: http://library.arcticportal.org/2643/; http://library.arcticportal.org/2643/1/A180411000003.pdf

Dome Argus (Dome A) in East Antarctica is a potentially likely site to meet one of the major objectives of the International Partnerships in Ice Core Sciences (IPICS) on the oldest ice core, and thus has aroused wide public and scientific interest. Since 2004/2005, many glaciological investigations have been conducted in this region. These have included GPS and ground-penetrating radar surveys, snow pit and ice core drilling, stake network measurements, and meteorological observations. In this article, the main results of these glaciological investigations in the Dome A region are summarized. We present details of the surface mass balance on different timescales and its spatial variability, geochemical characteristics of the surface snow, and paleo-environment reconstruction of ice cores. Finally, perspectives on the prospects for future studies are suggested.