Current transportation systems for Antarctic inland stations operated by the U.S.A., France, Germany and Japan

Inland traverses conducted by the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition (JARE) and the other countries (USA, France and Germany) are reviewed. The performances such as weight, traction force, speed and fuel consumption of the tractors and snow vehicles are compared. The usage of various types of sl...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Kenji Ishizawa
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Japanese
Published: National Institute of Polar Research 2008
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.15094/00009429
https://doaj.org/article/7cb22d08723b401184a32a820654e2c6
Description
Summary:Inland traverses conducted by the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition (JARE) and the other countries (USA, France and Germany) are reviewed. The performances such as weight, traction force, speed and fuel consumption of the tractors and snow vehicles are compared. The usage of various types of sledges is examined and driving operation on soft snow surface is also described. Furthermore the method of camping is explained. Finally, a new traverse system that JARE has to study and develop is discussed. The author proposes a basic transportation system for the future, incorporating the technology used by other countries.