Characteristics of the Snow Cover in East Antarctica along the Route of the JARE South Pole Traverse and Factors Controlling Such Characteristics

• Main Authors: エンドウ ヤソイチ, フジワラ ケンゾウ, Yasoichi ENDO, Kenzo FUJIWARA
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: The Institute of Low Temperature Science, Hokkaido University 1973
• Subjects: East Antarctica; South Pole; Syowa Station; Antarc*; Antarctica; Ice Sheet; South pole
• Online Access: https://nipr.repo.nii.ac.jp/?action=repository_uri&item_id=651; http://id.nii.ac.jp/1291/00000651/; https://nipr.repo.nii.ac.jp/?action=repository_action_common_download&item_id=651&item_no=1&attribute_id=18&file_no=1

Glaciological studies of the upper 10m of the ice sheet in East Antarctica were made during the JARE South Pole Traverse 1968-1969. The glaciological studies consisted of studies of surface snow and subsurface snow by means of pits as well as analyses of snow cores. Conditions of surface snow such as accumulation, roughness, density and hardness are described in this paper. It is found that the conditions are distinctly different in four regions along the route from Syowa Station to the South Pole, and that they have a close connection with the slope inclination. Relationship between the snow conditions and the slope inclination is discussed in terms of the dependence of wind speed on the slope inclination. Thus, it is concluded that the conditions of surface snow are mainly controlled by wind speed. Measurements of annual snow accumulations disclose that local variations in accumulations take place in a strong wind region, and coincide with local topography of the region. Also, distinct regional differences in accumulations during the summer season are discussed from the differences between cyclonic and anticyclonic precipitations. Studies of subsurface snow in 2m deep pits indicate that regions located in the north and south of 73°S are characterized respectively by compact fine-grained snow and well-developed depth hoar. Analyses of snow cores from the surface to a depth of 10m revealed the distribution of snow density in the upper 10m of the ice sheet along the route from Syowa Station to the South Pole. Regional profiles of snow density at the depths of 5 and 9m were different from those at the surface. This is due to the differences in the mean annual air temperature.