Dome F

Dome Fuji (ドームふじ Dōmu Fuji), also called Dome F or Valkyrie Dome, is an Antarctic base located in the eastern part of Queen Maud Land at 77°30′S 37°30′E. With an altitude of 3,810 m or 12,500 ft above sea level, it is the second-highest summit or ice dome of the East Antarctic ice sheet and represents an ice divide. Dome F is the site of Dome Fuji Station, a research station operated by Japan.

Dome Fuji Station
Antarctic base
Dome Fuji Station
Location of Dome Fuji Station in Antarctica
Coordinates: 77°18′59″S 39°42′04″E
Country Japan
Location in AntarcticaQueen Maud Land
Antarctica
Administered byNational Institute of Polar Research (Japan)
EstablishedJanuary 1995 (1995-01)
Elevation
3,700 m (12,100 ft)
TypeSeasonal
PeriodSummer
StatusTemporary closed[1]
WebsiteNational Institute of Polar Research
Dome Fuji Skiway
Summary
Airport typePrivate
LocationQueen Maud Land
Elevation AMSL12,354 ft / 3,765 m
Coordinates77°19′00″S 39°42′00″E
Map
Dome Fuji Skiway
Location of airfield in Antarctica
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
3,937 1,200 Ice
Japanese Antarctica Stations

Discovery and naming

Dome Fuji is an ice dome rising to about 3,700 m in the eastern part of Queen Maud Land. In 1963-64, a Soviet Antarctic Expedition oversnow traverse crossed the north part of the dome at an elevation of over 3,600 meters.

Environment

Owing to its location on the Antarctic plateau and the high elevation, Dome Fuji 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 ice crystals.[2]

Dome Fuji Station

Dome Fuji Station (ドームふじ基地 Dōmu Fuji Kichi) was established as "Dome Fuji observation base" (ドームふじ観測拠点 Dōmu Fuji Kansoku Kyoten) in January 1995. Its name was changed to "Dome Fuji Station " on April 1, 2004. Located at 77°19′S 39°42′E, it is separated from Showa Station by about 1,000 km.

Glaciology

Deep ice core drilling at Valkyrie Dome was started in August 1995, and in December 1996 a depth of 2503 m was reached. This first core covers a period back to 340,000 years.[3][4]

The core quality from the Dome Fuji station, East Antarctica, is excellent even in the brittle zone from 500 to 860 m deep, where the ice is fragile during the 'in situ' core-cutting procedure.[5]

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. 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.[6] The ice of the second Valkyrie Dome core is therefore the second-oldest ice ever recovered, only outranged by the EPICA Dome C core.

See also

References
  1. National Institute of Polar Research
  2. 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. Tokyo, Japan: National Institute of Polar Research. pp. 1–24.
  3. 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. doi:10.3189/1998AoG27-1-333-337.
  4. Kawamura, K.; and 17 others (2007). "Northern Hemisphere forcing of climatic cycles in Antarctica over the past 360,000 years". Nature. 448 (7156): 912–916. doi:10.1038/nature06015. PMID 17713531.
  5. Watanabe O, Kamiyama K, Motoyama H, Fujii Y, Shoji H, Satow K (Jun 1999). "The paleoclimate record in the ice core at Dome Fuji station, East Antarctica". Annals of Glaciology. 29 (1): 176–8. doi:10.3189/172756499781821553.
  6. Motoyama, H. (2007). "The second deep ice coring project at Dome Fuji, Antarctica". Scientific Drilling. 5: 41–43. doi:10.5194/sd-5-41-2007.
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