3710 meters above sea level
Maximum & Minimum temperatures: - 29 to -37 °C
The ice in Antarctica holds two thirds of all freshwater in the World, including lakes, rivers, groundwater, glacier ice and moisture in the atmosphere. While the average ice thickness is around 2000 meters, the deepest ice has been measured to 4776 meters. Still, large parts of Antarctica are not well mapped with respect to ice thickness. This figure is important for estimating Antarctica’s role with respect to global sea level. Thus, on the traverse we use low-frequency radar to measure ice thickness along the route.
- Jan-Gunnar
Photo: Helgard is responsible for the ice thickness measurements (Photo: Jan-Gunnar Winther)
This contribution is from the log of the Norwegian-US Scientific Traverse team, who are en route from Troll Station to South Pole Station. Much more information can be found here.