Several traverses across Antarctica are occurring this season, studying the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. They all have very informative and helpful web pages, as well as daily or weekly updates about their progress.Previous Expeditions:
More information on previous International Antarctic Traverses can be found on the following pages:
Summary of International Trans-Antarctic Scientific Expeditions (ITASE)
Previous scientific traverses across East Antarctica almost fifty years ago
Current Expeditions:
IPY project 152, TASTE IDEA, includes the Norway-US expedition, and the two traverses on the Japanese-Swedish expedition.
Norway - US Traverse
From Troll Station to South Pole (pink line).
Expedition Homepage; Norwegian-US Scientific Traverse of Antarctica
Traverse Diary
From Troll Station to South Pole Station, and back via a different route. The traverse from Troll to South Pole occurs November 2007 to February 2008. The return trip from South Pole to Troll occurs November 2008 to February 2009.
Press enquiries:
Peter West, U.S. National Science Foundation +1 703-292-7761, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Gunn Sissel Jaklin, Norwegian Polar Institute +47 7775640 or +47 95104045, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Sweden- Japan Traverse
Between Syowa Station and Wasa Station via Dome Fuji (two parties). (dark green line)
Nine Swedish scientists will set off from Wasa Station at the beginning of December. They will meet 8 Japanese scientists, who will have travelled from Syowa station, around the end of December. After spending about a week together, each party will then return to their 'home' stations, having swapped both people and equipment.
Expedition homepage; SWEDARP 2007/8
Download this Traverse Brochure (PDF)
Press enquiries, please contact {encode=" This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it " title="Eva Gronlund"} or {encode=" This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it " title="Hanna Struwe"}.
US International Trans-Antarctic Scientific Expedition (US- ITASE)
From Taylor Dome to South Pole and Dome A. Brown Line.
Occurs Oct. 22 through February 14th (approximately) with 11 team members (3 support staff and 8 scientists).
Press enquiries: {encode=" This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it " title="Ann Zielinski"} +1 207-581-2680 and {encode=" This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it " title="Joe Carr"}, Director of University Relations, +1 207-581-3571
US-ITASE: US International Trans-Antarctic Scientific Expedition
Expedition Log Book
China Traverse
Zhon Shan Station to Doma A (purple line)
IPY project page, 313: PANDA
useful webpages:
IPY China
Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration
Polar Research Institute of China
Italian-French-German Traverse
Talos Dome to Dome A via Vostok (dark brown line). Will occur in the 2008-9 Antarctic IPY Season.
Press enquiries: {encode=" This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it " title="Alain Lesquer"}
Airborne Geophysics - first season of POALR 5 in Antarctica
In 2007/08 AWI’s new research aircraft POLAR 5, a Basler BT-67 on skis, will be introduced to the community in Antarctica conducting flights for three surveys with varying geophysical instrumentation as well as for logistic purposes.
The CryoVEx projects aims to validate data on ice height that will be obtained by the future ice-measuring satellite CryoSat. Airborne data will be combined with ground measurements done at the traverses that are crossing Antarctica this season. The scientists want to sample areas with different snow and firn properties, shelf ice, sea ice, dry inland ice and the transition zone north of the mountain chains in Dronning Maud Land. The project will end at December 13h, 2007.
In January 2008, another flight campaing in Antarctica will begin. The project Dome Connections in East Antarctica (DOCO) aims for radar sections connecting deep ice core drill sites in East Antarctica mainly following the ice divides between them (Dome Fuji, Dome A region, Vostok, Dome C, Talos Dome) supporting interpretation of the deep ice cores.
Contact:
Dr. Daniel Steinhage
Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research
email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Telephone: +49(471)4831-1198