ASTROCLIMATOLOGY OF ANTARCTICA

An International site survey in Antarctica

BEIJING, Jan. 18 2005, (Xinhuanet) -- A 12-man Chinese expedition surmounted the highest icecap peak in Antarctica at 3:1 6 a.m. Tuesday. They are the first humans to reach the peak of Dome A Icecap 4,039 meters above sea level, located at 80:22:00 degrees south latitude and 77:21:11 degrees east longitude.

South Pole: Introduction , STAR96 report , IAU WG Report

Scientific Papers at JACARA site (Joint Australian Centre for Astrophysical Research in Antarctica), and some other related papers from the University of Chicago site characterization.

Astroclimate of Dome C , project CONCORDIA.

South-Pole Near-Infrared Sky Background and Zodiacal Emission. Auroral contribution to sky background at Dome C

Antarctic Astronomy and Astrophysics Expert Group, South Pole Diary from the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, which developped multifunction automated Antarctic Astrophysical Site Testing Observatories (with webcam), the AASTO at South Pole, and AASTINO at Dome C..

A database ia available at INACH the "Instituto Antartico Chileno".
More links at the Italian PNRA site.

2.44m resolution Quickbird satellite images of McMurdo base (detail).

Bibliography Updates:
- Marks, R.D., Vernin, J., Azouit, M., Manigault, J.F. & Clevelin, C., Measurements of optical seeing on the high Antarctic plateau , 1999. Ast. Ap. Suppl. Ser., 134, 161-172. Paper (240K)
- L. Valenziano and G. Dall'Oglio; Millimeter Astronomy from the High Antartic Plateau: Site Testing at Dome C; Publ. Astron. Soc. Aust. 1999,16,167-74.