Siple Dome Field Camp
Camp
Siple Dome Field Camp in 2012
Siple Dome Field Camp in 2012
Siple Dome Field Camp is located in Antarctica
Siple Dome Field Camp
Siple Dome Field Camp
Coordinates: 81°39′15″S 149°00′18″W / 81.654303°S 149.005134°W / -81.654303; -149.005134
Country United States
Location in AntarcticaSiple Dome
Marie Byrd Land
Antarctica
Administered byNational Science Foundation
Established1996 (1996)
Elevation
730 m (2,400 ft)
Population
 • TotalUp to 60
TypeSeasonal

Siple Dome (81°39′15″S 149°00′18″W / 81.65430285°S 149.0051336°W / -81.65430285; -149.0051336) is an ice dome approximately 100 km wide and 100 km long, located 130 km east of Siple Coast in Antarctica. Charles Bentley and Robert Thomas established a "strain rosette" on this feature to determine ice movement in 1973–74. They referred to the feature as Siple Dome because of its proximity to Siple Coast.

Siple Dome ice core

The Siple Dome ice core project (79.468° S 112.086° W) was conducted by the United States National Science Foundation. The deepest ice was recovered in 1999 from 974 m, with an age of 97,600 years.[1]

It is best known for the poorly-explained steps in water isotopes during the deglacial, which are unique to this core and may indicate a rapid decrease in the surface elevation of the adjoining ice streams during the deglacial[2] and a record of atmospheric carbon dioxide.[3] The Chief Scientist was Kendrick Taylor.

Radar surveys of internal ice structure

In the 1990s a team from the University of Washington and St Olaf College surveyed the ice, measuring thickness and determining internal structure, [4] finding evidence for the operation of the Raymond Effect. They also found that the ice had a maximum thickness of around 1000 m.

  • A documentary on climate change research associated with the Siple Dome ice core was produced by Nova: Warnings from the Ice, 1998. The documentary explains how reductions in Antarctic ice mass can raise sea level.
  • Siple Dome is referenced in the song "Fall of Sipledome" by thrash metal band Testament (on their 1999 album The Gathering).

Climate

The climate is ice cap (Köppen: ET), as is most of the continent. Without marine moderation and a few hundred meters above sea level, it has one of the harshest winters on the continent outside the Antarctic plateaus. Unlike Alert, NU at slightly higher latitude and positive high averages during summer, in Siple Dome temperatures remain below freezing during the afternoon of the warmer months on average.[5][6]

Climate data for Siple dome, elevation: 620 m or 2,030 ft, 1997-2011 normals and extremes
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 11.4
(52.5)		 7.1
(44.8)		 −4.6
(23.7)		 −4.6
(23.7)		 −4.9
(23.2)		 −5.9
(21.4)		 −8.6
(16.5)		 −8.8
(16.2)		 −5.6
(21.9)		 0.0
(32.0)		 3.1
(37.6)		 7.4
(45.3)		 11.4
(52.5)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) −5.5
(22.1)		 −11.3
(11.7)		 −18.0
(−0.4)		 −22.5
(−8.5)		 −24.7
(−12.5)		 −23.5
(−10.3)		 −26.1
(−15.0)		 −28.9
(−20.0)		 −25.0
(−13.0)		 −18.1
(−0.6)		 −10.2
(13.6)		 −5.3
(22.5)		 −18.3
(−0.9)
Daily mean °C (°F) −9.8
(14.4)		 −15.7
(3.7)		 −22.5
(−8.5)		 −26.6
(−15.9)		 −29.0
(−20.2)		 −27.6
(−17.7)		 −30.3
(−22.5)		 −32.9
(−27.2)		 −29.8
(−21.6)		 −23.6
(−10.5)		 −15.1
(4.8)		 −9.8
(14.4)		 −22.7
(−8.9)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −13.3
(8.1)		 −19.3
(−2.7)		 −26.4
(−15.5)		 −30.6
(−23.1)		 −33.3
(−27.9)		 −31.7
(−25.1)		 −34.4
(−29.9)		 −37.1
(−34.8)		 −33.9
(−29.0)		 −27.9
(−18.2)		 −18.7
(−1.7)		 −13.3
(8.1)		 −26.7
(−16.0)
Record low °C (°F) −22.9
(−9.2)		 −33.9
(−29.0)		 −41.8
(−43.2)		 −49.9
(−57.8)		 −49.6
(−57.3)		 −56.6
(−69.9)		 −54.6
(−66.3)		 −59.4
(−74.9)		 −53.9
(−65.0)		 −44.8
(−48.6)		 −37.9
(−36.2)		 −21.9
(−7.4)		 −59.4
(−74.9)
Source: Climatebase.ru[6]

See also

Siple Dome Skiway
Siple Dome Field Camp
Summary
Airport typegovernment
Owner/OperatorUS Antarctic Program
LocationMarie Byrd Land
Elevation AMSL1,994 ft / 607 m
Coordinates81°39′29″S 148°59′51″W / 81.658053°S 148.997391°W / -81.658053; -148.997391
Map
Siple Dome Skiway is located in Antarctica
Siple Dome Skiway
Siple Dome Skiway
Location of airfield in Antarctica
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
10,940 3,330 Ice

Further reading

References

  1. ↑ Brook, E. J., White, J. W., Schilla, A. S., Bender, M. L., Barnett, B., Severinghaus, J. P., ... & Steig, E. J. (2005). Timing of millennial-scale climate change at Siple Dome, West Antarctica, during the last glacial period. Quaternary Science Reviews, 24(12), 1333-1343.
  2. ↑ Taylor, K. C., White, J. W. C., Severinghaus, J. P., Brook, E. J., Mayewski, P. A., Alley, R. B., ... & Lamorey, G. W. (2004). Abrupt climate change around 22ka on the Siple Coast of Antarctica. Quaternary Science Reviews, 23(1), 7-15.
  3. ↑ Ahn, J., Wahlen, M., Deck, B. L., Brook, E. J., Mayewski, P. A., Taylor, K. C., & White, J. W. (2004). A record of atmospheric CO2 during the last 40,000 years from the Siple Dome, Antarctica ice core. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 109(D13)
  4. ↑ Nereson, N.A.; Raymond, C.F.; et al. (2000). "The accumulation pattern across Siple Dome, West Antarctica, inferred from radar-detected internal layers". Journal of Glaciology. 46 (152): 75–87. Bibcode:2000JGlac..46...75N. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.367.2532. doi:10.3189/172756500781833449. S2CID 18864009.
  5. ↑ "World Maps of Köppen-Geiger climate classification". koeppen-geiger.vu-wien.ac.at. Retrieved 2019-07-24.
  6. 1 2 "Siple dome, Antarctica #89345". Climatebase.ru. Retrieved July 24, 2019.

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from "Siple Dome". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.

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