Fifty-five years of Russian radio-echo sounding investigations in Antarctica

Sergey Popov

doi:10.1017/aog.2020.4

Abstract

AbstractRussian (former Soviet) systematic studies of Antarctica by radio-echo sounding (RES) and ground-penetrating radar technique (GPR) were commenced in 1964. Since that time airborne RES surveys have covered about 5.5 × 106km2of the icy continent discovering remarkable geographic objects such as Subglacial Gamburtsev Mountains, and allowed studies of Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf, Amery Ice Shelf and Lambert Glacier. Ground-based investigations during the 1990s and 2000s revealed the structure of the Lake Vostok area and surveyed along the Mirny to Vostok and Progress to Vostok traverse routes. GPR studies during the 2010s were to select the site for a new snow-runway at Mirny Station, with the resumption of the aviation after a 25 year hiatus.

Highlights

Russian systematic studying of Antarctica started 30 November 1955
In February 1964, staff from the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI), the leader of Soviet and Russian polar research, carried out the first radio-echo sounding (RES) tests, a new promising geophysical method based on electromagnetic pulse propagation in the glacier
The mapping of the subice topography of Antarctica, Greenland, Svalbard and other areas is due to radio-echo sounding

Summary

Introduction

Russian (former Soviet) systematic studying of Antarctica started 30 November 1955. At that time the flagship ‘Ob’ left the port of Kaliningrad and sailed to the Southern Polar Region. In February 1964, staff from the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI), the leader of Soviet and Russian polar research, carried out the first radio-echo sounding (RES) tests, a new promising geophysical method based on electromagnetic pulse propagation in the glacier. In 1968, using this radar system, the first Russian airborne RES survey in Enderby Land with 50 km between profiles (Fig. 3) was conducted.

Results

Conclusion