Characteristics of Snow Relief and Weather for China's Third Expedition Profile of the Antarctic Inland Ice Sheet

CHINARE (Chinese National Antarctic Research Expedition) organized the third in- land profile expedition of the Antarctic ice sheet in the Antarctic summer of 1998~1999.This is [FK(W14°40ZQ] also the third Trans-Antarctic scientific expedition from Zhongshan station to Dome A (Dome A is the highest site in the Antarctic inland ice sheet). The scientific team composed of ten persons pushed forward successfully to Dome A zone on Jan.8, 1999. The location of the farthest point is 79°16'S, 77°00'E, the elevation of which is 3 900m, 1 128km far away from Zhongshan station. In this paper, the route location map and the snow surface profile for this expedition are given, the snow surface relief of which is described, and the actual precision of surveying surface elevations is estimated by using repeating observation data to and fro along the route. At the same time, the annual snow accumulation states of near-surface (1998~1999), distance at 68~464km from Zhongshan station, are analyzed, which is very significant to study mass balance of ice sheet.In addition, the position and situation of a snow peak discovered by this scientific team is briefly introduced. Finally, the characteristics of the conventional weather (including temperature, pressure, humidity, wind speed and wind direction, etc.) for this expedition are described in detail.