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Ukraine National Antarctic Program: Geodesy Activity

Valery Lytvynov(1, Gennadi Milinevsky(1, 2), Svetlana Kovalenok(1), Elena Chernysh(1), Rudolf Greku(3)
(1) Ukrainian Antarctic Centre, 16, Tarasa Shevchenka blvd, 01601, Kyiv, Ukraine;
(2)Kyiv National Shevchenka University, 6, Glushkova av, 04022, Kyiv, Ukraine;
(3) Institute Geology Sciences, 22, Gonchara st, 01054, Kyiv, Ukraine

E-mail: antarc@carrier.kiev.ua

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Abstract

The meteorology and climate, hydrology, upper atmosphere physics and geospace researches, ozone layer, seismic and acoustic measurements, glaciology, environment, biology investigations have been provided at the Vernadsky Ukrainian Antarctic station within seven years. The important tasks of Ukrainian National Research Program are the Antarctic Peninsula region GPS geodesy survey, and small ice cap monitoring as indicators of the long-term climate changes. The program of the GIS development for the Argentine Island archipelago and adjacent Antarctic Peninsula region (GIS project «Argentina Islands-Antarctic Peninsula») has been recently started. The main objectives of the GIS project are:

(1) the high precision geodesic stations network creation in the vicinity of Ukrainian Antarctic Vernadsky station on the base GPS-positioning data;

(2) the retrieval of the hidden regularities and anomalous events in combined systemland-ice-ocean-atmosphere-ionosphere.

Within 2001/2003 seasons high precision coordinates of geodetic survey marks were measured and local geodetic network was created for Vernadsky station 30x10 square km area. The season permanent GPS-survey at the SCAR-2002 site on Galindez Island within the framework of the GIANT project was started at Vernadsky in 2002. The GPS observation was carried out at the site for 15 days in 2002 and 2003. The registration coordinates accuracy in 2002 was 1-2 millimeters. More than 300 GPS points have been determined for positioning of different geophysical measurements on islands. Galindez ice cap and adjusted to Vernadsky region part of Antarctic Peninsula ice streams mapping have been made using the ERS radar interferometer data. Echo sounding of the Argentine archipelago’s seabed in the shallow unsurveyed area (within the framework of the IBCSO project) has been provided in the Vernadsky region since 1997. Determination of detailed local geoids with the altimeter data of the Bellinsgausen Sea has been carried out within the framework of the project ANTEC

In the second part we describe the long term plans of the FGI for the deformation studies in Queen Maud Land. Basis for the time series are the absolute gravity measurements performed in 1994 and 2001 with JILAg-5 absolute gravimeter showing a slight increase in gravity. Absolute gravity measurements will be continued in the next summer season using the new FG5 gravimeter. To control the attraction of the near-field ice masses we will survey the time variation in ice topography with RTK. At the same time the permanent GPS station will provide continuous GPS-time series. We plan to keep on repeating the absolute measurements at Aboa and to extend the measurements to other sites in Queen Maud Land.