Solar Radiation Processes on the East Antarctic Plateau

Concordia Station seen from the top of the 32-meter tower from which we made BRDF measurements

This site describes and presents results from a collaborative research project involving personnel from the University of Washington and le Laboratoire de Glaciologie et Géophysique de l'Environnement (Grenoble). The broad goal of the study is to learn more about the interaction of solar radiation with the snow surface of the Antarctic Plateau and with clouds over the plateau. We made measurements of:    •Spectral bidirectional reflectance of snow for wavelengths 0.35-2.5 μm      and solar zenith angles 52-87°.    •Spectral transmission of sunlight into snow, for the purpose of      determining the spectral absorption coefficient of pure ice from      350 to 600 nm.    •Spectral albedo of snow on a traverse from Dome C (75° S) to the      coast at Dumont d'Urville (67° S). This project is funded by the National Science Foundation Office of Polar Programs, grant number OPP-00-03826. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. Additional field support was provided by IPEV (Institut Polaire Français - Paul Emile Victor [French Polar Institute]) and PNRA (Programma Nazionale di Ricerche in Antartide [Italian National Program for Research in Antarctica]). Funding for our French colleagues was provided CNES (Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales [National Center for Space Studies]) and PNTS (Programme National de Télédétection Spatiale [National Program for Remote Sensing from Space]).