A permanent tidal station was installed at the Chinese Zhongshan Station in Feb. 2010. Harmonic constants of 170 tidal constituents were obtained from harmonic analysis of the first year's data. The results of the eight main constituents showed good agreement with those of two tidal models. Tidal characteristics, such as tide type, diurnal inequality, tidal range, and water levels were also analyzed.
Pedersenbreen is a small polythermal valley glacier, located in Svalbard, which has been one of the two glaciers monitored by Chinese Arctic expedition members since 2004. This study estimates its area and volume and analyzes its change during 1936-1990-2009, using field collected GPS/GPR data in 2009 and historical topographic maps published by the Norwegian Polar Institute. We have found that Pedersenbreen is just like many other valley glaciers in Svalbard, having experienced a significant recession since the end of Little Ice Age in the early 20th century. The glacier tongue has retreated more than 0.6 km, while ice volume has decreased by approximately 13%. The overall thinning rate of Pedersenbreen has shown acceleration during the recent decades. Further analysis shows that the ice tongue in the downstream area of Pedersenbreen is melting at the highest rate, while a simultaneous accumulation occurred in the upstream. However, as global temperatures increase, the accumulation area is reducing year by year.
Defining a universal geodetic coordinate system is one of the fundamental challenges of geodesy.We present a review of the basic general coordinate systems - the space rectangular coordinate system,the geodetic coordinate system,the topocentric coordinate system,and the plane coordinate system.We then look at the World Geodetic System WGS72 and WGS84 and the International Terrestrial Reference Frames ITRF2000 and ITRF2005,which were introduced when space technology became available.The history of international geodetic coordinate systems in the Antarctic region is briefly reviewed and the development of the geodetic coordinate systems in the Chinese Great Wall Station and Zhongshan Station in Antarctica is outlined.Finally,the issue of coordinate system transformation is discussed.
Antarctic surveying, mapping and remote sensing is one of the important aspects of the Chinese Antarctic geoscience research program that stretch back over 25 years, since the first Chinese National Antarctic Research Expedition (CHINARE) in 1984. During the 1980's, the geodetic datum, height system and absolute gravity datum were established at the Great Wall and Zhongshan Stations. Significant contributions have been made by the construction of the Chinese Great Wall, Zhongshan and Kunlun Stations in Antarctica. Geodetic control and gravity networks were established in the King George Islands, Grove Mountains and Dome Argus. An area of more than 200 000 km2 has been mapped using satellite image data, aerial photogrammetry and in situ data. Permanent GPS stations and tide gauges have been established at both the Great Wall and Zhongshan Stations. Studies involving plate motion, precise satellite orbit determination, the gravity field, sea level change, and various GPS applications for atmospheric studies have been carried out. Based on remote sensing techniques, studies have been undertaken on ice sheet and glacier movements, the distributions of blue ice and ice crevasses, and ice mass balance. Polar digital and visual mapping techniques have been introduced, and a polar survey space database has been built. The Chinese polar scientific expedition management information system and Chinese PANDA plan display platform were developed, which provides technical support for Chinese polar management. Finally, this paper examines prospects for future Chinese Antarctic surveying, mapping and remote sensing.
