The Japanese Team Touch Down

The JARE-55 team is led by Dr. Yusuke Suganuma, Assistant Professor of the Geoscience Group at the National Institute of Polar Research (NIPR). Joining Dr. Suganuma are Professor Yoichi Fukuda, from the Department of Geophysics, Graduate School of Science at Kyoto University, Dr. Yuichi Aoyama, an Assistant Professor in Geosciences at the NIPR, and Dr. Masaki Okada, an Associate Professor from the Upper Atmosphere Physics Group, at the NIPR.

Dr. Suganuma specialises in glacial geomorphology (how glaciers have carved out the landscape) and surface exposure dating (a technique that tells you the last time rock was covered by glacier ice). He has been working on the deglaciation history of the Sør Rondane Mountains and Belgica Mountains, Dronning Maud Land, and the link to global cooling since the Pliocene. During the trip, he'll be making a reconnaissance flight to the Belgica Mountains to lay the groundwork for a future expedition. 

Professor Fukuda studies spatial and temporal changes of the Earth's gravity field, and will be making absolute gravity measurements at Princess Elisabeth Antarctica and the site of Japan's Asuka station.

With a focus on superconducting gravity observations, measurements of ocean tides and ice flow with GPS, earth rotational variations, Dr Aoyama will be making GPS measurements and relative gravity measurements around both Princess Elisabeth Antarctica and Asuka stations.

Finally, Dr Okada, who works on magnetospheric plasma physics, including satellite and ground observations of the Earth's magnetic field and natural ULF/VLF electromagnetic wave, will be engaged in deploying the unmanned magnetometer at Utsteinen Nunatak.