View source for Dome C

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{{Infobox settlement
| name 			= Dome C
| official_name 		= 
| native_name          	=
| native_name_lang  	= 
| settlement_type     	= [[Research stations in Antarctica|Antarctic base]]
| image_skyline        	= DomeCSummerCamp.jpg
| imagesize              	= 270
| image_caption        	= 
| image_flag             	=
| flag_size                	= 110px
| flag_border            	= yes
| flag_alt                  	= 
| image_seal             	= 
| seal_alt                  	= 
| image_shield           	= 
| shield_alt                	= 
| nicknames                	= dome Circe,<br />Dome Charlie and dome Concordia
| motto                     	= 
| image_map             	=
| mapsize                 	= 270px
| map_alt                  	= 
| map_caption           	=
| pushpin_map          	= Antarctica
| pushpin_map_alt     	= Location of Dome C Station in Antarctica
| pushpin_map_caption = Location of Dome C Station in [[Antarctica]]
| pushpin_mapsize      	= 270
| pushpin_relief         	= yes
| pushpin_label_position  =

| coordinates              	= {{coord|75.099780|S|123.332196|E|format=dms|region:AQ|display=inline,title}}
| coor_pinpoint           	= 
| coordinates_footnotes =

| established_title       	= Established
| extinct_title               = 
| extinct_date              = 
| named_for   		=

| subdivision_type       	= 
| subdivision_name     	= 
| subdivision_type1     	= [[Antarctica|Location in Antarctica]]
| subdivision_name1    	= Dome C<br />[[Antarctic Plateau]]
| subdivision_type2      	=
| subdivision_name2    	= 
| subdivision_type3      	= Administered by
| subdivision_name3     = [[National Science Foundation]]

| elevation_m             	= 3,233
}}

'''Dome C''' , also known as '''dôme Circe''', '''Dome Charlie''' ([[US]]) or '''dôme Concordia''', is located at [[Antarctica]] at an elevation of {{convert|3233|m|ft}} above sea level, on one of several [[Glacier morphology#Ice sheets|domes]] of the [[Antarctic Ice Sheet]]. Dome C is located on the [[Antarctic Plateau]], {{convert|1100|km|mi}} inland from the French research station at [[Dumont d'Urville Station|Dumont D'Urville]], {{convert|1100|km|mi}} inland from the Australian [[Casey Station]] and {{convert|1200|km|mi}} inland from the Italian [[Zucchelli Station]] at [[Terra Nova Bay]]. Russia's [[Vostok Station]] is {{convert|560|km|mi}} away. Dome C is the site of the [[Concordia, Antarctica|Concordia Research Station]], jointly operated by [[French Antarctica|France]] and [[Italy]].

== History ==

[[File:Recovery efforts on the C-130 crashed at Dome C.jpg|thumb|left|270px|Recovery efforts on the C-130 crashed at dome C]]

In the 1970s, dome C was the site of ice core drilling by field teams of several nations. Designated Dome Charlie ([[NATO Phonetic Alphabet]] code for the letter ''C'') by the [[U.S. Naval Support Force]], Antarctica, and its Squadron [[VXE-6]], which provided logistical support to the field teams, in January and November 1975, three [[LC-130]] Hercules aircraft [[Lockheed LC-130#Accidents|suffered severe damage]] during attempted takeoffs. In November 1975 and November 1976, the [[U.S. Navy]] established field camps on Dome Charlie to recover the aircraft. Following major structural repairs and replacement of engines in the field, the three LC-130s were flown to [[McMurdo Station]] on December 26, 1975, January 14, 1976, and Christmas Day 1976.

[[File:C130 and opening of Dome Charlie camp, 1977.jpg|thumb|270px|French party reopening the Dome Charlie camp before drilling]]

From November 1977 to March 1978 a French party of 13 settled down in the existing camp left by the aircraft rescuers. They brought several tons of equipment—thanks to the VXE-6 airplanes—and while there ice-cored down to 980&nbsp;m extracting samples 45,000 to 50,000 years old.

During the Antarctic summer of 1979, the camp was re-occupied by Americans and French, under the auspices of the US Antarctic Research Program, sponsored by the National Science Foundation. Deep ice core drilling, meteorology and seismic studies were conducted. The camp, with a maximum summer population of 18, was operated and maintained by four employees of ITT Antarctic Services and one US Navy medical corpsman. When the camp was shut down for the season in about January, 1980, it was left mostly intact, with a radio-isotope powered remote weather station operational.{{citation needed|date=October 2007}}

[[File:Dome C summer camp in 1996.jpg|thumb|270px|The 1996 summer camp established in a Rebusco container]]

In 1992, France decided to build a new station on the Antarctic Plateau. The program was later joined by Italy. In 1996, a French-Italian team established a summer camp at dome C. The two main objectives of the camp were the provision of logistical support for the [[EPICA|European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica (EPICA)]] and the construction of a permanent research station. The new all-year facility, [[Concordia Station]], became operational in 2005.

The [[Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names]] (US-ACAN) considers "Dome Charlie" to be superior to the informal name, "dome C," and that it has precedence over "dome Circe", a name suggested from Greek mythology after [[Circe]], the bewitching queen of [[Aeaea]] island, one of the children of solar god [[Helios]] and the [[Oceanid]] nymph [[Perse (mythology)|Perse]], who changed men into animals by magic, by members of the SPRI airborne radio echo sounding team in 1982. Later, it was named "dome Concordia" after that same French/Italian scientific base.

In February 2025, scientists confirmed the successful extraction of the oldest continuous ice core ever with distinct layers of the ice frozen between 900,000 and 1.2-million years ago.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Subbaraman |first=Nidhi |date=2025-02-04 |title=Ancient Air, Frozen in Time, Holds Clues to Modern Mystery |url=https://www.wsj.com/science/environment/ice-age-climate-history-air-bubbles-f4f32d21?mod=science_lead_pos1#comments_sector |access-date=2025-02-11 |website=WSJ |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Climate ==
[[Image:AntarcticaDomeCSnow.jpg|thumb|right|270px|The high, flat, and cold environment of the Antarctic Plateau at dome C]]
Dome C is one of the coldest places on Earth. Temperatures hardly rise above {{convert|−25|C|F}} in summer and can fall below {{convert|−80|C|F}} in winter.  The annual average air temperature is {{convert|−54.5|C|F}}. Humidity is low and it is also very dry, with very little or no precipitation throughout the year.

Dome C does not experience the [[katabatic winds]] typical of the coastal regions of [[Antarctica]] because of its elevated location and its relative distance from the edges of the Antarctic Plateau. Typical wind speed in winter is 2.8&nbsp;m/s (6&nbsp;mph).

Dome C is situated on top of the Antarctic Polar Plateau, the world's largest frozen desert. No animals or plants live at a distance of more than a few hundred meters from the [[Southern Ocean]]. However, [[south polar skua]]s have been spotted overflying the station, {{convert|1200|km|mi}} away from their nearest food sources. It is believed that these [[seabird]]s have learned to cross the frozen white continent instead of circumnavigating it.
{{Weather box <!--Infobox begins-->
|metric first= 1
|single line= 1
|location= Dome C, 3250 m asl (1981–2010 normals)

<!--Record high temperatures-->
|Jan record high C= -5.4
|Feb record high C= -12.9
|Mar record high C= -30.8
|Apr record high C= -32.9
|May record high C= -27.0
|Jun record high C= -26.0
|Jul record high C= -25.4
|Aug record high C= -26.5
|Sep record high C= -30.3
|Oct record high C= -23.1
|Nov record high C= -16.9
|Dec record high C= -5.5
|year record high C= 
<!--Average high temperatures-->
|Jan high C= -22.2
|Feb high C= -32.7
|Mar high C= -47.1
|Apr high C= -56.8
|May high C= -59.9
|Jun high C= -57.1
|Jul high C= -57.6
|Aug high C= -56.8
|Sep high C= -52.9
|Oct high C= -44.3
|Nov high C= -31.5
|Dec high C= -22.5
|year high C= 
<!--Mean daily temperature-->
|Jan mean C= -28.9
|Feb mean C= -40.1
|Mar mean C= -52.6
|Apr mean C= -60.7
|May mean C= -63.4
|Jun mean C= -60.8
|Jul mean C= -61.6
|Aug mean C= -61.1
|Sep mean C= -58.5
|Oct mean C= -51.7
|Nov mean C= -38.6
|Dec mean C= -28.5
|year mean C= 
<!--Average low temperatures-->
|Jan low C= -35.5
|Feb low C= -47.5
|Mar low C= -58.0
|Apr low C= -64.4
|May low C= -66.8
|Jun low C= -64.5
|Jul low C= -65.5
|Aug low C= -65.4
|Sep low C= -64.1
|Oct low C= -59.0
|Nov low C= -45.6
|Dec low C= -34.4
|year low C= 
<!--Record low temperatures-->
|Jan record low C= -46.7
|Feb record low C= -59.9
|Mar record low C= -73.6
|Apr record low C= -76.3
|May record low C= -79.6
|Jun record low C= -79.9
|Jul record low C= -79.9
|Aug record low C= -79.9
|Sep record low C= -81.9
|Oct record low C= -74.0
|Nov record low C= -61.9
|Dec record low C= -47.3
|year record low C=
<!--Total Precipitation, this should include rain and snow.-->
<!--IMPORTANT: use mm or cm but NOT both!-->
|precipitation colour = 
|Jan precipitation mm= 
|Feb precipitation mm= 
|Mar precipitation mm= 
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|May precipitation mm= 
|Jun precipitation mm= 
|Jul precipitation mm= 
|Aug precipitation mm= 
|Sep precipitation mm= 
|Oct precipitation mm=  
|Nov precipitation mm=  
|Dec precipitation mm= 
|year precipitation mm= 
<!--Average number of precipitation days-->
|unit precipitation days= 1&nbsp;mm
|Jan precipitation days= 
|Feb precipitation days= 
|Mar precipitation days= 
|Apr precipitation days= 
|May precipitation days= 
|Jun precipitation days= 
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|Oct precipitation days= 
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|Dec precipitation days= 
|year precipitation days= 
<!--Mandatory fields, source-->
|source 1=  Météo climat stats<ref>{{cite web |url=http://meteo-climat-bzh.dyndns.org/listenormale-1981-2010-1-p9.php|title=Moyennes 1981-2010 Antarctique|language=fr|access-date=11 November 2019}}</ref>
|source 2= Météo Climat<ref>{{cite web|url=http://meteo-climat-bzh.dyndns.org/index.php?page=stati&id=33|title=Météo Climat stats for Dome C |publisher=Météo Climat|access-date=11 November 2019}}</ref>
}}

== Astronomical observatory ==
[[File:The milky Way above the glaciology shelter, Dome C.jpg|thumb|The milky Way above the glaciology shelter, dome C, winter 2005]]
Dome C is notable for its potential to be an extremely good [[astronomy|astronomical]] observation site; the transparency of the Antarctic atmosphere allows stars to be observed, even when the [[Sun]] is at its highest possible elevation angle of 38°. The good viewing is due to very low [[infrared]] sky emission, extremely low [[humidity]], a high percentage of [[cloud]]-free time, low atmospheric [[particulate|aerosol]] and [[dust]] content, and freedom from [[light pollution]] and background light other than auroras and moonlight. This location was a serious candidate for the [[European Southern Observatory|ESO]]'s [[European Extremely Large Telescope|E-ELT]] project. However, sky coverage is less than at lower latitude locations as northern celestial hemisphere objects never rise or are too low above the horizon.

The Proceedings of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific discuss the suitability of the site for astronomy in terms of the [[astronomical seeing|seeing]].<ref>
{{cite journal
 |author1=Abdelkrim Agabi |author2=Eric Aristidi |author3=Max Azouit |author4=Eric Fossat |author5=Francois Martin |author6=Tatiana Sadibekova |author7=Jean Vernin |author8=Aziz Ziad |title=First whole atmosphere night-time seeing measurements at Dome C, Antarctica
 |url=https://archive.org/details/arxiv-astro-ph0510418 |journal=Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific
 |year=2006
 |volume=118 |issue=840 |pages=344–348 |arxiv=astro-ph/0510418
|bibcode=2006PASP..118..344A|doi=10.1086/498728|s2cid=15833099 }}</ref> They determined the [[median]] seeing (measured with a [[Differential Image Motion Monitor]] placed on top of an {{convert|8.5|m|ft|adj=mid|-high}} tower) to be 1.3±0.8 [[arcsecond]]s. This is significantly worse than most major observatory sites, but similar to other observatories in [[Antarctica]]. However, they found (using [[balloon]]s) that 87% of turbulence was below 36 meters.  A telescope built on a tower could rise above this "[[Planetary_boundary_layer|boundary layer]]" and achieve excellent seeing.  The boundary layer is {{convert|200|m|ft}} at the [[South Pole]] and may be as low as {{convert|20|m|ft}} at [[Dome A]].

An earlier paper considered the site and concluded that "Dome C is the best ground-based site to develop a new astronomical observatory".<ref>{{cite journal
 |author1     = Jon S. Lawrence
 |author2     = Michael C. B. Ashley
 |author3     = Andrei Tokovinin
 |author4     = Tony Travouillon
 |url         = http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/nature/nature02929.pdf
 |title       = Exceptional astronomical seeing conditions above Dome C in Antarctica
 |journal     = Nature
 |date        = 16 September 2004
 |volume      = 431
 |pages       = 278–281
 |doi         = 10.1038/nature02929
 |pmid        = 15372024
 |issue       = 7006
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20060325210146/http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/nature/nature02929.pdf
 |archive-date = 2006-03-25
|bibcode= 2004Natur.431..278L
 |s2cid = 4388419
 }} ([http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/nature/ FAQ by the authors] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060215183040/http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/nature/ |date=2006-02-15 }})</ref> This shows a measured superior seeing of 0.27 arcseconds, half as large as at [[Mauna Kea Observatory]]. This figure was taken with an instrument insensitive to near-ground turbulence and so it is comparable to the 0.35 arcseconds Agabi et al. measured for "free atmospheric seeing".

The 2004 experiments to measure the astronomical conditions at the site were unattended, controlled by a computer system that had to supervise the generation of its own electricity using a jet-fuel powered [[Stirling engine]].  The computer, running [[Linux]], communicated with the outside world using an [[Iridium Satellite LLC|Iridium]] phone.

== ESA research ==
Since Concordia Station is a prime space mission analogue, the [[European Space Agency]] conducts biomedical research there in collaboration with the French ([[IPEV]]) and Italian ([[ENEA (Italy)|ENEA]]/[[National Antarctic Research Program|PNRA]]) Antarctic programs. Living conditions upon Dome C simulate what Astronauts have to go through in long-duration spaceflights. To name a few of the common challenges that the Concordia crew and [[Astronauts]] have to face, they both live in isolation and confinement, in different atmospheric pressure conditions, with an abnormal day/night cycle plus several effects on their everyday life, such as sleep difficulties. Obviously the above parameters influence not only physiology but also psychology. The European Space Agency ([[ESA]]) hires a Medical Doctor each year to winterover at Concordia Station and facilitate biomedical experiments on the crew. These experiments are selected over a variety of tests proposed to ESA by European universities and participation from the rest of the crew is voluntary (and highly appreciated). It is important to mention that this research aims not only at improving living conditions for Astronauts in a future human journey to Mars, but the results are also applied directly on society - they help doctors devise therapies for patients with similar difficulties in Europe and elsewhere.

== See also ==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Belgica Subglacial Highlands]]
* [[Climate of Antarctica]]
* [[Concordia, Antarctica|Concordia Station]]
* [[Dome A|dome A]] (or [[dome Argus]])
* [[Dome F|dome F]] (or [[dome Fuji]])
* [[EPICA]]
* [[Pole of inaccessibility|Inaccessibility Pole]]
* [[Law Dome]]
* [[Ledoyom (Ice body)]]
* [[List of mountains of Wilkes Land]]
* [[Pole of Cold]]
{{div col end}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.gdargaud.net/Antarctica/DomeCFAQ.html Another Dome C FAQ] (Guillaume Dargaud)
* [http://www.gdargaud.net/Antarctica/WinterDC1.html First Winterover at Concordia Station (2005)] blog by Guillaume Dargaud
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060626172011/http://www-luan.unice.fr/~aristidi/hivernage/ 2nd Winterover at Concordia Station (2006)] blog by Eric Aristidi, LUAN (Laboratoire Universitaire d'Astrophysique de Nice)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060110105428/http://www.concordiastation.org/DOMEC/HTML/concordia.html Official website of Concordia Station] ''Institut Polaire Français - Paule Emile Victor'' (IPEV) and ''Programma Nazionale di Ricerche in Antartide'' (PNRA)
* [http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/nature/ Dome C seeing, Nature Letter] Frequently Asked Questions about seeing at Dome C.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100213040904/http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/jacara/pilotsciencenotes.php International Large Optical Telescope, is proposed as a 2m optical-quality telescope for Dome C]
* [http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~mcba/ Michael C. B. Ashley]
* [http://www.eso.org/sci/facilities/eelt/docs/ELT-BRD-WG3-FinalReport-Public.pdf Site evaluation of E-ELT of ESO including this location.]
* [http://www.openstreetmap.org/browse/node/529461897 OpenStreetMap]
* [http://ice.tsu.ru/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=8&Itemid=99 Alexei Rudoy. Прошлогодний снег. - Climate, ice, water, landscapes] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110506040501/http://ice.tsu.ru/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=8&Itemid=99 |date=2011-05-06 }}

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{{Antarctica}}
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<!-- Above coordinates per http://www.winteroverdomec2.it/concordia_station.htm and http://www2.umaine.edu/itase/content/icereader/coreinfo.php?num=4 (for the latter, note that 60" = 1').  Note that http://www.earth-prints.org/bitstream/2122/1116/1/EGU06_Santarelli_2.pdf says 123˚23' E-->

[[Category:Ice caps of Antarctica]]
[[Category:Outposts of Antarctica]]
[[Category:Landforms of Wilkes Land]]