Spire-like Peaks at Bergersen in the Sor Rondane Mountains, East Antarctica

Abstract

 The photograph was taken during the 53rd Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition (2011–2012). The mountains are mainly composed of gneiss, partially intruded by granite, with a central peak at an altitude of 2,401 m, ca. 1,000 m above the surface of the ice sheet. This spectacular landscape is thought to be the result of glacial erosion and differential weathering. In the foreground is an extensive moraine field, which allows past variability of the East Antarctic Ice sheet to be reconstructed from surface exposure dating.

(Photograph and explanation: Yusuke SUGANUMA)