Some Antarctic site testing results

Abstract

Observing conditions at the South Pole have probably been better characterised than at any other site on earth. The benefits are now well established, and include greatly reduced near- and mid-infrared sky brightness, improved atmospheric transmission, and a unique atmospheric turbulence profile with almost zero turbulence above the lowest 200 metres of the atmosphere. The site testing work is still in progress, with a view to better understanding the residual infrared sky emission and the nature of the atmospheric turbulence. Autonomous experiments are now also currently operating at Dome C. Plans are well advanced to extend these experiments, and to study even higher altitude sites such as Vostok and Dome A. In this paper, we report the recent results from UNSW. More comprehensive reviews can be found in the literature.