The region of Ridge B in central East Antarctica is one of the last unexplored parts of the continent and, at the same time, ranks among the most promising places to search for Earth's oldest ice. In January 2020, we carried out the first scientific traverse from Russia's Vostok Station to the topographical dome of Ridge B (Dome B, 3807 m above sea level, 79.02°S, 93.69°E). The glaciological programme included continuous snow-radar profiling and geodetic positioning along the traverse's route, installation of snow stakes, measurements of snow density, collection of samples for stable water isotope and chemical analyses and drilling of a 20 m firn core. The first results of the traverse show that the surface mass balance at Dome B (2.28 g cm−2 year−1) is among the lowest in Antarctica. The firn temperature below the layer of annual variations is −58.1 ± 0.2°C. A very low value of heavy water stable isotope content (-58.2‰ for oxygen-18) was discovered at a distance of 170 km from Vostok Station. This work is the first step towards a comprehensive reconnaissance study of the Ridge B area aimed at locating the best site for future deep drilling for the oldest Antarctic ice.

中文翻译：

---

在东南极洲中部的山脊 B 进行首次冰川学调查

位于东南极洲中部的 B 岭地区是该大陆最后未被探索的地区之一，同时也是寻找地球上最古老冰的最有希望的地方之一。2020年1月，我们进行了从俄罗斯东方站到B岭地形穹顶（穹顶B，海拔3807米，79.02°S，93.69°E）的首次科学穿越。冰川学计划包括沿导线的连续雪雷达剖面和大地测量定位、雪桩的安装、雪密度的测量、稳定水同位素和化学分析样品的收集以及 20 m 冰芯的钻探。遍历的第一个结果表明 Dome B 的表面质量平衡（2.28 g cm-2年-1) 是南极洲最低的。年变化层以下的冷杉温度为-58.1±0.2°C。在距沃斯托克站 170 公里处发现了极低的重水稳定同位素含量（氧 18 为 -58.2‰）。这项工作是对山脊 B 地区进行全面侦察研究的第一步，旨在为未来最古老的南极冰层进行深度钻探找到最佳地点。