Flint Ridge

Flint Ridge (77°31′S 163°2′E) is a north-south trending ridge with a summit elevation of 995 metres (3,260 ft) in the Asgard Range of Victoria Land, Antarctica.[1] On the west side of the ridge is Sagittate Hill, 850 metres (2,790 ft) tall and mostly composed of exposed rock.[2] At the south end of the ridge sits Noxon Cliff, which trends east-west and encloses the north flank of Commonwealth Glacier, rising from 50–150 m (160–490 ft) above the glacier.[3] On the eastern part of the cliff is Dominion Hill, a rounded rock summit rising to about 900 metres (3,000 ft) that borders the glacier where it descends southeastward into Taylor Valley.[4]

Nomenclature

Flint Ridge, Sagittate Hill, and Noxon Cliff were all named by the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names, while Dominion Hill was named by the New Zealand Geographic Board.[1][2][3][4]

The ridge was named for Lawrence A. Flint, manager of the United States Antarctic Research Program Berg Field Center at McMurdo Station in 1972. A standard United States Geological Survey (USGS) survey tablet stamped "Flint ET 1971–72" was fixed in a rock slab atop this ridge by the USGS Electronic Traverse, 1971–72.[1]

Sagittate Hill was named in 1997 from the shape of the hill which is suggestive of an arrowhead, or the characteristic leaf form.[2]

The cliff was named in 1997 after John F. Noxon, who pioneered the technique of visible spectroscopy for measurements of stratospheric trace gases, particularly nitrogen dioxide. By 1975, he began making measurements of nitrogen dioxide column as a function of latitude, and was surprised to discover an abrupt decrease in the amounts in Arctic air as compared to values observed at lower latitudes. This unexpected phenomenon, width implications for later ozone depletion studies, became known as the "Noxon cliff". In 1978, Noxon sailed on RV Hero from Ushuaia, Argentina, and quickly confirmed that a "cliff" in nitrogen dioxide is also found in the Antarctic atmosphere.[3]

Dominion Hill was named in 1998 after "dominion", a form of government. The name was intended to complement that of the Commonwealth Glacier, which itself references the Commonwealth of Australia.[4]

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References
  1. "Flint Ridge". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2018-09-03.
  2. "Sagittate Hill". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2018-09-03.
  3. "Noxon Cliff". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2018-09-03.
  4. "Dominion Hill". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2018-09-03.

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Geological Survey.


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