Japan’s 45th expedition weathers extreme conditions to unlock secrets of the Earth’s ancient past. `It’s (Dome Fuji Station) like a dark empty ice cave.’ FUMIO KIUCHI Expedition team member

SYOWA STATION, Antarctica–There is vast frontier far more formidable than even this remote outpost.

Perched 3,810 meters above sea level, and 1,000 kilometers inland from Syowa Station where the average temperature is 40 degrees warmer, is Dome Fuji Station.

It is the highest facility operating in Antarctica and one of the Earth’s last great frontiers.

Complete article: Frigid Frontier: Locked in ice (Asahi Shimbun)