Flint Ridge () is a north-south trending ridge with a summit elevation of in the

Asgard Range The Asgard Range is a mountain range in Victoria Land, Antarctica. It divides Wright Valley from Taylor Glacier and Taylor Valley, and was named by the Victoria University of Wellington Antarctic Expedition (1958–59) after Asgard, the home o ...

Victoria Land Victoria Land is a region in eastern Antarctica which fronts the western side of the Ross Sea and the Ross Ice Shelf, extending southward from about 70°30'S to 78°00'S, and westward from the Ross Sea to the edge of the Antarctic Plateau. It ...

, Antarctica. On the west side of the ridge is Sagittate Hill, tall and mostly composed of exposed rock. At the south end of the ridge sits Noxon Cliff, which trends east-west and encloses the north flank of

Commonwealth Glacier Commonwealth Glacier is a glacier which flows in a southeasterly direction and enters the northern side of Taylor Valley immediately west of Mount Coleman, in Victoria Land, Antarctica. It was charted by the British Antarctic Expedition, 1910� ...

, rising from above the

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its Ablation#Glaciology, ablation over many years, often Century, centuries. It acquires dis ...

. On the eastern part of the cliff is Dominion Hill, a rounded rock summit rising to about that borders the glacier where it descends southeastward into

Taylor Valley Taylor Valley is the southernmost of the three large McMurdo Dry Valleys in the Transantarctic Mountains, Victoria Land, Antarctica, located west of McMurdo Sound at approximately . The valley extends from Taylor Glacier in the west to McMurdo So ...

Nomenclature

Hills of Victoria Land McMurdo Dry Valleys Flint Ridge, Sagittate Hill, and Noxon Cliff were all named by the

Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names The Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (ACAN or US-ACAN) is an advisory committee of the United States Board on Geographic Names responsible for recommending commemorative names for features in Antarctica. History The committee was established ...

, while Dominion Hill was named by the

New Zealand Geographic Board The New Zealand Geographic Board Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa (NZGB) was established by the New Zealand Geographic Board Act 1946, which has since been replaced by the New Zealand Geographic Board (Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa) Act 2008. Althoug ...

. The ridge was named for Lawrence A. Flint, manager of the

United States Antarctic Research Program The United States Antarctic Program (or USAP; formerly known as the United States Antarctic Research Program or USARP and the United States Antarctic Service or USAS) is an organization of the United States government which has presence in the A ...

Berg Field Center at

McMurdo Station McMurdo Station is a United States Antarctic research station on the south tip of Ross Island, which is in the New Zealand-claimed Ross Dependency on the shore of McMurdo Sound in Antarctica. It is operated by the United States through the Unit ...

in 1972. A standard

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

(USGS) survey tablet stamped "Flint ET 1971–72" was fixed in a rock slab atop this ridge by the USGS Electronic Traverse, 1971–72. Sagittate Hill was named in 1997 from the shape of the hill which is suggestive of an arrowhead, or the characteristic leaf form. The cliff was named in 1997 after John F. Noxon, who pioneered the technique of visible

spectroscopy Spectroscopy is the field of study that measures and interprets the electromagnetic spectra that result from the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and matter as a function of the wavelength or frequency of the radiation. Matter wa ...

for measurements of stratospheric trace gases, particularly

nitrogen dioxide Nitrogen dioxide is a chemical compound with the formula . It is one of several nitrogen oxides. is an intermediate in the industrial synthesis of nitric acid, millions of tons of which are produced each year for use primarily in the producti ...

. 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 RV ''Hero'' was a research vessel that operated in Antarctica for the National Science Foundation between 1968 and 1984, after which she was laid up until she sank in 2017. Career ''Hero'', named after the sloop that Nathaniel Palmer sailed whe ...

'' from

Ushuaia Ushuaia ( , ) is the capital of Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur Province, Argentina. With a population of nearly 75,000 and a location below the 54th parallel south latitude, Ushuaia claims the title of world's southern ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, and quickly confirmed that a "cliff" in nitrogen dioxide is also found in the Antarctic atmosphere. Dominion Hill was named in 1998 after "

dominion The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 1926 ...

", a form of government. The name was intended to complement that of the Commonwealth Glacier, which itself references the

Commonwealth of Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

References

Ridges of Victoria Land Scott Coast {{ScottCoast-geo-stub