The station is located approximately 360 km from the east coast and 500 km from the west coast of Greenland at, and 200 km north-northeast of the historical ice sheet station Eismitte. The closest town is Ittoqqortoormiit, 460 km east-southeast of the station. The station however is not part of Sermersooq municipality, but falls within the bounds of the Northeast Greenland National Park. Summit Station consists of the Big House, Green House, Mobile Science Facility, Temporary Atmospheric Watch Observatory, Berthing Module, a combined garage and generator building, and storage buildings.
History
Summit Station was originally established in April 1989 in support of the Greenland Ice Sheet Project Two deep ice coring effort. A ski-equipped C-130 from the New York Air National Guard performed an open snow landing near the site, bringing the put-in team consisting of Mark Twickler, Jay Klink, Michael Morrison, and two navigation specialists; Doug Roberts and Jim Normandeau who located the exact location chosen for the GISP2 drilling site, established a camp, and laid out the runway. Subsequent flights brought in additional materials and personnel needed to build the station. Two major structures were planned and built: The Big House, an insulated panel building, elevated to minimize snow drifts; and a geodesic drill dome to house the deep drill. Extensive under-snow trenches were also constructed to house the core handling, processing, and storage facilities. Many smaller Weatherport hut buildings and tents were also erected as storage and shop areas, as well as sleeping quarters. These were erected and taken down each season. On July 1, 1993, the bedrock was reached. Originally only occupied in the summer, the station has been staffed year-round since the early 2000s, with a winter population of 4 to 5.
Climate
The climate is classified as ice cap, with no month having a mean temperature exceeding 0°C. Typical daily maximum temperatures at Summit Camp are around in winter and in summer. Winter minimum temperatures are typically about and only rarely exceed. The highest temperature at Summit Station was, recorded on 13 July 2012 and on 28 July 2017; the lowest recorded temperature is on 21 February 2002. On July 6th 2017 the site recorded the lowest temperature in the northern hemisphere for the month of July at.
Transport
During the summer months, the station is accessed via Kangerlussuaq Airport with LC-130 Hercules aircraft which land on a snow runway, which is prepared and regularly groomed for ski-equipped aircraft. Winter access is infrequent, using smaller, ski-equipped aircraft such as a Twin Otter flown by Norlandair.
