Using these sensors to scan the East Antarctic Plateau, Scambos detected extremely cold temperatures on a 620-mile stretch of the ridge at high elevations between Argus and Fuji, and even colder temperatures lower elevations in pockets off the ridge. These sensitive instruments can pick up thermal radiation emitted from Earth's surface, even in areas lacking much heat. They turned to the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instruments on NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites and the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) on several National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellites.
Rather, the coldest spots develop just downhill from a ridge that runs from Dome A to Dome Fuji. The coldest place on earth is in the East Antarctic Plateau, but not at the highest peak.
