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The Antarctic Sun, December 19, 1999

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The Antarctic Sun, December 19, 1999 On the Web at http://www.asa.org December 19, 1999 Published during the austral summer at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, for the United States Antarctic Program Ski-plane crashes at AGO-6 By Aaron Spitzer The Antarctic Sun Two pilots escaped injury Sunday when their Twin Otter aircraft crashed during takeoff from an isolated landing site in East Antarctica. The plane, a deHavilland Twin Otter turboprop owned by Kenn Borek Air Ltd. and chartered to the U.S. Antarc- tic Program, was taking off around 3:15 p.m. Sunday when it caught a ski in the snow and tipped sideways. A wing hit the ground and the plane suffered Congratulations, it’s a helicopter! extensive damage. A New Zealand C-130 delivers a Bell 212 helicopter to the ice runway last week. The new The accident occurred on a tempo- arrival took the place of the Royal New Zealand Air Force helo used in the first part of the rary skiway at Automated Geophysical season. Photo by Ed Bowen. Observatory 6, located in Wilkes Land, about 800 miles northwest of McMurdo. The pilots had flown to the site earlier in the day from McMurdo Station to drop Testing tainted waters off two runway groomers, who were preparing the strip for the arrival of an By Josh Landis LC-130 Hercules ski-plane. The Antarctic Sun On Monday afternoon, another Kenn Borek Twin Otter, chartered to the Most scientists come to Antarctica because it gives them a chance to do their Italian Antarctic Program at Terra Nova work in the most pristine conditions on Earth. Clive Evans is here for the opposite Bay, flew to the site and retrieved the two reason. He’s come to Ross Island to look at what he calls one of the most polluted pilots. They arrived safely back at places in the world: Winter Quarters Bay—the area between the ice pier and McMurdo early Tuesday morning. McMurdo Station. According to National Science Evans, a professor of developmental and cancer biology at the University of Foundation safety and health officer Auckland, said the bay has one of the highest toxic concentrations of any body of Harry Mahar, the U.S. Antarctic Program water on Earth. It’s a result of oil, fuel and other contaminants the Navy dumped and the National Transportation Safety decades ago when it ran McMurdo. Board will be reviewing the cause of the “We come down here to keep an eye on things, to see how the water is crash. looking,” said Evans. “There are all kinds of nasty things buried in the hill. The Tom Quinn, the USAP’s air opera- pollution gets pushed down the hill and the various types of seepage ooze into the tions supervisor, said the wreck was the bay.” first Twin Otter accident in the U.S. Standing inside a multicolored tent on top of the ice on the bay, the odor of Antarctic Program. The planes have been See “Otter”—Page 6 See “Waters”—Page 4 New space at South Cold classroom / The great, smoky Greatest showgirl Pole / Page 2 Page 5 mountain / Page 8 on Earth / Page 12 2 December 19, 1999 The Antarctic Sun To build a better station By Josh Landis summer population of 30 men, the sweeping across the polar plateau from The Antarctic Sun number has risen to more than 200 men burying the dome and other buildings. Jerry Marty has a vision. Standing and women, thanks to Jamesway huts The new structure will stand on a in a temporary two-room construction and other temporary shelters. This winter framework of supports, keeping it up in hut at the South Pole, he sweeps his hand a record 50 people will spend the long the air to minimize drift buildup. If the across blueprints and artists’ conceptions polar night. snow ever gets as high as the stilts, the of what the station will look like in In addition, the NSF’s work to entire structure can be raised. another six years. modernize the station has contributed to “It will be a high-quality facility Outside the window, the motley the population boom. Construction that will support the U.S. Antarctic collection of buildings, Jamesway huts, workers have been pushing the envelope Program for the next 25 to 40 years,” Brier cargo piles, snow berms and vehicles that as far as materials transport and resources said. litter the landscape will be gone. like water and housing are concerned. “The only remaining design activity “When you get here in 2005, the “We’re really busy here, practically is the computer and communication only thing you will see is this,” the bursting at the seams,” Marty said. system,” he said. Designers will tackle National Science Foundation project Upon completion, the new station that challenge starting next year, and the manager said, pointing to a simple, will be able to house 110 people. Of that systems will be installed as the building efficient drawing looking like something number, slightly less than 50 percent will goes up. out of a science fiction novel. be scientists. The rest will be support Though the people will be living An artist’s conception of the new South Pole Station. Lines in the upper left corner indicate subsurface areas. Drawing by T. Vaughan It’s the future of the $128 million personnel. and working while elevated, a network of South Pole Station Modernization, years The elevated structure will be sub-snow facilities will be essential to the in the making. modular and, depending on science station’s operation. “It will allow the continuation and needs, can be expanded to accommodate The old garage shop arch will be growth of the science program,” engi- 150 people. In addition to housing, it will completely covered by snow. It will still neering projects manager Frank Brier hold the galley, store, laundry facilities, be used, however, for storage, waste said. “Without new facilities the station library, recreation room, medical office, management and cargo. Buried on either would be closed in 10 to 15 years.” greenhouse, emergency water and power side of it will be the new garage shop and Keeping it safe and habitable would supplies, and heated storage areas. new power plant—all of it churning become difficult long before that. Current research facilities like the away, out of the wind and out of the way Amundsen-Scott Station, con- space and clean air observatories will of drifting snow. structed in the mid-1970s, was designed remain where they are. Amundsen-Scott Station will be a to last 20 to 25 years with far fewer One of the biggest challenges of far different sight than it is now. occupants than it has had in recent maintaining the current station is pre- seasons. Originally intended to house a venting the snow that’s constantly The Antarctic Sun December 19, 1999 3 Letter to the editors The week in weather Thanks from Weddell World For the past three seasons, Palmer Weddell World was built and supported H/ 43 F South Pole by many wonderful individuals from L/ 28 F H/ -18 F Antarctic Support Associates and the • Min Wind Chill: -2 F National Science Foundation. We thank Max Wind: 55 mph L/ -31 F all of those who contributed directly to Min Wind Chill: -63 F supporting us, as well as those who Max Wind: 21 mph contributed indirectly by making our • time at McMurdo Station so pleasurable. All the best to all of you for a McMurdo happy holiday season and a wonderful H/ 39 F new millennium, from the beakers of L/ 16 F • Weddell World. —Lee Fuiman Min Wind Chill: -13 F Max Wind: 20 mph In brief Marco Polo should arrive with between two miles under the East Antarctic Ice 450-550 passengers. The Shokalskiy will Sheet, directly beneath Russia’s Vostok make a return visit February 16, again with Station. The body of water is approxi- Tourist season gearing up 48 visitors on board. mately the size of Lake Ontario, and was The Ross Sea tourist season is under The Khlebnikov is operated by discovered through radar and seismic way, with last week’s departure of the American-based Quark Expeditions and studies three years ago. vessel Kapitan Khlebnikov from Lyttleton, Zeghram Expeditions, while the Polo is The microbial samples were found in New Zealand. run by the U.S.-owned Orient Lines. New cores taken about 400 feet above the lake, The Khlebnikov, which set sail Zealand’s Heritage Expeditions operates in “accreted” ice, or ice thought to be Wednesday, will be joined in the Ross Sea the Shokalskiy, while the Lyubov Orlova is refrozen lake water. this summer by three other tourist ships, run by Marine Expeditions of Canada. According to the article, co-authored the Marco Polo, the Akademic Shokalskiy by researchers John Priscu and David Karl, and the Lyubov Orlova. Life in subglacial lake? the bacteria are biologically similar to The Khlebnikov is scheduled to visit Scientists have uncovered a wealth known organisms. Their presence in the ice the McMurdo Sound area on December 27, of microbial life in the ice above the surface raises questions about how life can exist in but will not actually stop at McMurdo of the continent’s largest known subglacial such a dark, cold, isolated environment. Station until January 20. It will anchor lake, shedding light on the environment of It is unclear whether the same offshore and its 112 passengers will be the lake itself. microbes, or even more diverse species, transferred to land via Zodiac boats and According to an article published in exist in the liquid lake itself.
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