HNjTflRCililD A NEWS BULLETIN published quarterly by the NEW ZEALAND ANTARCTIC SOCIETY (INC) Drillers on the Ross Ice Shelf last season used a new hot water system to penetrate fc. 416m of ice and gain access to the waters of the Ross Sea. Here the rig is at work on an access hole for a Norwegian science rproject. ' U . S . N a v y p h o t o Registered ol Post Office Headquarters, Vol. 8, No. 9. Wellington. New Zealand, as a magazine. SOUTH GEORGIA. •.. SOUTH SANDWICH Is' ,,r circle / SOUTH ORKNEY Is' \ $&?-""" "~~~^ / "^x AFAtKtANOis /^SiJS?UK*"0.V" ^Tl~ N^olazarevskayauss« SOUTH AMERICA / /\ ,f Borg°a ~7^1£^ ^.T, \60'E, /? cnirru „ / \ if sa / anT^^^Mo odezhnaya V/ x> SOUTH 9 .» /WEDDELL \ .'/ ' 0,X vr\uss.aT/>\ & SHETtAND-iSfV, / / Halley Bay*! DRONNING MAUD LAND ^im ^ >^ \ - / l s * S Y 2 < 'SEA/ S Euk A J COATSu k V ' tdC O A T S t d / L A N D ! > / \ Dfu^naya^^eneral Belgrano^RG y\ \ Mawson ANTARCTIC SrV MAC ROBERTSON LAND\ \ aust /PENINSULA'^ (see map below) Sobral arg / t Davis aust K- Siple ■■ [ U S A Amundsen-Scott / queen MARY LAND <JMirny AJELLSWORTH Vets') LAND °Vostok ussr MARIE BYRDNs? vice ShelA^ WIIKES tAND , ? O S S ^ . X V a n d a N z / SEA I JpY/VICTORIA .TERRE ,? ^ P o V t A N D V ^ / A D H J E j / V G E O R G E V L d , , _ / £ ^ . / ,^5s=:»iv-'s«,,y\ ^--Dumont d Urville france Leningradskaya \' / USSB_,^'' \ / -""*BALLENYIs\ / ANTARCTIC PENINSULA 1 Teniente Matienzo arg 2 Esperanza arg 3 Almirante Brown arg 4 Petrel arg 5 Decepcion arg. 6 Vicecomodoro Marambio arg > ANTARCTICA 7 Arturo Prat chile 8 Bernardo O'Higgins chile 500 1000 Miles 9 Presidente Frei chile - ' 1000 Kilometres 10 Stonington I. uk. 13 11 Adelaide I. uk. <■- ! ABBREVIATIONS ] 1 2 A r g e n t i n e I s u k f j 13 Palmer usa ARG ARGENTINA AUST AUSTRALIA 14 Bellingshausen ussr \ ' NZ NEW ZEALAND SA SOUTH AFRICA UK UNITED KINGDOM ■.larsen"::-: USA UNITED STATES OF AMERICA USSR UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST »ceShe(f, 0 L00m REPUBLICS 0 100km (successor to 'Antarctic News Bulletin') 93rd Issue. March, 1979 Editor: J. M. CAFFIN, 35 Chepstowe Avenue. Christchurch, 5. Address all contributions, inquiries etc, to the Editor. CONTENTS ARTICLES IN MARIE BYRD LAND 300-302 BLIGHTS ISLANDS 327-328 POLAR ACTIVITIES NEW ZEALAND 249-299,302 AUSTRALIA 304-306,331 UNITED STATES 307-317 JAPAN 308-309 UNITED KINGDOM 318-320 SOVIET UNION 321-322 WEST GERMANY 336 SUB-ANTARCTIC BOUNTY ISLANDS 327-329 MARION ISLAND 328 GENERAL WHALING COMMISSION 333 DISCOVERY APPEAL 336 ANTARCTIC BOOKSHELF 334-335 OBITUARIES 325-326 ISSN 0003—5327 © New Zealand Antarctic Society (Inc) 1978. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any way without the prior permission of the publishers. ANTARCTIC March 1979 NEW ZEALAND SEASON DARWIN MOUNTAINS TO EREBUS New Zealand's Antarctic research programme for the 1978-79 season, which ended last month, was the largest undertaken to date. In the four summer months it called on the services of more than 160 men and women. Seventeen field parties worked out of Scott Base and Vanda Station, and New Zealand scientists worked in Marie Byrd Land, on Mt Erebus, in the Darwin Mountains, and on the Ross Ice Shelf. As in past seasons they took part in other national programmes, and shared field work with scientists of five other nations — United States, Japan, Australia, France, and West Germany. Of special importance was the virtual master, Auckland), A.M. Babington completion of the second stage of the (Post Office radio technician, Hamilton), Scott Base rebuilding programme — the Thelma Rodgers (scientific officer, erection of a new powerhouse and the Christchurch), P.J. Cleary (field installation of two new generators, and assistant-dog handler, Christchurch), A. mechanical and electrical services. A Burt (technician, Christchurch), G. combined Ministry of Works and New Abernethy (assistant maintenance Zealand Army team did the job, and officer-carpenter, Dunedin). finished 85 per cent of it in time for the winter team at Scott Base to enjoy the GLACIER STUDIES luxury of adequate hot water and electricity during the cold and darkness New Zealand contributed a group of of an Antarctic winter. eight scientists and an Antarctic Eleven men and one woman began Division field staff of four to a major seven months of isolation officially on event in last season's United States research programme — the first February 22 when the last three intensive study of the Darwin and Byrd members of the summer team left Scott iase to fly back to New Zealand. Except Glaciers. Scientists from seven United States institutions, and from Japan and lor radio-telephone and telegraph links, West Germany, worked on various the winter leader, Mr John Presland, of Christchurch, and his 11 companions projects from a base camp in the area will have no communication with the about 325km from McMurdo Station. outside world until early September They were flown to areas within a 185kr radius of the base camp by three United when the first pre-season flights by States Navy helicopters. United States Navy Hercules aircraft will bring mail and fresh foods. A study of the geology, landforms, and Deputy-leader this winter is Mr R.K. soils of the northern Britannia Range Vincent, a 27-year-old technician from between the Hatherton and Byrd Greymouth. His companions are: T.A. Glaciers was made by an earth sciences Stephenson (base engineer, Christ team from the University of Waikato. Dr church), R.N. Geddes (fitter-mechanic, M.J. Selby (geomorphologist) led the Nelson), CF. Cunningham (fitter- team, and with him were Messrs P.J.J. electrician, Christchurch), B. Trevathan Kamp (sedimentologist), D.J. Lowe (cook, Nelson), M.J. Challinor (post (geochemist) and C.C. Law (petrologist). ■ ■ t ii • March 1979 ANTARCTIC Although the team was able to use This occurrence of metallic nickel-iron helicopter flights for reconnaissance, for meteorites has been described by Dr checking remote outcrops, and for Selby as very significant because only landings on inaccessible peaks, the three other discoveries have been made mapping of the range was done the hard previously in Antarctica. Most of the way — man-hauling a 226kg Nansen finds, and the largest, a specimen sledge 70km down the Hatherton weighing about 200kg, were made on the Glacier. In mid-November temperatures high-level bench on Derrick Peak. Other on the rough ice of the glacier were as low specimens were found on the slopes as minus 30deg Celsius, and wind speeds below down to the edge of the lateral were often in excess of 60 knots. More moraines of the Hatherton Glacier. The moderate temperatures in the minus fragments varied in size from one 5deg to minus 15deg range were centimetre in diameter to the largest, a experienced in December, but heavy boulder 34cm in diameter. hauling was needed over difficult mixed snow and ice surfaces to travel 15km in four to six hours. SLEDGE TRIPS After the meteorite finds the Waikato METEOR SHOWER team man-hauled its sledge up the A long day's man-hauling to the McCraw Glacier to its provisions dump team's major supply dump at the in the Sabrina Valley. Then, before its junction of the Hatherton and McCraw return to the Darwin Glacier base camp, Glaciers was rewarded the next day by the team made other sledge trips, an exciting and significant find — an including one of 18km to Lake Wellman important impact site of a shower of and the Waikato Basin, covering low- metallic nickel-iron meteorites. On altitude moraine surfaces and visiting December 11, while investigating the lower Beacon sediments for strati- moraine deposits and geology on the graphic correlation of the Darwin and north-east ridge of Derrick Peak above Britannia Mountains. the Hatherton and McCraw Glaciers the When the mapping of the northern team found six meteorite fragments. Britannia Range had been completed, These were on a shoulder-like bench the Waikato team's geological work was below the peak at an eltitude of about tied into that already established for the 1500m, and were from 5cm to 25cm in Cook and Darwin Mountains to the diameter, and weighed one kilogram to north, and to the area south of the Byrd 30kg. Glacier, the Churchill Mountains. This Because of the extreme density of the was done by a number of short helicopter fragments their transport by foot some visits during which detailed studies were 5km back to camp was an arduous task. mad of the Beacon sandstones and their The team celebrated the find with an contact with the underlying basement extra ration of sledge biscuits, and then rocks. Sedimentary formations were was rewarded for its labours by the studied at Tentacle Ridge (Cook surprise delivery by helicopter of a large Mountains), Rainbow Mountain and cherry pie from the Darwin Glacir base Zeller Glacier (Churchill Mountains). camp. When the find was reported by radio to FOSSIL FINDS the base camp on the morning of Fossils which evolved between 500m December 12 two members of the United and 600m years ago were discovered by States-Japanese meteorite search team, two Victoria University of Wellington Dr W. Cassidy and Dr K. Shiriashi, flew geologists who took part in the Darwin to the Waikato camp, and then were Mountains programme. Dr C.J. Burgess escorted to the meteorite impact site in and Mr J.M. Anderson worked in the the helicopter. Five more meteorites were Byrd Glacier area, and their fossil found by the combined parties, and one discoveries were not totally new finds, more was found in another one-day but were in a new area, the northern search by the United States-Japanese Churchill Mountains.