A NEWS BULLETIN Published Quarterly by the NEW ZEALAND ANTARCTIC SOCIETY (INC)
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A NEWS BULLETIN published quarterly by the NEW ZEALAND ANTARCTIC SOCIETY (INC) An English-born Post Office technician, Robin Hodgson, wearing a borrowed kilt, plays his pipes to huskies on the sea ice below Scott Base. So far he has had a cool response to his music from his New Zealand colleagues, and a noisy reception f r o m a l l 2 0 h u s k i e s . , „ _ . Antarctic Division photo Registered at Post Ollice Headquarters. Wellington. New Zealand, as a magazine. II '1.7 ^ I -!^I*"JTr -.*><\\>! »7^7 mm SOUTH GEORGIA, SOUTH SANDWICH Is- . C I R C L E / SOUTH ORKNEY Is x \ /o Orcadas arg Sanae s a Noydiazarevskaya ussr FALKLAND Is /6Signyl.uK , .60"W / SOUTH AMERICA tf Borga / S A A - S O U T H « A WEDDELL SHETLAND^fU / I s / Halley Bav3 MINING MAU0 LAN0 ENOERBY J /SEA uk'/COATS Ld / LAND T> ANTARCTIC ••?l\W Dr^hnaya^^General Belgrano arg / V ^ M a w s o n \ MAC ROBERTSON LAND\ '■ aust \ /PENINSULA' *\4- (see map betowi jrV^ Sobldl ARG 90-w {■ — Siple USA j. Amundsen-Scott / queen MARY LAND {Mirny ELLSWORTH" LAND 1, 1 1 °Vostok ussr MARIE BYRD L LAND WILKES LAND ouiiiv_. , ROSS|NZJ Y/lnda^Z / SEA I#V/VICTORIA .TERRE , **•»./ LAND \ /"AOELIE-V Leningradskaya .V USSR,-'' \ --- — -"'BALLENYIj ANTARCTIC PENINSULA 1 Tenitnte Matianzo arg 2 Esptrarua arg 3 Almirarrta Brown arc 4PttrtlAHG 5 Otcipcion arg 6 Vtcecomodoro Marambio arg * ANTARCTICA 7 Arturo Prat chile 8 Bernardo O'Higgins chile 1000 Miles 9 Prasid«fTtB Frei chile s 1000 Kilometres 10 Stonington I. uk 1 1 1 A d e t i i d a l . u k } 12 Argentine Is uk {ABBREVIATIONS 13 Palmar us* ARG /-RGENTINA AUST AUSTRALIA M Bellingshausen ussr ■ NZ NEW ZEALANO SA SOUTH AFRICA UK UNITEO KINGDOM USA UNITEO STATES OF AMERICA 0 1 0 0 m USSR UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS flN.TflRCiTilE 101st Issue Editor: J. M. CAFFIN, 35 Chepstow Avenue, Christchurch, 5. Address all contributions, inquiries etc. to the Editor, CONTENTS ARTICLES ROSS SEA PARTY RELICS 176-178 POLAR ACTIVITIES NEW ZEALAND 146-155, 161 UNITED STATES 162-166 SOUTH AFRICA 167 UNITED KINGDOM 168-171 WEST GERMANY 171-172 SOVIET UNION 173-174 JAPAN 174 SUB-ANTARCTIC MARION ISLAND 179-180 GENERAL TRANSGLOBE EXPEDITION 156-161 MINKE WHALE SURVEY 175-176 TOURISM 178-179 ISSN 0003-5327 © New Zealand Antarctic Society (Inc) 1978. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any way without the pnoi permission of the publishers. •!»JP VlWf!-W "M. W ^ 'TW HOT"* ANTARCTIC March 1981 N.Z. PROGRAMME SCIENCE CRUISE IN ROSS SEA New Zealand's Antarctic research programme for the 1980-81 season, which ended last month, called on the services of more than 160 men and women during last summer. It included a major marine geophysical programme and oceanographic survey in which seven New Zealand scientists worked in the Ross Sea from the Transglobe Expedition's support ship Benjamin Bowring. A New Zealand team also took part in an aerial reconnaissance of selected areas of Nor thern Victoria Land to prepare for a joint project there with United States and Australian scientists in the 1981-82 season. Seven New Zealanders took part in an Deputy leader at Scott Base this international project of vulcanological winter is Mr T. H. Earl, senior technical studies with United States and Japanese officer, of Wellington. His companions scientists on Mt Erebus, and New are Mr R. L. Hodgson (senior Post Of Zealand support was provided for other fice technicial, Wellington), I. D. international projects in South Victoria Johnstone (postmaster, Kaeo), D. J. D. Land and Adelie Land. As in past McKnight (scientific officer, Well seasons New Zealand scientists took part ington), J. H. J. Mackey (fitter- in other national programmes and electrician, Blenheim), A. J. Remnant shared field work with scientists from (chef, Auckland), B. G. Scott (fitter- ihe United States, Japan, West Ger mechanic, Duntroon), A. J. Taylor many, and Australia. (field assistant/dog handler, Auckland), Of special importance in the Scott and S. J. N. Whitehead (technician, Base rebuilding programme was the Christchurch). completion of the third stage — the erec VICTORIA LAND tion of new sleeping quarters and ablu Between 50 and 60 scientists from the tions facilities for 42 people. The United States, New Zealand, and building was completed before the Australia are expected to take part in a season ended in the third week of programme of geology, geophysics, and February, and the interior work will be glaciology in Northern Victoria Land done next season. during the 1981-82 season. New Zealand Ten men began seven months of participation in the programme has been winter isolation officially on February approved in principle, and if the United 16 when the last members of the summer States agrees 12 to 20 New Zealanders team left Scott Base for New Zealand. will take part. The winter leader, Mr J. B. Sims, of An alternative New Zealand pro North Auckland, who is also the base gramme of conventional research nearer engineer, and his nine companions will Scott Base will be proposed if the Nor have radio-telephone and telegraph links thern Victoria Land project does not go with the outside world during the winter; ahead. Another New Zealand project to they will see new faces again at the end land a geological party near Terra Nova of August when the spring flights by Bay will depend on whether United United States Navy Hercules aircraft States aircraft can land in the area. begin. They will share their isolation To check on possible landing sites for with 19 huskies. the United States Navy Hercules aircraft March 1981 ANTARCTIC One of the two motor toboggans and sledges of the Antarctic Division's geological mapping team is lowered from the summit of Descent Pass 366m above the Descent Glacier on the way up to the Ferrar Glacier. _. _ . ... .. Photo by R. II. Findla> which will support the establishment of Seven scientists from the Geophysics a base camp housing up to 100 scientists, Division, New Zealand Oceanographic support staff, and helicopter crews, a Institute, and Victoria University of reconnaissance flight was made from Wellington, took part in the research McMurdo Station early in December last cruise in the Ross Sea aboard the Ben year. On board the aircraft were Dr E. jamin Bowring, which . was chartered Stump, science co-ordinator for the pro from the Transglobe Expedition by the ject, Dr R. Cooper, Geological Survey, Department of Scientific and Industrial who has made several expeditions to Research. During the 18 days of the Northern Victoria Land, Dr I. Thomas, cruise the ship worked off the coast off Physics and Engineering Laboratory, the coast of Marie Byrd Land past the Mr R. Child, Lands and Survey Depart Bay of Whales, and as far north as Cape ment, and Mr Roger Clark, officer-in- Adare. The main purpose of the charge at Scott Base last summer. research programme was to obtain A remote ice sensing project was car marine seismic, magnetic, gravity, and ried out during the reconnaissance bathymetric data to elucidate the tec flight. Dr Thomas was on board to tonic structure of the western Ross Sea. obtain a field reference for ice typing from satellite imagery, and Mr Child, a SEA TEMPERATURES photogrammetric camera specialists, Whe'n the Benjamin Bowring sailed provided photogrammetric and mapping from Lyttelton for McMurdo Sound on material for future field operations. Dr January 7 there were seven scientists on Cooper checked the suitability of poss board. The New Zealanders were Drs D. ible Hercules landing sites for Iroquois Burns and K. Grange, and Messrs K. helicopter operations. Rose and T. Dean, all Oceanographic ^SPBWWr? Wfmmmmmwm prr ^Wv- ANTARCTIC March 1981 Institute, and Jenny Bassett, an observer After the western section of the survey for the International Survey of Antarctic the Benjamin Bowring headed east to Seabirds (1SAS). Two scientists from the Cape Adare, and then south along the University of Cape Town, Irish-born Dr Victoria Land coast, working in the area Christopher McQuaide, and English- of the Drygalski Ice Tongue early in born Lesley Rickett, were making their February. She returned to McMurdo second voyage to Antarctic to record sea Station on February 15 and sailed for temperatures and salinity, and the den Lyttelton the next morning. sity and distribution of plankton. They travelled with the Transglobe Expedition N.Z. PASSENGERS to the Fimbul Ice Shelf early last year. Her scientific passengers returned by On the voyage south the air to New Zealand, but she still had oceanographers collected plankton in nine New Zealanders aboard on the water samples between New Zealand voyage north. Four were summer staff and the Ross Sea. When the Benjamin from Scott Base, Roger Clark, officer- Bowring berthed in Winter Quarters Bay in-charge, Hugh Webb, his deputy, three more scientist's, Drs F. Davey and Roger Ridley, meteorological observer, D. Bennett of the Geophysical Division, and Stephen Johnson, Post Office clerk. and Dr D. A. Christoffel, who had been Graham Wilson, of the University of working with the Victoria University of Canterbury zoology department, who Wellington expedition, joined the ship. had been working at Cape Bird and Because of ice conditions in McMurdo Lake Fryxell in the Lower Taylor Valley, Sound the Benjamin Bowring was joined Jenny Bassett as an observer for unable to penetrate into New Harbour, ISAS. but the scientists were able to take a There were three New Zealanders in series of seabed sample cores along a line the Benjamin Bowring's crew when she from Cape Royds to Cape Bernacchi.