A NEWS BULLETIN published quarterly by the NEW ZEALAND ANTARCTIC SOCIETY r f J ,

HALLETT STATION With Mt. Herschel (c. '11,400 ft.) in the background. The station is built on Sea bee Spit, which projects from the cliffs of Cape Hallett, and is separated from the foot of Mt. Herschel by the six miles wide Hallett Bay. (Photo by A, J. Heine-N,Z. Geological Survey Antarctic Expedition)

Vol. I, No. 11 SEPTEMBER, 1958 International Geophysical Year - Proposed 8ases • Unifed Kingdom + New Zealand • Ur1i~ed Stafes • Alls~ro';a ?' U.S.S.R. 0 OH,ers Cornrnonwoalfh TrOMsont-o"crie Expeclihon (Successor to "Antarctic News Bulletin")

Vcl. I, Nc. " SEPTEMBER, 1958

Editor: L. B. Quartermain, M.A., 1 Ariki Road, Wellington, E.2. New Zealand. Business Communications, Subscriptions, etc., to: Secretary, New Zealand Antarctic Society, P.O. Box 2110, Wellington. N.Z. COLD WINTER. AT SCOTT BASE Scott Base, crowded last winter with the sixteen men of the New Zealand support party for the Trans-Antarctic Expedition as well as Dr. Trevor lIatherton's small team of five scientists, this year houses only an enlarged group of eleven scientists and support personnel, under Mr. L. 1I. (Lin) Martin.

Weather during May was cold and change is proving most valuable. clear with only one day of blizzard. Generally the same earthquakes are June was cold and cloudy with much reported, but Scott Base records cirrus cloud. The average tempera­ slightly more than each of the other ture was five degrees lower than in stations. In July arrangements were June 1957. July was very cold with also made for an interchange of clear skies and light wind. The mean seismic data with Byrd Station. 29 daily minimum temperature in July earthquakes were recorded in May, was -46° F. and the actual minimum 47 in June and 53 in July. 0 of -62.5 F. was the coldest ever It was not found possible to receive recorded in the Ross Island area. The Australasian broadcast stations at average temperature for the month 0 Scott Base during June, although both (_31 F.) was equal to the mean daily Hallett and Little America reported minimum over the same period last very good reception of these stations. year. SPECTACULAR AURORAS WHISTLERS Strong aurora displays occurred on A strong and surprising correlation June 17. 19 and 22, but other June was discovered between whistlers and displays were weak and transitory. In seismic activity but this is probably July the exceptionally clear weather coincidental, as on two days of permitted continuous observations moderate whistler activity (June 14 from the 2nd to the 26th. Intense and and 21) no seismic activity was re­ spectacular displays occurring on the corded, and Martin comments "Ant­ 7th and 8th lasted for 23 hours. That arctic whistlers are more probably on the 8th was the most spectacular echoes of the mating cries of Emperor ever seen at Scott Base. The heavens Penguins than connected with earth­ were filled with brilliant green and quakes in any way'" Whistlers are whit.e draperies, mysteriously moving also being received at Byrd Station as if waved by a giant hand. and the results are comparable, Siesmic data has been exchanged though ByI'd receives weak dawn since June with Hallett Station, Mirny, chorus which has not been heard at D'Urville and Halley Bay. This inter- Scott Base. 282 ANTARCTIC September, 1958

A clock stoppage in the tide gauge mess-room New Zealanders and their during a cold snap early in May neces­ guests from the nearby United States sitated the re-installation of the base sang and danced to the music o rig i n a I less-elaborate clock. A of the Scott Base skiffle group, con­ hurricane-lamp fitted with a large fuel sisting of a harmonica attached to a tank is now used inside the box to guitar, three washboards, a flute, an raise the temperature and results have accordion, and a form of bass fiddle been most satisfactory. No records manufactured from a tea-chest. were lost in June and only one, not Greetings were received from all due to clock failure, in July. A pres­ over the world, including a much­ sure ridge developed under the box, appreciated message from Sir Vivian causing it to shift slightly. Fuchs. The prevailing low temperatures in July increased greatly the difficulties A highlight of the day was a superb of maintaining the Base, particularly dinner prepared by the cook, Maurice the heating and mechanical equipment. Speary. The menu was puree of pea The diesel fuel supplied for this year soup, roast lamb and mint sauce, solidified at _360 F., whereas the fuel roast turkey, baked and boiled pota­ supplied for the 1957 winter was still toes, green peas, cauliflower and usable at -460 F. The locating of white sauce, steamed ginger pudding, some 30 drums of the original fuel fruit salad, jelly and cream, ice cream, buried under drift alleviated the situa­ coffee and liquers. tion. Martin reports that the morale and general spirits of the men have been GEOLOGISTS WORKING very good and that all continue to do excellent work. Back in New Zealand geologists Lin Martin had an unexpected phone Gunn and Warren are now hard at call during July. A Tasmanian house­ work on their geological report. They wife, Mrs. M. G. Eastick, made use of are working in a room in the new the recently established Australian Museum building in Christchurch, and post office service to Scott Base to hundreds of their specimens are set make the call. After seven attempts out, classified according to location over a period of nearly a week Mrs. and type. There is still a great deal Eastick got through to the greatly of work to be done before the report surprised base leader who exclaimed can be completed and published as a "How marvellous to hear a woman's geological bulletin. voice!" The specimens that they brought RUN FOR DOGS back with them from their field trips together with those collected by Men and dogs had an outing from Carlyon and Ayres working in the Scott Base on the last day of August. Darwin Glacier area, and by Miller In sunny weather two dog teams were and Marsh in the Mt. Markham area, taken for a 16-mile run across the sea total about 500 lbs. They have now ice. about 1,000 petrological specimens The first team was taken by Robb and 400 fossil specimens. From their and Thompson, the second by Hender­ discoveries, several hundred slides for son and Gibson. The dogs performed microscopic examination are .being well after their long winter rest. With prepared in Wellington. some slight changes in the relative positions of the dogs in the traces the men are confident of two excellent teams. A V.S. Neptune arrived at Whenua­ pai carrying as well as its crew a MIDWINTER DAY wax dressmaker's model in a red Midwinter's eve saw a lively party bathing suit to "cheer up the boys at the base. In the gaily-decorated down south". September, 1958 ANTARCTIC 283 D.S.· AND N.Z. CO-OPERATION AT HALLETT STATION Three New Zealand scientists, including one biologist, will replace the present party led by Mr. K. J. Salmon at Hallett station, which is manned jointly by New Zealand and the United States.

Hallett Station, latitude 72 0 18' S., The station programme includes longitude 170 0 18' E., is situated to the observation and investigation in the south of Moubray Bay, some 70 miles fields of ionospherics, geomagnetism, south of Cape Adare, on the nearest seismology and auroral physics. The portion of the Antarctic Continent to biologist will undertake studies of New Zealand. The station rests on a animal, bird and plant life during the sea-level spit sheltered by the tower­ summer months and will participate ing cliffs of five thousand foot Cape in the normal station programme Hallett. The surface spit is actually during the winter. a series of undulating ridges of period hillocks six to twelve feet high which REPORTS FROM HALLETT are composed of moraine and penguin New Zealanders j 0 i n e d wit h guano. The area is covered in spring Americans on July 4 to celebrate and summer by hundreds of thousands Independence Day in "the Banana of Adelie penguins. Belt of the Antarctic". The names of The station lies directly on the flight seven men whose birthdays occurred wthin a few weeks of the Fourth of path from Christchurch, New Zealand, July had pride of place on top of a to the U.S. Naval Air Facility in giant 100 lb. cake, 14 inches high, 18 McMurdo Sound. An emergency inches wide and two feet long, iced landing strip and refueling facilities with red, white and blue trimmings. are available at Hallett. The menu included roast turkey and The cargo ship V.S.S. "Arneb" is cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie and­ scheduled to arrive at Hallett with an ice cream. icebreaker escort on January 7 to Evening entertainments included a exchange personnel and off-load sup­ movie show and home-made fireworks, plies. The present IG-man wintering­ which consisted of hydrogen-filled over party will travel on "Arneb" to balloons carrying oil-soaked rags and McMurdo and thence to New Zealand, a fuse. After several attempts these from where the American component were successful and made a great will be flown to the United States. show over the snow-covered land­ Again, three New Zealand scientists scape. or technicians will spend the year at A crate of Rhode Island loam left Hallett Station. This time it is in­ "somewhere about there" last autumn tepcled that one shall be a biologist or and long since covered by snow was have had biological training. located with the help of a tractor, and There are good scientific grounds a vegetable garden is now flourishing for maintaining an interest in this area in the rawin dome. . in the fields of geology, biology and Hallett was the first Antarctic sta­ the physical sciences. Hallett Station tion to see the sun rise. New Zea­ also provides access to the largest land lander Salmon and American Belles area in the Ross Dependency, where each calculated a different time and a D.S.l.R. geological expedition led by position for the first appearance, but Dr. H. J. Harrington operated sllccess­ three days' overcast left the wager in fUlly last Slimmer. doubt. 284 ANTARCTIC Scplcmber, 1958

The official Hallett cheer is "Hip Hip ROSS SEA COl\'ll\'lITTEli; Aurora'" . The Ross Sea Committee, which was The Navy support men have built constituted specifically to organise and a covered stairway from the science maintain the New Zealand component building to the aurora tower, provid­ of the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic ingi comfort as well as safety. Expedition, has ceased its activities. The bay was completely frozen over Formed in May 1955 under the chair­ by May 3. The sun was last seen on manship of the Hon. C. M. Bowden May 14. with Mr. A S. Helm (Secretary of the Auroras were seen on 15 nights in New Zealand Antarctic Society) as June. All the auroras were greenish Secretaly, the Ross Sea Committee white. In July auroras were observed carried through to a successful con­ on 21 nights, with intense displays on clusion New Zealand's effort in sup­ July 8 and 21, when red glows were port of the British crossing party. The observed. New Zealand Antarctic Society was Intense storms in the middle and represented on the Committee by at the end of June produced peak gusts Dr. R. A Falla, Director of the of ·80 knots and sustained wind speeds Dominion Museum and a veteran of of 60 knots. Sir Douglas Mawson's Expedition of Health and morale continue excel­ 1929·30. lent, reports the station scientific tead­ er, Ken Salmon. "Antarctic" joins. with many others in acknowledging the courtesy and PENGUIN PIONEER helpfulness of the Committee's office A penguin corpse dug from the staff, and the excellence of the "Ross bottom- of a four·foot deep layer of Sea Newsletter" produced monthly Adelie penguin corpses under the under Mr. Helm's editorship. The last penguin rookery on which the Cape issue, number 29, was published on Hallett station is built has been radio­ July 1. carbon dated by tests carried out in Wellington. The purpose was to deterI]1ine the date of the first arrival VETERAN'S PRAISE of penguins in the area. In a letter to the Chairman of the The tests showed, reports Dr. H. J. Ross Sea Committee, Professor Frank Harrington, that the penguin died Debenham, a prominent member of 1.250 years ago, about 700 AD., when Scott's Last Expedition and first the Vikings were raiding Britain. Director of the Scott Polar Research Institute, says: "In common with other Scott and Do you ,visit to Shackleton survivors I have been amazed at the ground covered by your eOlllplete your set section of the Trans-Antarctic Expedi· of ~~Alltal1:~tie"? tion and the skilful techniques em­ ployed by them. The New Zealand Antarctic Society warns readers that supplies of the "The success of Ed. Hillary and the early numbers of "Antarctic" are tractor party speaks for itself and I almost exhausted. f>.nyone wishing to do not think he will mind my saying ensure that his set will not be in­ that for the real business of mapping complete is advised to make early and observing details the dog parties application for the numbers required. have made history." Cost of single copy: 4 shillings. He concludes, "the New Zealand Apply to:- contingent has been successful in Secretary, every department of its work, and I N.Z. Antarctic Society, hope you will not mind my adding p.a. Box 2110, Wellington, my personal meed of praise to the New Zealand. general chorus." Sepfember,------1958 ANTARCTIC 285 New Zealand Plans Further Work in Ross Dependency Plans for the continuecl occupation of Scott Base "for the next two years at least", and preliminary details of a comprehensive programme of research and exploration to be undertaliCn in the Ross Dependency, have been announced by the lUinister in Charge of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Mr. P. N. Holloway. Mr. J. Holmes ("Bob") Miller, deputy­ the most etTective use of facilities leader of Sir Edmund HiUary's Trans­ established in the Ross Dependency Antarctic Expedition party, has been during the last two years," said Mr. appointed Antarctic Executive Officer. Holloway. "Much of the work to be With his wide experience in all aspects done will be a logical extension of of Antarctic work, Mr. MlIIer has current IGY research and the field joined the Department of Scientific work of special geological survey and and Industrial Research to organise mapping teams last summer.". These overall activities in collaboration with activities will conform generally with New Zealand's chief Antarctic scientist, S.C.A.R. recommendations.' Dr. Trevor Hatherton. The Department of Scientific and Scott Base will continue to be Industrial Research Geophysics Divi­ occupied by New Zealand scientists sion will be responsible for putting and others, who will carry out a the programme into effect. modified programme related to IGY PERSONNEL activities, plus special research on matters of particular interest to New Some 31 men will be required, 19 Zealand. United States hospitality and for the summer months only and 12 co-operation during IGY will in some for the whole of 1959. measure be repaid by having as New For Scott Base, September 1958 to Zealand guests at Scott Base four March 1960, applications have been American scientists who will partici­ called for a Scientific Leader, four pate in the scientific programme scientific officers or· technicians, a during 1959. radio operator, a cook, and two main­ Further geological surveys and ex­ tenance officers charged with the duty ploration in the Victoria Land coastal of operating and maintaining diesel area will be carried out during the generating plant, tractors, etc.' . next two summers. For the summer period November 1958 to March 1959, a scientific officer Further close co-operation with the is to be appointed "to study animal, United States will include the con­ bird and plant life in the McMurdo tinued joint occupation of the IGY Sound area." station at Cape Hallett by New Zea­ During the same period, oceano­ land and American scientists. graphers of the Oceanographic Divi­ H.M.N.Z.S. "Endeavour" will be used sion, D.S.I.R., will undertake surveys both as a supply ship for the expedi­ between New Zealand and Antarctica tions and for oceanographic research and in the Ross Sea, on H.M.N.Z.S. during the 1958-59 season. "Endeavour". Dog teams will be built up at Scott For the positions at Scott Base, and Base to provide sled transport for Hallett Station and in the Victoria field parties in the summer of 1959-60. Land Expedition, over 300 applica­ "The committee has prepared a tions were received by the Executive scientific programme designed to make Officer, Mr. J. I-f. Miller. 286 ANTARCTIC September, 1958

SCIENTIFIC PROGRAMME Dog teams at Scott Base will be in­ creased by breeding and by taking Following the withdrawal of Mr. further huskies back from New Zea­ L. H. Martin's. I.G.Y. team in February land next summer. The aim is to or March, Scott Base will be manned increase their number to about 40, throughout 1959 by nine New Zea­ which should provide enough teams landers who will continue observations for a major programme of field work and research in many fields of science. by New Zealanders in the 1959-60 The purely routine work carried out summer. during the IGY period will be Biologists will study plants, animals modified and reduced, but two new and birds in the McMurdo Sound area research projects will begin. during the next two summers. Dr. One will be a study of the lower R. A. Falla, Director of the Dominion regions of the ionosphere, which Museum, will organise this activity. affects radio communications by absorbing certain lower radio fre­ OCEANOGRAPHY quencies. New Zealand leads the Toward the end of this year, New world in this field of radio research Zealand scientists from the D.S.I.R. through work done at Canterbury Oceanographic Institute working from University under Dr. J. B. Gregory, a a U nit e d S tat e s ship and the senior lecturer in physics. Dr. Gregory "Endeavour" will continue oceano­ will spend the summer months at Scott graphic surveys of the water, marine Base installing special equipment and life and ocean bed between New Zea­ training the wintering-over staff in its land and the pack ice. For the first use. The equipment is now being time, a traverse is to be made of the designed and built at the University's convergence of Antarctic waters with Industrial Development Department sub-antarctic waters from east to west with the aid of Government finance. along a latitude of about 60 degrees south. This convergence was plotted TRACKING THE WHISTLER accurately for the first time by New Zealand sCientists working from Another new project will be a special H.M.N.Z.S. "Pukaki" and "Endeavour" study of "whistlers", radio waves from during the last two summers, but so lightning flashes which appear to far only crossings have been made. travel along the earth's lines of mag­ Major oceanographic research will netic force, thousands of miles from be done in the Ross Sea this summer, the earth's surface. Until recently it when the "Endeavour" will make the was believed that these could not be first fullscale survey from a grid of received much further south than New sea stations 60 miles apart. Observa­ Zealand or the equivalent latitude in tions will be made from the surface the northern hemisphere. Doubts to bottom and samples of marine life about this theory have been raised, and the sea bed will be taken. however, since I.G.Y. staff heard "The Committee has been limited in "whistlers" at Scott Base. The Dom­ the scope of its planning by the need inion Physical Labo:'atory is designing to keep expenditure to a minimum and building special equipment which during our present financial diffi­ will be installed at Scott Base to culties," said Mr. Holloway. "At the record them next year. same time, however, the Government Four American scientists will be tlle is convinced that New Zealand simply New Zealanders' guests at Scott Base cannot afford to neglect her interests during the year. They will study in the Antarctic. earthquakes, glaciers and the aurora, "There are too many immediate and using radar equipment which is to be long-term benefits to be gained, which transferred from the United States might be lost if the programme were IGY station at Little America. postponed or delayed in any way." Septembor, 1958 ANTARCTIC 287 Geological and Survey Expedition to Victoria Land Two New Zealand parties, each of six men, will be flown into Victoria Land by helicopter from an American icebreaker next summer to explore and map 300 miles of the unknown coast and hinterland midway between McMurdo Sound and Cape Hallet.t, the area of Wood Bay (74 0 S.) and Terra Nova Bay (75 0 S.). This will fill the gap between the mid-December. To give the greatest work done by Dr. Harrington's party possible coverage of territory in the in the north and by Trans-Antarctic short summer season it is planned to Expedition members in the south, last have the two parties flown about 80 season. miles inland. They will spend about Each party will consist of one geolo­ three weeks making their way to the gist, one surveyor and four members coast down glaciers, mapping and with alpine experience for support. taking geological samples as they go, These general assistants will be and the process will be repeated until selected primarily on their experience they are withdrawn toward the end of and knowledge of snow and ice tech­ February. niques. Some of the appointees will These expeditions will be organised attend courses on radio and first aid. by the D.S.r.R. Geological Survey and One will be responsible for radio com­ the Lands and Survey Department. munications and will require to have Depending on the results achieved skill and experience of radio operation by these parties, further field parties and repair uncleI' cold field conditions. will probably work south from Scott Base in the summer of 1959-60. This UNKNOWN COUNTRY would probably involve a number of "It is likely", says the N.Z. Alpine two-man parties travelling with dog Club Bulletin, "that six men will be teams and supported by the R.N.Z.A.F. landed at Terra Nova Bay, and an­ Beaver aircraft, which will be brought other six men at Wood Bay, 70 miles back to New Zealand this summer for to the north. The general pattern of overhaul. the great glaciers flowing to Terra Nova Bay is known, and one of them ALPINE CLUB CO-OPERATES was ascended by David's three-man The Minister in Charge of the party on their way to the Magnetic D.S.I.R. has expressed thanks for the Pole" (in 1908-09). "Nevertheless the understanding attitude shown in Terra Nova Bay party will quickly get negotiations by the New Zealand into unknown territory. Alpine Club, which has foregone its "At Wood Bay conditions are quite plans for an Antarctic expedition of unknown. It can be expected that a its own next summer and instead has major valley will extend inland from offered full co-operation to the Govern­ the head of the bay, but we do not ment. This was greatly appreciated, know ... said Mr. Holloway, and he was sure "The region is probably the biggest that the experience of alpine club single piece of really mountainous members would be welcomed among and unexplored country that is left­ the supporting personnel. not only in Antarctica but anywhere Prior to the announcement of the in the world." postponement of the Alpine Club's The party will leave New Zealand Expedition the annual meeting of the some time between late November and Ross Sea Committee granted permis- 288 ANTARCTIC Septombor, 1958 sioll fur the eight-m'lll expedition to Primc Minister's officc ill Parliamcnt use supplies of food and fuel left by Buildings. Sir Edmund Hillary at Butter Point. Had it not been for the thaw setting The expedition will now probably in and the break-up of the American take place in 18 months time. air-strip near Scott Base, Mr. Nash In applying for permission for the would have probably been on hand to club, Sir Edmund Hillary said he had welcome Sir Vivian and Sir Edmund arranged for Rear-Admiral Dufek to when they reached Scott Base. Not transport the party to and from Ant­ only this, but he would have made arctica, but the basic problem for such history by being the first Prime a small expedition with limited finance Minister ever to set foot on the Ant­ was food. arctic Continent. He may still do so. "The food is of no value at all to the Ross Sea Committee and I put it at Butter Point with the view that an­ other expedition might use it," said IN ADELI:E LAN'D Sir Edmund. Paul-Emile Victor, Director of Ex­ peditions Polaires Francaises, said in New York in May that France would not be able to continue manning the Brifish Venture satellite Charcot station after the close The Royal Geographical Society and of the International Geophysical Year, the Everest Trust Fund have given because of lack of funds. financial assistance to a British party, July at D'Urville was much less cold comprising Dr. Jon Stephenson, Aust­ on the average than in previous years. ralian geologist, Mr. Ken B1aiklock, In the first week there was almost con­ British surveyor, both of the Common­ tinuous blizzard with gusts above 110 wealth Trans-Antarctic Crossing team, miles per hour. The constant roar of and two others. the wind tended at last to get on the The expedition expects to spend the men's nerves. summer months working in the HorIick The middle of the month brought a Mountains at the southern end of the fine spell, but during the last ten days Ross Ice Shelf, about 300 miles from there were heavy snow falls and thick the Pole. The use of two dog teams blizzard, followed at the end of the month by a Scotch mist. The tempera­ and other facilities at Scott Base has 0 bcen offered to the party, which also ture rose to 30 F., there was rain and hopes to use American air support. the doors were kept open. But next day the thermometer I' e g i s t ere d . Stop Prcss.-This expedition will 0 not take' place this year. _20 F., all around were enormous snow-drifts and the rocks w ere covered in ice. On July 8 an aurora was observed NEW ZEALAND of exceptional size, intensity and PRIME MINISTER MAY changing colours. VISIT ANTARCTICA Up till July 20 the sea-ice surface Admiral Dufek has invited the New was excellent: hard and without snow­ Zealand Prime Minister, Mr. Nash, to cover, and of an average thickness of fly to the Antarctic this spring. 31 inches. Nine weasel journeys were A well-kept secret was the fact that made. At Point Ebba morainic deposits Mr. Nash had planned to visit Scott gave the impression from a distance .Base last year. He announced this of unknown islets. in June when accepting the gift of an The French National Day, JUly 14, Antarctic painting from Peter McIntyre. was celebrated with a football match The gift, "H.M.N.Z.S. Endeavour on the sea ice, followed by a gala Entering Pack Ice", will hang in the dinner. Soptomber, 1958 ANTARCTIC 289 WILKES STATION TRANSFERRED TO AUSTRALIANS When A.N.A.R.E. takes over Wilkes Station (66 0 15' S., 110 0 31' E.) from the United States in January, the Australians will acquire equipment worth one million dollars, said Mr. P. G. Law on his return to Australia on June 24 after consultations with the U.S. authorities. This equipment will include weasels, Travel to the satellite station was sno·cats, diesel generators, elaborate hindered by short hours of daylight workshop facilities, radio installations, and by snow on the trail, making it hospital, surgery and a photo labora­ almost a two·day trip. tory, as well as stores, fuel and such When three seals were killed for . scientific spares as weather balloons. dog·food each seal was found to be of Wilkes is closer to Australia than a different type: a Ross seal, a Crab· either Mawson or Davis, and the first eater, and a Weddell. Australian party of 20 men propose to Several clear niglits in late June investigate the possibility of establish­ permitted good observation of the ing . an air-base on the ice, late in aurora. January. A homing light was mounted on the Weather information from Wilkes hill just to the east of the camp to has already proved extremely valuable help direct anyone out in the increas· to Australian weather forecasters. ing hours of darkness. In mid·June Early in January an ice-breaker in the sun could still be seen just above the Ross Sea will be detailed to make the horizon at midday. the trip to Wilkes. Weather permit· Midwinter's Day brought a thaw ting, it will rendezvous with an Aus­ with the temperature up to 27 0 above tralian ship outside the Vincennes Bay zero. .Rain mixed with snow fell for ice pack and lead it in. Australian a short time. personnel and two or three American Late in August five men left on a scientists will relieve the 28 Navy and one-day trip to the Cape Folger area IGY men now wintering-over there. to set up markers for ice-movement studies and the investigation of the THE WILKES NEWS glaciology of the area. New low temperatures were record· ed at Wilkes Station in June. At the SIGNS OF SPRING main camp the temperature fell to Four men surprised the rest of the _21 0 F. and at the satellite station to camp by returning from a seal-hunting _39 0 F. Later a new "Iow" of _35 0 expedition with a live young 250 lb. F. was recorded at Wilkes. The aver· Weddell seal. He was kept overnight age temperature for June was six de­ in the garage. It was then decided grees below the 1957 average of 00 F. that he was too big to try to keep as The ice thickness offshore was 14 a pet, and when it was found that he inches. By mid·June roads were clear would provide too little meat for the of snow and the men were again able dogs he was released near his hole in to use melt-water from a pond instead the ice. of having to melt snow. In July five men ventured on the Two glaciologists returned from the bay ice in a weasel and a sno-cat. satellite station (66 0 28' S., 112 0 17' E.) They found free water about five in June after a month's stay there, miles from shore. At the water's edge leaving it temporarily unoccupied. many birds were seen, including giant 299 ANTARCTIC September, 1958 petrel:-, ;;IlUW petrels 'i ne! Antarctic A;; membership of S.c.A.R. is limited petrcl~. Several leopard seals werr. lo those countries actually participat­ seen, and one was killed for dog-food ing in Antarctic research, Poland has and brought. back to camp. It tOok not yet become eligible for member­ about ten shots into the head with a ship. .45 pistol to kill it. WEATHER ANALYSIS A trail trip was made in July to conduct observations of snow and ice "Weather Central", located at Little conditions. America since January, 1957, will close Early in August, with increasing down in mid-January, 1959, when the hours of daylight, preparations for the station ceases to be a full-scale spring traverse were being made, in­ scientific base. Weather data from the cluding the constructiqn of a sleeping various Antarctic bases will as before wanigan. be sent in to the American base at " By this time the bay ice was up to McMurdo, and will be re-broadcast 42 inches in thickness. Oceanographer from there. It is not proposed, how­ Tressler, the camp Scientific Leader, ever to set up another centre for continued to get samples of bay water actual weather forecasting. from the floor through holes in the ice. Instead, an international Weather By mid-August the cool calm wea­ Analysis Centre is to be established ther appeared to be over, and telll­ "outside of Antarctica". It has been peratures of 23° F. with high winds left to Australia and New Zealand to were recorded. Preparations of ')up­ work out a plan for the establishment plies and equipment for the traverse of this centre, and to report their pro­ in September were continued; Tressler posals to S.C.A.R. before the end of with Eyrcs and Ommundsen made a September. The new Centre will pre­ sno-cat trip over the bay ice to the pare current daily weather maps, and Chappel Islets, about five miles from will, it is hoped, be in operation some the camp. The bay ice was continuous weeks before the closing down of as far as they could see. Weather Central at Little America.

FUTURE MEETINGS S.C.A.R. The next meeting of S.C.A.R. will be held in Melbourne in February. Prior At the second meeting' of the Special to this meeting a symposium on Ant­ Committee for Antarctic Research held arctic meteorology will take place in in Moscow from August 4 to 11, New Melbourne. Zealand was represented by Dr. E. I. A full-scale scientific symposium Robertson, Chairman of the Ross will, at the invitation of Argentina, be Dependency Research Committee. held in Buenos Aires in November, All the nations at present working 1959. in the Antarctic have intimated their intention to carry on for at least an­ other year, some on a slightly reduced "MIDWINTER'S DAY" scale. One of the men in the party at POLISH EXPEDITION Scott Base, states the Ross Sea Com­ Poland intends to establish a base mittee's "Newsletter", is Graeme Mid­ in the Antarctic during the summer of winter, who is responsible for aurora 1959-60. S.C.A.R. has agreed to supply and solar radiation; and for obvious Poland with a list of the locations reasons he looked on the shortest day where it is considered advisable that as his special day. However, apart stations should be set up, in the hope from allowing him to go around saying that the Polish base may be located in "This is Midwinter's Day", he was one of these positions. given no extra privileges. September. 1958 ::.;. ANT ARC TIC 291 Russians Plail Antarctic Crossing and More Coastal Stations The Soviet Union revealed at the recent S.C.A.R. meeting in Moscow that Russian scientists plan to drive on in the spring to the Pole of Inaccessibility, to set up two new stations in other parts of the Antarctic, and in 1959-60 to malce a trans-continental traverse from Mirny to the Bellingshausen Sea. Last summer the tractor train party The Soviet Union intends to con­ aiming to set up a station at the Pole tinue work at all previously established of Inaccessibility, approximately stations except the intermediate 80° 'S., 50° E., was halted some 400 Pionerskaya, which will be closed miles from its objective and Soviets­ down next January. Scientific work kaya was established on February 15 at the new stations will probably be last in 78° 24' S., 87° 35' E., 887 miles limited to glaciology and meteorOlogy, from Mirny and 12,000 feet above sea and at Oasis only meteorological, level. If a station is set up at the actinometrical, geomagnetic and some Pole of Inaccessibility, as the Russians glaciological observations w i II be plan to do in October or November, conducted. it will probably be at an altitude of nearly 15,000 feet, and men living there REPORTS FROM MJRNY may have to wear oxygen masks. The Mirny scientists are gathering and temperature may never rise above studying data on the intensity of zero, and may fall to about -120· F. inter-latitude air exchange, and are exploring ways to find connections TRANS-ANTARCTlC JOURNEY? between the weather anomalies of the The Russians are reported to be southern and northern hemispheres. planning for 1959-60 a traverse of the Magnetic observations carried out Antarctic Continent almost at right by M. Ostrekin, chief of the geo­ angles to the British crossing of last physical party, on Bezymyanny Island, summer. The plan is to leave Mimy which has recently been explored for in October, 1959 and passing via the the first time, have proved to be highly Pole to reach the Bellingshausen Sea interesting. The co-ordinates of the west of Grahamland in March, 1960. island are 65° S., 99° 21' E. The ,. It is proposed to set up this year a magnetic incline here has been found new station named Bellingshausen on to be much lower than shown on the the shore of the Bellingshausen Sea, to maps. serve as a support station for the crossing. No vessel has ever yet It is planned to make "complex penetrated to the coast in this area. glaciological observations" along the The Soviet Union also proposes to land routes Vostok - South Pole­ Sovietskaya during the period October establish a new base in Queen Maud 1958-February 1959. Land. Japan, Belgium and Norway have bases on this coast, although the Japanese base was not occupied this MIRNY winter. The proposed Italian Expedi­ A recent publication of the Academy tion of Dr. Zavatti also proposes to of Sciences of the U.S.S.R. gives this work in this area. description of the site (66° 33' S., Both the new Soviet bases will be 93° DO' E.) of Mimy, to the south of established by ships doing oceano­ Haswell Island off the Queen Mary graphical work in the nreas concerned. Land coast. 292 ANTARCTIC September. 1958

"This site is an ice-bank projecting cold, In June the temperature here northwards from the mainland, from time and again dropped to -113° F. 40 to 65 feet in height, ending verti­ On June 19 we registered the lowest cally at the sea. At the very edge of temperature any w her e on earth, this precipice four small nunataks -114.12° F. at a wind velocity of 2,000 to 3,000 feet apart stand up 4 metres per second. above the continental ice. Facing them "Notwithstanding the rig 0 r 0 u s are fifteen rocky islets scattered over natural conditions, on that day aero­ the surface of the sea, the largest of logist Maevsky, radio - technician which is Haswell Island. The great Malikov and physician KOllstantinov number of projecting and submerged sent up a radio-sonde and carried out rocks presents a serious danger to theodolite observations. ships. During the winter, an ice-sheet is fonned here, nine to twelve miles "From the 15th through to the 24th in width, but in summer it breaks up of June our station sent up high and the coastal strip is almost free altitude radio-sondes more frequently, of ice. I would like to point out that the low "But fragments of ice remain temperature in our area has continued throughout the whole summer. drift­ since the beginning of winter. Thus, ing bergs or bergs resting on the sea in April the average monthly tempera­ bed. The site is therefore not very ture was -76.9° F. and in May convenient for the building of a supply -79.9° F. On the "warmest" day in base as the unl.oading of ships here the past three months the temperature is extraordinarily difficult and even was --45.2 F. below zero. dangerous. Building also is difficult, and it proved necessary to site some COLD of the principal buildings not on the Up to June 15 the lowest tempera­ rock areas but on the continental ice." ture ever recorded was -102.2° F. Then Vostok reported a new low of LIFE AT VOSTOK 112.ISoF. On July 25 the tempera­ "In central Antarctica" says VasiIi ture at Sovietskaya dropped to Sidorov, leader at Vostok Station, "the -117.4° F., at Vostok on August 9 it human organism is subjected to a was -122.4° F., and now news has strong impact of a whole complex of come of a new ,minimum, at Soviets­ unusual meteorological factors. The kaya, of -124° F. chief of these are low atmospheric Soviet explorers report that at pressure, dropping in the area of temperatures below -94°F. a drop of Vostok station to 45 mm. of the water thrown on the ice instan­ mercury column; exceptionally low taneously turns into a ball of ice which temperature; and a dearth of oxygen. does not freeze to the surface of the All this demands adaptation to the ice. existing conditions. The most notice­ able changes are observed in the Men selected for work at Soviet activity of the carrl:o-vasc.ular system stations are chosen by special medical and the respiratory organs; blood commissions, and undergo a long pressure sharply drops," period of training in baro-chambers. Yet Soviet doctors report that many AND AT SOVIETSKAYA men suffer from shortness of breath, "Our station" says Vitaly Babarykin, palpitations of the heart and sudden Chief of Station, "is situated on a high­ attacks of asphyxia at night. At the altitude plateau of Central Antarctica, high-altitude stations men suffer from in the vicinity of the 'pole of inaccess­ headaches and nausea. Low blood ibility', The station's e x act co­ pressure is a common symptom. The ordinates are: latitude 78° 24' S., greatest trouble is with the cornea of longitude 87° 35'. This is a pole of the eye and the respiratory tract. All Sep~embor, 1958 ANTARCTIC 293

these phenomena are short-lived and Oceanographical plans for 1958-59 disappear in five or six days. are for one ship to work in the "shelf" Symptoms are particularly marked area of the Bellingshausen Sea and in in men who go to Sovietskaya from the region of the Antarctic converg­ Mirny by plane, without any acclima­ ence north of this sea, and for the tisation period. After a flight of just second ship to make observation along over five hours they find themselves the Queen Maud Land coast. at an altitude of almost two and a half miles. It has therefore been sug­ OCEAN BED gested that prospective Sovietskaya The geomorphological studies carried members should spend short prelimi­ out by Soviet scientists refute the nary periods first at Pionerskaya, then supposition that the bottom of the at Komsomolskaya and later at Vostok ocean is smooth or slightly undulating. before going on to Sovietskaya. It has a distinctively volcanic relief, At the inland stations there are large in which individual volcanic cones rooms where the temperature is main­ attain an altitude of 9,810 feet. The tained at between 62 0 F. and 68 0 F. freshness of outline of this relief sug­ With a temperature of below _94 0 F. gests that these submarine volcanic outside, no one stays in the open for formations are fairly young and rela­ more than twenty minutes or half an tively contemporary. These dis­ hour at a time. All wear special coveries, says a Russian report, permit padded winter clothing, moleskin us to .speak with greater certainty masks and protective goggles when about the existence of the ancient outdoors. The mask is attached to a continent of Gondwana, which in fur cap which comes down well over remote ages connected the Eastern the ears. From it a hose of corrugated . Antarctic with Africa and Western rubber leads down under the wearer's Australia. clothes, so that he breathes air warmed by the heat of his own body. ROCKET FIRINGS Scientists who work in the open are During the 1957-58 Antarctic cruise equipped with electrical and chemical of the "Ob", 22 rocket launchings were heaters. made. The first, on December 31, 1957, was in the region of Mirny ALONG THE COAST Station, and 12 other launchings were Professor V. Kort has reported that made south of 60 0 S. between January during the coastal cruise of the "Ob" 20 and April 26 this year. All twelve last summer considerable emendations were in the area bounded by the were made in the mapping of the meridians 120 0 32' E. and 109 0 10' W. , King GeOl'ge V Coast and Oates Coast. One, on April I, was in Ross Depend­ Between the Davis Sea and the Ross ency waters, 67 0 26' S., 180 0 W. The Sea a previously unlmown depression rockets fired were of the "Meteo" was discovered in the ocean bottom type, thought to reach elevations of stretching along the coast. In some 70 miles or more. They carried instru­ places this depression has a depth of ments for the measurement of more than 4,900 feet. It constitutes temperature and atmospheric density. the dividing line between the ocean bottom and the continental platform of ANTARCTIC WEATHER Antarctica. The aerometeorological studies car­ Anothcr discovery was of a vast ried out by the expedition at sea, on contemporary volcanic zone in the the coast and inland, have made it south-western area of the Pacific. possible to draw up a picture of the In the area of SCOlt Island, north circulation processes of the atmos­ of the Ross Sea, a crab was caught phere in the Antarctic which determine very similar to Kamchatka crabs. the specific features of the climate und 291 ANTARCTIC Septe,'nber, 1958 the weather in the Southern hemis­ told a correspondent that after the phere. analysis of scientific data obtained it The zonal type of atmospheric circu­ became clear that the continent rises lation which' predominates there is above sea level only as far as the area nothing but a series of cyclones inces­ of station Vostok-l, situated at a santly following each other. It has distance of 450 miles from the shore. been established that this chain of Then comes a deep depression in cyclones does not move away from the which the thickness of ice reaches two continent, as was supposed, but closely and a half miles, and basic rock is follows the Antarctic coast line. As a situated almost 3,270 feet below sea result the exchange between the leveL masses of air in the polar and equa­ Thus, gravimetrical data confirms torial regions is very small, and this the assumption that the central part is one of the basic reasons for the of Eastern Antarctica represents a extremely cold climate in the Ant­ deep depression. arctic. There are reasons for discounting - It has been found that the atmos­ the theories of some scientists, he pheric pressure in the Antarctic is says, that Eastern Antarctica is a below normal throughout the year, group of islands. Various data indicate and its annual cycle is directly that Antarctica is a continent which opposite to that in the Western Hemis­ was pressed under the ocean by the phere. In the Antarctic the pressure weight of ice. Should the layer of in winter is lower than in summer, ice be removed, the land part of the The' troposphere in the same latitudes continent would rise by approximately in summer and winter, has a lower one third of the thickness of the ice temperature than that in the Arctic. crust. Contrary to the Arctic, the stratos­ Temperature readings in wells bored phere in the Antarctic in winter is in glaciers and mountain rock revealed higher than in summer. an unusual temperature regimen. Usually the temperature in wells rises THE ICE COVER with their depth, while in Antarctica It has been suggested that the entire the process is reversed-the greater Antarctic ice cover is being maintaIned the depth the lower the temperature, by the periphery cyclonic precipita­ but only to a certain point, Le. the tion, while the central anticyclone border of the upper third of the ice, region is characterised by very poor layer, Lower, the t e m per a tu I' e accumulation, an almost flat surface gradually rises. and slow movement. On the whole, This is explained by the fact that the entire Antarctic glacier cover fol­ cold moves through ice from the lows the same pattern of development central, very cold regions. A normal as the ice fOlmation in the other areas lowering of temperature takes place of the globe, Le. it is shrinking. How­ on the surface in areas situated ever, the process in the Antarctic is deeper inside the continent or higher developing scores of times slower than on the glaciers. It has been estimated in other parts of the world. that in the area of the continent's It has been established that 150 miles pole of inaccessibility the average from the coast the ice-cap is 4,610 annual temperature reaches _85 0 F. feet thick; 200 miles from the coast This is the lowest annual temperature 6,470 feet;· and in the vicinity of on the globe, Permafrost on land Pionerskaya Station, 6,200 and 6,540 areas free from ice reaches a thick­ feet. ness of up to 500 feet. Dr. Pyotr Shumsky, head of tile A Moscow message dated August 25 glaclplogical section of the second reports the discovery during air recon­ Soviet Antarctic expedition (1957-58) naissance of a large Emperor penguin Septembor, 1958 ANTARCTIC 295 colony Ileal' I.he west.ern shelf of a The distance of the proposed Russian glacier about 250 miles from Mirny. flight is approximately 2,310 land Mirny scientists have also observed a miles, compared with the 2,500 land rare albino penguin near the station. miles the Americans have regularly One of the features of the past year been flying between Christchurch and at Mirny has been a great "drought". McMurdo. But the Russians will In the first half of this year there was have an altitude problem-up to 14,000 on the Davis Coast only a fraction of feet of icecap in parts of the area they the precipitation it had in the same plan to flyover. period in past years. An unusual ex­ pansion of the belt of sea-ice surround­ ing the continent has also been observed. In May, this belt was FROZEN mSTORY already more than 300 miles wide. Why do the glaciologists in the Ant­ arctic dig snow-pits? CHUGUNOV ISLAND Practically all the Antarctic ice­ The Soviet LG.Y. Committee has sheet is permanently dry. All precipi­ kindly given us the following informa­ tation is in the form of snow. Summer tion about the island the discovery of melt is rare and usually affects a which was referred to in our June surface layer only a few centimetres issue, p. 270. It will be noted that the thick. Thus every snow-fall, including position is further south than originally everything that falls with it, is reported here. separately and safely filed away for "During the period of activities of future reference under later snow-falls. the Soviet Antarctic expedition of 1956, So by digging a pit, counting annual in an air-photo-survey flight an island layers and measuring snow density, was sighted on the edge of the shackle­ the amount of annual precipitation for ton Shelf. The island was found to many years can be determined. be an ice dome with moraine outcrops. Its co-ordinates are: 65° 58' S. and The tritium content of the snow can 99° 21' E. be used to estimate its age, but only for snow which fell prior to 1954. "In April 1958 the island was visited Since then, hydrogen bomb tests have by a party of Soviet investigators who upset the natural tritium balance. named it Chugunov Island, after an Analysis for other radio-active con­ expedition member who perished in taminations in precisely-dated snow the Antarctic." layers will yield data on general atmospheric circulation since the first TRIAL FLIGHT fission bombs were exploded in 1945. The Soviet expedition plans an It should also 'be possible to follow aerial reconnaissance this year to the degree of atmospheric contamina­ survey the route which their trans­ tion resulting from industrial activity Continental tractor train will follow by analysis of snows down to the in the 1959-60 season. They will layers which fell in pre-industrial probably use a plane similar to the times. V.S. Dakotas. Natural substances which fall with The plane will land at McMurdo snow and are buried beneath succeed­ Sound between October 15 and Nov­ ing layers-such as volcanic ash, ember 15, after flying from East Ant­ meteorites, spores and bacteria-are arctica over the V.S. South Pole Base. extremely well preserved. The ash of At McMurdo a United States Navy the 1883 Krakatoa eruption may prove Air group will provide 1,600 gallons to be identifiable in both hemispheres. of fuel, rest the Soviet air crew, and Depths of 300 metres will include service the aircraft. 2,000 years of frozen history. 296 ANTARCTIC Soptember, 1958 AUSTRALIAN ANTARCTIC PROGRAMME TO BE ENLARGED li'or the coming summer the Australian Government has chartered both M.V. HThala Dan" amI M.V. HMagga Dan". The heavy programme which the Antarctic Division is umlertalcing fOl· 1959 malWilkes Land, puts the task beyond a load of freight. the capacity of one ship. June was ushered in by a blizzard "ThaIa Dan" was used by A.N.A.R.E. with winds over 100 m.p.h. and last summer.. "Magga Dan" was 115ed meteorologically the month was the by the Trans-Antarctlc Expedition for worst in Mawson's 4~ year history. the summer sellson 1956-57. The ships are sisters, but "Thala Dan" was Quilt During July the weather gradually two years later than "Magga Dan." improved .and although temperatures remained low the month ended with The first expedition will be to Mac­ several exceptionally calm days. These, quarie Island in December, and two combined with the return of the sun, more will go to the continent early in brought a feeling of relief throughout January. the station. The dogs playfully and I Early in August it was reported that noisily showed their appreciation also. no qualified medical men nor physi­ cists had offered their services, and OUTDOOR WORK BEGINS that more radio men were needed. The improvement encouraged out­ door a\;tivity and, apart from the end­ MAWSON DAYS less maintenance and construction A succession of blizzards combined work, some strenuous trips were made, with shortening daylight made out­ notably by Oldfield and McLeod who door activity at Mawson difficult dur­ walked the 20 miles to Mount Hender­ ing May. Early in the month a son measuring accumulation of snow scheduled two-day visit to an Emperor and ice. At Taylor Glacier, BIake and penguin rookery 25 miles away by Chapman climbed a difficult 1,000 it. Burnett and Brown turned into a peak that rises steeply above the sea. seven-day visit while they weathered Two dog teams are being prepared the worst blizzard in a tent. First, for a 400-mile journey from Amundsen J Septomber, 1958 ANTARCTIC 297 ,------

Bay lo Mawson, lc

13th to tJ.Il- 15th. Durillg t.hi!' period ITAI~lAN much of the outer sca ice was brokcn up and blown away, leaving open sea .tllOd I~(;'r visible at a distance of approximately The small expedition being organised j.} miles; but with the very low by Istituto Geogrnfico Polare, tilC tcmperature which followed, this area Italian Antarctic Scientific Expedition, was soon frozen over again. Although is scheduled to Icavc Italy on October officially the sun was above the holizon 3. The cxpedition ship, a schooner again on July 16 it was not visible with a net tonnage of 150 tons, is owing to ovcrcast skies, until the 24th, 91 feet long and 14 feet wide, and has when it shone weakly in the north for a speed of about 10 knots per hour. a few hours during the middle of the Travelling via Anzio, Suez, Madagas­ day. car, Port Elizabeth and Marion Island Up to August 10 no sign of return­ to the Queen Maud Land coast, the ex­ ing seals had been observed but what pedition plans to build a base on Cook was hoped to indicate an early spring Peninsula. was the presence for several days of The personnel of the expedition will a giant petrel flying around the bay. comprise:- Prof. Silvio Zavatti: leader, meteor­ ologist and oceanographer. The automatic weather station on Major Giorgio Costanza: second in Lewis Islet, which began operations on command. January 24, ceased sending out signals Dr. Massimo Cirone: physician and on May 20. biologist. Dr. Guiseppe Cuffaro: photography and kinematography. Prof. Federico Gatta: surveyor. NOn'VAY The captain of the ship wiII assist in the oceanographical work. A radio­ STATION telegraphist, a cook and five seamen At Norway Station (70° 30' S., complete the party. 2° 32' W.) observations have been Many Italian firms, i n c I u din g carried out according to plan. Olivetti, Palmolive, Giviemme, Fargas, Monda and Motta, have helped to In the middle of July there was a finance the expedition. very heavy 13-hour blizzard of some 82 knots. One of the radio masts was broken, the observation tower was partly destroyed, and two dogs dis­ GerUlan Expedition appeared from their chains. During some of the squalls gusts of over 100 Postponed knots wcre registered in the tower. A correspondent of "Ice Cap News" Fortunately no one was injured and reports that Dr. Karl Herrligkoffer's there was no damage to the base proposed expedition will not now buildings. leave Germany before 1959 as no suitable ship was available for charter Preparations for the new air­ this year. mapping expedition are going on For 1959-60 Dr. Herrligkoffer has according to plan. The air-force per­ already chartered the "Kista Dan", sonnel and other members have been and the German expedition is expected training for tllis project all summer to leave on September 30, 1959, for and the programme, weather permit­ the coast of Neuschwabenland, be­ ting, wiII be a comprehensive one. tween 3° and 7° W. The ship wiII All is well at the station, reports remain in Antarctic waters and return the Director of Norsk Polarinstitutl. in the spring of 1960. 300 ANTARCTIC Septembor. 195~ Showa Base Will Be Re-manned This Year The Antarctic Committee of the Science Council of Japan presented to the Council in April a plan for the re-occupation and maintenance of Showa Ba.'ie (69 0 S., 39 0 35' E.), established on East Ongul Island, Prince Harald Coast, in February 1957, but abandoned in February 1958. The Council requested the Govern­ men of the wintering-over team, with ment to implement the, plan. A 30 tons of essential equipment, will be general election delayed a decision, but carried in on the Sikorskys from the on July 11 the Japanese Government area where the "Soya" can move decided to continue research in the freely. If the weather and ice condi­ Antarctic and to send the third J.A.R.E. tions are good enough for the "Soya" (Japanese Antarctic Research Expedi­ to reach the coast near the base, 90 tion) to Showa Base for two winters, tons of equipment' and stores will be 1959 and 1960. Dr. Takeshi Nagata transported by snow vehicles. was again appointed leader of the If conditions are still good after this, expedition. the number of the wintering team will The expedition will comprise 38 he increased to 15 and 60 additional members in addition to the "Soya's" tons of material will be off-loaded. crew of 80, and 12 airmen. The winter­ Extensive repairs to "Soya" will be ing team will consist of 12 men, with necessary (screw, screw shaft, rUdder, an increase to 15 if conditions are etc.) as well as the re-modelling to favourable with regard to weather, ice provide an adequate flight deck. and transportation. During the winter as well as on the voyage, observations A SHANGRI LA OF THE SOUTH will be made in meteorology, geo­ In a talk on Radio Japan, Dr. magnetism, aurora, air-glow, cosmic Nishibori, leader of the team which rays, ionosphere and physical geo­ graphy. Studies in oceanography and wintered at Showa in 1957, maintained biology will also be made during the that the eastern coast of Lutzow-Holm voyage and in geomorphology and Bay, especially in the vicinity of Ongul Island, where the base is built, is "a gravimetry while the "Soya" is at ( very comfortable place" in which to anchor near the base. Geological and live. For the entire year, he says, the glaciological research may be added 0 lowest temperature was _33 F., a for the 1960-61 expedition. temperature which is often experienced As a result of the severe ice con­ in central Hokkaido (the northern ditions encountered in Lutzow-Holm island of Japan). Bay last season, the "Soya" is now Why, he asks, is the climate here so being re-constructed to enable her to mild? It is because the wind blows carry two large helicopters (Sikorsky mainly north-east in this area from 58) in addition to the two smaller Bell the Indian Ocean and it is situated helicopters and a light Beaver aircraft. about 200 miles nearer to the Pole The wintering party will include six away from the region of floating ice. scientists, with Mr. Masami Murayama The sky was always clear of clouds as chief scientist. Mr. Murayama is near Showa Base, although the a well-known alpinist and has been a weather was often cloudy or stormy member of the Japanese Himalayan 70 miles further north. Even when Expeditions to Manasulu. The twelve Lhe continental wind blew hard from September, 19S8 A I·) T /\ RC TIC 301

I.he 5011llH:;ISI. ill l)lc sout.h of the Oil .lllly 1:\ it was noticed that the innermost part of Lutzow-Holm Bay, ice had completely 'disappeared from there was a gentle sOllthwind or no King Leopold Bay, but later a new wind at all at Showa Base, and the layer of ice formed eleven inches thick. temperature there "never dropped too much". NIGHT IN A CREVASSE Showa Base stands firmly on bare rock and it will not be buried under On July 15 Giot and Picciotto snow or washed away on icebergs. travelled by dog-sledge the 18 miles The location is ideal for a base camp to Breid Bay to examine the sno-cat and Dr. Nishibori is certain that the left there earlier in the year. Near­ buildings and supplies his party left ing Fjoll Pass one of Picciotto's dogs behind will remain in perfect condition fell down a crevasse. A snow-bridge for many years. The automatic 32 feet down broke the dog's fall and meteorological recorder is presumed to Giot went down to it. As it proved be recording daily data for a year, so too difficult to get the dog to the sur­ it is expected that a complete meteoro­ face, Picciotto went back to base logical report will be awaiting the through the darkness for help and at Japanese party which is to re-occupy dawn on the 16th de Gerlache and the base next summer. three others went out in a sno-cat with Picciotto, to find that Giot had spent the night in his sleeping bag on the snow-bridge. He and the dog were safely brought back to base. On the At King 'Baudouin 29th the same two men succeeded in reaching the sno-cat which was found Base almost buried in snow. The aircraft engine has been re­ The lowest temperature at the paired and trials were to be carried Belgian station during June was out on the first suitable day. -18.4° F. and the highest wind gust The Belgian Telephone Service has 51 miles per hour. The snow level in inaugurated a system whereby men at early July was above the hut roofs and the Belgian base can carry on direct still rising. Thanks to the calm telephone communications with their weather and a very frequently clear families, the expedition headquarters sky, there had been at least two hours in Brussells, or other friends. Calls of daylight every day. can also be relayed to foreign coun­ In July the temperature was at first tries. Persons wishing to contact very mild, 5° F. to 14° F. during the expedition members can do so through first four days, but it dropped sharply the Brussels office. The Belgians to _56° F. on the 31st. claim that New Zealand is the only Between June 15 and 24 the meteoro­ other country to have this direct logical team was put to a severe test public telephone communication with because of the four weather-balloon its expedition members. releases called for by the I.G.Y. pro­ The control of Belgian Antarctic gramme. research is being taken over by a The 17 men at King Baudouin Base newly - formed body, the Belgian received with great satisfaction the' National Centre for the Antarctic news that a fresh team will take over Campaign 1958-59-60. The purpose of from them next January. All are the Centre, whose Director is Captain in good health and awaited the return F. E. Bastin, is to continue the work of the sun on July 24, with particular of the Belgian Expedition under Com­ interest because it coincided this year mandant de Gerlache, at present in the with the Belgian National Day. Antarctic. 302 ANTARCTIC September, 1958 Halley Bay Base Under F.I.D.S. Control Control of the Halley Bay Base (75 0 36' S., 26 0 41' W.) on the Coats l.Jand Shore 'Oif the Weddell Sea, Sett up and maintained by the Royal Society specifically for the LG.Y., has now been passed to the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey. Its programme of work, similar to the north, to deliver and collect some that of Base F in the Argentine equipment. On May 8th two Base W Islands, will be continued on the men visited Base Y from the Blaiklock present lines, but survey and geological Island refuge where they had been work will be added and this will working, linking up the Base W necessitate sledging. As the R.R.S. (Loubet Coast) and Base Y surveys. "John Biscoe" and R.R.S. "Shackleton" will be fully occupied carrying out the THREE MEN LOST annual relief of the other F.LD.S. In the middle of May the weather bases, the "Tottan" has again been improved and a depot was laid on an chartered for the relief of Halley Bay. islet west of base, prior to laying a Further extension of activities at depot further west in Marguerite Bay, existing bases is also planned, notably on the Dion Islets. On the 27th three the use of aircraft at the southernmost men (two meteorologists and one base (Base E in Marguerite Bay) which diesel mechanic) set out for the Dion was re-opened this year. Islets with two dog teams and two months supplies of rations and fuel. NEWS FROM THE BASES Unfortunately, gales again hit the area Most bases report that field work without warning at midriight that night during April and May was hampered and continued unabated until the by very variable weather and con­ afternoon of the 29th, resulting in the sequently unreliable sea ice. break-up of the sea ice near to their proposed route. The men had intended Hope Bay personnel were unable to to camp on Pourquoi Pas Island but travel south owing to patchy sea ice search parties have found no trace of in Crown Prince Gustav Channel, but them, and it is feared that they con­ were kept occupied ferrying stores tinued further and camped on the sea across to the View Point hut at Duse ice, and they are now presumed lost. Bay, as the "Biscoe" had been unable The missing men are Geoffrey Stride, to get into Duse Bay this year. David Statham and Stanley Black. Base E reported a thaw at the begin­ Three of the dogs returned to base ning of April which made travel and it was hoped that the party might difficult and unpleasant, but later in have been stranded on one of the the month a depot was laid at the foot numerous islands. Parties from Bases of a known route up on to the plateau, Wand E assisted in covering the area other routes were reconnoitred, north systematically but without success, of base, and a survey party visited although seven more dogs returned to Neny Trough to the southeast. A gale base, two of them being found in good at the beginning of May cleared the condition a few miles to the south of ice from Neny Fjord to the south and base on June 21 and two more in again hampered travel, but later in the mid-July. In all, ten of the original month the ice was sufficiently secure fourteen dogs returned to base but no to allow two men from Base Y on trace of the men or their equipment Horseshoe Island, just over 20 miles to was found. Suplombcr, 1958 ANTARCTIC 303

Base W abandoned parL of its pro­ Natural History 54109", so had pro­ gramme in order to assist in the search bably flown over 2,000 miles from for the missing men, but surveyors Grahamland to Victoria. have been able to work south of Lalle­ mand Fjord and westwards into AT HALLEY nAY Laubeuf Fjord. On Midwinter's Day the 20 men at Halley Bay base, at present controlled SURVEY WOHJ( by the Royal Society, had a special At Base J on the Graham Coast, one breakfast, enlivened by the appearance survey trip lasting a fortnight was car­ of the fourth number of "The Halley ried out in April, and at the end of Comet". The five-course lunch was May a party travelled south to Holte­ based on fresh food brought in the dahl Bay. A party from Base 0 "Tottan" on December 31, 1957 and (Danco Coast) on board Lhe "Biseoe" since stored in the natural deep-freeze laid a depot at Cape Willems and then of a tunnel deep in the snow near the carried out a preliminary triangulation main hut. During the afternoon pre­ ,. of Charlotte Bay from the Cape Reclus sents which had remained unopened refuge. Work in Wilhelmina Bay to since the beginning of the year were the southwest was curtailed by bad unwrapped. weather and severe ice conditions A party of Argentine scientists led which made boating impossible. The by Dr. Otto Schneider called at Halley party returned to base on May 27. Bay on January 26 and made relative On May 17 Base 0 was able to contact gravity observations. South Georgia by radio-telephone and When the V.S. ships "Westwind" able to exchange news. Reception was and "Wyandot" called at Halley Bay reported to be exceptionally good. on January 8, sets of the new radio­ The new survey of Signy Island has sonde ozone apparatus, designed and been completed, and at King GeOl'ge made by Dr. A. W. Brewer of the Island several trips have been made to Clarendon Laboratory, Oxford, were localities around Admiralty Bay. delivered. This apparatus had been Base F reports good progress with flown from England to Capetown and the scientific programme. taken aboard the V.S. vessels there, a "most valuable act of co-operation". NEWS OF THE SHIPS The "Biscoe" left Stanley on April I AI-gclltina for the last visit of the season to Argentine Foreign Office sources South Georgia and the more northerly stated in July that talks between the bases, and on April 3 picked up a field U.S. and Argentina for the transfer of .. party from Greenwich Island in the Ellsworth Base to Argentine operation South Shetlands. She returned to have resulted in a final agreement. Stanley on the 21st and sailed again on the 30th, bound for South Georgia, Montevideo and thence home to the WHAT GOOD IS IT? U.K., arriving at Southampton on "In an age when man is beginning June 4. Lo extend his activities beyond his The "Shackleton" sa i J e d from own planet and out into space, Stanley on April 5 and arrived at academic studies of the physics of the Southampton on May 14. upper atmosphere" such as are A total of 13 F.LD.S. men spent developing into the most fruitful and thei leave in South America on' the exciting of all the l.G.Y. polar way home. projects "are essential pre-requisites A bird, believed to be a giant petrel, for the designers of rockets, satellites landed in Lhe Melbourne suburb of and space-ships, and certain aspects of St. Kilda on June J5. It bore a ring such studies can only be carried out in marked "f.I.D.S. 13rilish Museum polar regions." (Phillip Law.) 304 ANTARCTIC Septomber, 1958 ELLSWORTH STATION TO BE AN ARGENTINE BASE The United States is to transfer Ells\Vorth Station (77° 43' S., 41 ° 08' W.) to Argentina, which already has a station, General Belgra:no (77" 59' S., 38° 4:4' W.) esbablished in January 1956, some 40 miles to the east.

Both bases are on the Filchner Ice stripped frame of a five-ton sledge and Shelf in the south of the Weddell Sea, is complete with electric lighting, run­ but General Belgrano is reported to be ning water from a built-in snow-melter, less lavishly equipped than Ellsworth. stove, heater, cook's bunk and a table Shackleton, the base for the Common­ for six. The complete wanigan weighs wealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition, is little more than the original sledge. slightly further still to the east, but is not a station specifically designed for On July 8 Ellsworth was treated to scientific research. an unusual auroral display. For 18 hours there was a magnificent display. It is the intention of the Americans At times the entire sky was a sheet of to stage a tractor journey from Ells­ flaming red vibrating in the eerie still­ worth to ByI'd Station, a distance of ness. Rays, arches and bands seemed about 1,000 miles, starting about lo be radiating in all directions, blot­ October 15 and making seismic sound­ ting out the stars in the background. ings of ice thickness and other glacio­ Time and time again coronas would logical studies en route. Two single­ form overhead and burst out in multi­ engined Otters are expected to fly the coloured rays like a shower of sparks same route, and the party will pro­ in a gigantic Fourth of July display. bably be flown the 647 miles from ByI'd to Little America, and be evacuated by ship from Kainan Bay or THE DUFEK MASSIF McMurdo Sound. Further details have been released This journey would cover the route of discoveries made on the over-snow of Lincoln Ellsworth's famous pioneer traverse from Ellsworth last summer. flight of 1935, the first crossing of any On December 10 the five-man party substantial portion of the Antarcti~ under Edward C. Thiel reached a Continent. mountain range which had been An over·snow traverse from ByI'd mapped as 100 miles to the north-east Station last summer penetrated as far on a flight by Navy aircraft in January east as 88° W., and a traverse from 1957. It lies about 300 miles south of Ellsworth drove about 450 miles to the Ellsworth. . south and then headed west of north. The peaks rise 5,000 feet above the The new project would complete the ice-sheet and 9,000 feet above sea seismic profile across West Antarctica, level. The range is remarkable for and should settle the question of a horizontal bands of black and rust­ possible below-sea-Ievel channel con­ coloured igneous rock, largely diorite. necting the Ross and Weddell Seas. From a distance the eastern end appears to be overflowed by the WINTER AT ELLSWORTH northerly movement of ice, but exten­ For the proposed Ellsworth-Byrd sive snow and ice free areas were dis­ traverse next spring a messing wani­ covered here, to. the north of the range. gan has been constructed at Ellsworth. In onc of the ice-free valleys was a The shiny black wanigan is huilt on the lake some hundred yards wide. September. 1958 AI\ITARCTIC 305 UNITED STATES TO CONCENTRATE ANTARCTIC EFFORT This ~'ear the United Sta.tes, in Operation Deep Free:te IV, will withdra.w from three bases in thc Anta.I'ctic alld concCllt!'ate c1l'orts a.t McMurdo Sound, Byrd Station, the South Pole and Hallett Station, shared as before with New Zealand. The two stations outside the range The scientific work previously car­ of the Ross Sea supply base will be ried out at Little America will be transferred to other nations: Wilkes divided between the U.S. McMurdo Station on the Knox Coast of Aust­ Station and New Zealand's Scott Base. ralian Antarctic Territory to Australia, and Ellsworth Station, at the south­ OPERATIONS SCHEDULE eastern end of the Weddell Sea, to Admiral Dufek arrived in New Zea­ Argentina. land in early August, and will again Little America, the fifth station to have his headquarters in Christchurch, be built and occupied on the northern but with a staff only a quarter of fringe of the Ross Ice Shelf since whom have been engaged on Ant­ Admiral R. E. Byrd led his first ex­ arctic work before. Five R4D's, one pedition south in 1928, is to be closed R7V and three P2V's of the VX-6 down, at least as a fullscale station. Navy Squadron will fly into Christ­ Little America V, constructed in church from the 8th to the 26th of January 1956,' has been the major September, and the first Globemaster United States scientific base in the (CI24) is due to arrive on September Antarctic. Two miles from the present 17, followed by one every two days ice edge at Kainan Bay, it is a small until all ten have arrived. town of' about 20 large buildings and Seven ships will call at Lyttelton, several smaller ones connected by a covered way; and as well as being the the port of Christchurch, between October and January, on their way field scientific headquarters for the south. They are the ice-breakers whole V.S. I.G.Y. programme, has "Glacier" (due October 31), "Staten been the location of Weather Central and the supply base for Byrd Station, Island" (November 23) and "North­ wind" (December 12), as well as the 647 trail miles to the east. It has tankers "Nespelen" (December 12) and housed some 70 men each winter since "Chattahoochee" (January 5) and the its construction. cargo ships "Wyandot" (December 10) A major factor in the decision to and "Arneb" (December 30), In add­ close down the station is the fact that ition V.S.S. "Brough" will as in cracks in the ice shelf on which it is previous years serve as an ocean built have appeared behind the station, station during the flights to McMurdo an indication that in any case its days Sound. are numbered. The survey of a possible permanent rock landing field at Marble Point, The range, which extends for thirty north of Cape Bernacchi, on the west miles and is ten miles wide at its coast of McMurdo Sound is to be com­ broadest point, has been named the pleted this season. Vp to the present, Dufek Massif. The traverse party aircraft flying in from New Zealand spent a week in the area, and photo­ have used an ice runway on McMul'do graphs now published show an im­ Sound, which has more than once posing mountain range. softened or broken up, preventing the 306 ANTARCTIC Septembor, 1958 use of large aircraft over lengthy in the re-supply operation, and they periods. will leave approximately 200 military and civilian personnel behind to spend N.A.A.F. BEARDMORE the winter at the four permanent An important extension of the stations. McMurdo weather service will be re­ opened more than 300 miles south of McMURDO McMurdo Sound. This is the six-man A storm on June 20 lashed the Air camp at the foot of the Beardmore Operating Facility at McMurdo Sound. Glacier formerly called Liv Station, but Gusts up to 76 knots and sustained now known as Naval Auxiliary Air winds of 54 knots were experienced Facility, Beardmore. It is located for 24 hours. about midway between McMurdo and t.he Pole. It is maintained by six men Air Development Squadron Six has for weather intelligence and as an been preparing its aircraft for the alternative landing point for planes coming flying season. The helicopter making the McMurdo-Pole flight. has been undergoing a major main­ tenance check. The R4D Dakota, A weather services' husky named which was flown to the New Zealand Arrival will accompany the aem­ ski-runway at Scott Base when the grapher's mate and assume the duties McMurdo runway deteriorated last of mascot. Fifteen tons of supplies autumn, was towed back to McMurdo will be air-dropped to maintain the behind a D-4 tractor and underwent a station. face-lifting period. Parachutes were The United States Navy has bought repacked, oxygen equipment checked for 70,000 dollars the de Havilland and survival kits inspected, while the Otter plane of the Commonwealth electronics division overhauled radio Trans-Antarctic Expedition which in equipment, radar search equipment January made the 1,900-mile flight and electronic navigation gear. across the Antarctic to Scott Base. Over 15,000 photographs have been The aircraft originally cost 125,000 taken and processed this year by the dollars. McMurdo photo division. FUTURE PLANS The clearing of an ice runway This season's operation will provide 6,000 feet long for the coming air the initial logistic support for the operations was vigorously prosecuted ANT ARC TIC RESEARCH PRO­ during August. New and pre-existing GRAMME (A.R.P.) which will take tidal cracks and pressure ridges were over U.S. scientific activity in the Ant­ carefully surveyed. A crew of five arctic when I.G.Y. officially ends. men lived on the ice in wanigan A.R.P. is sponsored by the National shelters so as to take full advantage Science Foundation in c'o-operation of the "pre-dawn midday twilight", with the National Academy of though the temperatures were consist­ Sciences. The Navy will continue as ently in the minus fifties. executive agent for the Defense Six men flew in the helicopter to Department in furnishing logistic sup­ the Wilson Piedmont Glacier, between port for the programme, and Rear Granite Harbour and Marble Point on Admiral George Dufek will continue in the Victoria Land Coast, and ate a overall command of the support picnic lunch during the noon sunrise forces. He will also continue to serve visible there. as Antarctic Projects Officer with On August 4 flight operations were responsibilities for political, scientific resumed. An Otter made the first and legislative aspects of the Antarctic flight since flying ceased on May 14. programme. Late in the month an R4D (Dakota) About 2,700 men will be involved also made a flighL. Scplcllluor, 1958 AI'-JTARCTIC J07

·'iKIN GRAFT prxjellccd " ~bO degrees spread (for A major skin grafl was successfully inslance, 210 ill t.he st.cam room and carried out at McMurdo on July 14 by minus 40 or more outside). The Lieut. F. Ackroyd. greatest "spread" of which we have received notice is 32G degrees: 272 Chief Herman Foster, U.S.N., in­ degrees inside and minus 54 degrees jured his leg when replacing a outside. telephone pole blown down during a blizzard. He was supervising the use About 40 per cent. of the Little of a motor-driven post-hole digger America population engages in this when a sudden gust blew part: of his curious activity more or less regularly, baggy Antarctic clothing into the including Or. Slagle himself, Mr. A. P. machine. His clothing caught in the Crary, the station scientific leader and universal gear of the drive shaft and Captain E. H. Maher, commander of was torn off his body while one leg the Naval Support Force. was drawn into the giant auger. He Little America has its own weekly managed to reach out and shut off the paper, "Penguin Post", which includes fuel feed to the engine. among its features a monthly weather In a temperature of 45° below zero summary, sports section, "On the Bright Side", "Doings Around the Fahrenheit Foster was carried to Mc­ Murdo Hospital. "After sufficient Campus", Chaplain's Corner, and granulation tissue had built up on the candid biographical sketches of the injured limb it was decided to attempt wintering-over personnel. the skin graft. Dr. Ackroyd borrowed from the hospital at Scott Base the UNIVERSITY OF THE SNOWS high· quality razors necessary for Mid-March saw the inception of taking the skin for the graft. With "Little America College", unique the patient under general anaesthesia, among scholastic institutions because skin from the opposite thigh was of the over-abundance of highly placed over the defects on the injured erudite professors and individual limb. The operation took six hours. tutors who teach the 25 classes. The Twelve days later the dressings subjects studied include English, were removed and revealed a perfect French (at three levels), German, take. Russian, Spanish, mathematics (five courses), physics, electronics, a survey LITTLE AMERICA V of the Bible and Christian doctrine, European history, music, meteorology, A unique feature of Little America radio code (two classes), amateur radio is Dr. Slagle's Thermo-therapy Clinic and photo-processing. and Health Farm. It consists of a The total enrolment, many men of small gymnasium and Finnish bath or course taking several subjects, is 216. steam-room. The latter is complete As the wintering-over party numbers with hot rocks from Marble Point only 107, there is evidently a keen provided through the courtesy of thirst for knowledge at Little America. U.S.8. "Glacier". (Little America itself 01'. Slagle performed an appendicitis is built on the Ross ice shelf.) operation in the station sick-bay dur­ Even the penguins shudder about ing the winter. The patient made a five o'clock every afternoon when the good recovery. back door of building seven opens, belching steam and lobster-red ex­ OUT ON THE BAY ICE plorers, who proceed to roll in the Mr. A. P. Crary, station scientific snow and vigorously rub themselves leader, assisted by Captain Maher and dry. Dr. Slagle, early in August carried out An exclusive club has been formed the farthest south and first mid-winter consisting of all those who have ex- oceanographic station in the Antarctic 308 ANTARCTIC September, 1958

ill tCll1pcratltrc~ of -'I[j" 1.0 _55 0 F. parka-dad formations. But an Otter The group trudged out through flew overhead, a short ceremony was Crevasse Valley and after lowering held and the flag raised. Cameras thei!' heavily laden sledges down the were removed from underneath parkas seventy-five foot ice-shelf, set up their and pictures taken before the shutters two tents on the bay-ice of Kainan froze. Bay. One tent was used for living EVACUATION PLANS quarters and the other for scientific Early in November a reconnaissance studies. party will make air and surface Assisted for a time by Lieut. Arruiz observations in search of a suitable of Argentina, Jean Alt of France, and route from Little America to McMurdo. U.S. glaciologists Den Hartog and A trail blazing party will set out about McGinnis, the party chipped out four­ November 20 to establish the actual foot-square holes in four feet of solid trail across the Ross Ice Shelf, search­ ice and blasted out some 15 feet of ing out crevasses and tilling them in firm slush ice. Each morning they had as necessary. to form a bucket-brigade and bale out tons of slush-ice which had accumu­ On January 20 a heavy tractor train lated since the previous day's opera­ under the supervision of Major Merle tions: assisted, annoyingly, by curious Dawson wifl begin transporting the Weddell seals. equipment that has been in use at Little America, to McMurdo. The EXHAUSTING WORK operation is expected to take about ten days over a trail of some 420 land A Nansen bottle with two thermo­ miles in length. meters attached was lowered with a hand winch for temperature readings Meteorologists at Little America at ten levels and water samples for the have found "a pattern of jet streams" purpose of salinity measurements from above Antarctica which should help the surface to 365 metres. This meant high-flying planes of the future to link that the cable had to be manually the continents with new air-routes. cranked some 1,000 turns each read­ In some cases reaching hurricane ing to bring the bottle to the surface. force, they travel in gently curving This task was so exhausting under the paths 50,000 feet or more above the adverse conditions that the men Antarctic. Between June and October systematically rotated after making 25 the winds move west-east, then there turns. This study produced one of the is a transition period and during lowest temperatures ever recorded November, perhaps even later, they under the ice. flow east-west at lower altitudes. The second phase of the science Air lines, using the proper timing work required the repeated lowering and routing, could ride these currents of the Ekman current meter to depths between South Africa and southern of about 400 metres to determine the South America to Australia, New Zea­ speed and direction of the Ross Sea land and the southernmost regions of current. Observations were also made Asia, leap-frogging over Antarctica. of the change in the elevation of the ice-shelf. TRAVERSE TO VICTORIA LAND . A traverse led by Albert P. Crary THE SUN RETURNS will leave Little America about On August 22 military and civil October 15, crossing the Ross Ice personnel assembled near the snow­ Shelf to the top of the Skelton Glacier banked flagpole to celebrate the return and from there into Victoria Land. of the sun. Heavy low-hanging clouds Planes from McMurdo will support the obscured the sun: the temperature party as far as the top of the Skelton. stood In the minus forties and a brisk It will be self supporting on the high wind was blowing into the faces of the plateau beyond.

) 14 ANTARCTIC Soptember, 1958

The whales caught comprised 1,683 blue whales, 25,208 fin whales, 396 "OOKS"ELF hump-backs, 2,385 sei whales and "Antarctic Night", by Lt.-Cdr. Jack 6,388 sperm whales. The Russian Bursey. London, Longmans, 256 pages, "Slava" expedition caught in addition ill., N.Z. Pricc 18/-. 493 minke whales and 75 killer whales. Britain, Norway, Japan and the (Reviewed by J. H. Miller) Netherlands have agreed to a total of This is no book for the serious Ant­ 215 catchers for next season, one more arctic reader. But for the person than last year. Britain (3 expeditions) wanting a story of adventure, and of will have 37, Norway (9) 95, Japan the call adventure makes to a young (6) 69, and the Netherlands (1) 14. man this is an entertaining book. Bursey, as an enthusiastic young Newfoundland dog driver, was a last minute choice for Byrd's first expedi­ HOW OLD IS A WHALE? tion in 1928-29. His skill as a dog Studies of the ear-plugs found in handler proved invaluable to the ex­ the mid-ear of baleen whales at the pedition. He again went south with National Oceanographic Institute at the U.S. Antarctic Service Expedition, Wormley (England) confirm sugges­ 1939-41 and again as a dog driver tions that whales are getting scarcer. participated with two companions in Some years ago, whales caught used a memorable exploratory journey of· to have an average age of about six 1,200 miles eastward from Little years. Now they are younger. Once America into Marie Byrd Land. Again many whales caught were over 30 in 1955-56 we see Bursey, now a Com­ years of age, but now few approach mander in the U.S. Coastguard, at this whale "middle-age". Little America V with Deepfreeze 1. The ear-plugs are made of a horny He was then entrusted with the leader­ material and in female whales develop ship of the mechanised party probing laminations like the rings of trees. The out into Marie Byrd Land on a recon­ markings are believed to be related to naissance of the 700-mile route which the hormone cycle of the female whale eventually led to Byrd Station. during each breeding season. His account of his experiences is Last year the Institute received 1,000 not, and makes no claim to be, a sets of ear-plugs for analysis. history of these various expeditions. In fact from the historical angle there are many inaccuracies and omissions such as Goulcl's magnificent geological QUEEN HEARS FUCHS journey in 1928-29. However, to the At the Royal-Festival Hall in London dog lover, this book brings warming on June 11 the Queen, the Duke of accounts of a man's love for, and his Edinburgh and Princess Margaret dependance on, his canine companions. heard Sir Vivian Fuchs give a lecture Bursey spent three winters in Ant­ on the Trans-Antarctic Expedition, arctica at various well.spaced periods illustrated by colour slides. of his life and his book does give an In a tribute to the New Zealand interesting comparison of the impact party led by Sir Edmund J-lillary, Sir of the wintering experience on a Vivian said, "They did a tremendous youth, on a man by now a husband amount of work, not only in putting and father, and finally on a veteran down depots for us on the plateau with wartime and polar experience. but in finding a route for us over the One would suspect that the psycho­ plateau. They also carried out a logical aspects of "wintering" have tremendous amount of geological and been occasionally over written. The survey work." progression from the clay of dog travel September, 1958 ANTARCTIC 315

to the mechanical present is well por­ such remarks form an infinitesimal trayed, even if I3ursey makes it part of the book and stem from an obvious that the dog is his first and I;:nglishman's natural desire that the lasting love. His writing is on a Englishman Fuchs should receive the popular level throughout most of this maximum credit for' his great exploit. boolc but one or two portions reveal A man who writes of Hillary like this an intense and introspective facility of can surely not be considered Hillary's expression as in writing of his long enemy: exploratory journey. "Wc found and "It was impossible not to be im­ sensed the sleeping spirit of a lost mediately drawn to him. He had world which engulfed us in emotions great charm. He was no braggart, but that defy the use of words as a he was not politely over modest ... medium of expression; and such un­ A hard-headed New Zealander, on .. expressed and inexpressible emotions whom the world's honours had fallen brew a strange kind of love which after Everest, he had a natural shyness preserves all the memories of their and pleasant manner that made people origin." enjoy his company ... Hillary was :I: and is a man of enormous physical * " stature, with a heart and courage as great as his body." "The White Desert", by Noel Barber. -L.B.Q. London, Hodder and Stoughton, 205 pages, ill. (advance copy English price ----- 16/- nett). DANGER: WATER RISING This is not the objectionable book It is a fact that glaciers are reced­ which unbalanced and misleading ing in all parts of the earth, which cable reports might lead one to expect. indicates a slight rise in average It is an onlooker's story of the Trans­ temperature. But it has not yet been Antarctic Expedition, told by a noted established that the polar ice-caps also journalist who was on the spot when are melting. This would require an first HiIlary and then Fuchs reached extended series of measurements of the South Pole and when, later, the the thickness of the polar ice, which sno-cat c3;ravan arrived at Scott Base. have not been made. But this is one With his first-hand impressions of of the objectives of the present Inter­ these historic occasions, and with his national Geophysical Year. Professor newspaper man's flair for human Robert P. Sharp has estimated for the interest and the dramatic event, American Geophysical Union that the Barber has written as lively an account average thickness of the Antarctic ice of the great crossing as we are likely is in excess of one mile and that its to have until Fuchs and Hillary them­ complete melting would raise the sea­ selves give us the inside story. It is level all over the earth by 200 feet. a well-balanced narrative, covering the He calls this ice "something of a whole expedition from conception to Sword of Damocles hanging over the successful conclusion, with stress, heads of all peoples living close to the naturally, on the portions of it which sea." However, he also advises a this onlooker was himself privileged relaxed attitude toward this possibility. "Conceivably", he says, "it might to see. There are pen-portraits of many of the participants, candid, and happen in 10,000 to 20,000 years". shrewd in the main, and considerable background information about life at Antarctic bases and on Antarctic Australians can now communicate flights. with Scott Base by radio-telephone, at Barber is in a few places, this a charge of 12/6 per minute with a reviewer feels, unjust to Hillary, but minimum of three minutes. 316 ANTARCTIC September, 1958

A NEUTRAL ANTARCTIC? some states in an unequal status with The Indian delegation on July 15 regard to other states". proposed that the forthcoming U.N. A Gallup Poll in Australia shows General Assembly should debate "the that 48 per cent. are in favour of questions of Antarctica". The United making the Antarctic international Nations "should caU upon all states to territory, 15 per cent. are against, and agree to utilise this territory solely for 37 per cent. without definite opinion. peaceful purposes, and in particular, Men supported the plan more strongly to agree that the area shall not be used than women, 56 per cent. of the men in any manner that would create or questioned being in favour. Labour accentuate world tensions or extend and non-Labour voters, as groups, to this area the influence and effect held similar opinions. of existing tensions." This "limited purpose" could be achieved without any nation renounc­ POLAR ANTffiIOTIC ing such right as it might claim in Dr. J. M. Sieburth of Virginia Antarctica, . or claims of sovereignty Polytechnic Institute, who accom­ or other rights consistent with the panied the Argentine Antarctic Ex­ charter. pedition of 1957, has claimed that the Japanese officials stated on July 13 Antarctic seas contain an abundant that Japan will continue to work for and powerful antibiotic that protects an international treaty assuring the the birds, fish and mammals of the far freedom of scientific investigation in South from bacterial diseases. When the Antarctic by all nations, and will he examined a Gentoo penguin caught oppose any "foreign" territorial claims near the Almirante Brown Base on there. the west coast of Graham Land, no Negotiations for the neutralisation germs of any kind could be found of the Antarctic as proposed by Presi­ either in the penguin or in the dent Eisenhower in May, were said on euphausian shrimp which formed its August 20 to be apparently "near­ sole food. ing a critical stage". Conversations He concludes that this is due to the were being held in Washington by antibiotic properties of Antarctic representatives of twelve nations phytoplankton (microscopic plants active in the Antarctic or its off-lying found in countless millions in the islands, with a view to setting a time 'surface waters of the sea). This and place for a formal conference. activity is apparent in concentrations The representatives had agreed on as low as five parts in a million on a complete secrecy, but it seemed un­ dry weight basis. likely, said the "New York Times", "A similar differential antibiotic that the basic principles of a treaty activity was exhibited," he says, "by would be agreed upon before going the phytoplankton, the shrimp eating into formal sessions. the phytoplankton, and the stomach The Latin American nations, Argen­ contents of the penguins that had been tina and Chile, are believed to be feeding on the shrimp." opposed to any renunciation of their The Antarctic antibiotic has not over-lapping claims to the Graham yet been reported as isolated. Land peninsula, which is also claimed It is of course no longer true that, by Britain. The Chilean reply to the for example, common colds do not American note, for instance, rejected occur in the Antarctic, and a year or "any system whatever of international two ago there was a case of diph­ administration". theria. As Sir Douglas Mawson has The Soviet Union believes that an said, Dr. Sieburth's observations are Antarctic treaty should not include "far too sweeping". They represent "any provisions affecting the question "only part of the story, which will not of territorial claims in the Antarctic be complete without further intensive which could be regarded as placing research". ) The New Zealand Antarctic Society --is a group of New Zealanders, some of whom have seen Antarc­ tica for themselves, but all vitally interested in some phase of Antarctic exploration, development 01' research. You are invited to become a member: Im,ANCH SECRE'I'ARIES A.uckland: W. Dobier, 418 Pacific Bldgs., Wellesley Street, Auckland. Wellington: A. S. Helm, Box 2110, Wellington. Can~erbLll'Y: A. Anderson, 15a Medway Street, Christchurch. Cunedin: J. H. McGhie, Box 34, Dunedin.

"THE ANTARCTIC TODAY" This volume is ou t of print, but a limited number of the follow- ing separate sections is available, the stapling slightly rusted: Ionosphere Research (J. W. Beagley). Meteorology (A. R. Martin). Marine Biology (R. K. Dell). Aurora Australis (1. L. Thomsen). The Nations in the Antarctic (recent Australian, South African, French, etc., exploration by leading experts in the countries concerned) . These separates are available at a cost of four shillings each from the Secretary, N.Z. Antarctic Society.

"ANTARCTIC" Published Quarterly c Annual Subscription 15/­ Copies of previous issues of "ANTARCTIC" may be 'I .i obtained from the Secretary of the Society, p.a. Box "., 2110, Wellington, at a cost of 4/- per copy. Of our predecessor, the "ANTARCTIC NEWS BULLETIN" only the following numbers are available: 5,6,7,8,9,12,13,15,16,17,18,19,20. In most cases only a few copies are in stock. These may be obtained at a cost of 2/6 each. Annual Subscription, 15/- Single Copy 4/- UNIVEHSAL PI-HNTERS LTD" 22·20 BLAIH STHECT, WE.LLlNGTON,