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

INVETERATE ENEMIES A penguin chick bold enough to frighten off all but the most severe skua attacks. . Photo: J. T. Darby.

Vol. 4. No.9 MARCH. 1967 AUSTRALIA WintQr and Summer bAsts Scott Summer ila..se enly t Hal'ett"

Tr.lnsferrea ba.se Will(,t~ U.S.foAust T.mporArily nen -eper&tianaJ....K5yow...

•- Marion I. (J.A)

f.o·W. H.I.M.S.161 O_AWN IY DEPARTMENT OF LANDS fa SU_VEY WILLINGTON) NEW ZEALAND! MAR. .•,'* N O l. • EDI"'ON (Successor to IIAntarctic News Bulletin")

Vol. 4, No.9 MARCH, 1967

Editor: L. B. Quartermain, M.A., 1 Ariki Road, Wellington, E.2, ew Zealand. Assistant Editor: Mrs R. H. Wheeler. Business Communications, Subscriptions, etc., to: Secretary, ew Zealand Antarctic Society, P.O. Box 2110, Wellington, .Z.

CONTENTS EXPEDITIONS Page New Zealand 430 New Zealand's First Decade in Antarctica: D. N. Webb 430 'Mariner Glacier Geological Survey: J. E. S. Lawrence 436 The Long Hot Summer. Cape Bird 1966-67: E. C. Young 440 U.S.S.R...... 452 Third Kiwi visits Vostok: Colin Clark 454 Japan 455 ArgenHna 456 South Africa 456 France 458 United Kingdom 461 Chile 463 Belgium-Holland 464 Australia 465 U.S.A...... 467 Sub-Antarctic Islands 473 International Conferences 457 The Whalers 460 Bookshelf ...... 475 "Antarctica": Mary Greeks 478 50 Years Ago 479 430 ANTARCTI'C March. 1967 NEW ZEALAND'S FIRST DECAD IN ANTARCTICA by D. N. Webb

[The following article was written in the days just before his tragic death by Dexter Norman Webb, who had been appointed Public ReLations Officer, cott Base, for the 1966-1967 summer. His fine summing-up of the past decade of New Zealand Antarctic activity has been left untouched. It indicates how expertly he had grasped the facts of a complex situation and how skilfully he was able to weave them into a story which the layman can read with ease.-Editor.]

New Zealand will celebrate a permanent e tablishment for scien­ decade of cience and exploration in tific study is taken a stage further Antarctica, at Scott Base thi com­ this coming season with the pro i­ ing 1966-67 season. sion of new electric generating What was originally intended to equipment designed to double the be merely a temporary base to house capacity of the existing units at the historic Commonwealth Trans­ Scott Base. Not only is New Zealand Antarctic Expedition of 1957-58 by in Antarctica to study science pecu­ Sir Vivian Fuchs and Sir Edmund liar to Antarctica, but also to be­ Hillary, and the scientific staff for come a major part in the world wide the International Geophysical Year net work of stations following of 1957-58, has now become a H per­ science generally observed from manent" and plays a big role in established scientific stations and New Zealand's scientific research observatories. programme. In ten years, a good indication of Scott Base was opened officially thousands of years and even hun­ on 20 January 1957 with a flag rais­ dreds of thousands of years of the ing ceremony. Captain H. Ruegg earth's climatic hi tory has been then the Ross Dependency Adminis­ gained through a study of glaciology trator, officially opened the building in Antarctica, including a close sur­ and AlB R. Tito, Waitara, hoisted vey of various glaciers, the ice and the flag. The Ro s Dependency Post snow structure, and the movement Office had been opened a few days of ice and snow. earlier. However, probably the biggest ac­ With the succes ful completion of complishment scientifically ha been the T.A.E. and the I.G.Y., e Zea­ ten year of geophy ics. The Antarc­ land maintained the ba e, and the tic is an extremely good location for IUKiwi" has been the predominant receiving seismic waves resulting emblem on Pram Point on Ros from earthquakes in other count .e Island, McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, of the world. Thu the continued since then. tudy of eismology in Anta ctica One of the major achievement of has pro ided valuable material gi ­ New Zealand has been the mapping ing added knowledge on the mech­ of the 182,000 square miles of the anics of earthquakes. Ross Dependency (e eluding the Communications have benefitted Ross Ice Shelf, an area as large as considerably through studies in this Spain). Together with thi topo­ southern continent. Upper atmo­ graphical work, a massi e geologi­ spheric research in the ionosphere cal reconnaissance has been com­ has now permitted the prediction pleted, and pecialised geological of optimum periods and frequencie studies have been made in the past of world-wide radio communica­ three years. tions. Closely allied with ionospheric The consolidation of Scott Base research has been studi of the fro:r:n a temporary tructure into a aurora and geomagneti m. The March, 1967 ANTARCTI"C 431

nature of the upper atmosphere and single-engined light aircraft has now the changes in it caused by particles been completely superseded by heli­ streaming in from outer space is copters, and more recently by turbo­ a particularly important aspect of powered helicopters. the Antarctic scientific programme. In ten years a complex pro­ The continuation of biological gramme needing provisioning on a studies has provided a wealth of large scale, and logistics to support data on plant life, natural animal it, has grown up around a complete life and micro biology. Just as with division within the D.S.I.R. at Wel­ other scientific studies, the Antarc­ lington. The Antarctic Division of tic has been termed one of the the Department of Scientific and world's greatest natural laboratories Industrial -Research, Featherston because of its isolation and lack of Street, Wellington, is responsible for interference from outside influences. detailed planning and implements As with newly introduced pro­ New Zealand's programme in Ant­ grammes in previous years, this year arctica. This Division employs all D.D.T. will be sought in samples of the staff, obtains supplies and flora and fauna to be collected dur­ equipment and directs operations. ing the 1966-67 season. This will in­ Personnel at Scott Base will this clude samples of plant life, as well year observe the passing of the first as birds, mammals and fish. decade with a small ceremony yet From a practical point of view, the to be arranged. In addition, an appli­ greatest changes which have taken cation to the Post Office has been place in the Antarctic have been made for the use of a special frank­ methods of transport. As far as New ing mark to be used at the Ross Zealand is concerned, this ran~es Dependency Post Office at Scott Base from the wooden hulled M.H.N.Z.S. for the cancellation of the special "'Endeavour" of 1956-57, taking 14 Ross Dependency stamps on mail days for the journey from Lyttelton from the Base. to McMurdo Sound compared with only seven hours accomplished to­ day by Royal New Zealand Air Force TEN YEARS OLD Hercules aircraft flying from Christ­ church to the same area. The tenth anniversary of the open­ This change in transportation over ing of Scott Base on January 20, 2500 miles of some of the worst seas 1957, was celebrated at a function anywhere has meant corresponding attended by thirty-five New Zealand­ changes in the environment of Ant­ ers and about forty Americans. arctica as far as humans are con­ At half past four Mr. J. Holmes cerned, with "home comforts" more Miller, a Wellington surveyor, low­ readily available, but mainly the ered the New Zealand flag. He was near abolition of the feeling of iso­ deputy leader to Sir Edmund Hillary lation which accompanied earlier when Scott Base was built. The Ant­ conditions. The Antarctic has been arctic Division D.S.I.R. Superinten­ brought so much closer to the world dent, Mr. R. B. Thomson, then raised in the past ten years, particularly in the flag. view of the mid-winter flights under­ A wreath was placed by Robert taken in the past year. These now Rae at the memorial plaque to Lt. have been scheduled for coming Tom Couzens, the only New Zea­ years, whereas they were emergency lander killed in the Antarctic. Lt. flights only. Commander D. C. Oakley, the United In the field, dog teams are still States Navy chaplain from Mc­ being used to a limited degree by Murdo station, led a short memorial New Zealanders, but motor tobog­ service. gans and other tracked vehicles have A buffet dinner of roast sucking been developed and are far more pig, baked fresh whole salmon, cray­ capable of pro iding necessary sur­ fish tails and curries was served. As face transport. a centre piece for the table Chef Local flying in the Antarctic by Bryan George (Christchurch) carved 432 ANTARCTI'C March, 1967 a four feet high penguin out of ice who travel through McMurdo and a four gallon punch bowl was Sound," he said. liThe base itself is hollowed in a slab of ice. small, compact and well designed; Captain J. Bersik represented the tidy and functional. United States Navy Operation Deep... "The Americans are full of admira­ freeze and spoke of the relationship tion for the way the base is run, by the United States enjoyed with New the quality of the men we send Zealand in Antarctica. Mr. Eddie down there, and the work they are Goodale (USARP) congratulated doing. Much of this impression ap­ Scott Base on its ten years of scienti­ pears to be due to the great care fic research and also spoke of the taken by the Antarctic Division of co-operation that was beneficial to the D.S.I.R. in the selection of the the work of both nations in Antarc­ New Zealanders to man the base." tica. A MERRY CHRISTMAS SMALL BASE FOR A SMALL New Zealand's southernmost citi­ NATION zens celebrated Christmas with a Speaking at Scott Base during a seven-course dinner. The meal began visit to the Antarctic this summer, with chilled fruit juices, and ended the retiring Director of the physics two hours later with cigars and and engineering laboratory of the liqueurs. Department of Scientific and Indus­ The chef, Bryan George, prepared trial Research, Mr. W. H. Ward, said the meal for the 40 men. It included that the New Zealand base had been crayfish thermidor, roast chicken kept it deliberately" small. and turkey, and baked ham witb itThis gives a better integration of cauliflower, potatoes, and kumeras. the sciences being studied .and is This was followed by a traditional more suit~d to the New Zealand way steamed pudding with brandy butter of life," he said. itWe are accustomed sauce. The mess room was decor­ to working better in small units, or ated and the chef wore his white alone - more so than nations fur­ hat, jacket and bow tie. ther from their pioneering days. At Scott Base, each man usually ·IIScott Base completes New Zea­ looks after himself at meal times, land's chain of scientific stations but, for this Christmas dinner the from near the equator to within the waiters were the assistant chef, R. Antarctic circle. This makes us the Rae, Queen's Scouts D. Goulden, A. only country with direct control Mort and D. Hunt, and D.S.I.R. tech­ over such a wide scale of studies in nical trainee J. Williams. many sciences, and also gives us a Field parties working close to lot of responsibility. base returned for Christmas dinner. IIAntarctica is the only large piece Special supplies and mail were of clean, natural laboratorY left in dropped to the three field parties in the world. Large areas of it are distant parts of Antarctica. A radio hardly affected by man. The uses link was arranged between Scott for it cannot yet be fully foreseen, Base and the parties at Cape Hallet, but it is desirable that Antarctica Mariner Glacier and Aviator Glacier. be kept clean for further scientific IIWe all sang carols, and each research." party in turn responded, singing a Mr. Ward's opinions were upheld carol back to us," reported Scott by another of this year's visitors, Sir Base Leader Colin Clark. IIWe l1en­ Thaddeus McCarthy, the first joyed hearing their voices again. Supreme Court judge to visit the On a special radio-telephone Base. schedule in the afternoon the Gov­ IIScott Base has established a ernor-General called the Base. IILady major name for itself in the Antarc­ Fergusson and Geordie also spoke,l1 tic and amongst the many people said Mr. Clark, "and wished us a March, 1967 ANTARCTI'C 433

Merry Christmas. We made sure that we had one." 'ENDEAVOUR" The men at the base then tele­ The New Zealand Antarctic sup­ phoned their wives and families. ply ship "Endeavour" (Commander W. E. Hodge, R.N.Z.N.) after taking NEW GENERATORS on fuel and stores at Wellington left Lyttelton on December 10 for the Two new 65 kva Caterpillar­ first southern voyage of the 1966--67 powered generators ,vere installed summer. "Endeavour" was at Mc­ at Scott Base early in the new year Murdo December 21-23. From the under the supervision of Mr. J. L. ice-front where the ship berthed it Grimwood, a l\1inistry of Works was about two miles to Scott Base, overseer, assisted by P. McKane, N. and the 38 men then at base worked Gilmor and Brian M. Judd, who practically non-stop for 15 hours to has spent two consecutive winters transport, unpack and store the at the base, 1964 and 1965. Also cargo, which had to be hauled on assisting were two men who will sleds and trailers across the steep winter at the base this year, R. J. road to the base. Sopp (diesel mechanic) and C. M. Leaving for New Zealand on the Rickards (electrician). 23rd the vessel ran into trouble fol­ Each of the new generators~ taken lowing ItStaten Island" through the south on "Endeavour", weighs two pack, and did not reach Port Chalm­ and a half tons. After they had been ers till January 3. Both screws were hauled two miles on sledges from damaged by ice and she was in dock ship-side to base, levers, rollers and for repairs until the 11 tho She had brute force were used to manoeuvre come most of the way on one engine them into position. The new genera­ to avoid excessive vibration. tors will give enough electrical power to run the base and its scien­ In Wellington from January 14 to tific equipment for many years to 24, the ship was on the 25th instru­ come. An elaborate waste heat ex­ mental in rescuing three fishermen change system is being coupled to from the disabled "Miss Tracey", the generators to heat huts and boil and was then at Lyttelton until she water for washing. left on a short oceanographic cruise The new generators came into ser­ south of New Zealand with scient­ vice on January 3. All precautions ists from the N.Z. Oceanographic have been taken to preent inflam­ Institute, lasting four or five days, mable fuel oils soaking into the and her second voyage south to generator hut flooring. Before the McMurdo. new machines were installed, parts After two days at McMurdo (Feb­ of the hut were re-lined with fire­ ruary 18....19) she left for New Zea­ proof wall-board and a new floor land, reaching Wellington on Febru­ covering was laid. ary 28. During the change-over, power re­ strictions had to be imposed. A large WINTER PARTY 1967 electric toaster was replaced pro tern by the top of the kitchen stove. R. G. Rae: Campbell Island, 1958­ At certain periods the use of all elec­ 60 and 1963-64. trical equipment was restricted to Assistant Cook, Scott Base, 1960­ ensure radio contact with partie.s 61 summer. out in the field, and with New Zea­ land. Assistant Maintenance Officer, R. Barraud, M.O.W. draughtsman, Scott Base, 1965-66 and 1966­ made a survey of all the equipment 67 summers. and took a photographic record to w. R. Orchiston: Field Assistant, bring plans of the base up to date. Scott Base, 1966-67. The old Lister-powered units have This brings the total wintering been installed in the auxiliary personnel at the base for the 1967 power-house in N Hut. winter to 12. 434 ANTARCTI'C March, 1967

servations are made, no correlation NEW HAZARD is noticeable between these records The unusually extensive ice break­ and ice breakout patterns," says Mr. outs of the past two summers in the Heine. McMurdo Sound area have brought PROBLEMS new problems for the New Zealand­ ers at Scott Base. Since the base When the ice broke away from in was buHt ten years ago, the ice-shelf front of Scott Base last summer 70 fronting it remained stable, 100 feet to SO-knot southerlies whipped sea or more thick, until the 1964.....65 sea­ spray over the base buildings, which son. But as early as late November are 25 yards from the coast. last year there was already more Humidity in Antarctica is so low open water than usual, and much that metals do not need protection of what ice there was, being only a from rust and now salt spray has year old, was only about eight feet corroded copper and steel fittings, thick. particularly between outside instru­ On November 27 it was reported: ments and the science laboratory. "Weaknesses, melt-holes and cracks The Antarctic division superinten­ are already showing and in front dent (Mr. R. B. Thomson) h'as de.. of Scott Base seals have pushed up cided that some sea rescue equip­ through the ice earlier than usual." ment be installed at Scott Base this \"'hich all means that out from Scott summer. "There is a full range of Base, instead of thick ice over which mountain and crevasse rescue equip­ there are normally Hhighways" for ment at the base, but now the open the haulage of heavily laden sledges, water is a new hazard to be pre­ there is either ice of doubtful stabil­ pared for," said Mr. Thomson. ity, or open water. Scott Base leader, Mr. C. M. Clark An accurate prediction of the (Christchurch), said that when open breakout is not possible, so a con­ sea appears in front of the base stant watch has to be kept on the buoys and rope will be mounted ice. near the coast. Since man began permanently occupying the McMurdo Sound area HELPING HAND 10 years ago the breakout has been creeping further south each season. Ever since 1962 a team of experi­ Some theories attribute this to the enced New Zealand mountaineers effect of ice-breakers causing a pre­ has provided training for United mature break-out in November; yet States Antarctic personnel in snow the extensive breakout recorded in and ice techniques and safety pro­ Scott's diary was only slightly ex­ cedures in the Antarctic environ­ ceeded last season. ment. The 1966--67 team was led by Chief Inspector L. D. Bridge and THEORIES comprised R. Cawley, A. Hubbard, R. Barraclough, A. Bibby, and J. In a study of the McMurdo Sound Hayton. The instructors are not ice breakout, Mr. A. J. Heine, of the paid but regard this service as a Antarctic Division, writes that the holiday chore. As the leader put main factor affecting breakout it: "This is one small thing we can around the southern end of Ross do to repay the U.S. people for their Island is a combination of heavy support." sea swell, followed by strong winds The Americans say, liThe value of from the south. The sea hinges ice the training for scientists in the up and down, then floats it away field could not be measured." Some from the shelf, particularly where 200 have passed through the COurse. there are already weakening cracks. The New Zealand instructors have "Further north of McMurdo found that normal ice pitons are too Sound these ice slabs jostle together long for Antarctic ice work: they as pack ice and subdue the power shatter before they can be driven of the swell on the ice edge. in. The team now uses short rock- "Although complete weather ob- climbing pitons. March, 1967 ANTARCTIC 435 MAIN NEW ZEALAND FIELD PARTIES MAKE INT RESTING DISCOVER ES The two major field trips from Scott Base this summer were both primarily geological in purpose and limited in respect to the area covered on the ground. Both were designed to fill in gaps left between areas examined by previous expeditions.

CANTERBURY UNIVERSITY INTERTIDAL LIFE The four-man University of Can­ Dr. Craig Kensler, for the Marine terbury team at Cape Bird, Dr. E,. C. Fisheries Research Division, investi.. Young, J. Peterson and D. Proctor gated the marine life of the inter­ (zoologists) and J. T. Darby (techni­ tidal zones and selected ice-free cian), returned to Scott Base on localities along 400 miles of the January 29 after eleven weeks at Victoria Land coast and northern Cape Bird. Dr. Young was very Ross Island. He discovered several happy with the results achieved. The new inhabitants of interest living team was picked up by a helicopter in crevices in the zone between high from the "Staten Island". and low tides, minute marine snails The other two men, I. Stirling and ranging in size from 0.5 mm to R. East, both zoologists, visited 3mm. either singly or as a pair, Franklin Dr. Kensler is an American who Island, Cape Hallett, Cape Bird and obtained his Doctorate at the Uni­ Marble Point, inspecting seal concen­ versity of Wales. For his thesis he trations along the Victoria Land studied the animal life in the inter­ coast as far as Cape Hallett. tidal zone along the shores of north­ [See the article The Long Hot ern Europe and northern Africa. Summer on page 440.] OTHER PROJECTS A NEAR THING By the end of January the re-sur­ Ian Stirling, a University of Can­ veying of the ice movement on the terbury doctorate student, escaped McMurdo Ice Shelf was virtually injury when a helicopter lost power completed. and crash-landed on an ice floe near Hallett Station on January 23. He Fat samples from skuas, seals and was on a routine flight from the penguins have been collected at ice-breaker "Glacier", taking a cen­ Scott Base, Cape Royds and Cape sus of Weddell seals. Bird for D.D.T. sampling by the The pilot, Lieutenant-Commander Chemistry Division, D.S.I.R. A. B. Callison, wa thrown clear of the machine on impact and was not Also awaiting shipment to' New injured. Zealand are jars of water melted Mr. Stirling, a married man with from snow collected at the U.S. Plat­ a threemonth-old daughter, re­ eau, Byrd and Pole Stations and on mained strapped in the two-seater Mount Erebus. These water samples helicopter as it rolled three times will be analysed for tritium at the across the floating ice shelf. The air­ Division of Nuclear Sciences. craft was wrecked and no attempt T. Choate from Otago University will be made to salvage it. and B. Willis spent several weeks at The two men were picked up by Cape Hallett studying Adelie penguin a second helicopter from the "Gla­ and seal populations for the Domin­ cier" and the New Zealander con­ ion Museum, returning to Scott Base tinued his re earch. on January 14. 436 ANTAI

MARINE GLA.CIER, GE:OL'OGIICA S1U 1RV1EY

by J. E. S. Lawrence*

The New Zealand Northern Party miles to The Pleiades, a group of planned to work for up to- nine volcanic peak abo e the icefalls at weeks on a V-shaped journey round the head of the Mariner. Leaving a the head of the Mariner Glacier in substantial dump, they travelled 25 Northern Victoria Land, 300 miles mile to the North-west into the North of Scott Base. From the air, mountains, camping in a high cwm this place looked impressive; from under the 3,000 ft N.W. face of Mt. the ground it was alpine scenery to McCarthy. This fine rock peak, and perfection, rock and ice peaks rising it retaining ridges gave three days' to over 10,000 ft all round, steep profitable geologising and climbing, passes and high neves; dominating though rock towers on the West the Eastern side of the glacier was ridge stopped them from reaching the great ice dome of the Victory the summit of McCarthy. The rock Plateau, and to the West, above the was sedimentary, as expected, icefalls, the shelf of the Supernal though scattered volcanics abounded Massif hid the Meander Glacier, and On December 2, they traversed to the neve leading to the twin spires the South, and up through a steep of Mount Murchison over 13,000 ft pass into the snowfield behind Mc­ high. The coast lay 50 miles to the Carthy. This cirque provided some East. astonishing scenery; three days The task of the expedition was were spent on exploring it, geologis­ to make a detailed geological survey ing, and the climb of McCarthy by 'Of the area, and to establish the re­ the South-east ridge. The party lationship between the sediments to moved further South on the 6th, up the North, and the granitics to the the long climb to the Victory Plat­ South. It was hoped that an exposed eau. The natural gateway to the contact might be found between Plateau 166 0 53' E., 72 0 41' S., was these two groups. reached at 9}550 ft after a rise of On November 24 at 0800 hrs., the 2,500 ft in just over four miles. Jour­ Northern and Southern parties both neys were made from this base left Williams Field for a reconnais­ camp out on to the Plateau; the sance flight. The C 130 wa con- weather began to deteriorate, and picuous by a dilapidated gre mare the caravan retreated down to stencilled just aft of the crew door. 6,600 ft when a storm started that After first a touchdown, they landed lasted three days. at 8,500 ft on the Evans eve at the The toboggan and sledge were requested Put-in Point. Surfaces dug out on December 15, and the were satisfactory for a loaded Her­ camp moved eight miles to a suit­ cules, and they took off, and re­ able position near the eastern edge turned to Base. Twelve hours later of the Glacier from which the ex­ the plane again landed on the Evan~ posed nunataks could be worked. Neve, this time with four toboggans It was soon established that the and six sledges loaded with over contact did not lie on this side of 12,0001b of gear. The two parties the Mariner, and so the journey slept for a few hours at a com­ cO~l?enced back to the Dump, geo,. munal site, then moved off indepen­ loglslng through the Pleiades on the dently that afternoon. way. These hill yielded the fi t The Northern party sledged 8 traces of granitics, though they proved hard to explore, since h * Field Leader. urface encountered were either March, 1967 ANTARCTI'C 437

blue ice or large sastrugi, and for The journey back to the Neve was three days there were strong winds. plagued by poor visibility; and on The Dump was reached on the 20th, the day of the landing, semi-white­ and the following day, in poor con­ out conditions allowed the plane to ditions, progress towards the Re­ only briefly sight the flares from treat Hills to the West was stopped overhead. It landed some miles to after only twelve miles, by cre­ the North-east. Neither plane nor vasses and whiteout. A further five toboggans could see each other, miles when the weather improved since visibility was down to one saw the party encamped at the foot mile. By occasionally stopping and of the highest peak in the Retreat cutting the toboggan motors, it was Hills. From this base, they geolo­ possible to home in onto the sound gised, and climbed the high peak of the C 130's engines, and it was by the N.W. ridge. Christmas was with considerable appreciation of spent here; a welcome airdrop of the skill of VX 6 squadron U.S. Navy mail and equipment was received that the party finally climbed only a few hours before the blizzard aboard under the welcome sign of which lasted for five days. the /lold grey mare". The next part of the route lay up the Eastern side of the hills, and a further dump was established at the Southern end. The Mount Supernal massif was reached on the 31st; a WEALTH FROM T E small dump was left at the foot and loads were relayed up to a height of ANTARCTIC SEAS? 11,300 ft at a camp high in the cym behind the N.W. ridge. This moun­ Professor G. A. Knox, head of zoo­ tain was granite: it was climbed logy at the University of Canterbury on New Year's day, one rope con­ and a New Zealand representative tinuing on over the summit to com­ at the S.C.A.R. meeting recently held plete a traverse of the peak. in Santiago, Chile, said on his return A prominent peak could be seen that provided strict control can be directly to the North, and about assured and necessary research un­ seven miles away, which appeared dertaken beforehand, the Special to be a darker rock, though still Committee on Antarctic Research on the same side of the glacier. The and the Special Committee on party journeyed back down the Oceanic Research may recommend mountain, picked up the dumped exploitation of pack-ice-area pro­ stores, and then drove North to the ducts to the 12 Antarctic Treaty Southern tip of the peak. It was powers. now apparent that the contact was These products include krill, the close; the rock was Robertson Bay planktonic crustacea on which the Group, but had large granite sills baleen whale feeds, which is an ex­ running through it. The peak, 10,400 ceedingly rich source of protein, and ft, was climbed, not without diffi­ the fur seal. culty, and all the expo ed rock ex­ Both Russians and Japanese had plored. The actual contact was done preliminary estimates on krill found a day later, clearly defined at as a source of protein and its har­ the foot of the main South-east vest could be economic, Professor ridge of Mount Supernal. Knox said. An unfortunate minor accident to Pelagic seals could also offer a the Senior Geologist* forced a pro­ rich return of furs provided control longed stay at the Retreat Hills was strictly enforced. Dump on return, and it was decided to return to the Evans Neve. A pick "But," Professor Knox emphas­ up date of Friday, January 13, was ised, "both committees were adam­ arranged with Base. ant that much research must be done before any such propositions * Graham Hancox: hi leg was calded.-Ed. are formally recommended." 438 ANTARCTIC March. 1967

diary for 21st February, 1904, on the AVIATION GLACIER return volage of "Discovery" from Scott's first expedition, Dr. Wilson SOUTHERN FIEILD PARTY wrote: aMount Melbourne was quite clear The Aviator Glacier team, R. Chis­ today and appeared to have a filmy holm (leader), S. Nathan and F. J. mist hanging in the main crater, Schulte (geologist) and 1. Stewart, were flown with the Mariner Glacier exactly as we have often seen in party on November 25 to a common Mount Terror, which always makes put-in point on the Evans Neve in us think they are not quite asleep."* 0 0 The party were picked up on Janu­ 72 45' S., 165 E., at an altitude of ary 13 by a "Staten Island" helicop­ 8,500 feet and some 250 miles north ter from where they were camped of Scott Base. on a 700-f1. high cliff at Cape Wash­ The Evans Neve feeds both ington, and transferred to the glaciers, which flow into the Ros icebreaker lying a mile off shore. Sea, the Mariner in approximately 0 0 Although not part of their project 73 30' S., the Aviator in 74 S. The the party visited an Adelie Peng~in Aviator flows in a S.E,. direction for rookery noted by the Borchgrevlnk about 50 miles before discharging expedition at the turn of this century into Wood Bay. and not visited since. The party Over a period of seven weeks, counted 4,500 birds. The chicks were using two motor toboggans. the not as advanced as the ones at the Aviator party sledged about 500 Cape Hallett rookery farther north. miles from the put-in point, down The icebreaker stopped for a day the ridge between the Campbell and at Franklin Island, where the geolo­ Aviator Glaciers, to the coast near gists gathered samples of basalt Mount Melbourne en route. which contained a type of rock thought to have been brought up VOLCANIC ACTIVITY from the interior of the earth by vocanic activity. During an ascent of the 8,900-ft. Accompanied by two zoologists, mountain they found volcanic Wood and Stirling, who had been activity on M1. Melbourne. on the island four days, the team HSteam issues from small craters, returned to Scott Base on January the surrounding ground beneath the 14. surface is too hot to touch and there [We hope to publish a fuller report is a smell of hydrogen sulphide," the by Ross Chisholm in our next issue. geologists say. -Ed.] They drove the toboggans to with­ in a thousand feet of the summit, which was exposed rock. About the THE VERSATILE KIWI summit was unweathered volcanic scoria and distinct lava flows. The A new organist has been appointed main craters were old, with smaller at the Chapel of the Snows, McMur­ ones around their edge. do, the well-known religious centre Unweathered cinder cones showed for the U.S. Naval Support Fo ce, that there was volcanic activity in Antarctica. the last few hundred years. Ice pin­ He is Chris M. Rickards, fitter­ nacles six to 10 feet high, and from electrician at New Zealand's Scott five to 20 feet in diameter, marked Base. Before coming to New Zea­ places where steam issued from the land at the age of 12 Chris lived in ground. England, but before that he lived as HWe knocked at one of these ice a small boy in Uruguay, where he formations with an ice axe and was born. found them hollow, the space inside There should be no lack of volume being large enough for all four of us in the McMurdo Church services­ to climb in," Nathan said. Chris is a Power Station Electrician. There have been earlier suspicions * Edward Wilson: Diary of the 'Discovery' that there might be some volcanic Expedition to the Antarctic Regions 1901­ activity on Mount Melbourne. In his 1904. Blandford Press, 1966. Ma rch, 1967 ANTARCTI-C 439

Geologists In The Dry Valleys

The history of Antarctica from twenty thousand years ago, at the end of the last Glacial Age, was sought this summer by Professor H. W. Wellman of the Victoria University of Wellington. Holding ninety per cent. of the world' ice, Antarctica is an important part of the glacial story.

Professor Wellman, with geology a hundred feet and there are per­ student Andrew Duncan, worked manently frozen salt lakes. from November 23 to December 14 in the dry valley region, about a hun­ A main feature of erosion is II salt dred miles north-west of Scott Base. fretting". Crystallisation of alt These valleys are the largest ice-free breaks the rock, then winds carry area of Antarctica and Professor away the fragments. Wellman says it is the only place liThe environment of these valleys where there is a hope of getting any is unique to the world," says Pro­ history. fessor Wellman. "Temperatures are IIDuring the past three million rarely above freezing point, yet in years there have been times of gla­ other parts of the world where tem­ ciation and inter-glaciation. The pre­ peratures are about, or below, sent period is one of inter-glaciation freezing point, valleys are perman­ and at times of glaciation tempera­ ently covered with ice or snow. tures are about six degrees colder," Generally the snowline descends says the professor. as one goes south from New Zealand, down to sea level at sixty "In most parts of the world it is degrees south; then, it appears to clear to geologists what happened at rise again, giving parts of the dry the end of the last glaciation, valleys a snow line higher than the twenty thousand years ago. How­ lowest in New Zealand." ever, there is no knowledge of what happened in Antarctica, which is The professor worked in both the important to know for the history Wright and Taylor valleys. In the of the world. It was thought by Taylor Valley, at Nusbaum Riegel, Scott's expeditions fifty year ago were two other Victoria University that more ice covered the dry valley geologists, Ian Smith and Vincent region during the last glaciation Neall. They were investigating dyke than today, but this is doubtful; swarms, which are narrow intru­ there could well have been little sions of igneous rock, presumed to difference." have come up through cracks in the Everything about the dry valle older rocks. "Where these intrusions is mysterious and scientists get no cross they are offset, so this pattern help from exp~rience gained in tem­ will be noted and samples taken perate regions. Professor Wellman for further work back at the univer­ says it is useless to expect processes sity laboratory," said Mr. Smith. He of warmer climates in the dry and Neall were in the dry valley valleys. region until December 23. Both V.U.W. teams were airlifted from Snow-capped peaks from si to Scott Base by helicopter and seven thousand feet separate the camped in tents, from which they narrow dry valleys, with glaciers worked by back-packing their creeping down the sides and stop­ equipment. ping abruptly a few thousand feet before the valley floor. As in any Will a New Zealand station be set tropical desert, this frozen desert up in the Dry Valleys? See the ha sand dune blown to height of article on page 449 in this is ue. 440 ANTARCTI'C Morch, 1967 THE LONG HOT SUMMER CAPE BIRD 1966-67 by E. C. YOUNG*

The Antarctic unit of the Univer­ weather was right up to expectation sity of Canterbury worked in two this year. Most wind came from the areas this year and most of the guff north and was seldom stronger than below is about the lot working at 10 knots. What makes for smugness Cape Bird, about 50 miles north of is that while sunbathing or working Scott Base at the northern end of in calm sunshine at the rookery the Ross Island. This group concentrated Sound was, as often as not, being on terrestrial ecology - the other, beaten by strong southerly winds. working from Scott Base itself, looks These normally approach to a mile into the politically more exciting or so of the rookery but provide topic of seal abundance and move­ a relief from monotony by sweeping ment. , closer for short periods. It is thought Last year Reg Blezard and I went that the northerly we enjoy is the off to Cape Bird without great ex­ backlash of the southerly sweeping pectations and lived comfortably around Cape Crozier. As in the pre­ enough in two tents, beautifully sited vious summer no working days out­ on a shelf overlooking part of the side were lost to weather- a record northern penguin colony and the surely hard to equal in any area of Sound beyond. It did not take lonp: the world. to discover that we had stumbled I spent all summer again looking on one of the better Antarctic areas into the problem of dependence of for weather, and for convenience for skua on penguin and the effect on che study of birds and arthropods, the penguin of skua predation and and after a week or two the first disturbance,. This involved banding plans had been sketched for the and plotting, the territories of the development of a grandiose research 200 or so skua pairs at the northern station on the site. It is very pleasing rookery. The territories of many co be able to report here that the pairs lacked penguins and these station now exists. At the moment it birds fished at sea for the entire takes the form of a large plywood summer. Those with penguins in box embellished with all the refine­ their territories ((protected" from 15 ments of civilised man but it is to 2,000 breeding pairs. That is, hoped that the caretaker's house and essentially the same situation exists private laboratory of the original here as at the very much smaller plans will soon be erected. (Without rookery at Cape Royds. The feeding a house a wife's isn't possible and behaviour durinQ' the year was also without a wife even the best Ant­ the same as at Royds and again no arctic living seems to lack some­ skua pairs were able to feed through­ thing.) ont summer exclusively from their The laboratory had been prefabri­ territory - at times too Iittle food cated overwinter at Scott Base and was available there and they fished erected at Cape Bird in October. It at sea. wa~ a very welcome sight when John This second summer has allowed Darhy and I arrived in the middle of a great amount of detail to be fitted the night on November 14. Few into the general account - which is modifications were made to it and largely arithmetical. Details of the it housed the four-man party very am.ount of food taken by each skua comfortably indeed. The Cape Bird each day, which birds are aggres­ sive predators and which mere

* Dr. Young describes himself as (I Caretaker scavengers, and how the behaviour Cape Birdt1.. ' of individual birds varies through Morch , 1967 ANTARCTIC 441

The Harrison laboratory from the North: late summer. Photos: J. T. Darby. the year, and, by fencing, how well porting the view that the fighting is a colony of penguins can do without triggered by hunger, and that this skna interference, are examples. One has only to occur for a very short point for limitless speculation is period. He "proved" also just how that, as a proportion of the eggs laid, extraordinarily sensitive breeding penguins accounted for more skua skua are to continuous, apparently eggs than vice versa; prompting the innocuous, disturbance - especially suggestion that the study would be in those pairs never worked before. better titled "Predation on skua by Jim Peterson started digging back penguin during the egg stage". into basic zoology in a programme Dennis Procter spent his summer that we hope will correlate the cycle glued to field glasses (16XSO's for of behaviour of breeding penguins a change) watching the behaviour of with changes in the levels of various skua chicks immediately after hatch­ hormones circulating in the blood. ing to see why and when they The first problem - how to get a started fighting. This work was ham­ blood sample without hurting the pered by having too few chicks too penguin - has been overcome and late in the summer - a consequence we await the results of the analyses of the good weather early in sum­ impatiently. The plasma samples are mer that clotted brash ice into the being processed in New Zealand Sound, preventing sea feeding near which necessitates their storage over at hand and causing nest desertion. ~ummer. H did some bird watching Through a series of experiments he also. This took the form of follow­ has gathered strong evidence sup- ing penguins coming on to the 442 ANTARCTI'C March, 1967 rookery from the ea, watching them major and reasonable complaints finding and feeding their chicks and were of too much cloud and too looking into hat happens when the much cold for the cameras, too few chicks are left at the Hwrong" colony second of winding on the cine at the end of the feeding chase. cameras, too little film and unco­ (Apart from a general thirst for operative models. We know neverthe­ knowledge that motivated all those less that he ha a very fine film on working at Bird he wa finding out predation in proces . John and Jim for me whether chicks left in the al 0 spent long evenings anderinp: wrong place would mo e back to along the beach banding Weddell their own nest areas and whether, Seals to support Stirling's work. during this passage, they are vulner­ Rod East and Ian Stirling, the abel to attack by kuas. The simple other official party member , worked an wer are that the do and are.). from Scott Base throughout the summer. Stirling writes: ltInvestigations into the population dynamic of the Weddell Seal in McMurdo Sound this summer were highly productive. Many of the seals tagged in past seasons were re­ sighted and well over a thousand more seals ere tagged this summer in McMurdo Sound. Cape Hallett, Cape Crozier and Franklin Island regions. Few seals were seen in areas other than that in which they were originally tagged. Populations of seals \ ere censused along the Vic­ toria Land coast with the aid of helicopters from the ice-breakers (Staten Island' and (Glacier'. Day­ to-da work on the sea ice in Mc­ Murdo Sound was done with the use of a motor toboggan and a Gnat. Census of the lVlcMurdo Sound popu­ lation was done at about 10-day intervals from U.S. Navy helicopters. This was to determine the change of numbers and seasonal movements Jim "Petersen in fairly usual dress carries of the populations of seal popula­ out an all-too-common chore. conveying tions in particular and ertebrate water from the stream. populations in general." Welcome isitors this ummer to The two projects overlapped also Bird include Colin Clark (who dis­ when I held all the chicks from appointed us by failing to come for a colony for one da in an enclosure a week at the end of summer); Reg at the edge of the colony. We were Blezard who cam to survey the delighted to find that the parents middle and southern rookeries and returning to feed the chicks stood at who arrived with some magnificent the nest sites and ignored the chicks steak instead of the ubiquitous beer standing behind wire only a few carton; Rod East and Craig Kensler yards away. That i , as others have who came to look at seals and the concluded, th parents return first sea respective!. , and a host of Ant­ to the nest and if the chicks don't arctic dignitaries who came to help respond to their calling then that's in celebrating a double birthday on that. (See photo.) January 17. The last member of the part had The party was pulled out by the worst and most difficult job. This ltGlacier" on January 29 and spent was John Darby, photographer. His 10 days to a lifetime at Scott Base March, 1967 ANTARCTI'C 443

Chicks in an enclosure. The parents are standing on nest sites. waiting for the bus home. This seal party. It is not everyone these period was made bearable by the days who is offered a ship the size very friendly hospitality we received of the "Glacier" as personal trans­ there and was enlivened by the plan­ port. ning necessary for the running of the tllntemational Ice Shelf, 4XI00 Down T'row Relay" (not held because END OF SEASON of blizzard obscurity although 11 A flutter of excitement on Febru­ teams found the entry fee of a car­ ary 27 following indications of acti­ ton not too impossible) and the vity on Mount Terror (10,700 ft) tlNaturalists versus Trade Unionists after both Erebus and Terror had Chess Match" (not held as the been cloud-covered for more than former went home). two weeks, enlivened the last days It should be noted that the Unit of the summer season. Scott Base could not exist without the support leader Colin Clark organised an in­ it received from many groups. Ant­ vestigation by OTchiston and Kidd. arctic Division provided the labora­ Using a motor toboggan and sledge, tory, clothing and equipment, Scott the trip at this late period may take Base gave close tactical support to five days in very cold conditions. the Cape Bird party and provided very good living and help to the two [The investigation was later can­ working on seals. The American sup­ celled. Ed.] port groups provided all transport On the same day the last two to and fro to Bird and gave vast United States Hercules aircraft left amounts of time and trouble to the for New Zealand. 444 ANTARCTI'C March, 1<';6/

picked 12 Ib of fresh strawberries R.N.Z.A.F. for the men at Scott Base. They ANTARCTIC FLIGHTS were flown south the same evening. The Royal New Zealand Air Force AUSTER FOR MUSEUM made its first flight of the season The Auster plane which was used to the Antarctic on January 8 when extensively for scouting and the a Hercules from Christchurch land­ transport of men and material by ed at Williams Field, near McMurdo the New Zealand team which estab­ Station. l'shed and first occupied Scott Base The aircraft left Christchurch Air­ in 1956-57, has been donated by the port at 6.8 a.m., and arrived back at R.N.Z.A.F. to the Museum of Trans­ 1.30 a.m. after a two-hour stop. port and Technology in Auckland. In On the flight south 25,0001b of August last year it crashed into Kai­ cargo was carried. Passengers in­ para Harbour. It was re-built and cluded the superintendent of the refitted with its Antarctic ski-wheel Antarctic Division of the Depart­ landing combination before being ment of Scientific and Industrial handed over to the museum. Research (Mr. R. B. Thomson) and a New Zealand Broadcasting Cor­ poration television team. BIG BLACKOUT On the return flight the Hercules carried three Queen's Scouts and The longest communications break 'Mr. John Whalan, a D.S.I.R. photo­ between the Ross Dependency area 'grapher of Wellington, who had of Antarctica and the outside world broken a leg near Scott Base three in recent years began on January .days earlier. 28, when sunspot storms blacked Two further flights were made out communications and delayed with approximately the same weight aircraft flights between New Zea­ of cargo, the third flight leaving land and the Antarctic. Williams Field at 4 p.m. on January For two and a half days Scott J2. "·The average time for the 2,200 Base operator Norman White hope­ mile flight was seven and a quarter fully tapped out his call-sign to no hours. '[he R.N.Z.A.F. flights were avail. There was silence across the pooled with United States Navv full board which normally brings Hercules flights and cargo carried in the major broadcasting stations was for both McMurdo Station and of the world. Only McMurdo could Scott Base. be heard, also calling other Antarc­ Three similar flights were made tic stations and the world, un­ last year. answered. It was 108 hours before the first TWO THANK YOU'S sound from the world outside was R.N.Z.A.F. Sergeant L. P. Boyd, of heard. Even then only intermittent Wigram, flew to the Antarctic contact could be made with New aboard the Air Force Hercules which Zealand. made three supply flights from Because radio contact could not Christchurch in January. be made, scheduled aircraft w re His visit was at the invitation of not flown between New Zealand and men of the .Z. Antarctic expedition Antarctica. in appreciation of the assistance he The effect of this sudden and pro­ had given them with transport, din­ longed isolation was uncanny for ing and accommodation at Wigram the first few days. The last news while they were en route to Scott heard from the outside world was Base. that a moon probe rocket had ex­ liThe boys at Scott Base gave me ploded. a wonderful time. It was thoroughly WHO DID IT? enjoyable and I couldn't have got Scientists at Scott Base and the better treatment if I had been the nearby United States McMurdo sta­ Governor-General," he said. tion are debating whether this black­ On his return Sergeant Boyd out in communications was caused March, 1967 ANTARCTI'C 445 by a solar flare or by cosmic disturb arctica for world release early next ance further away in outer space. year. Normally the ionosphere reflects In January the N.Z.B.C. team ar~ radio communications and propa­ ried at Scott Base on board the first gates them around the earth. The R.N.Z.A.F. flight of the season and solar flares disrupt the regular lay­ filmed around the Base for about ers of the ionosphere. two weeks. Scott Base ionospheric observer, Mr. Robert Murdoch, said that no SCOTT DOCUMENTARY layers of the ionosphere had been recorded above Scott Base during A three..man American camera­ four days. crew spent about seven weeks in the Antarctic, shooting 60,000 ft of ttT'he ionosphere is spread in one 16 mm colour film which is to be dense layer close to the earth and edited to produce a 2,000 ft one-hour instead of reflecting radio signals television documentary on Captain this layer was just absorbing them, Scott. Camera-man W. Hartigan, as happens at times of major solar who made films in the Antarctic for flare disturbance," said Mr. Mur­ three summer seasons from 1955, doch. and his assistant, with director J. F. Lieutenant Commander H. Fer­ Hughes, went south on ttGlacier" on rere, assistant chief of staff for com­ November 15 and arrived back in munications to the United States Christchurch on January 3. Navy Antarctic Support Force, said such blackouts normally lasted 36 Filming was done at several loca­ hours. tions, including the South Pole and Scott Base. liThe New Zealanders at COn1mander Ferrere said atmo­ Scott Base gave us a fantastic spheric disruption of communica­ amount of help," said Mr. Hartigan, tions could l?e expected again now ttand often worked into the night to the II-year cycle of maximum sun­ assist us. They're a great bunch of spot activity was near. The number fellows." Men from Scott Base, in­ of communications blackouts could cluding the three Queen's Scouts be expected to increase next year David Goulden, Dennis Hunt and and in 1969 despite new develop­ Anthony Mort, acted as members of ments in communications systems. Scott's party. Others making their Commander Ferrere said there film debut were Warwick Orchiston, was no way of beating the pheno­ Peter Whiteford, Robert Murdoch, menon. John Williams, Lloyd Beech, David Brown and John Caswell. OUR MEN MUST BE The film is one of an American Broadcasting Company series liThe PHOTOGENIC Saga of Western Man", and is to be Again this summer Scott Base is shown on American television on being featured in many films. No March 21. fewer than four filming groups have "No facial shots of people appear been working about the Base. Day in the films and close-ups are done to day life and the departure of the in silhouette," Mr. Hughes said. Ice Shelf field party were filmed by a German television team. This film ttEarly parts of the film were was in colour and is to be among made in England and to get authen­ the first screened when colour tele­ ticity, research was done at the vision starts in Germany about the Scott Polar Institute, Cambridge. middle of next year. "Reindeer hide had to be bought Location scenes of Scott Base in Finland for some garments, and have been filmed in colour by the to conclude the project some film­ Australian National Film Board and ing has to be done in Christchurch," will be p·art of a cinema film on Ant- Mr. Hughes said. 446 ANTARCTI'C March. 1967 u.s. SPACE MEN VISIT SCOTT BASE Visitors to Scott Base on January mainly to familiarise ourselves with 7 were four Directors of the United the vast area that is devoted and States National Aeronautics and internationally dedicated to re­ Space Administration (N.A.S.A.). search, and yet, at the same time, is Dr. Werner von Braun (Director, dependent on a very long and com­ George C. Marshall Space Flight plex logistics chain." The interplay Center). between research in the field in an Dr. Maxine Fagot (Assistant Direc­ unusual environment and the very tor, Engineering and Develop­ intense support chain in the Antarc­ ment, Manned Spacecraft Cen­ tic was, he said, very similar to ter, Houston). what they would meet in the space projects, including a landing on the Dr. Robert R. Gilruth (Director, moon. Manned Spaceflight Center). "We want to take advantage of Dr. Ernst Stuhlinger (Director, everything that has been learned Research Projects Division, Mar­ here." he said, liSO that we do not shall Space Flight Center). have to re-plough ground already The four scientists VJere at Mc­ covered." Murdo Station with a view to utilis­ In the Dry Valley area they . ing American research in the Ant­ thought they had learned a great artie to further their own space deal which would help them in de­ studies. termining the best method of detect­ Mter being shown the Scott Base ing life-forms on Mars. scientific programme and about the base, the party was entertained to Dr. Gilruth said that their visit morning tea and met members of to Scott Base had been one of the the base. highlights of their trip. The four Americans, who are en­ GNAT FOR THE MOON? gaged in sending capsules and men into space, later went for a ride on While at Scott Base, Dr. von dog-drawn sledges driven by Bob Braun showed considerable interest Murdoch and Warwick Orchiston. in the design and performance of Such transport is a long count-down the Gnat, a three-wheeled, two­ from the type of transport dealt with stroke ilengine and seat" vehicle by N.A.S.A. directors, yet, Dr. von designed and manufactured in Braun said as he patted the dogs, Christchurch primarily for use on lilt was a marvellous experience." New Zealand high-country farms. In the afternoon the Scott Base Scott Base zoologists from Can­ leader, Colin Clark, escorted the terbury University use one for mov­ N.A.S.A. party on a visit to the his­ ing about seal colonies. toric huts of Ross Island. These The Gnat is often taken on jour­ huts of the IShackleton and Scott neys of up to 50 miles and can pull expeditions were cleared of ice and about 500 pounds at 5 miles an hour are preserved as historic shrines by over even snow surfaces. members of the New Zealand Ant­ Dr. von Braun and Dr. Fagot both arctic Society, working under the "test drove" the vehicle and dis­ auspices and with the help of the cussed its points with other mem­ Antarctic Division of the New Zea­ bers of the party. land D'.S.I.R. Noticing the sign UHurry, I am late for my ap:pointment at the crater SIMILAR CONDITIONS Copernicus" painted on its side, Dr. Speaking at Scott Base, Dr. von von Braun joked as the pull-cord Braun discounted any suggestions failed to start the engine the first that it was planned to use Antarctica time. as a major rocket-launching base, or Dr. von Braun asked for all the to make it a recovery zone for astro­ information he could have on the nauts. "Our purpose," he said, "was Gnat. March, 1967 ANTARCTIC 447

CHANGES AFOOT The anticipated emphasis in future EREBUS CLIMB years on semi-mobile and static field Although the plann.ed geological parties as opposed to the long dis­ investigation around the crater zone tance dog-team or tractor journeys of Erebus this summer was unavoid­ of earlier years has led to consider­ ably cancelled, Erebus did not re­ able modifications in the planning main unvisited. The seventh ascent, and equipment of field parties. by New Zealanders Bartlett and For example, the home-made wani­ Vickers, was recorded in our Dec­ gan used by the ice-drilling party ember issue. last summer proved so successful The eighth climb was undertaken that another one was built at Scott Base during the winter on top' of a late in the summer. The climbers spare Maudheim sledge. This year planned to study nuclear fall-out, the Canterbury University party at snow accumulation, geology and en­ Cape Bird is occupying a 16 by 12 tomology, and to test the perform­ plywood hut (i in. thick plywood ance of a new snow-vehicle. The on the outside) prefabricated at climb took the place of the expedi­ Scott Base, transported to the site tion forecast in our September issue in fi e helicopter lifts, and erected (p. 324) which could not be imple­ at Cape Bird in four days by Greeks mented owing to the departure from and Bartlett. Painted a bright New Zealand of the geologist, Dr. orange, it tlsleeps" six men and has Ewart. ample heating and cooking facilities. The party comprised Dave Lowe, The station is named the Harrison leader, Bruce Willis, Bill Lucy, War­ Laboratory, after John Harrison, wick Orchiston, Peter Whiteford and pictured below in a characteristic Bryan George. mood. As a first move, early in January Orchiston and Bob Murdoch began to reconnoitre a suitable route. Us­ ing dog-teams they got to between 2,500 and 3,000 feet, but found snow conditions too soft for climbing. The party finally left Scott Base on January 26. Using a sledge with an out-size team of 13 dogs and two motor toboggans (a Fox and a Pol­ aris), the party set out to establish a base camp at about 7,000 ft. Soft snow slowed the party down and they camped for the first night at about 3,000 feet. Winds gusting up to 20 knots limited visibility, and it was hard going for the six-man team and the dogs. The party was held here for two days. Oln the 29th they climbed a further 3,000 feet. Soft snow then held them up again for a day. The base was later estab­ lished and was manned by Bryan On his return to Scott B,ase from the George and Peter Whiteford. third ascent of Erebus, (See Antarctic, The summit team comprised Sep. 1966. p. 360.) He was killed during Lowe, Lucy, Willis and Orchiston, a mountain rescue attempt on June 23 who moved forward throughout the last. late evening of the 30th and the Consideration is now being given to early morning of the 31st. At about the construction of similar huts for 10,000 feet Lowe returned to camp, use in areas of special significance while Lucy, Willis and Orchiston for geological, glaciological, biologi­ reached the ummit at 7 a.m. cal and meteorological research. Lucy placed on the crater rim of 448 ANTARCTIC March. 1967

Erebus a piece of New Zealand FAR SOUTH-FAR ORTH greenstone which was given to Ray Tatham of this year's summer sup­ Two young New Zealanders, re­ port party by a Maori woman who cently back from the Antarctic, are has been a life-long friend of his heading for the Arctic, at the invita­ family and who requested that he tion of a Canadian scientist. leave it "somewhere in Antarctica". Teaching survival and rescue tech­ After camping for the night at the niques is their passport. Both are 7,000 ft base camp, the party made members of the Tararua Tramping a rapid return to Scott Base in four Club. J. Hayton (26) is a bachelor of and a quarter hours. commerce and qualified accountant. [We hope to publish a fuller ac­ A. Bibby is a little younger; his count in our next issue.-Ed.] main interest is photography.

ME ASLEEP CHA CE MEETING Both recently spent three weeks at The sleep patterns of New Zea­ McMurdo Sound with a party from landers wintering at Scott Base are the Federated Mountain Clubs to in­ being studied as part of a United struct American staff in survival and States Antarctic project. Similar re­ rescue. While there, they met Dr. search has been done at stations in E. F. Rootes, head of the Canadian the Arctic. Continental Shelf Project. "He was In explaining their project at looking for someone who wanted to Scott Base, Doctors Jay T. Shirley work in the Arctic," Mr. Hayton said. and Chester M. Pierce said sleep in­ "He asked us to put in a formal formation obtained from Scott Base application, but we're confident could be different from that of there will be a field job up there American bases. ItFor a start the for us. We are arranging to leave in temperature of the huts in which mid-February, and the first job lasts New Zealanders sleep is a lot cooler, till July. as well as the routine work and way of life being different," said Dr. Shirley. ARCTIC ASSIGNMENT . At set times of the year computer "We expect our task will be much cards will be filled in by each of the same as in the Antarctic-look­ the twelve New Zealanders winter­ ing after the safety aspect of the ing at the base. These cards are field parties of scientists on the pro­ broken down into half hour periods ject." over the full twenty-four hours and Mr. Hayton said the scientists the amount of time spent on work­ would be working on geophysical ing, relaxing, and sleeping is noted. and oceanographical research in the remotest north of Canada. Albert Base, the main base on the field parties' operation , is at the tip of HELP Ellesmere Island, across a channel from Greenland and onI about 400 When two climbers were killed in miles from the North Pole. the Mt. Aspiring area in November the team recovering their bodies re­ AND THEN? ceived valuable assistance from the U.S. picket ship ItThomas J. Gary", After their time in this region, the in Dunedin at the time. As the team two expect to move across Canada had difficulty in obtaining supplies to attend a series of camps in the late on Sunday, the ItGary" volun­ Yukon for the country's alpine teered to help and supplied the clubs, in tough mountain country teams' complete rations, two stret­ near the border with Alaska. chers, and monitored the frequency After that they have nebulous the rescue workers were using in plans, but it seems likely they will case any further help should be re­ be away from New Zealand for a quired. year or so before settling down. March. 1967 ANTARCTIC 449

NEW ZEALAND PLANS SUB-STATION. IN DRY VALLEYS

A sub-cotmmittee of New Zea­ shifted their studies to Cape Bird land's R.D.R.C. (Ross Depend­ where a small summer base has been opened. ency Research Committee) has liThe other hut is near to Scott been inv.estigating the possi­ Base and was used for an auroral bilities of establishing a small programme that has been com­ scientific station in the Wright pleted." Valley near Lake Vanda. Once Should the Ross Dependency Re­ investigations into sites, logis­ search Committee decide to open this year-round station in the dry tic problems and the scale of valley region both prefabricated scientific programmes are com­ huts will be transported to the sel­ pleted, the R.D.R.C. will decide ected site and the first party of whether to r e com men d to­ four to six men will live near Lake Government the proposal to set Vanda next winter. up New Zealand's sec 0 n d In the proposed scientific pro­ gramme continuous upper atmo­ wintering station in Antarctica sphere sciences will be studied dur­ -in fact, the first actually on ing the winter as well as full the continent. meteorological and glaciological pro­ grammes. A year ago New Zealand, !he liIn summer," said Mr. Thomson, United States and Japan were gOIng limore extensive outdoor sciences to share a year-round station in the will be carried out with the station dry valleys. However, this did not as a base for field parties. eventuate and now New Zealand liThe base and its environment plans to build its own station. will be a strict science area and to After aerial and helicopter recon­ minimise interference to scientific naissances early this year, the site recording equipment generators will for this proposed station was select­ not be installed. All equipment will ed by R. B. Thomson, Superinten­ be operated by batteries, recharged dent, Antarctic Division, and J. by wind-powered generators with Holmes Miller, the Wellington sur­ small motor generators as a stand­ veyor who was deputy-leader to Sir by." Edmund Hillary's party and sel­ The dry valley region is about 60 ected the site of Scott Base. miles west of Scott Base. Only the Bad weather prevented a planned summer appearance of the valleys ground reconnaissance of the is known - there is no covering of Wright Valley by three men to be ice or snow, glaciers hang part way put in by helicopter, and the state down the near sheer 6,000 feet sides, of the sea-ice at this time of year there are sand dunes 100 feet high, forbade an Haverland" approach. rivers flow, and there are lakes with HIt is intended to shift two huts thickly frozen surfaces. that are no longer being used into No one knows exactly what hftp­ the Wright Valley, near Lake Van­ pens in the valleys during the winter da," Mr. Thomson said. and over the short summer months liOne of these huts i at Cape scientists of many nationalities ex­ Royds 25 miles north of Scott Base amine the geology and physics of and was used as a summer station the area. The only life in the valleys for biologists. is microscopic, collecting around the liTwo season ago the biologist hore of the lakes and in treams 450 ANTARCTI'C March, 1967

TWO FLAG RAISINGS AT SCOTT BASE 1957 From left: A. B. Ramon Tito, ------, Capt. Kirkwood, Sir Edmund Hillary, Admiral Dufek. from the snouts of the glaciers. N.Z. GIRL ON "This area has puzzled explorers HELTANIN" and scientists," said Mr. Thomson. On the 22-day Tasman cruise of "Since New Zealand's Antarctic the U.S. Research Ship "Eltanin" research started 10 years ago parties was Miss Helen Clark, M.Sc., of from Victoria University of Welling­ Napier. Since her graduation at the ton have worked in the valley each Victoria University of Wellington, summer. Miss Clark has been lecturing in bio­ "There is a full range of work for logy at the Universities of Malta and geologists, and physicists are inter­ Ghana, and before her return to ested in the excessive salt content of New Zealand was at the Smithson­ the lakes and their abnormally ian In titute in Washington, U.S.A. warm waters beneath the ice cover­ On "Eltanin" she concentrated on ing, where a maximum temperature starfish research. Her aim was to of 77 degrees Fahrenheit has been study IIfresh" specimens direct from recorded." the sea for colour notes. With her in the ship's company of 85 was one other woman, Dr. Helen McCam­ The continent that is most hos­ mon of Pittsburg University. tile to man is the one which will Miss Clark expects to spend a do most for the cause of peace. year working up her results before (Bauer and Lorius) again setting off on her travels. March, 1967 ANTARCTI'C 45/

1967 Bob Thomson (left) and 'Bob' Miller' in white. Eddie Goodale, USARP representative. on Miller's right. Photo: John Murphy.

HE BEING DEAD TOUGH SURGER When Charles Wilkes, the deter­ In an article on Antarctic medical mined American explorer of Ant­ problems in the Australian Health arctic waters, had occasion to refer Education Ad isory Digest, for to John Balleny, the Enderby August, 1966, Dr. Phillip Law men­ Brothers' whaler-captain-explorer, or tions the emergency operation at to the islands which Balleny dis­ an Australian Antarctic station to covered in 1839, he always misspelt aspirate clotted blood and cerebro­ Balleny as Bellamy. spinal fluid from the skull of a man who had suffered a ruptured intra­ In an article in our last issue Peter cranial aneurism. Harper referred to the "Eltanin's" cruise in the vicinity of the Balleny The needle used was manufac­ Islands. But the long dead Wilkes tured in the base workshop, and laid his hand on type-setter and the needle and techniques to be proof-reader alike and "Balleny" was used were first tested on a Wed­ once again transmogrified into "Bel­ dell seal. After being repatriated lamy". on Russian and American aircraft the patient recovered: and the doc­ Please don't blame Mr. Harper. tor got the M.B.E. 452 ANTARCTI'C March, 1967 TWELFTH SOVIET. EXPEDITION SETTLES IN FOR WINTER

138 members of the 12th Soviet The wintering personnel of station Ant~rctic Expedition sailed from Molodezlmaya is 55 'men, comprising Leningrad bound for Antarctica 20 scientists, 27 builders, 3 radio aboard the HOb" on November 5, specialists, 2 cooks, 3 mechanics. 1966. There were about 2,000 tons of I. M. Titovsky is the station leader. cargo. In the middle of January 1967 There will be two foreign scien­ another group of 75 members flew 11 tists workin"" with the XII SAE: E. to Australia on IIIL-18 , a passenger Everett MacNamara, geologist, turbo-propeller aircraft. From the from the U.S.A. Expedition, and Australian port Fremantle this group Josef Sekyra, geologist, from Czecho­ reached Antarctica on board the slovakia. A scientist from Bulgaria IIOb", which came at that time from may also join the expedition. Mimy with about 70 members of the It is planned that a Soviet scientist 11 th Expedition. will conduct scientific research at The following stations will operate the American Antarctic base Mac­ this season: Murdo in 1967. Mirny (66° 33' S., 93° 01' E.; 35 m. above sea level). "OB's" FIRST VOYAGE Novolazarevskaya (70° 46' S., 11° 50' (tOb", on her first southern voyage E.; 102m. above sea level). from Fremantle for the 1966-67 sea­ 0 son, arrived off Molodezhnaya Vostok .(78 28' S., 106° 48' E.; Station, Alasheev Bay, on or about 3,488 m. above sea level). December 13 and disembarked the Molodezhnaya (670 40' S., 45° 51' E.; new team for the station as well as 40 m. above sea level). those who were to make the 3,000 The seasonal personnel. of. the km. surface journey Molodezhnaya­ Expedition is 64 men, comprising 28 Pole of Inaccessibility-Novolazarev­ scientists, 31 pilots, 4 engineers and skaya (Schirmacher Oasis). 1 photo-reporter. The assemblage of the plane AN-6 Dr. P. K. Senko from Leningrad is now began; with the help of this the Deputy Chief of the XII SAE plane men and cargo will be taken for seasonal operations. M. G. Ravich deep into the continent. Besides the from the Research Institute of Arctic team for Molodezhnaya station, th~ Geology, Leningrad, is the chief tractor-train men were also put geologist. ashore for the journey Molodezh­ The wintering personnel of Mimy naya-Pole of Inaccessibility-Novo­ is 63 men, including 23 scientists, 10 lazarevskaya. The length of this trip radio specialists, 4 pilots, and 12 exceeds 3,000 kIn. mechanics. After leaving Molodezhnaya uOb" V. 1. Gerbovich from Leningrad is sailed for Mimy, where the new the Director of the Observatory station personnel were disembarked Mirny and Deputy Chief of the XII and stores and equipment unloaded. SAE. She then sailed for Fremantle. The wintering personnel of Novo­ SECOND VOYAGE lazarevskaya is 14 men, including 9 The last members of the 12th scientists, 1 radio operator, 3 mecha­ Soviet Antarctic Expeditian left nics, 1 cook. O. K. Sedov is the Chief Leningrad on January 19 on an IL-18 of the station. plane on the route Tashkent­ Station Vostok has 16 men, com­ Karachi - Colombo-Jakarta-Darwin­ prising 11 scientists, 1 radio operator, Perth. From Australia they were 3 mechanics, 1 cook. B. M. 'Beliaev taken to the Antarctic by the diesel­ will be in charge. ship "Ob". March, 1967 ANTARCTIC 453

The commander of the plane was FIRST SPRING TRIP A. S. Poljakov, one of the two pilots who pioneered the route Moscow­ Soviet scientists were reporTed on Antarctica in 1961. In the group of November 17 to have completed the 74 people there are hydrologists, first "spring'" expedition of the sea­ geologists, aerologists, doctors and son. The snow-train, under the guid­ builders. ance of Leonid Dubrovin (geo­ th~' grapher), reached 106 km. south of HOb" left Mirny about sa1?e Mirny in preparations for the time heading towards AustralIa WIth 3,000 km. journey Mirny-Vostok­ 81 members of the 11th Expedition Mimy, which it was planned to com­ returning home. plete in the New Year. OB RETURNS L. Dubrovin reported that the The Soviet research ship "Ob" scientists had completed the arrived at Fremantle, Western Aus­ measurements of the thickness of tralia, from the Antarctic on Ja~u­ snow and meteorological investiga­ ary 26, bringing the men .who WIn­ tions. tered last year at the RUSSIan bases. A replacement group of 75 men had 1,400 KM. TREK arrived at IPerth Airport in a Ru~­ It was reported on January 29 that sian turbo-jet on January 24. ThIS the snow-caterpillar train from group included two American ex­ Mirny had reached the inland station change scientists, John T:aylor, .who Vostok. The difficult journey, under wintered at Vostok and Dr. VIctor the guidance of E. Zimny, was Hessler of the (Geophysical Ins~itute achieved without any great compli­ of the University of Alaska. Taylor cations. has been invited to visit Leningrad and will make the trip with his Rus­ VOSTOK RELIEF sian friends on the IL-18 aircraft. Over 1,800 miles will be covered AMERICAN AT VOSTOK by a tractor and sledge train which Included in the replacement team has left Mimy on a return trip tb is Dr. E. MacNamara of New Jersey, Vostok station. who is to winter at 'Molodezhnaya, Leonid Dubrovin, Director of the the first American to do so. As one Mimy Observatory, said that the of a team of 17 working on high train consists of nine caterpillar atmosphere physics, oceanography tractors pulling sleds with equip­ and satellite observation, he will ment and food for the new wintering himself be studying mainly environ­ party at Vostok near the Pole of mental conditions and the fresh Cold. water lakes near Molodeszhnaya. The lakes, 30 ft deep, do not freeze The expedition will take three solid, and some marine life exi ts months. in then1. Dr. MacNamara is taking LONG TREK $40,000 wo th of equipment to the base, including a complete chemis­ On the 1,700-mile trek from Molo­ try laboratory. He will also study dezhnaya to the Pole of Inaccessi­ the chemical weathering process on bility, and on to Novolavarevskaya t.he rocks and soil and will be look­ in the Schirmacher Oasis scientists ing for new mineral deposits. will concentrate on glaciology, seis­ "Ob" left again for 'Mimy at the mic and gravity surveys and the end of January. En route, oceano­ measurement of ice sheet thickness graphic research was planned, in­ along the trek routes. cluding depth sounding and the The overland team of 17 left Molo­ investigation of the hydro>--chemical dezhnaya on New Year's Eve. Led properties of the sea water. Mter a by V. Petrov, they have two Khar­ 'call at Mirny "Ob" was expected to kovchanka over-snow vehicles and a carry out re earch in the Davis, Com­ heavy tractor drawing a sledge. monwealth and Kosmonauts Seas Most of the 3,000 km. journey will be before returning via Fremantle to at an altitude of up to 3,500 m. above the Soviet Union. sea level, in unknown territory. '/54 ANTARCTI'C March, 1967

GEOLOGICAL TEAM TH RD KIWI VISITS A party of geologists under M. ] avich was flown from Molodezh­ VOSTOK naya west to the Queen Maud Land by Colin Clark Il10untains by a flying-team led by L. Kluev. The geological party in­ (Leader, Scott Base, 1967) cluded scientists from Czecho­ ';lovakia and Japan. Two field camps And enjoy the experience! It wa were set up to carry out geographi­ on December 12, 1966, a cri p calm cal, geological and geophysical clear day. The sudden introduction ~;tudies. One of these camps was near to an altitude of 11,500 feet from the Japanese Syowa Station and the the pressurised cabin of a Hercule other near the Belgian-Dutch base aircraft left me gasping a Iittle. Roi Baudouin. Work began in the After spending a year at such a Yamato Mountains and continued in height the chaps must feel pretty 'the Belgian and Sor-Rondane Moun­ frisky when they reach sea-Ie el lains. again! I had previously had friendly HOME contact with Russians on Campbell Antarctica left behind them, 63 Island in 1965 when a Soviet Antarc­ men landed at the Leningrad airport tic research ship, Gnevny, spent a in an IL-18 plane. They were Soviet couple of days in Perseverance Har­ scientists, members of the 11th Ex­ bour repairing oceanographic gear. pedition, with the head of Mirny They were delightful company. Our Observatory, L. 1. Dubrovin. The visit to Vostok wa really too short scientists had successfully com­ (only a couple of hours on the pleted their stay in the Antarctic. ground) to allow one to make any They were received by scientist col­ close acquaintance with individual leagues, families and friends. expedition members, but it was long enough for all present to realise that the artificial barriers the politicians UA small hut on legs" on two erect between peoples do not exist rnetre-high piles was constructed in in the Antarctic. The esprit de corps Leningrad to be used by Soviet Ant­ which unites all who work on this arctic scientists. The new hut "fears harsh continent shone brightly neither cold, snow nor ice", and is through despite our inability to quite comfortable. The first sample communicate with each other except of it has already been sent to the by mime and vigorous gesticulation. Antarctic and a model was sent to The purpose of the flight was to Canada for the World Exhibition. take Dr. Victor Hessler, United States Antarctic Research Pro­ ICE-RIVERS gramme, to Vostok, where he is to New and interesting information spend the summer on VLF propaga­ about the Antarctic glaciers has been tIon. Among the passengers were a found by Soviet scientists: the result number of USN and USARP per­ of investigations during the last sonnel, plu an Englishman, John seven years has enablea them to Grierson, an Australian, Bruce Stin­ determine th speed with which the ear (this season's exchange represen­ enormous ushelf-glacier" in the Novo­ tatives) and myself, a New Zea­ lazarevskaya sector is flOWIng down lander. Thu , fi e of the Treaty coun­ into the ocean. tries were represented at the "Pole A peculiar feature, standing in the of Cold" that day. The Russian had way of this glacier, is the Schir­ waiting for us a table laden with macher Oasis. It was found that a good things, including caviar, vodka, strong ice-current, passing by the wine, etc. Toasts were drunk to our oasis on the east, is moving towards continued co-operation and friend­ the ocean with a speed of 300 metres ship,. and there was .much exchange per year. The speed of the western of gIfts and souvenIrs. The Ameri­ current does not exceed 85 metres. cans, alway wonderfully generous, March, 1967 ANTARCTI'C 455 took fresh fruit, egetables, and eggs for the Russians - the first fARE NEWS fresh food they had seen since the JAPAN'S EIGHTH TEAM previous summer. Vostok is a far tougher place to The ice-breaker IIFuji" started her inter than Scott Ba e. It is so second Antarctic voyage on Decem­ much colder, so much more isolated, ber 1. From the 16th to the 22nd, she ,0 er featureless. I wa not tempt­ anchored in Fremantle, Western ed to IIdefect"! Nonetheless, vital Australia, and wa received with ,cientific work is done there, the open arms. On the 24th, she entered Base is comfortable and efficient, into the stormy belt of the Antarctic and the atmosphere was genuinely Convergence; and on the 29th, when cordial. she passed from this belt, her echo­ sounder reported the discovery of a new sea-mount (54°-55° S., 99° E.), the summit of which is only 1,000 ft. below sea-level. IIFuji" reached the A Perth IINews" columnist was edge of the pack-ice (65° S., 50° E.) on January 4, 1967, and her invasion puzzled because when the IIKoola­ rna" docked at Fremantle early in of the pack was carried out very January from Hong Kong she had smoothly. on board 19 pieces of rock, weighing On the 7th, from the edge of the 2,000 lb. to be loaded on the Russian fast-ice.. 85 kilometres N.N.W. of ship IIOb" for onward transport to Showa Station, her helicopter made Antarctica. the first flight to the station, where He writes: III think I've hit it. Dr. Torii (leader of JARE VIII) and Those boys have probably been try­ Captain Matsuura met a cheerful ing to build a barbecue down there wintering party of 18 men led by Dr. out of ice blocks, but as soon as they Muto. get some red embers glowing and a few blubber steaks grilling nicely U LOADING the ruddy barbecue melts, so they've Transportation of goods by air wa ~;ent home for some good Soviet now begun. On the one hand, the eocks." IIFuji'" herself carried out some very troublesome ice-breaking and on the 14th she anchored within one kilo­ metre east of the station. Over-ice HFROM THE RUSS A " transportation was now also made Several Russian publications of possible. Over 450 tons of goods, Antarctic interest have recently been including construction materials for translated into English and pub­ five new buildings, were all brought lished by the Israel Program for to th"" station by January 26. Scientific Translation . To date they Unloading was finished so unex­ comprise Soviet Antarctic Expedi­ pectedly fast that some scientific tions 1955-1959 (138 page) and field survey ,being carried out imul­ 1959-1961 (156 page ), both by A. V. taneously with the construction and Nudel'man; and Antarctica 1960 (103 replenishment of huts, could not be pages) and 1961 (169 page ). These finished. Because of dangerous ice latter are Reports of the U.S.S.R. conditions, the "Fuji" removed her Academy of Science Interdepart­ position on February 6 to the edge mental Commission on Antarctic of the fast-ice, orne 80 kilometres Research and comprise papers on from the station. And on the 10th various topic , chiefly of a scientific the new wintering team of 24 men-'-:" nature. 14 are scientists including Dr. Torii These publications may be ob­ as the leader, and 16 of the 24 are tained from the Clearinghouse for Antarctic freshmen - started their Federal Scientific and Technical In­ work. formation, U.S. Department of Having finished her supporting Commerce, Springfield, Virginia, tasks, the lI~uji" began c~rrying out at 3.00 a cop . oceanographIcal ob ervatlon in the 456 ANTARCTIC March. 1967

pack-ice zone. She will visit the South African SANAE station (700 SOUTH AFRICAN 'RELIEF 16' S., 20 21' W.) on the 22nd, and will leave for her mother country on OPERATI'ONS the 26th. The "RSA", South Africa's Antarc­ tic research vessel with SANAE VIII, the Antarcti~ relief team ARGENTINA aboard, left C'ape Town on D'ecem~ ber 31. Following a year, 1965, in which Argentine Antarctic activities in­ The team for the coming year cluded two major exploits, a land numbe~s 16. The Leader, A. F. G. journey from General Belgrano base ROSSOUIW, M.Sc., has under him to the South Pole and a trans­ three .meteorologists, two geologists, Antarctic flight, 1966 has been a rela­ a radIO operator, a radio technician tively quiet year. two f5eophysicists (ionospher and cosmIC rays), a geomagnetist two These two achievements have been technicians, a physiologist, a medi­ recorded in an earlier issue of "Ant­ cal officer and a surveyor. arctic" (December 1965, p. 194 ; The scientists in the team have March 1966, 251). The six sno-cats been w 11 prepared to undertake the left Belgrano on October 26 and various scientific research pro­ reached the Pole on December 10. grammes. On December 15 they left for "home" via Sobral base, and reached Bel­ The team has been entered for grano on the 31st. A support group ot the National Fitness Competition four men, with two doo--sledges, took organised by the South African part in the expedition up to the Federation for Youth and Sport and Diamante Range (Pensacola). The it is hoped to gain at least 16 gold C-47 and two Beaver aircraft left medals. Belgrano on November 4 and landed En route to SANAE the "RSA" paid at the Pole. O'n November 12 the an official visit to the Belgian An­ C-47 flew on from the Pole to Mc­ tarctic base, Roi-Baudouin. The Murdo Station, and flew back to South Africans were very well re­ Belgrano on the 25th. The two ceived ~by the IBelgian-Netherlands Beavers ioined the C-47 as it flew expedition and old friendships were back over the Pole. They landed at pleasantly renewed. Most of the Sobra!. Belgian-Netherlands expedition were old acquaintances of SANAE VIII as they had the opportunity of FOR 1967 meeting them in ,Cape Town be­ The scientific programme for 1967 fore their departure. is to be essentially the same as in On leaving IRoi~Baudouin, the 1965 and 1966. The stations to be "RSA" made for SANAE but was operative in 1967 are Decepcion, delayed by exceptionally thick "ice­ Orcadas, General Belgrano, Teniente pack", which it was unable to pene­ Matienzo. Esperanza, Sobral and trate immediately, delaying it about Almirante Brown. The same ships, two weeks. The "RSA" finally ar­ aircraft and organisations are ex­ rived at SANAE on January 28. pected to operate in 1966-67 and The relief of SANAE 7 was 1967-68 as in this previous summer. quickly and expertly carried out and the "RSA" was ready to depart for Cape Town on February 6 The FOR MEMBE'RS ONLY handing-over ceremony at the' base was formal for the first time in its Members of the New Zealand Ant­ history. The South 'African flag was arctic Society are reminded that flown, the National Anthem played copies of "Antarctic" edited by Dr. and me sages transmitted to South Trevor Hatherton are still available Africa and all other Antarctic bases at speci~l reduced cost from Society that 'SANA.E 8 had now officially secretarIes. taken 0 er SA AE. Th ttRSA" left March, 1967 ANTARCTIC 457

SANAE the same day, 'and after a record run 0 ten days arrived in I TERNAT ONAL Cape Town on the evening of February 16. The Japane e Antarctic Expedi­ CONFERENCES tion, en route from their base, SYOWA, to Cape T:own accepted an POLAR METEOROLOGY invitation ,to visit SANAE. Unfortun­ At the Symposium on Polar ately, due to very adverse weather Meteorology spon ored by the conditions, the "Fuji" could not get World Meteorological Organization near the base 'and also could not and held at Geneva, Switzerland, make use of their helicopter to fly on September 5-9, 1966, most of the to SANAE. The South African, are extremely sorry that the Japanese papers presented concerned the did not manage to get to SANA.E Antarctic, says Bernhard Lettan in and we sincerely hope that a future the latest issue of the Antarctic visit will be arranged. Meanwhile in Journal of the United States. Indi­ Cape Town a reception is being pre" vidual sessions were held on trace pared in honour of the Japane e constituents of the atmosphere, the Antarctic Expedition. On February boundary layer, heat balance and 25 a group of fi e American ob­ radiation processes, circulation of servers visited SANAE. They spent the free atmosphere and special approximately 11 hours inspecting problems of the polar environment. the base. The final session was devoted to a South Africa was also host to the general discussion of the papers returning Belgian-Netherlands An­ and to the current state of research tarctic Expedition. We in South in the Antarctic. Africa trust that the base will be re-opened in the near future and we look forward to meeting them MEETING I JAPA again. A CONFERENCE ON LOW TEM­ SAD STORY PERATURE SCIENCE was held in A two-man South African geologi­ Sapporo, where the Hokkaido Uni­ cal survey party dog-sledging in versity Institute of Low Tempera­ October 1965, from S.A.N.A.E. base ture Science is located, from August south to the Ahlmannrygen area 14 to 19. The largest delegations in (approx. 72 0 S., 2 0 W.), ascended an an attendance of 160 came from isolated nunatak believing that they Japan, the United States, Canada were the first human beings ever and the Soviet Union, in that order. to set foot on it. Oln its summit they The two major sections dealt with found a broken beer bottle. Their low-temperature biology and ice high spirits were further subdued (covering sea-ice, avalanches and by having to sit out a nine-day bliz­ frost heaving). Several papers dealt zard. specifically with the Antarctic. At Pyramiden, a nunatak which The Pacific Science Congress held had marked the advance base of the in Tokyo drew no fewer than 6 500 Norwegian-British-Swedish expedi­ scientists from 60 countries. Ant~rc­ tion of 1949-52, the N.B.S. depot wa tic subjects discussed during the found in good condition. three-week conference which began on August 22 included atmospheric the Antarctic and the submarine physics, the earth sciences, and topography of the surrounding fauna and flora. Summaries of gla­ oc~~ns. These were enlargements of ciological work and future plans orIgInals of illustrations in the new were presented by the United States Russian Atlas of Antarctica. (Colin Bull), the U.S.S.R. and On August 26, an informal meet­ Japan.. A notable even~ was the pre­ ing on Antarctic logistics was held sentatIon by the SOVIet Union of when delegates were urged to air maps of the sub-ice topography of "their views and frustration". (Continued on previous column) 458 ANTARCTIC March, 1967 FOUR DRAGON ROCKETS FIRED IN TERRE ADELlE Interest in the 60-man team com­ Misfortune befell the ship on her prising the 17th French Antarctic next voyage, leaving Melbourne on expedition and its summer support January 6. She arrived safely at l'Ile and ancillary group centred on the des Petrels on the 15th and disem­ plans for the first space probe from barked cargo and personnel, leaving the Antarctic continent. The pro­ the same day for the Australian pTamme was financed by the Nation­ Wilkes Station. Caught and held by ~~l Centre of Space Studies and ice as described elsewhere, the delay logistics were in the experienced was so considerable that the ship's hands of Expeditions Polaire Fran­ further itinerary had to be drasti­ Gaises. cally curtailed. Instead of returning to Melbourne and then making a FRANCE special voyage to Dumont d'Urville, ItThala Dan" went via Wilkes to France and Australia joined forces Dumont d'Urville. Nineteen men and to make full use of the chartered most of the intended cargo were J)anish polar ship IIThala Dan", taken on board on February 14-16 which was scheduled to make four and returned to Australia only a few voyages south from Australia: days behind the scheduled date. (1) December 6 from Hobart to Terre Adelie. (2) January 3, Melbourne to Terre ROCKET TEAM Adelie and Australian stations. A 27-man team from the National (3) February 4, Melbourne to Terre Centre of Space Studies planned to Adelie. spend three months at Dumont (4) February 24, Hobart to Terre d'Urville and to launch four 23 ft­ Adelie. long French scientific rockets which Details of the ice conditions which were loaded on ItThala Dan" on caused considerable delays at one l)ecember 5. The leader of the team, ~.;tage of this programme are given lVI. Morius Ie Fevre (35), said that in the account of Australian opera­ the two-stage rocekts had a range of tions on page ?? 250 miles and would carry nose-cone equipment for measuring upper­ "THALA DAN" AT HOBART atmosphere electrons and protons and recording magnetic phenomena. The greater part of the scientific Upper atmosphere probes in the personnel of the 17th (1967) expedi­ Antarctic were very difficult, he said, tion left France by air on November because of the proximity of the 30 under M. P.-E. Victor, and were Magnetic Pole. None had yet been given a civic welcome at Hobart on ~'uccessful. Added to the difficultie December 1. They transferred to was the need to build and operate tlThala Dan" which left Hobart on a mobile launching pad in subzero J)ecember 6. Various oil companies 1emperatures. The rocket firings had and the Seamen's Church donated high priority on the French scienti­ films for the winter party of 27. The Hc research programme this sum­ IIobart Marine Board gave the ex­ Iner. pedition a fork-lift truck. IIThala Dan" reached Dumont d'Ur- Weather rockets have been fired in ille on the 13th and was unloaded the Antarctic before. The rockets by December 26 despite almost con­ sed have been of the Arcas type, tinuous bad weather. The summer '.vhich reach a height of only 50 party was disembarked, and 570 tons IlJ.iles, although Areas rockets with of cargo unloaded. The' ship was boosters have attained 90 to 100 back in Melbourne on January 2. lliles. March, 1967 ANTARCTIC 459

ROCKETS FIRED A French Air Force officer ha been in Melbourne making arrange­ Four firings in a ingl day were ments for the flights. The planes planned to e able an ionospheric should be able to land not far from research group to estimate changes the base on the Astrolabe Glacier. A of ionospheric condition in a single wh eled runway could be made on day. Before the firing could take Governor's Island not far from place meteorological and magnetic Petrel Island. conditions had to be fa ourable. The terrain around the French The first rocket a fir d on base is 0 rough that all cargo un­ January 26, the econd on January loaded from the supply hips ha 28, and the third and fourth on to be transported by an Alouette January 29. Thi period coincided helicopter. with the total blackout which is re­ ferred to on page 444, and which WINTER PROJECTS also completely disrupted radio communication betwee n T'erre The 1967 winter programme cen­ Adelie and Kerguelen. The blackout tres round the task of interior ar­ was caused by an exceptional ab­ rangement and has been reduced to sorption of radio-electric wa e in a minimum, having regard to the the auroral zone, itself ascribed to available personnel and their re­ geomagnetic and ionospheric dis­ sponsibility in the way of scientific turbances. It was also a period research. The main plans are: marked by a noticeable increase in (a) Completion of the interior lay­ the rate of solar cosmic radiation out of the new living-quarters (con­ in high latitudes. struction of a darkroom for the developing of photographs and The ground installations are now scientific records, and the furnish­ to be dismantled, repacked and ing of the dormitory, library, dis­ loaded aboard the tlThala Dan" by cotheque, etc.). mid-February. The technicians will (b) Construction of a metal cov­ also return to France aboard the ered-way connecting the balloon­ ship. launching shelter with No. 1 lab­ oratory, which includes the meteor­ LOOKING AHEAD ological laboratory. This i essen­ tial to permit safe movement be­ It is reported that in 1969 France tween the two buildings during the plans to establish a station 500 miles winter. inland from Dumont D'Urville. (c) Replacement of the mechani­ cal workshop in another building, The installation of this. base, to be in order to make possible the fur­ occupied by five or six men, will ther development demanded by necessitate the employment of 10 the exten ion of the base. I-IB 40 vehicle , and 16 tons of equip­ (d) General repair and alteration ment, including two ton of cien­ work (the built-up area at Dumont tific mat rial. In order to keep the d'Urville has grown from 500 sq. base operative, 19 ton of upplie ill be ne d d each ear including metres to 2,400 q. metre in the five ton -of motor spirit and five past three years). ton of food. The earliest period during which the installation could TA 17 be carried out would be D cember 1969-February 1970. For the 17th expedition to Terre Adelie, 27 men will winter at Du­ Next summ r the French plan to mont d'Urville, with Andre Hougron fly in for the first time to their base. as Leader. Hougron, Challon (cook), A four-engin d, ski-equipped Bre­ Chesnais (meteorologist), Coiffard guet 941S is xpected to make the (chief radio operator), Heuze flight from Melbourne by way of (n1eteorologist) and Le Pouriel Macquarie Isl nd. A second Breguet (maintenance officer) ha pre- would be used or earch and re cue. iousl wint red 0 er. 460 ANTARCTIC March, 1967

DRINKING WATER THE WHALERS Reference was made in our Dec­ ember issue to the projected instal­ Despite the very considerable lation of a new supply system for lowering in recent year of the the drinking water required at Base lIallowed" catch of whale in Ant­ Dumont d'Urville. The system has ?-rc~ic ~aters, there are widespread been devised by the Societe Gren­ IndIcatIons that all is far from well obloise d'Etudes et d'Applications with the once flourishing Antarctic I-Iydrauliques and the T'echnical ~haling industry. At the 17th meet­ Ing of the International Whaling .Division of Expeditions Polaires Commission in 1965 the quota was Fran<.;aises. The energy required to reduced to 4,500 blue whale units. In distil enough fresh water from sea­ June-July last year the permissible water is provided by the utilisation Antarctic pelagic catch was lowered if waste heat from the central still further, to 3,500 units - and still power-house. Five cubic metres of there was a lack of agreement on sea-water per hour must be pumped national quotas. to produce the three tons of fresh water required each day. The 19th meeting begins on June 26, 1967, in London. Although simple in principle, the install.ati0I?- has b~ep complicated by . Some inqic':ttia:n of the steady fall the clImatIc condItIons and the nec­ In catches IS IndIcated in the reduc­ essity for built-in automatic action tion of IIcatch material" over the throughout the whole complex of past few years, from 1959-60 to 1966­ pumping, distillation and distribu­ 67: tion. to ensure complete safety. In Factory ships: 20, 21, 21, 17, 16 15 l?artlcular there ~as to be provision 10, 9. ', tor the automatIc emptying of the Catchers: 220, 252, 261 201 190 whole system of pipes in the event 172, 128, 121. '" of any malfunctioning so as to pre­ vent the water from freezing. It :;hould be noted that the water WHALE TALK drawn from under the floating ice is just above the temperature of freez­ Strange sounds made by whales Ing. have been reported by numerous casual observers during the past TJ:e installation of the pumping hundred years, but only recently ~\tatlon and the system of pipes for have systematic observations been the supply of sea-water, distribution undertaken, and the first actual of fresh water, and disposal of used taping of sperm whales was made water, was carried out during the by Paul J. Perkins in 1957. The 19.65-6 sum:r:ner and the succeeding Nor"Yegian Whaling Gazette now VJnter. DurIng the present summer publIshes a paper by Mr. Perkins and two associates from the Norragan­ ( 1966-7) it was planned to instal the sett Marine Laboratory, University distillation plant in the generator of Rhode Island. . house. The under-sea section of the pumping-system and its protection "In addition to investigating from the sea-ice were to be the re­ clic~s," say the writers, "eight cate­ sponsibility of three expedition gones of sound have been differen­ lnembers equipped with under-water tiated: Whistles of various duration frequency and inflection chirp~ gear, and the whole system was ex­ ~hich considerabl~ ].~ect.ed to be completed and func­ involvt? change tIonIng normally by the end of the In frequency In a very short period summer season. of time, pings which resemble ASW echo-ranging, plinks which resem­ Comparative measurements of ble pings without reverberation the Ross Ice Shelf in 1962-3 arid squawks, rasps, yelps and wheezes. ' 1965-6 suggest that the shelf moves "We maintain," they onclude towards the Ross Sea at peeds up IIthat these can erve as int lligence~ to 900 ffi. (2,950 ft.) per ear. bearing, communicative signals." March, 1967 ANTARCTI'C 461 BRITISH ANTARCTIC SURVEY BUILD NEW BASE AT HALLEY BAY

High on the priority Ii t for British a half miles from its original posi­ Antarctic ouerations this summer tion.) In the last 12 months the has been the construction of a new deterioration has been marked, even station to reulace the old F.I.D.S. in the newest (1964) hut, and living base in Coats Land, on the Weddell conditions have become increasingly Sea, built in 1956 at the beginning of unpleasant. During the winter it was the International Geophysical Year. reported that ice was readily avail­ The Briti h Antarctic Survey is able at the bar in the living-room as again usinO' three ships for the it was, by then, showing through annual relief of the bases, but this the ceiling! year the "Perla Dan" (2,675 tons) has I t was decided to rebuild at a replaced the "Kista Dan" (1,300 point some miles inland (roughly tons). A larger ship was necessary where the base started eleven years because of the large amounts of ago), and that the "Biscoe" should cargo required for the rebuilding of accompany the "Perla Dan" to help the base at Halley Bay. The Itperla with the task of erecting the seven Dan" has been chartered for four main huts. "Perla" had sailed from summer seasons. Southampton at the beginning of The other two ships, R.R.S. ItJohn December, with a party of builders Biscoe" and R.R.S. tlShackleton", and other staff, and was joined at left England in O'ctober, as usual, Montevideo, three weeks later, by but the ItShackleton" had to be Sir Vivian Fuchs (Director of diverted from her scheduled nro­ B.A.S.), Maurice Sumner (Assistant gramme to make an early call at Stores Officer, B.A.S.) and Colin Decention Island to collect a mecha­ Baldwin (Crown Agents' Civil En­ nic requiring specialist medical gineer). attention. (See "Antarctic", Dec. 1966.) The man was taken to hoslJital PROBLEMS AHEAD in Punta Arenas and was later flown home. We are very pleased to report The two ships together provided that he has now fully recovered. a much larger work force than is The two ships resupplied Signy usually available, and despite the Island at the beginning of December. fact that over 1,000 tons of stores The "Shack eton" then carried out had to be off-loaded and moved a bathymetric survey off the South inland, the shells of three of the Orkneys and also resupplied the sevel1; new buildings had been com­ bases at Dece""'tion and the Argen­ pleted five days after arrival. It was tine Islands. while the tlBiscoe" pro­ fortunate that the unloading was ceded to Halley Bay to assist' the carried out so speedily, since on "Perla". Th "Shackleton" is now February 6 it wa reported that a continuing the magnetometer and large area of the ice shelf had calved, s ismic survey of the Scotia Sea. leaving 40-ft. ice cliffs where there had formerly been an easy gradient to the sea. FIrst reports indicate that AT HALLEY BAY both Halley Bay and the neighbour­ ing Emperor Bay (where for several The main operation this summer years there had been an Emperor has been the rebuilding of the Halley Penguin rookery) no longer exist. It Bay observ tory. This was estab­ is impossible at present to see how lished on th Brunt Ice Shelf in 1956 this will affect future operations, but and was soon buried under an in­ as there appears to be no alterna­ creasing thickness of snow and mov­ tive landing place within 40 or 50 ing seaward. (The original hut is miles, further reports are awaited now about 50 ft. down and three and with considerable trepidation. 462 ANTARCTI'C March, 1967

As work on the new buildings had progressed so well the "Biscoe" was DEATH RATE able to leave Halley Bay on Febru­ The mortality rate among mem­ ary 1. The return passage through bers of Antarctic bases and sumn1er the Weddell Sea was unusually easy, expeditions is very low, according so she was able to follow a more to a monograph published in 1965 by direct route than usual to Signy Juan Carlos M. Beltramino, Ministry Island. She then isited King George of External Affairs and Worship, Island, Deception Island and the Argentina. The paper is entitled Mor­ Argentine Islands, and is now (late tality in Antarctica Since the End of February) at Marguerite Bay, resup­ the Nineteenth Century. plying the bases at Adelaide and Compared with mortality rates for Stonington Islands. other continents and regions, Ant­ FIELD WORK arctica's is low. From 1904 to 1964, Field parties operating from Hal­ despite the primitive condit'ons of ley Bay are continuing to work in the pre-1945 era, the rate at the bases the Theron Mountains some 400 was only 5.36 per thousand nd on miles away. It is hoped that the the summer expeditions from 1951­ topographical and geological surveys 52 to 1963-64 was only 0.73 p r thou­ there will be completed at the end sand. Wintering-over expeditions pro­ of the 1966-67 summer. Parties from duced a higher rate, 26.7 per thou­ Stonington Island are working on sand. the Palmer Land Plateau and around Fatalities have risen with the Mobiloil Inlet. increase in summer activities away A new Pilatus Porter aircraft was from the bases, but apart from here, delivered to Deception Island early the mortality rate has declined in in January. It was assembled and almost all cases. Causes of death tested and on the 26th was flown have varied, recently being almost south to Adelaide Island, where it is entirely accidental, with no reports now supporting field parties. The De of criminally-caused deaths any­ Havilland Otter whicn had wintered where. Neither the occupations nor at Deception is chiefly being used the ages of those who died appear this year for Dr. Charles Swithin­ to have had any direct bearing on bank's programme of airborne radio­ the deaths, although aviation and echo ice-sounding. Interesting results motor-vehicle operators have suf­ have already been obtained from fered more in recent years. flights over the Wordie and Larsen With no epidemics and few germs, Ice Shelves and George VI Sound. Antarctica presents a danger through With the assistance of H.M.S. "Pro­ accident almost alone. Improved tector" gaps in the topographic means of care in the event of acci­ survey in the vicinity of Cape Kater dents, and improved care in trans­ and Hope Bay have been successfully portation and accident pre ention closed, and the triangulations east, should reduce the rate even urther, north and west of the Trinity Penin­ but the Antarctic imposes its own sula (the northern tip of the Ant­ safety and survival rules whi h must arctic Peninsula) finally linked up. be strictly obeyed. The .. Perla Dan" left Halley Bay on February 13 and is expected back in the U.K. towards the end of LESS TO REPO·RT March; the II John Biscoe" and "Shackleton" are due home towards A significant notice in the Decem­ the end of May. ber issue of the journal of the Inter­ national Association of Whaling WHALE CATCH GOOD Companies: An officer in the tanker Kyokuyo "The Norwegian Whaling Gazette Maru No. 2 which called at Fre­ will from 1967 be published ith six Iuantle on February 6 to pick up issues per year against twelve pre­ fuel oil told a press-man there that viously~ The reason is the educed the Japanese whaling fleet operat­ Antarctic whaling and a a con­ ing in the Antarctic i ha ing a sequence hereof there is Ie seed ot good eason. monthly publication ." March, 1967 ANTARCTI'C 463 hile To Maintain AntarctIc Weather Centre The Chilean Antarctic base Presidente Aguirre Cerda, an Air Force station, has assumed the status of an Antarctic Meteorologi­ cal Centre. This places Aguirre Cerda on a have wintered at the Chilean bases. similar technical level to McMurdo The operational period was due to and Mirny. extend from December 15, 1966, to The Aguirre Cerda Base has re­ February 28, 1967. corded and distributed meteorologi­ There has been no change in the cal observations for the Antarctic number or location of bases, which Peninsula area since 1964. In co-­ remain as follows: operation with the University of Chile, also, seismological and vol­ YEAR-ROUND BASES canological research has been car­ General Bernardo O'Higgins (63° 19' ried out. But on New Year's Day, S., 57° 54' W.), on the west coast of 1967, the Base became the Meteoro­ the Antarctic Peninsula, still logical Centre for all the British, called IIO'Higgins Land" by the Argentinian and Chilean stations in Chilean Government. Ten men; the Antarctic Peninsula region. leader, Cap. Sr. Patricio I Armijo. Weather charts have previously been produced and forecasts broad­ Capitan Arturo Prat (62° 29' S., 59° cast.- On assuming this permanent 38° W.), on Greenwich Island in form the Base is being manned by the South Shetland Islands. Nine' two meteorologists, a meteorological men; commandant, Cap. de Cor­ observer and five radio-telegraphist­ bete Sr. Herman Cornejo. observers. The base programme will Presidente Aguirre Cerda (62° 56' S., now include hourly weather observa­ 60° 36' W.), on Deception Island, tions, the study of high altitude South Shetlands. 15 men; com­ winds, ice, snow and ocean studies, mandant, Cap. de Bandada Sr. and the observation of noctilucent Jorge I Noreira. clouds, sastruggi and other pheno­ mena. SUMMER STATIONS Owing to the difficulty of trans­ Yelcho Sub-base (67° 46' S., 68° 54' mittjng, it was proposed to McMurdo W.), on Bird Island (Isla Avian) in that Byrd and Palmer station Marguerite Bay. should act as relay stations. Reports Presidente Gonzalez Videla (65° 49' will be received from surface and S., 62° 57' W.), on Paradis Bay, high level tations throughout the Danco Coa t, Antarctic Penin ula. area between 53° W. and 90° W., and In charge of the relief operation daily weather forecasts will be was Cap. de Navio Arturo R. Schwer­ i sued. ter. As expected, Chile retained during The major scientific work apart the 1966-67 summer the ship previ­ from meteorology comprise geo­ ously used in the annual relief magnetism, biology (with special operations. These were: reference to algae, marine biology, A.P. "Piloto Pardo", transport, soil biology, and ornithology), 2,000 t. displacement. The essel oceanography, seismology and vol­ carries 2 helicopters (UH-13 and canology. TH-13M). P.P. "Lientur", patrol hip, 534 t. VIOLENT STORM displacement. The Arturo Prat base recently suf­ The relief expedition I ft Valpa­ fered the severest battering it has raiso on De ember 7. carrying the had for many years. Fierce sno per onnel to r place the men who storms with hurricane force wind 464 ANTARCTI'C March. 1967

struck the base. The ship "Piloto Pardo" was five miles out from I BAUDO· Ii Soberanio Bay when the storm struck and was unable to enter ~he BASE TO ULOSIE harbour as the sea was. covered wI!h great masses of ice WhICh made S~ID movement impossible. Meanwhi!e OWN the Commodore of the AntarctIc Fleet was detained at Arturo Prato It was reported to the S.C.A.R. meeting in October ~hat th~ Bel­ FLIGHTS INLAND gium-Netherlands statIon ROI Bau­ douin will be closed in the 1966-7 Three Grumman amphibious season for a period of three years. planes from No. 2 Wing at Qtr!ntero L'Expedition Antarctique Belgo­ made a series of reconnaIsance Neerlandaise 1966, which ha now flights over a period of 35 t~ 40 days wintered at Base Roi Baudouin, is from Aguirre Cerda base Into the the sixth Antarctic expedition or­ interior. ganised by Belgium since 1957. The On another Grumman aircraft the three first, from 1958 to 1960, were Commandant of No. 2 Wing, Col. entirely Belgian. The following Jorge B. Valenzuela, flew .to the three from 1964-1966, were organ­ Antarctic and spent a week Inspect­ ised in collaboration with Holland, ing Air Force personnel which participated on the basis of one third in subsidy and in person­ nel. It was Commandant Gaston de RECONNAISSANCE FLIGHTS Gerlache (son of the Adrien de Ger­ Flights were made to reconnoitre lache who led the IIBelgica" expe­ the area where aerial photographs dition in 1897-99) and his compan­ were desired of various locations ions who discovered late in 1957 a considered suitable for an Air Base, disembarkation harbour in an un­ with ice fields where heavily-la?en explored part of the Antarctic aircraft could land. At the same tIme (King Leopold III Bay) and con­ it was desired to secure confirma­ structed Base Roi Baudouin. tion of the forecasts sent out by the Aguirre Cerda Meteorological Centre, Over and above the scientific pro­ and to test the behaviour of air­ gramme for the I.G.Y. carried out craft equipment and materials at in 1958 at the Base itself (meteoro­ these latitudes. logy, ionosphere, geom':tgnetis~, electricity and atmospherIc radio­ activity, aurora) they carried out daring traverses by tractor and menced in January, 1960. Respons~­ dog-sledge, and by aircraft, which bility for the Belgian-Dutch expe~I­ made possible the mapping of the tions is in the hands of an AntarctIc coast and of mountain chains where Committee presided over by Com­ geological specimens were col­ mandant Gaston de Gerlache. They lected. are organised entirely in Belgium. The scientific programme at Base Leaders in 1964, 1965 and 1966 have Roi Baudouin and the exploration been Luc Gabes, Winoc Bagaerts of the environs were followed up and Tony van Autenboer. and extended in 1959 and 1960 by The wintering-over teams, princi­ Belgian expeditions under the com­ pally concerned with a geophysical mand of Captain F. Bastin and programme, are reinforced during Major G. Derom respectively. the three months December to Feb­ In February, 1961, the base had ruary by teams specialising in geo­ to be closed down through lack of desy, photogrammetry, glaciology, finance· but the break was only a ~oology and oceanography. Teams short ~ne and activities recom- are carried to their operational base by the Danish ship "Magga Dan". (Continued on previous column) March. 1967 ANTARCTI'C 465 ICE CAUSE DELAYS IN AUSTRALIAN RELIEF OPERATIONS

The two Australian Antarctic service vessels, "Nella Dan" and HThala Dan", carrying fresh teams to replace the men who have spent a year at Wilkes and Mawson Bases, were both trapped by ice during the late summer, about 70 miles apart and 70 miles off the coast.

The "Nella Dan" had on board "East Wind's" landing barges while the Wilkes construction party of the two ships lay in the shelter of about 16 as well as a relief party an iceberg. of about 25 for Mawson. She "Nella Dan" then sailed for the had sailed from Melbourne on Dec­ Australian base at Mawson, where ember 28 and was to have worked it arrived on the 13th to relieve in the Mawson-Wilkes area between Australian expedition members. January 16 and February 28. The ship made no progress after PROJECT HALTED January 6 and was stuck fast on January 18, when a severe storm Men on the trapped ships were packed up the ice. in no physical danger, but the clos­ "Thala Dan", which had left Mel­ ing of the ice pack has wrecked bourne on January 7, had dropped Australia's chances of building a a French party further along the model Antarctic station near Wilkes Antarctic coast, and did not reach this year. The "Nella Dan" was car­ the Wilkes area until January 27. rying . a construction team which Shifting winds then caught her in was to have been landed to start the ice. "Thala Dan" was carrying work on new buildings. the relief party for Wilkes. The construction team was to have been dropped by "Nella Dan" ICE·BREAI~ER TO RESCUE on its way to Mawson, and would In response to an Australian re­ then have been picked up by "Thala ouest the Americans diverted the Dan". "East Wind", which had been on More than 80 Australians were in­ it~ way from the Weddell Sea to volved in the delay to the two relief 1\t1cMurdo Sound. ships. If they had not been freed "East Wind" headed for the by winter about 80 men at Wilkes trapped Australian ships on Febru­ and Mawson would have had to ary 1. The captain flew by helicop­ stay there another year. ter to Wilk s to locate the best "Thala Dan" was due to leave route to th base. "East Wind" Melbourne for Dumont d'Urville on reached "Thala Dan" on February February 6 to repatriate the French 5 and freed her the following day, team which had wintered there and after she had been trapped for 11 the summer party. da)s. "East Wind" now led "Thala The Australians on board, Dan" through the pack to Wilkes. trapped for nearly a month in an The ice-breaker now made for Antarctic ice pack, kept cheerful in "Nella Dan", which by this time had sub-zero temperatures while they been held by the ice for a month, awaited rescue. and reached the Australian vessel Alan Blyth, who is in charge of late on February 6. Wilkes Base, said: "It is very cold At 5 a.m. next day, meat, personal out there on the ice. But everyone belongings and mail were tran­ is bearing up extremely well." ferred from the "Nella Dan" to th Mr. Blyth said that the men had 466 ANTARCTI'C March. 1967

not been able to leave their ships AFTER 55 YEA to venture out on to the ice. But they had been keeping themselves In December 1911, Douglas Maw­ occupied with reading and physical son brought his ship IiAurora" into training on board. Macquarie Island to land a small There were doctors on board both party which erected and maintained the first wireless connection between s.hips and no emergencies had Antarctica and the world outside. arisen. One of those who kept the clit-dit­ da-dit going for two years Was wire­ WILKES LEADER less operator Charles Sandell. Among those on the IiAurora" which went The Australian National Antarctic on to explore the Antarctic and Research Expeditions maintain returned to pick up Sandell was a bases at Mawson and Wilkes in the young fellow named Morton Moyes. Australian Antarctic Territory and That was all more than 50 years ago. on Macquarie Island (which is a dependency of Tasmania). The In a letter to the Editor, Captain leader of the party at Wilkes will Morton 'Moyes says: IiIn D cember . be Mr. J. R. Canham, of Manly, I got a splendid surprise when a N.S.W. The appointment of Mr. J. voice on the phone said 'Charlie C. Erskine as Officer-in-Charge at Sandell here'. Now retired (he is Mawson was reported in our Dec­ 80) and living on the west coast of ember issue. Western Australia, he came to Syd­ ney to see relatives, and rang me. Mr. Canham was born in 1917 at We had not met since December Ipswich, England, where he re­ 1911, just 55 years ago." ceived his education, mainly in the mechanical engineering field. He served with the Royal Air Force from 1938 to 1960, attaining the rank of Wing Commander. During the Second World War he was decorated GHOSTS with the Distinguished Flying Cross, and was twice mentioned in Helium-filled balloons, released at despatches. Since his discharge Christchurch, New Zealand, in from the R.A.F. he has held various March 1966 and circling the earth administrative positions in Austra­ at that latitude in 12 days, are in use lia. He has had considerable out­ to determine wind direction in rela­ door experience, including moun­ tion to the South Pole. tain climbing, sailing and jungle Known as GHOSTS (Global Hori­ walking and camping. zontal Sounding Technique), these The party at Mawson for 1967 balloons, three of which are already will comprise 27 men and 25 men aloft and, it is hoped, will so remain will be at Wilkes Station. for s.ix months, carry an electronic transmitting device powered by solar cells, and scientists at the racking centre at McMurdo Sound record the balloons' location from the CONSERVATION AREAS morse code signal transmitted. If the wind from the southern hemi­ The 15 specially protected areas sphere does in fact converg on the for the conservation of Antarctic Pole, eventually all six floating bal­ fauna and flora referred to on page loons, designed to travel horizon­ 416 of our last issue were agreed tally not vertically, may finally upon by the Fourth Consultative gather at or near the South Pole. Meetin~ of the Antarctic Treaty signatories in November after the In 1969 a satellite orbiting the prior ninth S.C.A.R. meeting in earth is planned to store data re­ September had recommended these ceived from the balloons, thus add­ as the areas most urgently requiring ing to existing weather observing special protection. network around the world. March, 1967 ANTARCTI'C 467 NEW BUILDINGS, NEW PROJECTS AT U.S. ANTARCTIC BASES

A summer season of intense activity and no major disasters has been noticeable for work on important additions at McMurdo and the start of a new lay-out for Palmer Station.

McMURDO: A numb r of installa­ cate whether ice melting balances tions and improvements have been ice accumulation. The drill has been effected at McMurdo this season. set up in an unused underground The biological laboratory has had tunnel. the addition of a more permanent storage unit by the tearing down and PALMER: The second week of rebuilding of the Jamesway unit, January brought 26 seabees and 12 allowing for cargo now to be moved scientist,-, to Palmer, the seabees to by forklift into the building for un­ prepdre the site for a new permanent crating inside. A sub-ice 0 bservation scientific station at Anvers Island. chamber and two huts have been The site at least for the permanent installed near Turtle Rock and have buildings, a wharf, fuel tanks and a been in use since October. The new distribution system were scheduled ten-bed dispensary was officially for preparation this season. opened by the Chief of the Navy's Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, Vice-Admiral R. B. Brown, during his CHANGE OF COMMAND visit in November and the second The first change of command cere­ stage of the three-year building pro­ mony to be staged at McMurdo was .i ect to put all wintering-over per­ scheduled for February 25, when sonnel and most of their facilities Rear Admiral James Lloyd Abbot under one roof has been completed. was to relieve Rear Admiral Fred. E. The second-longest Han-line" run for Bakutis as commander of Operation a nuclear power plant operated by Deep Freeze. military personnel was achieved That date was also to mark the with the McMurdo plant's 3,390 con­ closing of summer support opera­ tinuous hour of operation. tions for this season. Adm. Abbot came from Washing­ ton, D.C., where he had been Direc­ PLATEAU: With seven men re­ tor of Naval Warfare Analysis in the maining to endure the winter at Office of the Chief of Naval O'pera­ Plateau, the tation is now isolated tions. A graduate of the U.S. Naval until next ovember. In October a Academ in 1939, he is a naval severe subsidence or snowquake aviator with both staff and com­ rocked the camp for ome four or mand experience. Adm. Bakutis will, five seconds, ettling the back door on hi relief from Deep Freeze, about half an inch but causing no assume ,duties as 'Commander, Fleet other damage. The cau e of the sub­ Air Alameda, Na al Air Station, Ala­ sidence is not known. meda, 'California.

BYRD: A huge deep core drill has INTERRUPTIONS been set up and tested for next Bad weather and loss of radio season's ambitious 8,000 ft. cut from communication on February 2 pre­ the top of the icecap down to bed­ vented Navy aircraft from flying 'to rock. Information from the ice the Antarctic from Christchurch for samples thus recovered hould not a further 24 hour only yield hi torical data for some This a th thIrd day on hich 10,000 to 15,000 years, but also indi- flight had been postponed. For the 468 ANTARCTI'C Morch, 1967 previous two days radio communi­ BYRD COASTAL SURVEY cation between Christchurch and McMurdo Station was impossible The stalling and consequent crash because of magnetic storms. and of one of the four helicopters par­ sunspots. On the 2nd, three planes ticipating in the Byrd Land coast -a Super Constellation and two survey, in November, fortunately Hercules-returned to Christchurch without loss of life, caused consider­ after getting half-way to McMurdo able doubling-up on the programme. Station. It was reported in December that Snow, driven by winds of 40 to the scientists had been plagued by 50 miles an hour, swirled around bad weather and that the overall McMurdo Station. Cloud was down survey was behind schedule. to 500 ft., and visibility was less It was intended to establish three than half a mile. base camps on the 2,700-mile raverse It was planned to end flights routes along the coast. The first was to Antarctica on F bruary 28, but in the vicinity of the Eds I Ford 850 'men and tons of equipment had Range, the next between th Crary to be brought back to Christchurch Mountains and the Executi e Com­ by that time. It was estimated that mittee Range. and the third at the this would require 10 Super Con­ Hudson Mountains. According to stellation flights and eight to 10 schedule the Geological Survey map­ Hercules flights. The Navy had two pers should have been at the second Super 'Constellations and four Her­ camp by the end of November, but cules a ailable. at that time they still had not left the first camp. It as expected to END O'F SEASON spend about 25 days at each camp. Flights to Byrd 'Station ended on February 22. During the traverse, which was On the 25th Rear-Admiral F. E. conducted in a region extending Bakutis :handed over his command from the Edward VII "Deninsula to toe Rear-A.dmiral J. 'L. Abbot at Mc­ the Jones Mountains In Ellsworth Murdo. The two admirals then flew Land, the survey team of four back to Christchurch. planned to occupy about 125 Left behind to winter on the stations, to be reached by helicopter. continent are 201 Navy men and Brass survey markers were 1:0 be 38 scientists. embedded in the snow-fret tock when latitude and longitude had been established. Antarctica will never be a launch­ ing ground for manned or unmanned space probes, in the opinion of Dr. NEAR DISASTER Wernher von Braun on his return It could have been a tragic land­ from a fact-finding visit to the Ant­ ing, but thanks to luck or prayer or arctic this season. the pilot's skill, the C-130 Hercules He and his fellow space scientists with the dangling port landing ski went to the Antarctic to study lithe came in to Harewood Airport safely way things are done down there", as the pilot's (Lieut. Jack Mucken­ and Dr. Braun said that the simi­ thaler) fiancee watched rigidly larity between Antarctic conditions from the Terminal Building. Aboard and those expected to face moon the aircraft were the commander of visitors gave valuable clues about Antarctic support activities (Capt. management and operational tech­ H. M. Kosciusko) and his prospec­ niques. T'ransport on the moon could tive relief as senior U.S. Navy officer be achieved by means of an adapted on the ice, Capt. H. A. Kelly. New Zealand-built Gnat; extreme temperatures could be combatted by The Hercules, an hour late on its planting housing under the moon's flight from Williams field, was soil as barracks are buried under carrying 13 men and some 8,000 lb. Antarctic snow; and the inter-play of of fuel and circled the runway at research and upporting teams was Harewood for that extra hour as the vital to lunar, as to Antarctic, explor­ crew worked feverishly on safety ation. precautions. March. 1967 ANTARCTIC -469

During the final 1,000 ft. of the u.S. SHIPS approach the ircraft juddered and slewed to on ide and all pa sen­ 1966-67 Summer gers were mov d away from the area Weather ships: above the por ki in case it should U.S.S. tlThomas J. Gary" (DER­ be forced thr ugh the fuselage on 326), L.-Cdr. J. J. Kingston, impact. As th 46-ton aircraft hit the U.S.N. tarmac the h nging ski slewed oft U.S.S. HMills" (DER-383), L.-Cdr. to the left and flames and smoke H. C. Norris relieved by L.-Cdr. rose from the buckling undercar­ J. A. Felt. riage. One tyr blew out. Ice-breakers: Three weeks ago Lieut. Mucken­ U.S.C.G.C. HGlacier" (WAGB-4), thaler nearly had a similar experi­ Capt. O. L. Dawson, U.S.C.G. ence when a ski dropped on another U.S.C.G.C. tlWestwind" (WAGB­ Hercules. That time, however, he 281), Capt. F. A. Goettel, U.S.C.G. was able t raise the ski before U.S.C.G.C. tlEastwind" (WAGB­ landing. 279), Capt. W. M. Benkert, U.S.C.G. U.S.C.G.C. HStalen Island" (WAGB MULTI-NATION TEAM 278), Capt. R. T. Norris, U.S.C.G. Research: Included in an international party U.S.N.S. ltEltanin" (T-AGOR-8), taken s.outh as guests of the U.S. Kenneth A. McCann. Navy in December for a IS-day tour Supply vessels: of American and New Zealand bases U.S.N.S. tlWyandot" (T-AKA-92), were Baron Xavier de Maere d'Aer­ J. Cullen. trijcke, Belgian meteorologist and U.S.N.S. HT'owle" (T-AK-240), Allen nuclear engineer, who was deputy­ W. Webb. leader of the 1958 Belgian expedition, U.S.N.S. HAlatna" (T-AOG-81), W. Mr. R. W. Sharp, head of the con­ F. Martin. sular division of the New Zealand Department of External Affairs, Mr. A. J. Oxley, South African Consul­ U.S. AIRCRAFf IN General in New Zealand, Lieut.-Col. ANTARCTICA R. H. Toledo, a member of the 1962 Argentine expedition, Col. Alejandro Air Development Squadron SIX Forch, head of the Chilean Antarctic (VX-6), Cdr. D. Balish, U.S.N. Institute, Mr. B. H. Stinear (a Ne\tv 5 LH-34D Helicopter Transports. Zealander by birth), a member of 1 LC-47H Douglas Transport. the Australian Antarctic expedition 3 LC-117 Transports. eleven years ago, Mr. J. Grierson, 4 LC-130F Lockheed Cargo Planes. British pilot and author, and Mr. 3 UH-1D (Army) Helicopters. Otto Jensen, a member of the Danish Operating to and from Antarctica: commission for the scientific explor­ 2 C-121J Lockheed Transports. ation of Greenland. 2 C-130F Lockheed Hercules. 1 C-141 Lockheed Starlifter. 2 C-124 Douglas Globema terse

John Grier on (57) is well known WINTERING OVER as a pioneer ong-distance fiyer, and as the autho of six books on air­ In command of the 189 men to history, including the part played by winter at McMurdo this year is Cdr. airmen in Antarctic whaling, in Norman J. Mills, U.S.N. which he was himself a pioneer. At the other U.S. stations will be: Among his other works is a life of Pole: 12. Lieut. Ronald S. Sullivan, Sir Hubert Wilkins and, published in M.C., U.S.N.R. 1964, tlChallenge to the Poles". His Byrd: 19. Lieut. John K. Williams, recent visit to Antarctica was spon­ C.E.C., U.S.N.R. sored by the Scott Polar Research Palmer: 4, under a petty officer. In titute. He is a member of the Plateau: 4. Lieut. A. B. Blackburn, S.P.R.I. Committee. M.C., U.S.N.R. 470 ANTARCTI'C March, 1967

A. TARC'TIIC'~S HIGH'E'S'T PEAK C IMB'ED

Newsworthiest feat of this season's up, the American Antarctic Moun­ U.S. activities in the Antarctic seems taineering Expedition had added to have been the challenge to and Mount Shinn, Mount Gardner, Mount defeat of its highe t mountain, the Tyree (Antarctica' second hi he t­ 16,860-ft. Vinson Massif in the Senti­ 16,300 ft.-and without doubt ardest nel Range. peak), Mount Ostenso an Long First challenge came from Profes­ Gable. sor Woodrow Wilson Sayre, but his Prof. Woodrow Wilson Sa r ' had name dropped out of the news when to abandon his planned ascen of the an eleven-man team was announced Vinson Massif after his party' plane, as another challenger, b. the Itpiloted by Max Conrad," eports National Geographic Society and the AAP from Washington, Itde eloped National Science Foundation. And unspecified difficulties in Buenos this team was successful, climbing Aire ". not onl the previously irgin Vinson Massif '. but also some five other Mr. Clinch said afterwards that nearby mountains. the climb of the Vinson Massif had Led by Nicholas B. Clinc]}, a Los not been particularly difficult. uWe Angeles lawyer, the 1966 American had our base camp at 9,000 ft., Camp Antarctic Mountaineering Expedi­ One at 11,500 ft., Camp T'wo at tion, sponsored by the National Geo­ 13,000 ft., and Camp' Four at 14,800 ft., gr~phic Society and the American so as you can see we broke the climb Alpine Club, co-ordinated by the down into fairly easy stages." The National Science Foundation, was first party reached the summit on flown from Christchurch, .Z., to December 18, the two other parties McMurdo Station on December 6 following on the succeeding two last year, then on to the foot of the days. mountain they were to climb. Ahead Temperatures ranged between 100 of them lay their goal, 16,860 ft. of above zero and 35 0 below. snow and ice, guarded by winds of According to Mr. Clinch, Mt. Tyree up to 90 m.p.h. and thousands of feet (16,290 ft.) was the hardest to climb. of ice. They had no map , no con­ Only Mr. B. Corbett, a member of tact wtih the rest of the world the American Mount Everest expedi­ except by radio, and no previous tion, and Mr. J. P. Evans, of the attempts to guide them. University of Minnesota, reached the Yet, ten days late the now ten­ ummit, on January 6. man team planted 12 flags on the In support of the Vinson Massif peak of the Vinson Massif, repre­ challenge party, a C-130 He cules of senting the 12 nations of the Ant­ Air Development Squadron SIX in arctic Treaty. December made the first landing The peak is near the base of the e er attempted west of Nimitz Great Antarctic Peninsula, formerly Glacier. Carrying 11 member of the called the Palmer Peninsula, which Mountaineering Expedition, the air­ thrusts northward from the main craft, commanded by Commander body of Antarctica towards the A. F. Schneider, executive officer of southernmost tip of South America. VX-6, with a crew of nine, landed safely in this unknown area 1,300 Only one permanently manned miles from McMurdo and took off base lies near the straightline path again after placing the mountaineers from McMurdo Sound to the Vinson in the field. Another VX-6 Hercules Massif. Thi is Byrd Station. was to call back again to collect the Befor a month in the field as part in January. March. 1967 ANTARCTI'C 471

NEWS FROM HELTANIN" MORE SEALS INl.AND The deepest hole ever made in the Tasman seab d is thought to have One Antarctic mystery looks like being unsealed. Over a period of been II dug" by scientists aboard U.S.N.S. HElta in's" December cruise more than 60 years, the skeletons in mid-Tasman. or mummified bodies' of more than 100 seals have been found in the dry A 1,500 lb. I ad "bomb", complete valleys of Southern Victoria Land, with fins, was used to guide and and how they ever got there seemed drive five 21-ft. pipes into the sea­ inexplicable. bed, after a 15,701 ft. drop. The exact depth of the core was not immedi­ In early November of 1966, Dr. ately known, a the difference Wakefield Dort, Jr., of the University between the 70 ft. of mud on the of Kansas, found a number of dead outside and 87 ft. inside the pipes seals while studying cirques in ice­ may have been due to suction. Long free valleys with an associate, Ed­ cores give a picture of the earth's ward Derbyshire, of Monash Univer­ magnetic history. sity, Victoria, Australia. One animal, An unknown and hitherto unseen a female crabeater pup which was probably born in September, was fish also accompanied II Eltanin" back to New Zealand. This creature found on the ice of Lake Bonney. Dr. was described as an 8-inch long Dort had visited the same spot in Hwhale", with a large whale-like February of last year and knew that head, large mouth and teeth, a the carcass was not there at that whale's posterior but no fins. It was time. described as completely new, never The seal's blubber was almost found anywhere else. entirely used up, and its stomach Also captured in the trawling pro­ and intestines were empty. The belly gramme were four or five Hvery rare" and chin were badly scarred from fish and some 300 species of lantern the long journey over rocky terrain fish, a variety of which only about and glacier ice. With a companion, 12 had previously been caught. Dr. Dart backtracked the trail from the eastern end of Lake Bonney diagonally upslope to the base bf the scarp of Nussbaum Riegel. They RECO~VERED found 11 more carcasses halfway up Mr. Armand L. Spitz, the American and another one on the top. aurora physicist who was evacuated Samples of liver, intestine, skin by an emergency flight from Byrd and blubber are being brought back Station early in September suffering to the United States tor analysis. from appendicitis, was reported fit and well at Christchurch in late On December 12, while flying near November. He has been working at Mt. Saunders in Byrd Land, the crew the D.S.I.R. magnetic survey in and passengers of a helicopter Christchurch, and hoping that the spotted a live seal on Crevasse Valley Arctic Institute, his American em­ Glacier at an altitude of 3,000 to 4000 ploy~r, might. withdraw its objection feet, about seventy miles inland. The to hIS returnIng to the Antarctic. seal was still moving away from the coast. After landing on the glacier, - the four men managed to capture the animal, but only in a fight that Minor damage to the hull of U.S. required all of their efforts. The seal Navy tanker IIAlatna" necessitated a crabeater pup weighing 57 lb. and her visit to dry-dock in Dunedin, believed to be about three m~nths New Zealand, last December. A 26­ old, was airlifted to the Byrd Land inch crack in a ballast tank and a survey base camp, near 77 0 S., 144 0 hole in a cargo tank were received, W., where it was fed fish. On Decem­ it is thought, after IIAlatna" had left ber 14, the animal was flown to the fuelling berth at Hut Point. More McMurdo, and turned loose on the ice than usual has been seen this ice off Hut Point. Hopes are not high year in Antarctic waters. for its recovery on account of the 472 ANTARCTI-C March, 1967 loss of blubber it had suffered. A. McClared, from the Australian The discovery of these two live or Antarctic Division of the D partment only recently deceased seals of External Affairs, is a gu st of the strengthens the theory previously U.S. Antarctic Research Program at advanced that the mummified seals Byrd, observing the deep drilling were beasts that had become dis­ work, while David Carter, another orientated and wandered aimlessly Australian geologist, snent several until they died of starvation or weeks at McMurdo calibrating two exhaustion. gravity meters for the Antarctic Divi­ sion. An engineer from the Isuzu Motors Company of Japan, Masahiko AND IN THE SEA Yamanaka, has visited McMurdo and "Fantastic" motion pictures of Plateau Stations to aid in the re­ seals under the Antarctic ice have habilitation of Sno-Cats for the U.S. been taken by a U.S. zoologist, Dr. South Pole-Oueen Maud Land Tra­ Carleton Ray, and his companion, verse Ill. Also at McMurdo wa Mr. Michael A. de Camp from Mor­ L. M. Klimov, exchange s ientist ristown, New Jersey, who have been from Leningrad. diving beneath the 10 to 15 ft. thick ice shelf on the southern fringe of the Ross Sea. The Antarctic is the Dr. MacNamara, who is Director of greatest biological laboratory in the Research for the State of New Jer­ world, according to Dr. Ray, who sey, has been seconded to the Arctic believes that man is only just begin­ Institute of North America and has ning to learn the secrets of how received a grant from the National air-breathing mammals such as seals Science Foundation to enable him exist beneath the ice. to spend 14 months at Molodezhnaya. In Christchurch on December 22 Dr. MacNamara said that the Rus­ CHANGE-OVER sians were sending an icebreaker back from the Antarctic to collect The annual exchange of U.S. and him at Fremantle. He expects to foreign scientists has continued this study soil, rocks, drainage water, season, with four U.S. scientists meteorology and climatology. workinp" outside their own bases, and nine foreigners working within them. E. E. MacNamara, from the Arctic MORE TOURISTS Institute of North America, will Lindblad Travel Inc., the New spend the 1967 winter at the Soviet York travel agency responsible for Molodezhnaya Station ; Wakefield the Antarctic Peninsula tour of the Dort, Jr., spent part of the summer 1965-66 summer, described in our at Japan's Showa, doing research in March issue, arranged three tours of glacial geology; and John H. Taylor roughly the same area for this sum­ and Victor P. Hessler conducted mer. Two of the tours were sched­ upper atmosphere physics research uled to start from Argentina and one at Vostok Station. from Chile. Belgium has been represented by Roland Souchez, Institute of Geogra­ Argentine tours: A.R.A. IILapatoia", phy from Brussels, in the dry valleys the ship employed last year, from west of McMurdo Sound; Norway Ushuaia. Each tour of 14 days: 60 by veteran Antarctican Olav Orheim passengers each sailing; leaving on of the Norwegian Polar Institute, January 15 and 29. The majority of who participated in the 1965-66 the tourists are United States citi­ South Pole-Queen Maud Land Tra­ zens. verse II; from Australia are geolo­ Chilean tour: M.S. "Navarino" gists Clifford T. McElroy and John leaving Puerto -Montt on December H. Bryan from the University of 14, returning to Punta Arenas about New South Wales, and Geoffrey Rose January 6, after visiting the U.S. from the N.S.W. Geological Survey, Palmer Station and tlie Chilean also working in the dry alley area . ba e . March, 1967 ANTARCTI'C 473

Tasmania. Mr. Walker as leader be­ FROM THE SUB. comes Coroner and J.P. for the Esperance Municipality, in which the ANTARCTIC ISLANDS island lies. NEW BOAT MACQUARIE ISLAND An air boat ha been designed in In the second week of December Melbourne as a result of talks with a hurricane delayed the departure members of the Australian National from Macquarie. The "Nella Dan" Antarctic Research Expedition with was preparing to pick up the 18 experience in condition at Mac­ scientists and other expedition mem­ quarie Island. bers when winds up to 90 m.p.h. It was built by Norman Hamilton forced her to put to sea. Pty. Ltd. of Melbourne. tlNella Dan" arrived at the island The ANARE teams found the use on December 6 with a relief party of boats at Macquarie Island impo ­ and supplies for the next year. sible because of floating kelp and At the weekend, dangerous seas seaweed in strands up to a mile long. also prevented amphibious trucks But the air boat, drawing only an from putting supplies ashore at inch of water and practically out of several outposts on the island. the water at full speed, would over­ come this problem because it is THE WEATHER driven by an air propeller the same as an aircraft's. A recent visitor to Macquarie The double-skinned fibreglass hull writes in liThe Australian": is in split catamaran form. The boat liThe handful of Australian scien­ weighs only 600 lb. but the filling of tists on Macquarie Island have a Estafoam in the hull gives it a float­ simple method of weather forecast­ ing factor of two tons. ing: IJust take your pick: snow, rain, The Porche aircraft engine pushe hail or hurricanes. You won't be a four-bladed fan and the driver disappointed', they say. steers by a conventional wheel con­ lilt is surprising how accurate the nected to rudders in the slipstream. method is. In the 12 months to last Last year, a rough model was built November 30 the average daily for a duck-shooting syndicate who period of sunshine was 1.9 hours­ went through mud and weeds in the a better record, I was told, than in N.S.W. ricefields where no other other years. shooters had been before. tlOther climatic statistics for this When final tests are made, the boat I good year' were equally depressing: is expected to have a top speed of rain on 310 days, strong winds on 60 m.p.h. 277 days, hail on 90 days, snow on 96 days, fog on 104 day, and gales CROZET on 83 day." (France) LEADER 1967 Because of the death on December 2 of Dr. Le Gorrec, Officer in Charge The leader of the Macquarie of the Nouvelle Amsterdam area, Island team this year will be Mr. following a jeep accident, the "Gal­ R. M. G. Walker of Harbord, N.S.W. lieni" made a return voyage Reunion­ Mr. Walker was born at Bareilly, Amsterdam-Reunion between De­ India, in 1935 and was educated in cember 2 and 15, and then resumed England. He was an officer in the the planned relief programme. Leav­ British Army from 1953 to 1960, and ing l'Ile Maurice after refuelling on had considerable experience in December 15, "Gallieni" reached l'Ile jungle warfare in Malaya. His work Crozet on the evening of December since 1960 has been mainly admini ­ 21. In rainy weather the relief of trative, in India and Singapore. The personnel and unloading of 311 tons Macquarie Island party will number of cargo were carried out without 24. Macquarie i part of the state of incident. 474 ANTARCTI'C March. I tt67

KERGUELEN slopes of Mt. Dumas, th southern (France) coastal cliffs and over the top of Eboule Peak. Before lunch Foubister On December 26, the "Gallieni" and Dreaver had a short sWim in the left for the Kerguelen Archipelago surf in beautiful sunshine With Peggy early in the afternoon, and arrived (our dog) and a friendly lion. The there during the morning of the 29th. return was made via Six Foot Lake Unloading began at Port aux Fran­ a~d Garden Co~e. The party was ~ais at midday the same day and pIcked up by HlP van Berkum in continued in moderate weather until the station launch "Aurora" from January 4, 1967. 1,052 tons of cargo Venus C·ove. Undoubtedly this is one were unloaded, including three pre­ of the best walks on the island, not fabricated buildings planned to only because of the fine coastal house the new power-house (also scenery but because of the good unloaded), the equipment for future conditions underfoot. sounding-rocket firings, and a new radio transmitting centre. BIRD BANDING After a voyage to Amsterdam Several members have been carry­ Island extending from January 5-21, ing on the good work of previous "Gallieni", back at Kerguelen, loaded expeditions on the bird banding cargo for the return voyage and scheme mentioned in the December personnel who had been relieved, edition of "Antarctic" by C. J. R. and left for France on January 22, Robertson. David Paull, senior calling at Port-des-Galets on the 30th. meterological observer, has taken over the keeping of records of band­ CAMPBELL ISLAND ing, recoveries and nesting habits of (New Zealand) the birds from Gordon Surrey, who The Festive Season has come and left the Island in November 1966 gone and brought with it a spell at after two years there. Gordon has excellent weather enabling most continued his interest in the study members to get out and about to of birds by taking up a post with the visit some of the more interesting Department of Wildlife. places on the island. On December Of interest on the recovery side of 22 a party of six, Paull, Dreaver, the scheme was the reported re­ Johns, Hodgson, Shone and Foubis­ covery of a Royal Albatross (R 9621) ter, made the long trip to Penguin 350 miles east of Valparaiso, Chile, Bay bv the southerly route and just after Christmas. This bird was returned to the station via Complex banded by Surrey and Foubi ter on Point and Northwest Bay. Durin~ Campbell Island on October 23, 1966, this trip no fewer than 13 species of a distance of 4,300 miles away. birdlite were observed, many of The pegging of 100 Royal Albatross them being banded en route. nests In the St. Col area was com­ Of special interest was the locating pleted on January 17 and 78 pairs of a Wanderer chick (Diomedea had been established by this date. exulans) on the slopes of Mt. Dumas VISITORS above Northwest bay, far from the more frequented nesting site at Unexpected but very welcome visi­ Mowbray Castle. Also of interest was tors to the island on the last day of Foubister's rescue on January 24 of 1966 were the six members of the another Wanderer chick from the Canterbury University's Expedition surf in Northwest Bay and its inevit­ to Snares Island who wer unsuc­ able rendezvous with the sea lions. cessful in their attempts to land on The latter bird was carried some Snares from the U.S.S. "T. J. Gary" distance up Mt. Dumas and left in and were left at Campbell to await the vicinity of the nest of the former. the arrival of the U.S.S. "Mills", On January 8 the largest party to which was successful in landing the leave the station so far (Johns, Drea­ party on January 2. Trips to Six Foot ver, Therkleson, Shone, Steuth, Lake, Courrejolles Peninsula and Hodgson and Foubister) tramped Rocky Bay were organised for the out to the end of the peninsula at visitors, who also assisted u to Monument Harbour via the ea tern bring in the New Year. March, 1967 ANTARCTI'C 475

ANTARCTIC BOOKSHELF~

SCOTT OF THE ANTARCTIC, by against which he had to wage a life­ Reginald Pound, Cassell. 327 pp, long fight, and the courage and maps and illustrations. N.Z. price determination with which he fought and conquered them. uHis conques.t 37/-. ,- of the South Pole was also a trI­ The publishers of this fourth bio­ umph of self-conquest". graphy of Captain R. F. Scott, fol­ Some of the "new" passages lowing books by Gwynn (1929~ quoted by Mr. Pound, especially Seaver (1940) and Ludlam (1966), from the letters of other people, are can fairly claim that Mr. Pound's perhaps not strictly relevant to a book is Itbased on exhaustive ori­ biography of Scott, but they are ginal research". He has had access permissible, even valuable, if they to a great deal of previously unpub­ highlight qualities and circum­ lished material in the form of stances with which Scott had to letters, diaries and other docu­ contend. That is not always the ments, and is able to quote freely case. And it is unfortunate that passages from Scott's own 1912 some of the revelations cast a slur journal which have previously been on other members of the expedition. published only in an expurgated Not every reader will know Scott's form. All this has been supple,­ proneness to hasty and sometimes mented by conversations and cor­ wrong judgements. Mr. P10und respondence with many who served sometimes goes to considerable with Scott and knew him well, or lengths to make it clear that tnere who have themselves had access to may be another side to the story: further original material. Mr. he is careful to give both Scott's Pound has also had the goodwill and Shackleton's points of view in and active co-operation of members the "breach of faith" charge over of the Scott family in writing a the use of McMurdo Sound as a book which gives us a fuller and base. But was it necessary to quote more intimate picture of Scott the Scott's private-letter reference to a man than we have had before. man as "a snob of snobs" - and to give the man's name and office, in On the whole the new portrait a footnote? Or to quote Kathleen enhances the stature of a man Scott's opinion of another eminent whose wide interests, organising explorer, "I'm afraid he's an ass"? skill, devotion to duty, courage and endurance have for over 50 years Incidentally, a pleasing feature of placed him high among the world's the book is the light it throws on great men. Weaknesses of course the vital part in Scott's life played there were, and Mr. Pound does not by his mother and his wife. And a shut his eyes to them. Those who New Zealander must express his knew him and students of Antarctic thanks for the frequent acknow­ history have long been aware of ledgment of the help given by them: hesitancies, Itqueer blank Joseph Kinsey. phases" (even if of no more real consequence than arriving at an There are a few historical inac­ resent~ curacies, as where (p. 60) the author evening in his shirt sleeves), implies that the whole Crozier party ment of criticism, "ready suscepti­ was involved in the misadventure bility to emotional indulgence"", which led to the death of Vince. moods in which he seemed It unap­ proachable". But not many have This, however, is a well docu­ known the extent of the ctisabilities, mented, perceptive, lucid and in the physical and temp'eramental, main well-balanced account of 476 ANTARCTIC March, 1967

Scott's life. Mr. Pound, an experi­ Fraction in modern Marine Sedi­ enced biographer, has woven the ments by David L. B II. well-known facts and the new 17. Recent Sediments and Sedimen­ material into a coherent and very tary History across the Pacific readable whole which gives the Antarctic Ridge, by Samuel Kos­ reader a new insight into the char­ ter. acter of the man whose adventur­ All are theses submitted to the ous life and heroic death did indeed graduate school of the University IIstir the heart of every English­ by students doing research work for man" and many a man besides. the M.Sc. degree. L.B.Q. ANTARCTIC SOILS AND SOIL The November issue of GEO­ FORMING PROCESSES, . C. F. TIMES, the American Geological Tedrow, editor, 177 page, illus­ Institute's periodical giving tlnews of trations, maps and diagrams. the earth sciences", is almost entirely American Geophysical Union. $10. devoted to Antarctic research, speci­ This is the 8th Volume of the fically the U.S.A.R.P. programme. A.G.U. Antarctic Research Series. The The nature of the eleven articles and editor, a p,rofessor of 'Soils at Rutgers the calibre of their writers makes University, and an acknowledged this 50-page, attractively produced expert on soils and soil classifica­ journal of interest to a much wider tion in the Arctic regions. is well circle of readers than those who are qualified to edit such a work. specialists in the earth sciences. Ex­ This book is not intended as the New Zealander Colin Bull on Ant­ complete and authoritative work on arctic Glaciology, H. G. Goodell on Antarctic soil , but as a reflection of Marine Geology (from tlChallenger" current knowledge of the subject in to IIEltanin,,), Philip M. Smith on order to place pedology in its Geological Research, Robert H. Rut­ realistic perspective and as a ford on Field Party Transportation, catalyst for future investigations. and other competent writers with Within these limits the book the common touch make this a pub­ serves its purpose admirably and lication which no Antarctic enthu­ will be of considerable interest to siast can afford to miss. all soil scientists and especially to We are indebted for our co-... r to those in New Zealand who have John F. Splettstoesser who in his pioneered soil investigations in Ant­ article on Antarctic Geological Liter­ arctica. ature gives full credit to the special The first five chapters deal with the factor that govern soil fonnation in Antarctica and Antarctic issues of the N.Z. Journal the final chapter, somewhat shorter, with the of Geology and Geophysics and to soil themselves. 'The geomorpholo. of Ant­ the N.Z. Antarctic Society's volumes arctica' by Robert L. lchols i a v ry useful summary of the geological and g omorpho­ liThe Antarctic Today" and HAnt­ logical pattern of the Antarctic continent as a arctica". whole, which effectivel means the mountains of the Ross Dependency and Graham Land, and a rather more detailed account of land­ Among the most productive of the forms in Graham Land and the McMurdo Sound region, where Dr. Nichols ha worked ulany United States organisations extensively. active in the Antarctic must be the 'Antarctic Climate' by William S. Wyant, Sedimentolo~cal Research Labora­ contains much information on the climate of tory of the Department of Geology, Antarctica generally, and then deals specifically with the additional climatic factors that may Florida State University. The latest prevail in areas of exposed soil. Much of this, Itcontributions" we have received of course, is supposition, as very f w climatic are numbers 15-17, October and Nov­ observations have been made in the larger icc free areas. Weyant recognises that the ice­ crnber, 1966. free areas ha e a local climate which is ver 15. The Deep-Sea Sediments of the different from that of neighbouring snow­ co ered regions which, of course, i ob iou Drake Passage and Scotia Sea, to an one who ha worked in such areas; by Thomas T. Mather. however there i no mention of the wide dif­ ferences that have been observed b. twe n ice .. 6. A Comparative Study of Glaci­ free area at high altitudes and latItudes and conite and the Associated Clay tho e of the better known dry alley. The March, 1967 ANTARCTI'C 477

chapter does, however, provide a useful gulf between the soils of Antarctica and any source of reference material on Antarctic others in the Southern hemisphere - the climate which is otherwise difficult to obtain. Subantarctic i lands are quite atypical, and The lengthy chapter by Thomas E. Berg it is difficult to find equivalent within the and Robert F. Black on the growth of non­ Arctic regions. Tedrow and Ugolini would sorted polygons in Victoria land is a very use­ describe the bulk of Antarctic soils a ahumic ful summary a the recent work of the - a term which cannot be disputed, although authors on thi very distinctive feature of it is rather broad. The characteristics of the Antarctic 1- ndscape and provides the their ahumic soils however are based largely most detailed ac ount of the morpho10g and on soil characteri tic in the McMurdo Sound Occurrence of nearly all features that can be region, and whilst it is no fault of the author classified as polygons, tes ellations or pat­ of this chapter, it should perhap be pointed terned ground. While not everything i yet 0ut here that further field work b ew known about these feature Berg and Black's Zealanders ha . hown that the oil of other work gOyS a ver long way towards elucidat­ ice free area in the Tran Antarctic mountains ing their ignificance and concludes with a have omewhat different characteri tics ­ method for dating variou geomorphic sur­ they rna be acid rather than alkaline, rna fa.ce which ha provided some rather tart­ contain much more alt and rna be of ling evidence for the youthfulne s of orne markedly different colour. However Tedrow surfaces. This is not the place to be critical and Ugolini bring out the point, made by of the ages derived by these methods, al­ other pedologists in Antarctica, that the en­ though they appear to be much younger vironment is an arid one, and that the nearest than other workers al 0 using soil evidence relatives as far as oils go, are to be found have thought. It will be difficult to refute the in the soils of desert regions. e -haustive field studies and experimental evi­ Other minor group in Tedrow and Ugolini's dence presented by Berg and Black. classification such as evaporite soils, proto­ A chapter by Emanuel D. Rudolph on the ranker soils and ornithogenic soils are dis­ Terrestrial vegetation of Antarctica discusses cussed briefly. The groupings are valid, as quite briefly the flora of Antarctica as a these three classes of soil do differ from whole and then presents an account of orne the bulk of Antarctic soils but the re iewer recent work on the microclimate, soil and ha his reservations about the use of terms vegetation of a small area near Hallett station such as protoranker for soils containing which is one of the more favourable sites for organic matter and ornithogenlc for soils plant life in the New Zealand sector of the derived from penguin guano. Antarctic. The result provide a useful basis for comparison with the scattered short term On the whole the value of this observatiohs by pedologists and entomologists book lies in its bringing together the in other ice free areas of Antarctica. discussion of the soil forming factors The final chapter in this section is on the ecology of soil micro organisms in that govern soil development in Ant­ Antarctica by William L. Bo d, James T. arctica, and especially the accounts Staley and J0 ephine W. Boyd. A short of recent experimental work in summary of previous work on the micro­ biology of the Antarctic i followed b microclimate, microbiolog and pat­ an account of a detailed investigation of the terned ground development. Although microbial population of the McMurdo Sound every pedologist visiting Antarctica region. As shown by other workers, there is a small but detectable microbial population does, and indeed must attempt to in many Antarctic soils. Studies on the bac­ classify the soils he sees and to relate terial population and of the organic material them to soils in other parts of the on which it feeds are reported. It is interest­ ing to note al 0 that not only are there world, a valid classification must 'native' species of micro-organisms in Ant~ await wider knowledge of Antarctic arctic soils, but introduced specie can also soils, and not only those of the Mc­ be observed, some of them surviving since their introduction b the earl expeditions, Murdo Oasis area. Every classifica­ but man oth r being introduced b the tion put forward of Antarctic oil current inhabitant of Antarctica. including one put forward by th~ One light error detected in this chapter reviewer himself, can be critlcised is the writer' omi ion of Borchgrevink' on the same grounds, but this need e 'pedition of 1899 and the Ross Sea Party of Shackleton's Trans Antarctic expedition from not deter future soil workers from his account of ariy expeditions in the region. building on pr iou work. The que ­ In these five chapters the soil forming tion asked by many - of what u e factors have been discussed and the soil are soil studies in Antarctica where environment ha been placed in its proper no sheep graze as yet - is not p.er pecti e .. Geology and topography, climate, answered in as many words in this tIme ~nd bIOlogy are all discussed separately, but WIth general relation to soil. In the final volume but it is in fact answered by chanter of the bOOk. quite a short one, the presence of the volume itself J. C. F. Tedrow and Fiorenza C. Ugolini di ­ which shows how work from a num~ cuss Antarctic soils. The soil forming factors are again discussed and a review of much of ber of scientific disciplines can be the previous work on Antarctic oils is given. tied together to gain further know­ The authors then att mpt to clas ify Antarctic ledge of the environment of the soils and run into the arne problem a earth. other ew Zealand workers have done in attempting to do the same thing. There is a G. C. C. Claridge 478 ANTARCTIC March, 1967

ANTARCTICA1

(We are glad to publish these of them. The poem is dedicated lito verses forwarded to us as a sincere Mike Prebble, Leader of the 1965-66 tribute to the 1966 wintering New Party, and to all those who served Zealand team, by the mother of one under him.")

Vast Continent, land of blizzards, ice and wind, What secrets do you hold within your ice-bound heart? Remote, mysterious ",nd bleak; impart the knowledge that we seek to vvrest from you! Antarctica! Land of darkness, land of light, Where Man pays dearly for his right to learn: Implacable, belligerent and yet, at times benign To those who yearn for truth, and spurn hypocrisy! Antarctica! Where Man has shown the world, that he Can live and work in harmony, regardless of his race or creed, And is judged by his deeds alone! Antarctica! Land of Sun, old before the world begun! Azure skies, sparkling ice, in summer you're a paradise. We're leaving you our mission done, be kind to those yet to come. Reluctantly we have to part. we're leaving you - also our hearts! Mary Greeks.

FLIGHT O'FF THE ICE COVER A plan by Max Conrad to fly a In an article on liThe Polar Ice light aircraft across the Antarctic Cap" in Impact, vol. VIX, no. 4, has apparently been abandoned be­ A. Bauer and C. Lorius give some cause the United States Navy could interesting figures on the Antarctic not adequately help him if he en­ ice cover. Admitting that lithe pre­ countered trouble. Conrad had sent margin of error in the mea­ planned ito start his journey from Washington on February 27 in a surement of ice thickness is at least twin-engine Piper Aztec. of the order of 10 per cent", the Friends said Conrad had com­ writers conclude that the surfaces pleted all details for the flight, which under ice and the volumes of this was to have marked the first time a ice are distributed as follows: light aircraft had girdled the world from Pole~to.. Pole. Surface Volume (million km2 ) (million km3 ) It is understood that severe wea­ ther and limited search and rescue Antarctic 12.8 29.5 facilities made it impossible for the Navy to support the flight. Greenland 1.7 2.6 Other ice-caps During the summer season, repre­ and glaciers 0.5 0.2 sentatives of 13 nations visited Scott Base. They included admirals, Thus approximately 90 per cent knights, and doctors or professors of the ice in the world is contained of science. in the Antarctic. Marchi 1967 ANTARCTIC 479

the waters as we layoff Point Halls­ 51 AGO well. From the moment we had a glimpse of those who ventured out [It was on February 9, 1917, that to greet u , the enthusiasm and hos­ the "Aurora" arrived in Wellington, pitality of the people of New Zealan9­ bringing back the se en survivor never ceased towards us. A promI­ of the 10-man Ross Sea section of nent party consisting of ... the act­ Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarc­ ing Minister of Marine, the Mayor, tic Expedition who had been mar­ and other well-known citizens were ooned without stores or spare cloth­ on the tug 'Karaka'. As the two ing on Ross Island since the sJ:zip vessel drew alongside, three lusty had been carried out to sea, Ice­ cheers called for by the Mayor were bound, on May 7, 1915.-Bd.] given for our party.... Then fol­ lowed general handshakes and con­ gratulations.... We then made for THE RETURN TO CIVILISATION the ferry wharf and berthed, where As Richards recalls it.* a huge crowd were gathered, and the air rang with cheers and houts of tilt was indeed a red-letter day for welcome. Almost at once we were us when we arrived off the South to recognise that New Zealand is a Island of New Zealand and steamed home from home. along the coast on ou~ way. to Well­ ington. For the first time SInce 1914 "With ev~rla~ti~g ~e~ories I say we saw green trees and pasture, and 'Thank you!' " savoured the wonderful scent of the eucalyptus - which was something I had deeply longer for at times in the 'Sterile South'. STILL GOI G STRONG tilt was good to be back, and as The Royal Geographical Society we steamed into Wellington Harbour has conferred on Sir Charles Wright on 9 February, 1917, the Pilot Boa~ the rare honour of Honorary Mem­ came out to meet us, and a party of bership of the Society. A prominent prominent citizens came alongside menlber of Scott' Last Expedition, on a tug. We were made to feel more the eteran Canadian cienti t has in than welcome. I shall never forget recent years worke~ in the fi.eld of the kindness and warmth of the New geomagnetic and Ionosphenc re­ Zealand people towards the seven survivors of our party. We had no search, and when in his late 70:s shore clothing and no money, but we returned four times to the Antarctic were told we auld not have to with American Deep Freeze teams worry about anything as we were to to cary out field observation in sup­ be the guests of the New Zealand port of his research. Government. We were taken ashore to the Grand Hotel, tailors were put to our disposal, and we were out­ fitted completely in one day. Passe LEASE! were given over .all rail ~nd tram services, and publIc and prIvate hos­ IF you have a copy which pitality was boundles , which was ~n you could spare of any of eloquent tribut to the esteem In the issues listed inside the which Shackleton was held there, desuite his failure to achieve the back cover as OUT OF trans-continental crossing which was PRINT or VERY FE:W the object of his expedition." LEFT .please forward to the Editor, as frequent en­ Joyce adds some details.' quiries are being made for tiThe pilot boat had come out to out of print issues Note meet us. Dusk had come down on that vol -1 nos. 2 and 9, vol. * Richards: The Ross Sea Shore Party, 1914-17. 2 nos. 3, 4, 7 and 9 are now S.P.R.I. * Jo ce: South Polar Trail. Duckworth 1929. also out of print. 480 ANTARCTI'C March, 1967

our, which has been ranted on SPACE FIGHT. LAB only two other occasions, and never Within 10 years the Antarctic to a person outside t e United could become the test laboratory for Kingdom. deep space missions, said an Ameri­ The award is in recognition of can atmospheric physicist, J. P. Mr. Ponder's services to the associa­ Katsufrakis, in, Christchurch on tion and to architecture over a February 27. period of over 21 years. Mr. Katsufrakis, who is from Stan­ Mr. 'Ponder was recognised inter­ ford University, had spent the previ­ nationally when he was selected to ous ix weeks with :French scientists be chairman of an international at the ·Dumont d'Urville Station as symposium on polar buildings, held an exchange scientist. It is his fifth in the U.S.A. in 1962. This followed year on the continent. the successful pioneering of a new He said the primary test would era in polar building design when he be the placing of a selected team designed New Zealand's Scott 'Base. of astronauts on the ·Polar Plateau for 18 months or so. This was the IN THE WIND time that would be required for a Adrian Hayter, author of the popu­ journey to Mars and back. lar lone-voyager narrative IISheila lilt would not have the artificiality in the Wind" and two subsequent of a research chamber in some books, is now writing what promises laboratory in the United States. I to be a more,-than-interesting ac­ believe ·Antarctica is the only place count of II what it is like living in on earth where you can duplicate the 'Antarctic now," based upon his realistically the p,hysical and psycho­ year as leader at Scott Base, 1964-65. logical conditions of a space flight," he said. THANKS ARE DUE IIDown there in the middle of no­ The co-operative assistance given where they would really feel the to Scott Base field parties by the loneliness of space, particularly in United States is generous, as is the winter darkness, whereas in a clearly understood when these facts test chamber they have the know­ for the summer season are listed. ledge that there are plenty of people Exclusively for New Zealand scien­ outside always ready to assist them tists, the United States flew 44 if things get difficult," he said. helicopter missions, three major The use of the Antarctic for a deep Hercules missions, and on seven space mission - IIby ,that I mean occasions 'Coast Guard ships were after the moon has been conquered" used. -would probably be a joint N.A.S.A.­ On one of these missions, a heli­ National Science 'Foundation project. copter crashed and was written off. Mr. Katsufrakis said he believed it would be foolhardy to send four men on a mission to 'Mars without Speaking in Christchurch on first seeing how they got along to­ )March 1 after he had handed over gether in a similar, realistic environ­ the command of the US Navy Sup­ ment, such as could be realised in port Force, Antarctica, Admiral the Antarctic. Bakutis paid 'tribute to -the Her­ cules of the Royal New Zealand Air SCOTT BASE ARCHITECT Force, which had been brought into Antarctic support operation during HONOURED his command. The rare honour of being made a tlWe would welcome any further life vice-president of the Incorpor­ contribution New Zealand may ated Association of Architects and make on a pool basis. We could in Surveyors has been conferred on fact use up to six flights a season Mr. W. F. (Frank) 'Ponder, of Lower but this, of course, will depend o~ Hutt. He has been invited to Lon­ whether or not the New Zealand don to be presented with a special Government sees thi a being diploma in recognition of thi hon- de irable," he aid.

A TARCTIC" is published quarterly in March, June, September, and December. Subscription for non-members of the Antarctic Society, £1 5s. Apply to the Secretary, ew Zealand Antarctic Society, P.O. Box ~110, Wellington, New Zealand.

Ont of Print: Very few left: Volume 1 numbers number 8 1, 2, 9 Volum 2, numbers number 1 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9 Volume 3, number 7 number 5 Some other issues are in very short supply. Copies of av ilable issues may be obtained from the Secretary of the Society, P.O. Box 2110, Wellington, at a cost of 5/- per copy meanwhile. Indexes for volumes 1, 2 and 3 are also available, 3/- each. Copies of our predecessor, the Antarctic News Bulletin, are available at 5/- per copy, except for numbers 9 and 10. The copies of numbers 1,2,3,4,7, 11, 17 and 18 are authorised reprints. he ew Zealand Antarctic Society comprises e Zealanders and overseas friends, many of whom have seen Antarctica for themselves, and all of whom are vitally interested in some phase of Antarctic exploration, development, or research. The Society has taken an active part in restoring and main­ taining the historic huts in the Ross Dependency, and plans to co-operate in securing suitable locations as repositories of Polar material of unique interest. There are currently two branches of the Society and functions are arranged throughout the year. You are invited to become a member. South Island residents should contact the Canterbury secretary, North Islanders hould contact the Wellington secretary, and overseas residents the secretary of the New Zealand Society. For addresses see belo . The membership fee includes subscription to ltAntarctic".

ew Zealand Secretary Mr. V. E. Donnelly, P'.O. Box 2110, Wellington.

Branch Secretaries Wellington: Mr. W. Prebble, P.O. Box 2110, Wellington. Canterbury: Mrs. E. F. Cross, 34 Clissold St., Christchurch 1.

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