UNITED STATES ANTARCTIC RESEARCH PROGRAM FIELD SEASON 1965-1966 KENDALL N. MOULTON1 A second major project was the establishment of a permanent facility at the site of the long-wire an- Office of Antarctic Programs tenna, 21 kilometers (13 miles) from Byrd Station. National Science Foundation This facility houses two men during the first winter and affords researchers the opportunity to expand the program of very-low-frequency (VLF) and extra-low-frequency (ELF) ionospheric studies. The 1965-1966 antarctic field season is the The three air-transportable units which make up eighth since the National Science Foundation ini- the facility and which are similar to those used at tiated the United States Antarctic Research Pro- Plateau Station, were flown by Navy LC-130F gram at the conclusion of the International Geo- aircraft directly to the site in January. The units physical Year. In spite of the difficult logistic were then installed and covered with a steel arch problems posed, this past season was a most suc- to protect them from heavy snow accumulation. cessful one. The main objectives of the scientific The installation of these air-transportable facili- program were accomplished, and the support of ties points to a trend over the past few seasons to- the many and diverse projects presented the U.S. ward the development of small, compact facilities Naval Support Force, Antarctica, with one of its that can be easily transported to a site, set up, and greatest challenges since the establishment of the first then moved if required. United States stations in 1955-1956. The challenge was met enthusiastically and effectively. Remote Areas Explored A geological, geophysical, topographical, and bio- Research Station Network Extended logical survey of the Pensacola Mountains carried The highlight of the past season was the further eastward the exploration of the Transantarctic Moun- extension of the United States scientific station tains. Six separate scientific projects with a total of network in Antarctica. The first addition to this 18 scientists were combined to accomplish the survey. network since the IGY was Eights Station, built in In order to establish such a party approximately the 1962-1963 season. The second was Palmer Sta- 1,700 kilometers (1,050 miles) from McMurdo tion in the Antarctic Peninsula, built in early 1964. Station and provide mobility in the field, three This year an eight-man research facility was built on Army UH-113 turbine helicopters were airlifted by the high polar plateau of East Antarctica at 79°15S. Navy LC-130F aircraft to a base camp in the 40°30E. and an elevation of 3,624 meters (11,890 Pensacola Mountains. With the close support of the feet). This station is equipped to support new re- helicopter unit, the research party accomplished in search projects in aurora, geomagnetism, meteorol- one season what would previously have taken several ogy, and very-low-frequency propagation and was years to complete with ground transportation alone. designed to be completely air transportable. The fa- While the Pensacola Mountains were being ex- cility was placed on site by Navy LC-130F aircraft plored, a seven-man party undertook the prelim- during the month of January, assembled, and made inary geologic reconnaissance of the recently dis- fully operational before the last aircraft departed the covered nunataks and mountain ranges bounding station on February 11, 1966. This airborne op- the northwestern edge of 'the Filchner Ice Shelf at eration was truly an outstanding example of pro- the base of the Antarctic Peninsula. Fielded 2,400 fessional airmanship and demonstrated the quality kilometers (1,550 miles) from McMurdo Station by and effectiveness of the U.S. Navy antarctic logis- LC-130F and LC-117 aircraft and utilizing motor tic capability. toboggans for transportation, the party spent from Concurrently, the operation of Eights Station was November 8, 1965, to January 17, 1966, mapping suspended. Much scientific equipment at the sta- and surveying an area of 13,000 square kilometers tion was transferred to Plateau Station. The rest of (5,000 square miles). the facility has been secured for possible reactivation The second phase of the South Pole-Queen during the next period of maximum solar activity. Maud Land Traverse was successfully accom- U.S. Antarctic Research Program Representative, Mc- plished. Recommencing at the Pole of Inaccessibil- Murdo Station, 1965-1966. ity on December 15, 1965, an 11-man research team 118 ANTARCTIC JOURNAL traveled 1,340 kilometers (725 n. miles) on a zigzag large-scale survey there. A special program to course to the new Plateau Station. The vehicles had study antarctic cirques (steep-walled recesses in been left at the Pole of Inaccessibility at the comple- mountains caused by glacial erosion) of the Royal tion of last years traverse and were readied in the Society Range was inaugurated in an area between field for this years project. the Koettlitz and Mackay Glaciers. A study of the This program of geophysical exploration in- stratigraphy, deposition, and petrography of the Bea- cluded ice depth soundings, magnetic observations, con sediments was made in the dry valley area. The gravity readings, glaciological studies, altimetry, and paleomagnetic properties of volcanic rocks in the surface weather observations along the following McMurdo Sound area were examined. route: 82°07S. 55°06E. (Pole of Inaccessibility) The long-term patterned ground studies near to 82 0 00S. 09 0 06E., to 79°15S. 40°30E. (Plateau McMurdo Station were continued. These programs Station). At the conclusion of the traverse, vehicles in the vicinity of McMurdo made use of 585 were loaded aboard U.S. Navy LC-130F aircraft and hours of local Navy helicopter support and were flown to McMurdo Station for servicing. The take- further assisted by the completion of an earth offs from Plateau Station at 3,624 meters (11,890 sciences laboratory facility at McMurdo Station. feet) were accomplished without JATO at a maxi- Glaciology—A six-man field party remeasured mum cargo weight of 23,000 pounds per aircraft and strain stakes laid out between Ross Island and set a record for Navy Air Development Squadron Six Roosevelt Island during the 1962-1963 season. The LC-1 30F operations in Antarctica. party, using four motor toboggans and eight Nansen Significant ice thickness data were obtained by sledges, left McMurdo November 18, 1965, traveled the traverse personnel on the polar plateau, using approximately 1,050 kilometers (650 miles), and radio sounding equipment. The results compared arrived at its pickup point south of Roosevelt Island favorably with traditional seismic sounding meth- on January 7, 1966. They were supplied by LC-117 ods and proved conclusively that this method of aircraft operating from McMurdo Station and were measuring the ice thickness and detailing the rock picked up at their destination and returned to Mc- surface beneath the ice is reliable. Successful de- Murdo by an LC-130F aircraft on a routine cargo velopment of this equipment and its application to flight from Byrd Station. Antarctica will contribute greatly to future geo- A glaciological project was initiated this season physical investigations, particularly in East Ant- at the Meserve Glacier in the lower Wright Valley arctica, where relatively little work has been com- west of McMurdo Sound. The glacier, like several pleted. Further, if the sounding method proves to others in the dry valleys, is independent of the operate reliably from a long-range aircraft, a tech- antarctic ice sheet itself. Nourished by the névé nique to map antarctic sub-ice features quickly and fields in the hills between the ice-free valleys, the efficiently will be available for future exploration. glacier is in an apparent state of balance between accumulation and ablation. To study the mechanics Individual Research Projects of this unique glacier, a tunnel was dug at its base In addition to the seasonal highlights described and continued some 40 meters (130 feet) into the above, many individual research projects were car- ice, allowing samples and data to be taken inside the ried out. Some of these were continuations of past glacier as well as on its surface. years work. Some of them inaugurated new studies. A study to measure the amount of lead pollutants Most of them occurred, however, in geographical in antarctic snow was carried out. Samples, which areas where the reconnaissance surveys were already will be analyzed in the United States, were obtained completed and where specific, more detailed, and near Byrd Station and at a site 200 kilometers often more basic research is required. (125 miles) from Byrd Station. Geology—A study of ancient, glacial tillites A glaciological party reexamined the chain of (nonsorted, nonstratifled sediments deposited by a surface triangulation markers extending from Byrd glacier and cemented into rock form) in the Ohio Station 320 kilometers (200 miles) to the Whit- and Wisconsin Ranges of the Transantarctic Moun- more Mountains. It is planned to obtain aerial tains continued a program begun last year in the photography over this network in the 1966-1967 Falkland Islands. This study is directed toward un- season to determine horizontal ice movement and derstanding the geologic relationship of Antarctica strain along the survey line. Movement and accumu- to other continents of the Southern Hemisphere. lation stake networks were also remeasured at Byrd, Pursuing a parallel objective, a study of plant fos- Eights, and Pole Stations as a part of the long-term sils was conducted in the same area and in selected study of the direction and rate of the movement of areas of Victoria Land. Both of these projects were ice in these areas. extended to the Pensacola Mountains as part of the Biology—The seasonal biological program cen- July-August, 1966 119 ANTARCTIC ACTIVITIES 1965-1966 United States Antarctic Research Program 90 SOUTH PACIFIC OCEAN I Go 0 100 200 300 400 500 goo STATUTE MILES LEGEND STATION DESCRIPTION * U.S., U.S.