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!>m/vii;iouji(o A N E W S B U L L E T I N published b y t h e NEW ZEALAND ANTARCTIC SOCIETY ANTARCTIC SUMMER New Zealanders Herbert and Pain returning from the climb of Mt. Fridtjof Nansen, January, 1962. Photo: P. M. Otway. SEPTEMBER, 1962 AUSTRALIA Winter and Summer bases Scott S u m m e r b a s c o n l y t S k y - H i Jointly operated base Hallett NEW ZEALAND Lu.s -N.Z.) Transferred base Wilkes U.S.to Aust TASMANIA Temporarily non -operational....KSyowa . Campbell I. (N.2) Macquarie I. :N2:.l (Aust) waft 3.\\eii-(u.S.-Mzj \\(b i /.. \3rSc6tt Base-'CV Wttkes— --^rnr >.'■•) / MAAF U.S.toAust. »••.• •'■■.•■.•■ OV+UttleRockfo j> 4NAAF '^7^ \(U.iJ \ \ W s . t * » A 7 \ 'Byrd((/.S> +"Vostok (USSR) K .(u.s.J.eJ Mirnv>t \^Amundsen -Scott (1/..5J. 1 A N T A R Dav'isV- l&W' rCdrral Belgri«° '""v? '«* Mawjt5rf\ f W / \ • ^ ( A u s t ) \ < MSf&Mi> W$^^ \ * F . • Marlon I. CaAJ DRAWN BY DEPARTMENT OF LANDS & SURVEY WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND, SEP. 1961 (Successor to "Antarctic News Bulletin") Vol. 3, No. 3 SEPTEMBER, 1962 Editor: L. B. Quartermain, M.A., 1 Ariki Road, Wellington, E.2, New Zealand. Business Communications, Subscriptions, etc.. to: Secretary, New Zealand Antarctic Society, P.O. Box 2110, Wellington. N.Z. Congratulations IloGeSo Honour For Members of the New Zealand American Explorer Antarctic Society will unite in con gratulating Mr. A. Leigh Hunt, of Wellington, founder of the Society The 1962 Patron's Medal of the 30 years ago, on the honour ac Royal Geographical Society has been corded him by the naming after awarded to Captain Edwin A. Mc him of the LEIGH HUNT GLACIER Donald, U.S.N., retiring Deputy- (85°05'S., 173°50'E.), one of the far Commander of Operation Deep thest south place-names on the map Freeze, for his "outstanding ser of the Ross Dependency. vices to Antarctic exploration, in cluding the iirst coastal explorations Thc name was suggested by thc in the south Bellingshausen Sea." Southern Party of last summer's New Zealand Geological and Sur Captain McDonald was Rear Ad vey Expedition to commemorate miral Tyree's right-hand man and Mr. Leigh Hunt's long and dis Commander of Task Group 43.1,— tinguished contribution to New a quartet of icebreakers which an Zealand's Antarctic activities. nually play a big role 'in opening up Antarctic coastal waters for summer re-supply by cargo ships. His polar assignments have taken him by air over both poles and on PEPPING UP ANTARTICA six Arctic and seven Antarctic ex Americans at McMurdo like to peditions. make their outpost look a bit like home. Among well-known advertis ing slogans posted incongruously along the ice road from Williams airstrip to the 'town' of McMurdo are: CHALLENGE TO YOUTH "We have springboards into the "Smoky Bear says 'Use your ash unknown built by the young men tray'." of IGY. Perhaps you may sledge vised are these amateur efforts: curiosity of youth can play a great "Keep off the grass." nart in making this last unexplored "Help Keep Antarctica Green." frontier on earth yield its benefits And there are signposts indicat to all the world." ing nostalgically "Illinois 80," "High way 40," and "New Jersey Turn —from "Defrosting Antarctic pike." Secrets" (see page 131). September, 1962 New Zealanders at Scott Base Prepare for Summer i After the havoc wrought by the correlation of results may take 'ig storm on May 28, the Base was weeks or even months of work it practically back to normal by Mid is too early to assess the signifi winters Day, as the result of much cance of these observations. hard work by all hands. The bliz zard resulted in the death of one dog ihe others were all dug out GETTING READY ol the snow alive and well. Timber Preparations throughout the win and oil drums were blown away a ter for the coming summer's field radio aerial came down and part parties have included the re-lashing ot the Base heating system was of the dog-sledges, checking and put out of operation for a time. repairing polar tents. packing Ihe peak gust was about 98 knots twenty-man-day food boxes, repair the wind averaging about 70 knots ing and making up new dog har lor several hours. ness and checking and repairing the many other items needed to keep a party of eight men in the MIDWINTER field for three to four months. June brought good weather with The scientific programme ran relatively mild temperatures, the smoothly throughout the winter: average being about -4° F (-20° C) the few breakdowns were quickly he lowest "temperature recorded remedied by the technicians. during the month was -45° F Midwinter's Day was celebrated SPRING AT BASE on Friday June 22. Both Friday July brought colder weather, with and Saturday were declared holi the temperatures generally between days except for essential work. -30° and -40° F. but no blizzards, though the wind was from 5 to 20 THE BIG FLASH knots throughout. Interest in the detonation of thc A message received as we go to high-altitude bomb at Johnston press says, "The weather has still Island extended as far south as been kind to us: winds from one New Zealand s two stations Hallett to 20 knots with about 90 degrees of frost at the worst. All are hop (joint US-NZ"), and Scott Base. A radio message from Athol ing that the weather will remain Roberts at Scott Base on July 13 good for the arrival of the planes." says that the countdown on' the The New Zealand flag was raised yth was followed closely The again at the base on August 21, special purpose of senior-scientist though the sun itself was still tan Richards* observations was to hidden by Erebus and Terror. discover if disturbance of the iono sphere by the blast extended to TOUGH JOB Antarctic latitudes. A disturbance After the winter the oil stored which reached its peak about two in 44-gallon drums at Scott Base and a half hours after the nuclear needed replenishing to ensure a detonation was recorded on both good supply till the tankers arrive. the D-region and panoramic iono- This was done from a large Ameri sondes. The whistler equipment re can dump spread over acres of corded a crash but no whistler at snow and ice out on thc ice-shelf the time of the explosion. Only a about four miles from the base. minor change was noticed on the Here, during a break-out of sea- earth-current equipment for a few ice at the end of last summer, hours after the explosion. As the thousands of full drums were hur- September, 1962 A N T A riedly dumped by backing vehicles into the area at a fair speed and BIOLOGICAL PARTY suddenly applying the brakes. The University of Canterbury This left the drums in a jumbled team to work at Cape Royds this heap at all angles. Most of them summer will be led by Dr. Bernard are now buried under feet of snow Stonehouse, F.I.D.S. biologist and which has compacted into a hard, leader of last summer's team at almost icy consistency. So digging Cape Royds. Plans for this party down to the drums was solid hard have not been finalised at time of work. The Americans supplied a going to press, but Dr. Stonehouse crane and 20-ton sledges, but even will be accompanied by two men with that help the task confronting who worked with him last summer, Roberts (Scott Base leader), Mills, Warren Featherston and Murray O'Kane and Langston on August Smith, by O. Sutherland and pos 27 was a difficult and even danger sibly one other man. ous one. The cold affected the con The party plans to continue the trols of the crane, and often the work begun last year, with parti heavy drums suddenly dropped cular reterence to seals, penguins three or four feet and bouncea out and marine collecting. In the 1961- of the grips holding them. 62 summer, Smith gave special at A bitterly cold wind brought tention to the reproduction biology driving snow with visibility closing of the Weddell seal, and Feather in to a few yards. By the time the ston to the parasites of the Wed party was headed back for camp dell. Attention will be given also one man had to walk in front to t o A d e l i e p e n g u i n p o p u l a t i o n try and follow the outward track. trends, plankton and sea-bottom Later still, even the ground was sampling, and the McCormick skua not visible. But Scott Base now has (a study initiated by E. C. Young ample fuel on hand. in 1960-61). A major innovation will be the erection at Cape Royds of a pre T H E C O V E R E D WAY fabricated biological laboratory and living unit. This building, already Flat element heating tapes are to made, will house an electric gen be laid under the covered way at erator, a stove and a kerosene Scott Base to prevent ice forming space-heater. As well as providing on the "roadway." greatly improved facilities for bio At certain times of the year, logical research on the spot, this when there is a slight thaw, the amenity will make it unnecessary snow on the roadway begins to for the team to occupy the old Shackleton hut with the consequent melt.