OPERATION DEEP FREEZE NEWSLETTER -------------------------------------~----~-----~---~-~--------------------- Volume II, Issue No • 2 April 19, 1957 ----------------- =--------------------· ---~--------------------------------- . BY~D 'lTAT I (N - - At this Ar~a:rcti.c station IGY scientiGts were astoniahed to find ic-3 i.::1. t:~:.-~;s:-:-e~. reacMng a d-2:I~fa cf 7 •.: 800 · to 9~ 750 feet,. The scL:mHsts believe · aE ;:hit°{f..ce r€sta onland but i": iD :-ir:,t an esti:J.blished fact ·as yet .. **** J:>!· *~:c * *** **~* *** * NAF W.C:~/iURDO - - D:.. Ldng one of !n~~ny r3com1aissance flights in the vicinity of this a ~:."'~.;a:,::;·.:.7 VInj:-.>~S; A"' A.ntos ~· USt-1lC ·of Buffalo 1 N. Y ., ·cliscove::-(!d whc.t may be an k: 1~::.~,~d ;:: );,!~.:.811.or.:1ef:<.m. Si.~~-:..--1. i~ed :;1.ea r i'.1adJle Pc int and the Wils6n ..Pi edmont Gi 2,r..:ier.he sc.Yv a hu.ge ice P.:·.:rr:.el :::n')1·e thr .n a 1nHe long.. He described it as, '~A hH:;:L-::kc tub~; t h [i.t looked as i£ a draw were frozen over the top pf a cavernous ·hollow formed by me lt e:l glader ice,." - **~***************** SOUTH PDLE .:.- Tlie lowest temp ,?:...·atQreobserve<,l thus far at t:hc S0~1th Pole is 89 df.g:rce::1h elow zero, r ecord~ -:'..on l'.. p: -::il 2 .. This temperatu:"."e exceede:l the lowest ,:j~!-c.r r f:'c<Jrder: in Non -:h Am e:tk a- --m. degrees -0bscrvcd at Snag~ Yukon Territory, G:·r:ad:J" ~-n Fe b ~ -~9'11. It is o:i:ie Jc:r-tee a~ov~ the all-time world's rei:ord of 90 cegree s belov, ze-ro 3et in :10.r·i-hea.-~1.:2rn Siberia in Feb. 1933. As la::e March and early April rouglly Cf).r.:.ces~ c.:nds tc September in the Nor thern tfemis;"ihere, tempera­ tures arc expected tu d-,:op· to 12G d,~?rces !:ielow zero ·as mid-winter approaches. *~~*~*************** -rv\~LIC:EJ STA'?ION -- The f1t1sh of &:1 arrri :, the roar of ·a·cai1nort, and lr 800 squ ·are f;~et of :net took flight in quest of th~ ,;;kua gull, a bird of Antarctica. This Y.JC..S im".'.:ndiately foEowed -j-)y the r&pid crunching sound of men running over hard c:r·•~•Ste ..·:. dnow, Such was the scens r0.cently witnessed at this station 'i.:1Vh1cennes £..:::.7~ P.s:-:haps an but one of th~ pe:ts0!1s who wit~1essed this spectacle had never seen an~,-~hing Just like it before I) T'he n:.an whose flas~i:ig .arm gave th_e signal to fire th~ sa~·,,o was Carl Eklund 2 sdentific leader at this base. T!1t=: spectators and pardcipanw jn this operc..tion saw fire and smoke bellow f:romtb".ee ca~Eon m~1zzles. The rn·,2zzles were protruding about 12 inches out of .-:t ~ snow :ind aimed- at 20 dtSt-:rees 'eievation. But the thing that really ~mazed the odoo i~i2rs ,,;as the s~.ght of th.e flying net, for through the smoke of the blast ~he net c,)t:ld be seen being carried by the projectiles. 'in a· low arching flight th~ net Garried upar!d over and landed enveloping the gluttonous · skuas feating on the 1:e:·na:1.:.aof d3a('. seals? TnF &ettiri:; off of ~he net resulted in a spontaneous rush of viewers to the sc ene ,1f· - ::apt~~:r8 o First to rBa.ch the area was Rudolf A. Honkala • Rudy is a U . S .~ Vie ather rkeau me teorologist stationed here as an assistant to :rv1r. Eldund. Ih g:1t 0:.1 his heels was Lt Q Sh:3ldon vV. Grinnell> N1C1 USNR, of Carbondale, Ill •. · \M;th a [f:'eat d20.l of zeal, Eo!lkala piled onto the net · and attempted to grasp one of the t ;r ippect ;.1irds; His face socm had a look of perplexity and he began to 7l ~Jnd3r ~t :his :J~rry of wir.iga and chws was going to evade his grasp., B; then hs i'.ne~Ji, that · tMs '\ivas n,fho:uing pi0eon he was dealing •with. Bnt with d1e same ty !1e cf dcte:rminatio ::.'1 that b:.n.mght him from his home in Salisbu~y, N. Ho, to the Ar;.tarctic, he ma:aaged to ca:i-)rnre the bird. The photographer on the job was Paul F. Noonan 1 photographer first class, of Boston, Mass. Vv'ithone continuous movement, :Noonan planted his camera tripod a_nd shot a scene of Sydney E ~ Green, construction driver 3/c, of Rt~ I, Colbert, Wash .., bringing a captured skua gull to l\t1r,1)Eklund so the tird could be ban~ed. - Mr. Eklund: who lives in Atlanta, Ga ., . is carrying on this operation in conjunc­ tion with his biological research work in-the Antarctic o The creatures of this land, like the land itself, are quite mysterious to the outside world. To study them and their habitat is part of the IGY program here. Lt. Grinnell, assisted by Garth H. Stonehocker, chief ionospheric physicist at this station, put the birds in a cardboard carton so that .they could be weighed. The gloves and heavy clothing worn by the -men in this climate serve a twofold purpose. They not -only protect them from the -c9ld but also from the flashing claws and beaks "ofthe birds • One of the last persons to reach the capture area was Richard Berkley of Winter Park, · Fla. · Berkley, a geomagnetism specialist, manned the detonator which fired the salvo • After all the birds were weighed and banded, Eklund released the birds. The bringing of the cannons and net from the U .s. had proven its merit. This shot, the first of fts kind ever made in Antarctica, had netted 13 birds. With the knowledge gained from this capture there will be more abun- dant catches in the future. · ********************** ELLSWORTH ST A TION - - A member of this . station's wintering-over party says Navy cook Edward H ~ Davis -. of Clinton, Iowa, does more for morale than all the other base personnel put together. Davis rises at 4 a.mo to prepare eqrly breakfast- and his W> rk isn't completed until 7 :30 p .m ., after the evening m_eal. He per- · forms his work six days a week with a half dny off on Sundays. Due to the ·heavy work loadg vigorous atmosphere and the tasty cooking Davis turns out, large amounts of food are being consumed at Ellsworth and the men are continually gain- ing weight • , _ Atles F. Lewis, aviation metalsmith 1/c, of Troy, N. C ., has gnined 25 pounds in five weeks , Davis estimates the men are eating one and a hiilf times their normal amount of food. They are eating mostly proteins of which their consumption is twice that of a Stateside naval base for the same number of person­ nel. In the way of meats, Davis is serving mostly veal and pork now because it loses its flavor fastest. He is saving the beef for last. There is enough veal, pork, chicken and liver for two more months • Then ._the fresh me~t rations will be supplemented with canned foods • Carbohydrates are being consumed one and a half times above normal • Due to the bitter cold there are a lot of coffee breaks and coffee consump­ tion has climbed to four times normal. Davis believes that with the · comfartable prefabricated buildings, recreation hall and nig J.tdy movies, this is a soft life compared with previous Antarctic expeditions. But he maiI3:tains he would never winter over again and in his own words, "Nothing will look better to me than home." ************************** WILKES ST A TION -- During March in the Vincennes Bay area, bay waters were still. free of packice. Scientists had begun their studies vvith comparatively little handicap due to the efficient work of Vv'ilkes wintering-over Seabees. Glacial geology and higher sea levels are being investigated on the ·windmill Island group of which Wilkes Station is a part. Heavy drifting and 10 feet of snow now cover the station. 2 LITTLE AMERICA - - Jack Frost is working overtime this year at Little America. The theme song here is "Baby lt9s Cold Outside." Average temperature during last month was 14 degrees colder than last year. Winter' is not yet here but it sure feels like it. }}.pril is. also off to ·a good start. Temperature for the first part of April reached 51 degrees below zero. •Personnel are carefully instructed on how to work in such cold weather. Weather is announced at reveille, enabling ·personnel f o dress accordingly. ·when Working together, ·they watch each othet for signs of frostbite nnd other cold weather injury. The men welcome coffee breaks which relive them from extepded exposure. An appendectomy was successfully performed last week byLt. Pat B. Unger, MC, USNR, of Miami, Fla., on Allen E. Pracht,-- builder 3/c, of Pittsburgh, Pa. Assisting Dr. Unger were Lt. (jg) Robert J ~ Adams, DC, USNR, of .Memphis, Tenn., Fred A. Milan, physiologist of Andover, Mass.,_ Korean combat veteran . Harold E. Butler, hospitalman 1/c, of East St. Louis.- Ill,. and Charles W. Jenkins, . hospitalman 3/c, of Gig Harbor, Wash ·. Pracht is reported to be convalescing well after the operatioii~ · Flashing his usual smile, he said, 11 It's a relief to have the ·pain ·go~e. I hope to be back on the J; ob so·on • " . · ' . The first session of the Little America Senate ..convened recently e This group, part of a special services organization 1 consists of nine senators dected by and fr.om station personnel.