A NEWS BULLETIN published quarterly by the NEW ZEALAND ANTARCTIC SOCIETY (INC) STEVEN CHAMBERS, DOG HANDLER AT SCOTT BASE, WEIGHS A HUSKY PUP, NOOGIS (NUGIS) WHILE HIS PROUD MOTHER, BETTY, LOOKS ON. NOOGIS WAS BORN ON OCTOBER 24 LAST YEAR. Antarctic Division photo by Mike Brndstock. Registered at Post Office Headquarters. Wellington. New Zealand, as a magazine. SOUTH GEORGIA. '*.. SOUTH SANDWICH Is- / y S \ « C C > « S ! ^ / S O U T H O R K N E Y I s £ \ ^ j S - - /o Orcadas arq. \ ,--' c Xj FALKLAND Is /«Signy Lux. ,A ^ v - v 6 < r w / f S \ ^ — J t SOUTH AMERICA / /\ f Borga I ) Syowa .japan \ gQ-g Sx^^1 Molodezhnaya V/ yA south o .r /weddell \ .f SA ' «s\ Nr\ussR -A ■ Jp SHETLAND-jvJV, / / Ha||ev ^M ORONNING MAUD I ENDERBY \1 \/ \ L A N D T V " \ '/ "'* " O"vfci\ ^ i * ^ /SEAJ t G eUK?J n e r a l COATSLdB e l g r a nI o a r g . / (General Belgrano yK\ Mawson ANTARCTIC \*M#&^ MAC ROBERTSON LANtA \ aust. /PENINSULA'«" itilchher) (see map below) 'Sobral arg. ; S o u t h P o l . \ I f 9 0 - E . Amundsen-Scott / queen MARY LAND 4M|mY iELLSWORTH ^ U S A / I i f j U S S R . "V/ LAND A mri.\ A / ° VostokA < u.s.s.R./ / #& ^ \ J Ross\\ / \. / P B Y R D L A N D / i ^ . s f X > V J o^T-^^J ' ' -4 * \ WILKES LAND ^N^ / Russkaya/^U.S.SRV ROSS|NZ'^\"an('a ScottMo,, \ NZ/ / f\*f \// v / SEA IOS^v-/VICTORIA .TERRE jf /\ //*> ^---^__■>. ( tr^^^via^sr^rGEORGE VLd\.y^/Z>-Dumont a . Urville.rn 11 france ' y's. - Leningradskaya .V' ./ / "~--.. USSR^-" \ y' ~ " ~ ~ ~ - — - - " ' ' B A L L E N Y I s X / ANTARCTIC PENINSULA 1 Teniente Matienzo arg. 2 Esperanza arg. 3 Almirante Brown arg. 4 Petrel arg. 5 Deception arg. 6 Vicecomodoro Marambio arg. * ANTARCTICA 7 Arturo Prat chile 8 Bernardo O'Higgins chile 9 Presidente Frei chile ex / 500 1000 Kilometres 10 Stonington I. u.k. 13 11 Adelaide I. u.k. j I ABBREVIATIONS:] 12 Argentine Is u.k. ARG ARGENTINA 1 3 P a l m e r u . s a . " AUST. AUSTRALIA 14 Bellingshausen us&r. ;. ■ NZ. NEW ZEALAND S.A SOUTH AFRICA UK UNITED KINGDOM '.tarse'ri':':'; | USA. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA USSR UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST Ice'shelf ? l°0m REPUBLICS I 0 100km eei^*IFilLB(B*lPa(B^ (Successor to "Antarctic News Bulletin") Vol. 8, No.o. 5 5 89th ISSUE MARCH, 1978 Editor: J. M. CAFFIN, 35 Chepstow Avenue, Christchurch 5. Address all contributions, enquiries, etc., to the Editor. CONTENTS ARTICLES ENVIRONMENT STUDY •••• 152 POLAR ACTIVITIES NEW ZEALAND 138-146 UNITED STATES .... 147-155 AUSTRALIA 156-161 UNITED KINGDOM 162-164, 168 SOVIET UNION .... 165-167 ARGENTINE 169-170 NORWAY .... 170 SOUTH AFRICA .. .... 172 SUB-ANTARCTIC SCUBA DIVERS ... 146 GENERAL "MAGNETIC LADIES" 171-172 THE READER WRITES .... 173 BRITISH CLIMBERS .... 174 TOURISM 174-175 OBITUARIES .... 175 ANTARCTIC BOOKSHELF .... 176 • Jill**™.,, "-*** ANTARCTIC NEW ZEALAND SEASON MARIE BYRD LAND TO VOSTOK New Zealand's Antarctic research programme for the 1977-78 season, which ended last month, called on the services of more than 150 men and women during the four summer months. Fourteen field parties worked out of Scott Base and Vanda Station in the Wright Valley, and participation in international or United States programmes enabled New Zealand scientists to range as far as Marie Byrd Land, the Ross Ice Shelf, and Vostok, the most remote Soviet station on the Polar Plateau. Now 13 men — 11 at Scott Base and Drake (science technician, Hawera), two at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Russell Arnott (cook, Queenstown), Station — remain in Antarctica to Paul Dennison (Post Office radio tech await the spring flights of the new nician, Wellington), Randolph Waller season. The Scott Base party began its (postmaster, Clyde), and Steve Cham seven months of isolation officially on bers (assistant maintenance officer February 6 when the summer leader, and dog handler, Waiouru). Mr Bob Straight, of Motueka, relinq uished his responsibilities to the For the third year New Zealand is winter leader, Mr John Lythgoe, of co-operating with the United States in Wellington, who had been his deputy the meteorological programme at the during the summer. Pole Station. Thirty-five year-old John Waller, of Wellington, is no Mr Lythgoe, who was an assistant stranger to isolation. He was chief maintenance officer at Scott Base in meteorological officer at Raoul Island the summer of 1967-68, and his 10 in the Kermadecs during the 1968-69 companions will not see new faces season, and spent three months at again until September when the first Vanda Station as a meteorological pre-season flights by United States observer in the 1970-71 season. Kevin Navy Hercules aircraft will bring mail Bisset, of Cambridge, who is 23, is a and fresh food. New Zealand's men at telecommunications officer on a the Pole Station, Messrs John Waller year's le'ave from the New Zealand and Kevin Bisset, will have to wait Army. until November before their isolation ends. MAPPING PROJECT MEN AT POLE One of the main field events of last season's programme was a geological Deputy-leader at Scott Base this mapping project in the region between winter is 25-year-old John Thomson, the Foster and Blue Glaciers. These of Temuka, who is the base engineer. are between the Royal Society Range He wintered at the base in 1975. His to the west and McMurdo Sound to the companions are: Barry Hiscock (fitter- east. A Geological Survey team led by mechanic, Temuka), Mike Lord (fitter- Dr D.N.B. Skinner spent 79 days in the electrician, Howick), Warwick Will field from October 29 to January 15 iams, (senior science technician, Rev- with U.S. Navy helicopter support, esby, New South Wales), Will Kimber and using motor toboggans and (science technician, Rotorua), Dean sledges to cover an area of some 1000 March, 1978 ANTARCTIC "-"•"" ■"::::vaL&go"" : Ice-filled depressions called "kettles" and a frozen lake in the mouth of the Garwood Valley, South Victoria Land where a New Zealand Geological Survey party worked last season. Antarctic Division photo. square kilometres. the south where Dr Skinner's Geolog ical Survey team worked in the 1975- Heavy snow storms and katabatic 76 season. Mr R.H. Findlay's task was winds gusting up to 90 knots from the to make a detailed structural analysis Polar Plateau hampered the geologic of the region between the Renegarand al work, and in December the party Blue Glaciers. was tent-bound for eight days. No movement was possible on three days, For the geological mapping section and on one day the weather was too of the project the object was to comp bad for flying. To complete its detailed lete in the region of the Foster and geological investigations the party Renegar Glaciers the work done in had to work its motor toboggans down 1975-76, and to do more regional crevassed glaciers, and climb vast reconnaissance mapping between the rock screes and jagged ridges to exam Renegar and Blue Glaciers. Regional ine rock outcrops. mapping was done in the region of the Foster and Renegar Glaciers, and One aim of the project was to estab lish lithostratigraphic and meta- detailed studies were made between Heald Island and the Hobbs Glacier. morphic correlations with the region of study, and to extrapolate this work An Auckland University geologist, into the region of the Taylor Valley to Miss Anne Wright, did reconnaiss the north and the Skleton Glacier to ance sampling of some of the Mc- fe* ?■'■'' - ANTARCTIC March, 1978 Murdo volcanics between Heald mouth of Roaring Valley. Island and Lake Miers. Mrs Margaret Clark, a geomorphologist and well- Geological studies of Dismal Ridge known mountaineer, was the field and the eastern end of Rucker Ridge leader for the project. ended on November 30 when the party moved to Pipecleaner Ridge. Stormy Results of the field party's work will weather kept the party confined to its enable the rocks of the Skelton and tents on December 4,5,6 and 8. Heavy Koettlitz Glaciers area to be correlated snow from the storn of December 4-6 with those between the Renegar considerably hampered geological Glacier and the Victoria Valley area. work on Rucker Ridge after they Also the geologists will be able to moved there on December 9. produce a detailed structural and BAD WEATHER metamorphic history of the rocks in the Skelton and Renegar Glaciers Work on Rucker and Pipecleaner region, and in the region of the Ridges led to an investigation of the Koettlitz and Blue Glaciers. geological structure at the west end of .Storms delayed the departure of the Dismal Ridge where the helicopter lift tarty from Scott Base until October was completed on December 14 just !9, and it made its first camp on the before low cloud closed in. The northern side of the Foster Glacier in a weather stopped work on December 25-knot wind. During the next two 15. It was completed the next day, and days the wind speed rose, gusting to then the party had to remain in its an estimated maximum of 80 knots. tents on December 17 and 18. Work began on November 1, and on On December 19 there was another November 8 a route to the Renegar lift to the Chancellor Lakes. Geologic Glacier was reconnoitred. al work was completed by December 21, the party had an enforced rest on SLEDGES DAMAGED December 22, and on December 23 moved to Lake Miers where it camped On November 10 the party travelled at the eastern end.