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.