juthmk - new zealand antarctic society€¦ · underneath, the us helicopter took off across the...

JU tHMK■-; a ;%vvp>fc

SSS^A,

J8&S-

' : -v. •■'-• '•

\*i.>r^Wrfc'J*H*v

,. ■WBj2.3»-<--"

i^igggpfe

V r■ ■.. . .. - ■

Vol. 12 No. 8 Antarctic

Antarctic(successor to "Antarctic News Bulletin")Vol 12. No. 8Issue No. 140 (June, 1992)

ANTARCTIC is published quarterlyby the New Zealand AntarcticSociety Inc., 1979

ISSN 0003-5327

Editor: Robin OrmerodPlease address all editorial inquiries,contributions etc to theEditor, P.O. Box 2110, Wellington,New Zealand

Telephone: (04) 4791.226International: +64-4-4791.226Fax: (04) 4791.185International: +64-4-4791-185

All administrative inquiries should goto The Secretary, P.O. Box 2110,Wellington, New Zealand

Inquiries regarding back and missingissues should go to P.O. Box 404,Christchurch

@ No part of this publication may bereproduced in any way without theprior permission of the publishers.

ContentsPolar

New Zealand 250China 256Germany 258Norway 259Russia 270South Africa 267United Kingdom 268United States 270

Sub-antarctic

Heard Island 273Falklands 273

GeneralAmundsen's tent 259

Antarctic TreatyDeclaration 274Nations 276

Removal ofdogs 279

Japanese Antarcticexpedition 280

Polar Medals 286Christies auction 288

Cover "Fish Hotel", north east ofFault Bluff. See page 252. Photo:Margaret Bradshaw

249

Antarctic Vol.12 No. 8

NZARP

Successful Expedition ForCanterbury Museum Deep Held

Party"Antarctic" thanks Margaret Bradshaw for this article.

A four-person joint New Zealand-ANARE party completed an ambitious nine weeksledging programme this season, travelling over 700 kilometers, passing for part of thetime through unexplored territory in the Cook Mountains.

It was Canterbury Museum's fourth geological deep field expedition to the frozencontinent, and was led by its Curator of Earth Sciences, Mrs Margaret Bradshaw whowas making her sixth visit to Antarctica. Accompanying her was Fraka Harmsen, a NewZealand trained geologist now teaching at California State University in Fresno, who wason her second visit to Antarctica. The third scientist was Dr John Long of the WesternAustralian Museum, Perth, who was supported by ANARE. Mr Brian Staite of Tokaanu,employed by DSIR Antarctic, was field leader.Dr Harmsen had been on Canterbury Muse

um's two month expedition to the DarwinGlacier and Britannia Range area in 1988-89,when she joined Mrs Bradshaw, Dr MartinKirkbride and Ray Waters in a study ofDevonian sediments inthe Lower TayterGroup(BeaconSupergroup), mainVsandstoneswhichcontained animal burrows and trackways. DrLong was also briefly in Antarctica that sameseason. He had hoped to join MargaretBradshaw and Ray Waters at Scott Base aftertheir return from the Darwin Glacier project,before being flown into the Upper Skelton,Lashly Mountains and Mt Fleming area byhelicopter to collect Devonian fish from asandstone and mudstone sequence known asthe Aztec Sihstone. However, the Museumparty experienced difficulties being pulled outfrom the field in mid-December, and weredelayed for three weeks.

In 1988-89, the Canterbury Museum party

wasputinbyC130onthe DarwinGlaciernearColosseum Ridge in the Darwin Mountainswitha Victoria University party, butthe Herculesbroke through a crevasse bridge at the beginning of its drag-run. Unable to lift off again atthe end of its drag, the plane offloaded the twofield parties before safely taking off on thereturn run before the broken bridge wasreached.

In mid-December a C130 drag-run wasmade further out onthe glacier in preparationfor picking up the Victoria University partybutbroke through yet a another crevasse and wasaborted. Both parties became unexpectedlymarooned over Christmas, and in the end hadto drag pallets and sledges 27 kilometersdownthe glacier in early January to a previously used(and known safe) site near Roadend Nunatak.Several days after Mrs Bradshaw had finallymet up with Dr Long at Scott Base, a UShelicopter was damaged and reduced flying

250


hours forced the cancellationof Dr Long's partof the expedition. Mrs Bradshaw decided toresubmit that part ofthe programme in a moreexpanded form as her party had unexpectedlyfound AztecSihstone on Gorgon'sHeadinthesouthern Cook Mountains, 100 kilometersfurther south than previously known.

The 1991-92 Museum party planned to beput-in near Roadend Nunatak, then afterrevisiting Gorgon'sHead,to travel throughtheCook Mountains northward to theMulock Glacier, investigating newoutcrops along the way.

Two routes through the mountains were considered possible. Aneastern route passing north ofMulgrew Nunatak and east of MillMountain, over a divide near KanakPeak and down onto the glaciersdraining towards the Mulock Glacier. The route seemed feasiblefrom oblique aerial photographstaken by Wing-Commander JohnClaydon from a single engine planeon reconnaissance in 1958 duringthe Trans-Antarctic Expedition.

A more westerly route followedthe middle ofthe Darwin Glacier asfar as its confluence with theMcCleary Glacier, which it thenascended north onto Festive Plateau, down past Fault Bluff and intothe area west of Kanak Peak. Neither route had been traversed before. The only people to previouslyenter the Cook Mountains wereHarry Ayres and Roy Carlyon, whoduring the preparation period forthe Trans-Antarctic crossing,*sledged with a team of dogs fromthe head of the Darwin Glacier toMount Ayres along the edge of thePolar Plateau. After climbing MountAyres the two men travelled eastacross a high plateau which theycalled Festive Plateau because itwas Christmas, then climbed MillMountain and Mount Longhurst,

the highest peaks in the Cook Mountains,before returning westwards to the Polar Plateau.

During the 1991-92 pre-put-in reconnaissance flight over the Cook Mountains this year,the more easterly route was found to havedangerous crevasses halfway along, but thatthe McCleary Glacier route seemed feasible.

The party was flown into the Darwin Glacieron 15 November in perfect weather, accom-

251

Vol.12 No. 8

panied by Scott Base Information Officer,Yvonne Martin, Storeman Keith Henley andPhotographer Mike Perry. The next day theymoved, in rising winds, 24 kilometers into theCook Mountains, establishing a camp withsome difficulty south east of Mount Hughes.Winds of over 70 knots confined the party totheir tents for two days, before they couldrevisit the important Aztec Siltstone site at thetop of Gorgon's Head, and they spent severaldays investigating other outcrops in the area.

On 23 November they began their journeythrough the Cook Mountains, first returning tonear the put-in site, then following the 1988-89 party's route up the centre of the DarwinGlacier, turning north towards the McClearyGlacier before reaching the dramatic Circle Icefall. By the time camp was erected near Peak1970 at the mouth of the McCleary Glacier,the party had sledged 60 kilometers acrossvaried terrain that had included many kilometers of blue ice, soft snow and some difficultmetre and a high sastrugi. It was one of theirbest day's travel.

The next day the weather continued fineand steady progress was made up the stairlikefall ofthe McCleary Glacier, avoiding crevassefields and relaying sledges wherever the slopebecame too steep. A line of crevasses at thehead of the valley was negotiated withoutmishap, and the party sledged across theheavily sastrugied Festive Plateau, crossing theearlier route of Harry Ayres and Roy Carlyon,until finally rewarded with a spectacular viewnorthwards across the Mulock Glacier of theBoomerang and Warren Ranges. The partythen turned east and dropped down onto theglacier between Mount Longhurst and FaultBluff, with sastrugi fields causing some sledgeoverturns and backtracking. Fault Bluff wasreached after 40 kilometers of travel that tookalmost 12 hours.

Here they were pleased to find good outcrops of Aztec Siltstone containing excellentfish and plant fossils. The party spent two daysat Fault Bluff, then had a short day's travel eastand north to a well exposed Aztec Siltstoneridge. This locality was so rich in fish fossils that

they dubbed it Fish Hotel. During one of theirthree days working on the ridge an NSFchartered Twin-Otter flew over. It wasreconnoitering their resupply site on the Deception Glacier north of the Mulock Glacierplanned for the following day.

Still in cold but excellent weather (-26'C atone point), and now heavily laden with manyfish fossils and rock samples, they sledged 40kilometers steadily down hill across enormoussastrugi fields towards Seay Peak adjacent tothe Mulock Glacier, visiting a promising looking nunatak on the way.

At Seay Peak they left a depot, then sledgedeast, first to study a good section of pre-AztecSiltstone Beacon Sandstones on a ridge nearKanak Peak where they were visited by twoskuas. Following that, they visited what turnedout to be very important sections of AztecSiltstone on Mount Gudmundson, althoughaccess involved a long, narrow snow arete anda scramble through steep cliffs. They wereparticularly excited about this locality because

Brian Staite helping to collect fish fossilsfrom Fault Bluff

Photo: Margaret Bradshaw

■fiS4S?

Vol. 12 No. 8

it provided a bt of new fish material, as well assome giant Beaconites burrow (a horizontaltubular burrow packed with sediment in aregular crescentric pattern), one of whichappeared to have the underside impression ofa' 'crab-like'' animal.

The party travelled back to Seay Peak toprepare for an airlift across the Mulock Glacierthe following day, December 7. It had beenarranged for safety because ofthe very heavilycrevassed nature of this glacier, particularly atthis point where it was over 40 kilometerswide.

An exceptionally good spell of weathercontinued and conditions were cloudless andstill when the first helicopter (US Gentle 11)landed mid-morning. With two sledges strappedto the skids and an Alpine toboggan slungunderneath, the US helicopter took off acrossthe Mulock Glacier shortly before the secondhelicopter, belonging to the New Zealand AirForce (Kiwi O01) landed after dropping a fueldump onto the Deception Glacier. (For the

three New Zealanders the sight of a kiwihelicopter in the field was a tremendous boostto the morale.)

With the two woman geologists on board,a sledge and two tents strapped to the skids,and the second toboggan underskmg they flewto the resupply point to be greeted by theManager of DSIR Antarctic, Dave Geddes, andScott Base Engineer, Shane Coleman. Twofurther trips by the helicopters carried theremainder of the party and its gear across to theDeception Glacier.

While the helicopter refuelled and loadedrock boxes and bags of accumulated rubbish,the party packed the sledges and prepared tomove down the Deception Glacier that eveningas the blue ice area of the resupply was not

The party preparing for a helicopter liftacross the Mulock Glacier. Photo

Margaret Bradshaw


suitable for camping. Because of their weightand the altitude, the helicopters were compelled to leave one load of helo fuel drums fora later pickup. After they departed the partytravelled to a camp site near Mount Ritchie inthe southern Warren Range.

Fish fossils had been discovered in the Warren Range by Bernie Gunn andGuyonWar-renin 1957. In 1971-72a Victoria Universityparty with two Australian paleontologists,Gavin Young and Alex Ritchie, had madeimportant fossil fish discoveries in outcropsbetween the MulockGlacier and Lashly Mountains. The thickest, unintenrupted sequence ofAztec Siltstone had been located on MountRitchie (230 metres) and the Museum partyrevisited this site to see whether the sedimentssequence was interrupted by the Mulock Glacier, and to determine the relative positions ofthe known fish horizons. Two days were spentin the area in very strong winds and blowingsnow.

The party was much cheered by the freshvegetables that had been included in theresupply by Scott Base staff. On 11 December,they moved back to the resupply point tocollect the remainder of their supplies, thencontinued on up the Deception Glacier, passing the sheer dolerite cliffs and jagged ridges ofthe black Mount Warren massif. A northwardmoving band of low cbud eventually caughtupwith them and forced them to camp in whiteoutconditions near Moody Peak. Snow during thenight cleared, and after passing through anawkward area of crevasses at the head of theDeception Glacier, they descended onto theSkelton Neve. Leaving a depot of two sledgesroughly halfway between Alligator Ridge andMount Metschel, they travelled light across theneve eastward to Swartz Nunataks 47 kibme-tres away. During the day they covered over60 kibmetres; their second best day for distance.

After a day working on bwer TaybrGroup sandstones (Junction Formation), theparty moved westwards to Escalade Peak,which is a high and dramatic range whereyellow Beacon sandstones are interrupted by

numerous dark dolerite intrusions. They wereagain investigating the pre-Aztec sandstones(Arena Sandstone, Beacon HeightsOrthoquartzite), comparing them to rocks atthe same level on the far side of the Mulock.The Arena Sandstone looked identical to theHatherton Sandstone ofthe Darwin and CookMountains and the Britannia Range to thesouth. Of special interestat Escalade Peak wasa giant arthropod track way about 80centimeters in width.

On 16 December they sledged round thenorth side of Escalade Peak, pausing brieflyafter a bracket was bst off one of the sledges,and waiting while Brian fashioned a new onefrom a rasp file. After struggling throughsastrugi, they finally camped near the wide blueicefield that fringed the southern BoomerangRange.

In deteriorating conditions, helicopter Kiwi001 dropped mail to the party and uplifted arock box and some rubbish on its way toretrieve the fuel drums on the Deception Glacier. Although the weather was still overcastthe folbwing day, some work was done in thesouthern Boomerang Range four kilometresaway, but heavy snow and whiteouts were topin them down for the folbwing seven days,including Christmas. Movement around thecamp became increasingly difficult as deepsnow accumulated.

The party had intended to complete theirwork in the Boomerang Range and return totheir depot by Christmas, where most of theirChristmas cheer had been left. Fortunately afrozen chicken and some Christmas decorations from Scott Base were to hand, and theseason was celebrated in modest style anyway.By 26 December the overcast had cleared, anddespite a vicious ground blizzard they decidedto move to the northern part of the Boomerang Range to try and make up for lost time.From a camp east of Alligator Peak theystudiedthreesectionsof Aztec Siltstone on themountain, and Arena Sandstone on a ridgewell to the south. On the December 29, aftera day in the field, the sight of a sinister band ofcbud moving cbser from the south encour-

254


aged them to travel overnight to guaranteearriving at the depot before the weather dosedin again. After picking up the two sledges, theparty continued on to camp in the shadow ofMount Metschel at 3.30 in the morning.

Outcrops visited at this locality the next dayprovided some ofthe best bone "pavements"they saw. These are bedding planes on whichthe disarticulate fish bone lay clearly visible.After leaving Mount Metschel en route forPortal Mountain, the party chanced on an oldNZARP tent minus poles. The tent was partially frozen into the snow and they removed itfor environmental reasons. It is not yet knownif the tent originated from the 1970-71VUWAE party, or the visit of Gunn andWarren 15 years before.

Overcast conditions spread overhead onceagain, but they managed to reach PortalMountain before ground definition was lostcompletely. A great deal of snow by at theircampsite east of the mountain, burying, theyfound later, blue ice crazed with narrow crevasses.

That night, while heavy snow fell outside,both the New Year and a birthday were celebrated with the turkey they had been unableto have for Christmas, and a little "spirituousliquor". After two days work and two days ofwhiteouts and heavy snow, they moved uponto the main SkeltonGlacier. The deep snowcaused traction problems forcing them to relaythe sledges for much of the way.

After passing through The Portal (betweenPortal Mountain and Mount Feather), the LashlyMountains on the edge of the Polar Plateauwere reached without any problems. Extremely strong winds off the plateau and groundblizzard conditions however, confined them totheir tents. Some concern was causedsubsequently when the snow on which theywere camped was steadily blown away toreveal blue ice.

Two sections were measured on MountCrean, one of them for the first time.

Because the unexpected delay over Christmas had been compounded by further delaysat Portal Mountain and Mount Crean, they

decided toOTTiitthe last locafity, Mount Fleming,which lay 50 kibmetres to the north.

On 10 January a suitable strip was markedby toboggan on the Lashly Glacier east ofMount Crean, and was investigated later thatday by a C130 on a recce flight.

Early the folbwing day the C130 landedafter making two successful ski-drags, and thesledges were loaded onto the plane packed asfor travel but the plane had great difficultybuilding upenough speed to lift offbecause themin snow cover would not compact. After twohours of trying the attempt was aborted; thetoboggansand sledges wereoffbaded, leavingonly passengers aboard, and later anotherC130 returned to the Lashly Glacier andretrieved the four sledges and two toboggans.Several days were spent at Scott Base sortingout gear and geological specimens and onJanuary 16 they returned to New Zealand.

The expedition was highly successful, withmuch of the material collected likely to providenew information about the evolution of theearly fishes. The Devonian Period, about 370million years ago, is often referred to as the"Age ofthe Fishes", because at that time thefish were die only vertebrate animals on theface of the earth. The Aztec Siltstone in Antarctica indicates that the fish were very varied andsometimes almost bizarre. Jawless fishes andearly sharks lived abngside placoderm fish,whose bodies were covered with thick bonyplates and possessed arms, king fish and agroup of crossopterygianbony fish from whichthe later amphibians evolved. The Museumparty was particularly interested in thecrossopterygians as scattered bone collectedby the 1970-71 party suggested huge animalsup to four metresin length. The Aztec Siltstonecontains some of the best preserved fish material in the world, and questions still remainabout the evolution of Devonian fish that theAntarctic fossils may answer. There are indications that during the Devonian the Antarctic-east Australian region may have been animportant site of fish evolution, with new formsmigrating to other parts of the world.

As well as collecting fish material, the Mu-255


seum party was also studying the sediments inwhich they were found. The Aztec Siltstonewas deposited by large rivers flooding acrosslow-lying alluvial flats. Freshwater fish livedwithin channels of these rivers and duringfloods when the rivers broke their banks, mudwas spread across the river flats leaving deadand dying fish. Fossil root horizons indicatethat quite often these mud-flats were cobnisedby primitive vegetation; soft bw growths andmoderate size shrub Eke trees. Preserved

mudcracks and soil horizons are common inthe sequence. There are indications that theregion had a savanna-like climate with well-marked wet and dry seasons.

Overall about 750 kilograms of rock werecollected. The fossil fish will be studied by JohnLong in Perth, while Margaret Bradshaw andFraka Harmsen will work on the remainingmaterial respectively, in New Zealand and theUnited States.

CHINARE

Environmental programmeimplemented at Zhongshan

The government of the Peoples Republic of China have declared 1990-1992 as"China's Antarctic Environmental Years." As part of the implementation of thedeclaration the Chinese Committee on Antarctic Research has issued "Document oftheState Oceanographic Administration, People's Republic of China, No. 35 (1990.On the Decision of 1990-1992 being "China's Antarctic Environmental Years".

lt states: "The Antarctic is the only continentnot to be polluted and not to be developed onthe earth in which human beings live. It is alsothe "sacred place" and "naturallaboratory" ofscientific investigation and research. Protecting the Antarctic environment is an unshirkableduty and responsibility of nations who havedispatched expeditions and people all over theworld. The People'sRepublicof China stressesand adheres to the relevant regulations onenvironmental protection within the AntarcticTreaty System.

In order to maintain the Chinese AntarcticGreat Wall and Zhongshan stations as a whollysite for scientific research and to make significant contributions to Antarctic environmentalprotection it is proclaimed that the years of1990-1992 will be "China's Antarctic Environmental Years" with the following objectives.

1. Enhance the consciousness of protectingthe Antarctic environment and the relevantregubtiomon environmental protection withinthe Antarctic Treaty System and also the regu-btions of CHINARE, must be studied seriouslyand observed faithfully by the CHINARE organisation and managers of Antarctic affairs,the crew of the Ji Di vessel and the staff of theArctic and Antarctic Research Institute andtraining base. They are required to thoroughlyunderstand their significance.2. Protecting the Antarctic environment andmaintaining its ecosystem balance must be oneof the most important missions in the GreatWall and Zhongshan stations.1. Station AreaA. Waste material must be kept in hermeticallysealed containers according to its type. Thosematerials that are incombustible, or not allowed to be burnt off in the Antarctic, must be

256


carried back to China. Other materials mustbe burnt off periodically in the incinerator.B. Waste water must be processed by meansof biological and chemical methods beforedraining into the sea.C. Exhaust from the generators must be processed by purifiers.D. Rubbish (including cigarette ends) must beproperly disposed in appropriate containers.Rooms should be vacuumed every day andmaintained in a clean and neat fashion. General duties around the stations are requiredonce a week.E. Living things must be protected in the stationarea. Personnel are not allowed to frightenanimals or to step on plants and it is forbiddento catch and kill animals and to pick up plantsand rocks without the permission of China'sState Committee on Antarctic Research.

2. Field PartiesA. Every member of the field party must bringrubbish bags to return waste material (including packing material, cigarette ends and human waste) to the station for proper disposal.B. The same as (I)E.C. Vehicles driving in the field must avoidanimals and plants.D. Nothing is albwed to be discarded into thesea while barges and amphibious vehicles areoperating.

3. Scientific Survey VesselsScientific survey vessels to the Antarctic mustabide by the relevant regulations on environmental protection within the Antarctic TreatySystem.(1) Waste material (including cigarette ends) isnot permitted to be dumped into the sea.(2) Members of the crew visiting the stationsmust abide by 2, especially 2 (1) E.Zhongshan Station in the Larsemann Hills,80km south of Australia's Davis Station at thenortheastern tip of the Broknes Peninsula hasnow been occupied continuously since January 1989. It comprises eight buildings, meteorology, power station, mess and living quarters, laboratories, storage and equipmentbuildings, a fuel farm and a volleyball court.During 1991-92 summer 20 scientists andsupport staff pursued a scientific programme,begun at the station's inception and whichfocusses on upper atmosphere, physics, geophysics, meteorology and geology. In additionthis year a major environmental clean up wasbeing implemented. Waste metal was removed and compacted, wood burnt or removed and rubbish sorted and all of it wasreturned to China.Water at Zhongshan is piped from two tarnsimmediately behind the station, the smallerproviding a quality suitable for drinking and the

Zhongshan buildings, leftto right, meteorology,power station, mess,living quarters and volleyball court, laboratories,storage, equipmentstorage, fuel farm. Photo:David Stephenson,ANARE News


larger more mineralised for washing and ablution. During the winter icemelters are used.The two dieselgenerators whichproduce powerfor the station consume about 150 tonnes of

fuel per year. Road access is restricted to theforeshore whichwas also subjecttothe cleanup.Reference: AnareNews, Autumn 1992 pages24,25

Germany

Scientific programme forGANOVEX VII being finalised

Three major sdentific programmes are planned for GANOVEX VII scheduled to takeplace in the Ross Sea area of Antarctica in 1992/1993. The expedition will charterthe Norwegian Research Vessel "Polar Queen", an icebreaker/sealer which will maketwo trips down to the ice. Sixty-three scientific and support personnel will be involved.Additional logistic support is to be provided by four Aerospatiale AS 350 SquirrelHelicopters arid four skidoos will be used for geological and geophysical research. Theleader will be Dr Norbert Roland from the Bundesanstalt fur Geowlssenschaften undRohstoffe in Hannover Germany .

Ofthe personnel participating in GANOVEXVU; 35 will be scientists from Australia, Germany, Italy, tiie Netherlands, New Zealand andthe United States; 13 will crew and service thehelicopters, six will manage the logistics andthere will be nine field guides and one environ-mentalofficer. Survival training will, asusualinrecent years, be undertaken at Mount Cook inNew Zeabnd's South Isbnd.

RV/Polar Queen is scheduled to sail fromLyttelton at 6 p.m. on 26 November and toarrive at Scott Isbnd on 2 December andGondwana Station four days bter. GondwanaStation is the German summer station at TerraNova Bay on the Ross Sea coast in NorthVictoria Land. It lies at 74deg/38minS/164deg, 13 minutes E and was built fromcontainer modules in 1988/89.

Unloading of equipment and supplies at theStation should be complete on 7 Decemberwhen she will sail to Marie Byrd Land arrivingon 11 December and working offshore untilJanuary 9. Helicopters fitted with aeromagneticequipment will be used to survey the Ross Seaside of Marie Byrd Land from the outer flank.

This is a continuation of a project previouslyundertaken as part of the Italian, US andGerman programmes. The ship will then return to Gondwana for two days on December10 and make her way back to Dunedin by 14January 1993.

Two helicopters will be based at Gondwanafrom where further geophysical work will beundertaken as well as gravity measurements,heat flow and geological programmes.Six or eight days bter the ship is scheduled toleave from Dunedin on the second leg of herjourney arriving at Yule Bay on 28 January,Oates Coast and providing support for a monthfor geological sampling being continued fromGANOVEX V. The Polar Queen will thenreturn to Gondwana to load and make her wayback to Lyttelton arriving on 6 March.

258


Norway

Climate change studies and therecovery of Amundsen's tent

from the South Pole combinedinto one expedition

"Antarctic" acknowledges the assistance of Dr Monica Kristensenwith this article.

Studying the Interactions between the Filchner Ice Shelf and the changing climateis the scientific purpose of an international expedition being conducted over threeyears. Some members are also seeking to recover the tent left by Amundsen at theSouth Pole on 14 December, 1911 just six weeks before Captain Scott's illfated partyreached their destination.

Led by Dr Monica Kristensen of the Meteorological Institute in Oslo, the first part of thethree year programme comprised scientistsand support staff from the UK, Norway andSweden. They came from the Milliard SpaceScience Laboratory, University College ofLondon, from the British Antarctic Survey,the Norwegian Meteorological Institute in Oslo,the University of Bergen and the SwedishAntarctic Program. The annual budget for theFilchner project is estimated at 2.5 millionpounds sterfing, of which 1.3 million poundshas been committed from participating institutions and the remainder from private contributions through industries interested in environmental issues.

According to the expedition brochure' 'Calculations based on existing trends show thatthe amount of C02 in the atmosphere willprobably be doubled by the year 2030. Forecasts from the gbbal ocean atmosphere circu-btion computer models show mat the airtemperature may rises as much as 4deg C in

the same time period. Some forecasts showvalues for coastal regions of Antarctica beingmuch higher and this includes both the WeddeDSea and the Filchner Ice Shelf. With a rising airand ocean temperature the oceans wiD expandleading to a faster rise in seal level. But if a farmore dramatic rise in sea level was to occur itwould be caused by the melting of ice fromGreenbnd and the Antarctic Ice sheet. Over90 percent of all fresh water on the surface ofthe pbnet is found in the ice mantle that coversAntarctica. This mantle can be up to 5 kmthick. If all the ice on the continent was to melt,sea level would rise about 70 metres." While itremains unlikely that the ice in Antarcticawould melt completely the West Antarctic icesheet would certainly be reduced by a warmingof the climate.

The Filchner Ice shelf lies between BerknerIsland, the mountain ranges to the east and theSouthPolar Pbteau from which several streamsfbw across the shelf to the ice front in the north.It is an important area for research as it is

259


sensitive to climatic change; the sea ice zonewill decrease in a warming climate.

To investigate this possibifity the teamplanned to carry out several types of experiment.

Glaciological surveys are to be performedin different areas on the shelf, the adjacentstreams and the Polar Pbteau. Results fromthe analysis of field data will be used for satellitedata validation and for gbdobgical modelling.Oceanographic measures are to be conductedat the shelf front to expbre the under-shelfcircubtion and bottom melting. Radar measurements taken both on the ground and fromaircraft will provide data on ice thickness andsub-surface stratigraphy. Automatic weatherstations to be depbyed in various locations willtransmit data via satellite year round.

The 11 scientists and 12 support staff whocomprise the main expedition arrived in Montevideo on Air France around December 1,1991.

Here they boarded MV Aurora, sold in1990 by Monica Kristensen to the LauritzEidevsik, a shipping company based inHaugesun, Norway specialising in seismicswork in the North Sea, for approximately NOK5 mill but chartered for the expedition. Rurtherlogistic supportwasby a Twin Otter, charteredfrom the Greenlandic Company GLACE anddestined to fly to the planned base for theexpedition from Punta Arenas via the Chileanbase Teniente Marsh, some 14 hours flyingtime.(Dr Kristensen has had a long associationwith MV Aurora which she purchased for herexpedition 90 Degrees South in 1986-87during which she hoped to follow inAmundsen's footsteps but (ironically) shortof time and too late to meet her objectivereturned to the vessel for safety reasons. Inthe interim the ship has been under charterfor one science expedition toBouvet Islandand two to the northern Arctic and whereher new owners are likely to~use her forseismicwork. Theaircraft, piloted mainly bySvenAhlquist was also thesameasthat used

in the expedition. Its call sign was OY-POF;it is also called Arctic Fox after landing onan iceberg in 1986.)

MV Aurora, captained by Lief Barane leftMontevideo during the evening of December12 and sailing in rebtively calm waters set acourse for 65deg02minW. On December 23sea ice was encountered for the first time, andin increasingly heavy ice conditions the shipturned to a course abng the coast of DronningMaud Land following bngitude 50deg Westbefore turning southwest for Berkner Islandwhere expedition members had planned toestablishtheir base. Icebergs, whichhave calvedoff from the front of the Filchner Iceshelf,blocked their passage to Berkner and theyfolbwed a shore lead towards the coast choosing instead a site on Coats Land, some 40 kmto the north of the Argentinean Belgrano 2wintering station.

On January 2 they arrived at the position forBbenga, (Norwegian for Blue Fields) a basewhich was to comprise five wooden huts withaccommodation for up to 20 people, officesand workspace and serve as the Antarcticheadquarters for the expedition.

Aurora was anchored to the fast ice. It was19 days since they had left Montevideo andthey were two days ahead of the schedule asplanned for Berkner Island when they startedunloading and assembling the station, havingfirst visited the Argentineans at Belgrano IIunder the command of Comodoro Lautaro.By January 18 the station (located at 77.5D/34.2W) was finished with all stores and equipment in pbce. It should have been earlier butweather conditions reduced the use they couldmake of the helicopter, a Bell Jetranger, carried aboard Aurora.

In the meantime plans to use the Twin Otterfor early deployment of their field parties(including the two to the Pole) had also goneastray as the aircraft in Punta Arenas was totransfer two Norwegian scientists from theUniversity of Bergen and a reporter from theSwedish Broadcasting Corporation, who hadbeen flown into the ANI base at Patriot Ffills by

260


the organisation's DC6. But because of whiteout and blowing snow in the region aroundAurora the aircraft did not rendezvous until 14January by which time the radio reporter(Anna Schytt of Swedish Broadcasting), andlogistics manager had to return to Sweden andDenmark because of time problems.

Initially they had planned to fly in the SouthPole Party first. Four scientists and logisticpersonnel were to make up two parties, thefirst comprising Niels Jensen and Peter Hansenand their support, who were to be deployed inearly January. They were to establish thecamp, undertake a GPS survey of the outerboundaries of the test or search area, depbya pyramid tent at the likely site of Amundsen'stent, secure it and leave it for the winter tocheck effects of the weather on it and undertake land radar investigations over an area 500metres square. A second party, comprisingPer Holmlund, Ulf Hedman and MonicaKristensen were to fly in during early Februaryand use the Twin Otter to undertake a variablefrequency radar programme over an area

3.2km square. However, because of unstableweather, the complexity of the South PoleOperation, the essential deployment of twofield depots between Bbenga and the SouthPole and a mishap with the Twin Otter, priorities were changed.

On January 19 the first of the two fueldepots required for the South Pole operationwas depbyed on Recovery Glacier. In additionto the essential fuel, Niels Jensen and PeterHansen were flown into the site where theywere to stay and provide weather reports.However one of the skis on the Twin Otter wasdamaged in a crevasse encountered as theaircraft taxied into land and, as further crevasses were found when the site was checked,it was abandoned and the team flown back toBlaenga. A better position for the depot wasfound cbse to the Pensacola Mountains and aflight carrying the two men and scheduled tocontinue onto the Pole bnded at the secondsite in near whiteout conditions causing furtherdamage to the skis. The men again returned toBbenga and on cbse inspection the mechanic


considered the aircraft unsuitable for continued flying until the skis had been replaced. Afurther set of skis were located in Greenlandand flown to the Argentinean base Marambiowhere theywere fitted and the aircraft returnedto Bbenga after just one week of debys.

Plans for the radar mapping programme,so crucial for the location of Amundsen's tent,were by nowdebyed. Jensen and Hensen whowere to undertake the ground based workwould nowremainatBbenga but Dr Kristensenand Per Holmlund who were to carry out aflight radar programme were able to proceed.An initial GPS Survey of the area to besearched for the tent was also considered to beof value. In addition they pbnned to mark thepredicted position with a pyramid tent.

As the time for departure approachedconditions were unsuitable for the Twin Otterand three of the team Heinrich Eggenfellner,Erik Vike and Monica Kristensen went insteadon Yamaha Ventura skidoos to Depot 1, atRecovery Glacier, covering the distance of 560km in less than 24 hours. Each of the threeskidoos towed a sledge carrying tents andequipment, and sufficient fuelto return to baseat any stage. This change to their plansenabled them to make a preliminary investigation ofthe area around Recovery Gbcier whichthey hope to stake for monitoring of ice move-ment next season. Twoof the party Eggenfellnerand Vike however staked a line at the footof thegbcier for comparative purposes. During thetrip they navigated by GPS Trimble Transpac.

On 16 February Eggenfellner and MonicaKristensen flew from the depot in the TwinOtter to the South Pole where US personnelassisted them by providing a SPRAY overlandvehicle to drive them out to their site.

During their four hour stay the temperaturewas -38deg C and the wind speed 25 knots.They had planned to ski along the boundariesof the proposed test area or research site buttime and conditions precluded this. Howeverthey were now able tomarkthe boundaries andundertake a general survey.

By combining data from Scott and

Amundsen's records with the results of a GPSsurvey undertaken while they were there, theyhave established the likely position of the tentto within 50 metres. They alsodetermined thattheir proposed investigation would not disturbany scientific activities in the vicinity. Beforeleaving they depbyed and secured a pyramidtent over the estimated bcationof Amundsen'stent in order to study the effects of the winteron it during their next visit in 1992-93. Comparison of pictures taken by both Amundsen'sand Scott's teams showed the original tent tobe securely established with no detectablesagging after standing for six weeks, althoughbetween 20 and 40 centimetres of snow hadbbwn up in a small ridge abng one of the tentwalls. It is however likely that it will have beencovered by snow during the first winter and thatas time has passed the small snow crest createdby the tent (and the sledge) will have evenedout. Difficulties are anticipated with the finalrecovery but advice is being taken from JeppeMohl of the Danish Zoology Museum. He is aleading authority having worked extensively ondigs in the ice and permafrost of Siberia andGreenland.

For a time three flags flew close to the newNorwegian tent erected by the party; the Norwegian flag remained but the Statoil andLillehammer winter Olympics flag were returned to Base.

In the meantime the other scientific projectswere proceeding. The British party comprising Dr Jeff Ridley, Dave Mantripp and PeterWebb was depbyed with three Twin Otterflights on 17 January in the middle of theFilchner Ice Shelf called Snowhenge.

On January 18 two further field partieswere depbyed by Twin Otter, the first comprising Peter Midtboe, geologist and HeinrichEggenfellner (GPS reference station) and wascalled'' Eagles Nest'' and positioned cbse to anunatak on the Bailey Ice stream. The secondparty comprised Erlend Moe and Erik Vike(GPS field station) and was depbyed cbse tothe Theron Mountainsby the Bailey Ice Stream.Each was deployed with a pyramid tent, re-

262


Dejected, Scott's party find Amundsens tent at the South Pole Thursday, 18 January1912

For a time three flags flew close to the Norwegian tent erected by the party; the Norwegian flag remained but the Statoil and Lillehammer winter Olympics flags were returned to

Blaenga.


serve Storebjorn tent, equipment and suppliesfor three weeks, as well as a skidoo and sledge.

On 22 January MV Aurora left her positionbelow Bbenga. Among those on board wereNina Nordkind and Stenar Myking who conducted an oceanography programme comprising CTD measurements along severaltransects across the continental shelf slope andthe depbyment and retrieval of current rig.Plankton samples were also collected fromseveral sites for scientists from the NorwegianMinistry ofthe Environment who are studyingthe effects of the thinning ozone byer ongenetic material in plankton.

At Bbenga the weather again deterioratedwithsnowstormsandwhiteout conditions. FourSwedish gbciologists, participants in the Aurora programme who had been deployed atWasa by the Akademik Federov in Novemberwere transferred to Bbenga by the Aurora,(whose oceanographic programme was beingdelayed by heavy ice), instead ofthe Twin Otteras planned. The Swedes arrived at Bbenga onFebruary 8 and the two involved in ice-coring,Elisabeth Isakssonand Axel Bodin ofthe Swedish Antarctic Research Program, were depbyed the same day to the position ofthe newBritish ERS-1 calibration test site at New Ffa-ven. ERS-1 is the satellite bunched in 1991 bythe European Space Agency. A radar teamcomprising Per Holmlund and Ulf Hedmanwere to work from Bbenga.

Science programme

By the end of the season the glaciobgistshad depbyed four stake lines on the BaileyGlacier and two out across the Filchner Iceshelf,one at the bottom ofthe Slessor Gbcier and theother at the bottom of Recovery Glacier. Afurther four stakes had been installed at Depot1, Snowhenge, New Haven and at Bbengamaking a total of 39 in all, some of which wereremeasured during the season. A survey ofthesedimentary geobgy ofthe Theron Mountainswascompleted. Two sites were investigated forERS-1 calibration, one at Snowhenge where

the work was hampered by crevasses and theother at New Haven on Touchdown Hills.In all, eight ice cores were obtained, includingone of ten meters from Snowhenge and another of 20 metres from New Haven andothers from along the flow line ofthe Bailey IceStream. [These have been shipped to Maine inthe USA for analysis by E. Issakson.J

The 30 hours of flying time allocated to themaking of radar measurements was reducedbecause of 11 days of snow storms but onetrack was flown at 50 feet above ground fromthe shelf margin, through a grounding linezone and up part of the flowline on the BaileyGbcier. Another track was made across NewHaven and over Coats Land to Bbenga.

Four automatic weather stations with advanced instrumentation were positioned atBbenga and others, simpler in operation, atNew Haven, Snowhenge and close to the GPSreference point in the Theron Mountains. Thedata, together with that from stations such asthe German Filchner summer station on theRonne Ice Shelf and historical records from theArgentinean Sobral station close to RecoveryGbcier, will provide a basis for meteorologicalmodeling.

Retreat

Retrieval of the field parties began on 14February with the recovery ofthe British teamsat New Haven and the Theron Mountains byTwin Otter. The Swedish ice coring teamdrove by skidoo from New Haven to Bbenga.Heavy ice conditions prevented Aurora fromreaching a position close to Blaenga and sheanchored to fast ice near the barrier some 80nautical miles north of the station. Using theTwin Otter and helicopter most of the scientistswere moved to the ship on February 15. TheSouth Pole party returned to Blaenga on 17thand Eggenfellner and Vike from RecoveryGbcier the following day. Between then andFebruary 24 the station and associated equipment was secured for winter conditions. Thelast of the party left Bbenga by Twin Otter on24 February for the ship and two days bter the

264


aircraft set out for South America via theArgentinean base Marambio.

A small fuel depot and camp comprising atent, assorted equipment and supplies was lefton the fast ice near the Twin Otter runway asthe weather there was often better than at thebase site. MS Aurora also left the area onFebruary 26, making a short call at SouthGeorgfa, before arriving at Montevideo onMarch 10.

Next season

Plans for 1992/93, the second phase oftheprogramme, are now underway. Among thepriorities will be the removal of Bbenga to alocation inland and more favourable to TwinOtter operation for only three days out of 30were suitable for flying to the pbteau while, bycomparison at a the site of the GPS referencestation only three days were overcast.

Amundsen's tentOriginally standing two-metres high

the tent of gabardine and leather morerecently described as being of silk andleather, topped by a Norwegian flag,was last seen by Scott and his companions on 17 January, 1912.

Amundsen returned to Norway, ahero. The British party, comprisingCaptain Scott, Lieutenant Bowers, DrWilson, Captain Oates and Petty Officer Evans perished on the return journey.Amundsen reached the area of the Poleat noon on December 17. For threedays members of the party made acircumvention ofthe area, all the timemaking navigational observations. Helater wrote:

"First we set up the little tent we hadbrought with us in case we should becompelled to divide into two parties. Ithad been made by our able sailmaker,Ronne, and was of very thin windproofgabardine. Its drab colour made it easily visible against the white surface.Another pole was lashed to the tent-pole, making its total height about 13feet. On the top of this a little Norwegian flag was lashed fast, and underneath it a pennant, on which "Fram"

was painted."The tent was well secured with guy-

ropes on all sides. Inside the tent, in alittle bag, I left a letter addressed toKM. The King (Haakon W) giving information ofwhat wehad accomplished.The way home was a long one, and somany things might happen to make itimpossible for us to give an account ofour expedition. Besides this letter, Iwrote a short epistle to Captain Scott,who, I assumed, would be the first tofind the tent. Other things we left therea sextant with a glass horizon, ahypsometer case, three reindeer skinfoot-bags, some kamiks and mits.

"When everything had been laid inside, we went into the tent, one by one,to write our names on a tablet we hadfastened to the tent-pole On this occasion we received the congratulations ofour companions on the successful result, for the following messages werewritten on a couple of strips to leather,sewed to the tent: "Good luck," and"Welcome to 90 deg zero". Thesegoodwishes, which we suddenly discovered, put us in very good spirits. Theywere signed by Beck and Ronne. Theyhad good faith in us. When we had

265


finished this we came out, and thetent-door was securely laced together,so that there was no danger of thewind getting a hold on that side."

And so goodbye to Polheim. It wasa solemn moment when we bared ourheads and bade farewell to our homeand our flag A 12 foot woodensledge was left standing up as a landmark for Scott's party.

The South Pole, an account of theNorwegian Antarctic expedition in the"Fram" 1910-1912, in two volumes published in London by John Murray,Albermarle Street West, 1912. Pages 133/134

Scott's reactionBitter with disappointment Captain

Scott and his party had been follow-ingtheNorwegian tracks and of Thursday January 18 he wrote. "Decidedafter summing up all observationsthat we were three and a half milesaway from the Pole - one mile beyondit and three to the right. More or lessin this direction Bowers saw a cairn ortent.

"We have just arrived at this tent,two miles from our camp thereaboutone to one and a half miles from thePole. In the tent we find a record offive Norwegians have been here, asfollows:

Roald AmundsenOlav Olavson BjaalandHilmer HanssenSverre H. HasselOscar Wisting

16 December 1911.

"The tent is fine - a small compactaffair supported by a single bamboo.

A note from Amundsen, which I keep,asks me to forward a letter to KingHaakon!

"The following articles have been leftin the tent: three half bags of reindeercontaining a miscellaneous assortmentof mits and sleeping-socks, very variousin description, a sextant, a Norwegianartificial horizon anda hypsometerwith-out boiling point, thermometers, a sextant and hypsometer of English make."Left a note to say I had visited the tentwith companions Between half tothreequarters of a mile from the tent "webuilt a cairn, put up our poor slightedUnion Jack, andphotographedourselves- mighty cold work - all of it...

"We carried the Union Jack about 3/4mile north with us and left it on a pieceof stick as near as we could fix it. I fancythe Norwegians arrived at the Pole on15th December and left on the 17thahead of a date quoted by me in Londonas ideal, viz. Dec 22. It looks as thoughthe Norwegian party expected colderweather on the summit than they got. Itcould scarcely be otherwise fromShackleton's account. Well, we haveturned our back now on the goal of ourambition and must face our 800 miles ofsolid dragging - and good-bye to most ofthe day dreams."

Scott is believed to have a left a letterin Amundsen's tent; this has never beenrecovered.

Scott's last expedition, in two volumes published in London byJohnMurray, AlbermarleStreet W., February 1927 (The cheaper edi-tionl). Pages 425-426

266


South Africa

Three winter stations operatingAtmospheric sciences, biological studies, geological, solid earth geophysics programmes, the collection of geodetic and geographical information made up the SouthAfrican National Antarctic Programme for the summer of 1991/1992. Major logisticsupport was provided by the research vessel mv SA Agulhas and supplemented by theuse of two SA 330 Aerospatiale Puma J helicopters. Work was carried out at SANAE,Marion (in the Prince Edward Islands) and Gough Stations, all of which are permanentlyoccupied and also during relief and supply voyages.

Programmes operating at SANAE includetwo focussing on aspects of Cosmic rays,riometer imaging of auroral electron precipitation, other electron aurora work andgeomagnetic studies as well as meteorologicaland seismic observations and studies of VLFemissions. The base, situated 69.3m aboves e a l e v e l a t 7 0 d e g l 8 ' 3 5 . 3 " S /02deg24'41.6"W, on the Fimbul Ice Shelf inDronning Maud Land accommodates 12 winter scientists and support staff and up to 70researchers and other personnel during thesummer. Anewprogramme begun last seasonaims to study the effects of guano and otherremainson the biota of selected nunataksin theAhtnannryggen area of Dronning Maud Land.An ornithologist, botanist and an entomologistwere involved in the programme.

Geological programmes were also undertaken in the Kirwanveggenregionof DronningMaud Land. They included a structural metamorphic and geochemical project; Isotopicstudiesto determine the geological evolution ofWestern Dronning Maud Land within aGondwana framework, ground investigation,including detailed magnetic surveys andpaleomagnetic studiesof key anomalies. Thesethree projects are part of interdisciplinary earthsciences programme designed to be undertaken over the next five years. Topographicalmapping of HU Sverdrupfjefla for a set of1;50,000 maps also continued and a primary

survey station at Grunehogna was occupied aspart of the SCAR working Group on Geodesyand Geographic Information, VLB/GPS Antarctic Pbte Tectonic project.

Marion blandBiologists working from the station on Marion

Island undertook studies of the migration of thesouthern elephant seal Mirounga leonina, theeffects of artificial control on the cat popub-tion, Felis catus and the design and initiation ofa long monitoring of surface nesting sea-birdsstarted previously at Prince Edward Islands.Studies are also being undertaken of the herbivore, saprivore, carnivore, vegetation interactions and nutrient cycling under a changingclimatic regime on the island. Thismultidiscipfinary project on the ecology andecophysiobgy of mice, soil invertebrates,pbnts and micro-organisms is being undertaken in rebtionto nutrient-cycling and changing climate regime. Marion Isbnd lies at46deg52'34V37deg51'32"E in the Southern Indian Ocean and supports 16 staff overthe winter and up to 60 during the reliefperiod.

Much of the work undertaken this season atGough Island involved ecological research.The island lies at 40deg21'00V09deg52'40"W in the South Atlantic Ocean.The base is 54 metres above sea level andsupports seven personnel during the winterand up to 45 during the summer relief period.

267


Routine meteorological programmesare regularly undertaken.

Oceanographic programmes undertakenfrom mv SA Agulhas included analysis of thebiological productivityatAntarcticoceanic frontswhich was South Africa's contribution toJGOFS (Joint Gbbal Ocean Fluxes Study) andWOCE World OceanCircubtion Experiments).This was done during the first of a major seriesof cruises planned over the next five years inwhich scientists will investigate the nature ofeddies shed across the subtropical convergence . The eddies are distinctly visible in satellite thermal infra-red imagery, allowing for

detailed real-time planning. The meridionalflux of heat characteristics of these eddies isbeing investigated for WOCE. The subtropicalconvergence is also known for its unusualchlorophyll distribution, aspects of which arebeing studied in greater detail. Ongoing programmes on krill aggregation and abundancecontinued.mvSA Agulhas made six voyages in support

of the programme during the 1991-92 season. These bring the total number of voyagesmade for the South African National AntarcticProgramme to 70 with a further seven programmed over the next two seasons.

BAS

Halley - 5 The most modernUK Research Station in the

Antarcticby Dr J.G. Paren, Director's Assistant, British Antarctic Survey

Halley 5 is the fifth station to be built on theBrunt Ice Shelf, Coats Land. The first stationwas established in 1956 by the Royal Societyfor the International Geophysical Year (IGY),1957-58, and named Halley after the astronomer Edmond FfaUey. The station filled animportant gap in the IGY Antarctic networkwith studies in meteorology, gbciobgy, seismology. Many of these studies have continueduninterrupted since 1957.

The extreme environment of the Brunt IceShelf poses great technical problems to builders with blizzards and snow drift eventuallyburying everything. Buildings disappear beneath the snow, requiring ever-lengtheningvertical shafts to provide access to the outside

world. Because of burial by snow and movement of the ice shelf it was necessary to repbceand resite the first Halley station in 1967, andsubsequentstationsin 1973,1983 and 1992;all being abandoned before being crushed bythe weight of overlying snow.

Once a year Halley Research Station issupplied by ship. Cargo is normally off-loadedonto sledges on the sea ice, and towed bytracked vehicles up rampsof drifted snow ontothe ice shelf and 15 kilometers inland to thestation. Work continues around the clock with24 hours daylight. AT times the site of asuitable snowramphas lengthened the resupplyroute from the ship to the base to 60 kibme-tres.

268


Halley 5 took six years from conception at thedrawing board to commissioning in February1992. It is novel in that the buildings sit fourmetresabove thesnowonindependent jackablesteelpbtforms. The largest isthe Accommodation Building (ACB) which is 59 metres bng,14.6 metres wide and three metres high. Theother two smaller pbtforms, the Ice and Climate Building (ICB) and Space Sciences Building (SSB), house specialist laboratories. Theheight of the pbtforms above the ice shelfaffects the local wind turbulence and the buildup of drifting snow. Each summer the platforms must be raised an average of one metreto compensate for the accumubted snowfall.Small adjustments throughout the year aremade to compensate for differential movement.

The Accommodation Building comprisesthree sections, a services/technical supportarea, living area and sleeping quarters. Dieselengines provide electrical power and their vastheat warms the buildings and melts snow toprovide water. The living area includes a photographic darkroom, bunge, library, diningroom, kitchen, computer room, base commander's office, communications room, recreation room, storage areas and a hospital.The isobtion and bng periods of completedarkness make Halley a valuable site for medical research. There are 20 bedrooms, givingeach of the winter staff, a room of their own,with doubling up of accommodation in thebusy summer. The winter base complement is18, with eight scientists, one doctor and ninesupport staff.

Science at HalleyClimate, ice and ozone studies

Polar regions play a key role in studies of thegbbal environment. Studying the processes atpby and evaluating the impact on the worldoutside are essential ingredients of BAS science at Halley.

BAS meteorologists take advantage of theflatness ofthe ice shelf to study the dynamics of

the atmosphere cbse to the ground. Thisresearch is improving the representation ofhigh btitude processes in Global CircubtionModels used for climate modelling. Meteorological data have been collected daily since1956, and are transmitted to the EuropeanMeteorological SatelBte (EUMETSAT) groundstation for use in weather forecasts at the UKMeteorological Office and elsewhere. Halleyand 11 other stations in East Antarctica provide a climatic database for an area larger thanEurope. Halley meteorological data supplemented by aprogramme onatmosphericchem-istryare usedtosupportthe work of gbciofogistswho use ice cores to study past climate. Halleydata underpin studies on the effect of climatechange on sea level, and provide ground truthfor satellite studies on the dynamics of intensepolar depressions.

Total ozone has been monitored at Halleysince 1956. A spring-time depletion in ozonewas discovered by BAS in 1985, and this ledquickly to the international response to curtailproduction of Chlorofluorocarbons (CFSs).Halley lies well under the ozone hole andhouses a range of instruments thatmonitor keychemical constituents of the stratosphere.

Geospace researchThe near-earthregion of interplanetary space

(called Geospace) is dominated by the interaction of the Sun's atmosphere with the upperatmosphere and magnetic field of the Earth.Understanding the physics of geospace is ofincreasing practical importance. Periodic increases in solar activity create magnetic stormswhich affect such tilings as radio communication, power-line transmission, and equipmenton satellites. Halley, lying at the edge of thesouthern auroral zone, is ideally situated forgeospace research. The Polar Anglo-American Conjugate Experiment (PACE) radar provides an unparalleled spatial picture of theconsequences of geospace interactions in theupper atmosphere (above lOOkifometres attitude) over an area of around three millionsquare kibmetres of geospace over the South

269


Pole. Halley is the focusof the BAS AutomatedGeophysical Observatory (AG) programmewhich aims to establish a network of observation sites under the field of view of the PACEradar.

The station provides state-of^he-art computing and digital communication facilities.This sophisticated facility is crucial to BASparticipation in the forthcoming NASA Gbbal

Geospace Science Mission, which involvesmany spacecraft. Key parameters from thewhole suite of geospace experiments will beobtained and transmitted each night to theMission Centre in the USA where they will bemerged with spacecraft data. BAS is one ofonly four ground-based teams world-wide contributing to the mission.

USAP and RussiaScience aboard an iceberg

engenders spirit ofinternational cooperation

"Difficult environmental conditions in the western Weddell Sea havepreviously prohibited data collection in the area of the global ocean.Only now in the closing decade ofthe 20th century has this region beenproperly explored through the joint US Russian effort Ice StationWeddell I, the first drift station of the Southern Ocean, becomes animportant part of the history of Antarctic exploration." - Dr ArnoldGordon, Columbia University, New York Project coordinator.

The United States Antarctic Program of theNational Science Foundation and the SovietUnion Antarctic Expedition officially cbsed theIceStationWeddellIon9, June, 1992withthelowering and exchange ofthe US and Russianflags and complete evacuation of personneland removal of the base. It was the first timesuch a base had been established.

The expedition included scientists from theArctic and Antarctic Research Institute in St.Petersburg, where Dr Gordon and his American and Russian colleagues first planned thejoint expedition at a meeting of scientists inJune 1988. About one third of the U.S. contingent, funded by the National Science Foundation, came from Columbia's Lamont-Doherty

"tical Observatory. About 60 people par

ticipate, including scientists and researchpersonnel from Oregon State University, theUniversity of Southern Californb, the University of NorthTexas, the University of Washiixj-ton, the U.S. Cold Region Research Environmental Laboratory in Hanover, N.H., ScienceApplication International Corp., in Seattle,Washington and McPhee Research Companyin Naches, Washington.

A total of 60 researchers spent time aboardthe floe, some rotating via airplane or ship,others remaining for the entire 117 day mission. The station supported a maximum of 32at one time.

The expedition began in Montevideo Uruguay where the Russian vessel AkademikFederov was baded. The ice floe on which Ice

270


Station Weddell was erected was sighted February 6 at 71deg35min S and 50 deg 01minutes West. "It looks like a good home", oneoftheoceanographers said in a transmissionto Lamont Doherty in New York from theFederov.

More than 80 tons of equipment and gearwere transported onto the floe and ferried bybulldozer and helicopter from the edge to theinterior, taking precautions to distribute weightevenly and avoid triggering breaks in the ice.Food, fuel, survival gear and living quarterswere also widely deployed in case a break-upoccurred. Some cracks did open, but the floedid not break apart.

Two area of living quarters, called SouthTown and North Town, were on either side ofthe mess hall area comprising storehouses,generators, btrines, and a sauna used on aweekly basis. Freshwater came from newlyfallen snow. The expedition included a doctorand a chef. The scientists lived in pre-assem-bled Russian-built huts pbced on skis andmoved into position by bulldozers, or in 12 x16 foot tents made of two layers of pfastic. Allwere supplied with fuel heaters.

Temperatures ranged from about 29 deg Fin February, the height of the Antarctic summer, toabwof-33deg F, with wind chill factorsdropping to as low as -60deg F. Personnelwere each issued with 72 pounds of polarclothing.

'Its amazing how fast you can get into fourbyers of clothing at 2 a.m. when your heatermalfunctions arid temperatures are between -23 deg F and-28deg F' said Columbia'sDouglas Martinson, chief scientist at the IceStation Weddell from 11 March, when he flewonto the floe, until April 30, when he departedvia the Pa/mer the new US research vessel thatwas on its first mission.

Contaminated fuel that clogged heaters andtemporarily grounded helicopters (see Antarctic Vol 12. No.7 pages 232ff) remained theexpedition's major problem. On April 1 members of the 437 Airlift Wing were despatchedfrom Charleston, S.C. to parachute 5,865galbns of new fuel to the floe.

In a dispatch from Ice Station Weddell, DrMartinson reported: "The fuel drop was acomplete success - 100 percent of the fuelsurvived the drop, which came right on schedule. The C-141 made three bw-level passesover the camp, the first to check out the dropzone, the second to drop 10 bundles, eachweighing 1,600 pound and comprising fourbarrels of fuel and the third to drop the remaining 19 bundles.

Overnight snowstorms often created eightfoot drifts that buried equipment and sealedpersonnel in their tents; escape came throughspecial zippered hatches or by a request viawalk-talkie for outside help to shovel out doorway.

Poor contrast between sky and ice and theabsence of shadows hampered visibility, causing camp dwellers occasionally to walk directlyinto snowdrifts or fail to notice sudden rises ordepressions in the ice. But there were gbrioussunsets as well as the intricate "frost flowers"that formed on wires. There were also surprises. One night, while sleeping in his tentnext to a hole drilled though the ice for experimental work one scientist was awaked by the"sound of Darth Vader-like breathing. I sawbubbles corning from the hole, he said, and theakin the tent wassuddenly befouled. Aseal hadcome up for a breath of air.

There were no injuries or illnesses on theexpedition other than mild frostbite and minorbruises.' 'Thisisamazing giventhe opportunityfor accidents in a pbce fike this" Dr Martinsonwrote in a dispatch, "things like serious frostbite or falling into leads, openings in the floethat refreeze with a thin byer of ice.

Packed in by other floes and accompaniedby a few icebergs the floe drifted northward ata top speed often miles per day when strongwinds blew from the south. Other days, itbarely moved.

The floe generally followed the path of SirErnest Shackleton's ship Endurance in 1915.That ill-fated ship had become trapped in theice and over more than nine months had beencarried 570 miles north before being crushedby the ice pack and sunk.

271


Station disbandedUS and Russian Icebreakers, the Nathaniel

B. Palmer and the Akademik Federov metsoutheast ofthe Orkney Island on May 25 andreached the ice floe at 65deg87minS and 52deg75min W in the western Weddell Sea,about 900 miles south of the tip of SouthAmerica on Thursday4 June as expected.Thedrift on the 6.5 foot thick, 1.7 square mile floebegan on February 7 and took the team nearly400 miles through the Antarctic's WeddellSea.

On 5 June the 32 scientists and supportpersonnel began to leave the floe, loading gearand scientific instruments aboard the vesselsover the next five days leaving nothing behind.

"The science objectives of the programmewere met with a vast array of informationcollected on the ocean, atmosphere and sea-ice in this remote and unexplored part of theplanet... Already an early assessment of thedata suggeststhatwe will havetoatter our viewson how this region fits into the global climatesystem," reported Dr Arnold Gordon, Professor of Oceanography at Columbia University,in a satellite message rebyed from the ice floe.He is a physical oceanographer at Colombia'sLamont-Doherty Geological Observatory andwas coordinator ofthe two-nation expedition'sscience programmes.

The researchers had conducted a widerange of studies on the formation and movement of sea ice, the ocean currents beneath it,the atmospheric conditions above it and therich marine plant and animal life under and init.

In short, they lowered instruments in holesdrilled through the ice; used air balloons tomeasure atmospheric conditions, dived in thefrigid waters beneath the ice, collected samplesof plankton and krill from below and within theice and flew helicopters to depby buoys andtake measurements across a wide region.

During trips to the ice station the Palmerand theFederou also made observations of theocean and sea ice east and north of the station.' 'The entire western rim of the Weddell Basinhas also been mapped in great detail.

Among the initial discoveries, the scientistsfound that the continental dope off the Antarctic Peninsub is about 62 miles further westthan previously thought, a fundamental topographic difference that will change scientistsunderstanding of ocean circubtion patters, DrGordon said. They have also found clues thatmay explain the mystery of why the westernWeddell is covered by ice aD year, unlike areasto the east where ice melts in summer andremains thin even in the winter.

Expedition scientists gathered the first extensive data on the rates of heat exchangebetween the atmosphere and ocean, the intervening role of the sea ice cover, and thecircubtion of the ocean bebw the ice in theWeddell Sea.

The poles are critical regubtors of theEarth's climate because they are only pbcescold enoughfor the vastreservoir ofthe oceans'deep waters to be able to release large quantities of heat, carbon dioxide and other gasesinto the atmosphere. In the western WeddellSea, water becomes cold and dense enough tosink and spread along the sea floor into mostofthe world's oceans- a phenomenon responsible for maintaining low temperatures in theoceans' deep interiors.

A thin byer of water, called a pycnocBne,separates cold surface waters from deeper,warmer waters in the western WeddeD. Aftergathering measurements of temperature, salinity, heat fluxes and currents through manyoceanic byersasthe ice floe drifted northward,the scientists now believe that this pycnoclineis strong and stable in the western Weddell andprevents warmer waters from rising and melting the ice.

By contrast, warm waters do occasionallyrise to the surface of the eastern WeddeD,melting sea ice. The cold refreezes the ice, butas it does, salt is released, destabilising thepycnocline and allowing warm waters to reachthe surface and melt the ice again in a cyclclineprocess. The scientists now think that cold airtunneling up the Antarctic Peninsub bringsmore snow to the western Weddell, whichdeters the melting of sea ice and helps maintain

272

Vo. 12 No. 8 Antarctic

pycnocline barrier, Dr Gordon said. Thew, which holds many air pockets, insubtessea ice from warmer atmospheric tem-

atures in the summer, preventing melting,ming up his views of the expedition,

Mordy, a scientist from the University of[them California wrote ...."Few studies haven undertaken in this part of the world, and

mojst of those have been the result of unfortunate circumstances. Ice station WeddeD, provided a unique opportunity to study biologicaland physical developments in the ice overseveral months. Thus, we have not a snapshotof these processes but a videotape.

"Finally, the ice camp has also providedRussian and American scientist s with a uniqueopportunity to colbborate, not only in sciencebut also in fife. While I take home somewonderful data and new perspectives in science, perhaps I will be most enlightened in myheart towards Russian people."

U.S. Coast Guardreviews

icebreaker contract

The US Coast Guard has cancelled thecontract solicitation for a new ice breakerbecause the bids were significantly over budget.Advice has been sought from the pobr research community in the United States andnegotiations are now underway for a newdesign more in keeping with the funds available. The vessel was to have been a sister shipfor the USCGCPolar Sea and USCGCPolarStar both of which are capable of cuttingthrough six foot thick ice at three knots, but islikely to have a reduced capability enabling it tocut ice four to four and a half feet thick at threeknots. Special research facilities however, arestill likely to be incorporated.

Sub-AntarcticMerger of Falkland's

Conservationorganisations

The Falkland Islands Foundation and thelocal Falkland Islands Trust, two organisationsconcerned with the natural history and historicheritage of the Falkland Islands, have mergedto form a single body called FaOdands Conservation. Its aim is to promote the conservationofwildHfe.wrecksandpbcesof historic interestin the islands, with much more local involvement than previously. The Falkland IslandsGovernment hasgranted the neworgansiation50 percent core funding for its first year ofoperation: the remainder which wiD be soughtoutside the islands. Among projects to bepromoted are seabird monitoring programmes,surveys of sea lions and tussock islands, production of education material, archaeologicalsurveys of historic sites and the stabilisation ofhulks in Stanley Harbour. (Source: FalklandIslands Newsletter, August, 1991. PolarRecord, January 1992.)

Heat on Heard IslandA small article written by Ken Green, a

member of the Heard Island wintering partyand appearing the the autumn 1992 edition ofAnare News, describes the highest temperature recorded by ANARE on the Isbnd.

The party were on the Spit when at 1700local time on Sunday April 11 they were hit byafoehnwind. "Withinminutestheair temperature had risen to about 20 degrees. Rising aircooling on the windward side of Big Ben by0.5deg C every 100m caused precipitation.On the leeward side, the now dry air descended, warming at the adiabatic dry rate of1.0 degrees/100 metres" producing a suddenrise in temperature accompanied by strong

273

A n t a r c t i c V o l . 1 2 N o . 8

winds throughout the night. The camp at SpitBay is very sheltered but "just offshore the windwas lifting slabs of water out of the sea andexceeding 100 knots." During the night thetemperature peaked at 21.6deg C. Nothing

approaching this temperature had been recorded previously for the Anare meteorobgi-calrecords, the previous maximum 14.4deg Cin February 1951.

In June, 1991 the Treaty nations, at the 16th Consultative meeting heldin Bonn recognised the 30th anniversary of the Antarctic Treaty with the

following:

DECLARATIONBY CONTRACTING PARTIES TO THE30TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ENTRY

INTO FORCE OF THE ANTARCTICTREATY

The Represen tatives of the Contracting Parties present in Bonn for the XVIth An tarctic TreatyConsultative Meeting:

Recalting the Antarctic Treaty, done at Washington on 1 December 1959 and which enteredinto force on 23 June 1961;

Reaffirming the objective of the Treaty to ensure, in the interest of all mankind, thatAntarctica shall continue for ever to be used exclusively for peaceful purposes and shall notbecome the scene or object of international discord;

Noting with pleasure the continuing growth in the number of states acceding to the Treaty;

Conscious of the measures adopted pursuant to Article IX of the Treaty and the associatedand separate conventions regulating their activities in the Antarctic;

Welcoming the recent adoption in Madrid of the Protocol on Environmental Protection tothe Antarctic Treaty which designates Antarctica as a natural reserve devoted to peace andscience; and

Convinced of the continued effectiveness of the Antarctic Treaty for cooperation inAntarctica;

Declare that in the interests of all mankind Antarctica shall continue to be used exclusivelyfor peaceful purposes, and in this regard, dedicate themselves to enhancing further their recordof cooperation in a decade of international Antarctic scientific cooperation, 1991 to 2000, andrecord theirachievements overthe first thirty years oftheAntarcticTreatyassetout in the Annex.

274


ANNEX3OTH ANNIVERSARY OFTHE ENTRY INTO FORCE

OF THE ANTARCTICTREATY

A unique agreement for a uniquecontinent.

The Antarctic Treaty has for thirty yearsunited countriesactive in Antarctica inauniquelysuccessful agreement for the peaceful use of acontinent. Scientific research conducted by theTreaty Parties, and the cooperation betweenthem, have signaled to the world that nationscan work together for their mutual benefit andfor the benefit of international peace andcooperation. Antarctica is the brgest unspoiledcontinent on earth and Treaty Parties havecommitted themselves to its study and to protecting its unique environment. The AntarcticTreaty provides an example to the world ofhow nations can successfully work together topreserve a major part of this pbnet, for thebenefit of all mankind, as a zone of peace,where the environment is protected and science is pre-eminent.

Thirty years agoThe Antarctic Treaty was adopted by twelve

governments in 1959 at a time when otherparts of the world were subject to internationaltensions. The governments of Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, France, Japan, NewZeafand, Norway, South Africa, the SovietUnion, the United Kingdom and the UnitedStates, which had conducted scientific researchin tiie Antarctic during the International Geophysical Year, were convinced that the uniqueopportunities that the Antarctic presented forscience should not be jeopardised by disputesbetween them. The Treaty, which entered intoforce on 23 June, 1961, ensures that in theinterests of all mankind Antarctica shall con

tinue for ever to be used exclusively for peacefulpurposes and shall not become the scene orobject of international discord.

A continent devoted to peace andcooperation

The Antarctic Treaty contains farsightedmeans to achieve its objectives. It prohibitsmeasures of a military nature and prohibitsnuclear explosions and the disposal of radioactive wastes. The Treaty guarantees freedomof scientific research and promotes international scientific cooperation. Article IV of theTreaty ensures that differing positions regarding claims to territorial sovereignty do notprevent Parties to the Treaty cooperating inthe pursuit of the Treaty's objectives. It provides for exchange of detailed informationabout activities in Antarctica and allows observers complete freedom of access to all areas ofAntarctica to ensure that the provisions of theTreaty are respected by Parties to it. TheTreaty has, through these means, been outstandingly successful in achieving its objectives.

The strength of the Antarctic Treaty continues to grow and Parties to the Treaty nowrepresent over 70 % ofthe world'spopubtion.Folbwing their access to the Treaty, Brazil,China, Ecuador, Finland, Germany, India, Italy,the Republic of Korea, the Netherlands, Peru,Poland, Spain, Sweden, and Uruguay havejoined the original signatories as ConsultativeParties. The Consultative Parties have welcomed the access to the Treaty of Austria,Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Cuba, Czecho-sbvakia, the Democratic People's Republic ofKorea, Denmark, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Papua New Guinea, Romania and Swit-zerbnd.

In accordance with Article IX of the Treatyrepresentativesof the Parties meet regularly toexchange information and consult together onmatters of common interest and to formufateand recommend to their governments measures in furtherance of the objectives of the

continued on page 278

275

Who are the Treaty Parties?The Antarctic Treaty entered into force on 23 June 1961, when there were 12 signatories. There are now

o 40 Contracting Parties to the Treaty, of which 26 are Consultative Parties (ATCPs):H

P a r t y D a t e o f r a t i fi c a t i o n o r a c c e s s i o n , s t a t u s" £ A r g e n t i n a 2 3 J u n e 1 9 6 1 A T C P , o r i g i n a l s i g n a t o r y , c l a i m a n t s t a t e

A u s t r a l i a 2 3 J u n e 1 9 6 1 A T C P , o r i g i n a l s i g n a t o r y , c l a i m a n t s t a t eI " A u s t r i a 2 5 A u g u s t 1 9 8 7 A c c e d i n g s t a t e

B e l g i u m 2 6 J u l y 1 9 6 0 A T C P , o r i g i n a l s i g n a t o r yB r a z i l 1 6 M a y 1 9 7 5 A T C P f r o m 1 2 S e p t e m b e r 1 9 8 3B u l g a r i a 1 1 S e p t e m b e r 1 9 7 8 A c c e d i n g s t a t eC a n a d a 4 M a y 1 9 8 8 A c c e d i n g s t a t e

W C h i l e 2 3 J u n e 1 9 6 1 A T C P , o r i g i n a l s i g n a t o r y , c l a i m a n t s t a t e> C h i n a 8 J u n e 1 9 8 3 A T C P f r o m 7 O c t o b e r 1 9 8 5

C o l o m b i a 3 1 J a n u a r y 1 9 8 9 A c c e d i n g s t a t eC u b a 1 6 A u g u s t 1 9 8 4 A c c e d i n g s t a t eC z e c h o s l o v a k i a 1 4 J u n e 1 9 6 2 A c c e d i n g s t a t eD e m o c r a t i c P e o p l e s R e p u b l i c o f K o r e a 2 1 J a n u a r y 1 9 8 7 A c c e d i n g s t a t e

j j - D e n m a r k 2 0 M a y 1 9 6 5 A c c e d i n g s t a t eE c u a d o r 1 5 S e p t e m b e r 1 9 8 7 A T C P f r o m 1 9 N o v e m b e r 1 9 9 0F i n l a n d 1 5 M a y 1 9 8 4 A T C P f r o m 9 O c t o b e r 1 9 8 9F r a n c e 1 6 S e p t e m b e r 1 9 6 0 A T C P, o r i g i n a l s i g n a t o r y , c l a i m a n t s t a t eG e r m a n y * 5 F e b r u a r y 1 9 7 9 A T C P f r o m 3 M a r c h 1 9 8 1G r e e c e 8 J a n u a r y 1 9 8 7 A c c e d i n g s t a t e

5?

$

3-X

B.o?a

3ST

5-Oi(0

G u a t e m a l a 3 1 J u l y 1 9 9 1H u n g a r y 2 7 J a n u a r y 1 9 8 4 . .I n d i a 1 9 A u g u s t 1 9 8 3 . . .

I t a l y 1 8 M a r c h 1 9 8 1 . . . .J a p a n 4 A u g u s t 1 9 6 0N e t h e r l a n d s 3 0 M a r c h 1 9 6 7N e w Z e a l a n d I N o v e m b e r 1 9 6 0

N o r w a y 2 4 A u g u s t 1 9 6 0 . . .P a p u a N e w G u i n e a 1 6 M a r c h 1 9 8 1

Acceding stateAcceding state

ATCP from 12 September 1983ATCP from 5 October 1987

ATCP, original signatoryATCP from 19 November 1990

ATCP, original signatory, claimant stateATCP, original signatory, claimant state

Acceding stateP e r u 1 0 A p r i l 1 9 8 1 A T C P f r o m 9 O c t o b e r 1 9 8 9P o l a n d 8 J u n e 1 9 6 1 A T C P f r o m 2 9 J u l y 1 9 7 7R e p u b l i c o f K o r e a 2 8 N o v e m b e r 1 9 8 6 A T C P f r o m 9 O c t o b e r 1 9 8 9R o m a n i a 1 5 S e p t e m b e r 1 9 7 1 A c c e d i n g s t a t eS o u t h A f r i c a 2 1 J u n e 1 9 6 0 A T C P , o r i g i n a l s i g n a t o r yS p a i n 3 1 M a r c h 1 9 8 2 , A T C P f r o m 2 1 S e p t e m b e r 1 9 8 8S w e d e n 2 4 A p r i l 1 9 8 4 A T C P f r o m 2 1 S e p t e m b e r 1 9 8 8S w i t z e r l a n d 1 5 N o v e m b e r 1 9 9 0 A c c e d i n g s t a t eU n i o n o f S o v i e t S o c i a l i s t R e p u b l i c s ! 2 N o v e m b e r 1 9 6 0 AT C P, o r i g i n a l s i g n a t o r yU n i t e d K i n g d o m 3 1 M a y I 9 6 0 A T C P , o r i g i n a l s i g n a t o r y , c l a i m a n t s t a t eU n i t e d S t a t e s 1 8 A u g u s t 1 9 6 0 A T C P , o r i g i n a l s i g n a t o r y

U r u g u a y 1 1 J a n u a r y 1 9 8 0 A T C P f r o m 7 O c t o b e r 1 9 8 5

*The German Democratic Republic was united with the Federal Republic of Germany on 2 October 1990. GDR accededto the Treaty on 19 November 1974 and became an ATCP on 5 October 1987.tFrom December 1991 the Soviet Union's Antarctic activities became the responsibility ofthe Russian Federation.


continued from page 275

Treaty. In 1964 the Parties adopted theAgreed Measures for the Conservation ofAntarctic Fauna and Bora. Two separate conventions, the Convention for the Conservationof Antarctic Seals and the Convention for theConservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, have subsequently entered into force.

Committed to protecting theenvironment

On 4 October 1991 the Parties adopted inMadrid the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty. The Protocol,which is an integral part of the AntarcticTreaty, designates Antarctica as a natural reserve devoted to peace and science. It establishes a comprehensive legally binding regimefor ensuring that activities that parties undertaken in Antarctica are consistent with protection of the Antarctic environment and its dependent and associated ecosystems.

Thirty-one Contracting Parties to the Antarctic Treaty signed the Protocol on the date ofits adoption, and have committed themselvesto taking the necessary steps to achieve theearliest possible entry into force ofthe Protocol. In the meantime, parties will ensure that asfar as possible and, consistent with their legaland constitutional processes, the provisions ofthe Protocol in 1991 is a fitting tribute to thethirtieth anniversary of the Antarctic Treatyand signals the commitment of Parties to thefuture strength of the Treaty.

A priority to science

The Antarctic Treaty Parties are fully committed to scientific research in Antarctica whichhas been effectively coordinated by the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research sincethe 1950s. Parties have long recognised thefundamental role that Antarctica pbys in understanding global environmental processesand the unique opportunity it provides for

research.Antarctica provides an outstanding oppor

tunity for a the free conduct of science for thebenefit of all mankind. It is a pristine bboratory,of world-wide significance, which has enabledresearch to detect and monitor global environmental phenomena such as the depletion ofatmospheric ozone, global warming and sealevel changes. Antarctic meteorological research has provided data essential to forecasting in the Southern Hemisphere. Gbciobgicalresearchprovides important information aboutthe heat exchange budget and Antarctica'sinfluence onweather and climate. Geophysicalresearch in Antarctica provides new insightsintoglobal geological history and the formationof continents. The earth's geomagnetic fieldmakes Antarctica particularly well suited to thestudy of solar-terrestrial interactions and cosmic rays which travel from outside our galaxy.The extreme environment of the Antarcticprovides unique opportunities to study thespecialised adaptationsof organisms with theirenvironment, and biological researches providing data essential to informed decision-makingabout marine living resources. Human biologyand medicine provides information on thephysiological adaptation of man to extremeclimatesand isobtion. The Treaty Parties haveensured that the results of these importantresearch efforts are freely avaibble to all mankind.A natural reserve devoted to peace

and science.The Antarctic Treaty Parties are proud of

their achievements over the last thirty yearsand the example of peaceful cooperation thatthe Treaty provides to the rest of the world.The determination of Parties to maintain andstrengthen the Treaty and to protect Antarctica's environmental and scientific values is convincingly demonstrated in their adoption of theProtocol on Environmental Protection to theAntarctic Treaty and their decision to designate Antarctica as a natural reserve devoted topeace and science.

278

Vol. 12 No. 8

Dogs to be removed from AntarcticaAnnexed to the protocol for the Compre

hensive Protection of the Antarctic environment agreed to at Madrid in 1991 are revisedprovisions for the Conservation of AntarcticFauna and Fbra. These establish measures tocontrol the introduction of non-indigenousspecies thus banning further dogs on the continent of Antarctica and call for the removal ofall dogs in the Treaty area by 1 April 1994.

Australia, Argentina and the United Kingdom are currently the only countries stillmaintaining dog teams in Antarctica.The Australian dogs, of which there are 27are based at Mawson and are used for recreational purposes and some field trips. AntarcticDivision has set up a committee comprisingRob Easther, Operations Manager for Davis-Mawson, Mark Conde, computer systems officer and dog handler for two winters at Mawson,Rod Ledingham, field equipment and training

officer and manager of the dog teams andRobyn Taybr, quarantine officer to examineways of removing the dogs with minimal stressand respect for their traditional role in supporting expeditions. Also on the committee is MrsMargaretGibson, a representative ofthe Antarctic Animal Care and Radiation Usage EthicsCommittee and member of the committee ofthe RSPCA in Tasmania. The final decision onthe removal of the dogs will be taken only afterthorough consultation with interested personsand organisations. Ros Kelly, Minister responsible for the programme said that no dogs willbe destroyed as a result of the decision to

The dog lines at the Argentinean Station General San Martin photo - Dave

Geddes,DSIR Antarctic


remove them.Argentina has a team of 14dogsatEsperanza-which are being used to provide logistic support for scientific programmes. Under theagreed measures they wifl be removed fromthe Treaty Area in December 1992. Girrentplans are to allocate them to the relevantinstitutions in areas with climatic conditions.

The British Antarctic Survey have 20 dogs,all stationed at Rothera where they are usedexclusively for recreational purposes. None of

their dogs will be removed from Antarctica; theywill instead be albwed to live out their naturalactive Hves. Breeding has stopped but some, atleast, of the existing dogsare expected to remainat Rothera for about another seven years.

Exhibition

The Japanese Antarctic ExpeditionAmong the contributors to the forthcoming

festival of Japan to be held in Christchurch,New Zeabnd in July are a group of dignatoriesfrom the city of Konoura, the birthpbce oftheJapanese Antarctic explorer Lieutenant NobuShirase. They will present a model of theexpeditions vessel the Hainan Maru to theAntarctic Wing of Canterbury Museum beforevisiting Wellington where a small dispby isbeing assembled at the Maritime Museum.Among the will be Mr Nohumitsu Oyagi(Director of the Shirase Antarctic ExpeditionMemorial Museum), and Mr Kosiwoki(a formerleader of a Japanese Antarctic Survey Team).

Rebtively little is known of the JapaneseAntarctic Expedition but on Thursday 9 February, 1911 the Christchurch Press carried astory stating the following item had appearedin the Japanese papers. "At Wellington theexpedition will take in a supply of coal andprovisions, and enter the Antarctic Sea andafter proceeding 2172 miles, struggling withicebergs and floes, will it is hoped, reachEdward VII Bay about the middle of February.There the expedition party will land, and theship will return immediately to Wellington, as

it is considered dangerous for the vessel to stopin the Antarctic. Meanwhile, the party wiD carryout expbrations on shore for about sevenmonths before making the dash for the Pole inthe middle of Septmber next, spending thewinter struggling with the severe cold."

"On September 15th when the winter willhave ended, the party wiD proceed to the Poletravelling a distance of over 900 miles over theice in 155 days. They wiD return to the rendezvous by the latter part of February, 1912.

"By this time their vessel will have returnedto Edward VII Bay from Wellington and willreceive the party. On arriving in New Zealandfuel and water will be taken in, and the expedition wiDanivebackinJapanin July, 1912. Thetime occupied by the expedition is estimated atone year and nine months."

The Kainan Maru, the expedition's vesselwas a three masted schooner, just 108 feetlong, with a beam of 24 feet and a displacement of 204 tons. She was owned byShigenofu Okuma, Count Okuma, presioslyPrime Minister of Japan and Minister of Foreign Affairs. It had been purchased for 2,500pounds and her hull of three inches thick

280


doubled for strength by a resheeting of woodenplanks from her keel to the foot above thewater line. Outside she was further sheetedwith steel pbtes. The vessel was only tenmonths old having been built for a deep seafishing company and first named the HokoMaru. Inside conditions were primitive withbunks surrounding the small but warm comfortable saloon on all sides. It was used foraccommodation for the officers and scientists.A table filled the whole of the open space; onlythe captain, leader and another officer hadcabins of their own. A tiny chart room wassituated aft facing the steering. It was notpossible to stand up in it unless the stairs of theadjoining companionway were used.

The leader

Renamed the Kainan Maru meaning "Boatto open the South" she left Tokyo on 1December 10 under the command of CaptainNaokichi Nomura. On board was the expedition's leader Lieutenant Nobu Shirase and 26crew and expedition members.

Shirase, is described in the press of the dayas "a brave and determined soldier", who hadspent several years preparing himself for theattempt to plant his country's flag at the SouthPole. He was the sole survivor of LieutenantGunti's expedition to the Kurile Islands in1893 and passed two terrible years on theisland of Shenshu where all his companionsdied of cold and starvation before a warshipreched the scene with a relief party. Since thattime he had fought amid the snows of Manchuria and travelled and lived among the eskimoesin the Far North to acquire polar experience.He did not drink, invariably ate cold food andnever took medicine of any kind. A member ofthe Japanese Commissariat he had for someyears been fascinated by Polar expeditions andhad enlisted the support of a General Kodamafor a north pole expedition. However theGeneral died, the war with Russia intervenedand when Peary led an expedition to the northpole Shirase's attention turned to the south.

At 2 p.m. on 8 February 1911 the KainanMaru sailed into Wellington Harbour, herdecks packed with six sledges, a strong shallowboat for use in the ice, limited scientificequipment and stores and a dozen Siberiandogs, 16 having died on the voyage. A specialflag comprising the Southern Cross withone ofthe principle stars in the constelbtion missingand the other four connected by bands of redwas flown from the vessel.

Having secured port clearance the Lieutenant, dressed ina khaki uniform withred facingsand carrying a sword and gbves, came ashorewith others from the partyto make contact withMr T.M. Young, a Wellington Barrister andSolicitor and Japanese Consul. The immediatebut constant language problem was solved byMr Hwang, the Consul-general for China whocould speak a little Japanese. Apparently no-one on board spoke any English which was tolead to suspicion and misunderstanding.

Expedition membersThe chief officer was Z Takao, second

officer T. Tsuchiya, chief engineer K. Shimzu,botswain K. Sakai, carpenter I Jasuda, sail-ormenK. Shibada, T. Fukushima, S. Takagawa.I. Sato.J. Kamada. K Watukabe, firemen K.Fujihira, RSujicaji, STakatori. The actual partyto make the dash to the Pole was to consist ofLieut Shirase, K. Watanabe, G. Zamabe, SMiura, S. Havamari, S. Niusha, T. Takeda, S.Tada and K Nishikawa, G Yashino and S.Matsumura, a total of 11 men. Zamabe at theage of 44 was the oldest in the party, Shirasewas 43, Hanamari and Mushi each 34, Takeda,33, Tada 29, Mura 28, Watanabe andMatsumura each 27, Nisikawa 26 and Goshino25.

The supplies

During the next three days they took onboard, 15,000 gallons of water, amd coal forthe vessel's small compound surfacing condensing auxiOiary engines which drove a four

281


bbded propeDor and gave a speed of five knotsan hour.

According to the customs manifest quotedin the press ofthe day the food purchased inWellington comprised 90 bushels of rice, 90bags of flour, three bushels of wheat, one bayof soya beans, two bags of peas, two bags ofarrowroot, three dozen loaves of light whitebread, 101b of dried cuttle fish, two boxes ofpastry, 40 dozen cans of meat, 12 casks ofpickled plums, 143 casks of Takawonzuke, 12casks of rakyo, four boxes of butter, five boxesof meat and three dozen cases of sauce, twoboxes of cured beans, two boxesof onions, tenbags of salt, two boxes of coffee, five boxes ofbread rice, three sacks of potatoes, five boxesof brown bread, two boxes of tea, 60Ibs oftobacco and 300 bundles of charcoal for fuel.(Notably absent were the pemmican andconcentrated foodsof the European expbrers;the Japanese clearly intended to live much asnormal.)

The route

A representative of the New Zealand Timeswas shown a bromide print of an Admiraltychart, corrected to April 1910, on which,Shackleton's route was indicated. The expedition wasnot provided with anactualchartof theSouth Polar regions, as it was expected thatone could be obtained inNew Zealand.' 'Unlessthis expectation turns out to be correct, theKainan Maru wiD have to be navigated Southof btitude 60 upon a photograph reproducedeightinchesbyteninchesinsize," the reporterwrote.

Shackleton had landed at the eastern end ofthe Barrier, the Nimrod penetrating to btitude77deg 50 but Biscoe Bay, to the westward andnearly two degrees more to the north, appeared to be the actual objective ofthe KainanMaru. This point should have been ice-freelater in the season than McMurdo Sound, sothat the explorers could make a good bndingeven though they were starting from NewZealand a month bter in the season than

Shackleton considered advisable.The course tentatively mapped out for the

Kainan Maru by tothe westward of all markedship's tracks, the nearest being that taken bySir James Ross when returning north in February, 1842. Thus it was evident that theJapnese, if they were to achieve success wouldreach the Pole abng an entirely new route.Biscoe Bayis in King Edward W land and nearit is a mountain 1450 feet high, the only bit ofidentified land in the vicinity."

As the Kainan Maru weighed anchor at3.30p.m.onllr*bruaiy,1911asrnaflflotiflaof bcalyachts accompanied hertotheWelfing-ton heads along with the steamer Duchesswhose passengers cheer was answered similarly by tiie crew.

The departure

Prior to her departure the Marine Department issued the captain with a Nautical Almanac and navigation tables and the GovernmentMeteorologist inspected the scientific instruments while others of his staff checked thebarometers and gave the standard time.

For most of the journey south the expedition encountered gales and storms. They sawtheir first iceberg on 26 February and sightedland on 6 March. Having reached the coast ofVictoria Land, conditions made it impossible toproceed and Shirase ordered the ship turnedand they made for Sydney Habour. It anchoredoff Double Bay on 1 May, 1911 and btermoved to Vauduse Bay where the team established a hut, 30 ft by 15 ft intended for theirAntarctic base but now used for the scientistsand reception of stores while the ship wasrefitted.

A report in the Sydney Morning Herald ofTuesday May 2 stated that "On March 10 thevessel was off Coulman Island in the Ross Sea,an islet lying near the coast of South VictoriaLand. The weather was bad, the ice wasforming strongly. It was too bte, the summerwas gone. For days the Kainan Maru hung offand on, avoiding the icebergs and keeping

282


clear ofthe pack. Ten ofthe 11 dogs that weretaken died. It was immpossible to land. Commander Shirase determined to give up hisplans for the present and make for Syndey towait until the winter was over.

The arrival of the ship in Sydney evokedgreat mistrust of the expeditions real intentions. Language was certainly part of theproblem. The Sydney Morning Herald reported "The appearance of the vessel andwhat could be seen ofthe equipment leads oneto the belief that nothing so serious as a dashforthe Pole is part ofthe planof theexpediton.There is little about the schooner to give theimpression that she is a polar ship except thecrow's nest at the mainmast head. She iscertainly heavily beamed, but her plankingdoes not seem to be specially designed forexpbration in ice regions."

The others

With both Scott and Amundsen already inMcMurdo Sound, Mawson in the throes oforganising an expedition of his own, Germanplans being devebped, the Japanese wereregarded by some as poachers on CaptainScott's scientific territory. Mawson is evenalleged to have claimed that they were simplyevaluating whale stocks in the area! Scott,when told of their pbns, cautioned never tounderestimate the Japanese.

Both Scott and Shackleton's expeditionshad created enormous interest in New Zealandand in Australia and the press had acquiredcertain observational expertise regarding theequipment carried aboard the Japanese vesseland indulged in much specubtive comparison.The bte departure of the Kainan Maru hadnot gone unnoticed either.

Shirase however obtained the respect ofProfessor Edgeworth David, a member ofShackletoris 1907 expedition and this helpedrestore some credibility to the Japanese programme and he may indeed have been influential in their apparent change of plans.

In an interview with the Daily Telegraph in

Sydney (3 May, 1911) Edgeworth David explained "At Cape Adare there are three huts-twobuiltbytiieexpeditionunderBorchgrevink,fitted out by Sir George Newnes and a thirdrecently erected by Lieutenant Campbell. Itwould appear that Cape Adare would havebeen the only possible pbce where the Japanese expediton could have landed in themiddle of March. But this locality is notfavourably situated for a dash to the Pole,inasmuch as it is over 450 miles to the north ofCaptain Scott's base and over 500 miles to thenorth of Amundsen's base. At the same time,it is a conveniently situated base for studyingthe geology of the great coast range, known asthe Admirality Range, lying to the north-westof the Ross Sea, and also for the furtherexpbration ofthe magnetic pole region, whichis nearly equidistant from Coulman Isbnd andCape Adare, lying approximately 330 mileswest-north-west of the former and the samedistance west-south of the btter."

The second voyage

The ships departure was debyed as itwaited for the arrival of some of the crew,captain and some repbcement dogs fromSagha&en. (It had been rumoured that Shirasehad returned to Japan to raise additional fundswhile the rest ofthe party remained in Sydneybut in fact some members did return to Tokyoto by the position of the expedition before itspromoters, the head of which was CountOkuma. Shirase however was not oneof them.

Shirase had been given 15,000 pounds forthe expedition, less the amount paid for theKainan Maru. The sum was expected to lastthree years and to cover the stores, cbthes,seamen' wages. The bulk ofthe funding, whichhad come from Count Okuma, was supplemented by other patriotic Japanese.)

Edgeworth David's continued interest andthe sustained publicity led to the belief mat thescientists aboard the expedition were not bentupon locating the pole at all but were anxiousto procure some of the minerabgical and

283


zoological specimens known to be peculiar tothe Antarctic regions. However plans published in the Daily Telegraph on Monday 20November, 1911 then indicated that their firstlanding pbce was to be the Great Ice Barrierwhere members were to separate, one partygoing as far south as the 84th parallel while theother spent time expbring the region in thevicinity of the 78th parallel. Eventually thewhole party were to re-assemble where theyhad left the ship and steer a course for KingEdward VII Land. After exploring this territorythey would head for Admiratiy Island and thenreturn to Sydney. Shirase wrote to EdgeworthDavid, thanking him for his support and generosity during their stay and on 17 November1911 the ship left Sydney.

The return

On March 24, 1912 the Kainan Maruappeared at the Wellington Heads. For a timeshe lay close to Soames Island until a berth wasallotted to her. She had been away 124 days.Nothing had been heard of the vessel betweenher departure from Sydney and arrival inWellingtonbut apparently she hadgone straightto the Bay of Whales where a party was landedbefore the ship proceeded south. At the Bay ofWhales, she encountered the Fram awaitingAmundsen's return from the Pole. Althoughvisits were exchanged, language problemsagain made communication difficult. Theirnext call was was made at King Edward VIILand where a party was landed to explore thecoast before the vessel went further into unknown territory.

"We confined our attention to scientificexpbration. The results will be communicatedto Tokyo, andIamsom;thatIcannotaddmoreexcept to say that we returned to King EdwardVII land and the Bay of Whales for the partieswho were bnded there and picked them up.We left the ice on February 4," LieutenantShirase told the press through a translator inWellington. The expedition had taken 47 daysto work her passage north and the press

assumed about the same time had been spenton the southward journey. This meant some30 days in all in the Antarctic.

The programme

The plans, too, had been much altered; thedash to the Pole being a definite early motivation to which Shirase had made a publiccommittment in Japan and "all the othermembers of the expedition had taken an oathnot to return to Japan until they had reachedthe South Pole."

"It is admitted that the expedition is notnearly as complete as Captain Scott's orAmundsen's, but these Japanese expbrers arenothing daunted. Even if they learn that Scotthas reached the Pole before them, even ifAmundsen has, they will go on, for the sake oftheir honour and the gfory of Japan. From 78south latitude to the Pole was a distance ofabout 759 miles in a straight line, and probablythey would have 1000 miles to cover. Theyreckoned on covering 18 miles a day, so thatit would take between 50 and 60 days to do it.But the Pole is very high and 78 south btitutueis very low."

The returning crew and exploring partieswere in excellent health, the ship which hadlargely depended on sail for power was in goodorder. Only six of the 30 dogs taken southhowever survived. As for the scientific programme it remained certain that two partieswere landed, one reaching 80deg 5" Southabout 100 miles south of the barrier.

According to the Reader's Digest accountof the expedition, at the Barrier Shirase wasnow faced with the task of getting his party tothe top of the ice shelf which was 90 metres(300ft) high at the pbce where the KainanMaru was moored. For 60 hours the entirecrew bboured to cut steps to the top and anda small party investigated the ice shelf returningwith encouraging reports. Shirase then putashore his "Dash-patrol" which comprisedseven men, two of whom were to remain at theice edge in the base camp while the other five

284


would take sledges and dogs to the Pole.Blizzards and the bads the dogs were expectedto pull retarded progress and the team turnedaround after covering 257 kibmeters andreaching 80deg5'South on January 28 wherethey saluted the Emporer and buried a coppercase containing a record of their visit.

In the meantime the ship had droppedanother shore party at Biscoe Bay in KingEdward VII Land. They reached the AlexandraRange before erecting a memorial board andreturning to the ship which then headed to theBay of Whales but because of conditions, wasnot able to pick up the Dash patrol until 2February. The vessel then turned for homecalling in at Wellington.

The scienceOn April 12 the New Zealand Times ran a

further story quoting Professor Takeda "Wecannot give you full information at present'' hesaid "We are preparing to hand over a recordof the trip to Professor David. This we will dowhen we get back to Japan, and he will forwardthe account on to the Cambridge University inEngbnd. The work will be of considerablevalue, including, as it does meteorological,astrononicalas wellasbiologicaland geologicalobservations. After we left Sydney on November 19 we went south straight to the Bay ofWhales which is in 78deg S btitude and 145degressto 164 deg W longitude. Here we tooktriangular surveys and collected a large varietyof stones, rocks etc. To one part of a very bigicefield we gave the name of Yamato Pbin."

"A great question in the scientific world iswhether King Edward VII Land and VictoriaLand are connected by land. We have proofnow that King Edward VII bnd is an Isbnd.Professor David thought this too. Anotherinteresting observation was as to the structureof the ice barrier, and the cause of the peculiarities in its formation. We specially consultedProfessor David before we left on this matter,and we took a specimen and mademicroscopical investigations which cause great

interest."We found the Land at the Bay of Whales

and King Edward VII different from what it isshown on the chart. We surveyed both landand sea. The specimens were collected here,the soundings and other data, we will handover to Professor David before proceeding toJapan. Weabo investigated all tides, the warmthof the water, its saltiness and other things. Wehad four trips in the Ross Sea and took theaverage of each observation. The photographicwork we are preparing to send to SydneyUniversity from Japan".

Left to time

Doubts however still remained. Earlier onMonday March 25 1912 the New ZealandTimes had reported' 'The statements'' regarding the expedition "are perplexingly vague,and a further account of the discoveries thatwere made beyond King Edward VII Land willbe waited with keen interest. If LieutenantShirase has found open water beyond thatland, which has been regarded as the easternlimit of the Ross Sea, and has been able toproceed in a south-easterly direction, he hasdone work of very great scientific importance.But it seems not improbable that what hereadily did was to leave the Ross Sea afterlanding his parties and then move eastwardsabng the ice-edge that was traced by Ross in1842. In the absence of the Japanese leader'scomplete narrative it is impossible to make anyprecise estimate of the extent of his claim to beregarded as a serious Antarctic expbrer. It willbe well in the meantime to suspend judgement." The expedition which had left Japanamid specubtion and doubt of its successreturned home to Yokohama on 20 June asheroes. They had left Wellington on 2 April1912 and during her voyages the KainanMaru had sailed some 48,000 kibmeters.

Refs:Reader'sDigest,Antarctica;aseriesof

285


newspaper articles compiled on the Japanese Antarctic Expedition with the KainanMaru during her calls at Wellington and

Sydney in 1910-1912 compiled by KouKusunoki of the National Institute of PolarResearch in Tokyo, Japan, 1977.

Three new Polar Medals awardedThe award of three new polar medals to

participants in the New Zealand AntarcticResearch Programme was announced in November 1991. Dr's Graeme Qaridge of Wellington, Iain Campbell of Nelson and JohnMacdonald of Auckland are the recipients.

Dr Qaridge worked for the New ZealandSoil Bureau, a division of DSIR, as a soilmineralogist with interests in soil genesis, formation and rebted topics. He first went to theAntarcticinOctober, 1959 withJohnMcCraw,also ofthe Soil Bureau. Their instructions wereto prepare a soil map ofthe Ross Dependency.They spent three months visiting various localities on Ross Island, Hallett Station and theTayfor VaDey. As helicopter support was minimal they were taken across the Sound byFergusson tractor, and, from a camp in NewHarbour they walked the length and breadth ofthe valley. This field work resulted in the first,and only, detailed soil map of one of the dryvalleys and anumber of papers on the soife andphysiography of the places seen. A soil map ofthe Ross Dependency was produced, but mostof it was extrapobtion from the limited area.The awareness of soils of a sort in Antarctica,and that useful scientific information on weathering in cold climates, and the beginnings ofsoil genesis, led to a number of other researchers becoming interested. However DrCbridgerecognised that the Taylor Valley could hardlybe considered representative of the whole ofthe Ross Dependency and wanted to lookfurther afield.

In 1964, accompanied by Iain Campbell,also of the Soil Bureau, he again went toAntarctica, looking at soils from a number oflocalities along the length of the TransantarcticMountains, from Hallett Station in the north, to

the Shackleton Gbcier in the south. TheyusedaOavaibble meansof transport, including openfield landings with DC-3 aircraft, manhauBng,helicopters, when avaibbte, but mostiy walking. This trip showed that, as expected, soilsvaried from pbce to pbce in a predictablemanner, that they formed age sequences rebted to the gbcial history and that they contained information on gbbal atmospheric circubtion, the recent Cenozoic history of Antarctica, and on the chemistry of weathering.Ten pubficationson various soil topics followedas a consequence of this field work and of thesubsequent bboratory studies.

The next step was to study the soils exposed abngside one gbcier, from where it leftthe inland ice to where it joined the Ross IceShelf. The gbcier chosen was the Scott, at theapex ofthe Ice Shelf, where at its head were thetwo southernmostexposuresof ice-free groundin the world. Along with two geologists, RudiKatz and Barry Waterhouse, and two fieldassistants, they spent nearly three monthstraversing the gbcier using motor toboggans,and obtained much valuable information.

In two subsequent trips, in the 1964-75and 1977-78 seasons, Ian and Graeme revisited the Taybr VaDey, worked extensively intiie Wright and Victoria Vafleysand also lookedat soils on Mt Erebus. They revisited theDarwin area in 1978, and went into theEllsworth Mountains in 1979, both in association with United States field camps. In 1982they worked in the Mt. Howe-Convoy Rangearea, the most northerly of the extensive ice-free areas in the McMurdo Sound area. In1984, they returned to this area, trying out anew technique of sampling the ice-cementedpermafrost which is usually impossible to dig

286


into. This time, they tried taking core sampleswith a diamond tipped coring barrel, whichprovided the first avaibble samples of thematerial within the ice cement.

The pair continued to produce articles andin 1987 Elsevier in the States published a bookentitled "Antarctica: Soils, Weathering processes and Environment" which they had written. It summarised much of the knowledge ofAntarctica gained by the two over the years.Unfortunately the publication was to lose theauthors their jobs, as, with the need to reducecosts by redundancy, itwasnotedthatthebookcontained almost all that was known of Antarctic soils and further work on the subject was notrequired according to the Minister for thedepartment at the time.

In recent years Graeme and Iain haveformed their own company and as such aremembers of first private research organisationin New Zealand to have visited Antarcticatwice, the first time during January andFebruary 1990 and the second in November-December 1991, 32 years after Graeme firstvisited the continent. They have continuedtheir work on ice coring cement. Their longterm interest in, and observations on, theimpact of man on the Antarctic environmenthave led to the study of the ice content ofpermafrost in rebtion to potential changes

The three medallists on their way to theice; Drs John Macdonald, Graeme

Claridge and Ian Campbell. Photographerunknown.

brought about by climatic warming or by mechanical disturbance. The workhas been fundeddirectly by the Foundation for Research Science and Technology.

Fish studiesJohn Macdonald is a zoologist/comparative

physiologist who was born and educated inHonolulu before graduating from StanfordUniversity In the States with a degree inbiological sciences. He subsequently did aPh.D at the University of Texas at Austin andu n d e r t o o k p o s t d o c t o r a l s t u d y i nneurophysiology at the University of Californiaat Los Angeles. In 1972 he joined the staff inthe Department of Zoology at Auckbnd University and in 1980 was made senior lecturer,a position he has held ever since.

Over the last 30 years John has made 14trips to Antarctica spending a total of 134weeks on the continent. This included a year atMcMurdo Station in 1963-64 with the UnitedStates Antarctic Research Program and asubsequent trip; all others have been under theauspices of the New Zeabnd Antarctic Re-


search Programme. In recent years much ofthe time has been spent with the Italians bothat Scott Base and Terra Nova Bay.

John writes "My interests in Antarctica aredirected mainly toward biological problems -particubrly on the origins of Antarctic animalsand the spedalisations that permit them tothrive in an environment which would seem tobe hostile. I am especially interested in theAntarctic notothenioid fishes, which appearto represent a monophyletic radiation underthe constraints of bw temperature, seasonaldarkness and famine, but without a high degree of competition from other taxa. These fish

show a fascinating array of adaptations whichseem to stem from particular environmentpressures; for example: molecular antifreezes,metabolic cold adaption, neural rate compensations, diversity in bteral line morphology,and reduction or loss of hemoglobin."

Over the years John has consistently encouraged other zoologists to join in the study ofAntarctic fish, in the hope of acquriing sufficient data for Antarctic ichthyology to becomea self-sustaining field, as well as being intellectually rewarding. He has published over 30scientific research papers on the neurobiologyof fish and amphibians, most on Antarctic fish.

Rare Ponting photographssell at Christies

A cache of photographs taken duringScott's Last Expedition in 1910 to 1912found in Britain was offered for auction atChristies in London on May 7. All thephotographs were taken by Herbert Ponting,theofficialexpedition photographer, in 1911and include seven glass plate colour transparencies as well as black and whites. Clien tconfidentiality precludes Christies from releasing the source of the photographs butthey are known to have come from a varietyof sources and that the autochromes andcollodion on glass positives were from onecollection. The sale was well attended andbidding for theautochromes was particularlystrong.

Lot 184 comprising the four autochromeson plate sizes five by seven inches masked tothree separate smaller sizes featured sunsets and afterglows taken at Cape Evans on10 and 11 April in 1911, titled and dated inthe margins by Ponting. They and othersoffered in the sale, are according to thecatalogue, theonlyexamplesof autochromesby Ponting from Scott's expedition whichare known to have survived. The LumiereBrothers, who had introduced their colour

plates in 1907gavePontingseveral boxes ofprepared plates of which Ponting wrote"They did not hold out much hope that theplates would retain their qualities for morethan a few months. These sold to a privatecollector for 7,150 pounds, while a secondlot of two autochromes sold to the NationalGallery of Australia for 3,080 pounds. TheNational Gallery of Australiaalsopurchaseda further autochrome of Mount Erebus andthe frozen sea for 1,980 pounds.

Thirty-eight on-glass-collodion positives,each of six and a half by four and threequarter inches, numbered in ink and covering agood selection of subjects including theinterior of the darkroom and stables, portraits of individuals and groups, flashlightviews, studies of icebergs and flows, theTerraNovaand Antarctic fauna weresold toa private collector. A gelatin silver printmeasuring 13x18 inches of the SouthernParty in 1911 also went to a private collectorfor 418 pounds. A carbon print of CaptainScott writing up his journal in 1911 andmeasuring 173/8x23 inches and mountedon card did not sell.

288

The New ZealandAntarctic Society Inc.,

The New Zealand Antarctic Society Inc.. wasformed in 1933. It comprises New Zealandersand overseas friends, many of whom have seenthe Antarctic for themselves and all of whomare vitally interested in some phase of Antarcticexploration, history, development or research.

The annual subscription entitles members to:• Antarctic, published quarterly in the autumn, winter, spring and summer. It is uniquein Antarctic literature as it is the only periodicalwhich provides regular and up to date news ofthe activities of all nations at work in theAntarctic or subantarctic. It has a worldwidecirculation. (Airmail postage is extra for overseas members.)• Newsletters for New Zealand membersand an annual newsletter for overseas members. Regubr meetings are held by the Auckland, Wellington, Canterbury and Otagobranches.

Subscriptions are• NZ$40 in New Zealand• NZ$45 in Australia and South Pacific*• NZ$49 in North America and Asia*• NZ$50 in South America, Africa, Europeand the Middle East**includes airmail postage. $NZ43 surfacepostage to all destinations.

You are invited to join:North Island residents should write tothe:Branch Secretary,Auckland Branch,New Zealand Antarctic Society,P.O.Box 8062,AUCKLAND. 1035 or the

Branch Secretary,Wellington Branch,New Zeabnd Antarctic Society,P.O. Box 2110,WELLINGTON, 6000South Island residents should write tothe:Branch Secretary,Canterbury Branch,New Zeabnd Antarctic Society,P.O. Box 404,CHRISTCHURCH, 8000 or theBranch Secretary,Otago Branch,New Zealand Antarctic Society,P.O. Box 7083,DUNEDIN, 9030Overseas residents should write to the:New Zealand Secretary,New Zealand Antarctic Society,P.O. Box 2110,WELLINGTON, 6000NEW ZEALAND

Advertising ratesFull colour (outside back page only) $400Whole page (b & w only) ' $200H a l f p a g e ( b & w o n l y ) $ 1 0 0Q u a r t e r p a g e ( b & w o n l y ) $ 3 5Rates are negotiable for regular placement.Deadlines are the 1st of March, June,September and December.Enquiries to the Treasurer, New Zealand Antarctic Society, P.O. Box 2110, Wellington.

Fliers and other advertising material canbe inserted at a cost of $ 150 per issue plus anyadditional postage incurred through such insertions. Enquiries should be made to theeditor whose address, telephone and fax numbers appear in the front of this issue.

PRINTED BY SPECTRO PRINT LIMITED

juthmk - new zealand antarctic society€¦ · underneath, the us helicopter took off across the...

Documents