Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station

With his hand balanced atop thewooden marker planted at the

geographic South Pole, Senator SladeGorton (R-WA) danced a jig across theroof of the world, placing a foot in eachof the world’s time zones as he walkedaround the pole.

It was a day of excitement and over-sight for Gorton and five other UnitedStates senators, including Ted Stevens,Alaska’s senior Senator and Chairman ofthe Senate Appropriations Committee.Not since Admiral Byrd visited the South

Published during the austral summer for the United States Antarctic Program at McMurdo Station, Antarctica.

JANUARY 24, 1998Every Two Weeks

Amassive chunk of icethe size of a New

York city block peels off aglacier, tearing with it tons ofdebris collected over thou-sands of years as it scouredthe Antarctic continent. Theiceberg floats out to sea,blown by katabatic winds andcarried by ocean currents.Months pass as the berg meltsand slowly deposits itsancient cargo of rocks acrossthe gray, silty floor of theRoss Sea.

End of story? Far from it. Fast forward to January

1998 and the ROAVERRS(Research on Ocean-Atmosphere Variability andEcosystem Response in theRoss Sea) cruise of theresearch vessel Nathaniel B.Palmer(NBP). As the shipcharts the Ross Sea, tracingthe path of countless thou-sands of icebergs, it drags aspecially housed Hi-8 videocamera (dubbed the‘Mudscud’) and lighting sys-tem at a depth of 1,000meters.

“Watch this,” says Rob Dunbar with excite-ment in his voice as we tune in to a color filmof the ocean floor zipping by. “There, you seethat rock? It fell out of an iceberg. It’s coveredwith fauna, organisms grow all over it. Andthere! That fish, its probably never been illumi-nated before.”

Dunbar’s excitement is contagious. Hisconversation ranges from one discovery to thenext. One minute we’re discussing the 800 fish

brought aboard the ship during the cruise, atleast two of which had never been seen oridentified before (“That’s a home run for JoeEastman’s project,” said Dunbar); the next he’sexplaining bathymetric mapping carried out by20 separate ship board echo sounders deliver-ing highly-detailed maps of the ocean floor.

“Our goal is to understand what makes theRoss Sea tick,” said Dunbar. If that’s the case,Dunbar’s role is that of a Swiss watchmaker.

Roaming the Ross Seawith ROAVERRSstory by Alexander Colhoun

...cont. on page 5

SenatorsVisit Polestory and photo by Alexander Colhoun

INSIDE

Fresh Air Dedication Scientists andstaff dedicate the new AtmosphericResearch Observatory (ARO) at SouthPole.

Trouble and Triumph at the DomeA season of troubles and triumphcomes to a close this week as SipleDome workers return from the field.

Sorting the Trash MysteryMcMurdo will retrograde four millionpounds of solid waste this season,sending it back to the continentalUnited States via container ship to berecycled or otherwise processed.

PerspectiveHaving friends over toyour room for coffee on Sundaymorning is a tradition in McMurdo.The Bailey’s and conversation flowfreely, warming otherwise cold days.

Profile From the Bering Sea to theNorth Slope, Rhonda Ecker hasworked Alaska’s toughest jobs. Nowshe’s come to drill for science inAntarctica.

Wendy Cunningham and Alison Ridder take water and algal samples from aspecially designed basket suspended from the research vessel Nathaniel B.Palmer while out on a cruise through the Ross Sea.

...cont. on page 10

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2 January 24, 1998 The Antarctic Sun

With a vacuum-sealed glass flask inhand, Nathan Hill heads out into the

clean air sector of the South Pole. With eachbreath his lungs enjoy a taste of the world’scleanest air –air he has come to capture. Evena wisp of his own breath could contaminatethe sample. Sucking in lung-full of air, Hill

opens the flask lid and, while holding hisbreath, walks downwind 30 yards while theflask fills.

A weekly ritual for Hill, this collection ofair will join a data set that has been accumu-lating since 1957. “We collect this data overdecades,” said Hill, a National Oceanographic

and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)officer. “Scientists will use it to form theo-ries for centuries to come.”

As well, scientists will enjoy use of thenew Atmospheric Research Observatory(ARO) at South Pole, dedicated onMonday, January 12th. Joe Bordogna, theActing Deputy Director of NSF; D. JamesBaker, the Administrator of NOAA and theUndersecretary for Oceans andAtmosphere at the Department ofCommerce; and Dave Hofmann, Directorof NOAA’s CMDL labs, attended the dedi-cation.

The ARO replaces the old Clean AirFacility and houses not only NOAA’sSouth Pole laboratory but also a LIDARexperiment, a UV-Monitoring experiment,and an aerosols monitoring experiment.Completed last year, ARO has served asthe base for these experiments for justunder one year.

Located in the northeast sector ofSouth Pole Station, the ARO is perfectlysituated to greet prevailing winds that havetraveled thousands of miles without directinfluence by man. The closest non-Antarctic landfall is Cape Good Hope,South Africa, some 5,000 miles away.

“The wind here is nearly constant, sowe tend to flag the anomalies of the data”said Hill. “Our instruments are so sensitive,we can pick up a human walking throughthe sector,” said Hill. Even planes flying in

and out of South Pole are routed to avoid fly-ing through or above the clean air sector.

The new clean air facility joins sevenother facilities managed by NOAA in farawaysites that include Barrow, Alaska, Pongo-Pongo, American Samoa and the summit ofMauna Loa in Hawaii. ✹

The Antarctic Sun, part of the UnitedStates Antarctic Program, is funded bythe National Science Foundation.Opinions and conclusions expressed in

The Sun are not necessarily those of theFoundation.

Use:Reproduction and distribution is encouraged withacknowledgement of source and author.

Editor: Alexander ColhounPublisher: Valerie Carroll, ASAContributions are welcome.Contact The Sun at

sun_news.asa@asa.org. In McMurdo, visit our office inBuilding 155 or dial 2407.

Web address:http://www.asa.org

NA

TIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

UN

ITED

STATES ANTARCTIC PROGR

AM

★★★★

★★

★★

★★

Nathan Hill, a National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration officer, collects data atop the newly dedicatedAtmospheric Research Observatory at the South Pole.

FreshAirDedicationstory and photo by Alexander Colhoun

John Johannesen enjoys a bowl of McMurdo’s finestchili at the annual Chili Cook-Off. “This stuff is tasty,”

said Johannesen, “mighty tasty in fact.”

The Antarctic Sun January 24, 1998 3

Aseason of troubles andtriumph comes to a

close next week as Siple Domeworkers return from the field.Beset by mechanical troubles,abysmal weather and everyconceivable failure MotherAntarctica could generate, thefield camp took on the spirit ofa feudal castle under siege.

Fashioning their responseto these conditions likeTrojans, however, Siple Domeworkers refused to acceptdefeat, pulling the rug out fromunder pessimists secret wishes.“We had the right people withincredible enthusiasm,” saidKristen Scott, ASA’s flightoperations director. “But itseems they were in the wrongplace at the wrong time.”

Siple Dome’s hand-pickedteam faced challenges rightfrom the start. The PICO(Polar Ice Coring Office) drillteam arrived at Siple Domewith excitement to begin work-ing with a large five point two-inch drill rig. There was a hitch.The drill was sitting in a stateof disrepair at PICO’s head-quarters at the University of Nebraska.

When the rig finally moved towardsAntarctica, extended across three massivepalettes, it became mired in unexpected cus-toms clearances, further delaying its arrival.

Meanwhile, ten drillers had arrived on siteat Siple Dome to operate a five point two-inchdrill. The crew was kept busy building a core-trench into which the cores would be placedfor storage while others operated a four-inchrig on site. Even so, it was an inauspiciousstart.

As if a dark cloud was following the rig toSiple Dome, it soon developed problems.Critical screws were broken and had to be sentback to McMurdo for repair.

Time slipped by. The drill was finallyoperating, but now a major machining prob-lem was discovered in the core head. “I can’tbelieve anything like that [head]was sent to

this end of the world,” said one researcher. Inaddition, one core barrel was sent back toMcMurdo for review by Dave Giles, leadPICO supervisor. It never went back into thefield.

Then came warm days, forcing drillers towork in the somewhat cooler evening hours,costing the project countless hours of drillingtime. If all that wasn’t enough, Giles had toleave the camp due to unexpected health con-cerns. “Dave has the most experience,” saidKristen Scott. “The drillers could turn to himwhen something unusual happened. It wasunfortunate.”

Filling his shoes with aplomb was LouAlbershardt. So keen was Albershardt, sherefused to let a broken wrist stop her fromworking and returned to the field, cast and all,after a brief medical visit to McMurdoGeneral Hospital. “The spirit was willing,”

said Scott, “but the machinery was weak.”A mixture of warm air and cold ice

brought Siple Dome to its knees. FromDecember 29th until January 13th, 35 SipleDome flights were cancelled due to fog. Thesame weather that kept LC-130’s from landingalso grounded the marquis AerogeophysicalResearch Project (SOAR) project.

What’s more, the SOAR project had beenscheduled to land at Downstream Bravo Campto refuel their plane. With no planes to fuel,Downstream Bravo residents Sarah Gundlachand Tod Sebens had little to do but test recipesfor their Herman Nelson cookbook.

Back at Siple Dome, workers and scien-tists found ways to pass the time, spendingrelaxing moments in a hot tub (the real pur-pose of which was for the safety of drillers ifthey became covered in a toxic drilling fluid

Researchers suffered through weeks of abysmal weather, grounding flights of this Twin Otter aircraft, critical to the success of theSOAR project based out of Siple Dome.

Troubled and Triumphantat the Dome

story by Alexander Colhoun

...cont. on page 7

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4 January 24, 1998 The Antarctic Sun

With twenty-five categories of solidwaste defined by the United States

Antarctic Program, workers and researchersare often seen with perplexed looks on theirfaces as they put out the trash.

Each category of trash must be sortedseparately into its own waste container. All ofthis waste, four million pounds this seasonalone, is sent back to the continental UnitedStates via the MV Greenwaveto be recycled,resold, or otherwise processed in the Seattle,Washington area.

Once in Washington, Philip ServiceCorporation takes over. Recyclables get recy-cled, burnables (including solid human wastefrom field camps) get incinerated, dispos-ables are processed in landfills, and graywater and urine from field camps, getsprocessed at sewage treatment center.

“The [waste] situation has reallyimproved a lot over the years,” said TedPatenaude, McMurdo’s Solid Waste Manager.“We have to make sure that everybody is

aware, and that we have provided the educa-tion out there for them to know how to do allof this.”

Trash waste is just one aspect of the ret-rograde process. Also included is materialthat is sold once back in the United States.“Retrograde is a terrible word because itmeans different things to different people,”said Suzanne Tegen, who runs the retro pro-gram. “For instance, if you work at a fieldcamp or at South Pole, retrograde just means‘get it out of here.’ For us here in McMurdoretrograde means send it back to the U.S. forresale.

“Retrograde also encompasses reuse here[in McMurdo] so I like to think of it as areuse program. Between 30 and 35% of whatcomes through here gets reused at this stationor at Pole. If we can’t reuse it here, we try atPole. If we can’t reuse it at Pole,we sell it inthe U.S.”

Once retrograded material arrives back inthe United States, it is sold at an auction by

Philip Service Corporation. While ASA doesnot get hard cash back from this sale, they doget a credit against the total waste disposalbill.

The retrograde program is now finishingits first full season of operation. “In the olddays material was just retrograded withoutlooking for alternative users,” said Tegen.“This way we save the Program money andprevent the need for buying items we alreadyhave.”

This year alone, Tegen expects the retro-grade system to save the program nearly40,000 dollars. “In this program we reuseeverything from hot water heaters to spatulasand asbestos abatement equipment,” saidTegen. “Over time, all of that savings addsup.” ✹

Sorting theTrash Mystery?story by Dave Breitenfeld

DidYou Know. ..

Sir Douglas Mawsonclaimed 42% (6million square km.) of Antarctica forAustralia following his arduous journeys onthe continent. The physicist on Shackleton’sBritish Antarctic Expedition of 1907-09,Mawson organized his Australian AntarcticExpedition (AAE) voyage in 1911-14. HisBritish, Australian and New ZealandAntarctic Research Expedition (BAN-ZARE) explored and charted more than4,000 miles of polar coastline. Mawsonspent a hellish season at Cape Denison, thewindiest place on earth, where the averagesummer temperature is -30 celcius. Heovercame starvation, food poisoning, bliz-zards and falls into crevasses in his deter-mined scientific exploration and died at age76 “covered in honors.”

Francis Drake was the first European toenter the Southern Oceans after being dri-ven south of Tierra del Fuego in 1578 bystorms. Although he did not view Antarcticaon this voyage, it proved that SouthAmerica was not connected to TerraAustralis Incognita, The Unknown SouthernLand.

Yves-Joseph de Kerguelenreported thebleak sub-Antarctic islands named for himto be inhabited and cultivated. The King ofFrance dispatched him to establish a colonyand when he was unable to do so, he wascourt-marshaled, dismissed from the navyand imprisoned.

by Brenda Joyce

Suzanne Tegen, waste specialist of the retrograde program at McMurdo, sifts through boxes ofmaterial each week in search of items that can be reused or resold at auction back in the UnitedStates.

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The Antarctic Sun January 24, 1998 5

Pole in 1957 has such a distinguishedand high ranking team of observerstoured the facility.

“This is a very important day for theNational Science Foundation (NSF),”said Dr. Neal Lane, director of the foun-dation. “This is the highest level delega-tion we’ve ever had in Antarctica and atthe South Pole.”

“We want the senators to understandthe investment they are considering atSouth Pole Station,” said Erick Chiang,Senior U.S. Representative in Antarctica,“and the importance of United Statespresence in Antarctica.”

According to Jonathan Kamarck,staff director of VA/HUD SenateAppropriations Sub-Committee, the pur-pose of the trip was to allow the senatorsto better understand the work undertakenby the National Science Foundation inAntarctica. “This trip allows us to get aproper perspective of the comprehensiveneeds of South Pole Station andMcMurdo,” said Kamarck.

Gaining an Antarctic perspectivecame no easier for the six senators than anyother visitors to Antarctica. Bundled in redparkas, black wind pants and white bunnyboots, the delegation flew South in the samecargo-netted seats that carry all workers andscientists to the ice.

Like many first time visitors, the senatorswere awed by the scope of this ice-coveredland. “I had no possible way of understandingthe immensity of this place,” said SenatorLarry Craig. “It’s a bit like stepping back intothe ice age.”

Ever-concerned for his constituents, Craigtrundled a metal tin of cookies all the wayfrom Idaho to the South Pole at the request ofGarnet Smith, the mother of Scott Smith whois working at the Pole.

Upon learning one of his Montana con-stituents was fueling a nearby plane, SenatorThad Burns promptly marched over and intro-duced himself. Minutes later, Dave Langstromfound himself holding the Montana state flagwith the Senator at the ceremonial South Pole.“That photo is a keeper,” said Langstrom witha twinkle in his eye. “My friends are going tolove this one.”

There was more to the South Pole visit,however, than handshakes and photos. In aday where Congress is ever on the lookout forbudget cuts, the visit presented a uniqueopportunity to impress the delegation with

both science projects and infrastructureenhancements. By days end at the Pole itseemed the tour had achieved its goals.

“So much is being done here by outstand-ing, dedicated scientists, the whole world is intheir debt,” said Senator Thad Cochran.“People here are so dedicated and committedto their work, it really is in the greatest tradi-tion of American adventure.”

With wind-chapped smiles etched on theirfaces, Cochran and the delegation toured muchof South Pole Station, visiting everything fromthe astrophysical facility to the constructionsite of the new garage arch. “I am veryimpressed with all the things you can dohere,” said Senator Gorton. “I am veryimpressed with this mission and that it is car-ried out with such enthusiasm.”

Neal Lane was equally enthusiastic aboutthat day. “It is clear that if we’re going to havea presence in Antarctica and at the South Pole,we need to deal with the deteriorating station.To get all the funding needed to complete thisproject it is very important that theAppropriations committee see how we intendto invest in this part of the world.”

As the South Pole tour day came to anend, Senator Stevens sat down in the galleyand soon was surrounded by a small crowd ofAlaskans and other interested workers.Stevens stressed the need for vigilance in

spending control but expressed his support,and that of Congress, for the field science as awhole.

Stevens and the rest of the AppropriationsCommittee have the final word on funding ofAntarctic programs. It will be months beforeAntarctic observers will know how the con-gressional delegation will react to their infor-mation-gathering tour, but many people,including Linda Dugay, NSF’s South Pole sci-ence representative were optimistic. “It was anoutstanding day,” said Dugay. “We were ableto show the senators South Pole station, one ofthe greatest frontiers of mankind.” ✹

Senators ...cont. from page 1

Six United States senators visited McMurdo and the South Pole last week. Standing for a photo at the ceremonialSouth Pole are, from left, Senator Larry Craig (R-ID), Sen.Ted Stevens (R-AK), Sen. Slade Gorton (R-WA), Sen.Conrad Burns (R-MO), Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KA), and Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS). Their visit was the highest delega-tion ever to visit the South Pole.

Chapelof the

Snows

Sundays:Catholic Service 9:30 AM

Protestant Service 11:00 AMWednesdays:

Prayer and Praise at 7:30 PM

6 January 24, 1998 The Antarctic Sun

McMurdo Station by Stan Wisneski

McMurdo’s ice pier has been very busyrecently. The R/V Nathaniel B. Palmerarrived10 January and completed the port callrequired to prepare for the 98-1 cruise. Thefuel tanker Richard G. Matthiesenarrived on16 January and commenced offload opera-tions later that day. McMurdo received a totalof 4,692,014 gallons of fuel bringingMcMurdo fuel stocks to 7,461,014 gallons.While this activity was going on the PolarStarcontinued to work the channel and turn-ing basin. With the departure of the RichardG. Matthiesen,fuels personnel prepared forMarble Point refueling. The Polar Stardeparted on 20 January to complete this task.

Life in town went on throughout the ves-sel evolutions. Aerobics and circuit trainingclasses continued as personnel worked to getin shape for vacations planned in NewZealand and other places. Live music contin-ued to dominated the social scene. The annualChili Cook-Off was a success in spite of thecold blustery weather. The winning chili thisyear was prepared by Team Marble Point.

South Pole Station by David Fischer

At South Pole ASA and CARA (S-132)completed the installation of the VIPER tele-scope on its tower. CARA will continue test-ing the telescope and bring it on-line for win-ter observations.

Three Australian skiers, three Icelandicskiers, and two Belgian skiers arrived early inthe month. The Belgians are continuing theirexpedition to McMurdo.

ASA’s major construction projects contin-ue to make substantial progress, with the newgarage arch construction, the raising of theexisting garage arch, and the Summer CampRelocation all progressing well. The installa-tion of the upwind bulkhead on the newgarage arch is complete, as is the installationof kneewall footers for the existing garagearch raise. For the Summer Camp Relocation,seven jamesways have been moved to date,and the three new jamesways are completedand occupied. The Ice Palace bathroom hasalso been relocated and the installation of thenew sewer outfall line has begun.

Palmer Station by Ron Nugent

Our long stretch of pleasant weather hasended. The last few weeks brought snow andrain storms. The R/V Abel-Jhas been operat-ing in the area and is being used by the LongTerm Ecological Research (LTER) project tocomplete some early research before thearrival of the R/V L.M. Gouldon 26 January.

The Gould will bring a large amount of cargoto the station, the first significant cargo sinceMay of last year.

Once the cargo is unloaded at Palmer, theLTER work will continue on board the Gould.The LTER cruise will end in February and theGould will return to Palmer to pick up retro-grade cargo and waste.

R/V Nathaniel B. Palmerby Dawn Scarboro

The R/V Nathaniel B. Palmerreturned toMcMurdo on January 15th, concluding thehighly successful ROAVERRS cruise(Research on Ocean-Atmosphere Variabilityand Ecosystem Response in the Ross Sea).

Cruise NBP98-1 departed McMurdo oneday late, January 16, due to flight/weatherrelated delays but the vessel is back on sched-ule. Cruise researchers will examine the tim-ing of ice sheet grounding and retreat fromthe continental shelf in the Ross Sea regionduring the past glacial episode.

R/V Laurence M. Gouldby Dawn Scarboro

The R/V Laurence M. Gouldarrived inPunta Arenas, Chile on January 16, 1998.The vessel is presently being readied for thestart of LMG 98-1 cruise (LTER’s annualcruise in the Bellingshausen Sea). ETA fromPunta Arenas is January 22 or 23. More onthe transit south and LTER will be reported infuture Antarctic Sun issues.

R/V Roger Revelleby Dawn Scarboro

R/V Roger Revelledoes not have ASAstaff onboard during cruises. However, thescientists sailing on the vessel are diligentlysupported by ASA Marine Division staff inColorado as well as during New Zealand andMcMurdo Station port calls.

R/V Abel-Jby Dawn Scarboro

Plans are for the R/V Abel-Jto continuesupporting LTER from Palmer Station untilearly February. She will then sail north toPunta Arenas in her final transit as a charteredvessel of the NSF.

Christchurch, NZ by Brian Stone

Weather delays continue to cause prob-lems with the southbound airlift to McMurdoStation. Flight cancellations and decreasedpayload resulting from headwinds have con-tinued to frustrate efforts to clear the cargoand passenger backlog which has existedsince prior to the holiday season.

The recent visit of the CongressionalDelegation headed by Senator Ted Stevens(R-AK) required extensive coordinationbetween all USAP support elements inChristchurch and the US Embassy inWellington. The US Air Force VC-137(Boeing 707) aircraft carrying the delegation

attracted onlookers from the airport and localcommunity. The aircraft (tail number 26000)played an important role in American historybecause it is the aircraft which carriedPresident John F. Kennedy to Dallas, Texas onNov. 22, 1963, and which returned his bodyto Washington, D.C. after his assassination.This same aircraft also carried PresidentRichard M. Nixon to China for his historicvisits in 1972.

ASA, Denver by Ron Koger

The R/V Laurence M. Gouldwent oncharter upon arrival at Punta Arenas on 16January 1998. The first science mission insupport of Dr. David Karl is scheduled tobegin on 22 January. Despite accepting thevessel for use, some performance require-ments have not been tested yet, such as dock-ing at the Palmer Station pier and working inice.

ASA’s Laurence M. GouldPhase-InTeam, led by Rhonda Kelly, has been nomi-nated for the Holmes and Narver HighAchiever’s Award. This is a quarterly awardthat is presented to a team, who by workingtogether made a significant contribution. Theannouncement of the award winner will bemade on 19 February 1998.

This time of the year finds ASA with fewstaff present for duty at headquarters. TheDirectors of Logistics, Procurement, andEngineering are in Christchurch completingplans for the transition of certain Navy sup-port functions to ASA in March 1998. Thosestaff now deployed are missing a very smellyre-roofing project now underway on the head-quarters building. The asphalt odor is veryunpleasant.

ASA has formally accepted theMultibeam System used on the R/V NathanielB. Palmerfrom the manufacturer SeabeamInstruments, Inc. There are deficienciesremaining with the system which will be cor-rected according to a milestone schedule.Acceptance of the system allows full use byscience.

National Science Foundationby Guy Guthridge

President Clinton last week announced hisintent to nominate Dr. Rita R. Colwell asDeputy Director of the National ScienceFoundation. Dr. Colwell is President of theUniversity of Maryland BiotechnologyInstitute and a Professor of Microbiology atthe University of Maryland. She has been aMember of the National Science Board and isthe past President of the American Society forMicrobiology, the International Union ofMicrobiological Societies, and the AmericanAssociation for the Advancement of Science.She chaired the 1987 Committee on the NSFRole in Polar Regions and was a member ofthe 1997 External Panel that evaluated NSF’sadministration of the U.S. Antarctic Program.Dr. Colwell has traveled to Antarctica fourtimes. ✹

FROMANTARCTICSTATIONSAND SHIPS

The Antarctic Sun January 24, 1998 7

In the December 27 issue of PROFILEEd Burnette was featured and I found it tobe a very interesting article. However, I hateto be the bearer of disparaging words, butEd was not the first black man to winter atSouth Pole Station. I don’t know who getsthat honor, but it could have been CharlesGadsen, see attached photo, of the USWBwho wintered at the Pole during DF-71(1970/1971).

The attached photograph was scannedfrom, “A Winter’s Reflection” which wasthe crews book for DF-71. To put the photo-graph in the proper perspective I haveextracted the following from the AntarcticJournal:

The Antarctic Journal of the UnitedStates, Volume VI, Number 4, July-August1971, page 137, lists the names of the per-sonnel in the 1971 Winter Over parties atthe various U.S. Antarctic Stations. Thename Gadsen, Charles T., Jr., meteorology,National Weather Service, NOAA is listedunder Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station.

Sincerely,RMC Billy-Ace Baker, USN (Ret) OAE

-- EDITORIALS -- There is a wealth of Antarctic knowledge and

information stored in the minds of our readership.This week, ice veteran RMC Billy-Ace Baker, USN(Ret) sheds light on a question raised in ourDec.27th issue.Your thoughts and comments arealways appreciated at the Antarctic Sun. You cancontact us at: Sun_News.asa@asa.org.

known as N-Butyl Acetate) and longevenings in a Jamesway tent beneath a brightAntarctic sky.

There was, however, more to SipleDome’s season than frustration and brokenequipment. Dr. William Harrison, aUniversity of Alaska, Fairbanks professor andresearcher was unaffected by Siple Dome’sotherwise mitigating problems.“Operationally it was a big success,” saidHarrison. “We got in and out fast and fin-ished our task on the last barrel of gas.”

Harrison led a team of glaciologistsstudying vertical strain in glacial ice and howice deforms at low stresses. To do this, theteam used a hot water drill provided by theCalifornia Institute of Technology. “We weretotally dependent on their drill and they did agreat job,” said Harrison. “Caltech’s drill iswell-maintained and backed up with spareparts. It’ll go back to California where criticalpieces will be inspected and meticulouslycared for.”

Drilling ice holes was just the beginningof Harrison’s work. The biggest concern ofthe team was generating a reliable measure-ment philosophy, which required the use oftwo separate methods of measuring verticalstrain.

The first system, developed at theUniversity of Alaska, uses a wire stretched

tightly between anchors one meter apart,which in turn attaches to a hyper-sensitivemeter registering discrete relaxation’s of thewire, down to one tenth of a part per million.

To better understand the device, imaginefreezing a nickel in a layer of the snow thatrepresents the year 1944 (snow falls andaccumulates in layers, much like rings of atree) and a second nickel in a layer represent-ing 1954. Between the two nickels runsHarrison’s wire. As the ice compacts and isaffected by the strain of weight above, itsqueezes out between the layers like jellycoming out of the side of a sandwich, bring-ing the nickels closer together. This move-ment data is what Harrison hopes to collectand study.

Researchers from the University ofCalifornia, San Diego, developed the fiberoptic method, which utilizes glass fibers. Thefibers are simply hung by a 30 pound weightfrom the surface and allowed to freeze atlengths ranging from 100 meters to 1000meters. As the ice deforms, the glass fibersrecord the change.

By employing two systems of measure-ment, the team has two methods of checkingresults. “I wasn’t going to come here withouttwo methods,” said Harrison. “You just can’tgo out and make new types of measurementswithout some checking of the results. Weneed to eliminate as many errors as we can.With two systems, we’ve improved ourchances considerably.”

Harrison believes that his research willhelp scientists better understand fundamentalrates of ice flow. To date, fast-flowing ice iswell documented and understood, but littlework has been done on deformations thattake many years –like the changes in SipleDome’s deep layers. “The work at SipleDome will serve as a dipstick for the historyof the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and the cli-mate history of the area,” said Harrison.

In recent weeks Siple Dome activitieshave surged forward. SOAR researchers havemade up for lost time completing more than30 flights. “They’re going like gang-busters,”said Scott.

Despite this success and Harrison’senthusiasm, many observers may rememberthis season at Siple Dome for its challengingweather and troubled machinery. “We had agreat plan, a great group all dressed up togo,” said Scott with unfettered determination.“Unfortunately, we never found our pace, ourrhythm. Every flight, every step was a fight.”Even so, Scott and the hard-working SipleDome team never threw in the towel, whichbodes well for a renewed effort next season. ✹

Dome ...cont. from page 3

Charles Gadsen, a meteorologist with the NationalWeather service, may have been the first black manto winter-over at the South Pole. Gadsen wintered atSouth Pole in 1971, 16 years before Ed Burnette whopreviously held this distinction.

Snow JobsbyBen Mann

Polar Shock: another FNGmisses the fine print.

8 January 24, 1998 The Antarctic Sun

Four days into a journey circumscribingthe heavens above Antarctica the flight

of a science balloon launched by the NationalScience Balloon Facility was terminated.Researchers and balloon experts hypothesizedthat the balloon had developed a small tear inthe cellophane thin material, causing the dirigi-ble to fall below a minimum altitude needed tocarry out research.

“From a science perspective the flight wasa success,” said Steven Peterzen, project coor-dinator. Though significantly shortened, the bal-loon began transmitting useful data within thefirst 12 hours of flight. “Scientists still got moreout of a four day flight than any con-ventional flight,” said Peterzen.“All of the scientists werevery optimistic.”

As the balloon liftedoff the permanent iceshelf just outsideMcMurdo Stationtwo weeks ago, allindications wereexcellent. The bal-loon quickly rose toits maximum alti-tude of 125,000 feetand stayed there; allthe while capturingwhat scientists describe assignificant data.

By the end of day two,however, the balloon had fallen to114,000 feet, forcing Peterzen to send a com-mand asking the balloon to drop ballast in theform of fine steel pellets.

“The balloon carries 500 pounds of ballastthat can be released at a flow rate of 60 poundsper minute,” said Peterzen. “We dropped ballastfor about two minutes and the balloon respond-ed instantly, rising back to 120,000 feet.”

The team began to suspect a leak when, onday three, the balloon again lost altitude, thistime falling to 93,000 feet. Foggy conditions atMcMurdo Station’s Williams Field prevented areconnaissance flight on day three; but on thefourth morning conditions cleared and Peterzenboarded a New York Air National Guard LC-130 and headed for his balloon.

From 25,000 feet Peterzen and the air crewlooked up and saw their objective, floating with

ease around 90,000 feet. Flying in a 22-milecircumference under the balloon, the teamattempted to unload more ballast but the bal-loon failed to react.

“At that point I decided to terminate themission,” said Peterzen. “Despite the high ele-vation [of the land below] near Vostok andAGO4 (say: egg-o) sites, there was nothingbetter until the balloon came all the wayaround [back to McMurdo].”

Using wind speeds, gondola weight infor-mation and trajectory scales, Peterzen plotteda descent for the balloon of 38.9 minutesunder the canopy of the balloon’s parachute.Sending a signal to the balloon a small explo-sive was fired and the balloon collapsed, send-ing it into a free fall that was soon slowed asits’ massive parachute opened.

Once on the ground, the gondola wasdragged across the frozen wasteland by theparachute filled with air. Unfortunately, com-mands to fire explosives that release the para-

chute failed to work and the gondolaslowly crawled over the snow.

Monitoring the gondolaover the last few days,

Peterzen feels theparachute has final-ly collapsed. Theglobal positionsystem monitorsattached to theapparatus havenot shownappreciable

change since lastweek.

What remainsto be seen is how the

gondola will beretrieved. All science data

was transferred and collectedwhile the balloon was in flight. Even

so, Peterzen and his associates hope to collecttheir multi-million dollar machinery for use infuture flights.

One option is to fly in to the site on anLC-130. The high altitude and heavy snowwill make this possibility a challenge and willrequire the use of jet-fueled burners, notunlike a rocket (JATO - Jet Assisted Take-Off)that attach to the plane’s fuselage and help itget airborne. Another option is to remove theessential pieces of the machinery with a TwinOtter –a much smaller, lighter ski-equipped air-craft. A final option would be a recovery tra-verse from Vostok station next summer. Eitherway, Peterzen has his work cut-out for him.

With recovery in a hostile environment onhis mind, it might be tempting for Peterzen tosee the flight as a failure, but with years of

experience under his belt, Peterzen takes it allin stride. “From the start things here inAntarctica are against you,” said Peterzen.“We’re talking about floating a balloon made ofultra thin fabric around the continent. So muchcan go wrong, that’s why any success, whateverits size, is so sweet.” ✹

Balloon FlightTerminatedby Alexander Colhoun

See cover story “Ballooning over Antarctica”,January 10th edition.

I know it’s against the rules to sell t-shirts, hats and other items independently,down on the ice. Why does the ship-store geta monopoly on this business? The designsput out by independents are much more inter-esting anyway. Anyone should be able to sellhome-designed clothes on this station, we areAmericans after all. –anonymous

The McMurdo store, is a NSF / USAPsponsored operation for the benefit and con-venience of all station residents. The storenot only provides necessary sundry, food andtoiletry items, but also souvenirs and shirtsfor people to remember this place by. Thekey to understanding why Antarctica is not acompletely “open market” society, with goodsfrom many sources, is centered on the mis-sion of the United States Antarctic Program.In a nutshell, the USAP mission is to providea platform for the gathering of valuable scien-tific research.

In accordance with this goal, the USAPCargo and the APO/FPO Military mail sys-tems in Antarctica are geared towards sup-porting research and secondarily the moraleof us –the USAP participants. Therefore,USAP Cargo and APO/FPO cannot utilizetheir tax-paid funding to support individualcommercial endeavors. That is why the trans-port of articles for resale by individuals toAntarctica is prohibited.

Not only do USAP stores have the goal ofproviding goods to the community, but also toturn it’s excess revenues back for the benefitof the USAP stations. Simply said, all threeof these operations –cargo, mail, and the retailstores –are supported by the NSF Program tomeet the desired goal of scientific researchfirst, and should administer its resources tothat end.

Michael BaclawskiRetail Operations Supervisor

Your questions and comments are welcome here.We’ll publish responses in each issue. Contact usat Sun_News.asa@asa.org.

YourTurn–

• started McMurdo

• terminated here

The Antarctic Sun January 24, 1998 9

Buddy was alucky one.

First sighted atLake Bonnie, 40kilometers from theice edge up into theDry Valley’s, theAdelie penguin wasthought to be agoner. Two dayslater the pluckybird waddled con-tentedly into LakeHoare camp andhappily relaxedwith the crew.

“He came rightinto camp properand stood theregreeting every-body,” said PaulaAdkins, camp man-ager. “He loved the people.”

Not all wandering penguins (and seals)are so lucky.

From the earliest visits to the DryValleys, researchers have been intrigued bythe mummified remains of penguins andseals found scattered across these ice-deprived canyons. To put this act into per-spective, a seal’s journey into the DryValleys is not unlike a human travelingwithout food, water, or use of any limbsinto a Utah canyon. It is suicidal.

According to wildlife biologist TomGelatt, the majority of the mummified sealsin the Dry Valleys and elsewhere arecrabeater seals. Crabeaters are the mostnumerous seals in the world with popula-tion estimates of over 20 million.

Ian Stirling and Gerry Kooyman wrotea paper in 1971 on mummified seals whichsuggested that the occurrence of crabeaterseals in the Dry Valleys represents part of adispersal of seals trapped by the freezingsea ice in McMurdo Sound in autumn. Theythought that the crabeaters would not beable to maintain breathing holes, as the

Weddells are adapted to, and thus if trappedin the Sound by the fast forming ice, wouldneed to travel overland to open water.Intriguing, yet this still doesn’t explain whythey go the wrong way.

Other researchers from NorthwesternUniversity in Chicago have studied the phe-nomenon using carbon dating. These scien-tists discovered that mummies of crabeatersas far as 50 kilometers from shore and900m above sea level dated to ages of1600-2000 years. Radiocarbon dating onspecimens from Taylor Valley indicates thatseals in this region have wandered in ran-domly over the past 2,000 years.

While explanations for the seal’s oddbehavior run the gamut, no scientificresearch has been applied to the subject forlack of data. Gelatt feels any explanationcarries too many assumptions. “Attemptingto explain the extremely isolated occurrenceof a seal crawling overland to it’s death is, Ibelieve, a bit presumptuous on our part,” hesaid, “considering we are unable to explainpeculiar behavior of our own species.”

Some researchers have speculated theseals and penguins are mistakenly crossing

the valleys insearch of a dif-ferent body ofwater –modernday Magellans insearch of newroutes. Gelatt isskeptical. “I donot believe theseseals are tryingto cross towardswater,” he said.Gelatt arguesthat because ofthe climate, any-thing dead on thecontinent wouldmummify andremain indefi-nitely. Thus, ifonly a minutepercentage of the

seals were to crawl up and die, they wouldbe visible for a very, very long time.

Even as Gelatt rejects the water theory,he proffers a new a perspective on the phe-nomenon, using the state of California as anexample. “Periodically, in the state ofCalifornia, a state with a population not toofar from that hypothesized for crabeaterseals, there are instances of people taking aweapon and running into a public place andkilling themselves. Experts are baffled as towhy this happens. Likewise, people areconstantly doing things like jumping off theGolden Gate.

“I may in fact be way off. These sealsmay truly be confused by the ice or insearch of nirvana. The fact is, from an evo-lutionary perspective, this is a dead-endtrait which should not be passed on andthus, I doubt that we can apply an anthro-pomorphic type reason to the phenome-non.” ✹

Dr. Tom Gelatt contributed to this story.

Lost in the Dry Valleysstory and photo by Alexander Colhoun

In an act that continues to mystify scientists, seals and penguins occasionally make their way into the Dry Valleysof Antarctica and later die. Radiocarbon dating on specimens like this seal from the Taylor Valley indicates thatseals have wandered in randomly over the past 2,000 years.

10 January 24, 1998 The Antarctic Sun

Question: I am a divorced woman work-ing in Antarctica for the first time. I have apattern of getting attached romantically tomen, then panicking emotionally and sever-ing the relationship. What troubles me is myinability to trust my instincts about a partner.I get to this place where I just don’t feel safe.Is there a way to meet a man, without hold-ing all my old ‘stuff ’ against him?

Trust, both physical and emotional is themost important element in a successful rela-

tionship, whether it’s aclose friendship, a fami-ly member or a relation-ship with a partner.Unless both people inthe relationship feelsafe and secure, it’simpossible for true inti-macy to develop andflourish.

Intimacy is built onthe opportunity to be ourselves and share ourvulnerabilities, to build trust as we experi-ence the strengths and weaknesses that eachof us possess.

If a relationship is to be formed, it’s nec-essary to move past fear –fear of failure, fearof loss of power, fear of losing your identity–into a deep and empowering experience ofunion with another.

A real relationship is an absolutely reli-able source of comfort and happiness, butfew couples have one. It can be attained by

virtually any two who are willing to make asustained effort, such as they might in get-ting into shape, completing an advanceddegree, or learning the fundamentals of anew profession.

Strong relationships require work anddedication. Without the essential buildingblocks of trust and intimacy this is nearlyimpossible. A good place to begin buildingtrust is within yourself. Building that withinyourself means knowing that you will followthrough on taking good care of yourself andnot sabotaging your own happiness.

Begin by maintaining a journal of yourfeelings so that you become aware of theplace within you that is connected to the oldfears preventing you from moving into adeeper intimacy with others. This will allowyou the ability to keep the past separatedfrom the present and the knowledge that asyou feel those old feelings they are not con-nected to the person you are becoming inti-mate with.

...advice forstaying healthyontheIceAunt Arctica is written by Christopher Walton, a clinicalpsychotherapist from Washington state with eightyears experience working in individual counseling,specializing in cognitive and transpersonal psycholo-gies for personal growth. Please write with any ques-tions you may have. You need not include your name.All queries will be confidential.

The difference is that this clock is bigger thanthe state of Alaska.

With eight principal investigators fromseven different research facilities, however,Dunbar, a Stanford University professor, hasplenty of help to accomplish the objectives ofthe project. In its broadest context,ROAVERRS researchers hope to understandthe affect of atmospheric influences on theRoss Sea from year to year and how theseinfluences effect the Ross Sea ecosystem.

To do this, the ROAVERRS project hascombined a variety of fields under one roof,pooling data to generate a more complete pic-ture of the Ross Sea. No data source is leftuntracked. From the heavens above to the cur-rents below, everything that can be measuredis, down to the very salinity of the water col-umn.

Equipped to collect these subtle measure-ments and hundreds others like them, the NBPis a massive floating laboratory. The main dif-ference between it and land-based labs arebungee cords –hundreds of them– that tiedown every last piece of equipment. Even insummer, travel through the Southern Oceancan be rough. ROAVERRS personnel enduredone stormy interval with up to 10-14 footwaves.

A rolling ship is a hard place to conductscience, but with such a brief summer windowto conduct research, scientists let nothing getin their way. “This is such a short snapshot

view of the Ross Sea, just three weeks,” saidDunbar. “And the processes continue yearround.”

To expedite research, no expense has beenspared. The computer room boasts what oneperson called Silicon Graphics biggest andbest computer, not to mention an additionaltwenty monitors clustered around it.

Technology surrounds scientists and crew-men alike aboard the NBP. All 61 people onboard the ship have daily access to email viasatellite. Every room is equipped with a TVmonitor that can access a series of live cam-eras allowing researchers to stay abreast of theshipboard activity, weather and movement at

Roavers ...cont. from page 1

...cont. on page 13

AskAuntArctica

Herb Baker, left, and Patrick Whaling deploy a box coring device off the back side of the Nathaniel B. Palmerduring the ROAVERRS cruise.

photo by Rob Dunbar

The Antarctic Sun January 24, 1998 11

The Coast Guard icebreaker Polar Staris becoming a zoo. When the cutter left

Seattle on October 25th there were six bearsand one jaguar on board –six teddy bears andone stuffed jaguar, that is.

These stuffed animals are an importantpart of the Polar Star’s Partnership inEducation during Operation Deep Freeze 98.This program is a Coast Guard-wide localcommunity enhancement effort, carried out byships and crews based across the United States.

Dubbed the Geo Kids project, this programbuilt on a similar idea carried out on the PolarSea last year. The concept is to share the ship’sjourney vicariously with a class of childrenthrough a small bear or mascot that travels withthe ship and sends back reports so the class canstudy geography and science encountered bythe vessel. The animals on this cruise belongto seven different classes, ranging from kinder-garten to the eighth grade, at schools locatedacross the country.

The trip started in Mobile, Alabama as allseven stuffed animals boarded one of the twoaviation detachment H-65 helicopters bound forSeattle. At each overnight stop, reports in theform of emails were sent to each of the partici-pating schools. Maps, pins, and yarn werebrought out in schoolrooms across the countryto trace the mascots’ way through nine states,onto the Polar Star in Seattle, and across thePacific Ocean to the Hawaiian Islands.

In Hawaii, a new addition to the programwas received from a school in Indiana, FlatStanley. Flat Stanley was a little boy who wasaccidentally ‘flattened’ by a falling chalkboard.Being that his new shape was paper-thin, hewas now able to travel across the world in avery convenient manner –in an envelope!

Also joining the program to receive emailupdates and to track the ship’s progress were amiddle school from Oregon and an elementaryschool from Washington State, bringing thetotal number of participating classes to ten.

During transit through the South Pacific themascots were initiated into the Realm of theGolden Shellback as the ship crossed the inter-section of the Equator and InternationalDateline. This is an age-old mariner’s traditionrequiring uninitiated ‘wogs’ to ‘walk the plank’

and crawl through the‘whales belly’ before beingpresented to King Neptunefor his acceptance into theRealm.

On December 24th, theship crossed the AntarcticCircle, and once again themascots and crew bravedanother ancient mariner’stradition and became initiat-ed into the Realm of theEmperor Penguin!Definitely a more chillingexperience than the previousinitiation.

The Polar Star arrivedat the Ross Ice Shelf onDecember 28th to begin sci-ence support and to com-mence the important task ofclearing a channel toMcMurdo Station. The ship’s two helicopterswere deployed to McMurdo Station with all buttwo of the mascots. Dixon and Dixie, from theS.S. Dixon School in Pace, Florida stayed onthe ship to keep the crew company and observethe icebreaking operation.

Scientists working at McMurdo Stationhave provided input on their projects to be pub-lished on the P.I.E. web page, where eachdepartment on the ship is also featured. TheNational Science Foundation (NSF) inWashington, D.C. has been a gracious andhelpful participant, sending copies of an educa-tional booklet on Antarctica to each school.

Hobbs Middle School, from Milton, FL,sent a ten-year time capsule to be left inAntarctica. This capsule holds everything fromcurrent news and trends to aspirations of thestudents for their future ten years from now.

This capsule will remain in Antarcticauntil 2007 when it will be returned by a Coast

Guard Icebreaker, and then via an H-65 heli-copter to the Aviation Training Center inMobile, Alabama where it will be presented tothe school.

The itinerary for the return voyage has notyet been set. Geo Bears, the jaguar, and FlatStanley wait in anticipation of their next port-of-call, and what new information they will beable to send home to their schools.

In mid-April the Polar Star will pull intothe port of San Francisco, home of Blueberryand her 3rd grade class at the Claire LilenthalSchool. This reunion will provide a greatopportunity for the students who have followedthis journey to see where Blueberry and herfriends have made their home for the past sixmonths. ✹

POLAR STAR web site:www.polarstar.org

CG Pacific Area web page:www.wenet.net/~uscg/index.html

When the Polar Star left Seattle bound for Antarctica on October 25th therewere six teddy bears and one jaguar on board. Part of the Coast Guard’sPartnership in Education program, these stuffed animals, seen here on theRoss Ice Shelf, serve as liaisons to grade schools across the United States.

MILITARY NEWS:

Zoo Aboard thePolar Starstory and photo by Lt. Claudia McKnight, USCG

12 January 24, 1998 The Antarctic Sun

What’s Loomingon the Horizon?

WEATHERby George Howard, MAC WeatherMcMurdo Station, Antarctica

When someone mentions the word“mirage,” most of us conjure up

the image of a thirsty desert traveler, crawl-ing on hands and knees toward a shimmeringpool of water that isn’t really there. On amore personal level, you may have driven inhot weather and seen “water” on the roadwayahead that never gets any closer.

Both phenomena are caused by hot airclose to the surface and cooler air above.The dramatic temperature difference causeslight passing through the layers to bend(refract) toward the warmer air. In the caseof the hot roadway, the “water” is actually animage of the sky near the horizon that nowappears on the road surface. Since the imageof the sky appears belowwhere it normallywould, this type of mirage is called inferior.

Mirages don’t restrict themselves to areasthat are hot. They can occur anywhere thereare large vertical temperature differences. InAntarctica, we have mirages of our own.

They typically occur when winds are nearlycalm over a broad area and very cold airpools at the surface.

Mirages in this situation are called supe-rior mirages because, with warmer air abovethe cold surface layer, we see objects abovetheir actual position. This appearance of ele-vated images is commonly called looming.

The figures at right show a few of thedifferent ways looming can manifest itself.The first figure represents a normal view ofan island surrounded by sea ice. The secondand third figures show what you’d see if youwere above the coldest layer of air (most fre-quent in McMurdo).

The lowest portion of the island may bestretched vertically or you may see the entireimage of the island elevated above the ice.The last figure depicts what you’d see if youwere within the coldest layer of air. Not onlyis an image elevated above the island, it’sinverted.

While looming doesn’t occur with greatregularity, your best bet to observe it will beunder widespread calm conditions whilewatching the area where sea ice and landmeet on the far side of McMurdo Sound.

McMurdo residents, ever drawn to changes in scenery around town, came out in force to watch Polar Star, a CoastGuard ice breaker, prepare the ice pier for the arrival of the R/V Nathniel B.Palmer.

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The Antarctic Sun January 24, 1998 13

Clouds break over Williams Field on an overcast evening last week. Each night the sun draws closer to the horizonas Antarctic workers await their first sunset, due February 18th.

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any given moment. For the detail-inclined, a global positioning systemidentifies the ship’s location down tothe centimeter. More than a scienceplatform, the NBP is technologicalwonder.

As one person sleeps, another col-lects data. Meteorologists compileweather data (sea temperatures, winddirections, ice cover and movement),chemists analyze water samples andplant nutrient information while biolo-gists study algal productivity and car-bon fluxes. It is a never-ending processand one that changes with every newdiscovery.

When, through satellite imageryknown as SeaWifs, researchers identi-fied a major bloom of phytoplankton,the foundation material of the foodweb, the NBP charted a new coursetoward it. “The ocean was turning greenwith plankton, the farm was hopping,”said Dunbar. “Some products of thatbloom will eventually be swept intoMcMurdo Sound and affect that ecosys-tem.” By traveling to the bloom itself,researchers collected data from the siteto better understand conditions thatdrive this activity.

The array of devices that make thisresearch possible are mostly hand-assembled, state-of-the-art instruments,like the CTD (Conductivity,Temperature and Depth). Launchedfrom a the Baltic Room, a steel-riddenchamber amidships and the most stablespot on the vessel, the CTD is arguablythe most sophisticated water bucket inthe world.

Shaped like an oversized Gatlin-gun, the CTD houses 24 cylindrical bot-tles on a rosette, each of which can beautomatically closed by electrical com-mands sent through a one-inch diameterumbilical cord used to hoist the appara-tus up and down through the water col-umn. Deployed four to six times perday on the ROAVERRS cruise, theCTD collected literally tons of water foranalysis.

Surrounded by water 100 metersbelow the surface are the ROAVERRS’year-round workhorses: deep-sea moor-ings. These are attached to the Ross Seafloor by 2,000 pound anchors and heldtaut from above by floats. Necklaces ofthe ocean, the moorings resemble beads

Roavers ...cont. from page 10on a string, each bead representing a differentinstrument.

Sediment traps on the string are conical inshape. Material that settles into the trap is cap-tured. Meanwhile, every 15 days a new cuprotates into place, thereby dating the type of mate-rial collected in the year-long period betweenmooring retrievals.

This information, along with current flow,salinity, and temperature data, is being collectedby 10 moorings throughout the Ross Sea (severalof which are maintained by different nations mak-ing the project truly international) and is central

to the overall understanding of the Ross Seaecosystem.

“Each year the Ross Sea is different,” saidDunbar. “Simple changes in the atmosphere affectthe whole food chain, from algae to killer whales.We want to figure out these atmospheric differ-ences and how they affect the ocean.” Until then,Antarctic fishes, starfish and plant forms maysuddenly find themselves under the unexpectedspotlights of the ‘MudScud’ Hi-8 video cam asROAVERRS researchers trawl the Ross Sea forclues about what makes it tick. ✹

14 January 24, 1998 The Antarctic Sun

The International Geophysical Year, ashort forty seasons ago, brought

Antarctica out of a dark age. Before the IGY,half the map of Antarctica was blank—hugeareas had not been seen, much less studied.From 1604 to 1951 only five thousand papershad been written. By 1961, a mere decadelater, scientists had doubled the number. TheIGY didn’t do much mapping, geology, orbiology. Upper atmosphere physics, meteorol-ogy, and glaciology were the focus. Even so,that was enough to show science what it hadbeen missing.

A major IGY achievement was measuringthe thickness of the ice. Thousands of miles ofoversnow traverses took seismic measure-ments every 30 to 50 miles. By mid-1958 theIGY Bulletin cited the average ice thickness as8,000 feet or more (we now know it is justover 7,000 feet). Bedrock in much of Marie

Byrd Land was found to be below sea level–6,500 feet below at one place– establishingWest Antarctica’s ice sheet as marine based(the world’s only) and thus potentially unsta-ble.

The traverses also made gravity and mag-netic measurements every two to five miles,showing that the underlying bedrock is irregu-lar and is probably of igneous rather than sedi-mentary composition. The measurements alsoshowed that the bedrock is depressed as muchas 3,300 feet by the weight of the ice. WalterSullivan, whose 1961 Assault on the Unknownchronicles the IGY, said looking under the “icyshroud” was the IGY’s most ambitious goal inAntarctica because it would settle whether theregion is one continent or two –it did.

A traverse to the Horlick Mountains, 300miles from the Pole, found coal seams up toforty feet thick and fossil tree trunks, estab-

lishing that for most of its long historyAntarctica had been rich in forests and greenmeadows.

One of the heaviest items of equipmentwas a drill rig, which brought up a 4-inch icecore at Byrd Station down to 331 yards deep,giving a climate record back to the sixth cen-tury. The drill also made a shallower corenearly to the bottom of the Ross Ice Shelf.

Around McMurdo Sound, IGY glacialgeologists found evidence of at least threemajor glaciations during the Quaternary (thelast 600,000 years), one of which must havechoked McMurdo Sound, banking at least2,000 feet up onto the surrounding terrain.

Not all IGY findings have borne them-selves out. IGY glaciologists on three widelyseparated expeditions concluded thatAntarctica is receiving more ice from snowfallthan it is losing through evaporation and ice-bergs. Today, however, glaciologists suspectthat the Antarctic ice is in mass balance –thatice income, in other words, is about equal toice outflow.

Some findings were made in the life sci-ences. Doctors confirmed that “when cold airis brought in contact with diseased teeth, thepain is often considerable” and recommendedfurther research and “protective devices suchas rubber teeth guards worn by athletes.”Neuropsychiatrists had people write diariesand do voice recordings “to get a picture ofgroup relations under conditions of isolationand stress.” Penguin physiology and migrationwere studied. Coastal personnel all aroundAntarctica were alerted to record the appear-ance of seals that were marked at WilkesStation “by means of a branding iron bearingthe initials IGY.”

Newspaper headlines about IGY findingswere not as big as those celebrating earlierconquests by Amundsen, Scott, and Byrd. Butin a mere 18 months the IGY brought interna-tional Big Science to the exploration ofAntarctica, and it ended forever the region’shistoric isolation from human affairs. ✹

fourth in a five-part series by Guy G. GuthridgeManager, Antarctic InformationNational Science Foundation, Polar Programs

What WeLearned 40Summers Ago IGY+40

Forty years ago, 60,000 scientists from 66 nations took partin what has been called the greatest peacetime activity inman’s history—the International Geophysical Year, from July1, 1957 to December 31, 1958. One of the IGY’s mostprominent achievements was the opening of Antarctica tomodern science.

Cross-ice traverses like this one were an important part of the IGY data collection effort. In those days, dogswere allowed in Antarctica.

Nav

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The Antarctic Sun January 24, 1998 15

Idon’t drink much coffee. Some of myfriends don’t either because they don’t

want to share in the oppression of third-worldcoffee bean pickers. I just never liked the tasteuntil I learned to add enough milk to bring itto a shade painters call navajo white.

That pale, the coffee is cold and the milkis warm and there are better things to drink.But having friends over to your room for cof-fee on Sunday morning is a tradition inMcMurdo. The Bailey’s and the conversationflow freely, and it’s a nice way to warm up tothe day off, which is usually cold and stormy.

In order to host a proper coffee, you needto create an environment to entertain in. A lit-tle ‘feng shui’ would go a LONG way in thedorms. Lacking that, you must figure someway to fit two extra-long twin beds into anarea the size of a closet, then you can create aliving room the size of a cupboard with therest of your space. Even a competent interiorengineer could only make room for fourchairs but that shouldn’t limit the guest list.OAE’s are accustomed to sitting on floors,curling up next to refrigerators or stretchingtheir legs out under a bed.

My roommate, Sharon and I, have such aliving room, and a couple of weeks ago wedecided to host a Sunday morning coffee.While many McMurdites are used to the com-forts of home, the two of us don’t own a TV, aVCR, a microwave or a popcorn popper. Atthe time we did not even have a coffeepot.

Luck was with us when we invited ourfirst guests. Dave and Carey said that if theycould sleep-in until ten they would bring theirespresso machine over. So I slipped out of thegalley with some mugs and spoons in myjacket pockets and figured we were all set.

Sharon and I each invited a few morefriends. But Saturday afternoon Daveinformed me they would not be able to make

it. Because of the heavy newsnow he would have to go towork Sunday morning. Withhim would go the coffee’scoffee.

Our neighbor came to therescue. Kathy is a MarthaStewart sort who sent downher own set of crystal becauseshe could never serve wine ina milk glass or plastic goblet.

When she heard of ourplight she brought her coffeemaker and filters right over.Then she brought a sugarbowl and creamer. When sheasked if we needed a grinderSharon and I gave each otherstrained looks and shook ourheads yes. Realizing rightthen that we had no coffee inany form we couldn’t be cer-tain whether we’d need togrind it or not.

Kathy returned with thegrinder and stood in our doorway smiling,asking if we needed anything else. I caughtSharon’s eye again but neither of us spoke.Then our generous friend offered us some ofher fresh coffee beans. We were mortified.She had already supplied us with completecoffee service and neither of us could admit tobeing so pathetic as to not even having anycoffee.

“Oh n-n-no, we’re f-fine, thanks forevery-th-th-thing,” I stuttered.

“We’ve GOT coffee,” Sharon lied. Myface was blushing hot and I noticed Sharon’swas pretty red too.

When Kathy retreated to her room weburst into laughter. Sharon wanted to knowwhy I hadn’t asked for some coffee and I toldher there was NO WAY I was going to ask foranything else! I suggested that she go downthe hall and borrow some coffee from anotherfriend, Bonnie. This would have solved ourproblem –if only she ever did what I asked.

We went to a party that night, danced untilearly morning, then slept in. When we wokeup coffee hour was fast approaching. Sharonwashed the dishes, I vacuumed the livingroom and we plugged in the coffeepot. Therewas no use begging for beans now. The reasonthat Kathy was not coming over for coffeeherself was because she wanted to sleep late.We were not to wake her up. And Bonnie wasnow at work.

Sharon heated water in the coffeepot andmade us tea. I don’t imagine that Bailey’s isvery good in tea but no matter. We didn’t have

any Bailey’s either! We were getting a littlebit nervous.

Then a strange thing happened. Nobodyshowed up. Maybe they were drunk when weinvited them and didn’t remember. Maybethey were still sleeping. Maybe we didn’thave any friends after all, or maybe, like me,they just didn’t drink coffee.

While I was out on an errand Sharon got acall. It was Rosemary wondering if she’dmissed everything. Sharon told her she hadnot missed the coffee, but she’d have to bringher own. That was probably confusing tosomeone that had just woken up. When I gothome I waited for her to come over, wantingto somehow salvage the morning. But shenever arrived. We had not given her our roomnumber!

By noon we came to the painful realiza-tion that our coffee-less coffee was attendedby guest-less guests who poured Bailey-lessBailey’s and engaged freely in non-conversa-tion. We returned Kathy’s equipment andthought it might be best if we didn’t attemptany more Sunday morning get-togethers.

But word gets around in a small commu-nity. Within two days we had THREE cof-feemakers, Folgers, Starbucks, filters, a cartonof REAL milk, a fresh bottle of Bailey’s andsome new mugs! We’re ready to give it anoth-er go now. So you’re invited. Come on over tothe room with the Pavlova recipe on the door,curl up next to the refrigerator, pour yourselfsome Bailey’s and have coffee. ✹

Perspectives

Sharon Lewis, left, and Mariah Crossland enjoy a coffee break in theirMcMurdo dormitory room. Sunday morning coffee get-togethers are apopular way to end the week.

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o by

Zee

Eva

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SundayCoffeeBreak

by Mariah Crossland

16 January 24, 1998 The Antarctic Sun

To listen as Rhonda Eckerspins yarns of her life

would make you think she hadlived 100 years. Only 37, she’sexperienced more of the worldthan a foreign correspondent andshows no signs of relenting.

Even on a continent thatseeks to limit movement at everyturn, Ecker manages to getaround. Just last week she head-ed to the South Pole, havingpassed nine days stranded atByrd Surface Camp deep in thefield and several weeks drillingat Siple Dome.

No stranger to drilling,Ecker has seen may days understeel towers with auger-drivenbits churning into the earth. In1987 she was one of the fewfemale drillers working inAlaska. Wiring explosives,drilling and dropping charges,she spent four winters in searchof natural gas while living onthe Kenai peninsula.

“It was very hard work,very physical, with dangerousaugers,” said Ecker. “All ofthose drills are outlawed now–every single one I ever used–they break wrists and blackeyes.”

You’d never know it today.Red hair cascading across hershoulders and a twinkle in her eyes when shesmiles reveals nothing of the hard work thathas defined much of her life. Growing up ona farm her father homesteaded in Wisconsin,Ecker attended a reservation grade schoolwith farm kids and Stockbridge MunseeIndian children.

“Growing up I had a lot of native influ-ence,” said Ecker. “Many of [the Indians]were in a tight spot with 85 percent unem-ployment. Tied to their government checks Irealized how important it was to get out.”

Get out she did. After a year working in afactory and later gaining a college education,Ecker took for the hills. “I had no money, so Idecided to go as far as I could without a pass-port, Alaska.

“I bought a ferry ticket to the first stopand then stowed away for the rest of trip untilI got to Haines. From there I hitched to

Homer.” And there she stayed.Arriving in Alaska in its fishing heyday,

Ecker soon found herself on the slime-line,cutting and packing fish. “It can be traumat-ic,” she said. “The sheer number of fish, theguts, the slime, long hours and a never-endingline of fish coming at you.”

Two seasons in Icicle Seafood’s cannerywere more than enough. “I figured the guyscatching the fish had to be making more thanme,” said Ecker, who persuaded MikeBrooks, a local fisherman, to take her on. “Noone wanted a woman on board,” said Ecker.“Mike gave me the chance and I never lookedback.”

Ten years later, having fished salmon, hal-ibut, black cod and even king crab out on thewinter-tossed Bering Sea, Ecker had experi-enced the best and worst of Alaskan fishing.“Depending on your share, you could make

10,000 dollars on a 24 houropener, but it was dangerouswork.

“I put a halibut hook allthe way through my hand. Thewinch was back hauling metoward the reel. Someone elsecut the line free. After we cutthe barb and removed thehook, I wrapped my hand upand kept working. We werestill three days out.”

Fishing for a living had lostits allure, so she became a fish-eries technician, tagging andrecovering ‘pinks’ (pinksalmon) at a Valdez hatchery.As chance would have it, hertime there coincided with thenow infamous Exxon oil spillwhich translated into a new jobworking as a radio dispatcher.“I was a maritime dispatcher,tracking 220 boats and six heli-copters every day,” said Ecker.“Those were good lessons inorganization.”

These newly enhancedskills were put to good use asshe began construction of herown log cabin. Made from bee-tle kill trees on the Kenai,Ecker put 28 employees towork building her 1500 squarefoot dream home on DiamondRidge, overlooking the Cook

Inlet. “I did rather well, I have to say,” saidEcker of her site management skills. “I did alot of trading and used mostly local materials.My kitchen tiles are made from Homer(Alaska) clay.”

Two years of house-building, ten years ofcommercial fishing, several years in Valdez,and most recently, three summers as a cookon a research ship are just a few of her expe-riences. Toss in a journey to Antarctica, a tripthrough the Panama Canal, adventures inEurope, Asia, Central America and Mexicoplus 18 years of her youth in Wisconsin andby now Ecker should be well into her fifties.

Her philosophy is simple, but with such arich variety of life experiences under her belt,who can argue? “My general outlook is towork hard, be a nice person and honest,” saidEcker. “If you are, things will generally goyour way.” ✹

Profile

From the Bering Sea to the North Slope, Rhonda Ecker has worked Alaska’s toughestjobs. Now she has come to drill for science in Antarctica.

Passport toAdventure

story and photo by Alexander Colhoun