See you next summer! On the Web at http://www.asa.org February 6, 2000 Published during the austral summer at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, for the United States Antarctic Program New future for an old base Vostok takes international stage By Josh Landis The Antarctic Sun The flight to Vostok is like any other journey over the polar plateau. An endless sea of white extends in all directions, broken only by the tips and ripples of hard- ened sastrugi. But after three hours of nothingness, the Russian research station quickly reveals itself on the spotless plain. A cluster of buildings surrounds a large, sooty smudge. Old vehicles, smaller structures and other equipment dot the station, each locked in its own mortal battle with drifting snow at the coldest place on Earth. Vostok is an Antarctic outpost if ever there was one. Established in the late 1950s, it has survived decades of brutal weather, crippling cutbacks in funding and, at times, complete neglect. But today it is a year-round research facility at the epicenter of the biggest Antarctic project in recent years: the exploration of Lake Vostok. Sealed two miles beneath the polar ice cap, scientists believe the lake may contain organisms that have evolved Carrying on independently for millions of years. Roughly the size of Lake Ontario, Lake Vostok is thought to be liquid as a Jesse Alcorta arrives at the post office minutes ahead of the deadline for mailing boxes to the States. As of 4 p.m. yesterday, only mail See “Vostok”—Page 7 weighing a pound or less will make it off the continent before next summer. Photo by Josh Landis. SOARing to new depths By Jeff Inglis The Antarctic Sun A small team of researchers is painting the white-on-white landscape of Antarctica in bright colors. The Support Office for Aerogeophysical Research, headed by Don Blankenship of the Univer- sity of Texas at Austin, is looking at the continent in ways many scientists have only imagined. SOAR is a consortium of researchers looking at how ice and rock Russian researchers at Vostok relax in their lounge before interact in Antarctica. Their maps are in full color, showing different boarding a U.S. plane bound for McMurdo. The U.S. sends types of rocks and land formations, often over a mile under the ice several support flights to the remote station each year. Photo sheet. by Josh Landis. See “SOAR”—Page 2 Antarctica Conspiracy Life after the Historical hankering abroad / Page 4 theory / Page 9 Ice / Page 11 / Page 13 2 February 6, 2000 The Antarctic Sun “SOAR”—from Page 1 The researchers fly in a Twin Otter sheets covering Antarctica. the evolution of the whole area,” airplane over swaths of area larger than “We’re good to within 10 centime- Blankenship said. the state of Maine, to look at the ice-flow ters,” Blankenship said. The planning and organization systems in key regions of the continent. They can find sediments, holes, resulted in use of several locations for this “We’re trying to figure out how changes in ice-sheet layering, and other research and other work this season: geology influenced the formation of the phenomena. The SOAR team helps teams McMurdo, Dome C, Mid C, Byrd and ice sheets,” Blankenship said. like ITASE choose routes for traverses, Siple Dome camps were all bases for The airplane is crammed with electronics, so many that it takes two to three weeks to configure properly. That’s after the plane’s structure was so radically modified that it required its own certification from Canada’s Ministry of Transport before Kenn Borek Air was allowed to fly it. “The airplane was put together to do both geology and glaciology projects at once,” Blankenship said. In addition to the internal instrumen- This radar image is from a route flown across the Transantarctic Mountains between Midpoint-C and the Dry tation, it has Valleys (on the right). The ice plateau is seen terminating against the mountain peaks, and buried mountains can antennas hanging be seen below the ice. The maximum ice depth in the image is about 2 miles. Some internal layers within the ice off the wings. are visible, indicating volcanic eruptions or changing environmental conditions. Image courtesy Jack Holt. The electron- ics are all sophisti- cated sensors, measuring the plane’s sites for ice-coring, and helps predict how SOAR flights. height above the ice, using ice-penetrating what they find relates to other locations For eight years the project has been radar to look at the rock beneath the ice, around the continent. underway to help explain why the and also measuring the strength of the Their radar also lets them see Transantarctic Mountains are where they gravity and magnetic pull of the rocks. significant layers in the ice sheet. are. But once it’s all set, things move The gravity of the rocks, when “It’s essentially virtual ice coring,” quickly. separated from the influence of the Blankenship said. The next actual deep- “It took, what, 15 days to do,” Earth’s pull, shows how dense the rock is, core site in West Antarctica will be chosen Blankenship said. Good flying weather giving clues to its composition. When that by the SOAR team, in collaboration with and few equipment difficulties were part is combined with information about the the ITASE researchers. of the success, as was increased comput- rock’s magnetic properties, the type of This season they made several ing power. rock can be identified quite accurately. excursions, one completing work they After a four-hour flight, the plane Putting all this information together have been preparing for since 1992. and equipment need about 90 minutes to into a meaningful picture, Blankenship The plane and equipment flew refuel and recalibrate instruments. During said, requires an additional layer of routes over the transition from the Ross that time, the researchers can take a sophisticated equipment and calculation. Sea to the Transantarctic Mountains, provisional look at their data and get a The airplane has several GPS units across the mountains to the Wilkes Basin sense of how reliable it is. Even just a few onboard, which measure the position of and all the way to Aurora Highlands. years ago, researchers needed more than the plane to within four inches. This cross-section of an area of the five hours to do the same task. With that data, and the results from continent about which little is known “The quality of the data we get is the instruments, Blankenship and his geophysically was very important. really outstanding for the remoteness of team create incredibly accurate maps of “We can get a really good handle on the environment,” Blankenship said. the ice and the surface beneath the ice The Antarctic Sun February 6, 2000 3 Letters to the editors The week in weather Robot thanks to humans A few days ago Nomad completed its search for Palmer meteorites at Elephant Moraine. Nomad examined more H/ 47 F than 100 indigenous rocks, studied about 50 in detail and South Pole L/ 33 F classified seven specimens as meteorites. • H/ -26 F John Schutt, who collected the specimens after Nomad Min Wind Chill: 3 F Max Wind: 59 mph L/ -42 F identified them in the field, has concluded that five of the seven are meteorites. Min Wind Chill: -85 F • The expedition was a great success, not only because it Max Wind: 21 mph produced the first finds of extraterrestrial material by a robot, but also because it was a collaborative effort between McMurdo a robotics program and the Antarctic Search for Meteorites. • H/ 39 F We gathered a great deal of data that will help us augment the capabilities of autonomous science robots and, L/ 10 F hopefully, someday see the fulfillment of our work in Min Wind Chill: -20 F robotic exploration of the Moon or Mars. Max Wind: 20 mph On behalf of the Nomad team I would like to express my gratitude for all you have done for us in the last eight months! Your support at all levels was magnificent. Thank you! —Dimi Apostolopoulos, Systems Scientist Carnegie Mellon University, Robotics Institute Housing hats off To Building 208 residents: Thank you for making your building an enjoyable place to work this season! Special thanks to the night workers who regularly made the trash bags piled at the front door disappear; to all the others who picked up a bag on their way out; to those wonderful people who cleaned up the dorm after the New Year’s party; to the angels who took piles of dishes back to the galley; and to the Hammerheads who are always smiling when so many others look like they’re ready to kill to end the season! —Natalie Sudman, your neighborhood janitor Thomas Cwiklinski prepares to throw a frisbee to Meliza Wetzler while the two were on break from the Galley. “We’ve been out here every day of the summer,” Cwiklinski said. Photo by Jeff Inglis. The Antarctic Sun, part of the United VVVVVaaaaallllleeeeennnnntttttiiiiinnnnneeeee(cid:213)(cid:213)(cid:213)(cid:213)(cid:213)sssss DDDDDaaaaayyyyy cccccaaaaarrrrrdddddsssss aaaaannnnnddddd States Antarctic Program, is funded by the National Science Foundation. cccccaaaaannnnndddddiiiiieeeeesssss nnnnnooooowwwww aaaaavvvvvaaaaaiiiiilllllaaaaabbbbbllllleeeee!!!!! Opinions and conclusions expressed in the Sun are not necessarily those of the Foundation. SSSSStttttooooorrrrreeeee HHHHHooooouuuuurrrrrsssss ddddduuuuurrrrriiiiinnnnnggggg SSSSShhhhhiiiiippppp OOOOOffffffffffllllloooooaaaaaddddd Use: Reproduction and distribution are encouraged with acknowledgment of source and author. Sunday, February 6: 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Publisher: Valerie Carroll, Antarctic Support Associates. Monday, February 7: closed Editors: Jeff Inglis Tuesday-Thursday, February 8-10: 6:30-8 p.m. Josh Landis Friday, February 11: closed Aaron Spitzer Contributions are welcome. Contact the Sun at Saturday and Sunday, February 12 and 13: 6:30-8 p.m. [email protected]. In McMurdo, visit our Monday, February 14: closed office in Building 155 or dial 2407. Web address: http://www.asa.org There will be NNNNNOOOOO LLLLLIIIIIQQQQQUUUUUOOOOORRRRR SSSSSAAAAALLLLLEEEEESSSSS during vessel offload. Schedule subject to change. Watch for notices! 4 February 6, 2000 The Antarctic Sun A frozen melting pot: Compiled by Jeff Inglis Canada is not operating any million for administration. bases. In 1993 the Canadian Antarctic Website: http://www.ifremer.fr/ Antarctica is the second-smallest Research Program began to expand ifrtp/ continent, home to over 100 research Canadian polar studies to the southern stations run by 29 countries. Here is a hemisphere. Canada publishes a newslet- Germany operates two stations. brief look at the activities of the other ter on Antarctic research and maintains a Neumayer Station has a winter popula- nations conducting research in Antarctica. database of individuals and organizations tion of 9 or 10, and a summer contingent interested in Canadian Antarctic work. of about 60. Argentina is operating 12 One goal of the Canadian program A cleanup of former East German stations, six year-round, and six summer- is to exchange foreign access to Canadian Antarctic research stations is underway as only. Its program began in 1904, when a research sites in the Arctic for Canadian part of the program’s environmental remote weather station was installed on access to other countries’ sites in Antarc- monitoring effort. Laurie Island in the South Orkneys. tica. Website: http://www.awi- Argentina participates in a number Website: http://www.polarcom.gc.ca/ bremerhaven.de/ of cooperative efforts with Antarctic Treaty members and consultative parties, Chile has 10 stations in Antarctica, India has one Antarctic research including U.S. institutions. four permanent and six summer-only. station, Maitri, in Queen Maud Land. In Website: http://www.dna.gov.ar/ Chile participated in the International 1981 the first Indian Antarctic Expedition Geophysical Year (1957-1958), but sent its began the program. It joined the Antarctic Australia has four major bases in first expedition to the Antarctic in 1916. Treaty consultative nations in September Antarctica. The Australian program Website: http://www.inach.cl/ 1983, just after the first Indians wintered started in 1947, with the first Australian on the Prince Astrid Ice Shelf. National Antarctic Research Expedition. China runs two stations in the The program involves about 400 Antarctic. In January 1980 the first Italy operates two stations, people each year, including 250 research- Chinese scientists traveled to Antarctica including its joint station with France, ers. Wintering teams number 15 to 20 per to visit Australia’s Casey Station. In Concordia, at Dome C. It signed the station. February 1985 the first Chinese station, Antarctic Treaty in 1981, and began Annual budget: $46 million Great Wall Station, was established on Antarctic research in 1985. Website: http://www.antdiv.gov.au/ King George Island in the South The main station at present, Terra Shetlands. Nova Bay station, can hold 70 people. Belgium is not currently operat- In winter, the two Chinese stations Cooperation in logistics and science ing any permanent stations or bases. The house 35 to 45 people combined, and up between Italy, the U.S., and New Zealand country is a founding member of the to 100 during the summer. has increased significantly. Antarctic Treaty. Its scientific research Annual budget: $35 million program began in 1985, and has consisted Ecuador , though a member of Website: http://www.pnra.it/ of a series of three-year studies by COMNAP, is not currently operating any university-based scientists. permanent stations or bases. Japan operates four stations in Website: http://www.belspo.be/antar Antarctica. Its first expedition was on Finland runs one summer-only board the Soya in 1956. Research pro- Brazil operates one research station, Aboa in Queen Maud Land. At grams have been done every year since station, Ferraz, on King George Island. the site is a year-round automated then. Website: http://www.mar.br/~secirm/ weather station. Annual budget: $35 million proantar.htm Finland’s first large expedition was Website: http://www.nipr.ac.jp/ in 1989, involving scientists at Aboa and Bulgaria operates one research on the Aranda. Finland often cooperates Korea has one station, King station, St. Kliment Ochridski, on with Norway and Sweden, as well as Sejong, operating year-round on King Livingston Island. conducting long-term ozone research George Island. Korea has been conducting The first Bulgarian to visit the with Argentina. Antarctic research since 1987. Antarctic went with the 13th Soviet Website: http://www.fimr.fi/ King Sejong’s population numbers Antarctic Expedition in 1967-1969. Since about 15 in the winter and up to 60 in the then, several scientists have traveled to France has four stations, includ- summer. Antarctica with the British, Soviet and ing its shared station with Italy at Dome Website: http://www.kordi.re.kr Spanish programs. C. Researchers winter at two of the An ice-core drilling project is in stations, Dumont d’Urville and Charcot in The Netherlands is not development, as are improvements to the Adelie Land. Dumont d’Urville’s popula- currently operating any stations or bases. base infrastructure. tion varies from about 26 in the winter to One of the major research policies is not 80 in the summer. constructing new research facilities, but Annual budget: $9 million, plus $15 instead using the infrastructure of other The Antarctic Sun February 6, 2000 5 The world comes together in Antarctica nations in collaborative efforts. Poland has one station, Sweden has two stations, both in Sailors from the Dutch East India Arctowski, on King George Island. In Queen Maud Land. Sweden has long Company sighted several sub-Antarctic 1976 Poland began research in the been involved in Arctic research. In the islands in the 16th century. The Nether- Antarctic with five marine expeditions to 1980s it extended its research to the lands has been engaged in scientific the South Shetlands. Antarctic. researching since the mid-1960s, when The Arctowski station opened in Sweden, Finland and Norway have three expeditions were developed in 1977 and has operated continuously since an agreement to share expedition costs collaboration with Belgium. then. The base houses 70 people in and research benefits. Collaborative In 1990-1991, the Netherlands summer and 20 in winter. efforts are also under way with the rented half of the Polish Arctowski Collaborative projects join twelve British, the U.S., and other European Station, rather than build their own Polish institutes and universities, as well Antarctic research organizations. facilities. as institutions in Belgium, Brazil, Ger- Website: http://www.polar.kva.se/ Projects involve collaboration with many, and the Netherlands. German, U.K., Australian, and New Ukraine operates one research Zealand researchers, among other Russia runs eight stations, three station, Vernadsky, on the Antarctic nations. summer-only and five year-round, Peninsula. Annual budget: $1.8 million including Vostok, on the polar plateau. In Website: http://www.nwo.nl/english/ 1956 the Soviet Union began research in The United Kingdom has four alw/programmes/antarctica Antarctica. The research was run prima- stations in Antarctica. U.K. scientists have rily in institutes based in what became the been active in Antarctic research for over New Zealand runs one base, Russian Republic. Russia succeeded the 75 years. The British Antarctic Survey has Scott Base, on Ross Island, which has been U.S.S.R. in the Antarctic Treaty system. been the primary Antarctic planning and occupied since the International Geo- The year-round stations together coordination organization for the past 56 physical Year. house 144 year-round personnel, while years. Scott Base has a peak summer the summer season sees an increase of 162 About 40 staff spend the winter at population of 86, which drops to 10 in the people. the four stations combined. In the winter. The program uses Arrival Heights The country has economic difficul- summer, field parties deploy primarily for some research, as well as maintaining ties which has made Antarctic research from Rothera, the largest base, which can eight research and emergency shelters in difficult to maintain. International house 120. the Ross Sea and the Dry Valleys. collaboration has been part of the process The program has 180 scientists Christchurch, New Zealand, is a by which Russia has maintained a high among its 420-person staff. major gateway to the Antarctic, where the level of research while cutting costs Recently research collaboration has U.S., New Zealand, and Italian research significantly. increased, especially with Germany. programs have offices. 1995 annual budget: $10.5 million Annual budget: $42 million The New Zealand program also Website: http://www.antarctica.ac.uk/ supports the Antarctic Heritage Trust, South Africa operates two which protects and maintains the historic stations, the larger of which is SANAE IV The United States operates huts and sites of the Ross Sea area. in Queen Maud Land. There is also a three year-round stations, a number of New Zealand is heavily involved in year-round weather station on Gough smaller field camps on a summer-only collaborations, partnering in the six- Island. South African Antarctic research basis, and unattended year-round nation Cape Roberts Project, as well as began in the International Geophysical observatories. other projects with the United States, Year. South Africa was an original 1995 annual budget: $197 million Italy, France, Chile, Sweden, Switzerland, signatory of the Antarctic Treaty. Website: http://www.nsf.gov/od/opp/ South Africa, China and Australia. Annual budget: $500,000 arctic/iarpc/start.htm Annual budget: $8 million Website: http://home.intekom.com/ Website: http://www.antarcticanz.govt.nz/ sanae/ Uruguay has one station on the continent, Artigas, on King George Island. Norway runs two stations, both Spain has two stations, both in the In 1776 the country first issued licenses in Queen Maud Land. Norway partici- South Shetland Islands. It also has an ice- for fishing in the southern seas. The first pates with Sweden and Finland in shared strengthened vessel, the Hesperides. All Antarctic research began in 1975, with the responsibility for Antarctic expeditions. three operate only in the summer; the first expedition to the continent in 1984. 1996 annual budget: $6 million stations can house 12 people each, while Website: http://www.npolar.no/ the ship can host 30 scientists, plus the This information is condensed from material crew. located at www.comnap.aq, the website of Peru operates one station, Macchu Annual budget: $6 million the Council of Managers of National Picchu, in the region of the Antarctic Antarctic Programs. Peninsula. 6 February 6, 2000 The Antarctic Sun Crevasse rescue on ice shelf Our Antarctic Week By Jeff Inglis The team escorted her to the Monday The Antarctic Sun ambulance, which took the patient and The w“Rec”k Room: radio show another member of her party back to with prizes and giveaways,1:30- Thursday night a New Zealander McMurdo. The other two returned to town 3:30 p.m., Ice 104.5 FM and three Americans had a brush with with the SAR team. Slide show by Marc O’Shea: Ruta death. While walking between the road to The following day, a team went out Maya, Mexico and Guatemala, Williams Field and the road to Silver City, to examine the area, Dettmar said. They 8:30 p.m., Galley on the Ross Ice Shelf near Scott Base, the found a large crevasse field very close to group went off a flagged route, unknow- existing flagged routes, including one slot Tuesday ingly entering a crevasse field. several feet on from where the fall oc- Lucy Bledsoe: Antarctic short story The New Zealand woman fell curred, which was much wider and reading, 8 p.m., Coffee House through a slot, ending up 20 feet below the deeper. surface in a fairly narrow crevasse, said The inspection also revealed foot No other events this week, due to Ted Dettmar, of the search and rescue tracks which did not belong to the group ship offload. team, who was one of the first rescuers on who suffered the accident, or to their the scene. rescuers. One set of tracks went over a If you have an item for the weekly calendar, She was not complaining of any crevasse over two feet wide, Dettmar said. e-mail us at [email protected], call specific injuries, Dettmar said, so he and Dettmar stressed that the flagged 2407, or drop by our office in Building 155. other members of the SAR team set up a routes are the only safe paths for foot or rope to pull her up. Units responding were vehicle traffic on the ice shelf. The Sensuous Penguin one of the fire department’s ambulances, “You get off the flags and you’re on By Karen Joyce both SAR team Hagglunds tracked your own,” he said, noting that there are vehicles, and two New Zealanders in their crevasses on the flagged routes, too, but tracked truck. they are monitored and either filled or “We had everything we needed for a bridged to make safe crossings. full-on crevasse rescue,” Dettmar said. To perform the rescue Thursday But because the crevasse was not night, Dettmar said, several people and very wide or deep, four rescuers were able vehicles had to drive into a very dangerous to get a rope around the woman and pull area. After the rescue, the team marked her to the surface without much trouble. their paths with crossed black flags to “She was shaken, a little sore, and indicate that they are not safe to travel on. upset,” Dettmar said. Aside from being “Just because there are other cold, she was uninjured. footprints or vehicle tracks, off the flagged route, doesn’t mean it’s safe,” he said. Faces What’s your favorite memory on from this season? “My first day here, with the light and the experience of just being here.” “Playing rock-and-roll “The look on Kirsten Wade’s Alicia Moore New Year’s Eve and New face when I mooned her galley “Skiing on the Ross Ice Shelf Year’s Day at Scott Base wearing my kilt.” at midnight, 2000.” and Icestock.” Brian Kliesen John Parish Bill Meyer helo ops Crary Lab stock room recreation The Antarctic Sun February 6, 2000 7 “Vostok” — from Page 1 NASA has a strong interest in the project because it would result of geothermal energy emanating from the bedrock. provide valuable lessons on how to probe the subsurface lakes Examining the creatures that live in the deep, black coldness of of Jupiter’s moon, Europa, among other places. the water could yield clues to the process of evolution, and even But the head of the Russian Antarctic Expedition, Valery to life on other planets. Lukin, stresses that any plan to drill into the lake must be Drilling to date has reached a depth of two and a quarter scientifically-based, and not merely a platform for NASA or any miles. It’s been halted a mere 300 feet from the surface of the other organization to test its technology. lake, however, until the technology can be developed to enter The National Science Foundation’s Office of Polar Pro- the liquid without contaminating it. grams says any approach it supports to the Lake Vostok project That’s where the must adhere to the international effort principles of all NSF comes in. A collection Antarctic research. of 70 researchers from “NSF, as the 14 countries gathered USAP lead agency, will late last year at be intimately involved Cambridge, England, in our nation’s plan- to discuss possible ning, and any NSF- approaches to the Lake supported activity will Vostok project. They have to meet the agreed that it should hurdles of our scientific be a top priority in peer-review process,” Antarctic science. said Dr. Karl Erb, The question director of the Office of now is how to proceed. Polar Programs. “There is an Entering Vostok’s emerging consensus buildings is an that the science is otherworldly experi- worthwhile, and ence. Pushing through several countries— a set of heavy wooden Russia, France and the doors, the heavy, United States—have humid air is in sharp funded geophysical contrast to the minus research and analysis 40 F atmosphere of the ice from the outside. Leaving the bottom of the Vostok blinding, crunchy snow core,” said Erick behind, a din of Chiang, Office of Polar Russian greetings Programs section head. completes the sense A study per- that this is more than formed on that ice core another research caused a stir when it station: It is another found microscopic life culture. that appeared to have The most striking existed deep beneath sensation is smell. The the surface, not far rooms are saturated from the lake. Subse- with the odor of quent analyses, cigarette smoke and however, brought into months of constant question whether the Russian driller Valery Shoshkin stands at the top of the two-and-a-quarter-mile human habitation. Like organisms were deep hole over Lake Vostok. The bottom of the hole is about 300 feet from the the facilities at the lake’s surface. Photo by Josh Landis. actually in the ice, or South Pole, there is whether the samples little water available had been inadvertently contaminated. for washing. “The findings are very questionable,” said Jean Robert The decrepit appearance, however, gives way to a warmth Petit, Vostok International Project coordinator. and enthusiasm on the part of the Russian inhabitants. Regardless, there is little debate over whether the project “It feels like coming home,” a meteorologist named will proceed. It will take the collective knowledge and experi- Vladimir said through an interpreter. He has spent three winters ence of other nations’ Antarctic programs to devise a way to at Vostok, and plans to return. reach the lake cleanly. Another Russian worker put it in more dramatic terms, It will also cost more than any one country—most of all although it wasn’t clear whether his attitude was celebration or Russia—would be willing to pay. The latest estimates place the resignation. cost at $20 million or more. It’s the kind of money Vostok hasn’t “Antarctica isn’t just a job,” he said, “it’s a disease.” seen the likes of. 8 February 6, 2000 The Antarctic Sun In Brief McMurdo Marathon results: Greenwave limps along 26.2 mile run 16 mile run The Greenwave will be late this year, due to engine 2:50:00 Shane Potaka 2:12:30 Scott Iremonger trouble on its route from Lyttelton, according to Cmdr. Steve 3:00:00 Hiram Henry 2:28:45 Monte Ramirez Wheeler, of the U.S. Coast Guard. 3:01:00 Joe Hurley 2:41:15 Forrest McCarthy The vessel has passed its point of safe return, and is 3:31:21 Kevin Condron 13.1 mile run proceeding to McMurdo regardless of further developments. 3:40:05 Lisa Berry 1:51:45 Mike Sullivan The Coast Guard icebreaker Polar Star is heading out to 3:58:52 Steve Hopkins 1:51:45 Chas Day meet it in case it needs a tow or other assistance. 4:17:50 Everett Hubbard 1:55:00 Dianne Feltham The Greenwave’s engines are is operating on seven of 4:23:14 Karen Joyce 13.1 mile ski eight cylinders, and making 12 knots (just over 12 miles per 4:35:18 Claire Carpenter 3:11:00 Kelly Nevins hour). It is expected to arrive late Tuesday afternoon. 26.2 mile ski 4:01:30 Peggy Malloy 2:27:21 Tim Thomas 4:01:30 Lucy Bledsoe Shuttle Ops shuttles 25K 8:20:00 Ross Hickey (with sled) Scott Johnson of Shuttle Ops drove this season’s 25,000th passenger from Derelict Junction to Williams Field Monday. On the front line and behind the scenes Biffton Parks, a member of the Idaho Air National Guard at Early last week, the U.S. ambassador to New Zealand and Gowen Field in Boise, was heading to work when he discovered Samoa, Carol Moseley Braun, and U.S. Air Force Secretary, F. his celebrity status. Whitten Peters visited Antarctica to get a view of the operations A pneudraulic mechanic, Parks wore his homemade they support from afar. crown all the way out to the airfield, and again on the way back The U.S. Embassy in Wellington handles negotiations home at the end of his shift. between the governments of the U.S. and New Zealand which relate to the U.S. Antarctic Program, including issues such as movement of cargo and people. The U.S. Air Force supplies logistical support to the program, through the New York Air National Guard, the staff of Biffton Parks is crowned Operation Deep Freeze, and the Air Force C-141s used early and Shuttle Ops’ 25,000th late in the summer season. passenger by Chris Both Moseley Braun and Peters said they saw a need for Levesque. Photo by Liz continued effort and research in Antarctica, and indicated their Sutter. willingness to work in support of the program. Ross Island Chronicles Good luck and safe travels! by Richard Perales Well, it was another successful season. We hope to see you again next year! Likewise Please tell me that wasn(cid:213)t the last plane. The Antarctic Sun February 6, 2000 9 White continent, dark secrets By Rep. T. Lloyd Special to the Sun covered by ice? It’s a fact that Of all the research that long ago the continent was warm takes place on this great enough to support plants and continent, there is a suspicious animals, including a reptile called lack of attention paid to certain Lystrosaurus. Paleontologists say theories that, while extraordi- it roamed Antarctica 200 million nary, deserve closer examina- years ago. tion. We are living on the edge That may not have been of a largely unexplored land, the end of it. and it’s time we looked at In the under-reported more than just rocks, glaciers world of alien sightings and and penguins. abductions there is a link I am talking about between Antarctica and reptile- evidence that has come up like creatures. According to the repeatedly, indicating that we Omega Files, compiled by are not the first beings to “Branton,” “Some ‘contactees’ inhabit this place, nor is such as Maurice Doreal claim science the only activity here. that the reptiloids [human-like When are we going to ac- reptile creatures] in prehistoric knowledge that there may be times lived in the Antarctic more going on than meets the region, when it was a subtropical eye? zone, and that they were As everyone knows, the The Oronteus Finaeus map, more than 300 years old, depicts subsequently driven under- continent is almost completely Antarctica with ice-free areas. Map courtesy Fingerprints of the ground and off the planet by a covered by ice. What lies Gods, by Graham Hancock, Three Rivers Press, New York, 1995. race of pre-Nordic humans under that ice, miles deep in whose lost and long-forgotten many places, is still unknown. The truth is coming out, however, civilization now lies buried deep beneath the sands of the Gobi as a few brave souls seek the answers to some troubling questions. Desert.” In his book, Fingerprints of the Gods, Graham Hancock Is it possible those reptiloids evolved from the earlier presents strong evidence that Antarctica was charted long ago by Lystrosaurus—or that both creatures were some form of alien life? unknown people, when temperatures were much warmer. And what about the presence of Hitler’s forces here at the He cites a number of old maps, such as the one drawn by end of World War II? Is there yet another connection? Oronteus Finaeus in 1531, reproduced here. Experts examined the According to Branton, an abductee named Alex Christopher original and its age was verified. It was made in the 1500s—three says he saw reptiloids and Nazis working together aboard centuries before Antarctica was allegedly even sighted, much less antigravity craft or within underground bases. At least one of documented. The map is startlingly accurate, depicting ice-free those bases is reported to have existed in Antarctica. mountain ranges, a South Pole that’s just about dead on and the Again, the facts support the claims: In 1938 the Nazis sailed Ross Sea as it would look without the ice shelf. south and sent numerous exploratory missions to the Queen You can even see Maud region. They filmed Ross Island. and mapped about 250,000 How could someone square miles of territory from draw such a map more the air, and pilots dropped than 200 years before Capt. giant darts to lay claim to James Cook even sailed what Germany called “Neu- south of the Antarctic Schwabenland.” Circle? There were reports of Hancock’s answer is ice-free areas, underground that it was actually caves heated by geothermal mapped long ago, perhaps activity, and even pools of thousands of years earlier, warm water. According to the and Finaeus merely Omega Files, the Nazis copied those ancient established a secret Antarctic sources. base known simply as 211. Is it possible that a With supplies shipped race of people or other life through white-supremacist forms were present in The Lystrosaurus, a land lizard that lived in Antarctica 200 million years Antarctica before it was ago. Could it be related to the reported reptiloid creatures of today? See “Conspiracy”— Image from Antarctica, Reader’s Digest, Pleasantville, New York, 1985. Page 10 10 February 6, 2000 The Antarctic Sun Art and the beauty of science By Sue Allspaw Special to the Sun Science and art: so different sometimes they can be sitting next to each other and not realize how similar they can be. This is what Bill Green has discovered and written about in Water Ice & Stone: Science and Memory on the Antarctic Lakes (1995: Harmony Books, a division of Crown Publishers, New York). He absorbs his readers like the water he talks about absorbs particles, with the magic of his memory and the poetic language of chemistry and limnology. Green, a geochemist from Ohio, spent over seven seasons studying the lakes of the Dry Valleys, looking for answers about the ice, the water, and the minerals that keep the lakes moving in never-ending cycles. He tells the story of his discoveries, mixing scientific terminology with memories of his brother, mother and daughters. He has us standing on the banks of the Akron Lake in Ohio one minute, and digging for shells by the Onyx River the next. He shares personal defeat and triumph stories about his colleagues with a compassion and closeness that is unexpected from a scientific text. Green teaches limnology for poets: Even the least scientifically minded reader can fall in love with the discoveries of Bohr, Mendeleyev and Rutherford. The expectation and suspense of Green and Varner as their flume is inserted into a stream near Lake Hoare to measure flow is recounted with Green’s excitement coming through all of his chemical and physical explanations. The most scientific reader will feel the magic of language when Green begins his explanation of water: “We seem to know each other, this sea and I.... It cannot distinguish where I begin and it leaves off. It senses me only as one of its own.” This book proves what Green poses as hypothesis: that art and science aren’t always easily distinguishable from one another, that in many ways, it took being stuck in a whiteout in the Dry Valleys for him to see the art in the stratified layers of lakes, to see the science in the winds and sand swirls. Any visitor to Antarctica will enjoy this adventure below the ice and into a man and his life’s work, his life’s memory. “Conspiracy”—from Page 9 South Africa, Hitler had a foothold in this new land, possibly working in concert with the reptiloids. Next, consider the massive push by the U.S. government to explore “uncharted” areas of Antarctica following World War II with Operation Highjump, the largest Antarctic expedition ever. The naval mission set sail in 1946 with 13 ships (including an aircraft carrier), 23 aircraft, over 4,700 men and enough supplies for six months. Why such a large force? According to Branton, Adm. Richard Byrd had been instructed to destroy 211 with this Antarctic invasion. They circled the continent, making periodic flights inland. One of their destina- tions was Queen Maud Land. Operation Highjump was declared a success at testing equipment in cold conditions, but no mention was made of the military battle some say ensued. Why did the 6 to 8 month mission end after just two months? And now, in 2000, is it just a coincidence that the new government contractor in Antarctica is a multi-billion dollar defense giant? Are we in the latest phase of a battle with Nazi- alien forces? As you can see, there are many unanswered questions An artist’s rendering of a reptiloid, which are often said to be wearing surrounding this great continent. Many of them are scientific; hoods. Image from www.think-aboutit.com. some of them are not. We owe it to ourselves, our country and our planet to keep our eyes open. You never know what the next discovery may be.