[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 191 (Thursday, October 2, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51702-51703]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-26064]


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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION


Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic 
Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541)

AGENCY: National Science Foundation.

ACTION: Notice of Permit Applications Received under the Antarctic 
Conservation Act of 1978, Pub. L. 95-541.

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SUMMARY: The National Science Foundation (NSF) is required to publish 
notice of permit applications received to conduct activities regulated 
under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978. NSF has published 
regulations under the Antarctic Conservation Act of Title 45 Part 670 
of the Code of Federal Regulations. This is the required notice of 
permit applications received.

DATES: Interested parties are invited to submit written data, comments, 
or views with respect to these permit applications by October 27, 1997. 
Permit applications may be inspected by interested parties at the 
Permit Office, address below.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to the Permit Office, Room 755, 
Office of Polar Programs, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson 
Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia 22230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Nadene G. Kennedy at the above address or (703) 306-1033.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The National Science Foundation, as directed 
by the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541), has 
developed regulations that implement the ``Agreed Measures for the 
Conservation of Antarctic Fauna and Flora'' for all United States 
citizens. The Agreed Measures, developed by the Antarctic Treaty 
Consultative Parties, recommended establishment of a permit system for 
various activities in Antarctica and designation of certain animals and 
certain geographic areas requiring special protection. The regulations 
establish such a permit system to designate Specially Protected Areas 
and Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
    The application received is follows:
1. Applicant: Brenda Hall and George Denton, Institute of Quaternary 
Studies, University of Maine, Orono, Maine 04469-5790. Permit 
Application No. 98-014

Activity for Which Permit is Requested

Enter Site of Special Scientific Interest
    The applicants are carrying out a large mapping project to 
determine the former extent of a grounded ice sheet in the Ross Sea 
during the last glacial maximum (LGM). Much of the work has been 
concentrated on the Dry Valley regions where lobes of the grounded Ross 
Sea Ice Sheet flowed inland into the mouths of the valleys. Barwick 
Valley (SSSI #3) was last mapped in the 1960's. According to that work, 
inland ice advanced down Barwick Valley simultaneously with ice advance 
into Lower Victoria Valley from the Ross Sea. The Lower Victoria Valley 
deposits indicate the presence of a lake, not an ice tongue. Based on 
descriptions of Barwick Valley deposits from previous mapping and 
observations during last season's reconnaissance, the applicants 
believe a lake may have also extended into this area. The applicants 
have identified lacustrine sediments in Barwick Valley. A radiocarbon 
date of a fossil algae sample yielded an age of about 12,500 
<SUP>14</SUP>C yr. B.P. for a high lake, similar to the age of a high 
lake in Victoria Valley. The lacustrine deposits may reflect the 
presence of lake that was part of a much larger lake that filled 
Victoria Valley. The applicants plan to make detailed measurements of 
the elevation of the lacustrine deposits in Barwick Valley, as well as 
collect tiny samples of fossil algae and carbonates for radiocarbon 
dating.
    Work in the Barwick Valley will primarily involve mapping. Samples 
will be collected from key high-elevation lacustrine deposits to obtain 
fossil algae and carbonates in order to construct a radiocarbon 
chronology for lake level variation. The samples will be collected from 
10 cm  x  10 cm areas and all surface material will be replaced.

[[Page 51703]]

The applicants plan to backpack into Barwick Valley by foot from the 
Victoria Valley and will camp there for a 2-3 day period.

    Location: McMurdo Station, Ross Island, Antarctica.
    Dates: October 20, 1976-February 15, 1998.

2. Applicant: Frederick W. Taylor, Sr., Institute for Geophysics, The 
University of Texas at Austin, 4412 Spicewood Springs Road, #600, 
Austin, TX 78759-8500. Permit Application: 98-015

Activity for Which Permit is Requested

Enter Specially Protected Area
    The applicant requests to enter the Byers Peninsula, Specially 
Protected Area (SPA #3), in order to install a Global Positioning 
System (GPS) to obtain data by passive electronic recording. The Global 
Positioning System (GPS) will be used to measure horizontal tectonic 
motion of the Snow Island-Livingston Island--King George Island block 
relative to the Antarctic Peninsula and relative to sites in South 
America. The floor of the Bransfield Strait is spreading causing an 
increase in the distance between this block and the Antarctic Peninsula 
at an unknown rate. There are other active tectonic boundaries between 
the Shetland Islands and South America across which rates of motion are 
also not known. The rates of ongoing motion of the Snow Island to the 
King George block and the role it plays in the interactions of small 
tectonic plates lying between South America and Antarctica are 
essential to understanding regional tectonic relationships.
    The applicant plans to camp at the site for a 3-4 day period over 
the next several years. All items will be removed from the site, except 
for a GPS marker, the six anchor bolts and the witness post. By 
returning to each site two or more times over the next several years, 
the applicant can remeasure distances between sites, determine how much 
the distances have changed, and calculate rates and directions of 
motion for small and large tectonic plates in the region.
    Location: Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island, Antarctic Peninsula.
    Dates: December 1, 1997-December 31, 2000.
Nadene G. Kennedy,
Permit Officer, Office of Polar Programs.
[FR Doc. 97-26064 Filed 10-01-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-M