Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-08-20
GEOGRAPHIC FUND
DONATED TO BYRD
Commander Will Receive Aid
From Observers and Cash
Gift of $4,000.

The National Geographic Society
will cooperate with the Antarctic ex-
petition of Comdr. Richard Evelyn
Byrd by sending scientific observers
along and contributing $4,000 from
the society's exploration fund toward
the scientific equipment of the
expedition.
thorough exploration of Antarctic
regions offers "A rich field for collec-
ton of scientific data, the society's
trustees believe, though the pheno-
mena to he observed in the South Pole
polar regions are in marked contrast
to that of the Arctic.
1t was recalled that Comdr. Byrd
gained his first Far Northern flying
experience when, in 1925. he was as
signed by the Navy to accompany the
Macmillan Arctic expedition which
was sponsored by the National Geo.
graphic Society, and to command the
three airplanes and the Navy per
sonnet of that expedition.
Statement From Society.
Comdr. Byrd already is the holder
of the Hubbard gold medal, the
societys highest award, held by only
eight men. which was presented TO
him in behalf of the society by Presi-
dent Coolidge after he returned from
his history.making flight over the
North Pole.
In regard to the scientific aspects of
Antarctic exploration, a statement
from the society says:
Conditions in striking contrast to
those in the Arctic will be encountered
by the Byrd expedition in the Ant.
arctic. Instead of a vast eXpanse of
sea and relatively low land, there is a
l. i'll, u. 4l,n, ,.,s1io
or the United States. In the valleys of
the Far North the Summer sun brings
moss. grass and flowers. But. in con-
trast, the bleak plateau and noun
tains of the Antarctic harbor practi-
cally no living things because much
of their area is perpetually blanketed
by snow and ice.
Birds frequent the edge of the ice
barrier where they can exist upon the
creatures of the sea, but inland no life
has been found because there is no
vegetation. The bears. wolves. foxes,
rabbits, musk oxen and caribou of
the Far North have not single rep
resentative in the Far South known
to man.
"Comdr. Byrd's expedition will
doubtless be able to augment the in
formation contained upon the now
meager maps of the Antarctic con-
tinent. Explorers cannot sail along
the coasts of this continent as they
can along those Of Australia or Africa.
The great ice barrier and pack ice
keeps ships at a distance, sometimes
of several hundred miles. Only in
few isolated places has this barrier
been penetrated and the actual land
reached.
This condition is in contrast to that
of Greenland, where the ice cap eX
tends to the coast in only few places.
1t is known that practically all of
Greenland is a high plateau, but the
topography of the Antarctic continent
is practically unknown except for
small areas traversed by explorers.
Present Map Incomplete.
''The present map of the Antarctic
regions, therefore, is mostly blank,
with a few patches of known territory
along the coast. and one or two mar
row paths penetrating inland. The
best known region is the land directly
south of New Zealand traversed by
Shackleton, Scott and Amundsen. The
world is still hazy in regard to the
high mountain ranges which exist |
near this most used highway to the
South Pole, and little is known OF the
land lying relatively near the Pole and
between II and Africa, south america,
the south Pacific and the southern
Indian Ocean. Observations from the
air should make it possible to fill in
much of this data.
Among the important problems to
be worked out by Comdr. Byrd are
those relating to the meteorology of
the Southern Continent and it's effect
on world weather. especially that of
the Southern Hemisphere. Observa-
tons have been taken on the ground
along the Shackleton, Scott and
Amundsen routes, but nothing is
known of conditions on the other side
Of the Pole or i'm the air above the
continent 1t is believed that the
barometric and temperature changes
and the air currents originating over
this great land mass strikingly infiu
ence the weather to the north. and
that the gathering of data over re-
gionf now unknown will aid weather
forec.Sting.
Although the field for geological
research in the Antarctic is narrow.
the party will be on the lookout for
any specimens that may be encoun-
tered In regions hitherto unvisited by
man. Any rock specimens that give
PROMISE of adding to the geological
knowledge Of the UNEMPLOYED continent
will also be collected"