Evening star., 1935-01-20
Admiral Byrd Sums Up the Achievements
OF His Second Expedition Into Antarctica

foothills west of Thorne Glacier dwin-
died east of it into numerous glacial
amphitheaters tnclosed by mountains
OF igneouS rocks. The stream Of Ice
debounching into Thorne Glacier from
the east, which DR.. Gould of the first
expedition had called Leverett Glacier,
was found to be a subplateau.
Eastward the mountains dwindled in
size, becoming increasingly engulfed
by the ice pouring from the Polar
Plateau, which, at the head of Thorne
Glacier, had dipped to an elevation
of only 1000 feet The important
point was that through the terraced
structure OF the Subplateau Of Lev
erett the Plateau of Marie Byrd Land
rose to merge with the Polar Plateau
and that farther east, II the sinking
Of the Polar Plateau persisted, the
two plateaus undoubtedly met at a
common level.
Minerals Found.
Behind the coastal front of Marie
Byrd Land, Siple's party, comprising
himself, Wade, Corey and Stancliffe
and three dog teams, Travelled with
excellent fortune. A sledging party.
they had the experience Of penetrating
on scientific mission into land first
discovered by aircraft five years be-
fore. Siple's biological finds were
superb. The peaks of this new land,
fully 100 miles from the coast, bore a
flourishing life. The pink and gray
GRANTEES and the steel-gray schist were
painted with patches of green moss,
white lichens and o spectacular red
lichen.
Wade, the first geologist on the spot,
found evidence which may verify what
he had surmised after the flight OF
November 15-that tectonically the
mountains Of Marie Byrd Land seem
10 form q massive link In the Andean
fold chain between New Zealand and
the Antarctic Archipelago, but that
the photographic dissimilarities make
the connection less real than appar-
ent. In 3-inch quartz vein slanting
down the face Of mountain in the
Donald Woodward group he found a
deposit Of galena and elsewhere de-
posits of molybdenite and chalcopyrite,
from which lead, molybdenum and
copper may be extracted.
The party brought back a rich har-
vest Of geological and biological speci-
mems. Siple gathered no less than two
dozen different species Of lichens and
moses, an excellent haul considering
the fact that up to then scarcely a
hundred different species had been
found in the Antarctic, and most of
these on sub-Antarctic islands. He
also returned with samples Of ice and
water teeming with microscopic life.
The plateau party converted a mis-
fortune into an accomplishment. The
inability Of the tractors to break past
the crevasses along the eighty-first
parallel in spite Of gallant efforts
forced Morgan and DR.. Bramhall.
whose work was dependent upon in
struments too heavy to be transported
by dog teams, to throw their lot in
with the tractors which were then di-
rected on long curving course that
ultimately carried them into Marie
Byrd Land south Of the Edsei Ford
range and back through Scott Land.
Seismic Soundings.
In this unexplored area, Morgan
made a valuable series of seismic
soundings which will give US an inkling
OF the depth of the ice sheet and the
character of the underlying land on
the same track. DR.. Bramhall, using
dip circle and an askania balance,
obtained valuable record Of the dis
tribution of magnetic elements In
these regions.
Although the results have only
been partly analyzed, certain conclu-
SlonS are already evident. Bram-
hall had reported that existing iso-
COMIC charts for the south polar re-
gionS, based as they are on very
meager data, conform in general to
the present state of the earth,s mag
netic field. His observations, how
ever. indicate that more or less
uniform shifting Of the lines as much
as two or three degrees will be neces-
sary.
December and January are always
q critical period in the life Of an
expedition, for then the field parties
are at the greatest distance from
the home base and aviation must
stand by night and day to seize
the rarely occurring opportunities
to break through the eternal mists
and clouds of Midsummer. Never
theless we made three more at
tempts to break deeper into Maria
Byrd Land. December 8 a flight
crew was recalled IS miles out when
fog closed in tight over Little Amer
lea; on the fifteenth q crew which
had reached latitude 75.10 S., longi-
tude 1870 w., on q flight to trace the
coast Of Marie Byrd Land, was turned
back at the very edge Of discovery by
an ocean Of clouds. and on New Year
eve an attempt by Bowlin to penetrate
to the Edsel Ford Range was blocked
by the same conditions.
The Results.
Summing up, We can say that the
results Of the expedition are nearly
all that we could rightfully hope for.
Thanks to flight operations and the
three sledging parties striking at
strategic points along the front of
Marie Byrd Land, we now have q bet
ter conception Of the area which, in
1890. we lifted above the horizon. We
know something of its geology and
biology, Of the thickness of the ice
Gaping It, and by means of the map
ping camera we shall be able to con-
struct q map Of its features.
This newest of American discover.
les Is magnificent sweep of territory
running from the Pacific Ocean to the
South Pole, and encompassing more
than 100000 square miles of territory.
Superb mountains life cleaning peaks
through the glacial seas covering 1t,
and a grand plateau marches over all
but the talleSt peaks.
It must be clear to any one that
such reviews as this can only out
line the high spots an dthe general
story. For the daily routine observa-
tions and efforts, each of which in
its own field possesses great merit,
there can only be passing mention.
Prominent among these Is meteorology.
Haines, assisted by Grimminger. has
extended the excellent observations on