The Daily Alaska empire., 1950-06-24
RADIO CONTACT
 IS ESTABLISHED
 WITH JIRp PARTY

tltIC WdS SOOd llCWc AOA 4'ANy nard M. Miller a few hours after his arrival yesterday afternoon from New York City. Miller is field director for the Juneau Ice field Research Project JIRP), which is getting under way op the third successive summer expedition to the Juneau Ice Cap.
 Two-way radio contact was es- tablished last night with the ad- vance party, which reached the main camp late Wednesday. Their voices had been heard faintly Thursday evening, but use of cid batteries prevented through com munication.
 In his Aeronca, Kenneth Loken made second drop of new bat teries and emergency supplies yes- terday, and the young scientists had a good talk with Director Miller last night. Tn the advance group are Norman Turner, senior meteorologist; Charles (Buck) Will son, surveyor, and Paul Livingston, geologist and botanist.
 They are snug in the hut built last year. Cabled down to the rock, he insulated cabin had withstood the winter we'll and in good condi- tion, although three sheets of al minimum which had been nailed to the hut had been stripped off by winds.
 A maximum minimum thermom- eter inside a fibre-glass insulation in the hut reached low of 12 degrees below zero, indicating to Miller that Ice Cap weather had been at least 40 below
 Only four feet show of the 26- foot tower built last summer, in- dicating very heavy snowfall, as the g feet must be the packed re- suit of much more snow. This tower is adjacent to the ski-plane landing area on upper Taku Glac- fer, about one-half mile west of the research station.
 The JIRP men have the weather station in full operation and, start ing today, will make daily reports to the U. s. Weather Bureau at Juneau airport.
 They report that food supplies leit in 1949 are still edible. From the conversation, Miller gathers that their morale is high.
 Richard G. Merritt, chief survey or, and Arthur Gilkey, geologist, who arrived here yesterday, left this morning for the Ice Cap, to tie in surveying controls there with previous control established by the U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey in Taku Valley.
 Monday Miller expects CAT from Kodiak, which will be here several days to drop supplies for the expedition.
 Famed Col. Bernt Balchen, com- mander of the 10th Rescue Squad ron is expected Thursday, accom- panied by Fred Milan, meteorol- ogist from the University of Alaska. Milan had planned to be here this week, but was delayed by trans portation arrangements.
 Besides research in meteorology, glaciology and geology, the expedl- ton will do mapping and surveying, plant geology and logistics studies, as well as equipment testing, in- cluding the testing of a new type c Ration. Tests will be made for the Air Force, Signal Corps, Quar- termaster Corps and Ordinance.
 Joint sponsors are the American Geographical Society, the Office of Naval Research and the United States Forest Service, with the aid and cooperation of the joint ser vices.
 Director Miller is especiaSoy pleased with the generosity of the Forest Service here. Regional For ester B. Frank Heintzleman has made available a large room in the Forest Service warehouse for JIRP headquarters, and is cooperating in many other ways.