Evening star., 1951-09-19

keodaP, joint bFtfiSh-SednolnoWoH Antorefle
Expedition, North American Newspaper
Alliance.
MAUDEEIM, Queen Maud Land
Antarctiea, Sept. 1--we have
had q rather hard midwinter, with
continuous storms and heavy
drifting of snow, but the arrival
of sunny days-though bleak
signals a gradual improvement
In our Antarctic climate.
Occasional gales during the win
ter kept our two windmills run
ming, providing electric power for
the most necessary lamps. Our
diesel generators are quite worn
down and have been used for
radio transmission for only a few
hours daily. Consequently. the
winter months have been dark
and trying for us in our deeply
snow-covered huts.
Temperatures here are still in
the neighborhood of 20 below
zero with % to 81 below most
common.
(The first international polar
expedition In history. the IA
man group at Maudheim since
early 1850 is composed Of Nor
wegians, Britons and Swedes,
with a Canadian and an Aus
tralian listed among the Brit
tshers. The expeditions stay
originally planned for two years
and numbering Is men in the
beginning-in this region is
motivated by scientific curiosity,
not by territorial or economic
interest on the part of the re-
spective nations.)
Ice Samples Taken.
Our winter work is finished
and preparations for the spring
and summer excursions into the
field are continuing. The glaciolo-
giStS have most laboriously but
successfully bored down to 100
meters (109 yards, taking up
good samples of ice from various
depths. Walter Schytt of Sweden,
chief glaciologist, says the re-
suits have been very satisfactory
and the work is especially i'm
portant in that never before has
a study been made of sections
at 10 to 80 meters depth, reveal
ing gradual transition from snowy
firm ice to hard glacier ice with
no influence of water. He and
Charles Swithinbank, British as
sistant glaciologist, have also
sunk 10-meter-deep shafts for
a study Of the strata of yearly
accumulations of snow, showing
climatic conditions during the
last 13 years.
The meteorologists have also
been extremely busy and happy
with an extensive series of obser-
vations by means of radiosonde
balloons and other equipment
during two winters of very diff
ferent weather types. Surveyor
Nils Roer Of Norway and Stie
Hallgren, Swedish photographer
have prepared a new preliminary
map and some 500 photographs
to facilitate next summers aerial
survey of Queen Maud Land. Life
at our Antarctic winter station
here also has been expertly filmed
by Hallgren.
The coming seasons field work
depends on Gordon Robin, our
Australian physicist and radar ex-
pert. being able to transport to
the new depot 200 kilometers d24
niles inland our remaining two
serviceable weasels (snow trac-
tors). Next, Robin. with the
weaselS and one dog team and as
sisted by Swithinbank and Peter
Melleby Of Norway, in charge Of
the dogs, will try to lay a seismic
profile measuring the thickness Of
the inland ice and picturing the
underlying land features all the
way up to the inland plateau. 1t
Is possible they may have to sac
rifice the vehicles and return by
means of dog Sledge. If successful,
this expedition may bring sensa-
tional results but Robin is being
most secretive on it's possibilities
until the facts are obtained.
Groups to Return to Europe.
The first sledge party in charge
Of geologist Schytt will depart
from Maudheim late this week for
glaciological and geological re-
search some 248 miles southeast
Of here. A few days later, sur
veying geological party consisting
Of Roer, Hallgren and Fred Roots,
our Canadian geologist, will leave
for the southerly mountain ranges.
Owe Wilson, Swedish doctor, will
subsequently join Schytt with a
second weasel party. All told, five
dog teams and nine men in the
field will be returning to Europe
in December or early January,
leaving at Maudheim this season
only five Of the expedition mem
bers now here.
The field work this coming
season will be more exciting and
doubtful than that of last summer,
because the dogs will be weaker
and we will have amateur me-
chan1cs handling the weasels, but
we are hoping for the best and
preparing for the worst-which is
just about all we can do. Those
Of you interested in the work of
this expedition can help by touch
Ing very much wood.
Between you and us, these end