ANTARCTIC ICE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 32, 8 February 1939, Page 15

ANTARCTIC ICE.

THE BARRIER'S EDGE. i ____ __ NATIVES OF LONELIEST SEA. FIRE MBKACE ON WTATT EARP I __ The unusual conditions which the Ellsworth Expedition found in the Antarctic this* eummer, and some of their experiences before the accident to a member of the company and the consequent departure of thb Wyatt Earp for Australia, are told in • a special N.A.V.A. dispatch by Mr. Lincoln Ellsworth, which haa juet arrived by mail. This message, after explaining that the «hip had broken clear from a heavy belt of pack ice that had held it faet for some days, goes on to say:— "After threading our way through a mass of grotesquely formed, old, overturned icebergs and loosely strewn, heavy flows we are now seventy miles south of yesterday's position and within 150 miles of the nearest known edge of the solid Antarctic barrier. Our position to-day is latitude 66 couth, longitude 77 east. During the last week, the pack about us, though heavy and tightly pressed, has been melting fast. Thick, humiinoeky floes, ranging .from five to fifteen feet in thickness, thinned down noticeably by partly melting under water and by evaporation and melting on the surface. We were not the only ones troubled by the ice, for many whales at intervals came up none first in the little pool of water at the stern of the Wyatt Earp and puffed and sucked in breath noisily several times before diving down again to seek another small opening in whatever direction they cared to take. But mushy ice filled most of the small spaces between the heavier floee and their crumbling edges permitted the force of the wind to At them close together. It wns these crumbling edges that, on several occasions, -were our salvation, for, 'by drifting slightly faster than the pack, which, in turn, drifted farter than the bergs, we were borne down against the icebergs and had to fight our way with engines at full speed, fooi by .foot, ■to one side or the other of the towering maesea of ice.

A Roar of Flame. It wm during one of these forced moving* that we suffered an accident that might have led to grave disaster. A hot spark from the engine room funnel fell upon the fabric wing of the little Aeronca seaplane, and in a few seconds a roar of flame spread over the wing top. Fortunately, the fire wae noticed immediately by Captain Johansen, and Second Officer Noreeth and Pilot Lymbufner, luckily on the forward deck at the time, rushed for the fire extinguisher* and soon had the flames under control.

Before the fire wae extinguished, a large hole was burned in the wing covering. However, the machine ie not beyond repair, and the men expect to have rt in flying condition within the next few days.

But for the smartness of the men the lire would soon have taken full control, and, what with the 5000 gallons of gasoline on the wooden de*k* of the Wyatt Earp, our condition would have been precarious Indeed. i K Iwatirixife *n>itt>' ■". *

It ItM been a tedious journey, relieved by few incidents, except wMefl, from two isolated patches of open water, I dispatched Pilot Lymburner in the little Aeronca seaplane to acout for the easiest passage through tne ke, and when o«ca* •tonally a whale, a seal or a penguin pope up here arid titer* and eaata an Inquiring eye at the sturdy Wyatt Earp aa ahe squirms and wigplea almost help* less in the grip of the ice.

We envy the native life, its facility of movement as it slithers gracefully on its way through the small patches of open water and dives almost effortlessly arid unrestricted, to reappear on the farther aid* bf a heavy not*

However, native life, one species of Antarctic petrel- eecepted, is scarce in thb area. We have ieen less than a dottn penguins, six of them goldenbreasted Emperors, majestically at home on the Ice of In the water, and the others the black-headed, white-eyed Adelies. The whales seen were of the species known as Minke, the eeals either Weddel or Hose, and one sea leopard wriggled and snarled at we disturbed its Blumber when we bumped into a oummocky -floe.

Yesterday a slim "icy nsh" was eeen •wimmtng near tfce surf*** and above a projecting ice foot. Thts Is a rare sight in these waters, on* I, myself, have not seen Iβ' the four yearn of mjr Antarctic experience. Fish hare been netted in. lower depths of the Antarctic waters, all about the shorei bf Antarctic islands, but they seldom are seen swimming freely near the surface. Unusual Ice Drift. The ice mass thi* year seems to have broken from the continent in mid winter and drifted far from shore, allowing a belt of ehiottth Ice to form between last year's pack and the barrier. It is this lew month* , old, tough new Ice that is holding Uβ tip at present. But, with temperatures averaging just above the freezing point, the ice is melting rapidly, and, within a few days, we should see the towering masses of the Antarctic continent itaejf.

•It Iβ y*t too early to Judge the condition of the ice at the edge of the continent but, taking Into consideration the fact that we met the pack ice in latitude 55, some 660 nautical miles north of where we are to-day, and not having seen an extensive area of open water since flret meeting the pack, we can safely say that it is an extraordinarily bad season for ice in this section of the south. This does not necessarily mean that the mean temperature this season is much lower than normal, and, in fact, it seems from the accumulated evidence of several years that the Antarctic conditions are getting warmer. Bag* Peek Iμ Area. However, the condition of the ice we have passed indicates that, some time early last winter, it broke clear from the edge of the continent, drifted north and hummocked badly. The intervening •paces then filled with new ice.»nd so the belt of pack Ice 200 mlies or m north of its usual limit. If such conditions exist around the whole of the Antarctic Circle, it mean* that the extent pf the pack ice surface is almost double Hβ normal area. I It is quite unlikely that we will find ' the Ice loose and our progress unhindered for the 150 miles we still have to cover before reaching the continent but we are hopeful that, by the NewJftir, we will bTtied up against the Barrier edge." !