EXPEDITIONS TO ANTARCTICA

Press, Volume XCI, Issue 27690, 21 June 1955, Page 14

EXPEDITIONS TO ANTARCTICA

WORLD WIDE PLANS FOR RESEARCH DR. BARNETT REPORTS KEEN INTEREST (New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, June 20. International interest in the worldwide research in 1957-58 on the Antarctic Continent appeared to be high, said the Director of Meteorological Services (Dr. M. A. F. Barnett) today. “The Soviet and indeed all other countries appear to be keenly interested in the international geophysical year,” said Dr. Barnett, who returned at the week-end after attending international meteorological conferences in Geneva and- London in the last two and a half months.

Co-operation among the countries concerned in the research programme appeared highly promising, said Dr. Barnett. Of 88 member states and territories in the World Meteorological Organisation 82 had been represented at the Geneva conference, said Dr. Barnett. All agreed to continue the closest possible co-operation for the research year of 1957-58. The World Meteorological. Organisation conference in Geneva had drawn up broad plans for international meteorological collation of weather information, said Dr. Barnett. Research would be concentrated on certain lines of latitude throughout the world. New Zealand would have a large part to play, with her stations reaching, as was hoped from the Ross Sea through Campbell Island, Invercargill, Christchurch, Wellington, Auckland, the Kermadecs, Nandi, Funafuti, Tarawa, Rarotonga, and Aitutaki. These stations, with others circling the globe, would make many extra observations for 10 days each quarter of the international geophysical year. This information, collated by the World Meteorological Organisation in Geneva, should provide new and highly-valuable information about the movement of the earth’s atmosphere, among other things, said Dr. Barnett.

N.Z. EXPEDITION

MANY APPLICATIONS RECEIVED

(New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, June 20. The announcement that specialist volunteers were wanted for New Zealand’s Antarctic expedition had caused a minor flood of applications from eager New Zealanders, said the secretary of the Ross Sea Committee (Mr A. S. Helm) today. “A surprising number of the writers have had previous experience in the Antarctic, usually in whaling ships, or in the Arctic,” he said. “Our biggest problem is going to be sorting out the best.” Most of the apphamts were of an extremely high standard, said Mr Helm,