NEW ANTARCTIC MAP

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29336, 15 October 1960, Page 15

NEW ANTARCTIC MAP

U.S. Foundation’s Project The detailed preparation of a new map of Antarctica was about 2 per cent completed and the general preparation was about 10 per cent., said Mr W. Briesemeister, the principal cartographer of the project for the National Science Foundation of the United States. The Antarctic was the last land mass that had to be properly mapped and all the countries in the region were co-operating in the project, which was considered of major importance. Mr Briesemeister said that maps prepared by New Zealand parties had proved a great help in the Ross Sea area and the French and Australians had also done some very. good work. “As usual the Russians are trying to outstrip everyone and have produced some beautiful coloured maps of the Queen Mary coast,” he said.

The work was being carried out for the National Science Foundation by the American Geographical Society, which already had done work for the foundation in all parts of the world. The project was made difficult by the conditions under which the staff had to work and the relatively short time in which accurate measuring could ’be done. Much of the work was done by aerial photography and from information from traverse parties, he said. As well as the new map of Antarctica, a geological survey was being done, also. This entailed detailed study of areas such as McMurdo Sound, the Amundsen Sea coast, Horlick Sentinel and Queen Maude mountains. These maps, which would be on a scale of 1:50,000, compared to the map of Antarctica, which would have a scale of 1:3,000,000 and 1:5,000,000, would relate to planned research programmes and would assist scientists in their field Investigations of notable geographic features.