Scott Base Thaw Poses Problems

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30940, 22 December 1965, Page 18

Scott Base Thaw Poses Problems

(New Zealand Press Association) SCOTT BASE. If only it was freezing in Antarctica Scott Base would have no problems.

Rivulets, of melted snow are running around the base and vehicles an often bogged in the mushy soawor sodden earth roadways. Each day hundreds of gallons of water is pumped from the gutter along the coveredway connecting the buildings. Last week air temperatures averaged about freezing point and a maximum of 1.1 degrees

Centigrade was recorded for a day. Because the surrounding rocks and scoria absorb heat from the sun, the ground temperatures are many degrees higher. Ironically, scarcity of water is a major problem in Antarctica. Collecting and melting selected snow and ice is a slow way of obtaining adequate water supplies. Enough water to last Scott Base a week or more gathers about and flows past the buildings each day. However, the duty “house mice” for the day have to splash through this water on their way to a clear area of compacted snow and ice where chunks are cut then hauled home to snow melters. Before it could be used the melted water would have to be filtered free of grit and purified. To minimise the amount of melted water collected about Scott Base the men are working shifts throughout the day with pneumatic drill and shovels to' dear ice from about the buildings. One worker received a financial reward for this physical exercise. Mr Charles Hough, of Gisborne, found a £1 note frozen into ice that had been mounting up over the last few years.