Russia Extends Interests In Antarctica

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32217, 9 February 1970, Page 16

Russia Extends Interests In Antarctica

(N.Z.P.A. Staff Correspondent)

WELLINGTON, February 8.

Russia provided new evidence last week that she is steadily expanding her Antarctic activities while the Americans are consolidating and even reducing their scientific programme after the rapid expansion of the last decade.

With the new Russian station in the region of the joint New Zealand-United States Hallett station, Russia now has six active stations on the Continent—as many as the : United States.

A few weeks earlier the Americans had closed down one of their inland stations —one on the polar plateau. The state of the American scientific effort in Antarctica is a somewhat delicate sub-

ject in the community on the ice, and among the scientists themselves opinions conflict about its value. The United States Navy men stress the point that the whole purpose of the tremendous logistic effort they have made is to make possible the programme of scientific research. Logistics Centre But the outward manifestations of the Navy’s activity are so prominent that a visitor sometimes has to look hard to find the science. This is particularly true of MeMurdo, the town which is the American logistics centre for operations on the ice. The vehicle park at McMurdo, with its rows of bulldozers, graders, trucks, and various other machines, is an amazing sight to encounter in a place like Antarctica. The machines are used to construct and ma’ntain the 10 miles of road the Americans have built round McMurdo, and across'the ice to Williams Airfield In addition the Americans have constructed a port, several large-capacity fuel tanks, and a nuclear reactor for power and desalinating water from McMurdo Sound. Physical Contact

To service the fleet of five Hercules aircraft which maintain frequent physical contact with the inland stations, 250 men must live out on the ice in McMurdo Sound during the summer. Helicopters, buses and station waggons are part of the traffic busily plying in the area. The point about all this activity is, of course, that it generates its own work. At the height of the summer season McMurdo is a town of more than 1000 people with a life of its own. The Americans argue that it is all necessary effectively to maintain a large-scale scientific effort, particularly by supplying the inland Byrd and South Pole Stations, and field parties. They say that a large number of machines is needed because of the tremendous wear and tear on machinery caused by the severe conditions.

The ability of the Hercules to lift helicopters to most areas of the Continent gives

the scientist unprecedented mobility. But is the large-scale and complex logistic operation built up by the Americans from the time of the International Geophysical Year still justified? The Americans are spending this year about SUS32m on their Antarctic activities, s2sm of which is required for the support activities alone. The ratio of support staff to scientists is approximately 10 to 1. It may cost as much as $250,000 to place a scientist on the ice. At the largest scientific centre, however—Byrd Station —the ratio of scientist to support staff was this summer about one to one. One of the scientists there, Mr Evans Paschal, of Stanford University, said that he thought the scientific programme at Byrd was running down. In two or three years, he said, scientists might no longer winter at the station. An automatic station might be built.

“South Pole Station’s scientific programme has already run down in my view,” he said. “There is no real scientific need for it—only political reasons—and the National Science Foundation finds it difficult to get scientists to winter there.” Pole Research Understandably, the scientific leader at the South Pole station, Mr Frank Merrem, would not endorse Mr Paschal’s view. He said he would only speak with authority On his his own research programme —and that was certainly justified. He also referred to future plans to utilise the Pole Station for studies of the sun and galaxy, and for medical experiments connected with the space programme. He said the station was important for scientific observations because of its unique location.

It was also. important politically—because “it shows we are willing to go to the ends of the earth if necessary.” Perhaps, in the final analysis, it is the latter reason that is the real driving force behind the American efforts at the Pole.