‘Erebus foray a success’

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33753, 28 January 1975, Page 16

‘Erebus foray a success’

The joint New Zea-land-French Mount Erebus expedition in the Antarctic last month was 90 per cent successful, said the expedition’s leader, Mr S. M. Norman, in Christchurch yesterday.

“People seem to have got the impression that the whole thing was a failure because the activity was too violent to allow scientists to descend into the inner crater safely to collect gas samples,” he said. The descent was perhaps the "glamour” feature of the expedition, he said, but this was by no means the sole objective. “The whole project was i really a tremendous success,” ■ said Mr Norman.

“We learned a great deal about crater access, living conditions on the 12,450 ft mountain, and logistics.” Mr Norman, who spent the previous two summers at Scott Base as deputy leader, said the volcano was much more violent than expected and it seemed to be getting worse. NO RHYTHM “This activity has no set rhythm so expedition members were unable to predict a quiet period when It would have been safe to lower scientists into the Inner crater where the lava was red and black hot,” he said. “The explosions were extremely violent and sometimes lava bombs as large as 6 metres were thrown 2000 ft into the air. Anyone who went down into the inner

crater would have been very exposed to danger.” Had the activity been less intense the 300 ft vertical ascent from the crater rim would have been relatively simple. Mr Norman said he was keen to have a second attempt on the mountain. He returned from Scott Base at the week-end. The superintendent of the D.S.I.R.’s Antarctic division (Mr R. B. Thomson) said that before another expedition was mounted a level of volcanic activity would have to be established so that the scientists involved could gauge when it would be safe to make a descent. Mr Thomson said that Dr H. Tazieff, the leader of the French party and a vulcanologist, was keen to try the descent again. “Early next season we will put monitoring equipment on the mountain and make visual observations as well. If there is a significant decrease in the amount of

volcanic activity we will consider putting another team on the mountain to get inside the crater,” said Mr Thomson.

He added that unless this winter’s Scott Base team noticed a considerable decrease in activity, the expedition was unlikely to take place next season.