Drilling site at McMurdo

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33967, 7 October 1975, Page 20

Drilling site at McMurdo

An American andi New Zealand survey of the seasonal ice in McMurdo Sound has shown that there is a sufficient depth of ice for the final stage of the Dry 'alley drilling project to proceed later this month. A recent survey of the pro- , posed drilling site, about 70 , kilometres north-west of' Scott Base, showed there was ! 1.9 metres of ice over about ' 120 metres of water. Tht.e had been fears that the drilling site would be in open water because of a break-out of seasonal ice. In a telephone message from Scott Base to Christch“reh at the week-end, the officer-in-charge (Mr J. Newrcan, of Auckland) said that i a party, which will include . the project scientist. Dr SJi Treves, of the University of Nebraska, yesterday planned to inspect some “dirty ice” ' about 30 kilometres from 1 Scott Base, through which a:' road to the drilling site will be built. Mr Newman said that the 1 inspection would show’whether a road could be 1 bulldozed through the ice. * About 4.000 kilogrammes of equipment will have to be s carted over the road to the - drilling site off New Harbour h

Drilling is expected to begin about the middle of this month, and it will be the first attempt to drill into the Antarctic seabed using sea-: sonal ice to support the drilling rig. It is expected that the drilling of the seabed will last about two months. Two holes will be drilled nto the basement rock of the seabed to trv to establish ■vhen the east Antarctic ice sheet began carving into thej Ross Sea. of which McMurdo Sound forms a comer.