German lee expedition concludes

Press, 26 February 1980, Page 2

German lee expedition concludes

“ Timaru reporter The port of Timaru was “landfall” yesterday for the 1598-tonne .ice-breaker Schepelsturm,' which returned to her base after the first Ger man expedition to the Antarctic. for 40 years. The crew 'and members of. the expedition, which ended officially at Timaru, will be accorded "red carpet” treatment.; Captain Udo Rieck and his officers will be welcomed tomorrow at a civic luncheon by the Mavor of Timaru (Mr S. R. Bennett) and the chairman of the Timaru Harbour Board (Mr B. J. Petrie). The crew and members of the 20-man Antarctic North Victoria Land expedition will be entertained, at a cocktail function. The vessel sa led from Timaru on December 6. taking 5| days on the outward journey and spending ahout

1 70 days in the Antarctic region, 'Bookm north-west of I Scott Base. The Hansa Line ship is expected to leave for Wellington tomorrow evening en route for Japan, where she will be chartered to a Japanese oil company. The expedition is disbanding,' and many of the overseas scientists and technicians will • leave Christchurch by air today. The expedition is a cosmoipolitan group. It consists of 11 Germans and seven New 'Zealanders (a scientist, four 1 helicopter crew, and two j field guides), an American, land an Australian. 1 Heading the team of West ■German scientists and techInicians who made geological ! studies in North Victoria Land was Dr Franz Tessensohn, a geologist in the An- | t.arctic Division of the Fedieral Institute of Goescience ■at Hanover.

“We are extremely satisfied with what we have accomplished,” said Dr Tessensohn. The-- expedition was familiar with one region, and looked forward to the International North Victoria Land- activities in 1981-82, The group’s Sikorski helicopter had been used for transport, and two Hughes 500 D helicopters had been most useful for reconnaissance and ferrying the geologists and supplies to land. The Schepelsturm left Cape Williams, North Victoria Land, at 10 p.m. on February "20. There was no pack ice' left. “It was an extreme summer, because most of the ice disappeared, and we had the Schepelsturm moored at the edge of a glacier in Yule Bay, which is rarely ice-free,” said Dr Tessensohn.

j The return trip, which ‘was a day. shorter, was comparatively smooth.

Referring to the “terrible” storm off Cape Adare, 700 km north-west of Scott Base, when a crewman was swept overboard on to an ice floe from which he was rescued, and the two Hughes helicopters were badly damaged, Dr Tessensohn said that the storm lasted- from December 17 to 19. Initially, there was a normal storm of about - 40 knots. “We were sitting in this little bay. in open water, having just moved the ship into pack ice, when suddenly, at 4 a.m., the storm increased, with winds gusting to 100 knots for three to four days,” said Dr Tessensohn. “That was when the trouble started. Everything cut loose, and the helicopters were 'moving around.”

There was a field party about Bkm away from the Schepelsturm. “The entire camp was blown away,” Dr Tessensohn said.

I When the storm settled they were rescued by lifeboats because the helicopters ‘could not be used. Dr Tessensohn said that a man was [attempting to secure the 'helicopters when he was [blown overboard on to pack ice, breaking his leg in four places. A doctor placed the leg in a cast and the crewman was taken to McMurdo Sound and flown to Christchurch.

After the helicopters had been repaired the expedition managed to do a lot of work. Conditions inland were good. The party visited most of the areas on the itinerary and were able to compare rock formations with the surveys done by previous New Zealand expeditions to North Victoria Land.

“Our chief aim was to examine the boundary between the old East Antarctic Shield and the young moun-l

tain ranges to the east. We did not find the shield,” Dr [Tessensohn said. “This was in an area furthest away from the ship and the land! base at the side of the Lillie Glacier. It was right at the' edge of the polar ice-cap.” j

It had been planned 'to visit the Weddell Sea area in the 1980-81 season, but plans were not settled, said Dr Tessensohn. “We would like ■to have the Schepelsturm back to use in 1981-82, as it is adapted to ice conditions. She is quite powerful, and there were no problems with pack ice.” The group’s only contact with the second West German expedition which sailed! from Ushuaia, Argentina, j last December to survey the' site for a permanent base ini the Antarctic on the Filch-J ner ice shelf was for a short! period before Christmas. j