GLACIER SECRETS

Greymouth Evening Star, 27 November 1929, Page 8

GLACIER SECRETS

BYRD EXPEDITION’S WORK.

(By Russel Owen, Sydney “Sun and. New York “Times.”) LITTLE AMERICA, October 1. The scientific 'work of- the geological party should be one of- the most important results of the Byrd Antarctic Expedition, if there is sufficient time to make a careful survey of the Queen Aland Range adjacent to the Axel Heiberg Glacier, and also to determine the connection- between that range and land masses which are believed to.

lie to the north and east. • - 1 It is one of the crucial areas of the < Antarctic to the geologist. The detail- i ed field studies, combined,, with the • geographical knowledge which should ; be obtained during Commander Byrd’s Polar flight and his flights to the east- . ward, should give a good knowledge of t this part of the Continent. The great questions in this section of Antarctica are whether the contin- . ent is pne land mass or whether it is divided somewhere east of the Queen Maud Range, whether the land masses , of Carmen Land connect with the land seen to the east by Amundsen be- . tween 81 and 82 degrees S., and wheth- , er there is a connection between them . and the high peaks of Marie Byrd : Laiicl, seen last year by all who went to the Rockefeller Mountains. Only the aeroplane can penetrate to some of these far-eastern pdints this season. The geological party will concentrate its attention on the Queen Maud Range and such other land as it is able to reach. The first point to be examined by thf> geological party under Dr. Gould will be Mount Nansen, which towers 15,000 feet above the Barrier, the highest point of that rocky rampart which separates the Polar plateau from the Barrier. « The sides of Mount Nansen are apparently largely exposed, and therefore afford the best field for investigation to the geologist, who in Antarctica so oftens is checked by a deep layer of ice or snow. If mountain structures there are found such as characterise the highlands to the north-west, they may indicate that the entire Barrier basin was formed- by a fault which depressed this enormous area beneth the level of the sea, and permitted ice to form. it is not known either whether the Queen Maud Range is a continuation of the ranges from South Victoria Land and constitutes with them a definite mountain chain running across the entire continent. Geologically it will be possible to determine the relationship between the two great areas, and on the aeroplane flights much more of the Queen Maud Range than Amundsen saw from the plateau surface should be traced by Commander Byrd from the elevation at which he will fly.

Hopes to Find Preglacial Fossils.

Dr. Gould also hopes to find in the mountains some' fossils Which may throw more light on the preglacial history of this portion of Antarctica-. It is known from coal beds and fossils already found in other areas of Antarctica that there was a time when an extensive vegetation flourished in this now ice-covered land. But there is a singular absence of land vertebrates, which would indicate that the isolation of the continent by the surrounding ovean depths is not recent in geological time. A few fossils which would fill in some of the gaps in the past history of Antarctica would in themselves well repay all the difficulties of the inland journey.

From the moraines at, the bottom of glaciers which may be reached by the geological party may also be obtained many valuable specimens. In ordinary climates such gathering places of drift rocks do not. enter largely into the work for the geologist, but in Antarctica, where he must tui’n everything which comes his way to account, such fragments of rock may be invaluable.

Much of the information already obtained of Antarctica geology has been gathered in moraines or from the bottom of the sea on the continental shelf, for only too often the secrets of this land are sealed by this greatest remnant of the glacial age. As much of this 1 geological work will be done and as extensive journeys into the surrounding mountain territory undertaken as time will permit, for what is done must be done in three months, and in that time a sledge journey to the side, will add greatly to the distance to be covered.

It is not at all improbable that the geological party in its explorations will have covered more than 1200 and possibly as much as 1500 miles before returning to Little America. Mapping and surveying so- that a more accurate knowledge of the position of the various mountain ranges and indications of land along the trail may be had, will be carried- out whenever the weather permits. There will probably always be two parties of men in the field, three at work on surveys and: mapping, while three others do the necessary geological and glaciological work.

The inland party will also <po-operate with the flight party, so that before flights some knowledge of weather conditions in the interior may be sent back to the base, and while the flight is in progress the geological party will stand by to go to the assistance 1 of those in the aeroplane in the event of a forced landing. Various plans for meeting have been worked out. So it can be seen that the duties of the geological party call for intense activity during the time at their disposal, and their work will also be controlled to a large extent by weather conditions, which, are often bad near the mountains. In fact, everything down here depends on weather, for though men can travel in blizzards, when necessary, they cannot do scientific work. Andi therefore, the time factor becomes important. But, as has been said, it is hoped that the geological and geographical work of those who 1 fly and those who climb among the little-known mountains of the Queen Maud will result in the collection of data of this region whieh will form one of the most important results of the expedition.