ANTARCTIC SURVEY

Hawera Star, Volume LIV, 21 February 1935, Page 7

ANTARCTIC SURVEY

BYRD EXPEDITION’S WORK

EXTENSIVE AREA COVERED

LONG AREOPLAXE FLIGHTS.

Considerable additions to the world’s knowledge of the geography of the Antarctic regions were made by the Byrd Antarctic Expedition. The important discoveries made, in 1928-29 were extended and supplemented by the ships and aeroplanes and sledging parties. Many thousands of square miles were traversed and accurately mapped by observation and aerial cameras. The aeroplanes spent some 200 hours in the air, and the numerous flights made covered a total distance of 10,700 nautical miles.

"When the expedition left Wellington in December, 1933. said Kiear-Ad-miral Byrd yesterday, the Jacob lluppert headed ,not direct for Little America, but towards the vast unknown expanse, lying beyond the Antarctic Circle between the meridians of 170 and 110 degrees west longitude. Crossing the Antarctic Circle on the 150th meridian, the Jacob Buppert reached, in latitude 06 degrees 45 minutes south, longitude 150 degrees 10 minutes, west, the farthest south point ever attained by a ship in that region. Held up by the ice, the steel ship withdrew 14 miles to the north into an open lake in the pack, whom which the great Curtis Condor plane made a flight of 70 degrees south latitude, nearly 350 miles beyond the previous deepest penetraation in this region and within 300 miles of the coast of Marie Byrd Land. To the limit of vision southward nothing was, seen but pack ice.

IX BERG -STREW X WATERS

After that the Jacob Riuppert worked her way 850 miles to the eastward, past innumerable bergs, and most of the time in dense fog. Dr. Poulter, tile senior scientist, estimated that the ship passed some 8000 great bergs in one period of 24 hours* On December 31 the ship reached latitude 70 degrees 05 minutes south .on the 116th meridian of west longitude, and three days later the big plane made its second flight, this time to latitude 72) degrees l 30 minutes south, longitude 116 deI grees 35 minutes west, whence, as before. the pack ice extended southward to the limit of vision. It was now fully time to head back towards 1 Little America, and, skirting tlie pack ice,, the Jacob Ruppert headed to the westward, edging southward from the 67th to the 60th parallel into unknown waters. On January 10 she halted in latitude 60 degrees 50 minutes -south, longitude 152 degrees 21 minutes west, while a. third flight was made to latitude 71 degrees 45 minutes south along the 152nd meridian. Later, in February, after the ships had been unloaded in the Bay of Whales, Rear-Admiral Byrd, with Cantain English, took the Bear of Oakland on a. voyage of exploration. Through extremely bad sea ice, the shin worked her way north-east to latitude 73 degrees 05 minutes south, longitude 149 degrees 30 minutes west, and thence to the loStli meridian, so that, for all practical purposes, the gap between the flight tracks and the known coastline was closed. These operations, together with subsequent flights to the eastward, definitely established the imnortant geographical fact that no land lies northward of approximately 75 degrees south latitude between the meridians of 160 and 110 degrees west longitude, but merely a vast expanse of ice-strewn ocean

TWO MAJOR. PROBLEMS

Two other major Antarctic exploration problems were tackled from the air. The first, was that of' the supposed trans-continental strait, believed from the identical indentations in the Antarctic continent by the Ross Sea on the Pacific -side, and the Weddell Sea on the Atlantic side, to divide the land mass. The other was whether the mountain ranges of Marie Byrd I/and formed a link in the Andean fold chain from South America across the Antarctic Archipelago and Graham Land to the Queen Maude range fringing the Polar plateau. The first flight was made on November Id last. From Little America the plane flew to a point at latitude SI degrees 05 minutes south, longitude 140 degrees 30 minutes west, about- halfway between the coasts of Marie Byrd Land and the Queen Maude R tin go; and thence northward into the Edsel Ford range to latitude 77 degrees 30 minutes south, longitude 146 degrees 27 minutes west, the homeward leg of flie flight being made from this point. From the plane high above the Edsel Ford mountains a great succession of peaks was seen, trending to the northeast.

At the southern apex of flic triangle flown that/ day. in latitude 81 degrees, tlie party found a definite depression, which the plane’s altimeter showed to be nearly 400 feet above sea level, or nearly 4000 feet below the highest known elevation of the plateau of M arie Bvrd Land.

NEW MOUNTAINS SEEN

Three days later the plane was sent away from Little America along the 7Sth parallel on a mapping and reconnaissance flight of 390 nautical miles eastward into Marie Byrd Land. Clouds massing ahead forced the plane to turn in latitude 77 degrees 55 minutes south, longitude 133 degrees west. For the last 165 miles of the eastward flight the mountains of Marie Byrd Land, densely packed behind the western, front of the Edsel Ford range, wore found to thin out into a range extending far To the eastward. Beneath the plane tho plateau extended to the south-eastern horixon at an elevation of -1300 feet. The coast was nowhere in sight, but. before turning back, the observers saw on tlieir port hand a very decided “water sky,” indicating that the coast follows the trend of flic mountain ranges to the eastward between the 76th and 77th parallels of latitude.

On November 19, Blackburn's geological party, then 375 miles south-squtli-cast of Little America radioed that they had seen wliat appeared to be high land to the eastward of tlieir position. Three days later the plane took off on its longest flight of ail~930 nautical mUes-*-whicJi carried the _ . • -

party to latitude S3degrees 05 -minutes, south, longitude 119 degrees 15 minutes west, and yielded important results.

UNBROKEN LAND.MASS

As they turned, the observers sighted in thy -.minify of 85 degrees soyth between the 110th and 115th meridians' a cluster of icy peaks, which were presumed to he eastern prolongations of the Queen Maude Range, approximately 170 nautical miles east of the last known peaks of that range. And, starting 28 miles south-west of the depression observed on November 15. they saw a plateau extending unbrokcnly to the new peaks. The flight indicated, therefore; that if a trans-con-tinental strait existed, it must lie in a 60-mile gap between the Slst and 82nd parallels of latitude, east of the 147th meridian.

On November 23, Rear-Admiral Byrd with Harold June as chief pilot, Bowlin. Rawson and Peterson, took off on a final flight tq settle this point. A little south of the apex of the triangular flight of November 15, where the depression had been seen, they headed east, taking the elevation of the ice by altimeter as they went. When they turned in latitude 81 degrees 10 minutes south, longitude 140 degrees west, it was found that the surface had risen rapidly to 1325 feet, while along the northern side of the area the elevation was uniformly 1000 feet or more.

The results of these flights were conclusive, remarked Rear-Admiral Byrd, The long-sought strait was non-exjst-ent. The plateau of Marie Byrd Land stretched unbrokenly from the ocean to the Queen-’Maude Rfcinge. The eastern margin of the Ross ice shelf waa defined at last by the edge of that pUfl teau. The Antarctic 1 auA. ed -ntact baA , r a