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Victoria University Antarctic Research Expedition Science and Logistics Reports 1981-82: VUWAE 26
FIELD NOTES
FIELD NOTES
Erebus Studies and IMESS (K4).
NARRATIVE:
The field work began with a helicopter inspection of the telemetry transmitters by Stan Whitfield and Jon Prosser on 26 October 1981. At Hoopers Shoulder and Abbotts Peak, the equipment was working and intact, except for the guy wires on the antenna mast. The turnbuckles had unscrewed in the wind - sometimes completely. The Gel/cell batteries measured 14V, even when the solar panels were shielded from the sun. At the summit, the antenna cable was broken, and the ventilation pipe to the buried battery box was tilted ominously. The transmitter was not working. The protective polythene film had been stripped off the infrasonic microphone and the aperture was blocked with snow.
In the period 10-30 November, the USARP party serviced the Abbott and Hooper stations, retrieved and overhauled the summit transmitter, installed new permanent telemetry seismographs at "Bomb" and "Terror" (Fig. 1), and installed a temporary telemetry seismograph near Bird Hut for the purpose of recording the large seismic explosions fired in McMurdo Sound on 23 and 27 November by Lyle McGinnis. I assisted in recording the 23 November explosions before ascending to the fang with the Event 4 party on 24 November.
Between 28 November and 13 December, I operated a tape seismograph at the hut (from 1217 NZST, 29 Nov.); rebuilt the old infrasonic microphone, reinstalled it at the Winch Site, and connected it to the monitor speaker in the hut (from 2300 NZST, 30 Nov.); reinstalled the telemetry transmitter to give seismic recordings at Scott Base (from noon, 2 Dec); installed the new infrasonic microphone (consisting of 2 Philips 8 inch Hi Z speakers mounted on opposite sides of a 0.05m chipboard box and connected in parallel so as to reduce seismic response) on the main crater floor (3 Dec.); located and repaired 4 breaks in the loop and renewed 350m of damaged wire, and (with Pat Tinnelly) surveyed the position of the loop around the crater rim (5 Dec.); rebuilt the infrasonic preamp/VC (1020 Hz), and installed it, together with the new Geotech model 45.50/46.22 preamp/VCO (1360 Hz) for the loop, in the transmitter box at the summit (noon, 6 Dec.); and made trial electromagnetic transmissions from a 100W audio signal generator and portable loop from the edge of the summit plateau to the main loop (8 Dec.).
Problems encountered in carryout out the work were moisture damage to the old infrasonic microphone and the preamp/VCOs; the persistent drifting of the infrasonic VCO (1020 Hz) out of its frequency range due to an unexpected failure of the main battery; the tendency for the induction loop to become unburied and the insulation to crack off exposed wire; and the majority decision by the N.Z. party to leave the mountain earlier than planned as a combined group with the U.S. party. In fact the helicopter problem delayed this and we descended on 13 December.
The Japanese party were based at McMurdo for their entire period from 23 November to early January. They began by deploying their "DAR" slow speed tape seismographs on the flanks of Erebus. While these were recording (≧ 20 days), the party played back the telemetry tapes as they finished recording at Scott Base, and made continuous slow speed index recordings and high speed recordings of selected events on a visicorder. Photocopies were made for distribution to all collaborating scientists. All DAR seismographs
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were then retrieved for return to Japan. The Citizen quartz clock with the Sony UFR data recorder at Scott Base, which had hardly tolerated the ionosondes, was replaced with a new TCG-1000B clock made by the Eikura Transmitting Co. Also a 4 channel pen recorder was installed temporarily at Scott Base to allow real time monitoring of 4 telemetry channels in addition to the permanently installed San-ei Sokki monitoring recorder.
TRANSPORT:
All transport to and from Antarctica was by Hercules, and all transport within Antarctica was by helicopter. The latter was a major source of uncertainty in planning the expedition, because the helicopters were to be shared between Northern Victoria Land and the McMurdo area. It was believed that close support at the summit of Erebus, which had never been freely available, would be denied this year because it risked too large a proportion of the available aircraft. Consequently, the Japanese changed their plan from a wire telemetry seismic network on the summit plateau to a more flexible separate station network on the flanks of the volcano.
In the event, helicopters were withdrawn completely between 5 and 10 December due to serious faults which were at first thought to be unrepairable. The squadron deserves the highest possible recommendation for their fast solution to the problem, but the initial instructions to all NZARP parties to standby for immediate return to base, and the subsequent lack of definite information, resulted in stop-gap measures which could have been avoided.
WEATHER:
The weather was good except for a severe storm when the Event 4 party was at the Fang. No time was lost at the summit due to weather conditions, but an attempt to carry out the spear viscometer program in the final days at the summit was abandoned due to murk inside the crater.
COMMUNICATIONS:
Two VHF hand radios, a Compak, and a USARP radio provided excellent communications with Scott Base and Macsideband. The ability to communicate directly on VHF with the Science Lab at Scott Base at almost any time, and from almost any place (even the main crater floor) was especially valuable, and the expedition owes a lot to the Post Office and to Ross Mason. Less satisfactory was the dearth of information from Scott Base about the withdrawal of the helicopters.
EQUIPMENT:
Two of the three preamp/VCOs at the summit transmitter site were damaged beyond repair by corrosion. Because air temperatures were expected to fall below the operating limit of the electronics, both the transmitter and the VCOs were buried in warm ground. The VCOs were in a deeper reaching box however, the inside of which experienced copious condensation which penetrated the plastic freezer bags in which the 2 VCOs were sealed. The third VCO (1020 Hz) in both a bag and metal box was less affected, while the transmitter which remained below freezing point was undamaged. As only one new preamp/VCO was available, the recording of the level of audible sound in the crater was abandoned for 1982. The wooden cabinet of the old infrasonic microphone was badly split by moisture from the warm ground around it, although it had been sealed in polythene rubbish bags. The plastic was apparently stripped off by the weather.
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The main carbonaire battery (supplied by the Americans) may also have been affected by its burial in warm ground. Condensation in the ventilation pipe blocked it with ice, and some of the 30 cells which were only 1/3 discharged (as confirmed by the volume of zinc electrode remaining) inexplicably gave no voltage, and were discarded. When reconnected on 6 December, the remaining good cells gave 12V, but by 12 December they had fallen to 8V, forcing the complete replacement of the battery after we were supposed to have left the mountain.
The induction loop had become unburied over at least 350m of its length due to strong winds (which had also unwound the turnbuckles on the antenna guy wires). Where so exposed, the PVC insulation had cracked badly, and the wire had to be replaced and reburied. Until it is all reburied more deeply, this maintenance work will continue to be necessary in the future. If neglected, wind noise in the records and early breaks in the cable will soon render it useless.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
A determined attempt should be made next season to shift the ENE section of the induction loop (which tends to become unburied) to higher less steep ground, and bury it more deeply. Electro magnetic surveys of the summit plateau using the buried loop and a portable transmitting loop, which were proved feasible this season, should be given priority next season. The preamplifier/VCO in use for the infrasonic telemetry (1020 Hz) which proved intolerant of battery voltage fluctuations should be replaced with one similar to that in use with the loop.
Regarding the recording of the telemetry signals at Scott Base, it is noted that although the science technicians in 1981 were shown how to check the subcarrier frequencies, this was not done, and they are unable to say when the failures of the 1020, 1360 and 1700 Hz signals from the summit occurred during the year. Scott Base has since been provided with a simple tunable audio filter to make checking the subcarrier frequencies a routine matter.
McMurdo Sound Studies (K5).
NARRATIVE:
Pyne and Cattley arrived at Scott Base on October 16, four days behind schedule, due to a hold on flying because of communication problems caused by sunspot activity. The first three days were spent servicing the IH-500 tractor, work that had not been anticipated. The refitting of the Wannigan for scientific use had been started by the winter over personnel but was unsuitable and was removed. The base carpenter, Pyne and Cattley spent a full week refitting and securing the Wannigan to the sledge. By the time this work was complete we were a full week behind in our planned schedule.
The remaining preparatory work which included issuing and testing the normal field equipment and testing our scientific equipment was therefore rushed. We had allocated three to four days for testing the scientific equipment alone, but this became impossible and consequently we decided to leave for the field with some equipment untested. In retrospect we were lucky that only one major item of equipment (the underwater camera) did not work because of this.
On November 4 Pyne, Ward and Cattley (K5) departed Scott Base at 0950 hrs. for Cape Royds. At 1800 hrs. we reached Cape Evans and remained there for the night. Numerous thin snow drifts between the Erebus Ice Tongue and Cape Evans slowed us down considerably. The following day we completed the traverse to Cape Royds. During this leg of the trip, we became stuck in deep soft snow out from the Barne Glacier.
On November 6 we prepared the sampling equipment for a coring attempt in 850m deep water 10km northwest of Cape Royds. This involved adding 400m of extra wire onto the winch and transferring all the equipment onto the toboggan-pulled Tamworth sledge. This was necessary because we anticipated that the ice would be thinner out towards the centre of McMurdo Sound. We were not prepared to risk the heavier tractor and sledge with Wannigan without first checking the ice thickness. As it transpired the ice thickness at the sample site was 1.2m and sufficient to carry the tractor. The next two days were spent in actual collection of the sample, cleaning and repairing the equipment and preparing to begin the "across sound" traverse.
On November 9 we departed Cape Royds for a rendezvous at Cape Evans with the dog team carrying our mogas resupply and the penguin census group, Colin Monteath and Lindsay Main, who joined us for three days at Cape Evans.
Between November 10-16 we traversed a line westwards between Cape Evans and the Strand Moraines to continue the sea-floor sampling programme. On November 12 Brent Alloway joined us and Monteath and Main left on the same helicopter for the Wright Valley. Peter Barrett joined K5 on the 13th. K-2 (Lands and Survey surveyors) joined us on the 16th for one night before continuing to Butter Point, we obtained cores 2 through 10, 5A and 8A along this line, arriving at the Strand Moraines on the 16th.
By this tune we needed a resupply, and repairs to the IH-500 and toboggan. On the 17th, Cattley, Pyne and Ward drove back to Scott Base to institute repairs and manufacture replacement weights for the sphincter corer. We spent 4 1/2 days at Scott Base, leaving there at 4.30 p.m. on the 22nd, and arriving at the Strand Moraine camp at 10.30 p.m. During this time, Barrett and Alloway recorded tidal measurements and attempted several core and grab samples. Sample #11 was taken by orange-peel grab during this time.
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November 23 and 24 were spent travelling the 85km to Cape Roberts. On the 24th Barrett and Pyne took the toboggan back to Butter Point to assist K-2 (surveyors) in the sea ice movement survey, but were able to rejoin us that evening at Cape Roberts. The following day we began the Granite Harbour sampling programme. Three cores (12 through 14A) were taken along a line extending from Cape Roberts to Cape Archer. On the 29th and 30th cores 15 and 16 were taken within Granite Harbour. On Tuesday, 1 December, Barrett was lifted out by helicopter for his return to Christchurch, and Paul Fitzgerald joined us. The 2nd was spent travelling out of Granite Harbour to Cape Roberts. On the next day, the Tamworth sledge and toboggan were loaded with the sampling equipment, as the IH-500 and Wannigan could not cross the 2 1/2m lead 1km seaward of Cape Roberts, and Pyne, Cattley, Fitzgerald and Alloway travelled 5km offshore for core 17. We then moved to Dunlop Island after picking up fuel at Cape Roberts.
On the 4th we moved from Dunlop Island to Marble Point, where two full fuel drums were stockpiled on the land. That evening while still at Marble Pt. we received a radio broadcast from the O.I.C. Scott Base for all Kiwi field parties in the McMurdo area. The message required that all field programmes be prepared to move all personnel and essential equipment back to Scott Base as soon as possible. No clear statement explaining why this was necessary was given but "the inability to support science field parties from McMurdo Station" was quoted. A final decision about the withdrawal of field parties and Vanda personnel would be made on the Sunday evening (December 6) by the O.I.C.
We decided to continue to Butter Point that evening to meet the K2 surveyors. Because of the broadcast we were all committed to returning to Scott Base with K2. Originally we had intended to send only the togoggan back to base to bring back a part needed for the tractor so that the work at Cape Chocolate could be cone. The next day before leaving for Scott Base we successfully sampled in front of the Ferrar Glacier snout (core 18).
If we had been told that the problem of support concerned only helicopters (from which we were independent) our original intention to move to Cape Chocolate would have been possible. The Sunday decision which required us to return to base but to finish work that was enroute came too late.
December 8 to 14 were spent cleaning and returning gear, packing cargons and samples for transport to New Zealand, as well as preparing equipment for Pyne, Fitzgerald, Alloway and Lindsay Main to take to Mt. Feather.
We had hoped to complete the sampling programme at Cape Chocolate by togoggan. Unfortunately the only other toboggan available at Scott Base was an old OMC which was considered unreliable for a journey of this length. The total equipment load was over 2500 lbs, and was considered too great for our single toboggan to pull, so this part of the programme remained uncompleted.
TRANSPORT:
The International Harvester 500 crawler tractor and Snotric 047 motor toboggan were made available to Event 5 for work on the sea ice. The IH-500 tractor was used to pull the "Cantago" sledge with Wannigan and a Maudheim cargo sledge. The toboggan pulled a single Tamworth sledge.
Helicopter transport was used for an initial sea ice reconnaissance and fuel flight to Granite Harbour and later for minor resupply and personnel movements.
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A detailed summary of performance and problems for each major transport unit is presented below:
IH-500 Tractor.
The tractor had been brought into the garage at Scott Base by the relieving mechanic and previous wintering mechanic for checking and overhaul. Two sheared main sub-frame studs and bolts had been discovered and one removed by October 16 when Pyne and Cattley arrived at Base. Three days were spent by Cattley and Pyne removing the remaining broken bolts, making new parts (which are not stocked for the tractor at Scott Base), reassembling and fixing the cracked fuel tank. The electrical system was checked and a new regulator fitted by the base assistant mechanic before leaving for the field on November 4.
The tractor started cold very well on most occasions, especially considering the cold temperatures in early November. Normal preheating and a small quantity of ether were usually all the starting preparation required. The "noyse" heater and parachute carried in case of starting problems were never required. There was a starting problem on only one occasion and this was found to be fuel leaking into the starter motor, gumming the brushes and contacts. No further starting problems occurred after cleaning the motor and sealing the holes in case of further fuel spills.
On November 10 a crack was discovered in a previously repaired section of the main frame. The crack slowly increased in length as we travelled across the sound to the Strand Moraines necessitating repairs before moving to Granite Harbour. It was decided that the repairs would be most easily carried out at Scott Base although the possibility of effecting repair in the field with helo support was considered. Repair of the frame required removing the old repair gusset and arc welding a new heavier plate steel gusset over the cracked section. The tractor returned to Scott Base on November 18 after completing the Cape Evans-strand Moraines sampling. The fuel tank sprang a further leak on returning to base.
The regulator was found to be faulty during the period at Granite Harbour. It was promptly disconnected and later repaired. The idler bearing for the fan belt became faulty on the return from Granite Harbour to Butter Point (December 4). The bearing was disassembled and regreased but remained faulty which necessitated a deliberately slow return to Scott Base.
Early in the season the tractor was using about 1 litre of transmission oil every eight running hours. A leak which contributed to higher oil usage was found at the oil guage connector and promptly fixed. The oil usage appeared to drop slightly later and averaged about 1 litre every 10 running hours. The track bearings were greased about every 3 running hours.
Minor repairs carried out in the field included replacing the clutch return spring and several battery retaining bolts broken by vibration during travel.
The IH-500 performed very well considering that it was usually towing between 13,000 and 14,000 lbs. and working at its limit. On several occasions the second sledge had to be disconnected when relatively minor obstacles were encountered because no reserve power was available. The lack of a blade on the tractor also meant that difficulty was experienced negotiating some rough ice or snow drifted areas. The difficulty of these situations would have been reduced considerably if a blade were available.
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We believe that we were very lucky to cover over 800 miles with this machine considering it was underpowered and did not have a front blade. The great age of the machine and incomplete stock of parts at Scott Base reduce its suitability for this type of programme in the field. It is, however, very reliable and probably will be useful for several years yet around Scott Base.
Snotric 047.
This toboggan was new at the beginning of the 1981-82 season. The machine generally was easy to start and performed well with only two major problems.
Early in the season when temperatures were less than 10°C freezing often occurred in the original airfilter-carburettor system on the Briggs and Stratton engine. This usually happened after the machine had been idling or running slow for some time. It is thought that the carburettor remained sufficiently cold to freez out moisture from the air. The carburettor was dismantled several times and the ice scraped or melted out before the machine would start.
Secondly, the flexible exhaust coupling broke where it enters the muffler soon after leaving Scott Base. This did not affect the performance unduly but required that the toboggan be run with the fibreglass cowling removed until repairs were made at Scott Base.
"Cantago" sledge.
The "Cantago" sledge is a scaled down all steel version of the American tandam "Octago" sledge and was built in Christchurch for Antarctic Division DSIR. It was first used this season by Event 5 to carry a twelve foot long Wannigan, winch and fuel on the sea ice. The sledge performed reasonably well in most conditions and provides a form of transport not previously available from Scott Base. There were, however, some problems with the sledge which will require some modification.
The sledge did not perform well on the softer snow drifts, often breaking through to run on the sea ice beneath. Where the snow was more than 0.3m thick the sledge would bulldoze snow in front until the tractor would lose traction and stop.
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PLATE III: Tractor and Wannigan at Cape Roberts.
The return from Granite Harbour to Butter Point involved crossing some rough ice around Cape Bernacchi. The rough ice caused some minor damage to the sledge in particular bending the small front ski protectors and slightly bending the draw bar.
The sledge was heavier at the stern with the Wannigan at the back of the deck. This, however, was necessary to maximise the remaining forward deck space for the winch and fuel.
We believe that the sledges performance could be improved if fitted with wider skis with a higher rocker in the front. This might be achieved by bolting wider ski shells underneath the present skis. By moving the back ski beam aft about 0.5m the loading capabilities of the sledge may also be improved.
WEATHER:
Poor weather conditions were experienced early in the season (strong winds and snow with intermittent white-out for 3 days), but did not hinder progress of the sea-floor sediment sampling programme. Later in the season, we experienced exceptionally good weather at Granite Harbour and New Harbour. A summary of weather observations is presented in Appendix III.
COMMUNICATIONS:
A Compak radio was used for daily radio skeds with Scott Base. The equipment worked well but on many occasions there were operator problems at Scott Base. In particular messages from field parties often did not appear to reach the appropriate people at Base and was possibly the reason why some helo movements and resupplies did not go according to plan.
The availability of two VHF sets for the sea ice work would have reduced some problems and time delays. During this work the toboggan was often used for forward route reconnaissance and bathymetry traverses. With VHF sets it would have been possible to keep both toboggan and Wannigan informed of progress (or breakdown).
FIELD EQUIPMENT:
Clothing:
Several new items of clothing, the same models as the Antarctic Division issue, were first used by VUWAE members this season, and were all very successful. Minor problems were found with the bib-overalls which had some wear patches which were too small and too lightly sewn in stress areas. We also tried New Zealand manufactured wool felt booties in the normal Japanese mukluks. These booties are more expensive than the conventional mukluk inner boot but give superior warmth and ankle support.
Equipment:
See Transport section for report on the Antarctic Division "Cantago" sledge, IH-500 tractor and Snotric 047 toboggan.
Scientific Equipment:
This season the "sphincter corer" performed "with distinction", the triggering problem encountered last season having been eliminated with a new design. The poor penetration by the corer in some parts of the sound is definitely attributable to a hard gravelly sea floor. Even in this sediment short undisturbed cores were often retrieved.
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We are still learning how to operate the corer with successive attempts and minor accidents such as losing weights should be prevented in future.
The limitations of the winch which performed well last season were discovered this season. The extra lead weights on the corer and deeper water created a 600m depth limit to our operation even though there was sufficient cable for 1000m. unfortunately, testing the winch in deep water around New Zealand requires a large ship and great expense.
The underwater camera was the one major item of equipment which did not work successfully. The camera and flash components were borrowed from NZOI and mounted in our housing as in a previous season. Our unfamiliarity with the components and lack of time are probably the main reasons for the problems.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Field Preparation:
The Narrative describes the considerable amount of work (some unexpected) necessary at Scott Base to prepare for a Tractor Train on the sea ice. The limiting factor to work on the sea ice is time, which is determined by when the ice is considered unsafe for heavy machinery, normally early-middle December. It is therefore imperative that the start to preparations at Scott Base be as early as possible to ensure sufficient field time to achieve a reasonable amount of work.
Transport:
The international Harvester 500 tractor performed faithfully this season. However, a larger tractor is really required for operation on the sea ice a considerable distance from Scott Base. A blade and winch are also necessary for some travelling conditions (see Transport section for details).
The "Cantago" sledge requires wider skis to improve its performance (see Transport section for detailed recommendations).
Communications:
Many problems which concerned field parties this season could have been avoided if one person only had been responsible for both helo logistics and radio scheds. The person who does the radio skeds is the most informed about field party movements and logically should be responsible for all Scott Base initiated field support (e.g. helo planning and resupply).
Portable radios (e.g. VHF) are needed for efficient work on the sea ice where parties must work some distance apart. This is particularly important for seismic work where people firing the charges require verbal communication with the recording station.
Equipment/Clothing:
A modification to the bib-overall design should be made to improve their wearability (see Equipment).
Beacon Studies in the Quartermain Range (K5).
NARRATIVE:
The main objective of this trip was to study exposures of the Weller Coal Measure (Permian) and Feather Conglomerate (Permian-Triassic) at Mt. Feather (77°58S, 160°1830"E) and Tabular Mt. (77°5126"S, 160°7E). At Mt. Feather camp was set up in a sheltered basin at 2200m, approximately 6km NE of the summit, but immediately after we arrived heavy snow set in, confining us to tents for 2 days. The third day was spent working upsection on the Feather Conglomerate, some 3 hours away but this was hampered by deep snow and high winds.
We moved to Tabular Mt. (lying some 12 1/2 kilometres to the NNW of Mt. Feather) on 19 December and set up camp at 2400m, on the ridge directly north of the summit. This provided access to limited sections of both the Weller Coal Measures and the Feather Conglomerate.
TRANSPORT:
All transport was by helicopter, with all moves in the field being on schedule. The move from Tabular Mt. to Vanda was successful despite high winds and deteriorating weather conditions. Aerial reconnaissance was helpful at each location for an overall view of the geology.
WEATHER:
Soon after our arrival at Mt. Feather we were greeted by heavy snow and poor visibility. This cleared up enough to enable us to move to Tabular Mt., where we were met with heavy snow and poor visibility once again. Weather cleared after a few days here but was closing in again just prior to departure.
COMMUNICATIONS:
A DSIR Compak SSB radio was used. This proved satisfactory except that most transmissions to Scott Base had to be relayed via Vanda.
FIELD EQUIPMENT:
All equipment performed well and new VUWAE clothing this year was appreciated, especially at high altitude where in the past this has been an inconvenience.
The only loss of equipment was the leaving behind of the toilet at Mt. Feather due to a hurried departure.
Beacon Studies at Mt. Bastion (K7A).
Three weeks were spent working in detail on the very well-exposed Triassic strata at Mount Bastion. Apart from two snow falls which covered the outcrops and required up to three days to abate the weather was good and the lack of strong winds made working in temperatures lower than −20°C bearable. It is recommended that work at Mount Bastion is carried out before mid-November to avoid heavy snowfalls that accompany warmer temperatures.
Work was carried out between 0300 hours and 1500 hours so as to catch the sun on the outcrops and to avoid the low thick cloud that invariably rolled in from the south at around 1200 hours. It is advised that Helo movements to and from Mount Bastion be performed as early as possible in the morning so as to avoid this problem.
Communications with Scott Base were good and only on a few occasions was it necessary to relay through Vanda.
Fission-Track dating (K7B).
NARRATIVE/AREA COVERED/WEATHER:
Dr. Gleadow and Paul Fitzgerald were put in by helicopter at the eastern end of Lake Brownsworth in lower Wrights Valley, where they spent two days carrying out the bedrock sampling programme and sketching the local geology. On the return flight to Scott Base rock samples were collected from several points on the coast between Gneiss Point and Spike Cape.
The weather was fine throughout the field period.
TRANSPORT:
Helicopter transport was used to put the field party in to the camp site in Wright valley and to carry out an aerial reconnaissance of the sampling area. This proved to be extremely valuable in selecting the best outcrop areas for the sampling traverses and in locating the survey benchmark where camp was set up. The three sampling traverses up the sides of the lower Wright Valley were then completed in two days on foot.
Return to Scott Base was delayed by several days and close support work to collect samples along the coast had to be curtailed because of the helicopter problems which developed at the beginning of December. However, this did not seriously restrict the geological sampling programme and all major objectives were achieved.
EQUIPMENT and COMMUNICATIONS:
Several days were spent at Scott Base preparing equipment - no difficulties were encountered and the equipment performed well under field conditions. Communications were quite satisfactory although a fault developed in the radio which necessitated switching the set off and on again between transmitting and receiving.