Latest U.S. Antarctic Base Nearly Complete

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30962, 19 January 1966, Page 22

Latest U.S. Antarctic Base Nearly Complete

All 11 buildings which comprised Plateau Station, the newest American base in the Antarctic, were in position, and the base was expected to be operational by early February, said Mr K. N. Moulton, the senior National Science Foundation representative in the Antarctic, yesterday. In Christchurch to attend a planning conference on next season’s operation, Mr Moulton said all that remained to be done was internal work in the preassembled buildings. Installation of scientific equipment had begun a few days ago. “Probably not ail the scientific instruments will be installed by early February when the last flights to the station will be made, but this will create no great problem. What we have there will be completely livable and operational,” said Mr Moulton. Twenty-seven Seabees had built the base, he added.

Mr Moulton said the scientific programme had gone exceptionally well this season, although there had been no significant “finds.” Major scientific investigations in the Pensacola Mountains, 1200 miles from McMurdo Station, using Army helicopters, had been completed on time. The 10-man Queen Maud

Land traverse party, which was covering about 1000 miles, was expected to reach Plateau Station about February 1 from where its members and their vehicles would be flown back to the South Pole Station and then to McMurdo Station.

“What reports we have had from them have been very sketchy—mainly position reports. They did have mechanical trouble with one of their three vehicles three days ago. Yesterday we made a supply drop to them and I expect all three vehicles will be on the move again by now,” said Mr Moulton.

“The traverse party has had exceptionally good luck in having so few mechanical problems. Because of the higher elevation and temperature extremes we had expected some would occur.”

Mr Moulton said construction had begun a week ago on a small sub-station about 13 miles north-east of Byrd Station, which would be occupied during the winter by two men who would carry out transmission experiments on the 21-mile long very-low-fre-quency antenna laid on the icecap last season. Early next month it was planned to use a specially instrumented DC3 to test signals bounced off the antenna.

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