POLAR WEATHER

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 3, Issue 699, 27 November 1933, Page 5

POLAR WEATHER

L. Press Assn.

N EW exper i ment ADMIRAL BYRD PROPOSES A METEQROLOGICAL BASE GREAT ANTARCTIC STORMS

' (Special to the United

from the Jacob Ruppert). Rec. Nov. 26, 7.50 p.m. At Sea, Nov. 26. Admiral Byrd aboard the Jacob Ruppert, has announced that he plans a spectacular experiment in Polar : exploration. After arriving at the ba-e, which it is expected will be •reached early in January, he will establish a winter hase on tlie rim of the South Polar plateau for continuous meteorological ohservation completely isolated, even- from Little America. He will leave one, and possibly two men there for eight months, f.our of which will he spent in total darkness in a hut specially coustruct- ! ed to withstand a temperature of _90* ! degrees below zero and a 150 miles ! an hour gale. The hut will be rein- | forced to stand for months under the snow. The demensions will be 13ft by 9ft by 7ft high. This structure will retain 90 per cent. of the heat

generated from the special liquia fluids and will have equipment to maintain continuous 24 hour weather observations. A small portable radio, with a haud-cranked generatoi*, will enable the observers to communicate witb— Little Amei'ica. Admiral _ Byrcl said that his reasons for establishing the base was to study the Antarctic weather. "The South Pole iee-cap is the greatest weather bveeder in the world," he said. "Storms originate there which affect crops and living conditions throughout the. -southern . hemisphere. Heretofore all Antarctic weather observations have been confined to the coastal bases. We .want to'push inland as far as possible to maintain a continuous__watch area where the storms are bred. By coordinating those observations with those in Little America we hope to develop important information as to how these tremendous storms are born." Admiral Byrd said that he had not yet chosen the man or men to staff the outpost.