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nel being transported by the ship 'vefe going to conduct marine sampling eX periments in the inlet areas to deter mine geographical distribution of vaf ious marine species.
After two hours of flight operation5 during which the passengers "ef^ transported and 3,000 pounds lj equipment were vertically replenish*-1 - the Glacier proceeded southward 1 the prime operating areas, the R°sj Sea and the previously uncharte waters off the Oates Coast of Victor13 Land in eastern Antarctica.
On 24 December, the Glc‘i,tf
crossed the Antarctic Circle, com
mencing a most productive opcr11
core
Sub'
■eks
time
Another device used at this
On 15 November 1979, the USCGC Glacier (WAGB-4) departed Long Beach, California, en route to Antarctica to participate in Operation Deep Freeze 1980. The significance of this event was not merely in the uniqueness of the mission in Antarctica but also that 1980 marks the 50th anniversary of Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd’s first exploration of the Antarctic.
The Coast Guard has been present in Antarctica since 1946 when the icebreaker Nurthuind (WAGB-282) participated in Operation Highjump. The Coast Guard’s Antarctic operation is in direct support of the National Science Foundation (NSF) activities and involves aids to navigation and logistic support as well as a variety of research activities. The discovery of mineral deposits and possible oil, the majority of the world’s fresh water, and the abundance of potential protein sources have placed this continent out of the realm of purely scientific research into a potentially viable political issue, thus increasing the importance of the Coast Guard’s mission.
For these reasons, the continent of Antarctica has long been recognized by the international science community as a vast area for a wide range of research projects. The formation of the International Geophysical Year, sponsored by the International Council of Scientific Unions, began in 1957 with significant emphasis on Antarctica. This was the beginning of the establishment of permanent research stations on the continent. The United States committed resources to a number of these stations and, thus, a long-lasting commitment and presence on this continent was established.
The American scientific effort in Antarctica, known as the United States Antarctic Research Program, is managed and funded by the NSF located in Washington, D.C. The U. S. Naval Support Force, Antarctica, headquartered in Port Hueneme, California, is responsible for providing logistic support for U. S. activities on the Antarctic continent. This complex and challenging task is labeled Operation Deep Freeze. It is under this operation that the mission of the Coast Guard icebreakers in Antarctica evolved and remains committed. Thus, the Glacier's journey southward was not merely an annual event or a routine deployment, but the continuing of a commitment to a presence dictated by events years earlier.
In Operation Deep Freeze ’80, the Glacier's support of assigned science activities took on many facets. The major logistic requirement for the ship was to provide piston-coring equipment for a field team of geologists. The scientific objectives of the geologists were to examine the sediment and faunal distribution patterns on a portion of the Antarctic continental margin bounded by mountains and valley glaciers. These sediment and rock samples should provide clues as to the nature of the forces changing the shape of the continent.
Aerial support was provided in the form of two HH-52A helicopters. The aircraft enabled the scientists to judge from the air the patterns of ice flow, study the various groupings of icebergs, and occasionally, collect sediment from icebergs and glaciers.
After a three-week transit period from Long Beach, the Glacier arrived in Auckland, New Zealand. At this time, the ship transferred from the operational control of Coast Guard Commander Pacific Area to Commander Naval Support Force Antarctica. This was the springboard to the ice with the loading of fresh provisions and the embarking of two teams of scientists. Four of these scientists were working for the Australian Museum, and through NSF coordination, the Glacier was tasked with transporting them to Campbell Island, 1,234 miles south of Auckland. The remaining scientists were the geologists from Rice University.
On 20 December, the Glacier arrived off Campbell Island, a New Zealand possession measuring nine miles by eight miles, which is used as a remote weather facility. The person
tional period. The first sediment was procured on Christmas Day- sequent coring in the following ^ee‘ all occurred off the Oates Coast of toria Land. .
As previously mentioned, a ma|^ logistic requirement for the ship to provide piston-coring equipmen With this equipment, the scienter are able to obtain samples of sedirncn on the ocean floor which provides formation about past and present conditions, the influences of glaC1‘
and marine agents on sedimentati°m
and the hydrocarbon potential of c continental margin. .
By 29 December, the Glacier h3^ proceeded in a westerly direct ^ along the Oates Coast of Victoria La11 largely through uncharted watCf*s This was a tremendous opportunity^ these waters are usually inaccessi ^ because of heavy ice conditions, this date the science team had ta 24 stations involving piston c°reS trigger cores, and bottom gtabs. ^ noteworthy event in that sedttn samples had not previously been ta from these waters.
was the Precision Depth Recordef. Fathometer with a tape print1’1 ^ With this device, three submat1
c VijCI*
canyons were discovered, two of w had been previously uncharted.
Flight operations on 39 Dece*11 ^ were planned to conduct ice reconn sance and investigate possible lea
do 'Ce f° ena^^e tFle Glacier to proceed of StT t0 C^e cont*nent *n the vicinity fj. ^"aPe Hooker and Yule Bay. The gav tS accomphshed this, but also c ,.e che scientists the opportunity to ari^ ct sediment off several ice floes
i a rock sample from a tabular ice-
°erR Tk V ■ i
e- i nese were important events be-
scie6 t^le sediment samples enable the
ftists to study the processes of gla
cial
p°ssibl
Pholo,
shelf
erosion and sediment transport,
y providing clues to the mor- '8'c evolution, of the continental q and the continent itself, in f1 ^ew Year’s Eve, while proceed-
A ° rorn eastern Antarctica to western ^ntar, oUsi
' uncharted sea mountain range
erica and the Ross Sea, a previ-
** dis
iVaj 1Scovered when the depth of the borT1s to 50 fathoms. This discovery
fat^tr abruptly changed from 1,000
*<>n^°rtS cEe hypothesis that a fracture (2^ trends from the Balleny Islands the l^des north of Cape Adare) into htl ^aPe Adare region. These data tk PJ^Plain the sudden termination of 'Pale rans~Antarctic Mountains which rarie UP the world’s largest mountain
Fthe‘
of /? extending from the northern tip int1 Antarctic peninsula through the (leier'0r of the continent and reaching
s of up to 4,650 meters.
Ql evv Year’s Day 1980 found the l,tr steaming from southern Vic- Land en route through the Ross to McMurdo Sound, the entrance
t()ri;
to
M,
O
cMurdo Station.
n 4
January, the Commandant of
the Coast Guard visited the Glacier and spent the entire day touring the ship and engaging in question-and-an- swer sessions with the crew. The following day the ship pulled into the fast ice of the McMurdo channel alongside the cutters Polar Sea (WAGB-l 1) and Northwind.
The next week, the Glacier transited from the waters off Cape Royds across McMurdo Sound to the previously uncharted waters off the Wilson Piedmont Glacier. During this period, the science team collected 44 sediment cores, and the Glacier penetrated Wohlschag Bay to a point closer to Mt. Erebus than any previous floating unit had been.
From the period 3-10 January, the ship’s aviation detachment, not required for any support of science team activities, transferred to the control of VXE-6, the Navy’s Antarctic Development Squadron operating out of McMurdo Station. Because of the proximity of the Glacier, the two HH-52A helicopters were able to provide logistic support for her in the form of cargo and passenger transfer as well as support research projects, one on an ecosystem comparison of oasis lakes and soils, and another, a study of the distribution and ecology of small odontocete whales.
On 10 January, the aviation detachment returned on board the Glacier for a continuation of coring operations which progressed from the
edge of the fast ice of McMurdo Sound along the coast of eastern Antarctica to the coastline of northern Victoria Land.
On 13 and 14 January, the Glacier operated off the northern coast of Victoria Land penetrating waters on the western side of Terra Nova Bay adjacent to the northern side of the Drygalski Ice Tongue. This ice tongue is an extension of the massive David Glacier and has a terminal ice wall of 15 to 30 meters in height and is approximately 60 kilometers long and 25 kilometers wide.
Since the Drygalski Ice Tongue extends into the Ross Sea which causes a current flow around the ice tongue, it may provide a miniature scale model of a continental ice shelf for sampling sediment cores. Theoretically, the cores sampled around the tongue should prove similar to those sampled at various points in a 3,000-mile area of the waters surrounding the Ross Ice Shelf. Initial measurements of the tongue and position verification by latitude and longitude showed that it has moved further eastward into the sea than previously charted. Although Antarctica is surrounded by large and relatively swift flowing glaciers that reach the sea and form ice tongues, the data gathered on the Drygalski Ice Tongue could provide a clue to the rate of flow, thus adding to the
knowledge of the forces changing the shape of the continent.
As the Glacier steamed toward McMurdo for fueling, flight operations were conducted in the vicinity of the Reeve Glacier. The purpose of the mission was to conduct an elevation survey of the glacier, checking on differences in height at the ice edge which borders on the Ross Sea versus that part of the glacier farther up in the valleys. The flight also provided an excellent opportunity to collect samples of sediment from various lateral and medial moraines.
The transit up the channel to McMurdo Station will not be easily forgotten by any on board the ship that day. The channel by this time was approximately 500 yards wide because of strong southerly winds that had blown out the ice broken by the Polar Sea and the Northu ind. Accompanying the ship was a continuous escort of pods of killer whales. Finally, McMurdo Station, which serves as headquarters for Operation Deep Freeze during the austral summer for both Commander Task Force 199 and the NSF, was reached.
During this in-port period, the aviation detachment once again switched to the operational control of VXE-6 and flew support for the Dry Valleys projects and open-water science missions. At this time, with most of the science projects in the field wrapping up, the majority of the flight operations conducted were for the purpose of transporting personnel and equipment from the field back to McMurdo.
On 22 January, the two HH-52AS departed McMurdo in company to
conduct a reconnaissance of the Asga^ Mountain Range 90 miles to northwest for the purpose of insta 1 power packs for remote weather tions. After landing on a ridge*1 postflight inspection revealed a br‘> |
the
ta'1
oil cooler support bracket in <•*- j section of one aircraft which render^ it unflyable. Immediate evacuation all personnel by the other helicl,P^ was necessary because of deteriora weather.
What followed was a two ordeal of cannibalizing the neceSSfef parts from the remaining helic0P^f and waiting for a break in the wea to allow a Navy UH-IN to fly £he
,50°
ation detachment maintenance P sonnel to the site, a ridgeline 5 .
feet above the floor of the Wright ley. Finally, the ceilings lifted en<■ on the 24th, and the crew was > from Vanda Station, a New Ze® Antarctic research camp, where ^ had been standing by. The j° ^ completed and the repaired coptcf ^ recovered on board the Glacttd January. 0fl
oug'
The Glacier was under
way
m»s'
Monday 28 January for the dua, sions of escort of the supply ship ■ ^ and further coring operations 0f, Balleney Islands. Coring, how was not attempted off the . ° uffi^
feu'1
it
cause of rough seas, so the ship - ^
back towards Cape Adare. The .
was well spent for the next
feW
a
1
with bathymetric surveys and ^ being completed in Robertso11
and Yule Bay.
day "1
On 3 February, the entire spent in the spectacular surroon W of Yule Bay which is surroun*1
li;
ntain<>us cliffs reflected with bril-
nt clarity in the still waters. The c''act. . . . .
‘atier
lar • taut|ously edged around tabu- stat|Ce^>erSs advancing to each coring fr, ;;n ar*d, in one instance, was able ° all°w the
^t-nt off
0ccUr
scientists to scrape sedi- an iceberg, an extremely rare
arta rrttlCe Bay was a productive
35 geologists were able to obtain
>Ples
all,
("v lot
°f laminated muds which
larnj ’n£cr c°res to be acquired. The Se(Jl"atlons are useful for dating the
wintering-over party at McMurdo to construct a new wharf prior to Deep Freeze ’81, thus ensuring against structural failure in the subsequent season.
The New Zealand research team then began a seismic survey of the floor of McMurdo Sound. This was accomplished by the use of an air compressor which upon bursting an air bubble, emitted a range of sound waves from 10 cycles per second to 100 cycles per second. This range allows the sound waves to both bounce off the primary sediment and penetrate to the actual basement up to the depth of a kilometer. By measuring the time delay of the bubble rising to the surface an accurate picture of depth variance is charted. This project should provide a picture of the structure of the floor of the sound and coupled with samples taken from the
bottom by the Rice geologists, a comprehensive study of the area will have been completed.
On 11 February' 1980, science operations were secured for Deep Freeze 80. With a course change to due north, the Glacier departed McMurdo Sound for Campbell Island where the scientists were to be picked up and transported to Wellington.
Reflecting on the tremendous spirit of endeavor and unity during the journey, the words of Admiral Byrd seemed significant, “. . . Antarctica, in its symbolic robe of white, will shine forth as a continent of peace as nations working together there in a cause of science set an example of international cooperation.”
rrtent.
Follov
wing coring operations in Yule . the
tt'cti
lr>al
ititt'nH the Towle from the ice wharf majiC 6 cF|anr't‘l. After final loading of He^uPPlies, and the embarking of a "Caland science team, the Glacier the ice wharf out to open
B;
dirc*. * *,c G latter proceeded in the lino/100 °F McMurdo Station. The Vls,t there was for the purpose of
"'ate
t'rs.
This is done to allow the
Lieutenant Lee is presently assigned to the Polar Operations Division of the Coast Guard Aviation Training Center in Mobile. Alabama.
£> ,
U iic Affairs: We’re Missing the Boat!—
By
°tojournalist First Class Raymon Fullerton, U. S. Coast Guard
l ht Publi
a/pr, n‘ its
f» ' Ml>
Za‘ion 7 “ affam program is an organi- txhi, a process by which the Coast Guard
r ai?ls -*■» •
its m“sions, goals, actions, etc., •orn p!<^ics and receives communication <‘Ut a‘S Publics. . . . It is . ■ ■ carried han,. e command level with each com-
sp, "
\lf °7f*:erand officer-in-charge re- f°r‘be establishment, rnainte-
°ntibU
"«*re .
fairt b n exe:u‘ion of a unit public af- 's div 7'ram' The public affairs program
(«) p‘b‘nt0:
«ndditrn ^formation—the preparation
"‘“‘eriai ,Tlat‘on of information and other "‘her 1 be press, radio, television, and
"f mass communication.
(b) Community Relations-activities undertaken for or in cooperation with the people of (and organizations in) communities affected by a Coast Guard command or mission.
(c) Internal Relations-activities undertaken for the purpose of informing or gaining the understanding of military and civilian personnel of the Coast Guard and their families. ”
(Commandant Instruction M5728.2).
Twelve district public affairs offices are accountable to their respective district commanders, who are usually rear admirals. These field public af-
fairs offices are staffed by designated specialists, E-4 through CWO-4, and include a "public affairs officer.” In all but two locations, the public affairs officer is a lieutenant (junior grade) or a lieutenant.
The Coast Guard Public Affairs Manual states that the Chief, Office of Boating, Public and Consumer Affairs is accountable to the service’s chief of staff and is “the direct representative of the Commandant for public affairs.”
The hypothetical Coast Guard public affairs office has a four-man staff.