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Five months out of tl miles wide—at the Naval Support Fc
oward W. Serig, Jr
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This past February, Naval Support Force Antarctica, otherwise known as Operation Deep Freeze, wrapped up its 30th season at the bottom of the world. The joint naval task force—which presently numbers more than 1,000 personnel—was first established in 1954 to assist scientists who would study the Antarctic continent during the 1957-58 International Geophysical Year. Every year since then, during the October through February austral summer, Deep Freeze has provided logistics support to hundreds of scientists under the auspices of the National Science Foundation. Science has continued to be the pri-
On its way to McMurdo Station, Antarctica, top, the Coast Guard icebreaker Polar Star, center, breaks ice near Mt. Erebus, a 13,000-foot active volcano. Above, scientists from the Polar Star take ice samples in McMurdo Sound.
mary mission in the region for two important reasons. First, the continent has the cleanest air, purest water, and quietest seismic conditions on earth— important factors in a variety of investigations of natural phenomena ranging from earthquakes to sun spots. Second, scientists have complete freedom to explore the region. The Antarctic Treaty, signed by the United States and 11 other nations in 1961 and acceded to by another 20 countries since then, bans commercial exploitation and suspends prior territorial claims through 1990.
Presently, the United States maintains four year-round outposts across the barren 2,000 mile-wide ice sheet: Siple, Palmer, South Pole, and McMurdo. The most important of these is McMurdo, Antarctica’s largest settlement. The station is built on the bare volcanic rock of Hut Point Peninsula on Ross Island, the farthest south solid
ground that is accessible by ship^ ^ a summer population of 1,200, i logistics hub of the U. S. Antarc 1 Research Program. <,
During the summer season, ^ Navy personnel are primarily resP
i other
U. S. and foreign military se^V1«?eand participate in Deep Freeze. V. ■
New Zealand army units hanm the New Zealand and U. S. air fly transport aircraft to the ice. tary Sealift Command cargo s 'P ason; tanker resupply McMurdo each s and the U. S. Coast Guard prov^_ two icebreakers which, besides ing a channel for the resupply s and carrying supplies themselves. ^ ate as platforms for scientific 0f
This past season, a small detac U. S. Marine Corps meteorology specialists provided information
McMurdo. . -na
Conducting support °Perat'°"* ;bed territory that has often been u as the windiest, coldest, and n place on earth is a day-to-day c . lenge. Even during the compaia mild five-month long summer riod of moderating temperatures
24-hour daylight—blinding w , outs,” hurricane force wincls’.ah can below zero temperatures w 1C make steel as brittle as glass ana aircraft hydraulic fluid make ^
tions on the ice unpredictable an ^
gerous. Hypothermia and frost
constant concerns. .wetand
Probably those who best unde Antarctica are the aircrews o Antarctic Development Squa r° ters (VXE-6), who routinely fly hel‘ f sCi- and ski-equipped LC-130s carry entific field parties to and from points. Often flying to the tops oi 6
80
Proceedings
/ Aug*15'1
they visit places never before seen by aian' It is an assignment that some XE-6 pilots liken to the television series “Star Trek.”
In spite of its military ties, Deep feeze is not a military operation. The Antarctic Treaty prohibits military ases, maneuvers, and weapons testing, ew can deny, however, that there are National security benefits to be derived f°m a continuing U. S. presence in Ine Antarctic.
The first major U. S. expeditions to e frozen continent were, in fact, miliary operations. Navy Rear Admiral lchard E. Byrd introduced large-scale
echanizati°n to Antarctic exploration 1933° exPeditions, in 1928-30 and pi that included extensive ex-
ovJatl.°n a>rplanc and the first flight ^.‘he South Pole.
Sov-'th the deterioration of U. S.- II 1£t, re^at'ons following World War St ,an Possibility that the United War^ m*8^t some day have to fight a the f'n t*1G ^rct'c wasteland, interest in
with T,encontinent increased-in i947-
the it ■ iral Byrd as officer-in-charge, An nited States launched the largest On„/l’tlc expedition ever organized, nava,a lon hhghjump. Composed of tine a C°mbatants> including a subma- (CV-zry the Carr'crPhilippine Sea iCei, i anc* *ed the Coast Guard Was ■ rf N°rthwind, the operation
intend'0! °Wn words> primarily ed to ‘train naval personnel and
Und'. C,St sitiPs> planes, and equipment er ‘rigid zone conditions.”
Since that time, the region has also gained in strategic importance. Recent surveys estimate that as much as 45 billion barrels of oil and 115 trillion cubic feet of gas may lie off Antarctica’s coast. Geologists also believe that below the continent’s ice there may be large quantities of iron, uranium, and coal, including perhaps the world’s largest coal fields running more than 1,500 miles along the transantarctic mountain range.
In addition, the southern marine ecosystem—one of the world’s richest— supports a wide variety of marine life including millions of tons of krill, a tiny shrimp with the protein value of beefsteak. Already Soviet and Japanese trawlers are beginning to reap abundant krill harvests.
Largely because of Antarctica’s untapped wealth, the future of the region is becoming increasingly uncertain. In 1982, President Ronald Reagan signed the most recent in a series of presidential decision documents reaffirming U. S. interests on the continent and vowing to maintain ‘‘an active and influential presence,” including year- round occupation of South Pole Station. By maintaining a base at the hub of the continent, the United States hopes to discourage future claims to wedge shaped portions of the continent. But this alone may not have much influence, particularly if the Antarctic Treaty is significantly altered when it is reviewed in 1991.
At present, 14 nations operate 34 year-round stations on the ice. Nine of them, which ring the continent, are maintained by the Soviet Union. If the present accord to preserve the current hands-off policy is breached, a major land grab could begin. Moreover, a growing number of Third World nations, with no prior territorial claims to the continent, are demanding that Antarctica’s riches be opened to the world.
One additional uncertainty facing the United States concerns continued use of support facilities at Christchurch, New Zealand, the primary staging point for U. S. Antarctic operations. U. S.-New Zealand relations have continued to
A ski-equipped LC-130, flown by Navy Antarctic Development Squadron Six (VXE-6), deposits its cargo at the U. S. camp at Beardmore Glacier, left. Above, the geodesic dome that protects the U. S. research station at Amundsen-Scott Station South Pole is partially buried by windblown snow.
deteriorate since the Labor government of Prime Minister David Lange proposed legislation last year which would bar visiting U. S. military ships that refuse to declare whether or not they are carrying nuclear weapons. In retaliation for the ban, the United States suspended naval maneuvers with New Zealand, stopped sharing intelligence information, and cancelled last summer’s ANZUS (Australia, New Zealand, United States) meeting. There is little indication at present that the rift will be settled soon.
Mr. Serig is a senior economist with the U. S. Department of Transportation in Washington,
D. C., assigned to the Office of the Secretary where he serves as an advisor on marine transportation policy. He is also a freelance writer and photographer and has been published in the New York Times, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and the Chicago Tribune.
Pr,
! August 1986