The Dome is Home--South Pole history 1975-90
The new station as it appeared at dedication time (NSF photo courtesy Jerry Marty)
Old Pole is turned over to civilian management from LT Bob Braddock, the last Navy w/o OIC, at station opening 11/5), for its final summer of operation
Here's a preliminary manifest, sent down to the last Navy crew at Old Pole before the civilians arrived. This message, with many familiar names, was found on the floor of the galley (!) and is now part of the 1977 Pole Souls archives.
Nebraska team (John Rand, Bob Rutford etc.) does the 100m drill hole in the dome north of the science building (later under the substation) with a dry coring auger (completed 11/21 in 15 hours of actual drill- ing time. The core is now at SUNY Buffalo; the project was written up in SCIENCE in 1975 (info from Bob Rutford) (scientific data from OSU) H&N puts the finishing touches on the new station
One of these tasks involved putting the famous sign up over the station entrance. Here it is still partia- lly in the box. Wonder when folks first began to think it was grammatically incorrect? In any case, this photo is a bit of deja vu, since the replacement sign was a significant photographic backdrop in the January 2008 dedication of the elevated station. This photo is from Dick Wolak, seen here in this hero shot under the sign.
Dome sliding became a popular sport even before the new station was formally completed. This activity caused more than one serious injury and was eventually declared off-limits, not that that stopped it. photo from Dan Bolton "Last Supper" meal served in the old station galley (1/4)
A neat picture from w/o Stu Rawlinson. Notice that nothing on the table resem- bles what the place looks like now.
For last-minute cleanup, aircraft 917 was towed to its present location 2 days before dedication (several years previously it had crashed in front of the new station, where it had remained)
Here Elena Marty is using brute force to move 917 to its present location...the detached tail was moved separately. Here is the full story of 917, with more pictures of the move
New station formally dedicated January 9, 1975. Completion of construction was sometime later...(read on)
The first civilian station manager of the new station, Richard Wolak (right) receives mementos for the new station (a photo of Amundsen at Pole, and replicas of his boots) from Tore Gjelsvek, director of the Norwegian Polar Institute and SCAR president, during the station dedi- cation (AJ 3/75
Two C-130s crash at Dome C on January 15, first one is damaged by JATO bottle, the second is damaged during rescue landing CAF (the original) constructed 200'+/- east of the fuel arch. It was buried supposedly for longevity (the concept was that it be modules in wonder arch, but that could not be bought in time) The other last-minute design change, the annex, built for additional berthing after it was determined that more than 16 people would winter. It was half of original emergency camp which was supposed to be under wonder arch near present site of GCA. Another module of the building had been dropped, and there was not enough wonder arch for it anyway Dick Wolak turns off the lights at Old Pole for good (2/3)
Dick Wolak wrote about this event, and the last summer of operation of the IGY station, in this feature article which appeared in the Fall/Winter 2002 issue of the Polar Times. At left is his January 1975 photo looking up the Holy Stairs towards the vestibule at the top.
Radiosonde tracked to 44,264m (2/1) a record to date. Pressure 1.8mb
RISP (Ross Ice Shelf Project) completes second field season, prelimi-
nary geophysical research, no drilling yet
Airborne radio-echo survey flights near Vostok detect what would
be defined as the 3800 square mile Lake Vostok, with the liquid
water surface 13,000 feet below the ice surface.
Manager: Dick Wolak; population 17 (list and photos) First winterover at "New South Pole" Completion of construction defects occupied much of the winter project list--major efforts to debug generators, fire alarm, all-call, etc., and bring necessities over from old Pole Another major winter project-building shelves. There were none in the arches... Original snow melter did not work, needed temporary replacement Appendicitis case treated nonsurgically with medication Automatic CO2 discharge in power plant triggers hour-long outage The Naval support force (NSFA) relocates main operations from Davisville RI to Port Hueneme
The third plane crashed at Dome C; only 3 hercs available, most work at Pole cancelled due to lack of aircraft Construction camp not opened Snow melter replaced with a more permanent model Bar relocated from south end of galley (1976-88 pantry area) to second floor
Photos of this corner of the galley as it looked during the 1975 winter--before this bar was moved upstairs--are rare. This shot is thanks to w/o Stu Raw- linson. For some reason the design team for the elevated station decided to duplicate this feature-- the only bar facility inside the current station is, well, you know. Zoller site (S-150) operated 3 miles SE of dome with white hut on sled (still around in 1990 and labeled) and adjacent temporary generators Siple closed because of a hepatitis case
Manager: Dan Morton; population 18 (list) Additional tables arrive for the galley, now there are enough for all of the winterovers to sit at a table and eat at the same time CO2 system in power plant goes off automatically (gremlins, no fire); power off for an hour just like the previous winter Urinal installed in the fan room of the bar, hooked up to the hot water More of the present shelving in the garage, pp, biomed arch built
Here is Stu Harris' picture of the inside of the dome, with the ubiquitous trash bucket sitting in front of the galley door. Note that in 1976 there is lots of room for a tractor to bring a 10-ton sled in and turn it around. Oh yes, I must say that most of the good photos from 1976-77 got put on the main portion of this web site.
Construction camp #1 head/galley burns down the day after station opening, the largest fire in the history of the US Antarctic program to date. No injuries except for some frostbite, but many personal belongings/wallets/passports lost. Jump to more information about the original construction camp...
Inside the galley, which was bigger and better equipped than the one in the dome. It was to be operated for the summer and construction folks; if it hadn't burned down, the his- tory of summer life at Pole might have been much different... NSF photo (1975) courtesy Jerry Marty
Construction camp #2 head/galley jamesways built; two generators moved to create emergency power plant in former construction garage; cable laid to allow power feed to/from emergency power plant; backfeed into station and main power plant demonstrated successfully 12V lead-acid D-8 battery recovered from the snow melter after the water started tasting funny--major water system cleaning conducted First official USGS survey marker placed at Geographic Pole (11/16)
Something the USGS folks brought with them to commemmorate the Bicentennial as well as the visit of the USGS topographic division director (rest of the story). Oh yes, it disappeared in 2 days. This was NOT the first survey mar- ker...before this, the US Coast and Geodetic Survey had primary jurisdiction, and they placed one in 1959. Old Pole USGS folks put out at least one more. Of course all of these disappeared as well. New clean air facility built, NOAA equipment moved out of old facility which was 20' buried
Here we are putting the finishing touches on the new Clean Air Faci- lity, which was incredibly comple- ted from scratch in about 2 months!
Cosray platforms set up, cosray lab put in skylab "coatroom" (2nd floor) First half of weight room (metal building) built "Ice cube" built in garage ramp New freshie shack built (not the present one, built later (?) UCLA wood hut built behind science building for gravity "earth tides studies, to replace geomagnetic (nonmagnetic) hut which was buried between skylab and fuel arch for Russian scientist Station equipment fleet: 1 D8, 1 D4, 4 955's, 1 Thiokol trackmaster, one skidoo Balloon inflation tower platform extended Vendor mechanic from GG&H on site, first top overhaul of generators Qantas runs first Antarctic tourist flight over the Antarctic Coast from Sydney in January...fare was £187 Ross Ice Shelf Project (RISP) fails to drill through the shelf... although other aspects of the project proved successful. Team members included folks from CRREL (John Rand and Tony Gow), Nebraska (John Clough, Karl Kuivinen), and Wisconsin; support included a Twin Otter chartered from Bradley Air Services and piloted by Giles Kershaw RADM George J. Dufek, commander of the Naval Support Force Antarctica during the IGY era, dies (2/10)
Manager: Bill Spindler; populatiion 21 (list and photo) First w/o electrician; present shelving in helium arch built for heavy electrical supplies Operating theater built in Biomed (back room with green tile) Installed phone cable to CAF (plastic insulated) at -45°F temperature (one end still in service for fire alarm 1/90) Installed oil furnace in BIT Installed electric heat in second floor of Skylab (cosray) Installed first of several A-frame hoists in garage Second Pole winter appendicitis case, treated without surgery
Gary Rosenberger (NOAA/GMCC 77 w/o tech) killed in motorcycle accident near Queenstown NZ 2 941B's shipped to Pole replacing retrograded 955's Zoller remote aerosol sampling project moved into CAF First informal site tests of solar astronomy by Pomerantz' team are successful, in part due to... First year of full-time NSF rep on site (an astronomer) D-4 falls through the roof of the garage at Old Pole, major rebuild required, it was never the same
I'm not sure what was happening, all I know is that the operator probably wasn't quite the same afterwards either (photo from Kevin Bisset)
High temperature record set on 27 December: -13.6°C/+7.5°F (this record is still in effect in 1999) the previous record was -15°C/+5°F in January 1958 SATTRACK moved from east end of comm into science bldg Ross Ice Shelf Project (RISP) "holes through" 1375'-thick ice in 10 hours using rocket-like hot gas drill
Manager: Mike Pavlak; population 22 (list) First suspicion that original sewer outfall is settling First winter with videocassettes (not many) McMurdo's "Chapel of the Snows," built in 1956, destroyed in a spectacular fire (8/22) (more info and photos)
A familiar scene in the mid to late 70's-- Dr. Harold Muchmore and his team would show up on the first flights to check the bodily fluids of the w/o's. (US Navy photo by David Thompson, Antarctic Journal, Sep- tember 1979) According to the caption, Dr. Muchmore is drawing a blood sample from 1978 USGS w/o Gary Foltz at the end of his winter.
Surveys confirm that the dome is settling towards the sewer outfall (also the side of the heaviest snow cover) New power feeds to GCA (dug by ditch witch) and to CAF; 75 and 150 kva transformers in pp arch moved Support columns in comms and met (bent brace) installed Wall built to separate stair area from cosray lab in skylab Installed a replacement oil furnace in BIT Freshie shack not big enough, replaced it with another one (perhaps the ground floor of the one torn down in 2004) Carbon steel snow melter at summer camp replaced A new snow melter set atop the old one; hatch and ladder built Buried the first "UCLA hut" (in science field (former geomagnetic hut) Zoller's hut removed from clean air sector, air sampling project turned over to NOAA Pomerantz continues informal solar telescope tests Siple II station completed/occupied Galley remodel--utensil shelves built, cooks reefer moved to present location (where coffee urn was), etc Two totally-buried berthing jamesways (originally part of construc- tion camp #1) next to power plant at summer camp removed Vestibule added to biomed First annual "Scott's Hut" race at McM (12/3)
Manager: Ron Peck; population 17 (list)
Folks in the galley....seated at left is Dan Reed, who previously spent a couple of years on the HERO, and came back to the ice to help build the Beardmore camp in 84-85. Standing is manager Ron Peck, and at right is engineer Daryl Leed (NOAA photo by John Bortniak)
Bar remodeled (hardwood floor put in as it was until 1987 winter) and video machine installed Pool room remodeled (eg Byrd's sweater moved there from galley wall) First year of met operation by support contractor instead of science (NZ met service) First woman w/o, doctor Michele Raney
Michele is in the bar enjoying the latest sound system (NOAA photo by John Bortniak)
Installed steam cooker in galley, first of many Emptied catalyst out of power plant exhausts and reordered replacement (maybe it never showed up, anyway it was never put in) Installed day tank in BIT for furnace, along with 12kw of electric heat Installed water cooler in annex Moved GCA to berm for winter; very hard to move sleds with D4 plus both 941's
Two sprytes, D6 arrive, D4 is gone, Thiokol trackmaster bermed (and eventually retrograded) Two D8 engines retrograded Marvin landplane arrived to replace the earlier smaller unit First floor of skylab, (present CUSP lab) enclosed to protect area and exit door from drifting snow. Exit stairs and door installed in east wall Dr. Pomerantz continues site tests for solar astronomical telescope-- his first funded Pole astronomy work--using an 8-cm heliostat feeding a 5-cm refractor, near future Pomerantz Land site. 120 continuous hours of observation in January. Little did we know... First running of the Round the World Race on 2 December 1979, organized by runners Martha Kane (Savage) and Casey Jones... this event has become an annual tradition...Bill Spindler came in second in 1987...
Bill Smythe, Martha Kane, Eric Fossat and Alan Parkinson near the end of the race... photo from Martha Kane Savage. Here is her description of the event.
Berthing Jamesway erected at summer camp, torn down at end of the season New cargo office put into helium arch, former supply/cargo office had been in room in south corner of annex
The cargo arch as it appeared a few years later (1984-85 photo from Pete Furtado) with the cargo office in its original location. During the 1989 winter the cargo office was moved against the back wall.
Casey Jones, summer cook, killed in fan room when snow from intake stack buries him (1/9; second death at Pole, the first occurred in 1965-66 during aircraft unloading)
Here is Casey contemplating some future race...obviously somewhere north of here. This photo is cour- tesy of Martha Kane Savage. Here is another photo and the link to her memorial page.
NZ tourist DC-10 crashes into Mt. Erebus, 257 killed (11/28)
The crash was New Zealand's worst air disaster; the death toll inclu- ded 200 from NZ, 24 Japanese, 22 Americans, 6 Britons, 2 Canadians, and one each from Australia, Swit- zerland, and France. While flying conditions were generally clear, at the time of the crash the aircraft was off course, flying below cloud level with no surface definition. More information and photos... The crash of TE 901 severely dampened planned ceremonies to mark the 50-year anniversary of Byrd's 1929 Pole flight; a scheduled flight to retrace Byrd's route on 11/28 was cancelled
This dome interior view from Mike Savage shows the Byrd flight sign which hung on the wall of upper berthing. The sign was there for a few years after 1979--here is a DF81 Navy cruisebook photo. Dr. Larry Gould, member of the Byrd expedition, participated in the ceremonies. This was Dr. Gould's last visit to the ice (here's a picture of him in McMurdo).
And this commemorative signed poster was left for display in the library. Signers include senior NSF, National Science Board, and Navy representatives along with Sen. Harry Byrd and BAE I member Norman Vaughan. Here's the full sized version, 258k, 1600x1200, with most of the signatures legible (January 2004 photo by Seth White).
New power plant fan duct installed from fan room Stairway and tower built at east end of fuel arch, and access tower with ladder on the front of the arch at west end Sewer line in utilidor leveled first time; new outfall created and first sewage lift pump placed in service PICO does two shallow cores (100-150') with new drill 2 miles west of station Ice cube (28x35x3 ft deep with timber foundation) installed in helium arch Chileans construct 4300' gravel runway on King George Island suit- able for wheeled aircraft...and tourists McM activity--first two 200 series dorms occupied; next 3 are well underway; power plant footings set; contractor takes over shuttle bus operations from NSFA
Manager: Bruce Gaylord; population 17 (list and photo)
The second female to winter at Pole was grad student Martha Kane, who was working for Bartol on the cosray project. Here she is dealing with some of that infamous teletype tape which was used to transmit data summaries back to Delaware (most of the data was on magnetic tape that was shipped out at the end of the winter. (U. S. Navy photograph by Dana Babin)
Old outfall supposedly measured at 150' deep Boiler operated all winter to heat station Significant problems with fire alarm Support contractor changes from H&N to ITT Installed closed circuit TV in power plant so that it could be watched from comms
The new elevated station features an elaborate web-based TV monitor- ing system to keep track of isola- ted unmanned areas like RF, the power plant, and the fuel arch, but the idea isn't new. Here's the first system, set up to let comms folks like Howard Evans here keep an eye on the generators (photo from Mike Savage)s
Major problems with sewage lift pump, clogged with tampons (need a more heavy duty model)
Exhaust fan installed in end of utilidor Summer camp #3 power plant (the present [1990] "old" one) built. D330 engine moved from old plant. D342 (100kw) generator #2 replaced with present [1990] 50kw...and a new snow melter installed "Solar-polar" site (later known as Pomerantz Land) constructed 5 miles south of the station for solar telescope observations
Here's the first serious solar telescope at Pole...the predecessor site for what happens nowadays in all of the buildings across the runway including the one that bears Martin's name. For quite a while this quadrant of the station south of the Dome was called the "dark sector" or the "quiet sector" and there were plans to locate other instruments in this area; however it was too far away from the station for power supply and an easy commute. Here is more information about Dr. Pomerantz, with more recent photos of this site... (NOAA photo by Cindy McFee)
Telephone cable run to GCA via end of garage arch and summer camp #2 power plant (later the site of the "power junction box") Transglobe expedition visits Pole after wintering near Sanae in cardboard huts
Ran Fiennes, expedition leader (left) discusses the latest in Antarctic clothing (!) with sm Tom Plyler. The team arrived on 15 December and stayed 8 days. The visit included a wrestling match between Ran and Tom P. (DF81 Navy cruisebook photos courtesy BillyAce Baker)
This is the expedition team: Charlie Burton (left), Ran Fiennes, and Oliver Shepard, in front of their support Twin Otter aircraft which was piloted by Giles Kershaw. Fiennes' book To the Ends of the Earth con- tained NO photos from Pole. Here is another picture showing the arrival of the group CUSP lab installed in what previously was the exit from skylab (enclosed previous summer); exit door relocated to south side (as now)
One of the main projects in the CUSP lab was this VLF loop antenna located 3000' from Skylab and half way between CAF and the HF antenna field. This Stanford project looked at the solar wind, which can freely pass through the magnetosphere in this area, the "polar cusp." Data was compared with satellites (AJ, October 1981). W/O Bill Gail's photo of the CUSP lab is just below.
Manager: Tom Plyler; population 17 (list and photos)... including Graeme Currie, the second Australian w/o (Graeme currently holds the record of 11 Antarctic w/o's for an Australian) First South Pole Marathon...Chuck Huss does 26.2 on Patriots Day 20 April, (date of the Boston Marathon) on the treadmill in Biomed
This isn't actual documentation of the marathon, but it is the scene of the event. Chuck Huss in Biomed during a training run. Hey, note the headphones! (photo from Chuck).
First midwinter airdrop at Pole San Francisco skyline painted in CUSP lab of Skylab by Bill Gail
The Stanford VLF recording equip- ment had also been installed in here during the summer--this was an adjunct to the Siple project. This area had been an unheated basement the previous year (photo from Bill Gail)
Erected the front wood addition to the weight room Replaced the buried UCLA vault hut Recovered lab benches from old CAF, installed in seismo area Skiway officially named the "Jack Paulus Skiway"
This was for the VX-6 pilot of DF-69 and DF-70. Jack returned to the squadron for a second tour and was the pilot of the LC-130 that discovered the crash site of TE 901, the Air New Zealand DC-10 that hit Erebus on 28 November 1979. With thanks to Marty Diller. This name for the skiway is not well known nowadays, but it still does appear on the NYANG chart. While the official code is now NZSP, locals still call it NPX. As a further note, the runway designations (such as "20" and 02" for Pole) are based on magnetic compass directions in most parts of the world, but Antarctica uses grid direc- tions.
Two 955L's (kathy and amy) new on site Fire detectors replaced in galley with present (pre-1989) 12-16v models; beginning of gradual upgrade throughout station McM "Public Works Garage" (heavy shop) burns down in a spectacular fire (12/1), the most serious in USAP history, superseding the 1976 disaster at Pole...cause was a malfunctioning electric toilet which had been installed 3 days earlier. Allen Cull's spectacular video of the fire is here (his main web site frame is here) Summer camp #3 (the 1990 one) completed with two berthing huts J1 and J2; stainless steel snow melter installed; old camp removed Summer camp power plant rewired and load tested Hydrogen generator arrives, installation started
Here is Robert Williscroft's picture of clean air looking back toward the dome, a less common view than most
Manager: Pat Kraker; population 18 (list and photo) Earliest 300 club ever...
Yes, 7 April! Probably the only such event documented under ambient light conditions. This was a cold beginning to the winter that set the record Pole cold temperature a couple of months later (see below). This is NOAA guy Robert Williscroft (Thanks Robert!)
First "power conservation" problems, 175 kw average load, brownouts at 220 Started removing ductwork from science bldg Low temperature record set on 23 June: -82.8°C/-117.0°F (this record is still in effect in 2004) old record was -80.7°C/-113.3°F on 22 July 1965 Fuel bladder #8 caught fire, burned from shorted blanket wiring
The aftermath of the fuel bladder fire. Not everything burned, so you see puddles of DFA sitting on top of the rubber sheeting which was under the bladder (and insulated from the fire by the ambient -58°F ambient snow temps). Around the bladder you see stacked up fiber- glass insulation. An electric heat blanket was put atop the bladder in use, and covered with this insulation. Unfortunately the heat blanket wiring insulation cracked under the cold...and short circuited. This is the result. Here is another picture looking the other way, photos thanks to Robert Williscroft. Serious electrical fire at Vostok (4/12) destroys power plant; the emergency generators stored in the same building were also lost. The station engineer was killed in the fire, and the remaining 20 men had a rough winter using makeshift heaters and scrap generators Falkland Islands War puts the Southern Ocean on the world map ...in one early engagement the British garrison and BAS station on South Georgia was captured by 2 Argentine naval vessels including the (!) Bahia Paraiso (4/3)
Nose strut damaged on opening flight aircraft
The Pole folks scheduled for the second flight were bumped for air- craft mechanics and spare parts; they were told that there had been a "small" problem. When they even- tually flew in and saw the old 917 wreckage at the end of the runway, they surmised that if that was the "small" problem, they were in for a rough year. This sign was disco- vered during the demolition of the dome freshie shack in 2003-2004. Here is a closeup of the list of names on the sign. Prototype AGO (Automated Geophysical Observatory) set up at Pole
This was the latest and greatest prototype for those AGO's that are out there today. Earlier units had used radioisotopes to generate heat; this one used a catalytic conversion of propane. It took 35 100-lb propane tanks to keep this going for a year (Antarctic Journal, 1984 review issue)
Solar brightness telescope installed
This was NOT the Florida "SPOT" project, but a detector for long-term monitoring of solar oscillations. This automated 2" periscope-style telescope was erected near the end of the fuel arch, as seen here with the met tower in the background. After the 1984-85 summer it was removed and shipped back to the Sunspot Solar Observatory in New Mexico from whence it came (and where it is currently installed. (Antarctic Journal, 1985 review issue, photo from the National Solar Observatory). Here's another photo from Allen Cull.
Explosion-proof wiring put in helium/cargo arch and BIT PICO takes cores from 755' electromechanical drill hole inside skiway triangle; they also test a solar-powered version Excavated/added water to garage arch ice cube Lead-acid battery unearthed from snow melter during cleaning (hmmm) Dome structural/settlement survey with Temcor (dome vendor) rep Power conservation problems continue Black D8 retrograded for rebuild; would be returned to the ice (McM) a year later Switchgear cleaned, buried feeders excavated, separated, put in tray GCA and CAF feeders separated New sewer outfall run, with masticator type lift pump Hydrogen generator placed in service Coils cleaned on air handlers in bldgs 1 and 3 Siple VLF dipole extended from 13 to 26 miles
Manager: Richard Wiik; population 20 (list and photos) Runway chained in the fall, thought to be a good idea (!) Wiring added for blankets on all fuel bladders Explosion proof heaters added in BIT Alternators dirty Hydrogen generator works well, used for almost all met balloons Science bldg and skylab rewired to 3 phase More problems with fire alarm system and brownouts New world record low temperature at Vostok: -89.6°C/-128.6°F on 7/21, supersedes old record -88.3°C/-126.9°F from August 1960, still in effect
More of the fire alarm detectors replaced with present [pre- 1990] type--skylab, CAF etc Preliminary leveling of powerplant Garage floor and station arch bulkheads rebuilt Conservation--power loads dropped 50kw Lift pump replaced Pomerantz Land not operated, first time after 4 seasons Female pilot Brooke Knapp flies the private Gulfstream III jet "American Dream II" over Pole (11/16) on a McM-PA flight with 8 aboard, part of a record-setting (45-1/2 hour) transpolar circumnavigation Built 100' met tower (from scaffolding) near CAF Replaced rusty grid in snowmelter with aluminum 131 takes famous large-scale aerial station photo
Newer images of McMurdo and other Antarctic sites have appeared, but 131 crashed before the Pole photo could be updated. This map page has details on the availability of this image, and the clue to its latent secret...
Transfer switch system installed in pp arch for emergency backfeed if power plant is damaged French drilling team sets up inside taxiway triangle for hot thermal probe drilling, after some success it gets stuck at 1100.' Another sampling drill is lost at 623'
The French drilling camp and separate PICO camp, located in the midst of the taxiway triangle. PICO (Karl Kuivenen/ Bruce Koci et al) was using an electro- mechanical coring drill to extend the 1982-83 hole to 1160'. PICO lent their hot-water drill to the French crew who tried unsuccessfully to recover the sam- pling drill. Here you see a Twin Otter in the background. (Allen Cull) S-123 SPOT (South Pole Optical Telescope) pier dug; 3" automated "SPOT-I" telescope installed
This, the first of several iterations of John Oliver's University of Florida project, had an 8 cm objective and a 50 cm focal length. The idea was to observe variable stars and similar objects with a filtered automated photoelectric cell. The telescope was to ba a prototype for larger units, but the concept of optical obser- vations at Pole never proved practical. This is somewhere near CAF, this view is looking west; in the background GCA is to the left and the French drilling camp is to the right (Antarc- tic Journal, 1984 review issue).
Optics room built in 4th floor of skylab Reconfigured skylab heating system (fan in a box) to heat domes on roof only, shorted thermostat NSF makes first Inmarsat call from McM (12/1) "Seven Summits" expedition--Dick Bass, Frank Wells, Rick Ridgeway, Chris Bonington and others do third ascent of Mt. Vinson; on the way back to Rothera, pilot Giles Kershaw radios Siple...after being told the beer is cold he stops for fuel and is given 250 gallons (12/1) for their DC-3 Tri-Turbo aircraft. The 11 folks stay at Siple 5 days.
Manager: Bob Hurtig; population 19 (list and photo) Skylab panels added on each floor, wiring upgraded Had to turn on lights to provide minimum efficient load for generators Mt. Erebus erupts violently starting 9/13 through the end of the year, throwing 33-ft-diameter bombs up to 2 miles away from the crater; the most significant activity ever recorded to date US criminal code modified to make major crimes (murder, rape etc.) illegal for US citizens in Antarctica (previously no law applied) Radiator/engine cooling problems
Added vents/outside ducts to cool computer areas Constructed new UCLA gravity vault with trench Pomerantz Land occupied... Dr. Pomerantz, with a French collaboration, successfully tests the first infrared (submillimeter) telescope EMILIE
The apparatus seen here was set up at Pomerantz Land, where "the sky noise was a factor of 10 less than at Mauna Kea, heretofore the world's best infra- red site," according to Pomerantz. This was the first use of liquid helium at Pole, and (guess what) the project was curtailed by difficulties with helium delivery (more information and credits)
SPOT telescope reinstalled; building built around pier Snowflake hut built Cosray platform jacked AGO upgraded with new thermoelectric generator
This unit was originally set up in January 1983, but was modified during the 1984-85 season to add the heat exchanger, baffled air intake and heated exhaust seen here. Of course this was a Jack Doolittle project, but 1977 Polie Stu Harris was also involved in this installation. What's inside? here's a cutaway view (Antarctic Journal, 1984 review issue) and a schematic diagram (AJ, 1985 review issue)
CAF renovated, sampling equipment replaced Jamesway J3 erected at summer camp Railings put on roof of skylab(?) so reported; if so, they did not stay long Glycol system reworked/loop valves added, system flush (which was not needed) DEC disk-based computer system supplants HP units which used paper and mag tape; computer room rehabbed and enlarged to accommodate new equipment ATS-3 radome erected for first Pole satellite phone link SPSDL (SP Satellite Data Link) using low-orbiting polar satellites set up to send high speed (well, 9600 bps) data to McM
The SPSDL system was used to transfer data to McMurdo up through the early 1990's. After that, the system was tested to track satellite launches from Vandenberg AFB. The antenna is now on display at the Antarctic Centre in ChCh (photo courtesy Allen Cull)
Removed and stored French drilling Jamesway, the thermal probe is
left behind in the ice
D8 assembled
New ductwork installed in east end of garage
First year of NCEL dome settlement survey
Skylab ductwork in cosray etc modified; thermostats rewired to
operate controllers; overcomplicated damper controls removed
Generator #2 removed, overhauled, alternator replaced with Kato
windings were oil-soaked
FSI engineer on site to conduct glycol heating survey
Lift pump replaced
Hydroconstant (peerless) pump installed in PP--old hydropneumatic
tank is too big to get out of pp
Emergency power feeder installed from summer camp to GCA
New kitchen appliances in galley including propane grill, fryer,
hood, propane shack
BIT and aurora tower ("skylab" above science building) removed
from old pole to discourage access and reduce drift profile
Meteorite ALH84001 discovered in the Allen Hills by NSF researcher
Roberta Score (12/27)...it was since determined to be from Mars
(here's a good Houston Chronicle article about the discovery)
McM construction--new atmospheric research building at Arrival
Heights
Manager: Ed Duplak; population 19 (list and photo) Center yellow window in galley broke/replaced with clear pane Major problems with frozen annex plumbing More warm and cold air ducts removed from science bldg, comms Installed chromalox heaters in skylab lounge CAF feeder damaged--on 2 phases for most of winter Added radiant heater in propane shack Kitchen hood modified (bent out) to catch fumes 80-90kw peaks noted on feeder #8, reason never found; probably defective meters and electric heaters Garage lights moved to clear a-frame hoist Removed comm fire detectors in anticipation of replacement Water filter holders replaced from plastic to metal Ductwork, fresh air intake and one fan removed from comm mech rm Joseph C. Farman at Halley Bay (BAS) alerts the world that some ozone may be missing, later confirmed by review of NASA satellite data
Added UPS addition and equipment to science bldg Upgraded computer to pdp 11-73 Prototype AGO testing complete after 3 winters, hut is left at Pole Built telescope hut for SPOT-2 (SPOT-1 didn't work)
Here is the new telescope before installation in its 8x12 foot building--PI John Oliver is on the left. The telescope had two mirrors and an 8 cm lens and used a photomultiplier to measure brightness of stars or sky areas. The instrumement, like its predecessor, did not work well and was removed 2 years later. (Photo by Bill Murphy, Antarctic Journal, October 1986)
First attempt to raise CAF with mechanical jacks, didn't work Installed safety rail on roof of CAF New feeder to CAF installed through fuel arch New emergency power plant module erected--later this would be known as Mickey's Folly...in 2005 2/3 of the structure was the Cheese Palace and the other third was part of the summer camp weight room Old Peter Snow Miller used during dome construction is dug out
The Swiss-made machine (data plate) was dug out from near Old Pole and driven to the station, where it was given some basic repairs and taken out to mill snow. It worked fine, but it was missing the snow disper- sal chute and had a rather large hydraulic leak that couldn't be fixed with parts on hand. It was retro'd (or perhaps reburied) (photos by Nick Majerus) Power plant leveled/new loading dock/ramp/arch lighting built Utilidor H2O/glycol lines leveled/reinsulated Catalytic converters removed from generator exhaust stacks (75 deg decrease in stack temperature and 8-10% increase in power noted) First phase of station PM program More ducts ripped out of comm and science; another kitchen vent hood added Jamesway J-4 built at summer camp Store storage building (former S-123 SPOT-1 hut) put into dome Moved juice machine to present 1990 location and piped in faucet; moved Sears refrigerator Additional cargo building set up outside cargo arch First year of draftsman on station to update/revise drawings Significant increase in O&M management of facility construction projects Generators 1 and 3 overhauled in garage/Delco alternators replaced with Kato Installed electronic governors on all 3 engines "Footsteps of Scott" expedition arrives/departs with controversy
The expedition members approach the dome, after circling around so the sun would be behind them for better photo- graphy. Not long after this picture was taken, sm Lee Schoen informed them that their expedition vessel Southern Quest, which had been beset off Ross Island, had been crushed by the pack ice... (photo credit/info)
Second 26-mile antenna installed at Siple perpendicular to first
Manager: Lee Schoen; population 17 (list) Hydrogen generator gives up Major problems with radiator leaks/thermal stress Sewer lift pump replaced/outfall froze Boiler end of pp jacked up 1-1/2" Added another heater in propane shack Installed new heaters in BIT storage room PM program disappeared Massive studies underway to confirm ozone depletion; NOAA begins regular ECC ozonesonde launches in March
Pomerantz Land not opened Completed repiping of DFA loop Placed new 10k DFA bladder for summer camp; first in several years CAF jacked 11'-11"
We are in the midst of jacking up the Clean Air Facility using manifolded hydraulic jacks on each column, along with jacking legs and all-thread rod to support the structure between lifts. The facility remained powered up and on line while all this was happening...
Erected new fire hut in front of annex Lockheed "all-sky camera" replaced with new system using electronic imaging and videotape Installed wiring and gear for new summer camp power plant, including new 500mcm cable almost to the dome, and new transfer switch etc in fan room arch Installed glycol heat in CUSP lab (did not work until replumbed following year) Load tested new and old summer camp generators with load bank from McM Giles Kershaw with Charles Swithinbank, in an ANI Twin Otter, make first wheeled landing at Patriot Hills (12/4) The 109th Air National Guard makes its first deployment to the ice with 2 LC-130's (1/17), in 12 years they would take over VXE-6's mission American pilot Richard Norton, with Calin Rosetti, overfly Pole in a single-engine Piper Malibu Mirage aircraft (Jan) on a flight from Marambio to KGI, part of a transpolar round-the- world mission Norwegian Monica Christensen's 4-person team tries a round trip to Pole from the Bay of Whales, she turns around 280 miles away-- this was the first significant female-led Antarctic trek 321 recovery effort underway at D59 (68°20'S-137°31'E) (full story from the Antarctic Journal and more info) McMurdo construction--dorms 206/207 and heavy shop closed in; the footings had been set the previous winter. New/present Water plant (desals) completed
Manager: Steve Bonine; population 17 (list and photos) Major bar remodel almost finished; new (and final) bar fabricated by Eric Merriam (per plaque); obsolete projection booth removed Concern about power plant governors results in new power supply installation for them Carpenter shop/gym renovation completed
New stairs, platform, and stair to roof of CAF erected, along with LIDAR hatch through roof Major landscape changes--16 SPASE I array module boxes and hut set up in front of fuel arch, and S-111 antennas (riometer array of 64 antennas and chicken wire grid) erected near CAF
This picture was actually taken
a year later in January 1989, but
it gives a good perspective of the
SPASE boxes in front of CAF, and
the new platform around the side
of the structure, as seen from the
top of the met tower. SPASE was a
joint project between Bartol and
Leeds, it was activated 21 December
1987 and removed 10 years later.
Here's the old Leeds U. website
with more pictures.
Pomerantz Land operated
SPOT-2 (S-123 U of Fla) optical telescope removed. Neither unit
performed well, as sky clarity in the optical spectrum was
no better than in temperate latitudes
SCBA air compressor installed in fire shack
New phone exchange installed along with touch-tone phones
New VAX computer equipment installed
Major power plant switchgear rewiring and cleanup to increase
output, reduce losses, adjust meters and simplify power
changes; followed by load test--result--more power capacity
from generators, but only perhaps a 200KW rating
Repaired hydrogen generator returned from vendor, installed up in
BIT, plumbing never arrives, unit was never used again and
eventually shipped out
Galley building jacked and leveled
Much Equipto shelving installed everywhere
Skylab main panel and CAF panels replaced
First wheeled DC-4 flights establish ANI's camp at Patriot Hills
...and from there the first tourists arrive at Pole in Twin Otters
(1/12-21) piloted by (guess) Giles Kershaw
LC-130 #131 crashes at D-59, the 321 recovery site...two killed (12/9)
(Antarctic Journal article and more info)...that was the only aircraft
equipped and scheduled to do an update of the big 1983 aerial photo
map of Pole this season
of Pole.
Salvaged C-130 #321 flies to McMurdo from D-59 (115 miles S of Dumont
D'Urville) (Antarctic Journal story)
Manager: Mike Constantine; population 19 (list and photo) The "Sea Tomato" completes historic rowing voyage from South America to Antarctica (3/6)
The four-man crew of this 28-foot craft included Jay Morrison (in yellow), who wintered at Pole in 1980. In this photo they're battling 50-foot seas off Cape Horn near the beginning of the historic voyage. The rest of the story and pictures from this January 1989 National Geographic article can be found here in Jay's section of Mike Savage's excellent web site.
Bar renovation completed
Bridge crane assembled over power plant engines
Treaty nations give initial approval to CRAMRA ("Minerals Convention")
(6/2) to allow and regulate mining; second thoughts come quickly
Giles Kershaw, the late famous British pilot (Footsteps, Transglobe, RISP, SOL, etc etc), and Australian Dick Smith, show up from Davis in a Twin Otter for Thanksgiving dinner
They get to smell and photograph the turkeys, but all they are given is a cup of coffee, per NSF. Here is their aircraft parked in front of the station. This venture was actually the beginnings of a round the world trip.
Electric fryer, broiler installed in kitchen to replace propane appliances; counter top upgraded Skiers arrive at Pole, the first group to use the route from Hercules Inlet. The 10-member group included Mike Sharp and Martin Williams, who helped found and develop ANI, and the first women to reach Pole by land: Victoria E. Murden and Shirley Metz (17 January) Also more tourists fly in from Patriot Hills D7 arrives British OAE (since 1949) Charles Swithinbank shows up for NSF survey of blue ice runway sites--Mt. Howe, Plunkett Point etc. using twin otters based at Pole
One of the NSF-chartered Twin Otters plugged in at the summer camp power plant. Here are my photos and data from this venture...
Siple Station closed after brief final season J5 erected, 321 module set up nearby "Meteor burst" comms link with McM tested successfully (bouncing signals off of meteor electron trails) Comms addition started
w/o carpenter Ray Brudie sets the foundation timbers for the comms addition
CMBR site set up 6000 feet south of station with generator module, liquid helium dewars etc. Pomerantz Land also operated Dome survey results in discovery of broken base ring beams after major foundation excavation effort New power plant designed, generators purchased
The power plant office, complete with computer terminal and touch- tone phone. Here I (right) am discussing the future of this venerable power plant with wo's Jordan Dickens (pp mechanic, behind desk) and electrician Dwight Oylear
Sewer line fixed, outfall house built New permanent "Chapel of the Snows" dedicated in McM (1/29) Bahia Paraiso, a 430' Argentine vessel, runs aground, capsizes and sinks 2 miles west of Palmer Station, dumping 125,000 gallons of petroleum products off Arthur Harbor and 300+ people onto Gamage Point
Manager: Bill Coughran; population 20 (list and photo) Comms addition/O&M office finished, occupied Pantry area (S end of galley) upgraded for coats etc. Power plant addition structure built
Brand new, and as yet quiet and empty, here's the sliding door into the new power plant addition, which would house the pumps and radiators for the 3412s...
Several rooms in upper berthing renovated, the "sewing room" next to the fan room converted into berthing and a new lounge created down the hall ETHERNET computer network installed Wind speed record: 48 kts (55 mph, 92 km/h) 8/24 Added duct for air circulation and some glycol heat in annex Cargo office moved to end of cargo arch Installed new Pyrotronics fire alarm system
It's a few years later (1998 winter to be exact) but here's Rod Jensen puzzling over that Pyrotronics fire alarm panel we installed in 1989 next to the dart board in comms, along with all new detectors and lots of wiring. photo courtesy Robert Schwartz
Fuel leak in fuel arch piping discovered after 40,000+ gallons lost First C5-B landing at McMurdo ice runway (10/4) with 72 pax, 2 helos on board, as well as cargo
Power plant upgrade--1 new 3412 installed along with much piping and electrical work; engine load tested to 350KW, required to support many new science modules erected up wind of the station this year
Here we're maneuvering generator #1 into position, at the right are the skids we will use to slide the gene- rator into the power plant. Coordi- nator Mike Patterson is at left in the blue coat. Here's the full story of the 1989-90 power plant upgrade, complete with Bill Spindler hero shots :)
Asbestos discovered in power plant exhaust system and elsewhere; some was removed or stabilized by the A-team (Navy environmental health team); this plus material delays cause power plant completion to be delayed until next season Coordinator Mike Patterson introduces Carhartts to the official Pole O&M wardrobe Sewer line, frozen all winter, replaced again Black hut moved, stairs put up to roof SPASE array expanded with 8 more boxes plus lead sheets; huts for lidar and Cerenkov telescope (GASP) erected New TACAN van arrives for GCA Dome jacking/leveling and base ring structural repairs completed successfully after massive excavation effort; major panel repairs remained to be done the next year
At left above is one of the panels we removed to make these repairs. At right is a closeup of one of the foundation base nodes that needed fixing. Just inside you can see one of the screw jacks we used to support the area while the repairs were made. While the TEMCOR (dome designer/vendor) tech rep was on site, we discussed jacking methods for raising the entire dome...one of the options being considered for using it as part of the new station. Massive comm cable relocation, cable trays, utilidor completed in support of dome project; massive rhombic erected south of snow mine
The original skylab tunnel (left) along with the new comms/emergency escape uti- lidor.
SPSDL antenna moved closer to skylab utilidor CMBR site operated again with some different groups J6, DNF Jamesway erected New seismic vault constructed to "age" for the winter Passive solar heated modules built, put into use for warming shacks etc. Steger shows up with dogs and ABC news
Here's Pat Smith's photo of the group taken at the Pole on 12 December (scanned from the original at Pole, September 2005). Here's a photo with the dogs just after the arrival. The team stayed around for several days and gave a talk in the gym. There were extensive NGO air operations in support of the "Soviet Antarctic Expedition."
Reinhold Messner and Arved Fuchs show up on foot
The two showed up on New Years Eve with a German TV team that had arrived from PH by air. Unlike Steger's group, they didn't get any official support, but they stayed in summer camp (and slept in a Scott tent near the Pole). (more info, photos AND the audio lecture they gave) recorded live in the gym!
New upper air system, replacement for GMD, received and installed temporarily in new hut by DNF Summer camp lounge/galley destroyed by fire late in season
The building consisted of a short Jamesway lounge section in front, attached to a modular wood bar/ section which was red-sided to match the head and power plant. The fire sprung up late Saturday night, perhaps from something smouldering in a trash can, and left behind this charred structure with grotesquely melted video gear and telephone. Many visits by NSF environmental teams, Metcalf and Eddy engineers doing conceptual plans for new station Above-ground construction of the "McMurdo Station Science Facility" underway
The upper two pods of what would later be named the Crary Science and Engineering Center (CSEC) were framed out this summer, to be en- closed in 1990-91. I took this photo from near the main entrance to the old bio lab Eklund Biological Center (EBC) next to the Chalet.
First VXE-6 C-130 wheeled "blue ice runway" landing near Plunkett Point continue to 90's history