Victoria University Antarctic Research Expedition Science and Logistics Reports 1984-85: VUWAE 29

BEDROCK STUDIES (K043A)

BEDROCK STUDIES (K043A)

Narrative:

Korsch and George arrived at Scott Base on the morning of December 15 and after lunch immediately went on the Survival Course. We returned to Scott Base on the afternoon of December 16, spent 1 1/2 days organising field equipment and on December 18 we were transported to the Robertson Ridge in the Lower Victoria Valley by helicopter. Re were accompanied by Riedner Gomaro, a Peruvian Guest Foreign Scientist (K077) who was going to spend some time with us in the field observing how field work is carried out in the Antarctic. Gomero is an oceanographer specialising in marine sediments of the Peruvian continental shelf. Later that afternoon Fitzgerald and Patterson of K043B arrived by helicopter from the Miers Valley.

On December 19 Fitzgerald, Patterson, George and Gomero mapped and measured altitudes of dolerite sills between the camp, Lake Vida and the north wall of Victoria Valley. Korsch worked on the Robertson Ridge close to camp and in the afternoon met Chen Tingyu and Zhang Fu Yuan, Chinese Guest Foreign Scientists, who arrived by helicopter from Vanda Station to spend about ten days with us. Chen Tingyu is a petrologist interested in granites and tectonics and Zhang Fu Yuan is a marine geologist interested in Holocene sediments. Over the next two days we made reconnaissance trips around Robertson Ridge and the north wall of the Olympus Range. Bad weather on December 22 postponed the planned move of Fitzgerald and Patterson to the Blue Glacier and K043A lost half a day in the field. On December 24 Van den Bos (Scott Base medic) arrived by helicopter to act as field assistant for Tingyu, Fu Yuan and Gomero, and Fitzgerald and Patterson were transported to the Blue Glacier.

Between December 23 and 27 Korsch and George collected detailed structural data and a representative suite of rock specimens from the Robertson Ridge, whereas the guest foreign scientists, accompanied by Van den Bos examined various aspects of the geology of the lower Victoria Valley, Robertson Ridge and the north side of the Olympus Range.

On December 25, after working for half a day, the six of us crowded into a polar tent to celebrate Christmas with the resupply provided by George Moir (Scott Base chef).

On December 28, Korsch and George were relocated by helicopter to the lower Wright Valley. Because of the steepness of slope, it was not possible for a campsite near the Hart Glacier and instead we were put in at the Meserve Refuge Hut. The helicopter then returned to Robertson Ridge and transported Van den Bos, Gomero, Tingyu and Fu Yuan back to Scott Base.

For the next two days we collected structural data and geological specimens from the ridge between the Hart and Meserve glaciers and then on December 31 we walked to Vanda Station, stayed overnight and collected two large (35 kg) samples of granitic material.

From January 2 to 9 the weather conditions were such that we were able to work every day. It was mostly overcast and windy (usually less than 20 km/hour) but this was offset by warm temperatures. We collected detailed structural readings and a representative collection of the metamorphic rocks from the ridge between the Hart and Meserve glaciers and from the ridge between the Hart and Goodspeed glaciers. The run of good weather meant we were able to finish our data collecting earlier than we had anticipated and we were transported back to Scott Base by helicopter on January 10.

During our stay at the Meserve Hut we were visited by a lone skua on three separate occasions (December 28, January 5, January 6) and by John Alexander and Ian Laird on January 3 during their return by foot from the Lower Wright Glacier to Vanda Station. The Asgard Rangers, Lloyd Smith and Pat Sole, visited us from their Bartley Glacier camp on January 8.

At Scott Base we cleaned our field gear, packed rocks and equipment for shipment back to New Zealand and commenced report writing, Korsch leaving Antarctica on January 15 and George on January 16, arriving in Christchurch and then Wellington on January 16 and 17 respectively.

In the field all garbage was stored in plastic garbage bags and returned to Scott Base. Plastic garbage bags were used for our campsite toilet and the excreta also transported back to Scott Base.

The field season was an extremely successful one with the major aims being achieved. This could not have been possible without the excellent support of the staff at Scott Base, and in particular the OICs, Peter Cresswell (before his return to New Zealand), and then Jim Cowie.

Weather:

Good weather conditions were experienced throughout the field season with the loss of only half a day due to wind and whiteout conditions. The warm temperatures enabled us to continue working even though it was cloudy for a large proportion of the time with an almost constant wind of up to 20 km/hour from the northeast. The decision of the NZ Meteorological Service not to provide field parties with instruments and a Weather Log Book is regretable as this information takes little time to collect and would be of interest to future field parties.

Communications:

A Labgear radio was provided for the daily radio skeds with Scott Base. Unfortunately, this radio only functioned for a short time due to a problem with the relay contacts. However, at this time K043B were also at Robertson Ridge and we were able to use their Compak radio for the skeds. The Labgear radio was replaced with a Compak radio on December 24 and it performed well for the remainder of the field season.

A problem in the past has been the short life of the batteries, but this seems to have been solved by the provision of solar panels which seem to work very well, even in overcast conditions.

Communication with Scott Base was usually excellent, due in part to little ionospheric disturbance but mainly to having a professional radio operator running the skeds at Scott Base. The supply of information on helo movements was very good.

Transport:

All transport in the field was by helicopter, with the put-in to Robertson Ridge, transfer to Meserve Glacier and return to Scott Base all being on schedule. This was due to good weather, and the efficiency of VXE-6 and the OICs at Scott Base. One minor problem was the lack of Hercules flights from McMurdo to Christchurch due to the requirements of the Beardmore Glacier Antarctic Treaty meeting, and meant spending 5-6 days at Scott Base after finishing fieldwork.

Refuge Hut:

Korsch and George spent 12 nights in the Meserve Refuge Hut in the Lower Wright Valley. The hut is in good condition although over the past few seasons it appears to have not been used very much. Provisions are adequate but limited, and we only used food brought with us from Scott Base. Its location was ideal for our work between the Goodspeed and Meserve glaciers. Although we collected some of the garbage from the vicinity of the hut there is still a lot of wood, metal, etc. within 200 m of the hut. Some thought could be given to toilet facilities (e.g. a fixed frame to use with removable plastic garbage bags) because the Dry Valley adage "There's one under every rock" holds true for the area near the hut. Nevertheless, our stay in the hut was much appreciated as the space and equipment (e.g. table and chairs) made the night-time writing up of field notes an easier task.

Guest Foreign Scientists:

We were privileged to have three guest foreign scientists join us in the field for the duration of our stay at Robertson Ridge (ten days). They were the Peruvian Reidner Gomero (an oceanographer) and two Chinese, Chen Tingyu (a petrologist) and Zhang Fu Yuan (a marine sedimentologist). We enjoyed their company and found them easy to work with. Nevertheless, we would like to make the following suggestions for the future:
1. Guest foreign scientists be affiliated with the Event closest to their own research interests. In our case, Gomero and Zhang Fu Yuan would have found it much more profitable to accompany Event K042 (Granite Harbour Sediment Studies). Hence the dates when the guest scientists visit Antarctica need to be closely co-ordinated with the relevant events.
2. As much advance notice, to the Events, of the possible inclusion of a guest scientist would be appreciated. If possible, this should be arranged at the Tekapo training camp.
3. The scientists should have workable English because the lack of ability to speak English makes communication extremely difficult and could lead to problems in potentially dangerous situations in the future.

Itinerary:

December 15 Korsch and George arrive Scott Base in morning. Commence survival training in afternoon.
December 16 Complete survival training.
December 17 Preparation of field gear.
December 18 Korsch, George and Riedner Gomero (Peruvian Guest Foreign Scientist - K077) helo to Robertson Ridge (lower Victoria Valley). Fitzgerald and Patterson arrive by helo later in afternoon.
December 19 Fitzgerald, George, Patterson and Gomero work in Lake Vida area. Korsch works in proximity of camp. Zhang Fu Yuan and Chen Tingyu (Chinese Guest Foreign Scientists - K077) arrive by helo in afternoon.
December 20 Entire party to reconnaissance work on Robertson Ridge.
December 21 Fitzgerald and Patterson map dolerite elevations in Olympus Range. Rest of party do reconnaissance work on north side of Olympus Range. December 22 Bad weather. Korsch and George work half-day on north side of Olympus Range.
December 23 Fitzgerald and Patterson map dolerite elevations to south of Lake Vida. Rest of party on Robertson Ridge.
December 24 Fitzgerald and Patterson depart on helo for Blue Glacier. Arend van den Bos (Scott Base medic) arrives to act as field assistant for Tingyu, Fu Yuan and Gomero. Party works on Robertson Ridge.
December 25 Christmas Day. Korsch and George work 3 hours in morning.
December 26 Korsch and George work on Robertson Ridge. Rest of party to Lake Vida, Lower Victoria Glacier.
December 27 Korsch and George work on Robertson Ridge. Rest of party to north side of Olympus Range.
December 28 Korsch and George helo move to Meserve Hut in Lower Wright Valley. Rest of party return to Scott Base.
December 29-30 Work on slopes between Meserve and Hart glaciers.
December 31 Walk to Vanda Station. Collect 35 kg samples of Dais Granite and Theseus Granodiorite.
January 1 New Years Day - return to Meserve Hut.
January 2-9 Work between Meserve and Hart glaciers and between Hart and Goodspeed glaciers.
January 10 Return by helo to Scott Base.
January 11-15 Sorting, cleaning and packing gear. Packing rocks and cargon ready for shipment.
Days at Scott Base 8
Travel 4
Work days 19
Tent days 1
TOTAL 32