Further Planning

In mid-June a table of flight requirements, destination, number of persons involved and weights (weights were calculated from the DSIR field manual and included personnel weights) were submitted to Antarctic Division at their request (Appendix II). This plan was later passed on to Deep Freeze Headquarters by Antarctic Division. This first table was later supplemented by another giving precise dates for helicopter and Hercules support required, exact destination (in latitude and longitude), and approximate elevation of pick-up and put-in points. For Hercules landing sites, Kohn suggested two possible landing sites in the Skelton Neve, an area he had visited with the VUWAE 13 party. Barrett had the opportunity of discussing possible Hercules landing sites in the Darwin Mountains with Dr. J. Kennett, a member of VUWAE 6 (1962-63). The "most desirable" sites chosen by Kohn and Kennett proved suitable for Hercules landings.

During September 1970, Barrett prepared a reading list comprising important books and papers on Antarctic geology and also books and narratives of Antarctic expeditions from 1901 to 1970. A detailed set of notes on the measuring of sections was also prepared. The reading list and these notes were circulated to all members of the expedition. All members of the party also had the opportunity of measuring a "trial" section so that measuring techniques could be compared and standardised.

Maps were provided by Antarctic Division at our request. Limited air photo coverage of areas to be visited were supplied by Denis Rainey from the Lands & Survey collections. Additional photos were requested from the U.S. Geological Survey in Washington through Antarctic Division. These arrived too late to be used in the field.