Geology Reference
In-Depth Information
whose proposal had been accepted. So Olsen wrote to
Cassidy and they arranged to work together in Antarctica.
In 1976, the NSF shipped its scientists and other per-
sonnel from Port Hueneme in California to Christchurch,
New Zealand, in the Military Air Transport System,
which consisted of C-141 cargo planes. Bill and Ed
climbed aboard the one assigned to them and found much
of the floor space filled with chairs bolted to the floor.
The plane had virtually no insulation against sounds, so
the cabin not only was crowded and noisy, but it could be
smoky, whenever the nature of the cargo would allow for
smoking. The flight was about 22 hours long, but passen-
gers had opportunities to emerge and walk around a bit
at two nighttime refueling stops: Honolulu and Pago
Pago. Identical box lunches with hearty slices of steak,
French fries, a salad vegetable, and a cookie or an apple,
were distributed three times during the trip.
dressed in their Antarctic clothing at the CDC and packed
their street clothing into suitcases that they checked there
for the season. They then were presented with huge,
orange waterproofed bags for carrying their spare
Antarctic clothing. They boarded a C-141 Starlifter, a
wheeled jet with four engines, that could reach McMurdo
in 5½ hours, provided it did not have to turn back for bad
weather or any other problem.
1.5. ANSMET SEASON I: 1976-1977
At McMurdo, Bill and Ed checked into the NSF head-
quarters at the administration's chalet and were assigned
living quarters for the time they would spend there. They
also were informed that Nagata and two other Japanese
scientists had already arrived and had gone on a heli-
copter search for meteorites. They had found none, but
in any case, the chief administrator, Duwayne Anderson,
was unhappy about the prospect of being asked to
support two meteorite-hunting groups when none at all
had been scheduled in previous years. He proposed that
the two field parties should work together. Nagata agreed
to that, so Anderson asked Cassidy to write an agreement
for them both to sign. Cassidy consulted with Nagata,
thought about it overnight, and then wrote out the
following memo with four main provisions:
1.4.1. Christchurch, New Zealand
Early one morning in late November, they arrived at
Christchurch after losing a day from the calendar by
crossing the international date line. Christchurch impressed
Cassidy with its elegant British-style homes surrounded by
gardens, which were just then bursting into bloom. He and
Ed had a few days to rest and relax before leaving for
McMurdo. So Cassidy took advantage of this opportunity
to visit Oxford Terrace and contemplate the statue of
Robert Falcon Scott, standing in a heroic pose gazing
southward. Cassidy remarked that Scott occupies a mys-
tical niche in the British psyche, but in no place more so
than in Christchurch, which lies close to the harbor at
Lyttleton, from which Scott's last expedition set out.
Scott's final letter, written as death approached, made him
a hero wherever English is spoken. However, in subsequent
years, excerpts from Scott's own diary and those of some
of his team members have become available, indicating
that he made serious mistakes and alienated some members
of his expedition. Cassidy concluded that Scott may have
overreached his abilities and brought death upon all five
members of the team that had arrived at the Pole. Cassidy
recommended that interested readers look into the cur-
rently available literature before forming opinions on Scott.
The NSF maintains a huge clothing distribution center
(CDC) at the Christchurch airport, stocked with
Antarctic clothing of all types and sizes. Travelers to
McMurdo are expected to try on pieces of inner- and
outerwear they feel they will need. More specifically, each
person is required to carry at least three types of well-
fitted boots and shoes for working on the ice. And each
must have a long, hooded Antarctic parka. Although
beautiful parkas were available at the CDC, I was among
those who bought my own, to keep as a souvenir. When
Bill and Ed were scheduled to leave for McMurdo, they
1.5.1. The U.S-Japan Agreement
December 9, 1976
1. Logistics and base facilities of the USARP program
at McMurdo will be used by a joint U.S.-Japan team to
search for meteorites in the Dry Valleys and adjacent
parts of the ice cap during the 1976-1977 field season.
2. Any meteorite specimens recovered will be distrib-
uted in the following way:
a. Specimens larger than 300 g will be cut in two
approximately equal pieces at the Thiel Earth Science
Laboratory (in McMurdo). One piece will be utilized
by the U.S. group and the other by the Japan group.
b. Specimens 300 g or smaller will be distributed in
equal numbers between the groups on an alternate-
choice basis.
3. As observations from helo pilots and other groups
come in, we may find it desirable to visit other field areas.
The arrangements described above will apply to any
meteorites recovered as a result of such change of plans.
4. Even though specimens will be distributed between
our two groups, we will remain in contact about our
current research programs on them, in order to avoid
duplication of effort and in order to plan better how they
may be utilized. We feel it would be appropriate to
acknowledge the efforts of the joint U.S.-Japan team in
any subsequent publication of research results.
