Islands was a highlight of the effort. The bottom waterstudy involved the use of sophisticated equipmentsuch as expendable bathythermographs, usually placedfrom an oceanographic ship. Deploying this sensitiveequipment from a helicopter presented many problemsof electrical interference, most of which were overcomein the field.

Glacier was not able, after numerous attempts, tolocate a suitable iceberg on which to emplace the thirdEOLE transponder. Science support accounted for 79.7of 218.4 total hours flown.

Cargo ship operationsWhile cargo operations at McMurdo Station have

been covered, other contributions of the Military Sea-lift Command ships deserve to be highlighted. In theabsence of sufficient end-of-season air transport, CaptainC. D. Henry and the officers and crew of USNS Towlemade room for 143 passengers from McMurdo to NewZealand. Though the ship was extremely crowded, allhands cooperated to make this a harmonious and, un-der the circumstances, enjoyable passage.

Towle's arrival at McMurdo appeared likely to bedelayed when she encountered and was stopped bydense pack ice north of Ross Island. Northwind wasrequired to be elsewhere with Glomar Challenger andthat left Mirfak for possible assistance. Doubts wereexpressed as the little ship headed out, but Mirfakworked her way in to Towle and led the larger shipinto Winter Quarters Bay later the same day.

To ease the task of placing the tanker Maumee pre-cisely in her planned berth, the harbormaster of Lyttel-ton, New Zealand, Captain D. Holden, made his serv-ices as pilot available. His extremely skillful contribu-tion minimized the hazard inherent in this operation.

Artificial ice wharf constructionThe interest aroused by this project and the number

of misconceptions that have arisen concerning it war-rant mention. The original concept was to createa large, free-floating ice floe by pumping seawaterinto an enclosure in shallow pours, allowing each pourto freeze solid before proceeding.

In the test section, the Deep Freeze 73 "ice cube,"an attempt was planned to support the artificial floefrom the edge of the natural, permanent ice formingthe shore of Winter Quarters Bay. If this attemptwere successful in halting the relative motion of thetwo masses of ice, then it was felt that the tidalcrack would heal, and the ideal of extending the solidice face out to deep water would be attained.

In practice, the attempt was not made because ofdifficulties in freeing the ice cube from the surround-ing sea ice and because, as reconstruction exceededexpectations, it became clear that the space occupied bythe test section would be needed for the ships. The

"ice cube" remained a free floating object and wasmoved from place to place as required.

No fresh water was used in the ice wharf. On ad-vice from the Naval Civil Engineering Laboratory atPort Hueneme, California, seawater as near freezingtemperature as possible was used to minimize distor-tion of the structure as the water froze solid. Whencompleted, the "ice cube" was 15 feet thick. The linebetween the original sea ice and the artificially formedice was visible in a coring and confirmed that no ap-preciable erosion had occurred on the underside of thetest section.

The top of the ice wharf was insulated with a 6-inchlayer of hay, two precious air cargo pallet positionshaving been given over to this unusual burden. Helddown by mattresses, this layer effectively prevented lossof thickness from radiant heat. Erosion on the verticalfaces was minimized by the 1-inch thick lumber ofthe formwork, so long as the ice cube was held in thequiet water at the head of Winter Quarters Bay. Whenit was nearer Hut Point in readiness for the arrival ofMaumee and subjected to the chop created by 30-knotwinds, ablation was significant, but not sufficient todetract from the performance of the small test sectionas a fender. No crushing or deterioration was ob-served. Having served its purpose, the ice cube wasreleased to float out to sea.

Planning for Deep Freeze 74 includes a much largerice wharf, over 600 feet long, centered on a pointmidway between the two piers at Elliott Quay and ex-tending 200 feet out into Winter Quarters Bay. Afinal thickness of 30 feet is hoped for, and constructionis underway by the winterover party at McMurdo Sta-tion.

Construction report, Deep Freeze 73

J . M. STEVENS

U.S. Naval Support Force, Antarctica

On September 7, 1972, the U.S. Naval Support Force,Antarctica, and the subordinate Antarctic Support Ac-tivities were consolidated. Tasks formerly assigned tothe assistant chief of staff for civil engineering, TaskForce 43, were transferred to the public works depart-ment of the support force. A construction division wasformed in the public works department. The publicworks officer assumed the additional title of residentofficer in charge of construction in Antarctica and re-ceived managerial responsibility for construction proj-ects and construction planning. The billets of the pub-lic works officer and the assistant were upgraded one

Lieutenant Commander Stevens, CEC, U.S. Navy, is publicworks officer for the support force.

224 ANTARCTIC JOURNAL

rank each, and one officer billet was added and assignedto detachment Alfa, the wintering support party atMcMurdo.

McMurdo projects

Construction began at McMurdo Station with thearrival of the first planes of the season in early Sep-tember carrying a detachment of Seabees from NavalMobile Construction Battalion 71 to resume work onthe communication/transmitter building. The rest ofthe construction crew arrived at McMurdo about mid-October. Mid-November saw a reduction of McMurdoStation's construction efforts since most constructorswere shifted to inland sites. In late January construc-tion at McMurdo Station picked up as the Seabeesbegan returning from the inland stations.

Construction at McMurdo included building an in-ternational square, rebuilding the Elliot Quay protectiveface with assistance from USCGC Northwind, ReserveConstruction Force personnel, and NMCB-71, buildingcatwalks and repairing decks in several buildings and

on connecting walkways, constructing the diesel powerplant expansion pad, expanding the helicopter field andadding a fuel line, laying new fuel lines, installingheating and ventilating systems, and converting build-ing 64 to a winter over vehicle storage building.

In September the annual ice runway and road wereopened, using winter over equipment operators aug-mented by Winfly personnel. Unusually thin ice andthree storms required the runway and associated fa-cilities to be cleared three times—the last causing a2-day delay of the first C-141 flight, scheduled for Oc-tober 8. Throughout the season, maintenance on theroads, runway, and associated facilities was extremelyhigh owing to storms and high winds.

Construction of the elevated snow road between Wil-liams Field and Scott Base lasted from October to De-cember. Equipment failures and bad weather causedseveral delays with this project. In all, 1,784 man-hourswere used. The second half of the road was allowed tocure only 10 days before being opened for traffic on De-cember 27. Nightly maintenance was necessary to keepthe road operational.

IIN

\'\

Navy construction force work- -ers help to erect part of thegeodesic dome's superstruc-ture at South Pole Station.

U.S. Navy

July-August 1973 225

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The condition of the transportation fleet at McMurdoStation was somewhat improved this year mainly be-cause of wider use of higher priority requisitions forrepair, use of four civilian Caterpillar mechanics at theMcMurdo garage, rework of major components by acontractor in New Zealand, increased spending fornew machinery, minor reduction of the fleet, and morethorough preventive maintenance. The McMurdogarage also was augmented by two NMCB-71 mechanics.

Maintenance

The maintenance and utilities crew worked overtimethis year operating, maintaining, and repairing theutilities at McMurdo Station, Williams Field, and theelectric power plant, collecting and disposing of sew-age, and keeping up the refrigeration and telephonesystems. It also provided manpower and technicalsupport to field teams and outlying stations.

This summer, all electric power at McMurdo Sta-tion-2,272,189 kilowatthours—was produced by theWhite diesel plant. In the 1973 winter two generatorshave been on line, one on standby, and one under over-haul. Expansion of the White diesel plant is plannedto start next austral summer.

At McMurdo 55 percent of the primary electricaldistribution lines had every insulator removed, cleaned,and replaced with new tie wire, and all connectionswere tightened. The rest of the primary and all of thesecondary distribution lines had all insulators cleaned

in place and connections tightened or replaced as re-quired.

The ailing salt water line (made of copper) was re-placed with fiberglass-reinforced epoxy pipe that hadbeen designed and procured during the previous home-port period. Man-hours spent installing the replace-ment line totalled 676—versus 3,000 man-hours spentinstalling and maintaining the copper system over its3-year life. Erosional changes in the contour of theland caused minor problems during installation, butthe flexible epoxy pipe accommodated the changes. Theexisting water distribution system is being studied toevaluate the possibility of replacing all copper pipewith fiberglass-reinforced epoxy pipe.

South Pole construction

Construction at the new South Pole station was thebiggest building program of the season, and it pro-ceeded almost 24 hours a day. The first contingentof the Navy construction force arrived on November3; during the season, the crew size climbed to 102.First priority was to build a 130-man camp near thenew station site to house and feed the crew. The nextmajor effort was to complete the snow foundation padsand erect the geodesic dome. An on-site Temcor tech-nical representative advised and assisted on erection ofthe dome. Problems encountered last year with theHuck fastening equipment, the utility corridor, and thearches were resolved during the homeport period; the

- Jamesway hut in the shadowof South Pole Station's geo-

desic dome.

U.S. Navy

226 ANTARCTIC JOURNAL

equipment modifications proved satisfactory. A HuckCompany technical representative, on site in late No-vember, evaluated the field operations and trained per-sons to operate and maintain his company's equipment.The last strut was put into place to complete the geo-desic dome on January 4, and constructors began leavingshortly thereafter.

Building of the new power plant, living quarters,biological/medical laboratory, and garage was deferreduntil next year.

Siple Station

This new year-round research station, started lastyear by Mobile Construction Battalion 71, was com-pleted and turned over to the National Science Foun-dation on January 25, 1973.

Work on Siple started in October 1972 with thetesting of three prefabricated vans at McMurdo Sta-:ion. On December 2, enlisted Seabees headed byU.S. Army Captain Hugh Boyd were flown to Siple.Their first task was to dig out the arch and remove thematerial stored inside at the end of last season. Badweather complicated their work during December andrevented many cargo flights from landing needed

iiaterials. However, by late December cargo that hadeen stockpiled at Byrd Station started arriving, andhe Seabees began putting together the new station.

The three prefabricated vans were abutted to formn enclosed building 44 by 24 feet. The vans were:onnected to a T-s building to form the new corn-)lex, all of it under a metal arch. One van serves ashe kitchen, bath, and generator room, another is theaboratory, and the third is the transmitter van. Ther-s building serves as quarters and lounge for theour civilians manning the station this winter.

yrd Station surface camp

The surface camp that replaces the former under-ice3yrd Station and is used as a waystation for planes wasbuilt in October, November, and December 1972. Theirst plane arrived on October 16 with half the con-truction crew and a 955 forklift. The existing emer-;ency Jamesway was activated, and shortly after the firstlane left the second arrived with the rest of the crew.In his final report, Master Chief Richard A. McFar-

and said, "Throughout the first 3 weeks, severe weather[elayed the construction. Since some of our vital equip-ent was down, there often was no electricity at the

amp. Fuel was hauled by hand from a distance ofearly 1 mile to supply heat for the emergency berth-g Jarnesway. No adequate cooking or toilet facili-es were then available, and the crew temporarily ex-erienced survival conditions."The first 48-foot Jamesway was completed on Oc-

)ber 25. Weather remained severe for the most part

until after the first week of November. After this, ourconstruction proceeded with few problems, the mostnotable being the handling of plywood in the highwinds that are characteristic at Byrd Station.

"This project included the erection of three Jameswaybuildings with timber foundations, an office with aspare parts room, a generator building, a mechanicgarage with a balloon inflation shelter, and a watershed and head building. A drainage and water systemwas installed, consisting of a snow melter, a waterpump, and a pressure tank. The construction team con-sisted of 11 Seabees and 11 men of other ratings forconstruction support and camp operations. The projectlasted 49 days but probably would have been completein 35 with good weather and if all the required ma-terials had been on hand as needed." A total of 2,828man-hours was spent on the project.

Self-help constructionA self-help program first established in Deep Freeze

72 gained considerable impetus this season. Throughthis program, persons desiring to improve their work-ing and berthing spaces receive material, after approval,for the required work. A public works inspector moni-tors the project to insure proper construction andsafety.

At McMurdo, one self-help project this summer wasthe conversion of warehouse 75 into a gym and recrea-tion building using material provided by the publicworks department and volunteer labor. Another signifi-cant self-help project was the rehabilitation of a 64-foot Jarnesway into a crash/fire building at WilliamsField. All work on this project was done by the crash/fire rescue crew.

The program is continuing into the winter withthese projects: completion of public works offices(building 175), rehabilitation of the chief petty officerquarters (building 15), rehabilitation of enlisted quar-ters (building 14), rehabilitation of the ham shack(building 152), rehabilitation of the Acey Ducey Club(building 52), construction of shelving (building 82),minor work in the balloon inflation building, andconstruction of tables and chairs for special services.

SafetyThe hazard control program was changed significantly

for Deep Freeze 73 through a three-phase program thatcomprised preparation of a support force safety manual,establishment of a safety council, and completion of ahazard survey at McMurdo by Professor R. J . Firenze,a safety consultant.

The objective of the survey is to prevent accidentsthrough education and training, improved data collec-tion and inspection, analysis of data, information distri-bution, and all-hands participation. Acceptance of theprogram during the season was good.

ily-August 1973 227