f0Mclfurdo is currently undergoirrg ;i ma;1or face lift.Durinfl rny vj siL a. rrr-16r t.ruildinfl was being colstnrc.bed, completewit,li eorlfr-rerlce roorns, fi-llr stuCio anC off ices. \lext to thisbuj.-l-cii"irg is ti;c alrnost cornpleted lJ .[i. Antarct,ic ResearchPro'1ra:n Headqua.rters wlij ch when read.rr wiII displace lire oICI'i. ssen hut,s.ltie main proh;lem al l'iclfurd.o is water. <strong>The</strong> Antarctic,j*ikc thc irrctis, is essentiatl,y a dese::t. <strong>The</strong> averaqe snowfallin /r.n+,,arcti-ca i.s ec.lr"rivalent to :"n armual precipitafion of 6.5inches. It is Lrue that 95 per cerrt of the 5roccrooO sc{uareni-les tf{' Ant,arctj ca is covered vrifh sfiow &rrcl ice, ariC that at theFole lt,seif tire ice ca.p 1s cver 91000 feet thick. rrJater isnonetheless hard fo obtain af l"lclr4urdo, 1n quantify, by converitionalrieans, artd recourse ha,s been haci to nuclear power for dlstillingsea water front the Sorxrd, &t the present rate of I5r000 gallonspe:: da..rr. lloviever liiis is barely enouplh to neet sunlmer requirementsand slrins in tirc: w&slirocms sugqest that one shower a week isadequate.Iilcl4u.rCo is at i,he exfrene northerll' edqe of tlre RossIce Sirelf, r^rhich is fed from thc ni:rny qlaciers whj.ch stretchCown llrom fhe int,crisp, cornmencinq at tire sumnrits of the peaksin thc' Trans-Antarctic iulountains. Tirere is, we are told, constantIliov€rL€rtt, of liie j-ce due fo it,s viscous and plaslic properties'uihj-cit ena.trle it to benC and f l.ow under pressure. <strong>The</strong> nost famousof Llre gilaciers rn,hich feed Llre i
4rrendniscent of a froelodyte city, and was thoroughly depressing.Prefabncat,ed modules, trarisporLed to Llie stafion in Herculesaircr.lft, Iined nian.rr of' these tunnels. Ibch module had a speeificpurnosel i*€. Llving qrmrters, recreation, galley, ward.room,hospiterl, etc.. C)n^t,he day of our arrj-val at tiie Fole, thetemperal,ure was -22oF. vritir a 3 krrot wj-nd. I was Lol,1 fhat infhe u,i-nter of L965 tire Lherrnometer had clropped to -t13oF. tr^lalkingon Li''c: ice cap at, an alfitude of over 91000 ft. was ard.uous, mdslotnr t,rhe;n equi.pperd in the heav.lf gannents we had to urear. Tlrecerenorry t,ook place at flre exact site of fhe geoqraphic pole. Ina snriril cj rcle t,he flags of all nations signatory Lo the AntarcticTreat,y were flyingo A plastic trreaLh of red roses was p1-a.ced j-nfhe cerrLre of'tlre rinf b]r Dr. Gould, to conrneniorate the l+Othra.nnivcrsary of tiie f light f o tire Pole by the }ate Adnr-iral llyrd .rktr-iininq that everrj-r:Fr f rrcm the Pole station we stoppedat, a. ceu;lp east of tire F,eardmore (l].:.cier, near a paleontologicalsit e on tioal ijluf f l',lountain" In L9J2, i-lcott had f, und here sigrrsof rriti-racj.te coal, euidence fl'at l\ri.arctica once had a heaqyv€g€rLa.tion. A fet' daJrs before our Landinq fhe geoloqists haddiscovered solTlr:: fossil rernains of an amphibious repfile calledLyst rosaums whicir iived durinq the early Triassic period, about8?.5-225 milU.on vears ago. Bones of the same kind have been fowrdin South Afrieal Incto-Ohina arid Southern China. <strong>The</strong>se fi.nds serveas anot,frer ljnk in the clraj-n of evjdence demonstraLj-ne fhatAnfarct,ica was once part of a riuch larqer }and mass conprlsingi\frica and Asia. rrGondwanalandrr t,he name givert by geologists tothej.r surrniseci sorrthe'r'n conti..nent, is nohr fact,, not threory. <strong>The</strong>/nt,arcLi ca of tociay evidently owes its position to a continerital'1*i t'+\rlI-I t/, '')-'i Wlrl l.-11 ^I" it south at ffie rate of sevcral inches pervear. Fascinating "..ppj-r:cl discoveries of Lhis kinci will oniy serve tosfinrulate scient.,j.f ie jnvestieafion of Antarctica, and even nor^rprovidr: t,he impelus for qreat iinpropriations. As I retunred tollclfrrrdo thaf cveninq I reflected on,1 mernorable dayr one on wliichI had bep',un Lo feel as enthusiastic about anfarctic redearch as mysci ent,:.f rc cornpanicns.I}ie fliqht, Lo l-lyrd., a.rrd thl, rrisit to its r:ncler-the-snourcamp flave rre Lhe opportunitlr fo see some more of fhe landscape andof ca.rnJ) Iife. At, iiyrd, beca.use of its locaLion on the ice plateausome 6ro00 feet ah,oV€ sea level-, and in lhe qerreral area of thesouth nngnet,ic pole, :r geophysical observafory had been sited. Itwill jn t,lre I\rfrire be auLonated ns far as possible, witl: powercoming frorn trat;feri.es continuouslv clrarged by winclrnills or radioisotope-fueleclgerlcrat,ors. Ilrr t'restittq clxperimenl,s have tieenm;rde at Hyrcl w i t,lr a ltolcl dr-j llerci l;1' o dianrond bit fo tire boLtom oftlre ice cap. f ura:; fold t,lrat ice cores have beeri brought up andshipped to l{anoverl }'lew Hanrps}rire, sti"ll frozen. Unfortunately,tkre ctrill haci stuck tosether witll an instrunrent desisned toinvestie'ate l,i,e ice at varicus levels"Ir.ftrile at Flyrdl I was t,aken by a tracked vehicle acrosst
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