22 January, 2003

Helo Accident / Icebreaker / Bering Land Bridge Flooding

Media contact:

January 17, 2003

Peter West

NSF PR 03-11

(703) 292-8070, pwest@nsf.gov

(703) 409-8232 cell

HELICOPTER CRASHES IN ANTARCTICA

Injured pilot, crewmember flown to New Zealand for Medical Treatment

A helicopter flying in support of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Antarctic research program has crashed near McMurdo Station, NSF's science and logistics hub on the continent.

The helicopter's pilot and a passenger, the only people aboard the aircraft, were injured in the incident, which happened at approximately 10:00 p.m. EST on Jan. 16. They were evacuated to New Zealand aboard a New York Air National Guard LC-130 cargo aircraft for medical treatment. Medical personnel accompanied the injured on that flight.

The aircraft arrived in New Zealand at approximately noon EST Jan. 17, and the patients were transferred to a local hospital in Christchurch, NZ.

The names of the injured are not being released, pending notification of family.

The helicopter was shuttling cargo to science stations in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, an ice-free area of the continent, roughly 96 kilometers (60 miles) from the station across the ice-covered McMurdo Sound.

Petroleum Helicopters Inc., of LaFayette, La., operates NSF's helicopter fleet in Antarctica. The incident involved a seven-passenger Bell 212 helicopter.

An investigation into the cause of the crash has begun.

PHI flies approximately 1,400 flight hours each season in support of U.S. Antarctic research. This is the first aircraft accident with serious injury for the U.S. Antarctic Program since PHI assumed responsibility for helicopter flight operations from the U.S. Navy in 1996.

NSF, through its Office of Polar Programs, manages the U.S. Antarctic Program.

-NSF-

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From Kim Giesting:

A National Science Foundation Press Release

NSF PR 03-07 - January 13, 2003

Media contacts:

Peter West (703) 292-8070 pwest@nsf.gov Lt. Jg. Dan Everette deverette@healy.uscg.mil

Facing extreme ice conditions, coast guard,

NSF deploy second icebreaker to Antarctica

Extremely unusual ice conditions at McMurdo Station, the National Science Foundation's (NSF) logistics and science hub in Antarctica, will require two Coast Guard icebreakers to ensure that resupply and refueling ships can reach the station.

Al Sutherland, ocean projects manager in NSF's Office of Polar Programs, said the ice extends almost three times farther out from the station than is usual.

Normally, the ice edge -- the place where the ice in McMurdo Sound meets open water -- would be found about 15 miles from McMurdo Station. Currently, Sutherland said, the ice edge is nearly 40 miles out. He added that very dense "pack ice" stretches roughly 200 miles from the station to iceberg C-19, which broke away from the Ross Ice Shelf in May.

The U.S. Coast Guard vessel Healy, an icebreaker with design features for supporting Polar science, parcticularly in the Arctic, left its home port of Seattle on Jan. 9th, to sail south for roughly 27 days to join the Coast Guard icebreaker Polar Sea, which already is working in McMurdo Sound.

Healy recently conducted a very productive science season in the Arctic, notably in support of the NSF-supported Western Shelf-Basins Interactions (SBI) project, which is looking for early indicators of climate change in the

Arctic Ocean. Researchers on a previous Healy cruise found evidence that the Arctic's Gakkel Ridge, the world's slowest spreading mid-ocean ridge, may have substantial volcanic activity.

NSF concurred with a Coast Guard recommendation to send Healy to assist in icebreaking operations. Coast Guard officials have assured NSF that Healy's Antarctic deployment will not affect planned Arctic research. It is possible that Healy could be recalled if conditions do not warrant its prolonged presence in Antarctica.

A freighter and a fuel tanker annually provide a lifeline that allows the U.S Antarctic Program to conduct science on the southernmost continent.

The icebreakers' primary tasks are to open a channel from the ice edge to McMurdo Station and to ensure that the supply ships safely navigate the narrow channel in and out of the station.

Normally, a single icebreaker, either the Polar Sea or its sister ship, the Polar Star, is sufficient to break a channel into the station and to escort the supply vessels in and out.

Last year extensive sea ice conditions required that the Polar Sea and Polar Star be sent south together. The two ships were successful in getting the other vessels safely in and out. Sea ice was extensive around the continent and the conditions specific to McMurdo Sound may also have been affected by the presence of an enormous iceberg, designated B-15.

This year, sea ice is again extensive in the McMurdo Sound area and the adjacent Ross Sea. B-15 remains in the same position near McMurdo. C-19, has grounded in the Ross Sea and may be contributing to this extensive ice.

Because Polar Star is undergoing substantial maintenance and is unable to steam south, Healy is being deployed to help Polar Sea meet two challenges, Sutherland explained.

The first is to break a channel through the ice to Hut Point at McMurdo Station and to keep it open. Although the Polar Sea already has broken a channel into the McMurdo Sound as far south as Hut Point, the ice conditions are so severe that one ship, in the time available, might not be able to prepare the channel and escort the re-supply ships through the heavy pack ice without the assistance of the second icebreaker.

The second challenge is to escort the supply ship American Tern and the fuel tanker MV Richard G Matthiesen into McMurdo to prepare the station for the long austral winter.

When escorting other ships, Sutherland said, the icebreakers serve to push aside -- or shed -- the ice that constantly threatens to fill in the narrow channel.

"The freighter and the tanker are ice-strengthened, but they are not icebreakers," Sutherland said. "If they have an icebreaker immediately in front of them - they have to stay almost bow to stern - the icebreaker is essentially shedding all the ice."

Although it is a multipurpose icebreaker, Healy was designed with the primary mission of supporting Arctic science. Healy is equipped with engines that produce roughly half the peak power of the Polar Sea. But NSF and Coast Guard officials are confident that Healy, which was commissioned in 1999, will operate effectively in Antarctica.

Under an agreement with NSF, the Coast Guard provides icebreaking services to the U.S. Antarctic Program. The additional cost to NSF to deploy Healy to Antarctica will be roughly $1.2 million. Additional fuel also will be needed at McMurdo Station to keep both ships running.

URL: http://www.nsf.gov/od/lpa/news/03/pr0307.htm

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Second Snowchange Conference

21-26 February

Murmansk, Russia

For more information see the Conference website at: http://www.snowchange.org/snowchange/2003/index.html

Snowchange Project Staff, Tampere Polytechnic, Finland and Murmansk Humanities Institute invite you to parcticipate in the Second Snowchange Conference in 21-26 February, Murmansk, Russia.

The conference will start on Saturday 22 Feb with official greetings and keynote speech by Anna Prakhova about 10 years Anniversary of Barents Cooperation and the Indigenous People. After opening ceremonies the conference will be followed by a three-day technical programme of six conference sessions and visits to the functioning nuclear icebreaker and Atomflot, and also to Lovozero, community of Kola Sami.

We hope to see you in Murmansk!

Mr. Tero Mustonen

Snowchange Project Manager

Tampere Polytechnic

Tampere, Finland

Email: tero@snowchange.org

Phone: +358 40 7372 424

Mr. Alexey Cherenkov

Murmansk Humanities Institute

Murmansk, Russia

Email: mgi@mail.ru

Phone: +79 21 7241 952

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Postglacial Flooding of the Bering Land Bridge: A Geospatial Animation

For more information and to view the animation, see: http://instaar.Colorado.EDU/QGISL/bering_land_bridge

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) were used to create movies showing how the Bering Land Bridge evolved after the Last Glacial Maximum, about 21,000 years ago. Global sea level at that time was approximately 120 m (400 ft) lower than today. The Land Bridge existed as a vast tundra plain connecting Asia and North America. As the world's glaciers and ice sheets melted over the following thousands of years, rising sea level flooded the Land Bridge - blocking migration routes for animals and humans.

The geospatial visualization was created to assist with scientific research, education, and outreach. It is based on the best available digital information, and reveals large-scale patterns of shifting coastlines and environments as the land bridge evolved.

See:

http://instaar.Colorado.EDU/QGISL/bering_land_bridge/

William Manley

INSTAAR, University of Colorado

William.Manley@colorado.edu