Section II of the 1998-99 season plans includes
information concerning vessel and aircraft operations along with estimated dates of expeditions
and other significant events.
Winfly Activities
Annual augmentation of the U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP)
begins with austral winter flights (WINFLY), departing Christchurch, New Zealand, and arriving
McMurdo Station, Antarctica, about 20 August 1998. The aircraft will carry scientists and
support personnel to start early pre-summer projects, to augment maintenance personnel, and
to prepare skiways and ice runways at McMurdo Station. This will involve 5 U.S. Air Force
C-141B flights and will increase station population from the winter-over level of about 154
to a transition level of about 373.
Mainbody Activities
Austral summer activities will be initiated in late
September 1998 with wheeled aircraft operations between Christchurch, New Zealand and the
sea-ice runways at McMurdo Station, Antarctica. This will involve approximately 17 C-141B
flights and 3 C-5 flights of transport aircraft of the U.S. Air Force Air Mobility Command
(AMC), and 13 flights by C-130 aircraft of the Royal New Zealand Air Force transport aircraft.
The sea-ice runway and wheeled aircraft operations will cease about early December 1998 and then
continue about mid January to seasons end. During the in between period, aircraft operations will
be conducted by USAP LC-130 aircraft (the Navy VXE-6 Squadron and the ANG 109th AW) from a prepared
skiway.
The 109th Tactical Air Group of the Air National Guard in Schenectady, New York will provide
four LC-130 aircraft and three crews for intra-continental flights from late October 1998 through
McMurdo station closing.
Significant Dates
Other significant dates for the summer season include:
- 29 September 1998 - McMurdo Station "Mainbody" begins
- 14 September 1998 - Palmer Station opens
- 03 October 1998 - Marble Point opens
- 26 October 1998 - South Pole Station Opens
- 27 October 1998 - Siple Dome Camp Opens
- 28 October 1998 - Downstream Bravo Camp Opens
- 16 November 1998 - Upstream Delta Camp opens
- 01 December 1998 - Ford Range Camp Opens
Ship Movements
M/V GREEN WAVE
The cargo ship, M/V GREEN WAVE, is scheduled to
complete one trip to McMurdo this season. The ship will depart Port Hueneme, California,
in early January 1999 after onloading cargo and transit directly to Port Lyttelton, New Zealand.
The Green Wave will again onload additional cargo and depart New Zealand for McMurdo.
Cargo will be off-loaded between 02-10 February, after which the ship will depart McMurdo
and proceed to Lyttelton, New Zealand to offload additional cargo. It will depart on
approximately 17 February for Washington State to off-load waste and recyclable materials
from McMurdo Station. From there it will transit to Port Hueneme, California, arriving
there on 15 March 1999.
R/V NATHANIEL B. PALMER
The R/V NATHANIEL B. PALMER will conduct 9
scientific research cruises, totaling an estimated 292 days at sea, during the 1998-99 season.
The vessel will provide support throughout the season for biological, chemical, physical
oceanographic, and marine geophysics investigations in the Weddell, Bellingshausen,
and the Ross Seas. Ports of call include Punta Arenas, CHILE, Lyttelton, NEW ZEALAND,
and McMurdo Station, Antarctica.
R/V LAURENCE M. GOULD
The R/V LAURENCE M. GOULD will
conduct 10 scientific research cruises, totaling an estimated 315 days at sea, during
the 1998-99 season. The research supported will include at sea research, station work
at Elephant, King George, Livingston, Deception, Low, Smith, and Greenwich Islands, and
station support at Palmer Station.
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