Antarctica: The International Geophysical Year

The International Geophysical Year

The International Geophysical Year (IGY), from July, 1957, through Dec., 1958, was planned to correspond with a period of maximum sunspot activity. As part of the IGY, 12 nations maintained 65 stations and operational facilities in Antarctica. The more difficult logistical problems of establishing inland bases were undertaken by the United States and the USSR. The American effort, termed “Operation Deep Freeze,” concentrated on the building of McMurdo Station, a major base of operations, on Ross Island; five other U.S. stations were established, including one at the South Pole. The Russians concentrated on E Antarctica, building Mirnyy, a station on the Queen Mary Coast, and three bases inland: Komsomolskaya, Vostok (at the South Magnetic Pole), and Sovetskaya. Britain maintained 14 stations, and Argentina, Chile, France, Australia, Belgium, Japan, Norway, South Africa, and New Zealand also participated.

From 1951 to 1958, Dr. Vivian Fuchs led the British Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition's traverse with tractors from the Weddell Sea to McMurdo Sound via the South Pole, conducting a seismic and magnetic profile en route. Long-distance flights by U.S. planes covered c.2,000,000 sq mi (5,180,000 sq km) in 1955–56. These and later support flights, the tractor journeys to build bases, and geophysical traverses by tracked vehicles during the IGY left little of the continent that had not been seen.

Sections in this article:

Introduction
The Antarctic Treaty and Current Research
The International Geophysical Year
International Rivalry
Technological Advances in Exploration
Inland and to the Pole
Early Expeditions
Antarctic Life
Climate
Geology and Geography
Bibliography

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