Fossil Bluff

Fossil Bluff
Antarctic base

The Hut at Fossil Bluff, Antarctica
Location of Fossil Bluff in Antarctica
Fossil Bluff

Location of Fossil Bluff in Antarctica

Coordinates: 71°20′S 68°17′W / 71.333°S 68.283°W / -71.333; -68.283Coordinates: 71°20′S 68°17′W / 71.333°S 68.283°W / -71.333; -68.283
Country  United Kingdom
Location in Antarctica George VI Sound, Palmer Land
Administered by British Antarctic Survey
Established 20 February 1961 (1961-02-20)
Time zone ART (UTC-3)
Type Seasonal
Period Summer
Status Operational

The Fossil Bluff is a non-permanent seasonal British forward-operating station in Palmer Land, Antarctica.

The bluff is a collection of buildings and facilities, at the centre of which lies the hut. Fossil Bluff hut sits at the foot of a scree-covered ridge overlooking George VI Sound which separates mountainous Alexander Island from Palmer Land. George VI Ice Shelf occupies the sound and provides a north-south route for travelling parties except in high summer when the ice shelf's surface is flooded with meltwater. To the west and north-west lie Planet Heights, an extensive range of mountains rising to over 1,500 metres (4,900 ft). Immediately to the west lies Giza Peak.

Purpose

The buildings at Fossil Bluff. From the left, the garage, 'tescos' which is a food store, an old tow-able caboose (now housing a full range of BAS camping equipment for use in the event of a fire), the generator shed with melt tank above (for water). The hut and then the meteo station. Giza Peak lies in the background.

Fossil Bluff is a forward facility for refuelling aircraft and is operated by Rothera station during the Antarctic summer season between October and March. There is a 1,200-metre (3,900 ft) unprepared skiway marked by drums 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) south of the station.

De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft ferry drums of fuel from Rothera to Fossil Bluff each summer to maintain the size of the fuel depot. The station is 90 minutes flying time from Rothera. It is used extensively as a jumping-off point for further operations into Antarctica. The next 'traditional' stop for the Twin Otters is Sky Blu, 85 minutes away.

Fossil Bluff houses four people in comfort but is normally operated by two to three.

The base has been in use intermittently since 20 February 1961. Occupied during the winters of 1961, 1962, and 1969-75, it has been used every summer since 1975. The first people to overwinter in 1961 were Cliff Pearce and John Smith (meteorologists) and Brian Taylor (geologist) who carried out a thorough and systematic investigation of the local geology.[1][2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Pearce, Cliff (2004). The Silent Sound: The Story of Two Years in Antarctica and the First Winter Occupation of Alexander Island. Book Guild Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85776-845-9.
  2. ↑ "The Silent Sound - Book Review". Thompson, M. R. A. (2005). "A Book Review of The Silent Sound". Antarctic Science. 17: 569–570. doi:10.1017/S0954102005213007.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 7/27/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.