PORTRAIT OF ANTARCTICA

foreign [Music] [Applause] these are portraits of a vast rugged treacherous continent they portray ships and Men machines and ice a composite portrait of a continent which has challenged man since first he could sailed beyond the limits of his Horizon Antarctica [Music] or the seas are as much a part of Antarctica as her highest mountains [Music] the first obstacles to exploration are products of the sea surrounded by three Mighty oceans continents-only approaches Are Over the Sea and finally many of our greatest scientific rewards are coming from these Seas [Music] not only the sea but the air too plays a vital part in understanding the Antarctic for here in this cold unresisting medium a modern Explorer can transport himself over the continent efficiently and economically foreign the helicopter uses the Antarctic airspace in its role as a modern day Pathfinder transporting scientists into the field as well as searching out leads in the ice C the air and of course the land [Music] Erebus according to Greek mythology was the gateway to the underworld A fitting name for this still active volcano landmark in the rugged Splendor of Antarctica's vast reaches from the Majesty of Mighty mountain ranges to these Rocky Crags guarding its coastline Antarctica's land mass sprawls over more than 5 million square miles beautiful dangerous hostile yet the very elements that deny existence to man provide a comfortable background for a handful of the local Gentry [Music] but the portrait of the land is also a portrait of its people who are the men of Antarctica they are a composite of many races many nations from Admiral Byrd and other well-known faces from the past to the unfamiliar faces of the present [Music] foreign Antarctica today the name is not the important thing what is important is what a man is able to contribute to the enormous job at hand each job is small sometimes almost insignificant all their efforts spells Conquest a conquest That Never Ends that goes on year after year adding new victories to the successes of the past how does this Conquest take shape quest for science [Music] or is it a battle of men against the weather in the elements it's both a quest continually pursued on all three fronts of the continent land sea and air thus Mastery of the land alone is not enough all three environments must be considered and their respective obstacles overcome this then is the first obstacle billions of tons of ice girdle the continent in a belt 100 miles in width [Music] each year this belt must be broken for the annual return of the scientific support ships foreign Navy and Coast Guard icebreakers undertake the job of carving these annual sea Lanes into the continent their spoon-shaped bow is designed to ride up on the ice pack and crushed down with thousands of tons of force opening the channels for the cargo ships foreign [Music] following in the wake of the icebreakers these thin-skinned cargo ships bring in the thousands of tons of supplies needed each year to support man's continuing conquest of Antarctica this is the offloading Pier eight feet of coastal ice at McMurdo sound [Music] from this thin strip of ice the Seabees transfer the annual supply of groceries and diesel oil to an inland staging point [Music] foreign [Music] specific cargos will be here marked for distribution to the Antarctic station's bar inland some will be hauled in some air drop but whatever the method it's a long way from the farm to The Breakfast Table [Music] while this section of the coast has been charted and is a familiar landfall to the support ships there are other coasts other waters that remain unknown and it is here that the icebreakers perform their second role that of a gargantuan tool of exploration [Music] foreign year the sea-going man of Antarctica chart new coastlines sound out new Waters and report to the world their day-by-day findings [Music] foreign [Music] ations send their scientists to explore these unknown Waters the effort to unveil Antarctica has become an international challenge [Music] as these men gaze upon these virgin lands for the first time another sound of Conquest is being heard [Music] scientific outposts on the interior of the continent hundreds of miles from any Coastline must be resupplied by air foreign C-130 Hercules newest and most versatile edition of the Navy's air fleet provides an efficient Lifeline between the isolated stations and the coastal support phase [Music] her turboprop engines and a specially configured ski landing gear permit for the first time giant loads of up to 10 tons to be ski landed on the natural snow surface of the Polar plateau [Music] thank you at the same time that the C-130 Hercules delivers bulk loads to the Inland stations and camps additional supplies are airdropped by the Air Force's c-124 globemaster before the Advent of the Navy's Hercules virtually all supply of Inland stations was accomplished in this matter foreign a Precision mission is one thing but getting your plane off the ground is another [Music] these are j-ho bottles often necessary as a shot in the arm during takeoffs from the snow surface four of these firing at once equal an extra engine wide open one drawback however Cutting Loose with a full Jato firing cycle is almost like using your tail assembly for a rocket launching pad taking off is the r4d one of the original Antarctic workhorses of the year [Music] foreign ly adapted to the use of skis this type aircraft was the first to land at the South Pole although South Pole Landings are now commonplace it wasn't long ago that this operation presented a highly hazardous challenge to the Antarctic Airmen [Music] nothing is routine in Sub-Zero temperature not even normal maintenance this engine decided to call it quits at the South Pole 800 miles from the nearest air facility but all the crew asks for is a new engine with something to lift it up even if the work isn't routine the can-do spirit certainly is [Music] tying in closely with the conquest of the air is The Taming of the land itself this is a section of the snowmiller a swiss-built milling machine being flown into the construction site of the new bird station [Music] these are the giant claws of the 20-ton mechanical mold a strange-looking craft with an insatiable appetite for hard packed snow everything [Music] spewing its dinner two stories high the snowmiller carves a four by eight foot trench Paving the way for an entirely new type of Antarctic Construction [Music] thank you foreign [Music] ER completes its rough cut the sides of the trench receive a final surfacing [Music] the new bird station typical of the trend toward permanency sees its first prefabricated Arch swung into place as fast as the assemblies are installed new material is flown in on a fast-paced schedule by The Versatile c-130s [Music] this Airborne Fleet presents a far cry from the sluggish tractor trains that supplied the original bird Station construction five years earlier these giant arches will house the final buildings and protect them from the crushing weight of the compact snow [Music] the tunnel's finished construction of the buildings and storage areas is completed new bird the under Snow Station of the future home of scientific effort in Marie Birdland occupied today and at the same time Navy men Burrow under the snow ground is broken at McMurdo sound for the construction of Antarctica's first nuclear power station foreign fabricated units arriving by ship were assembled by Navy Seabees in less than 75 days providing 1500 kilowatts of power permanency 2 in Communications as this 110-foot rhombic antenna joins the complex communication and Weather Network across the land no longer dependent upon inadequate radio facilities Antarctica's far-flung outposts are now tied together with the latest of today's electronic systems but conquest of the land is much more than a permanent foothold on the ice its sound can be heard far inland as men of Antarctica take to their vehicles such as this one equipped with an electronic crevasse detector always on the move they search for the Uncharted mountain or the safe Trail through the crevasse Fields navigating a thousand miles of Uncharted ice cap is no mean task but such is the goal set for the 8 to 10 Man parties of the scientific traverses such treks keep the man isolated and the loneliness of Bleak Windswept Hinterlands for three to four months [Music] privation has its own rewards and to the scientists it is the chance to pursue studies in his own field compile first-hand records of geophysical phenomena but the compulsion to find answers is not always the Paramount order of business foreign academic progress is overshadowed by the simple need for survival [Music] when the initial fuel supply is nearly exhausted 700 miles from the base the advanced fuel cache parachuted or airlifted weeks before to a pre-selected site is a welcome discovery foreign [Music] cash Antarctica's version of a Turnpike Drive-In trouble can strike just as fast on land as it can on sea or in the air a quick survey proves out the worst of their fears the snow cat has broken through a snow Bridge concealing a dangerous crevasse the Traverse party is concerned this giant crack in the continent's ice cap might as well be bottomless [Music] thank you the endurance fortitude and can-do spirit of the old breed of Antarctic Explorer are by no means forgotten assets [Music] the modern polar scientist is just as capable of substituting steel cable for his slide rule when the situation demands [Music] another round one and the Expedition moves on the challenge is still present still strong still treacherous but man's patience is infinite [Music] not all the men of Antarctica conduct their search for science on the move some remain buried in the far-flung outposts throughout the long Antarctic winter such as South Pole station foreign [Music] a wide variety of geophysical subjects obtaining knowledge of our Earth from an analysis of ice cores revealing hundreds of years of Antarctica's history or the drift of a radiosan balloon [Music] thank you foreign foreign although they are all together too few they still afford some relief in the heavy schedule [Music] thank you foreign [Music] radio stations at each one of the outposts Navy Men And scientists are able to talk to their families at home throughout the lonely months of isolation foreign [Music] there is a time two for solitude for worship [Music] [Music] the sleeping continent is Awakening slowly at first but with ever Gathering momentum [Music] with each new fact learned with each new mile of Coastline charted Antarctica comes more and more into focus a continent of untapped scientific Secrets concealing a vast food supply in our Waters holding the key to the source of much of the world's weather checkpoint for great circle aerial navigation this is the portrait of Antarctica the ever-changing portrait and as she gives up the secrets held in her Waters in her Skies and in her last mess man's stockpile of knowledge grows larger for the sum of Antarctica's Secrets is but one piece in the greater puzzle that challenges man on all corners of the universe [Music]