Abstract
Geophysicists from the United States and New Zealand plan to meet in the coming months to assess the electromagnetic pollution of an Antarctic site especially designated for research. U.S. scientists charge that a satellite Earth station erected apparently inside the preserve by New Zealand's Telecom company could interfere with experiments on the ionosphere and magnetosphere (Eos, April 28, 1992). The Site of Special Scientific Interest at Arrival Heights, the only Antarctic preserve specifically for physical science, is located near the U.S. McMurdo and New Zealand Scott bases.Debate over the Telecom facility inter‐twines diplomatic and scientific issues. One question is whether the station violates the Antarctic treaty. Secondly, does it actually impair research at the site—or could it harm future experiments? To deepen the imbroglio, those involved from both nations say that transmissions from sources off‐site also interfere with research—raising doubts about how pristine the site really is.
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