Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey Research Articles

“Some Sanity and Love”: The Cold War, Antarctic Treaty, and Fids’ identity, 1957–1958

AbstractIn 1942, the British government created the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) to enforce sovereignty over the Antarctic Peninsula. The small groups of men who worked for the Survey called themselves Fids. During the late 1950s when Antarctic sovereignty was being hotly debated and worked out by national governments, Fids serving at British bases criticised the British government’s use of science as a bargaining chip. Using in-house magazines written and printed at FIDS bases and oral histories, this article examines how Fids viewed Antarctic politics and how those events influenced daily life at bases on the Peninsula.

Sir Raymond Priestley and Professor J. B. Cragg

ABSTRACTA mystery surrounds the failure to appoint Professor J.B. Cragg of Durham University as biological supervisor to the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey in 1958. In a recent note in this journal Dr Lance Tickell argues that Sir Raymond Priestley is unlikely to have been responsible. Cragg's approach was, however, closely followed by the present author between 1961 and 1966 in the programme based on Signy Island, South Orkney Islands.

Sir Raymond Priestley and the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey 1955–1958

Sir Raymond Priestley served with Shackleton (1907–1909) and Scott (1910–1913), then after the First World War had a distinguished career in university administration. During retirement he spent three years in charge of the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (later the British Antarctic Survey). This note seeks to remove an unsubstantiated blemish from that otherwise exemplary record.

William Harvie (‘Tommy’) Thomson, DSC (1922–2012)

William Harvie (‘Tommy’) Thomson, DSC (1922–2012) was born in Airdrie, Lanarkshire, Scotland on 13 September 1922. Following distinguished service as a Fleet Air Arm pilot in World War II, he joined the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) in 1946, serving in 1947–1948 at Base E (Stonington Island) as pilot of the Survey's newly-acquired Auster aircraft.

Children of the ‘Golden Age’ Gordon de Quetteville Robin

This is the third in a series of biographies entitled ‘Children of the Golden Age,’ the purpose of which is to describe the background and contributions of significant living figures in polar research who began their scientific careers following World War II. Born on 17 January 1921 in Melbourne, Gordon de Quetteville Robin was educated at Wesley College and the University of Melbourne, graduating in physics with an MSc in 1942. Following submarine training in Scotland, he served in HMS Stygian in the Pacific. Soon after commencing as a research student in nuclear physics at Birmingham University, he joined the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey and was the first base commander at Signy Station in the South Orkney Islands (1947–48). In 1949–52 he was third-in-command on the Norwegian–British–Swedish Antarctic Expedition responsible for the successful oversnow seismic ice thickness campaign. In 1958, following a brief sojourn in Canberra, he was appointed the first full-time director of the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge. During the next 24 years he developed SPRI into a world-class research institute. In the austral summer 1959–60 he undertook research operating from RRS John Biscoe in the Weddell Sea into the penetration of ocean waves into pack ice. During the early 1960s he stimulated development of radio echo sounding (RES) with Dr Stan Evans, which remains the standard technique for ice-thickness measurement. He undertook experimental fieldwork in Northwest Greenland in 1964 and airborne sounding in Canada in 1966. He was responsible for organising international collaborative programmes of airborne RES in Antarctica with American air support, leading fieldwork in 1967–68, 1969–70, and 1974–75. He was elected secretary of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research in 1958, serving for 12 years, and was president between 1970 and 1974. In 1975 he developed with Dr Terence Armstrong a postgraduate course in Polar Studies at SPRI. He retired as director in 1982 and continues his interests in glaciology as a senior research associate at SPRI.

Bernard Stonehouse: biologist, writer, and educator

AbstractThis is the first in a series of biographies entitled ‘Children of the Golden Age’, the purpose of which is to describe the background and contributions of a number of significant living figures in polar research, all of whom began their scientific careers and earned their Antarctic spurs in the years following World War II. Bernard Stonehouse was born in Hull on 1 May 1926. Joining the Royal Navy in 1944, he trained as a pilot, and in 1946–50 served as meteorologist, second pilot, dog-sledger, and ultimately biologist with the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey, mainly from Base E, Stonington Island, Antarctic Peninsula. His first biological investigation was a winter study of breeding emperor penguins. Returning to Britain in 1950 he read zoology and geology at University College, London. Doctoral research at the Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology and Merton College, Oxford, involved an 18-month field study of king penguins on South Georgia. Between 1960 and 1968, as senior lecturer, later reader, in zoology, at University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand, he continued Antarctic and sub-Antarctic research in McMurdo Sound and on the New Zealand southern islands. A Commonwealth Research Fellowship at the University of British Columbia, 1970–71, gave him opportunities for research in the Yukon. After developing undergraduate and postgraduate studies in environmental science at the University of Bradford, 1972–83, he joined the Scott Polar Research Institute as editor of Polar Record, thereafter forming the Institute's Polar Ecology and Management Group, and heading a long-term study on the ecological impacts of polar tourism. At SPRI he continues to combine the two factors that have always played an important part in his life: working in polar regions and communicating with the general public on issues of biology, the environment, and conservation.

Screening Antarctica: Britain, the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey, andScott of the Antarctic(1948)

AbstractThis paper explores Ealing Studios' cinematic production about Robert Falcon Scott and theTerra Novaexpedition, released to British audiences in 1948. Under the title ofScott of the Antarctic, the film recreated the tragic failure of the expedition on its return from the South Pole. The race to the South Pole had ended with victory for Roald Amundsen and post-colonial Norway. Three decades later, Britain again found itself involved in an intense territorial competition with two post-colonial states, Argentina and Chile. In the midst of decolonisation, the postwar government under Prime Minister Clement Attlee was engaged in a ‘cold war’ in Antarctica. The Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) had been created in order to protect sovereignty claims to the Antarctic Peninsula. While some attention has been given to the cultural significance ofScott of the Antarctic, there has been little geopolitical commentary on this film. As an empty space devoid of indigenous populations, Antarctica was invitingly incomplete. Produced with the co-operation of the Scott Polar Research Institute and FIDS, this film depicted a failed imperial project at a time when Britain desperately needed scientific practices such as mapping to consolidate territorial sovereignty. The paper explores the actual filming process along with the verdicts of contemporary critics in order to make a critical appraisal of Britain's changing role in Antarctica. It is sobering to note that while FIDS was supporting the filmScott of the Antarctic, Argentina was attempting to indoctrinate a new generation of schoolchildren about the realities of the Argentine Antarctic sector.

Activities on the King George Island group, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica

AbstractKing George Island and Nelson Island, close together in the central South Shetland Islands, were discovered early in the 19th century and often visited by whalers and sealers. Whalers also used their harbours early in the present century. The first permanent station was established in 1947 by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey. Currently they are the site of scientific stations and depots operated by eight Antarctic Treaty nations (Argentina, Brazil, Britain, Chile, Peoples' Republic of China, Poland, USSR and Uruguay), all of which make use of their accessible harbours and relatively long summer season.

British biological research in the Antarctic

A tradition of biological research in the Antarctic was established by Cook 200 years ago. This tradition has been built on by other British expeditions, notably the ‘Discovery’ Investigations. The British Antarctic Survey, which arose from Operation Tabarin and the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey, now carries out a programme of coordinated and continuous biological research. The Atlantic sector of the Antarctic, in which the Survey operates, is of key importance biologically. The Antarctic provides a striking biological contrast between a species-poor and very barren terrestrial ecosystem and the species-rich and productive ocean which surrounds it. Severe climatic conditions and great isolation (a contrast to the Arctic) characterize the Antarctic environment. Work at the Survey's biological research stations is designed to study the distribution and interactions of organisms and communities, how they have adapted to Antarctic conditions, and which by their abundance may be deemed successful. Research is done into terrestrial, fresh-water and marine systems. Additionally, there is a major research programme into the biologv, environment and principal predators of krill, Euphausia superba. The Antarctic is a laboratory where opportunities exist for natural experiments to test theories and elucidate basic biological problems.

The management of sledge dogs in the Antarctic

The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) has relied on sledge dogs as the main form of transport for field parties since its predecessor, the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS), imported them in 1945, when it created a permanent presence on the continent. Over the years dogs have been used for extensive work over a very wide area. In 1975 BAS changed its policy with respect to work in the southern Antarctic Peninsula. In future seasons scientists will not winter in this area but will be flown to Adelaide Island and then into the field. They will carry out more detailed scientific work in particular areas of interest. This means that it is no longer practical to maintain huskies on base as they could not be kept fit and well disciplined during the winter for a short summer season. The scientists, similarly, could not be expected to learn to work the dogs efficiently in the time available, and the change in the nature of their work means that they will not move camp so frequently. The dogs, since they must be fed even if they are resting, would be uneconomic in such a situation. Finally, most of the work will be in areas that are thought to be safe so the dogs will not be needed to probe for crevasses. In future seasons BAS will rely on skidoos for field work (Figs 1 and 2).

Fungi from South Georgia

The following fungi have been received at Kew among collections by members of the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey. The macrofungi were consciously collected and were accompanied by a few field notes, though without spore prints; the microfungi were secured incidentally, on leaves or culms of phanerogamic collections. For assistance in naming these I am indebted to Dr. E. Miuller and K. A. Pirozynski.

Antarctic Ecosystems The freshwater lakes of Signy Island and their fauna

Prior to 1962 work on freshwater within the British Sector of the Antarctic had been confined to the collection of specimens and their subsequent taxonomic evaluation. Collections were made by such expeditions as the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition 1902- 04, the various Discover y Investigations in this region 1925-37, the British Graham Land Expedition 1934-37 and the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey 1945-62. During the 1961/1962 summer season an ecological investigation of the freshwater lakes of Signy Island, South Orkney Islands, was started. This paper is an interim report on that work.

Medical research by the British Antarctic Survey

There is a long record of medical research and observation in the Antarctic, almost as long as the record of exploration. The early expeditions usually had a medical officer who described the medical hazards of the Antarctic. In this article, an account will be given of the research undertaken by medical officers of the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) and, subsequently, of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). A more detailed report will be found in the chapter entitled “Man and the environment” in Antarctic research (Priestley et al. eds, 1964).

STAPHYLOCOCCI IN NOSES AND STREPTOCOCCI IN THROATS OF ISOLATED AND SEMI-ISOLATED ANTARCTIC COMMUNITIES.

The Antarctic provides unusually simplified conditions for the study of the persistence and exchange of micro-organisms of the upper respiratory tract. The work reported here was done while the author was in the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey and the United States Antarctic Research Program.Staph, aureus and Staph, albus persisted in the noses, and a-haemolytic streptococci in the throats of men throughout long periods of isolation and semi-isolation in Antarctica.On the whole, men kept their own strains (phage types) of Staph, aureus despite living in very close contact with each other.Persistent carriers of Staph, aureus (90% or more positive swabs per individual) continued to carry this organism for as long as 2 years in Antarctica. Data from men at Wilkes and Hallett IGY Stations indicated that there was a decrease in the intermittent and occasional carrier rates, resulting in a much lower total carrier rate after 12 months Antarctic isolation.Evidence is presented to suggest that β-haemolytic streptococci had disappeared from throats after 12 months of isolation. It is thought that the absence of upper respiratory infections in these communities is due to absence of the bacterial or viral agents.There is an urgent need for further work on the carriage of micro-organisms in the present unique epidemiological conditions of the Antarctic, and for better laboratory facilities there.

Auroral Observations at Halley Bay, Antarctica, during 1959

IN accordance with the recommendations of the Special Committee on Antarctic Research the programme of auroral observation conducted during the International Geophysical Year at Halley Bay, Antarctica, was continued into 1959. The Halley Bay Base, established by the Royal Society International Geophysical Year Expedition and now administered by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey, is situated in geomagnetic latitude 66° S., and both visual and all-sky camera records are now available for the four years 1956–59. A detailed analysis of the results of the first three years observations has appeared elsewhere1, and it is interesting to compare these results with those obtained during 1959.

An Uncinia from South Georgia

The purpose of this note is to record the addition of a species of Uncinia to the South Georgia flora, which comprises only fifteen known phanerogams. The sedge was collected by Mr. Jeremy Smith, who was a member of the 1957-1958 Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey and is described below and named in his honour, he having been killed in a climbing accident in 1959This very surprising new species is entirely confined to the Cumberland Bay area, occurring quite frequently in the Festuca moorland, which is dominated by Festuca erecta Urville, growing in normal well-drained sites between the elevations of 3 m. at Hamberg Glacier and 330 m. on Osmic Hill.

Glaciological Observations in Trinity Peninsula, Graham Land, Antarctica

AbstractThis paper is a summary of the more important results of glaciological investigations carried out in Trinity Peninsula, Graham Land during 1958–60, and which will be published at length in Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey Scientific Report No. 42. The budgets for Depot Glacier and the ice piedmont between Hope Bay and Trepassey Bay are given and it is concluded that in a normal year they are in a state of near equilibrium. The state of the glaciers of southern Trinity Peninsula is discussed in a consideration of the importance of rime ice formation on the west coast of the peninsula. Movement and accumulation studies in Trinity Peninsula and the islands of the James Ross Island group demonstrate a decrease in glacierization south-eastwards from the central plateau area. The recent glacial history of the area is also briefly reviewed.

Glaciological Observations in Trinity Peninsula, Graham Land, Antarctica

Abstract This paper is a summary of the more important results of glaciological investigations carried out in Trinity Peninsula, Graham Land during 1958–60, and which will be published at length in Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey Scientific Report No. 42. The budgets for Depot Glacier and the ice piedmont between Hope Bay and Trepassey Bay are given and it is concluded that in a normal year they are in a state of near equilibrium. The state of the glaciers of southern Trinity Peninsula is discussed in a consideration of the importance of rime ice formation on the west coast of the peninsula. Movement and accumulation studies in Trinity Peninsula and the islands of the James Ross Island group demonstrate a decrease in glacierization south-eastwards from the central plateau area. The recent glacial history of the area is also briefly reviewed.

A Hydrographic Survey Unit in British Antarctica

One of THE more outstanding features of Antarctic exploration and Antarctic science since the war, a feature which by nature of its outin prog ess has often been overlooked, has been the expansion and consolidation of the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey. There is little need, however, for me to dwell on the achievements of this organization tonight; others have already outlined to you in detail the many and various contributions of the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey towards man's knowledge of Antarctica. With the steady expansion of the Dependencies Survey, from its initial three stations in 1945 to eleven in 1958, new problems have arisen. First and foremost, perhaps, has been the logistic necessity to establish, and keep supplied on a regular routine, each station in the Dependencies. With rapid expansion in little-known territory, this has not always been easy; the ships attached to the Dependencies Survey as part of their regular relief programme have had to move for much of their time in little surveyed, and often completely uncharted, waters. As in all unfrequented areas, the history of hydrographic survey in Graham Land extends over many years; although large stretches of coastline were known to the early whalers in the latter part of the nineteenth century, it was not until Dr. Charcot's two expeditions of 1903 and 1908 * that maps and charts of the west coast began to take a definite form. The voyages of R.R.S. Discovery in 19292 greatly added to these early surveys, and the British Graham Land Expedition 3 of 1934-7 contributed more precise detail to much of the coast.

Glacier Problems in South Georgia

Abstract This paper is a synopsis of Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey Scientific Report No. 29. Glaciological and climatic investigations carried out in South Georgia during the International Geophysical Year are described. The budgets of the Hodges and Hamberg Glaciers for 1957–58 are given and discussed in relation to climatic factors. Temperature measurements indicate that the Hodges Glacier, and probably all ice in South Georgia below an altitude of 1,000 m., is geophysically temperate. The fluctuations of South Georgian glaciers during relatively recent times are briefly discussed.