Innocents on the ice : a memoir of Antarctic exploration, 1957
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Innocents on the ice : a memoir of Antarctic exploration, 1957
University Press of Colorado, 1998
- cloth
- pbk.
Available at / 1 libraries
-
No Libraries matched.
- Remove all filters.
Note
Includes bibliographical references and index
Description and Table of Contents
- Volume
-
cloth ISBN 9780870814938
Description
Innocents on the Ice is based on the author's experience and writings as part of a U.S. Navy-supported scientific expedition to establish Ellsworth Station on the Filchner Ice Shelf. This expedition, undertaken from November 1956 to early 1958, coincided with the International Geophysical Year (1957-1958)which initiated the "scientific age" in Antarctica.<p>Behrendt describes the stress of experiencing the dark Antarctic winter of 1957, during which intense personal conflicts arose at the most isolated of the seven U.S. Antarctic stations. The tension was unrelieved by contact with the outside world, since there was no mail for the 9 civilians and 30 Navy men living beneath the snow and only occasional radio contact was made with families for a year.<p>The author also describes his explorations with four others of the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf system during the following summers of 1957-1958. Along the hazardous 1300-mile oversnow traverse in two Sno-Cats, the field party measured ice thickness and snow accumulation as part of an international effort to determine the balance of the Antarctic ice sheet, and they also made the first geological observations of the spectacular Dufek Massif in the then unexplored Pensacola Mountains.<p>Finally, Behrendt draws upon his 40 years of continual participation in Antarctic research to explain the changes in scientific activities and environmental awareness in Antarctica today.
- Volume
-
pbk. ISBN 9780870815515
Description
A mixture throughout of diary entries from 1957 and current commentaries. The narrative about the science and logistics is interesting but the real heart of the book is the battle between the scientists and Captain Finn Ronne of the US Navy. Captain Ronne, who wrote his own version of the IGY expedition at Ellsworth Station, appears to have been a completely arbitrary martinet, a self-serving dictator and political string-puller, and a bad-tempered paranoid and coward. He repeatedly put the expedition in danger by his refusal to provide equipment. He censored much of the communication in and out. He insisted that the scientists share dishwashing and other duties even when they were barely able to complete their scientific assignments. He evidently believed that the Navy support team of 30 or so men had more important things to do than assist the scientists, even though the sole purpose of the whole expedition was scientific. The sad tale of how he killed two emperor penguins 'in the most brutal way imaginable' is enough to turn one's stomach. There are parallels, as Behrendt notes, with Captain Queeg of the Caine Mutiny.
Unfortunately in the non-fictional world of the Navy, Ronne's outrageous behaviour, although known to his superiors, apparently went unpunished.
by "Nielsen BookData"
