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98-545: The moraine was mapped and named by the Northern Party of the British Terra Nova Expedition (1910–13), in association with Hells Gate. On 25 January 1913 The Terra Nova expedition established an emergency depot at the moraine consisting of a sled loaded with supplies and equipment. Although the sled and its contents were removed in 1994 in order to stabilise their deteriorating condition,

196-489: A blizzard struck, forcing the men to camp until 9 December, and to break into rations intended for the Glacier journey. When the blizzard lifted, the remaining ponies were shot as planned, and their meat deposited as food for the return parties. On 11 December, Meares and Dimitri turned back with the dogs, carrying a message back to base that "things were not as rosy as they might be, but we keep our spirits up and say

294-434: A desperate struggle to get the news through first. I wonder if we can do it." On 18 January they discovered Amundsen's tent, some supplies, a letter to King Haakon VII of Norway (which Amundsen politely asked Scott to deliver), and a note stating that Amundsen had arrived there with four companions on 14 December 1911. After confirming their position and planting their flag, Scott's party turned homewards. During

392-493: A first exploration of the area by the Discovery Expedition in 1901–1904, Robert Falcon Scott made a significant study of the shelf and its surroundings from his expedition's base on Ross Island . By measurement of calved ice bergs and their buoyancy, he estimated the ice sheet to be on average 274 meters thick; the undisturbed morphology of the ice sheet and its inverted temperature profile led him to conclude it

490-494: A government grant. The balance was raised by public subscription and loans. The expedition was further assisted by the free supply of a range of provisions and equipment from sympathetic commercial firms. The fund-raising task was largely carried out by Scott, and was a considerable drain on his time and energy, continuing in South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand after Terra Nova had sailed from British waters. By far

588-628: A hand injury was failing to heal, he was badly frostbitten, and he is thought to have injured his head after several falls on the ice. "He is absolutely changed from his normal self-reliant self", wrote Scott. Near the bottom of the glacier Evans collapsed, and died on 17 February. On the Barrier stage of the homeward march, Scott reached the 82° 30' S meeting point for the dog teams, three days ahead of schedule, noting in his diary for 27 February 1912: "We are naturally always discussing possibility of meeting dogs, where and when, etc. It

686-494: A party consisting of Wilson, Bowers and Cherry-Garrard set out on 27 June 1911. Travelling during the Antarctic winter had not been previously tried; Scott wrote that it was "a bold venture, but the right men have gone to attempt it." Cherry-Garrard later described the horrors of the 19 days it took to travel the 60 miles (97 km) to Cape Crozier. Gear, clothes, and sleeping bags were constantly iced up; on 5 July,

784-609: A perilous journey which included a crossing of the difficult Drygalski Ice Tongue . Geological and other specimens collected by the Northern Party were retrieved from Cape Adare and Evans Cove by Terra Nova in January 1913. The objective of this journey was geological exploration of the coastal area west of McMurdo Sound, in a region between the McMurdo Dry Valleys and the Koettlitz Glacier . This work

882-411: A state of hurry bordering on panic", according to Cherry-Garrard. Progress was slower than expected, and the ponies' performance was adversely affected because Oates was opposed to using Norwegian snowshoes and had left them behind at Cape Evans. On 4 February, the party established Corner Camp, 40 miles (64 km) from Hut Point, when a blizzard held them up for three days. A few days later, after

980-482: A venture described by Campbell, who was to lead it, as " the thing of the whole expedition", and Victoria Land . Terra Nova sailed from Cardiff on 15 June 1910. Scott, detained by expedition business, sailed later on a faster passenger liner and joined the ship in South Africa. In Melbourne he left Terra Nova to continue fund-raising while the ship proceeded to New Zealand. Waiting for Scott in Melbourne

1078-577: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Terra Nova Expedition The Terra Nova Expedition , officially the British Antarctic Expedition , was an expedition to Antarctica which took place between 1910 and 1913. Led by Captain Robert Falcon Scott , the expedition had various scientific and geographical objectives. Scott wished to continue the scientific work that he had begun when leading

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1176-406: Is a critical position. We may find ourselves in safety at the next depot, but there is a horrid element of doubt." The party then met with three, ultimately critical, difficulties: the non-appearance of the dog teams, an unexpected large drop in temperature and a shortage of fuel in the depots. The low temperatures caused poor surfaces which Scott likened to "pulling over desert sand"; he described

1274-432: Is the largest ice shelf of Antarctica (as of 2013 , an area of roughly 500,809 square kilometres (193,363 sq mi) and about 800 kilometres (500 mi) across: about the size of France). It is several hundred metres thick. The nearly vertical ice front to the open sea is more than 600 kilometres (370 mi) long, and between 15 and 50 metres (50 and 160 ft) high above the water surface. Ninety percent of

1372-546: The Discovery Expedition from 1901 to 1904, and wanted to be the first to reach the geographic South Pole . He and four companions attained the pole on 17 January 1912, where they found that a Norwegian team led by Roald Amundsen had preceded them by 34 days. Scott's party of five died on the return journey from the pole; some of their bodies, journals, and photographs were found by a search party eight months later. The expedition, named after its supply ship ,

1470-715: The Australasian Antarctic Expedition under Douglas Mawson was to leave in 1911, but would be working in a different sector of the continent; and Roald Amundsen , a potential rival from Norway, had also announced plans for an Arctic voyage. 65 men (including replacements) formed the shore and ship's parties of the Terra Nova Expedition. They were chosen from 8,000 applicants, and included seven Discovery veterans together with five who had been with Shackleton on his 1907–1909 expedition. Lieutenant Edward Evans , who had been

1568-460: The Bay of Whales , an inlet in the Barrier. Amundsen was courteous and hospitable, willing for Campbell to camp nearby and offering him help with his dogs. Campbell politely declined, and returned with his party to Cape Evans to report this development. Scott received the news on 22 February, during the first depot-laying expedition. According to Cherry-Garrard, the first reaction of Scott and his party

1666-911: The Great Ice Barrier . In 1909, Scott received news that Ernest Shackleton 's Nimrod expedition had narrowly failed to reach the Pole. Starting from a base close to Scott's Discovery anchorage in McMurdo Sound , Shackleton had crossed the Great Ice Barrier, discovered the Beardmore Glacier route to the Polar Plateau , and had struck out for the Pole. He had been forced to turn for home at 88° 23' S, less than 100  geographical miles (112 miles (180 km)) from his objective. Scott had claimed

1764-504: The Royal Indian Marine , and Lawrence Oates ("Titus"), an Army captain from the 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons . Oates, independently wealthy, volunteered £1,000 (equivalent to about £129,000 in 2023) and his services to the expedition. The Admiralty also provided a largely naval lower deck, including the Antarctic veterans Edgar Evans (no relation to Edward Evans), Tom Crean and William Lashly . Other seamen in

1862-601: The cliffs of Dover ". Ross, who in 1831 had located the North Magnetic Pole , spent the next two years vainly searching for a sea passage to the South Pole; later, his name was given to the ice shelf and the sea surrounding it. Two volcanoes in the region were named by Ross for his vessels. For later Antarctic explorers seeking to reach the South Pole, the Ross Ice Shelf became a starting area. In

1960-523: The 1911 winter in their hut. Their exploration plans for the summer of 1911–1912 could not be fully carried out, partly because of the condition of the sea ice and also because they were unable to discover a route into the interior. Terra Nova returned from New Zealand on 4 January 1912, and transferred the party to the vicinity of Evans Cove , a location approximately 250 miles (400 km) south of Cape Adare and 200 miles (320 km) northwest of Cape Evans. They were to be picked up on 18 February after

2058-410: The Barrier, enabling the men to preserve their strength for the later Glacier and Plateau stages. In practice, the motor sledges proved only briefly useful, and the ponies' performance was affected by their age and poor condition. As to dogs, while Scott's experiences on Discovery had made him dubious of their reliability, his writings show that he recognised their effectiveness in the right hands. As

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2156-592: The Koettlitz Glacier. After further work there, they started homewards on 2 March, taking a southerly route to Hut Point, where they arrived on 14 March. This was a continuation of the work carried out in the earlier journey, this time concentrating on Granite Harbour region approximately 50 miles (80 km) north of Butter Point. Taylor's companions this time were Debenham, Gran and Forde. The main journey began on 14 November and involved difficult travel over sea ice to Granite Harbour, which

2254-477: The McMurdo Sound area as his own "field of work", and Shackleton's use of the area as a base was in breach of an undertaking he gave Scott. This soured relations between the two explorers, and increased Scott's determination to surpass Shackleton's achievements. As he made his preparations for a further expedition, Scott was aware of other impending polar ventures. A Japanese expedition was being planned;

2352-484: The Ross Ice Shelf Project was launched with a plan of drilling into the shelf to sample the biomass in the area and make other determinations about the shelf and its relationship to the sea floor. This is believed to be the first oceanographic ice shelf borehole. The project included surface glaciological observations as well as drilling, and the glaciological portion started during the planning phase of

2450-526: The Squadron, Terra Nova became exempt from Board of Trade regulations which might otherwise have deemed her unfit to sail. Scott defined the objects of the expedition in his initial public appeal: "The main objective of this expedition is to reach the South Pole, and to secure for the British Empire the honour of this achievement." There were other objectives, both scientific and geographical;

2548-501: The analyses have resulted in some interesting theories being posited and publicized. One such opinion, given in 2006 based on a geological survey, suggested that the ice shelf had collapsed previously, perhaps suddenly, which could well happen again. A science team from New Zealand installed a camp in the centre of the shelf in late 2017. The expedition was led by glaciologist Christina Hulbe and brought together oceanographers, glaciologists, biologists and sedimentologists to examine

2646-419: The completion of further geological work, but due to heavy pack ice, the ship was unable to reach them. The group, with meagre rations which they had to supplement by fish and seal meat, were forced to spend the winter months of 1912 in a snow cave which they excavated on Inexpressible Island . Here they suffered severe privations— frostbite , dysentery and hunger, with extreme winds and low temperatures, and

2744-525: The composition of the polar party: five men (Scott, Wilson, Oates, Bowers and Edgar Evans) would go forward while Lieutenant Evans, Lashly and Crean would return to Cape Evans. The decision to take five men forward involved recalculations of weights and rations, since everything had been based on four-men teams. The polar group continued towards the Pole, passing Shackleton's Farthest South (88° 23' S) on 9 January. Seven days later, about 15 miles (25 km) from their goal, Amundsen's black flag

2842-579: The culpability of certain expedition members, remains controversial. After RRS Discovery 's return from the Antarctic in 1904, Captain Robert Falcon Scott eventually resumed his naval career but continued to nurse ambitions of returning south, with the conquest of the South Pole as his specific target. The Discovery Expedition had made a significant contribution to Antarctic scientific and geographical knowledge, but in terms of penetration southward had reached only 82° 17' and had not traversed

2940-410: The descent to the Barrier. On 7 February, they began their descent and had serious difficulty locating a depot. In a brief spell of good weather, Scott ordered a half-day's rest, allowing Wilson to "geologise"; 30 pounds (14 kg) of fossil-bearing samples were added to the sledges. These plant fossils were later used to support the theory of continental drift . Evans's health was deteriorating;

3038-449: The discomfort of a blubber stove in confined quarters. On 17 April 1912 a party under Atkinson, in command at Cape Evans during the absence of the polar party, went to relieve Campbell's party but were beaten back by the weather. The Northern Party survived the winter in their icy chamber, and set out for the base camp on 30 September 1912. Despite their physical weakness, the whole party managed to reach Cape Evans on 7 November , after

Hells Gate Moraine - Misplaced Pages Continue

3136-401: The dog teams set off again from the base camp to replenish depots and meet the polar party between latitude 82 and 82.30 on 1 March to assist the party home. The motor party, consisting of Lieutenant Evans, Day, Lashly, and Hooper, started from Cape Evans on 24 October, with two motor sledges, their objective being to haul loads to latitude 80° 30' S and wait there for

3234-501: The dog teams: "We very nearly came through, and it's a pity to have missed it, but lately I have felt that we have overshot our mark. No-one is to blame and I hope no attempt will be made to suggest that we had lacked support." On the same day, Oates, who "now with hands as well as feet pretty well useless", voluntarily left the tent and walked to his death. Scott wrote that Oates' last words were, "I am just going outside and may be some time". Ross Ice Shelf The Ross Ice Shelf

3332-420: The dogs required regular attention. Scott spent much time calculating sledging rations and weights for the forthcoming polar march. The routine included regular lectures on a wide range of subjects: Ponting on Japan, Wilson on sketching, Oates on horse management and geologist Debenham on volcanoes. To ensure that physical fitness was maintained there were frequent games of football in the half-light outside

3430-457: The dogs, after risking his own life to rescue a dog-team that had fallen into a crevasse. When the slower pony party arrived, one of the animals was in very poor condition and died shortly afterwards. Later, as the surviving ponies were crossing the sea ice near Hut Point, the ice broke up. Despite a determined rescue attempt, three more ponies died. Of the eight ponies that had begun the depot-laying journey, only two returned home. On 23 April,

3528-427: The drilling. The drilling portion of the project was to have begun during 1974, but the actual drilling was delayed until 1976. Finally, in 1977, the scientists were able to drill successfully through the ice, making a hole that could be sampled every few days for three weeks. The team was able to map the sea floor, study the tides, and assess the fish and various other forms of life in the waters. The team also examined

3626-518: The eastern point of the island, before proceeding to McMurdo Sound to its west, where both Discovery and Nimrod had previously landed. After Scott had considered various possible wintering spots, he chose a cape remembered from the Discovery days as the "Skuary", about 15 miles (24 km) north of Scott's 1902 base at Hut Point . Scott hoped that this location, which he renamed Cape Evans after his second-in-command, would be free of ice in

3724-624: The expedition developed, he became increasingly impressed with their capabilities. Unlike the Discovery Expedition, where fundraising was handled jointly by the Royal Society and the Royal Geographical Society (RGS), the Terra Nova Expedition was organised as a private venture without significant institutional support. Scott estimated the total cost at £40,000, half of which was eventually met by

3822-695: The first days of December the ship was struck by a heavy storm; at one point, with the ship taking heavy seas and the pumps having failed, the crew had to bail her out with buckets. The storm resulted in the loss of two ponies, a dog, 10 long tons (10,000 kg) of coal and 65 imperial gallons (300 L) of petrol. On 10 December, Terra Nova met the southern pack ice and was halted, remaining for twenty days before breaking clear and continuing southward. The delay, which Scott attributed to "sheer bad luck", had consumed 6.1 long tons (6,200 kg) of coal. Arriving off Ross Island on 4 January 1911, Terra Nova scouted for possible landing sites around Cape Crozier at

3920-625: The first humans to cross the Ice Shelf during its failed attempt to reach the South Pole . Both Roald Amundsen and Scott crossed the shelf to reach the Pole in 1911. Amundsen wrote: "Along its outer edge the Barrier shows an even, flat surface; but here, inside the bay, the conditions were entirely different. Even from the deck of the Fram we were able to observe great disturbances of the surface in every direction; huge ridges with hollows between them extended on all sides. The greatest elevation lay to

4018-691: The floating ice, however, is below the water surface. Most of the Ross Ice Shelf is in the Ross Dependency claimed by New Zealand. It floats in, and covers, a large southern portion of the Ross Sea and the entire Roosevelt Island located in the east of the Ross Sea. The ice shelf is named after Sir James Clark Ross , who discovered it on 28 January 1841. It was originally called "The Barrier", with various adjectives including " Great Ice Barrier ", as it prevented sailing further south. Ross mapped

Hells Gate Moraine - Misplaced Pages Continue

4116-583: The foot of the Beardmore Glacier. Scott believed that ponies had served Shackleton well, and he thought he could resolve the motor traction problem by developing a tracked snow "motor" (the forerunner of the Snowcat and of the tank ). Scott always intended to rely on man-hauling for the Polar Plateau , believing it impossible to ascend the Beardmore Glacier with motors or with animals. The motors and animals would be used to haul loads only across

4214-565: The glaciers and others the valleys on the ice shelf. From 1967 to 1972 the Scott Polar Research Institute reported extensive observations using radio echo sounding . The technique allowed measurements to be taken from the air; allowing a criss cross track of 35,000 km to be covered; compared with a 3,000 km track from previous seismic sounding on the ground. More detailed surveys were executed between 1973 and 1978. A significant scientific endeavor called

4312-511: The glaciers' surfaces. Once their ice shelves are removed, the glaciers increase in speed due to meltwater percolation and/or a reduction of braking forces, and they may begin to dump more ice into the ocean than they gather as snow in their catchments. Glacier ice speed increases are already observed in Peninsula areas where ice shelves disintegrated in prior years." The Ross Ice Shelf is one of many such shelves. It reaches into Antarctica from

4410-557: The grounding line region of the Kamb Ice Stream . The hot water drill borehole at this site penetrated through over 500 m of snow and ice to an ocean cavity only 30 m deep at this location. As well as sampling the ocean and sediment, it was the first deployment beneath the Ross Ice Shelf of the Remotely operated underwater vehicle Icefin developed at Georgia Tech , a vehicle designed around parameters suitable for exploration of

4508-442: The help of tackles? Or a great and dangerous fissure, which we should not be able to cross without going a long way round? We naturally expected something of the sort. This mighty and terrible monster would, of course, offer resistance in some form or other," he wrote. "The mystic Barrier! All accounts without exception, from the days of Ross to the present time, had spoken of this remarkable natural formation with apprehensive awe. It

4606-410: The hut; Scott recorded that, "Atkinson is by far the best player, but Hooper, P.O. Evans and Crean are also quite good." The South Polar Times , which had been produced by Shackleton during the Discovery Expedition, was resurrected under Cherry-Garrard's editorship. On 6 June, a feast was arranged to mark Scott's 43rd birthday; a second celebration on 21 June marked Midwinter Day, the day that marks

4704-627: The ice front eastward to 160° W. In 1947, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names applied the name "Ross Shelf Ice" to this feature and published it in the original U.S. Antarctic Gazetteer. In January 1953, the name was changed to "Ross Ice Shelf"; that name was published in 1956. On 5 January 1841, the British Admiralty's Ross expedition in the Erebus and the Terror , three- masted ships with specially strengthened wooden hulls ,

4802-537: The ice when they were finally spotted from the ship on 18 February. Geological specimens from both Western Mountains expeditions were retrieved by Terra Nova in January ;1913. This journey was conceived by Wilson. He had suggested the need for it in the Zoology section of the Discovery Expedition's Scientific Reports, and was anxious to follow up this earlier research. The journey's scientific purpose

4900-422: The ice, ocean and sediment in the central shelf region. One of the key findings was that the ice in the region was re-freezing. This re-freezing and growth of an ice shelf is not uncommon but the Ross Ice Shelf situation appeared to be very variable as there was no evidence of long-term freezing. A recent study attribute this variability in-part to tidal mixing. A second New Zealand expedition in 2019 traveled to

4998-712: The journey went first to the Natural History Museum in South Kensington , and thereafter were the subject of a report from Cossar Stewart at the University of Edinburgh . The eggs failed to support Wilson's theories. Cherry-Garrard afterwards described this as the "worst journey in the world", and used this as the title of the book that he wrote about the expedition. Scott called the Winter Journey "a very wonderful performance", and

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5096-609: The largest single cost was the purchase of the ship Terra Nova , for £12,500. Terra Nova had been in Antarctica before, as part of the second Discovery relief operation. Scott wanted to sail her as a naval vessel under the White Ensign ; to enable this, he obtained membership of the Royal Yacht Squadron for £100. He was thus able to impose naval discipline on the expedition, and as a registered yacht of

5194-518: The liquid cavities of places like Europa . The same New Zealand team returned to another site along the Kamb coast in December 2021, this time drilling through an under-ice river that proved to be essentially oceanic. The team were able to melt through the ice to discover the 250 m deep river had formed a relatively narrow channel beneath the ice. They also recorded evidence of the tsunami generated by

5292-535: The luck must turn." The party began the ascent of the Beardmore, and on 20 December, reached the beginning of the polar plateau where they laid the Upper Glacier Depot. There was still no hint from Scott as to who would be in the final polar party. On 22 December, at latitude 85° 20' S, Scott sent back Atkinson, Cherry-Garrard, Wright and Keohane. Scott reminded Atkinson "to take

5390-498: The march had resumed, Scott sent the three weakest ponies home (two died en route). As the depot-laying party approached 80°, he became concerned that the remaining ponies would not make it back to base unless the party turned north immediately. Against the advice of Oates, who wanted to go forward, killing the ponies for meat as they collapsed, Scott decided to lay One Ton Depot at 79°29′S, more than 30 miles (48 km) short of its intended location. Scott returned to Safety Camp with

5488-474: The midpoint of the long polar night. After reporting Amundsen's arrival to Scott at Cape Evans, Campbell's Eastern party (Campbell, Priestley, Levick, George P. Abbott , Harry Dickason ) and Frank V. Browning became the "Northern Party". On 9 February 1911 they sailed northwards, arriving at Robertson Bay , near Cape Adare on 17 February , where they built a hut close to Norwegian explorer Carstens Borchgrevink 's old quarters. The Northern Party spent

5586-428: The motor sledges. Oates would be in charge of the ponies, but as he could not join the expedition until May 1910, Scott instructed Meares, who knew nothing of horses, to buy them—with unfortunate consequences for their quality and performance. A "polarised" motor car had been unsuccessfully tried in the Antarctic by Shackleton, on his 1907–1909 expedition, while his pioneering use of ponies had transported him as far as

5684-465: The navigating officer on Morning , the Discovery Expedition's relief ship in 1904, was appointed Scott's second-in-command. Evans had abandoned plans to mount his own expedition and transferred his financial backing to Scott. Among the other serving Royal Navy personnel released by the Admiralty were Lieutenant Harry Pennell , who would serve as navigator and take command of Terra Nova once

5782-431: The next three weeks they made good progress, Scott's diary recording several "excellent marches". Nevertheless, Scott began to worry about the physical condition of his party, particularly of Edgar Evans, who was suffering from severe frostbite and was, Scott records, "a good deal run down." The condition of Oates's feet became an increasing anxiety as the group approached the summit of the Beardmore Glacier and prepared for

5880-448: The north, and covers an area of about 520,000 km (200,000 sq mi), nearly the size of France. The ice mass is about 800 km (500 mi) wide and 970 km (600 mi) long. In some places, namely its southern areas, the ice shelf can be almost 750 m (2,450 ft) thick. The Ross Ice Shelf pushes out into the sea at between 1.5 and 3 m (5 and 10 ft) a day. Other glaciers gradually add bulk to it. At

5978-411: The oceanographic and geological conditions as well as the temperature of the ice. They estimated that the base of the shelf was −2.16 °C (27.3 °F). They also made other calculations about the fluctuations of the temperatures. The results of these various projects were published in a series of reports in the 2 February 1979 issue of Science . During the 1980s, a network of weather stations

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6076-484: The option of exploring Victoria Land to the north-west if King Edward VII Land proved inaccessible. On 26 January, Campbell's party left in the ship and headed east. After several failed attempts to land his party on the King Edward VII Land shore, Campbell exercised his option to sail to Victoria Land. On its return westward along the Barrier edge, Terra Nova encountered Amundsen's expedition camped in

6174-427: The others. By 1 November, both motor sledges had failed after little more than 50 miles (80 km) of travel, so the party man-hauled 740 pounds (336 kg) of supplies for the remaining 150 miles (240 km) reaching their assigned latitude two weeks later. Scott's main party, which had left Cape Evans on 1 November with the dogs and ponies, caught up with them on 21 November. Scott's initial plan

6272-777: The party; on the Discovery Expedition he had accompanied Scott on the Farthest South march to 80°S. As well as being a qualified medical doctor and a distinguished research zoologist, he was also a talented illustrator. Wilson's scientific team—which Scott's biographer David Crane considered "as impressive a group of scientists as had ever been on a polar expedition" —included some who would enjoy later careers of distinction: meteorologist George Simpson ; Canadian physicist Charles Wright ; and geologists Frank Debenham and Raymond Priestley . Senior geologist T. Griffith Taylor , biologists Edward W. Nelson and Denis G. Lillie , and assistant zoologist Apsley Cherry-Garrard completed

6370-515: The penguin colony and collect several emperor penguin eggs. Subsequently, their igloo shelter was almost destroyed in a blizzard with winds of force 11 on the Beaufort scale . The storm also carried away the tent upon which their survival would depend during their return journey, but fortunately this was recovered half a mile away. The group set out on the return journey to Cape Evans, arriving there on 1 August. The three eggs that survived

6468-407: The ponies would be shot for food. Thereafter, 12 men in three groups would ascend the glacier and begin the crossing of the polar plateau, using man-hauling. Only one of these groups would carry on to the pole; the supporting groups would be sent back at specified latitudes. The composition of the final polar group would be decided by Scott during the journey. For the return journey, Scott ordered that

6566-400: The ponies" as they transferred stores and materials from ship to shore. A prefabricated accommodation hut measuring 50 by 25 feet (15.2 m × 7.6 m) was erected and made habitable by 18 January. Scott's programme included a plan to explore and carry out scientific work in King Edward VII Land, to the east of the Barrier. A party under Campbell was organised for this purpose, with

6664-473: The same time, the freezing of seawater below the ice mass increases the thickness of the ice from 40 to 50 cm (16 to 20 in) . Sometimes, fissures and cracks may cause part of the shelf to break off; the largest known is about 31,000 km (12,000 sq mi), that is, slightly larger than Belgium. Iceberg B-15 , the world's largest recorded iceberg , was calved from the Ross Ice Shelf during March 2000. Scientists have long been intrigued by

6762-529: The scientific work was considered by Wilson as the main work of the expedition: "No one can say that it will have only been a Pole-hunt ... We want the scientific work to make the bagging of the Pole merely an item in the results." He hoped to continue investigations, begun during the Discovery Expedition, of the emperor penguin colony at Cape Crozier and to fulfil a programme of geological, magnetic and meteorology studies on an "unprecedented" scale. There were further plans to explore King Edward VII Land,

6860-414: The shelf and its composition. Many scientific teams researching the Antarctic have made camps on or adjacent to the Ross Ice Shelf. This includes McMurdo Station , built next to the Ross Ice Shelf on volcanic rock. One major effort was a series of studies conducted in 1957 and 1958, which were continued during the 1960–61 season. The efforts involved an international team of scientists. Some parties explored

6958-582: The shelf is "only a few degrees too cool in summer presently to undergo the same kind of retreat process. The Ross Ice Shelf is the main outlet for several major glaciers draining the West Antarctic Ice Sheet , which contains the equivalent of 5 m of sea level rise in its above-sea-level ice." The report added that observations of "iceberg calving " on the Ross Ice Shelf are, in their opinion, unrelated to its stability. Scientific exploration continues to uncover interesting information and

7056-408: The shore parties had landed; and two Surgeon-Lieutenants, George Murray Levick and Edward L. Atkinson . Ex-Royal Navy officer Victor Campbell , known as "The Wicked Mate", was one of the few who had skills in skiing , and was chosen to lead the party that would explore King Edward VII Land . Two non-Royal Navy officers were appointed: Henry Robertson Bowers ("Birdie"), who was a lieutenant in

7154-400: The shore party included Patrick Keohane , Robert Forde , Thomas Clissold (cook) and Frederick Hooper (domestic steward). Dimitri Gerov  [ ru ] (dog driver), a Russian, and Anton Omelchenko  [ ru ] (groom), a Ukrainian, also landed. To head his scientific programme, Scott appointed Edward Wilson as chief scientist. Wilson was Scott's closest confidant among

7252-399: The short Antarctic summer, enabling the ship to come and go. As the seas to the south froze over, the expedition would have ready access over the ice to Hut Point and the Barrier. At Cape Evans the shore parties disembarked, with the ponies, dogs, the three motorised sledges (one of which was lost during unloading), and the bulk of the party's stores. Scott was "astonished at the strength of

7350-675: The site has been designated a Historic Site or Monument (HSM 68), following a proposal by New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting . [REDACTED]  This article incorporates public domain material from "Hells Gate Moraine" . Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey . 74°52′S 163°48′E  /  74.867°S 163.800°E  / -74.867; 163.800 This Scott Coast location article

7448-562: The south in the form of a lofty, arched ridge, which we took to be about 500 feet [150 m] high on the horizon. But it might be assumed that this ridge continued to rise beyond the range of vision". The next day, the party made its first steps on the Barrier. "After half an hour's march we were already at the first important point—the connection between the sea-ice and the Barrier. This connection had always haunted our brains. What would it be like? A high, perpendicular face of ice, up which we should have to haul our things laboriously with

7546-550: The sun set for the duration of the winter months, and the party settled into the Cape Evans hut. Under Scott's naval regime the hut was divided by a wall made of packing cases, so that officers and men lived largely separate existences, scientists being deemed "officers" for this purpose. Everybody was kept busy; scientific work continued, observations and measurements were taken, equipment was overhauled and adapted for future journeys. The surviving ponies needed daily exercise, and

7644-531: The surface as "coated with a thin layer of woolly crystals, formed by radiation no doubt. These are too firmly fixed to be removed by the wind and cause impossible friction on the [sledge] runners." The low temperatures were accompanied by an absence of wind, something Scott had expected to assist them on their northern journey. The party were further slowed down by the frostbite in Oates' left foot. Daily marches were now down to less than five miles (8 km), which

7742-403: The team. Cherry-Garrard had no scientific training, but was a protégé of Wilson's. He had, like Oates, contributed £1,000 to funds. After first being turned down by Scott, he allowed his contribution to stand, which impressed Scott sufficiently for him to reverse his decision. Crane describes Cherry-Garrard as "the future interpreter, historian and conscience of the expedition." Herbert Ponting

7840-423: The temperature fell below −77 °F (−61 °C)—"109 degrees of frost—as cold as anyone would want to endure in darkness and iced up clothes", wrote Cherry-Garrard. Often the daily distance travelled was little more than a single mile. After reaching Cape Crozier on 15 July, the party built an igloo from snow blocks, stone, and a sheet of canvas they had brought for the roof. They were then able to visit

7938-455: The two dog-teams south in the event of Meares having to return home, as seemed likely" to assist the polar party on its return journey the following March. The remaining eight men continued south, in better conditions which enabled them to make up some of the time lost on the Barrier. By 30 December, they had "caught up" with Shackleton's 1908–1909 timetable. On 3 January 1912, at latitude 87° 32' S, Scott made his decision on

8036-818: Was a telegram from Amundsen, informing Scott that the Norwegian was "proceeding south"; the telegram was the first indication to Scott that he was in a race. When asked by the press for a reaction, Scott replied that his plans would not change and that he would not sacrifice the expedition's scientific goals to win the race to the Pole. In his diary he wrote that Amundsen had a fair chance of success, and perhaps deserved his luck if he got through. Scott rejoined Terra Nova in New Zealand, where additional supplies were taken aboard, including 34 dogs, 19 Siberian ponies and three motorised sledges. The ship, heavily overloaded, finally left Port Chalmers on 29 November. During

8134-508: Was a private venture financed by public contributions and a government grant. It had further backing from the Admiralty , which released experienced seamen to the expedition, and from the Royal Geographical Society . The expedition's team of scientists carried out a comprehensive scientific programme, while other parties explored Victoria Land and the Western Mountains . An attempted landing and exploration of King Edward VII Land

8232-450: Was an urge to rush over to the Bay of Whales and "have it out" with Amundsen. Scott recorded the event calmly in his journal. "One thing only fixes itself in my mind. The proper, as well as the wiser, course is for us to proceed exactly as though this had not happened. To go forward and do our best for the honour of our country without fear or panic." The aim of the first season's depot-laying

8330-427: Was as though one could always read between the lines the same sentence: 'Hush, be quiet! the mystic Barrier!' "One, two, three, and a little jump, and the Barrier was surmounted!" Ice shelves are thick plates of ice, formed continuously by glaciers, that float atop an ocean. The shelves act as "brakes" for the glaciers. These shelves serve another important purpose—"they moderate the amount of melting that occurs on

8428-499: Was floating on water; and measurements in 1902–1903 showed it had advanced 555 meters northwards in 13.5 months. The findings were presented at a lecture entitled "Universitas Antarctica!" given 7 June 1911 and were published in the account of Scott's second expedition (the Terra Nova Expedition of 1910–1913). Ernest Shackleton 's southern party (Shackleton, Adams, Marshal, Wild) of the 1908 Nimrod expedition were

8526-683: Was going through the pack ice of the Pacific near Antarctica in an attempt to determine the position of the South Magnetic Pole. Four days later, they found their way into open water and were hoping that they would have a clear passage to their destination. But on 11 January, the men were faced with an enormous mass of ice. Sir James Clark Ross , the expedition's commander, remarked: "It was an obstruction of such character as to leave no doubt upon my mind as to our future proceedings, for we might with equal chance of success try to sail through

8624-416: Was highly satisfied with the experiments in rations and equipment: "We are as near perfection as experience can direct." On 13 September 1911, Scott revealed his plans for the South Pole march. Sixteen men would set out, using the two remaining motor sledges, ponies and dogs for the Barrier stage of the journey, which would bring them to the Beardmore Glacier . At this point the dogs would return to base and

8722-401: Was installed to record temperatures on the shelf and throughout the more remote parts of the continent. University of Colorado's National Snow and Ice Data Center has been studying ice shelves and, in 2002, announced that, based on several breakups of ice shelves, including Larsen B, has begun to reassess their stability. Their scientists stated that the temperature of the warmest portion of

8820-426: Was insufficient given the lack of oil. By March 10, it became evident the dog teams were not coming: "The dogs which would have been our salvation have evidently failed. Meares [the dog-driver] had a bad trip home I suppose." In a farewell letter to Sir Edgar Speyer , dated March 16, Scott wondered whether he had overshot the meeting point and fought the growing suspicion that he had in fact been abandoned by

8918-561: Was reached on 26 November. Headquarters were established at a site christened Geology Point, and a stone hut was built. During the following weeks, exploration and surveying work took place on the Mackay Glacier, and a range of features to the north of the glacier were identified and named. The party was due to be picked up by Terra Nova on 15 January 1912, but the ship could not reach them. The party waited until 5 February before trekking southward, and were rescued from

9016-501: Was spotted and the party knew that they had been forestalled. They reached the Pole the next day, 17 January: "The Pole. Yes, but under very different circumstances from those expected ... Great God! This is an awful place and terrible enough for us to have laboured to it without the reward of priority. Well, it is something to have got here." Scott still hoped to race Amundsen to the telegraph cablehead in Australia: "Now for

9114-477: Was that the dogs would return to base at this stage. Because of slower than expected progress, he decided to take the dogs on further. Day and Hooper were dispatched to Cape Evans with a message to this effect for Simpson, who had been left in charge there. On 4 December, the expedition had reached the Gateway, the name given by Shackleton to the route from the Barrier on to the Beardmore Glacier. At this point

9212-440: Was the expedition's photographer, whose pictures would leave a vivid visual record. On the advice of explorer Fridtjof Nansen , Scott recruited a young Norwegian ski expert, Tryggve Gran . Scott had decided on a mixed transport strategy, relying on contributions from dogs, motor sledges and ponies. He appointed Cecil Meares to take charge of the dog teams and recruited Shackleton's former motor specialist, Bernard Day, to run

9310-418: Was to place a series of depots on the Barrier from its edge—Safety Camp—down to 80°S, for use on the polar journey which would begin the following spring. The final depot would be the largest, and would be known as One Ton Depot. The work was to be carried out by 12 men, the eight fittest ponies, and two dog teams; ice conditions prevented the use of the motor sledges. The journey started on 27 January "in

9408-425: Was to secure emperor penguin eggs from the rookery near Cape Crozier at an early embryo stage, so that "particular points in the development of the bird could be worked out". This required a trip in the depths of winter to obtain eggs in an appropriately early stage of incubation. A secondary purpose was to experiment with food rations and equipment in advance of the coming summer's polar journey. Scott approved, and

9506-588: Was undertaken by a party consisting of Taylor, Debenham, Wright and Edgar Evans. They landed from Terra Nova on 26 January at Butter Point , opposite Cape Evans on the Victoria Land shore. On 30 January, the party established its main depot in the Ferrar Glacier region, and then conducted explorations and survey work in the Dry Valley and Taylor Glacier areas before moving southwards to

9604-597: Was unsuccessful. A journey to Cape Crozier in June and July 1911 was the first extended sledging journey in the depths of the Antarctic winter. For many years after his death, Scott's status as tragic hero was unchallenged and few questions were asked about the causes of the disaster which overcame his polar party. In the final quarter of the 20th century the expedition came under closer scrutiny, and more critical views were expressed about its organization and management. The degree of Scott's personal culpability and, more recently,

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