The Antarctic Traverse Reaches a Full Stop

Published: 15.01.2008

travers-ing (Ingressbilde)

The Norwegian - US scientific traverse through Antarctica has been stopped by technical problems. The expedition is at a standstill 350 kilometres from the South Pole, having covered 2300 kilometres.

For the better part of the trip across the Antarctic Plateau, the expedition has been struggling with mechanical problems. Now two of the four transport vehicles are permanently out of order and must be towed to reach any further. With only two operative vehicles left, the expedition needs assistance from the outside to get all the equipment and scientific samples transported to the South Pole. The Antarctic traverse was originally scheduled to reach the South Pole point on January 16.

Expedition manager Jan-Gunnar Winther from the Norwegian Polar Institute is very disappointed that the expedition was stopped by mechanical failure, this close to its destination. Nevertheless, he is pleased that the expedition has completed all the scientific work it had planned.

"Thus we have attained our goals, even if we will not reach the South Pole the way we wanted," he said in a press release from the Norwegian Polar Institute.

Beltevogn i trøbbel.Foto: NRK
Beltevogn i trøbbel.Unendurable strain
The major problems were caused by differential and intermediate gear boxes. A total of nine such units have been replaced along the way and the expedition has been able to carry on thanks to skilled mechanics, airborne supplies of spare parts and tremendous efforts made by the expedition team. But now the tenth and eleventh unit have stopped working, and it is impossible to get any more spare parts from the supplier in Sweden.

Apparently the technical problems have to do with drive shafts and transfer elements being inadequately dimensioned for the strain these vehicles were subjected to.

Despite extensive pre-testing of the equipment, including a 1400 kilometre test drive last season, these problems were not uncovered until this year's expedition was far into the Antarctic Plateau.

Traversteamet samlet på Troll: F.v. Einar Johansen, Atsu Muto, Stein Tronstad, Glen Liston, Stian Solbø, John Guldahl, Jan-Gunnar Winther, Tom Neumann, Mary Albert, Kjetil Bakkland, Helgard Anschütz, Lou Albershardt, og Karsten MüllerNoneTraversteamet samlet på Troll: F.v. Einar Johansen, Atsu Muto, Stein Tronstad, Glen Liston, Stian Solbø, John Guldahl, Jan-Gunnar Winther, Tom Neumann, Mary Albert, Kjetil Bakkland, Helgard Anschütz, Lou Albershardt, og Karsten MüllerGood spirits
The expedition has requested assistance from the US Amundsen-Scott base on the South Pole.

"As the American National Science Foundation co-funds the expedition, we hope to solve these problems through international cooperation," Winther said.

"The most important thing now is that all the expedition members are in good health and in good spirits. Furthermore, we will do what we can to unload our five tons of ice core samples and get started on the analysis as soon as possible. We will also transport the equipment to the South Pole to prepare for next season, despite these technical misfortunes."

Back to the South Pole
Next season (2008-2009), the traverse is scheduled to return from the South Pole to the Norwegian Troll Station in Queen Maud Land.

Before that, the entire fleet of vehicles needs a complete overhaul at the South Pole station, and several modifications must be made to avoid these technical problems on their way back.

The expedition team consists of 12 Norwegian and American scientists and technicians. They have been underway from the Norwegian research station Troll in Queen Maud Land to the South Pole with four crawlers, sleds and heavy scientific equipment. The 12 members of the expedition set out with the goal of investigating changes in the ice shelves in Queen Maud Land in order to understand the role the Antarctic on global climate. They have especially investigated the effect of changes in the ice shelves of Antarctica on the global sea level. The traverse is one of the biggest Norwegian projects of the International Polar Year 2007-2008. The expedition is headed by Jan Gunnar Winther, director of the Norwegian Polar Institute.

Read more about the Traverse here.

Last updated: 23.09.2008

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