Deep Freeze: The United States, the International Geophysical Year, and the Origins of Antarctica's Age of Science

Terms and Abbreviations

Antarctic Convergence The region where the colder, denser polar waters flowing north meet and dip below the warmer seas flowing south. A marked surface temperature change occurs. ATCM Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting. ATCP Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties. ATS Antarctic Treaty System. aurora australis Colorful, moving displays of light in the Antarctic night sky.Atomic particles from the sun, channeled by the earth’s magnetic field, collide with oxygen and nitrogen molecules in the upper atmosphere, releasing visible energy. T E R M S A N D xvii A B B R E V I A T I O N S xviii P R E F A C E A N D A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S austral Southern; pertaining to the Southern Hemisphere. BAS British Antarctic Survey, formerly Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS). beset Situation of a ship surrounded by and stuck in the ice. Big Eye Insomnia caused by the twenty-four-hour sunlight of austral summer. Also occurs in the continuous dark of winter. calving The breaking off of a piece of ice from an ice shelf or glacier to form an iceberg. Tabular (flat-topped) bergs born of ice shelves are unique to the Antarctic. CCAMLR Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources . Clements hut A box-shaped modular building constructed by connecting identical insulated 4' x 8' plywood panels. Used for IGY housing. CO Commanding officer. COMNAP Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs, an organization of the world’s NSFs. CPO, CWO Chief petty officer, chief warrant officer; U.S. Navy enlisted leaders. CRAMRA Convention on the Regulation of Antarctic Mineral Resource Activities . Never ratified, it was superseded by the Environmental Protocol. crevasse A steep fissure in a glacier that can vary greatly in all dimensions, sometimes dangerously hidden by a wind-formed snow bridge. CSAGI Comité Spécial de l’Année Géophysique Internationale, the special committee created by ICSU to plan and implement the IGY. Deep Freeze, Operation The code name given U.S. Naval Support Force, Antarctica, Task Force 43. firn Old snow that has become dense but retains tiny pockets of air; a transitional substance between snow and ice. floe A relatively flat piece of floating sea ice. The U.S. Navy Hydrographic Office, in 1956, suggested that small floes be thought of as about the size of a city block; medium floes, a golf course; giant floes, a small town. geodesy The study of the earth’s shape and size and the precise location of points on its surface. geomagnetic poles Theoretical points on the earth’s surface visualized as the ends of a bar magnet through its center if all the earth’s magnetic fields were caused by that magnet. T E R M S A N D A B B R E V I A T I O N S T E R M S A N D A B B R E V I A T I O N S xix P R E F A C E A N D A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S geomagnetism The study of the magnetic phenomena exhibited by the earth; also called terrestrial magnetism. geophysics The application of the principles of physics to the study of the earth as a planet. glacier A mass of snow and ice continuously moving like a frozen river from higher to lower ground. glaciology The study of all forms of glaciers, their characteristics and processes ; broadly, the study of all aspects of ice and snow. Gondwanaland Vast proto-continent of the Southern Hemisphere. GPS Global Positioning System, a satellite-based triangulation method that determines geographic location on earth within a few meters. Grid A coordinate system used for navigating near the Pole, where the lines of longitude converge and all directions are north. The Prime Meridian (0°) is arbitrarily designated Grid North, making 180° Grid South, and so on. ham An amateur shortwave-radio operator. hamgram A message transmitted from Antarctica in Morse code, translated and typed out by the receiving U.S. ham and mailed to the addressee. Hamgrams were also sent from the States. heavy swing, or swing Another name for the tractor trains that supplied inland Byrd Station from Little America. Hercules A C-130, a four-engine transport plane denoted LC-130 when skiequipped ; popularly...