Deep Freeze: The United States, The International Geophysical Year, And The Origins Of Antarctica's Age Of Science

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

In Deep Freeze, Dian Olson Belanger tells the story of the pioneers who built viable communities, made vital scientific discoveries, and established Antarctica as a continent dedicated to peace and the pursuit of science, decades after the first explorers planted flags in the ice.In the tense 1950s, even as the world was locked in the Cold War, U.S. scientists, maintained by the Navys Operation Deep Freeze, came together in Antarctica with counterparts from eleven other countries to participate in the International Geophysical Year (IGY). On July 1, 1957, they began systematic, simultaneous scientific observations of the south-polar ice and atmosphere. Their collaborative success over eighteen months inspired the Antarctic Treaty of 1959, which formalized their peaceful pursuit of scientific knowledge. Still building on the achievements of the individuals and distrustful nations thrown together by the IGY from mutually wary military, scientific, and political cultures, science prospers today and peace endures.The year 2007 will mark the fiftieth anniversary of the IGY and the commencement of a new International Polar Yeara compelling moment to review what a singular enterprise accomplished in a troubled time. Belanger draws from interviews, diaries, memoirs, and official records to weave together the first thorough study of the dawn of Antarcticas scientific age. Deep Freeze offers absorbing reading for those who have ventured onto Antarctic ice and those who dream of it, as well as historians, scientists, and policy makers.Review". . . truly amazing stories of pioneers are chronicled in this detailed and entertaining read." -- Jerry W. Marty, National Science Foundation Representative, South Pole Station, Antarctica"Deep Freeze provides a wealth of hitherto unreported history. . . [A] major recapturing of the heady days of 195759." -- Peter-Noel Webb, geologist for U.S. and New Zealand IGY expeditions and Trans-Antarctic Expedition"A comprehensive and lively book about the people and events that transformed Antarctica into an international laboratory for science." -- Raimund E. Goerler, Chief Archivist/Byrd Polar Research Center of The Ohio State University"An important book, fine and well-researched." -- J. Merton England, NSF historian, retired, and author of A Patron for Pure Science"Compellingly told, the book incorporates significant research from new sources and unused collections. A must read for anyone with an interest in Antarctica and the early science it provided." -- George T. Mazuzan, NSF historian, retired"Historians should thank Belanger for taking on the daunting task of writing a history not only of the Antarctic parts of the IGY but also of the preparations and some of the after-effects. Belanger's account is indispensable as a lively history and as a resource for scholars." -- Journal of American History"The story of the beginning of Operation Deep Freeze has finally been told by a dynamic writer and historian." -- RMC Billy-Ace Penguin Baker, USN, retired, Vice Chairman, Antarctic Deep Freeze Association"Writing for a wide audience, [Belanger] offers in-depth discussions of U.S. preparations for stations, their construction, scientific research, winterover experiences, and the formulation of the Antarctic Treaty, the glue that holds it all together." -- John Splettstoesser, Advisor to the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators"[P]resents science in Antarctica with fascinating perspective, present and past, all rewarding. Well documented." -- Dick Bowers, CDR CEC USN retired, Officer in charge of construction, McMurdo and Pole Stations, Deep Freeze I and II" Thanks to [Belanger's] work, we now have an essential link between the Heroic Age of dashing adventure and small science and the contemporary era of permanent occupancy and probing inquiry across the entire spectrum of Earth and atmospheric sciences." -- The Polar RecordFrom the Inside