The Ross Ice Shelf covers over 487,000 square kilometres (188,000sqmi).
Windless Bight is a large ice plain that covers hundreds of square kilometers of the northwest edge of the Ross Ice Shelf.
It is flat and featureless, and has hardly any surface winds, as its name implies.[2]
Ross Island as a whole experiences strongly southerly winds, but Windless Bight is unusually calm.[3]
The bight extends from Castle Rock on the Hut Point Peninsula east to Terror Point.[4]Mount Erebus is to the northwest, Mount Terra Nova to the north and Mount Terror to the northeast. Cape Crozier is east of the bight.[5]
The University of Alaska Fairbanks, under contract to the CTBTO, prepared the site for the IS55 infrasonic array and installed the equipment, which was completed in February 2001.
After testing, IS55 was certified as an International Monitoring System (IMS) station under the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty on 22 August 2003.[2]
IS55 is an array of eight microbarometer sensors and space filters arranged that is divided into two sub-arrays, plus a high performance weather station at one of the arrays.
Every second data on temperature, wind speed and wind direction is transmitted to a Central Recording Facility (CRF).
Infrasonic data from each element of the array, along with the weather information, is formatted at the CRF into 30-second packages, which are sent by satellite link from McMurdo Station to Brewster, Washington, Denver, Colorado and Vienna, Austria.[2]
A field camp for support personnel is used for several weeks each year.
The team has standard remote field equipment such as snowmobiles, and stays in two Polarhavens and six individual mountain tents.
During periods of use, one or two team members may return to McMurdo Station to collect supplies, and to stay overnight.[6]
Ross Island. Windless Bight in south center of map
Named features of the bight include, from west to east, Sultans Head Rock, Aurora Glacier, Vee Cliffs, Terror Glacier, Fog Bay and Terror Point.
Cape MacKay is east of Terror Point.[5]
Sultans Head Rock
77°43′S167°12′E / 77.717°S 167.200°E / -77.717; 167.200.
A rock spur along the east flank of Hut Point Peninsula, 7.5 nautical miles (13.9km; 8.6mi) southwest of the Vee Cliffs, on the south side of Ross Island.
The name was first used by the British National Antarctic Expedition (BrNAE) under Scott, 1901-04, in describing rocks collected there by Thomas V. Hodgson of the expedition.[7]
Tyree Head
77°39′11″S167°27′42″E / 77.652933°S 167.461641°E / -77.652933; 167.461641
A headland 3.2 nautical miles (5.9km; 3.7mi) northeast of Sultans Head Rock on the south side of Ross Island.
The headland rises to over 400 metres (1,300ft) and is ice covered except for rock exposed on the lower east side.
Named after Admiral David M. Tyree, United States Navy (d. 1984), Commander, U.S. Naval Support Force, Antarctica, 1959-62.[8]
Dufek Head
77°36′53″S167°42′28″E / 77.61462°S 167.70785°E / -77.61462; 167.70785.
An ice-covered headland 4.4 nautical miles (8.1km; 5.1mi) northeast of Tyree Head.
The headland rises to 620 metres (2,030ft) high at the east side of the terminus of Aurora Glacier.
Named by Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (US-ACAN) (2000) in association with Tyree Head, q.v., after Rear Admiral George J. Dufek, United States Navy (United States Navy) (1903-77), Commander, United States Naval Support Force, Antarctica, 1954-59.[9]
77°38′S167°45′E / 77.633°S 167.750°E / -77.633; 167.750.
Steep, mainly ice-covered cliffs, 4 nautical miles (7.4km; 4.6mi) long, between Aurora Glacier and Terror Glacier on the south shore of Ross Island.
The name is suggested by two prominent V-shape wedges which protrude from the cliff wall.
The name was first used by Doctor Edward A. Wilson who, with Thomas V. Hodgson of BrNAE, 1901–04, visited the cliffs in November 1903.[11]
Eastwind Glacier
77°37′00″S168°16′00″E / 77.6166667°S 168.2666667°E / -77.6166667; 168.2666667.
A glacier that drains part of the south slopes of Mount Terror in southeast Ross Island. It flows southwest and coalesces with the east margin of Terror Glacier where the two glaciers enter Fog Bay.
In association with the names of expedition ships grouped on this island, named after U.S. Coast Guard Cutter (USCGC) Eastwind.
An icebreaker, "she" made nine Antarctic deployments in support of science activities from U.S. Navy (USN) Operation Deep Freeze, 1955–56, through the 1966–67 season.[12]
77°41′S168°13′E / 77.683°S 168.217°E / -77.683; 168.217.
A point below Mount Terror.
It marks the east limit of Fog Bay, 4 nautical miles (7.4km; 4.6mi) west-northwest of Cape MacKay.
The name was first used by members of the BrNAE, 1901–04, and was apparently applied in association with Mount Terror which overlooks this point from northeastward.[13]
Cape MacKay
77°42′S168°31′E / 77.700°S 168.517°E / -77.700; 168.517.
An ice-covered cape which forms the southeast extremity of Ross Island.
Discovered by the BrNAE (1901–04) and named for Captain Harry MacKay, commander of the Terra Nova, one of the relief ships for the expedition.[15]
O'Connor, W.P.; Bromwich, D.H. (1988), "Surface airflow around Windless Bight, Ross Island, Antarctica", Q. J. R. Meteorol. Soc., 114 (482): 917–938, Bibcode:1988QJRMS.114..917O, doi:10.1002/qj.49711448205
Ross Island Map, USGS: United States Geological Survey, 1972, retrieved 2024-02-05{{citation}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
