Author(s): J. L. Barthelemy; G. B. Davison
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Abstract: In the pioneer days of Antarctic logistics, ships supplying McMurdo Station unloaded cargo on the annual ice at some distance from shore. Thin ice made that operation costly and dangerous. During 1965, favorable ice conditions let icebreakers clear a turning basin along the shore-fast ice of Winter Quarters Bay. The shore-fast ice served effectively as a wharf. Subsequently, the shoreline was used for ship unloading; however, due to extensive erosion of the seaward face, it has been necessary to enlarge the natural quay perimeter by attaching various extensions. After a severe storm in 1972 destroyed a major portion of a steel and timber dock face, a small experimental "ice cube" was built by surface flooding. The ice cube was used as a fender in conjunction with two short pier sections until 1973 when a larger surface-flooded ice structure was completed. in 1976, the Naval Support Force Antarctica completed a larger surface-flooded ice wharf. The wharf was roughly rectangular in shape and approximately 90 meters wide along the seaward SW face by approximately 190 meters along the seaward SE face, with a total area of some 24,400 square meters. The usable area of the wharf was approximately 22,300 square meters. Using the same general methods, subsequent wharves were built in 1980 and 1983. The 1983 ice wharf is still in use.
Year: 1988