My IGY in Antarctica

Dr Charles Bentley is the A.P. Crary Professor Emeritus of Geophysics, Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Bentley joined the Arctic Institute of North America in 1956 to participate in International Geophysical Year (IGY)-related activities in the Antarctic. He wintered over consecutively in 1957 and 1958 at Byrd Station, a station in the interior of West Antarctica that housed 24 men each winter - 12 Navy support people and 12 civilian scientists/technicians. During the austral summers, he also participated in over-snow traverses, first as co-leader, then leader (the other coleader went home after the first year). These traverses consisted of six men and three vehicles, and lasted several months. These traverses covered more than 1609 kilometers (1000 miles) of largely unmapped and unphotographed terrain. During these traverses, connections to Byrd Station were by radio (daily, when the transmission conditions were good enough) and roughly every 2 weeks by resupply flight.