Fossil Bluff
| Fossil Bluff Station | |
| British Antarctic Territory | |
|---|---|
 The Hut at Fossil Bluff | |
| Location | |
| Location: | 71°18’41"S, 68°19’25"W |
| Data | |
| Local Government | |
| Website: | BAS Fossil Bluff |
The Fossil Bluff is a non-permanent seasonal British Antarctic Survey forward-operating station on the east coast of Alexander Island, off Palmer Land, in the British Antarctic Territory.
The bluff is a collection of buildings and facilities, at the centre of which lies the hut. Fossil Bluff hut sits at the foot of a scree-covered ridge overlooking George VI Sound which separates mountainous Alexander Island from Palmer Land.
The George VI Ice Shelf occupies the sound and provides a north-south route for travelling parties except in high summer when the ice shelf's surface is flooded with meltwater. To the west and north-west stand the Planet Heights, an extensive range of mountains rising to over 5,000 feet. Immediately to the west stands Giza Peak.
Purpose
Fossil Bluff is a forward facility for refuelling aircraft and is operated by Rothera station during the Antarctic summer season between October and March. There is a an unprepared skiway 3,950 feet long marked by drums a thousand yards south of the station.
De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft ferry drums of fuel from Rothera to Fossil Bluff each summer to maintain the size of the fuel depot. The station is 90 minutes flying time from Rothera. It is used extensively as a jumping-off point for further operations into Antarctica. The next 'traditional' stop for the Twin Otters is Sky Blu, 85 minutes away.
Fossil Bluff houses four people in comfort but is normally operated by two to three. It has facilities for longer sojourns than stop-overs, as teams can become marooned at the Bluff when weather closes in.
The base has been in use intermittently since 20 February 1961. Occupied during the winters of 1961, 1962, and 1969-75, it has been used every summer since 1975. The first people to overwinter in 1961 were Cliff Pearce and John Smith (meteorologists) and Brian Taylor (geologist) who carried out a thorough and systematic investigation of the local geology.[1][2]
Outside links
References
- ↑ Pearce, Cliff (2004). The Silent Sound: The Story of Two Years in Antarctica and the First Winter Occupation of Alexander Island. Book Guild Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85776-845-9. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Silent-Sound-Antarctica-Occupation-Alexander/dp/1857768450/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1257518246&sr=1-4.
- ↑ "The Silent Sound - Book Review".Thompson, M. R. A. (2005). "A Book Review of The Silent Sound". Antarctic Science 17: 569–570. doi:10.1017/S0954102005213007.