The accuracy of satellite navigation was not 

 affected by either clouds or indistinct horizon, 

 hence, the quality of the navigation during 

 the expedition vi^as quite high. Use of satellite 

 photos to determine areas of light ice and to 



aid in prediction of ice conditions in particular 

 areas also contributed towards more eifective 

 operation and lessened the chance of uninten- 

 tionally wintering over. 



IWSOE '68 Programs 



A number of institutions took part in the 

 expedition. A brief description of each of their 

 programs is given below. 



University of Bergen 



A program to investigate currents related 

 to the formation of Antarctic Bottom Water 

 was directed by Dr. Thor Kvinge of the Uni- 

 versity of Bergen. One of the theories of form- 

 ation of bottom water calls for a "release" 

 of bottom water on the shelf periodically dur- 

 ing the austral winter. To evaluate this theory, 

 Dr. Kvinge installed four buoy systems on the 

 shelf to measure currents and temperature 

 throughout the winter. A schematic of this 

 buoy system is presented in a report by Kvinge 

 (1968) and is reproduced as Figure 2. 



University of Connecticut 



The zonation of the benthic organisms in 

 the Weddell Sea was studied by Dr. John S. 

 Rankin of the University of Connecticut. Dr. 

 Rankin used epibenthic sleds, anchor dredges, 

 Blake trawls and Van Veen grab samplers. 

 Upon collection, all sediment samples were 

 washed through selves and the macroscopic 

 organisms were classified and preserved. Pre- 

 liminary analysis showed two zones : a shallow 

 zone (depths up to 1000 meters) that was 

 characterized by a great number and variety 

 of relatively large animals and a deeper zone 

 that was characterized by few numbers and 

 kinds of relatively small animals. The size of 

 some of the foraminifera was noteworthy, 

 some of them being as large as % inch long. 



Texas A&M University 



Primary productivity was studied in a pro- 

 gram under the direction of Dr. Sayed Z. El 

 Sayed of Texas A&M University. This program 

 consisted of the study of: 



a. Light penetration. 



b. Chlorophyll and phasophytin concen- 

 tration. 



c. Photosynthesis (C" uptake method). 



d. Phytoplankton and zooplankton (col- 

 lected with vertical tows). 



e. Quantitative phytoplankton studies by 

 filtering large water samples. 



Dr. El Sayed's data indicated conspicuous 

 variations in the productivity of the areas 

 visited. The southwest and western regions 

 of the Weddell Sea were found to be more 

 productive than the central and southern re- 

 gions. 



University of Minnesota 



A program to study the population dynamics 

 of Antarctic seals (and penguins) was con- 

 ducted by Dr. Donald B. Sinnifi" of the Uni- 

 versity of Minnesota, Museum of Natural 

 History. Census-taking was achieved by 

 counting the number of seals within Vi "^il^ 

 of the ship for a two hour period at selected 

 times throughout the day. Blood samples were 

 also collected from representative animals and 

 processed for later study. Analysis of the sam- 

 ples by electrophoresis will show if racial dif- 

 ferences exist among the wide-spread 

 seal population of the Weddell Sea. Helicop- 

 ters were used to land on ice floes inhabited 

 by seals; the seals were anesthetized using a 

 dart gun and the blood samples were then 

 drawn. 



University of Miami 



A program to investigate the microalgae 

 and protozoa of Antarctic pack ice was con- 

 ducted by Dr. Chum Chi Lee of the University 

 of Miami. Observations and samples were ob- 

 tained within and under the pack ice by divers 

 and correlated with observations obtained by 

 other investigators. 



2 



