Analysis of timber weathering and wind velocity at Cape Adare, with comments on other historic sites in Antarctica

• Published in: Polar Record
• Main Author: Harrowfield, David L.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2006
• Subjects: General Earth and Planetary Sciences; Ecology; Geography, Planning and Development; Antarctic; Adare; Cape Adare; Borchgrevink; Ridley Beach; Ridley; Antarc*; Antarctica; Polar Record
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247406005584; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247406005584

At Cape Adare, there are three wooden historic huts in varying condition. Two are the first permanent structures erected in Antarctica for human habitation and were occupied in 1899 by the British Antarctic Expedition (1898–1900) led by C.E. Borchgrevink. The third hut was built in 1911 by the northern party of R.F. Scott's British Antarctic Expedition (1910–13) led by V.L.A. Campbell. Previous research has focused on the unusual wind regime at Ridley Beach, Cape Adare, with the use of an environmental wind tunnel to support field observations, and on the sequence of destruction by wind of the 1911 hut. The present paper focuses on the weathering of timber at some historic huts in Antarctica and presents observations and data collected on three visits to Cape Adare spanning 21 years. The results indicate that over 23% of the timber has been eroded from exposed board ends on one corner of Borchgrevink's ‘stores hut’ and further damage to the huts is being caused by wind blown sand and pebbles which, at two meters above the ground surface, can attain a velocity of 29–203 km/hr −1 . This has in places, resulted in severe degradation of the timber.