Report of the Dry Valley Drilling Project, 1974-75

• Main Authors: Katsutada KAMINUMA, Tetsuya TORII, Hajime KURASAWA, Kikuo KATO, Osamu WAGURI
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English; Japanese
• Published: National Institute of Polar Research 1976
• Subjects: Geography (General); G1-922; Austral; McMurdo Sound; New Zealand; McMurdo Station; Taylor Valley; Vanda; Bonney; Fryxell; Wright Valley; Arrival Heights; Hut Point; Hut Point Peninsula
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.15094/00007867; https://doaj.org/article/352155a9fdaa42369a1fc4d768e63568

The Japanese researches participated with the Dry Valley Drilling Project (DVDP) in the McMurdo Sound region during the 1974-75 austral summer season. This project was jointly organized by New Zealand, the United States of America and Japan. The Japanese party consisted of two geochemists, two geologists, a seismologist and a microbiologist. Continuing studies of secondary minerals collected from Taylor Valley, Wright Valley, and Hut Point Peninsula were performed at the Thiel Earth Sciences Laboratory in McMurdo Station by X-ray diffraction methods. Water samples were taken for analysis of major and minor elements, including stable isotopes and for studies of bacteriology along the length of Taylor and Wright Valleys, especially in and around Lakes Bonney, Fryxell, and Vanda. Some water samples were examined at the Thiel Earth Sciences Laboratory by gas chromatographic analysis. Soil samples were also collected for studies of bacteriology, mineralogy, and geochemistry in and around the same lakes. Seismological observations near McMurdo Station and in the dry valleys were carried out in this season. A tripartite seismological network with vertical component seismographs was established in Arrival Heights near McMurdo Station. The seismological observations with one vertical component were also carried out near the drill site of DVDP No. 12 and near Vanda Station.