COMPACTED-SNOW RUNWAYS IN ANTARCTICA, DEEP FREEZE 61-64 TRIALS

• Main Author: Coffin, R. C., Jr
• Other Authors: NAVAL CIVIL ENGINEERING LAB PORT HUENEME CA
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1966
• Subjects: Terminal Flight Facilities; Snow; Ice and Permafrost; Civil Engineering; *SNOW; *RUNWAYS; *ANTARCTIC REGIONS; LANDING FIELDS; ROADS; COMPACTING; SNOW VEHICLES; TRAFFICABILITY; DEEP FREEZE OPERATION; SNOWPLOWS; Antarctic; McMurdo Sound; McMurdo Station; Psi; Ross Ice Shelf; Antarc*; Antarctica; Ice; Ice Shelf; permafrost; Sea ice
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/AD0629675; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=AD0629675

In Deep Freeze 61, NCEL provided technical guidance to a Navy snow- compaction team investigating the practicability of building roads on snow- covered sea ice over McMurdo Sound and runways on the deep snow cover of the Ross Ice Shelf adjacent to McMurdo Station. These investigations and trials continued through Deep Freeze 64. This work was directed toward the development of a layered, compacted-snow runway on deep snow which would support aircraft weighing up to 155,000 pounds with tires on the main wheels inflated to 135 psi; it was only partially successful. During the trials, there were intermittent areas of compacted snow capable of supporting aircraft weighing up to 100,000 pounds with main tires inflated to 90 psi, but low-strength areas prevented takeoffs and landings with aircraft weighing over 25,000 pounds with main tires inflated to 60 psi. New processing and elevating equipment introduced in the Deep Freeze 64 trials showed considerable promise of producing dense, uniform, high -strength, elevated areas of compacted snow. It was concluded that the trials should continue in Deep Freeze 65 to explore the capabilities of this equipment.