Accession Number:

ADA249503

Title:

Potential Airfield Sites in Antarctica for Wheeled Aircraft

Descriptive Note:

Special rept.

Corporate Author:

COLD REGIONS RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING LAB HANOVER NH

Personal Author(s):

• Swithinbank, Charles

Report Date:

1991-12-01

Pagination or Media Count:

75.0

Abstract:

This is a report on a search for possible or potential airfield sites in Antarctica, using aerial photographs and satellite images supplemented by other data. A few sites are on ice-free ground but the majority are on inland blue ice fields. Earlier studies of potential airfields on Antarctic glacier ice are referenced. The attraction of a well-chosen blue-ice runway is that construction and maintenance costs are almost nil. A number of sites have been found suitable for the operation of unmodified transport aircraft on wheels. An inland icefield site on Mill Glacier 85 deg 09S, 167 deg 12E is in use for wheel landings by LC-130 aircraft another at Patriot Hills 80 deg 19S, 8 1 deg 1 6W is in use for wheel landings by DC-6 aircraft. Airfields, Cold regions, Land ice, Runways antarctica, Ice, Polar cap, Blue ice, Ice runways, Polar regions.

Descriptors:

• *LANDING FIELDS
• *AIRPORTS
• *ANTARCTIC REGIONS
• *TRANSPORT AIRCRAFT
• *ICE
• TERRAIN
• REGIONS
• COSTS
• CONSTRUCTION
• IMAGES
• WHEELS
• TRANSPORT
• OPERATION
• GEOLOGICAL SURVEYS
• AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS
• NUMBERS
• RUNWAYS
• POLAR CAP
• PHOTOGRAPHS
• GLACIERS
• LAND ICE
• COLD REGIONS
• SITES
• AIRCRAFT
• MAJORITIES
• MAINTENANCE
• POLAR REGIONS

Subject Categories:

• Terminal Flight Facilities
• Geology, Geochemistry and Mineralogy
• Snow, Ice and Permafrost

Distribution Statement:

APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE