Volume 1, Issue 1, January 2025
APS Mission Statement: The American Polar Society has since 1934 united people and institutions from around the globe and pole to pole to appreciate, celebrate, and further knowledge and understanding of the Arctic and Antarctic land, sea, and ice.
From the President’s Desk
Greetings to everyone who lives, works, plays in Our Shared Polar World. My name is Susan Adie, and I am honored to serve as the President of the American Polar Society (APS). I feel I bring a unique perspective to this organization and have enjoyed the offerings of the last 20 years as a member. Together, we are racing towards the 100th Anniversary of the American Polar Society! Our volunteer Board Members have been working diligently to revitalize our offerings to the entire membership. One of our goals is to broaden the scope of our offerings to valued members. One step we have taken is to hire a professional to create a new web page. It is now open for you to explore! January 2025 with the launch of the APS Voices from the Ice newsletter, we aim to improve our communication with members! This will also provide an opportunity for you to share your experience on the ice! We encourage you to jump into the conversation by sharing your experiences with other polar enthusiasts through The Polar Times or Voices from the Ice.
As with any volunteer organization – we are only as good as the members who show up and participate. So we are calling on all of you to DONATE, encourage others to JOIN, and help us get to the next century of polar service. Like the explorers who form the basis of this organization – we need visionaries, and hard workers who are willing to join together to move ice jams or pressure ridges as the case may be! We will continue to provide access to our paying membership of the semi-annual journal, The Polar Times. Non-paying members will have access to the website and this newsletter. Following the flow of ice moving down hill – we will continue to work towards more engaging ways of communicating activities in our polar world through a YouTube channel and podcasts.
Arts & Culture: Cultural Preservation through the Arts
We know that the Arctic is home to a rich tapestry of Indigenous cultures, such as Inuktitut, Sami, and Nenets. Each has its own language that embodies centuries of wisdom, identity, and connection to the land, sea, and ice. However, globalization, climate change, and cultural assimilation threaten the survival of these languages. Preserving these languages is not merely a matter of cultural pride; it is about safeguarding a worldview that offers invaluable insights into environmental stewardship and resilience.
Efforts to revitalize Arctic Indigenous languages require collaboration between governments, communities, and educators. An 80-minute documentary film, Keep Talking, exemplifies one community in Kodiak, Alaska that is working to keep their language alive. (There is a $3 viewing charge on Vimeo once you establish your free account.) I found the participants in the film to be authentic and naturally caring souls. Several share honestly about their personal challenges and fears. The filmmakers found a gentle way to weave the story of perseverance giving all a voice who wished to share. By protecting Arctic Indigenous languages, we ensure that their unique voices continue to enrich global understanding, inspire cultural diversity, and contribute to the sustainable future of the Arctic and beyond.
Traditional singing and dancing in these Arctic cultures are deeply tied to storytelling, spirituality, and community identity. Throat singing, or katajjaq, is a hallmark of Inuit culture, performed as a playful duet or to mimic the sounds of nature, like the wind or animal calls. This form of singing requires incredible vocal skill, with singers creating mesmerizing, rhythmic sounds that can convey both lighthearted and deeply spiritual themes. Inuit drum dancing uses large, shallow drums (qilaut) made from stretched animal skins.
These dances were traditionally performed to celebrate hunts, honor the spirits, or mark significant life events. In Sámi culture, a throat-singing melodic chant (joik ) is used to honor people, animals, and places, often serving as a deeply personal expression of connection. Music and performance play a key role in these efforts, with contemporary artists blending traditional singing styles with modern genres to reach younger generations. For example, Inuit and Sámi musicians incorporate joik into electronic or pop music, making their traditions accessible and relevant to today’s audiences
One such example is Tanya Tagaq. I first heard her twenty years ago, when she performed in her home community of Cambridge Bay, Victoria Island, Canada, she explained that her grandmother did not understand what she was trying to do to their tradition of throat signing. Her Grandmother was in the audience and I saw her giggling at the memory! The first few pieces that Tanya performed included her seemingly unlimited vocal abilities blending with passionate gestures and movements. There was a story to each piece that she was sharing with us. She then invited her grandmother to the floor and the two of them proceeded to perform traditional throat signing. Both bursting into fits of laughter at the end of each piece. Her grandmother returned to her seat wiping tears from her eyes as Here’s a more recent example of her extraordinary performance ability. Tanya continued in her unique form of throat singing which at the time incorporated modern jazz overtones. It was a remarkable performance exploring traditional culture but incorporating electronica, industrial, and metal influences. Tagaq has collaborated with artists ranging from violinists, opera singers and experimental DJs. Her incredible ability with her voice is recognized in the musical world with a string of honors in Juno (Canadian music awards) nominations.
Another amazing family of musicians has combined ancient costume, mythology, song and dance with modern global sounds. This musical adventure is Pamyua – Inuit Soul Music. Pamyua – (pronounced bum-yo-ah) is a Yup’ik Inuit word meaning “encore” or “do it again” As they say, music that feeds your soul. They have gained international recognition with their unique blend of tribal and soul music from around the world. Founded by Inuit Yup’ik African American brothers Phillip Kilirnguq Blanchett and Steven Qacungatarli Blanchett, the group produces music with traditional Yup’ik and African-American elements to create what they call “Inuit Soul.” They are also the group behind the theme song for the @PBSKIDS show, @MollyofDenali. They hope to bring awareness to Alaska Native and Indigenous cultures by bringing their music and dancing to the mainstream media and around the world. They have also been the subject of an Indie Alaska PBS short documentary on YouTube.
News: Government: Update from Palmer Station
The United States maintains three year-round stations in Antarctica. The smallest, Palmer Station, is in the Peninsula region closest to South America. APS was fortunate enough to speak with Bob Farrell, the Palmer Station Manager, about recent changes to the operations at Palmer. We mostly talked about the new pier that was completed in 2022 since the station is only accessible by ice-strengthened ship. Bob was onsite for the construction. He said over the last few years, ship, ice, and storm impact on the original pier clearly showed and many worried it would soon fail. Yet, in reality it was incredibly difficult to remove! The original pier was built by the U.S. Navy Seabees in 1966-67, so it was overdue for an update.
The new pier was designed and installed by a private company from Washington state. When you realize the size of the operation and the very small size of Palmer Station, APS was curious about how the construction crew was accommodated, such as where everyone slept. Additionally, none of the construction crew had ever been to Antarctica before undertaking this project! Bob explained that the entire construction company came prepared to be almost entirely self-sufficient, with equipment, parts, and materials on-board a huge barge that was towed to the site through the notorious Drake Passage. The entire project was carefully planned to be completed in one season and NSF decided that there would be no science that austral summer season to allow space in the facility for feeding and supporting for the construction crew. It worked like a dream with crew working around the clock in 12-hour shifts to get the job done before winter returned. Bob had some of his crew on full-time wildlife watches – primarily on the lookout for whales. If any were sighted within a certain distance – pier construction work would stop. However, this never happened which contributed to finishing the project before the austral winter arrived.
Not only is the old pier gone – but the RV Laurence Gould , a 230 feet long icebreaker classed ship that had been supporting U.S. scientists in the region since 1998, has now been retired from work as a polar research vessel. In its place, the United States will rely on a Ukrainian ship, the Noosphere, for maritime movements. This is less odd than it sounds since Ukraine’s Vernadsky Base is the closest station to Palmer, around 35 miles to the south of the U.S. station. The name Noosphere is symbolic, as it comes from the works of a Ukrainian scientist, Volodymyr Vernadsky. The term “noosphere” refers to the sphere of interaction between society and nature. The Noosphere has laboratories for studying seawater and soil samples, ocean flora and fauna, and climate change. It also has a pressurized air system that helps reduce ice friction so the ship can pass through heavy pack ice.
In the coming summer season – Bob and the Palmer crew are looking forward to welcoming for the first time in several years seven tourist cruise ships with visitors from around the world. Tours will help guests understand the long-term mission of the science projects at Palmer. In addition, guests always line up for one surprise that is always a winner – Palmer Brownies for all! And probably some merch to purchase as well.
Thanks, Bob for your time and best wishes from APS for a great season on the ice!
Arts & Culture: MGM’s Arctic Screwball Comedy Classic: Petticoat Fever
Think of classic screwball comedies and probably It Happened One Night, My Man Godfrey and Bringing Up Baby come to mind. Somehow Petticoat Fever (1936) gets lost in the mix. And undeservedly so. It’s a hilarious romp starring two of MGM’s most brilliant stars, Robert Montgomery and Myrna Loy. It also happens to be the only classic screwball comedy with an Arctic setting, which only adds to our enthusiasm to review it here.
Montgomery plays a radio operator isolated in the chilly Arctic. A sophisticated fellow recovering from civilization, he hasn’t seen an Anglo-European woman in two years. Then Myrna shows up. She and her aviator-fiancée had to make a forced landing on the ice, the latter being a wealthy Brit with too stiff an upper lip. You may remember Myrna Loy as the co-star of the delightful Thin Man series. Bob is immediately smitten (and if you’ve seen The Thin Man, you won’t have to ask why). He goes all out to win her away from the twit, though he has only days to succeed before the impending arrival of a rescue ship.
In her autobiography, Being and Becoming, Myrna wrote this about the movie: “The snow was feathers and cornstarch, but our parkas were authentic, salvaged from [director] Woody Van Dyke’s film, Eskimo. While shooting Arctic scenes on the hot soundstage, we’d get steamed and have to stop. Bob would unzip his parka, squirt in some perfume, and groan, ‘God Almighty, do you know how many people have lived and died in this thing?’” He was equally a scream on screen, throwing an elaborate dinner party in the radio shack complete with a Broadway-style floor show. For laughs and ice floes, tuxedos and blizzards, don’t miss this one.
Government: Inside View of the Hidden Cold War Military Base That NASA Rediscovered
NASA recently announced that it had found Camp Century, an abandoned U.S. military base and scientific outpost, in Greenland. The Camp, which was operated from 1959 to 1967, housed up to 200 soldiers, staff, and scientists. Rediscovering the Camp has increased attention to its history, including Project Iceworm, and liabilities that many had forgotten. A particular concern is that climate change will expose waste that was left behind under the assumption that it would forever remain buried under the ice. The American Polar Society is fortunate to have George Blaisdell as one of its Board Members. George was mentored in his early professional career by a number of engineers and scientists who helped design, construct, and operate Camp Century. Here, he shares with us some insights about Camp Century.
APS: How do you come to work with so many people who had experience at Camp Century?
GB: Following college, I started my working career as a civil engineer at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) in Hanover, New Hampshire. Having grown up in Wisconsin, I was accustomed to, and enjoyed, winter weather, so studying cold regions engineering issues was a dream job. At the time I started (1979) the Cold War was still in full swing and many of the laboratory’s projects were associated with various military-relevant topics. Four of my direct mentors during my first five years, and at least one-third of the established researchers had significant experience with Camp Century. I was eager to also engage in field research, but knew that visiting Camp Century was likely not in the cards, having been abandoned in the late 1960’s. However, I did see lots of (black and white) photos and read a number of reports of CRREL researcher’s activities at the site.
APS: Could you please tell us about the science and the military activity at Camp Century? How did personnel manage the dual-use nature of the base?
GB: While CRREL was a (civilian) miliary facility, nearly all of its researchers were focused on advancing the understanding of snow, ice, permafrost, and cold environments on practical challenges. Like snow loads on roofs, icebreaking, foundations on permafrost, and rime ice on power transmission lines. However, most of the funding sources required us to show how these discoveries made the U.S. better prepared to defend itself. Although Project Iceworm was the impetus for developing a subsurface facility in the Greenland Ice Cap, as with many classified government efforts, a reasonably compelling and benign cover story was developed and advertised. CRREL researchers relished the opportunity to explore at truly full scale (not a cold room or back yard test) many aspects of snow engineering that otherwise would not have been supportable. Examples include how to efficiently excavate a deep and wide trench (both dimensions about 25 ft) and the stability of tall vertical snow walls, deformation over time of the snow walls into the open space, how to cover and conceal such a big trench, how a stable foundation could be created and sustained for a rail line and small train on the floor of the tunnel, how to manage energy production, waste, and airflow in the 10,000ft maze of tunnels (Camp Century layout color) to avoid melting and health hazards, and how to transport heavy loads miles across polar snow. Snow scientists and glaciologists reveled in the ability to study past environmental history as easily accessed in the stratigraphy revealed on trench’s snow walls and using the trench floor as a naturally protected “head start” platform for developing new ice drilling equipment. So, while my cold regions research colleagues designed and produced the infrastructure that other military organizations utilized for the covert Iceworm endeavor, it was the advancement of the state of knowledge that was their driving force and reward.
APS: Why was NASA investigating the Greenland ice sheet and, other than an abandoned military base, what have they discovered?
GB: NASA has a robust cryosphere program (the study of earth that is dominated by solid water) that is active in both the Arctic and Antarctic. Many of their studies are focused on using advanced technologies for sensing and mapping very large areas of the cryosphere. These typically involve airborne surveys. The news recently reported that NASA “discovered” Camp Century is sensationalized headline language; its location has generally been known since its construction because of glaciologists understanding of ice flow in Greenland. However, it does appear that, while testing advance airborne ground-penetrating radar technology, NASA researchers weren’t aware they would be in the area of the now deeply buried Camp Century and were surprised when it showed up very clearly in their radar records (City Under the Ice). While “seeing” Camp Century again after such a long time is exciting, the purpose for the NASA research with this radar is to gain a clearer picture of the variation in thickness of the ice cap and the topography of the underlying bedrock. Combined with the nature of the ice-bedrock interface, inferences can be made about the likelihood and speed of sliding of the ice cap toward lower elevations and ultimately, the ocean. By better understanding the makeup of the interface, and its topography, more accurate modeling of ice flow throughout the island and ice loss along the seashore of Greenland can be produced.
APS: When it closed down the base, the United States assumed that the waste left behind would be forever buried by the ice. What risks could emerge as Greenland’s ice sheets melt?
GB: You are right; in the course of geologic time, it is certain that every material imported to Camp Century that was left behind (including human waste) will be “recycled” in some fashion by nature. An obvious path for the movement of the site is along the glacial flow path on which it resides and ultimately calve into the ocean (Baffin Bay) along the northwestern coast of Greenland via an outlet glacier somewhere between Qaanaaq (formerly known as Thule) in the north and Kullorsuaq to the south. However, factors such as burial and horizontal travel rates, and subsurface topography, could strand the remains in an inland lake if much of the northwest of Greenland were to melt to bedrock. In the most optimistic view, sediments would progressively bury the remains and seal it from further impact on the surrounding water. (This is the case for waste from the early days of McMurdo Station in Antarctica that is now encased in sediment in Winter Quarters Bay and deemed less impactful left in place than disturbed in the process of excavation and removal.) However, until sedimentation could encase the waste, which could be either fast or slow in geologic time, it will be in intimate contact with water and thus its impact on the environment potentially far reaching.
APS: Is there anything else that readers should know about this rediscovery?
GB: Military history buffs likely already know about Project Iceworm’s intent to host hundreds of ICBM missiles (Project Iceworm). But the lasting legacy of Camp Century is the civil engineering and scientific knowledge that was gleaned through the endeavor. To this day, these learnings have greatly advanced the ability of polar researchers to ply their trade. Indeed, I am working with a team to design for a replacement U.S. research facility at the summit of the Greenland Ice Cap and using lessons from Camp Century to create effective building foundations and water sources. A dip into the fascinating legacy of Camp Century can start here: 37 Facts About Camp Century.
APS: George, Thank you very much for your time and insights and best wishes for your ongoing projects!
Some Dates To Know
January 15 Deadline to submit information: Request for Information (RFI) on Science Research Goals/Objectives Affecting Proposed U.S. Antarctic Science Monitoring And Reliable Telecommunications (SMART) Cable and Route Design
February 3 Deadline to submit information: Agency Information Collection Activities: Comment Request; Antarctic Emergency Response Plan and Environmental Protection Information
May 12, 1880 Lincoln Ellsworth birthday
There are many ways to volunteer with APS!
This is your opportunity to join if you have yet to do so! To make it into our final decade of the First Century – we need more members! Please go to our web site and click on the JOIN button. We also accept your DONATION anytime during the year. These will help us continue to provide you with the professional journal The Polar Times which will help you to keep up to date with all polar happenings! Drop us a note via info@americanpolar.org to offer up your story that we may be able to publish! Or alternatively if you have direct contact with anyone of us please give us a call. We love to hear your stories and we are sure we have space to share them with others!
The American Polar Society thanks the following contributors to this issue:
Bob Farrel – USNSF – Antarctic Peninsula Area Manager
Susan Adie, APS President
George Blaisedell, APS Membership Chair
Sheldon Bart, APS Vice President
William Muntean, APS Secretary