[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 191 (Thursday, October 2, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51702-51703]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-26064]
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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic
Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541)
AGENCY: National Science Foundation.
ACTION: Notice of Permit Applications Received under the Antarctic
Conservation Act of 1978, Pub. L. 95-541.
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SUMMARY: The National Science Foundation (NSF) is required to publish
notice of permit applications received to conduct activities regulated
under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978. NSF has published
regulations under the Antarctic Conservation Act of Title 45 Part 670
of the Code of Federal Regulations. This is the required notice of
permit applications received.
DATES: Interested parties are invited to submit written data, comments,
or views with respect to these permit applications by October 27, 1997.
Permit applications may be inspected by interested parties at the
Permit Office, address below.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to the Permit Office, Room 755,
Office of Polar Programs, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson
Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia 22230.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Nadene G. Kennedy at the above address or (703) 306-1033.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The National Science Foundation, as directed
by the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541), has
developed regulations that implement the ``Agreed Measures for the
Conservation of Antarctic Fauna and Flora'' for all United States
citizens. The Agreed Measures, developed by the Antarctic Treaty
Consultative Parties, recommended establishment of a permit system for
various activities in Antarctica and designation of certain animals and
certain geographic areas requiring special protection. The regulations
establish such a permit system to designate Specially Protected Areas
and Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
The application received is follows:
1. Applicant: Brenda Hall and George Denton, Institute of Quaternary
Studies, University of Maine, Orono, Maine 04469-5790. Permit
Application No. 98-014
Activity for Which Permit is Requested
Enter Site of Special Scientific Interest
The applicants are carrying out a large mapping project to
determine the former extent of a grounded ice sheet in the Ross Sea
during the last glacial maximum (LGM). Much of the work has been
concentrated on the Dry Valley regions where lobes of the grounded Ross
Sea Ice Sheet flowed inland into the mouths of the valleys. Barwick
Valley (SSSI #3) was last mapped in the 1960's. According to that work,
inland ice advanced down Barwick Valley simultaneously with ice advance
into Lower Victoria Valley from the Ross Sea. The Lower Victoria Valley
deposits indicate the presence of a lake, not an ice tongue. Based on
descriptions of Barwick Valley deposits from previous mapping and
observations during last season's reconnaissance, the applicants
believe a lake may have also extended into this area. The applicants
have identified lacustrine sediments in Barwick Valley. A radiocarbon
date of a fossil algae sample yielded an age of about 12,500
14C yr. B.P. for a high lake, similar to the age of a high
lake in Victoria Valley. The lacustrine deposits may reflect the
presence of lake that was part of a much larger lake that filled
Victoria Valley. The applicants plan to make detailed measurements of
the elevation of the lacustrine deposits in Barwick Valley, as well as
collect tiny samples of fossil algae and carbonates for radiocarbon
dating.
Work in the Barwick Valley will primarily involve mapping. Samples
will be collected from key high-elevation lacustrine deposits to obtain
fossil algae and carbonates in order to construct a radiocarbon
chronology for lake level variation. The samples will be collected from
10 cm x 10 cm areas and all surface material will be replaced.
[[Page 51703]]
The applicants plan to backpack into Barwick Valley by foot from the
Victoria Valley and will camp there for a 2-3 day period.
Location: McMurdo Station, Ross Island, Antarctica.
Dates: October 20, 1976-February 15, 1998.
2. Applicant: Frederick W. Taylor, Sr., Institute for Geophysics, The
University of Texas at Austin, 4412 Spicewood Springs Road, #600,
Austin, TX 78759-8500. Permit Application: 98-015
Activity for Which Permit is Requested
Enter Specially Protected Area
The applicant requests to enter the Byers Peninsula, Specially
Protected Area (SPA #3), in order to install a Global Positioning
System (GPS) to obtain data by passive electronic recording. The Global
Positioning System (GPS) will be used to measure horizontal tectonic
motion of the Snow Island-Livingston Island--King George Island block
relative to the Antarctic Peninsula and relative to sites in South
America. The floor of the Bransfield Strait is spreading causing an
increase in the distance between this block and the Antarctic Peninsula
at an unknown rate. There are other active tectonic boundaries between
the Shetland Islands and South America across which rates of motion are
also not known. The rates of ongoing motion of the Snow Island to the
King George block and the role it plays in the interactions of small
tectonic plates lying between South America and Antarctica are
essential to understanding regional tectonic relationships.
The applicant plans to camp at the site for a 3-4 day period over
the next several years. All items will be removed from the site, except
for a GPS marker, the six anchor bolts and the witness post. By
returning to each site two or more times over the next several years,
the applicant can remeasure distances between sites, determine how much
the distances have changed, and calculate rates and directions of
motion for small and large tectonic plates in the region.
Location: Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island, Antarctic Peninsula.
Dates: December 1, 1997-December 31, 2000.
Nadene G. Kennedy,
Permit Officer, Office of Polar Programs.
[FR Doc. 97-26064 Filed 10-01-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-M
