Douglas Preston - The Ice Limit

The captain of the Rolvaag , Sally Britton, and most of the crew are also believed to have perished in the disaster.

The Rolvaag had been leased from NorgeWerks of Oslo by Neptune Mining and was transporting iron ore from a mine on the Cape Horn Islands. An investigation is currently in progress.

[ Washington Post - July 30, page A16, World News, under "The Americas" in "World in Brief" box]

Small Earthquakes Shake South Atlantic

SOUTH GEORGIA ISLAND—The British Scientific Station at South Georgia Island has reported a series of shallow temblors with an epicenter lying 200 miles north of the Antarctic Peninsula. The small earthquakes have registered between 2.0 and 3.0 on the Richter scale. The temblors are too small and distant to be felt on land, but have been recorded at seismographic stations on South Georgia, Punta Arenas, the South Sandwich Islands, and the Falkland Islands.

[ Washington Post - page A15, World News, single-column boxed story, below the fold]

Underwater Volcano Suspected in Series of Earthquakes

Unusual Readings in Antarctic Sea

By Emily Guest Washington Post Foreign Service

SOUTH GEORGIA ISLAND, August 2—Geologists at the British Scientific Station here have reported that an undersea volcano is suspected to be the cause of a series of mysterious temblors in the South Atlantic, off the coast of Antarctica. The small earthquakes, some recently registering as high as 4.2 Mw on the Richter scale, have shaken the sea floor at a depth of over two miles, near what is called the "Ice Limit": the northernmost extension of pack ice surrounding Antarctica, where the South Atlantic Ocean converges with the Antarctic Sea. The seaquakes have been picked up by seismograph stations in the region. More than 250 small earthquakes have been registered, along with lower frequency vibrations which scientists believe are the result of the movement of magma deep under the earth's crust.

[ U. S. News & World Report , week of August 5 - page 31, World Report: half-page article on bottom half of page with a photo of the Marylebone .]

Scientists Enthused at Prospect of New Undersea Volcano

Research Vessel Sent to Investigate

By Martin Kurtin

GRYTVIKEN, SOUTH GEORGIA—Seismologists and vulcanologists from the United States and Britain are growing increasingly excited by a new undersea volcano that may be erupting off the coast of Antarctica. A series of small earthquakes shook the region beginning last week, becoming gradually stronger and more widespread. Some of the latest quakes have registered close to 5.0 on the Richter scale, large enough to have been felt on nearby islands. The quakes are occurring in the abyssal plain of the Scotia Ridge, where the ocean is more than two miles deep.

"This is an unusual opportunity for vulcanologists to study an undersea volcano in the making," said Dr. Philip Hartley, a scientist with the American National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), who flew to South Georgia two days ago to study the eruptions. "It is especially interesting because this is not an area previously known for vulcanism." Dr. Hartley said it was highly unlikely that the volcano would actually build enough of an undersea mount to break the surface and become a new island. The British research vessel, Marylebone , is deviating from its normal schedule and is being quickly re-equipped in order to leave for the remote site next week, taking advantage of a rare period of good weather.

The seas north of the Antarctic Peninsula are known to be the most dangerous on earth, with large storms, high winds, and immense waves that have been recorded at close to 200 feet high. The vessel will be employing a remote submersible, capable of diving the 2 miles necessary to view the volcano. The submersible, called the Nausicaa , is similar to the ones used to discover the Titanic almost twenty years ago.

"It will be a real challenge to study this eruption," said Dr. Hartley, "given the great depth, dangerous seas, and intense cold. August, of course, is wintertime down here."

[ Washington Post - page A14, World News, single-column boxed story, below the fold]

Expedition Departs to Study Possible Undersea Volcano

Window of Good Weather Seized

By Emily Guest Washington Post Foreign Service

BOURNEMOUTH, ENGLAND, August 10—The British research vessel H.M.S. Marylebone set off today with a crew of 38, including a joint British-American team of 12 scientists, to study a mysterious undersea eruption taking place on the sea-bed about 200 miles north of the Antarctic coast. A rare period of good weather in this region known for severe storms and high seas allowed the expedition to proceed.

"We're incredibly lucky to have this weather," said Dr. Phillip Hartley, an undersea vulcanologist with NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, who is leading the American scientific team. "This volcano is getting very interesting, very quickly, and we're going to be able to study it under optimal conditions."

Scientists have recorded several strong earthquakes in the vicinity, some registering as high as 6.2 on the Richter scale, along with some very low frequency seismic waves that scientists have interpreted as being the movement of magma deep within the earth's crust.

"This is a big eruption," said Dr. Hartley. "Astonishing, really. We're very excited at the prospect of learning more."

Not all geologists are convinced the earthquakes mark the eruption of an underwater volcano. "If this is a volcano," said Dr. Elwyn Pandolfi of Harvard University's Department of Geophysical Sciences, "then it's the strangest volcano I've ever seen." He explained that the seismic disturbances have been too strong and too localized to be explained by an underwater eruption. And he notes that satellite photographs and aerial flyovers have not revealed any outgassing on the surface of the ocean where the volcano is believed to be erupting. A typical volcanic eruption, Dr. Pandolfi stated, would spew out millions of tons of gases such as carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide, which under normal circumstances should be roiling the surface of the ocean.

Dr. Pandolfi did not have any alternative suggestions as to what the seismic disturbances might mean, but he hypothesized it might have something to do with plate tectonics—the spreading and malformation of the crust that is known to take place on the sea floor. "The sea floor is where the continents spread, where new crust is formed. I believe this has something to do with the forces that drive the continents—it's just too massive to be some little undersea volcano."

[ New York Times - page A10, International: 2-column boxed story, above the fold, with photograph of Marylebone ]

Contact Lost with Expedition to Study Undersea Volcano

By Erik Hutchins

GRYTVIKEN, SOUTH GEORGIA, August 21—Communications officers at the British Scientific Station on South Georgia Island today lost contact with the research vessel H.M.S. Marylebone , which had sailed last week to a remote part of the South Atlantic to study the eruption of a possible undersea volcano. The eruption is believed to be taking place on the abyssal plain near a deep sea landmark known as the Scotia Ridge, in water that is approximately two miles deep. Soon after contact was lost, South Georgia, the Falkland Islands, and the Cape Horn Islands were struck by two distinct series of tidal waves, fifteen minutes apart, with wave crests measuring up to seventy feet in height.

Dr. Dana Embledown, chief of the South Georgia station, doubted that there was a connection between the waves and the loss of contact with the Marylebone . "Normally," Dr. Embledown said, "a ship on the high seas is immune to the effects of a tidal wave." A tidal wave, he explained, can pass beneath a ship in the open ocean with a barely noticeable rise and fall. Tidal waves only become dangerous when they encounter shoaling water, which causes them to crest and break. "We believe the loss of radio contact is temporary," he said. "Probably a generator failure. The weather down here has been splendid—no storms, wind, or high seas. The Marylebone is one of the most advanced research vessels ever built. We have complete confidence in both ship and crew."