Bunger Hills

Bunger Hills or Bunger Lakes or Bunger Oasis is a coastal range in Antarctica, consisting of a group of moderately low, rounded coastal hills, overlain by morainic drift and notably ice free throughout the year, lying south of the Highjump Archipelago.

The Bunger Hills are located with its center at coord|66|17|S|100|47|E|, stretching from 65°58'S to 66°20'S and from 100°20'E to 100°28'E. The Bunger Hills are marked by numerous melt ponds and are nearly bisected by an east-west trending Algae Lake (also known as Lake Figurnoye). Mapped from air photos taken by the United States Navy Operation Highjump (1946-1947) and named by the United States Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (US-ACAN) for Lieutenant Commander David E. Bunger, United States Navy, plane commander of one of the three USN OpHjp aircraft which engaged in photographic missions along most of the coastal area between 14 E and 164 E. David E. Bunger and members of his crew landed their airplane on an unfrozen lake here in February 1947.

The ice-free area measures 450 km², according to some sources even 750 or 942 km². The area is surrounded by glaciers. On the southeast the Bunger Hills is bordered by the steep slopes of the Antarctic ice sheet, on the south and west by outlet glaciers, and on the north by Shackleton Ice Shelf, which separates the area from the open sea. The topography is characterized by hills and low mountains, and there are many freshwater and salt lakes. The largest and deepest lake, Algae Lake (Lake Figurnoye) is 25 km long and up to 137 meters deep. The leader of Operation Highjump, Admiral Richard E. Byrd, famously stated that the Bunger Hills was ‘…one of the most remarkable regions on earth. An island suitable for life had been found in a universe of death.’ [Byrd, R.E. (1947) Our navy explores Antarctica. National Geographic Magazine, 92: 429-522.]

Cape Hordern is an ice-free cape, overlain by morainic drift, at the western end of the Bunger Hills. It was first observed by members of the western party of the Australain Antarctic Expedition (1911-1914), who were unable to reach it due to heavy crevassing on the Denman and Scott Glaciers.

Stations

The Soviet Union built a scientific station by the name of "Oazis" (Оазис) in the center of the area at coord|66|16|29|S|100|44|49|E|, starting October 15, 1956, with two buildings for eight people. The station was handed over to Poland on January 23, 1959, and was renamed "A. B. Dobrowolski Station". It continued to be occupied for a few weeks only thereafter. On Februar 22, 1979 (with preparations starting February 18) the station was reactivated for a short time, but an overwintering attempt failed, and the occupants had to be evacuated to Mirny Station (350 km to the west) on March 17.

The concrete pillar erected by the First Polish Antarctic Expedition at Dobrowolski Station in January 1959 for gravity measurements, and the magnetic observatory at the station with plaque in memory of the opening of Oazis Station in 1956, are recognized as Antarctic Historic Sites. [http://www.antarctic-circle.org/historicsites.htm]

About seven kilometers WNW of this station, at coord|66|15|S|100|36|E|, Australia has maintained the summer-only station Edgeworth David Base, named after Edgeworth David, since 1986.

External links

* [http://www.hamradio.ru/rrc/AWARDS/BASES/oazis.htm Russian site about Oasis Station and Bunger Hills Area]

ee also

*Mill Island

References

[1] Byrd, R.E. (1947) Our navy explores Antarctica. National Geographic Magazine, 92: 429-522.