Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541)

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]

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