Denton Antarctic Survey
Denton was one of the original signatories to the Antarctic Treaty. The Denton Antarctic Survey was setup in 1929 to attempt an expedition with Dentonite researchers and establish a research station.
Contents
History
The Denton Antarctic Survey was established in 1929.
The first ice breaker to be built was IB Hirshey, named after Adolphus Hirshey, the key figure behind the establishment of the Antarctic Survey. Construction was begun in 1929 but was not completed until 1936, due to funding issues. In 1937, the Hirshey visited the coast of Antarctica with a full research team. However, the engines were found to be underpowered and it could not make its way out of an ice floe. The expedition was abandoned and all personnel were evacuated back to Denton. The Hirshey drifted for 3 years until it was able to break free of the ice floe and within a month, it was steamed back to Denton for refurbishment.
Denton and Hellas began talks of a joint expedition in 1938, the expedition beginning early 1939.
Land Claims
Denton originally claimed the land between 80°E to 110°E, land directly under Denton and conflicting with the Australian claim. Denton held this claim until 1953, when interest turned towards Marie Byrd Land. Denton has still reserved the right to re-establish its original claim but has not exercised it.
Marie Byrd Land
Despite not being directly south of the main Denton islands, Marie Byrd land (commonly referred to as Marby Land) was of specific interest to the Denton Antarctic Survey, primarily due to its remoteness and excellent research opportunities. Although the United States expressed interest and have documents supporting a claim of Marby Land, no such claim was ever made and Denton claimed the territory in early 1956, after the opening of the Joint Salidan-Denton Siple Island Station.
Denton's claim of Marby Land extends from 90°W to 150°W.
Research Stations
Novak Station
Used as a resupply station for the Dome A/Ridge A facilities.
Dome A Research Station
Established in 1964 by a joint Salide-Denton-Hellas Expedition Dome A Station is located on the highest point in Antarctica, at 4088m in elevation. An ice runway was created in 1965, stretching over 4km long. Dome A Station is supplied by the Novak Station. Direct flights are made from Rhone International.
Ridge A Telescope
At Ridge A, a site near to Dome A and known for its view into space being 3 times clearer than anywhere else, a telescope was constructed from 1999 to 2007, with many of the components being airlifted to Dome A Station by an SPSP DST-6E transport. The construction costs were estimated to be 800 million dollars, significantly lower than that of the Hubble Space Telescope, but with the same photographic quality.
Siple Island Station
Often called MarBy's McMurdo in reference to its significance as a gateway, it is the largest Station that Denton or Salide operate on Antarctica.
Yoong Research Station
Established in 1958 in Marby Land and named after Li Yoong, a Chinese-Dentonite glaciologist.
Bentley Research Station
Located deep within Marby Land, Bentley Station was named after the subglacial trench which it is built over, the lowest point on earth not covered by water, extending 2555m below sea level (4237m below the station). To further research the trench, a drilling rig was set up to collect samples of the ice from the station all the way to the rock below and past it.
Whitmore Research Station
Named after the nearby Whitmore Mountains.
Equipment
Main article:SA Icebreakers
Ships (in service)
Eitu and Alessia (Icebreakers)
Eitu and Alessia are two large CODLOG icebreakers that were named after the first two Dentonite ships to reach and explore the Antarctic in 1938-1939. The two ships are a part of the same class, but have some major differences. Eitu is primarily focused on station supply and keeping lanes open, while Alessia is more geared toward research, which is evident in the extra lab and accommodation space. The ships carry 2 Donnelley GH-3 hyrodynes and Alessia carries an additional Worth U21P helicopter.
In 2012, Eitu was resupplying the Denton Yoong Station when it encountered thick ice. In an attempt to power through it, the tips of the center propeller broke off, sending vibrations through the ship. Without enough power to get out of the ice, Eitu was stuck. Alessia was nearby and attempted to free Eitu. Alessia reached within 6km before she had to give up on the rescue effort. Salide's Mor-Anann icebreaker was en route from the South Pacific Territory and made its way to the location. As Mor-Anann tried to reach Eitu, it was clear that more power was needed, so Alessia tied up to Mor-Anann's rear bumper and the two ships combined their forces to provide a channel for Eitu to escape. Eitu was successfully freed after 10 days stuck and was sent back to Lock Haven for repairs.
Ships (out of service)
Eitu and Alessia
Eitu was an E-Class merchant ship built in 1916. She was purchased by the Hirshey FMRC in 1932.
The Alessia was a merchant ship that was owned by a small steamship line in Denton (named after the owner's daughter). She was about 380ft long, and was equipped with a catapult for seaplanes and fueling facilities for the blimp that accompanied the expedition (the blimp was moored to the ship on a long tether, so as to allow for movement in the severe winds of the Antarctic).
Hirshey
The first purpose built icebreaker in Denton was the Hirshey, named after Adolphus Hirshey (a prominent marine biologist from Denton, after which the Adolphus Hirshey Federal Marine Research Center is named). It was a steam powered ship built in 1929, and was built for exploration along the coast of Antarctica, but was laid up due to funding issues and did not visit the coast until 1937. When it did, however, it got caught up in an ice floe and could not generate enough steam to power out of it. Eventually, a notice was sent to Denton, and a rescue effort was organized to airlift the crew and research personnel from the stranded ship. The ship drifted for 3 years (which is why it did not partake in the Hellas-Denton Expedition) until it broke free from the ice floe. It was retrieved and steamed back to Denton. She stayed in service in research fields until 1978, when she was turned into a museum.
Bellingshausen
The second purpose built icebreaker in Denton was the Bellingshausen (named for Alfred M. Bellingshausen, team leader of the expedition group of 1939). It was a nuclear icebreaker and entered service in 1962. She was longer than the Lenin icebreaker of the Soviet Union, and even larger than the later Eitu and Alessia icebreakers, at 138m. She was decommissioned in 1996, because of maintenance costs associated with her old age. Bellingshausen is a museum ship in Brunswick, where Bellingshausen lived. (note, this Bellingshausen is completely unrelated to Thaddeus Bellingshausen, for which the Bellingshausen Sea is named after).
BioFuel Initiative
In 2001, the DAS implemented an 80/20 Biofuel/Petroleum initiative for all of it's vehicles, especially those working in environmentally sensitive areas like Antarctica.
By 2008, after successful implementation of the 80/20 initiative, the DAS changed the policy to a 100% biofuel initiative, to be fulfilled by 2015. However, issues with biofuel replacing pertoleum fully delayed the implentation, though this was resolved by 2018.
Criticisms
Although the Denton Antarctic Survey has not had any recent controversies, there was much criticisms on the Dentonite's treatment of waste and hazardous materials in the 1970s and 80s, being one of the drivers behind the Antarctic Environmental Protocol of 1998. There were multiple instances of waste being dumped or buried in areas and then covered by snow at multiple stations, most of them seasonal, a single instance of an unknown quantity of fuel-oil being discharged through a leak in a cargo ship visiting Siple Island (and the incident subsequently covered up), and the general invasive and destructive treatment of flora and fauna while doing various research projects. After some of these incidents were made public, many of the perpetrators (mainly higher-ups) were tried in court, as they broke environmental laws on Denton territories (and being a Denton territory it was governed under the same law). All available records were collected and all sites that were able to be visited were cleaned and any waste products removed with a cleanup of the surrounding areas as well.
