Хребты безумия
I
regionsexploredinvaryingdegreebyShackleton,Amundsen,Scott,andByrd. Withfrequentchangesofcamp,madebyaeroplaneandinvolvingdistancesgreatenoughtobeofgeologicalsignificance,weexpectedtounearthaquiteunprecedentedamountofmaterial -especiallyinthepre-Cambrianstrataofwhichsonarrowarangeofantarcticspecimenshadpreviouslybeensecured. Wewishedalsotoobtainasgreataspossibleavarietyoftheupperfossiliferousrocks,sincetheprimallifehistoryofthisbleakrealmoficeanddeathisofthehighestimportancetoourknowledgeoftheearth’spast. Thattheantarcticcontinentwasoncetemperateandeventropical,withateemingvegetableandanimallifeofwhichthelichens,marinefauna,arachnida,andpenguinsofthenorthernedgearetheonlysurvivals,isamatterofcommoninformation; andwehopedtoexpandthatinformationinvariety,accuracy,anddetail. Whenasimpleboringrevealedfossiliferoussigns,wewouldenlargetheaperturebyblasting,inordertogetspecimensofsuitablesizeandcondition.
Ourborings,ofvaryingdepthaccordingtothepromiseheldoutbytheuppersoilorrock,weretobeconfinedtoexposed,ornearlyexposed,landsurfaces-theseinevitablybeingslopesandridgesbecauseofthemileortwo-milethicknessofsolidiceoverlyingthelowerlevels. Wecouldnotaffordtowastedrillingthedepthofanyconsiderableamountofmereglaciation,thoughPabodiehadworkedoutaplanforsinkingcopperelectrodesinthickclustersofboringsandmeltingofflimitedareasoficewithcurrentfromagasoline-drivendynamo. Itisthisplan-whichwecouldnotputintoeffectexceptexperimentallyonanexpeditionsuchasours-thatthecomingStarkweather-MooreExpeditionproposestofollow,despitethewarningsIhaveissuedsinceourreturnfromtheantarctic.
