Ice Defines Strategic Role
McMurdo Sound's role as a strategic waterway dates back to early 20th century Antarctic exploration. British explorers Ernest Shackleton and Robert Scott built bases on the sound's shoreline as jumping-off points for their overland expeditions to the South Pole.
McMurdo Sound's logistic importance continues today. Aircraft transporting cargo and passengers land upon frozen runways at Williams Field located on the McMurdo Ice Shelf. Moreover the annual sealift of a cargo ship and fuel tanker rely upon the sound as a supply route to the continent's largest base at McMurdo Station. Both the U.S. base and New Zealand's nearby Scott Base are located on the southern tip of Ross Island.
Ross Island is the southmost piece of land in Antarctica that is accessible by ship. In addition, the harbor at McMurdo's Winter Quarters Bay is the world's southmost seaport (Department of Geography, Texas A&M University). The access by ships depends upon favorable ice conditions.
McMurdo Sound during austral winter presents a virtually impenetrable expanse of surface ice. Even during summer, ships approaching McMurdo Sound are often blocked by various concentrations of first-year ice, fast ice (connected to the shoreline), and hard multi-year ice. Subsequently, icebreakers are required for maritime resupply missions to McMurdo Station. Nonetheless, ocean currents and fierce Antarctic winds can drive pack ice north into the Ross Sea, temporarily producing areas of open water.
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