McMurdo Sound
[1] Captain James Clark Ross discovered the sound in February 1841 and named it after Lieutenant Archibald McMurdo of HMS Terror.
[2] The sound serves as a resupply route for cargo ships and airplanes that land on floating ice airstrips near McMurdo Station.
The pack ice that girdles the shoreline at Winter Quarters Bay and elsewhere in the sound presents a considerable obstacle to surface ships.
In addition, the harbour at McMurdo's Winter Quarters Bay is the world's southernmost seaport (Department of Geography, Texas A&M University).
Tourism is increasingly popular in other parts of Antarctica but remains limited in McMurdo Sound due to the extreme sea conditions.
Cold, heavy air descending rapidly from the polar plateau at elevations of 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) or more spawns fierce katabatic winds.
Prevailing winds into McMurdo Sound shoot between mountain passes and other land formations, producing blizzards known locally as "Herbies".
[5] According to an interview with climatologist Gerd Wendler, published in the National Science Foundation's Antarctic Sun, one could dive to the ocean floor anywhere in the world and encounter water from the coast of Antarctica.
British explorers Ernest Shackleton and Robert Scott built bases on the Sound's shoreline for their overland expeditions to the South Pole.
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, the United States McMurdo Station.
Iceberg B-15A's grounding at the mouth of McMurdo Sound also blocked the path for thousands of penguins to reach their food source in open water.
Moreover, pack ice built up behind the iceberg in the Ross Sea creating a nearly 150-kilometre (81 nmi) frozen barrier that blocked two cargo ships en route to supply McMurdo Station, according to the National Science Foundation.
The icebreakers USCGC Polar Star and the Russian Krasin were required to open a ship channel through ice up to 3 metres (9.8 ft) thick.
[8] More than 50 years of continuous operation of the United States and New Zealand bases on Ross Island have left pockets of severe pollution in McMurdo Sound.
[9] A 2001 survey of the seabed near McMurdo revealed 15 vehicles, 26 shipping containers, and 603 fuel drums, as well as some 1,000 miscellaneous items dumped on an area of some 20 hectares (49 acres).
[10][11] The study by the government agency Antarctica New Zealand revealed that decades of pumping thousands of gallons of raw sewage from 1,200 summer residents into the sound had fouled Winter Quarters Bay.
[11] A study by the Australian Institute of Marine Science found that anti-fouling paints on the hulls of icebreakers are polluting McMurdo Sound.
Scientists found that samples taken from the ocean floor contained high levels of tributyltin (TBT), a component of the anti-fouling paints.
For instance, in 2003, the build-up of two years of difficult ice conditions blocked the U.S. tanker MV Richard G. Matthiesen from reaching the harbour at McMurdo Station, despite the assistance of icebreakers.
[15] The 1989 grounding of the Argentinean ship Bahía Paraíso and subsequent spillage of 640,000 litres (170,000 US gallons) of oil into the sea near the Antarctic Peninsula showed the environmental hazards inherent in supply missions to Antarctica.
Modern operations in McMurdo Sound have sparked surface cleanup efforts, recycling, and exporting trash and other contaminants by ship.
The 1989 cleanup included workers testing hundreds of barrels at the dump site, mostly full of fuels and human waste, for identification before they were loaded onto a freighter for exportation.
[19] This confederation of tour operators reports that only 5% of Antarctic tourists visit the Ross Sea area, which encompasses McMurdo Sound.
The peninsula's wildlife, soaring mountains, and dramatic seascapes have drawn commercial visitors since the late 1950s, when Argentina and Chile operated cruises to the South Shetland Islands.
Their itinerary may also include stops at Ross Island's historic explorer huts at Discovery Point near McMurdo Station or Cape Royds (Antarctica New Zealand).
Additionally, the Russian icebreaker extends the reach of tourism by launching helicopter trips from its decks, including visits to sites such as the McMurdo Dry Valleys and areas noted for wildlife viewing.
