Operation Deep Freeze I was the codename for a series of scientific expeditions to Antarctica in 1955–56. World map showing location of Antarctica A satellite composite image of Antarctica For the Kim Stanley Robinson novel see Antarctica (novel) Antarctica (from Greek ἀνταρκτικός, opposite the arctic) is a continent surrounding the Earths South Pole. ... 1955 is a common year starting on Saturday. ... 1956 is a leap year starting on Sunday. ...

The impetus behind these expeditions was the International Geophysical Year 1957–58. IGY, as it was known, was a collaboration effort between forty nations to carry out earth science studies from the North Pole to the South Pole and at points in between. The United States, along with Great Britain, France, Japan, Norway, Chile, Argentina, and the U.S.S.R. agreed to go the South Pole—the least explored area on Earth. Their goal: to advance world knowledge of Antarctic hydrography and weather systems, glacial movements, and marine life. The U.S. Navy was charged with supporting the U.S. scientists for their portion of the IGY studies. The International Geophysical Year or IGY was an international scientific effort that lasted from July 1, 1957 to December 1958. ... 1957 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1958 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... This is about the geographic meaning of North Pole. ... Location of the South Pole in the Antarctic continent. ... The United States of America — also referred to as the United States, the U.S.A., the U.S., America, the States, or (archaically) Columbia—is a federal republic of 50 states located primarily in central North America (with the exception of two states: Alaska and Hawaii). ... Great Britain - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... The French Republic or France (French: République française or France) is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in western Europe, and which is further made up of a collection of overseas islands and territories located in other continents. ... Official language Japanese Capital Tokyo Largest City Tokyo Emperor Akihito Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 60th 377,835 km² 0. ... Norway - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... The Republic of Chile is a country in South America occupying a long coastal strip between the Andes mountains and the Pacific Ocean. ... Argentina is a country in southern South America, situated between the Andes in the west and the southern Atlantic Ocean in the east. ... Soviet redirects here. ... The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for naval operations. ...

The U.S. Navy already had a record of earlier exploration in Antarctica. As early as 1839, Captain Charles Wilkes led the first U.S. Naval expedition into Antarctic waters. In 1929, Admiral Richard E. Byrd established a naval base at Little America I, led an expedition to explore further inland, and conducted the first flight over the South Pole. From 1934–35, the second Byrd Expedition explored much further inland and also "wintered over". The third Byrd Expedition in 1940 charted the Ross Sea. 1839 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Charles Wilkes Charles Wilkes (April 3, 1798 – February 8, 1877) was an American naval officer and explorer. ... 1929 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Rear Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd, USN (October 25, 1888 – March 11, 1957) was an pioneering polar explorer and famous aviator. ... Little America is an Antarctic exploration base, located on the Ross Shelf Ice, south of the Bay of Whales. ... 1934 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1935 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1940 was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... External links Antarctic Physical Geography Categories: Antarctica geography stubs | Seas | Ross Dependency ...

After World War II, from 1946–47, Byrd was instrumental in the Navy's Operation Highjump that charted most of the Antarctic coastline. In 1948 Commander Finn Ronne led an expedition that photographed over 450,000 square miles (1.1 million km²) by air. Then, in 1954–55, the icebreaker USS Atka (AGB-3) made a scouting expedition for future landing sites and bays. Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... 1946 was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... 1947 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Operation Highjump was a United States Navy operation in Antarctica from 1946-47, the largest effort in the southmost continent to this day. ... 1948 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... Finn Ronne (December 20, 1899 - 1980) was a U.S. explorer of Antarctica. ... 1954 was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1955 is a common year starting on Saturday. ... US Coast Guard icebreakers near McMurdo Station, February 2002 An icebreaker is a special purpose ship designed to move through ice covered marine environments. ...

Operation Deep Freeze I would prepare a permanent research station and pave the way for more exhaustive research in later Deep Freeze operations. The expedition transpired over the Antarctic summer of November 1955 to April 1956.

The subsequent military support missions to Antarctica, including those conducted today by the 139th Expeditionary Air Wing of the New York Air National Guard, the U.S. Coast Guard icebreakers, the Military Airlift Command and the Military Sealift Command, are also known collectively as Operation Deep Freeze, which is overseen from Christchurch, New Zealand, by an outpost of the U.S. Air Force called Detachment 13. World map showing location of Antarctica A satellite composite image of Antarctica For the Kim Stanley Robinson novel see Antarctica (novel) Antarctica (from Greek ἀνταρκτικός, opposite the arctic) is a continent surrounding the Earths South Pole. ... Coast Guard shield The United States Coast Guard is the coast guard of the United States. ... US Coast Guard icebreakers near McMurdo Station, February 2002 An icebreaker is a special purpose ship designed to move through ice covered marine environments. ... The Military Sealift Command (MSC) is a United States Navy organisation that controls most of the replenishment and military transport ships of the Navy. ... Christchurch is a city on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. ... New Zealand is an independent sovereign state in the south-western Pacific Ocean. ... Seal of the Air Force. ...

External links

• history.navy.mil: Operation Deep Freeze I (http://www.history.navy.mil/ac/exploration/deepfreeze/deepfreeze17.html)