May 17, 2000


Scientist Dies in Isolation at South Pole

By JAMES GLANZ

An Australian astrophysicist died suddenly of undetermined causes
Friday at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, a research center
operated by the National Science Foundation, and his body must remain
there until the Southern winter ends in October. It was only the
third death at the pole in nearly 35 years.

While the death of the astrophysicist, Rodney Marks, is not thought
to be related to the harsh conditions at the pole, it is a reminder
that scientists operating the growing number of experiments there
must contend with a perilous isolation when medical emergencies
arise.

Individuals at the pole during the southern winter are trapped by the
severe weather, no matter how ill they might become. Last year, a
doctor at the station, Jerri L. Nielsen, found a lump in her breast
and treated herself until she could be flown out at winter's end.

Dr. Marks, who was 32, had complained of severe breathing
difficulties and reported to the station's physician, said Adair
Lane, an astronomer at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.

"His condition did improve for a while," Dr. Lane said. "And he was
conscious and was able to converse with the people attending him. And
suddenly his heart stopped and all the resuscitation failed."

The cause of death will probably not be determined until the body is
removed and an autopsy performed, said Karl Erb, director of the
foundation's Office of Polar Programs.

Dr. Marks was "wintering over" at the station, with about 10 other
scientists and technicians and 40 staff and construction personnel.
Projects at the station include measuring ozone in the atmosphere and
capturing subatomic particles, neutrinos from space.

Dr. Marks was operating a submillimeter telescope, which observes
radiation from gas clouds around star-forming regions in space.

Like all people who work at the pole, Dr. Marks passed a battery of
physical and psychological tests. He had also wintered there once
before.

The previous two deaths at the pole involved accidents, a foundation
spokesman said. In 1980, a worker clearing snow from an air shaft was
killed when the snow suddenly collapsed. In 1966, a worker died while
an aircraft was being unloaded.