Marie Byrd Land hosted the Operation Deep Freeze base Byrd Station (NBY; 80°S, 119°W). This began in 1957, in the hinterland of Bakutis Coast. Byrd Station was the only big base in the interior of West Antarctica for many years. In 1968, the first ice core to fully go through the Antarctic Ice Sheet was drilled here. The year-round station was left in 1972. Between 1972 and 2008, the station was only occupied during the summer months. It was named again as Byrd Surface Camp. Byrd Station was opened again in 2009-2010. This was to support operations in northern West Antarctica.