What an exciting 30th birthday weekend, I flew a plane down the Antarctic peninsula from Rothera to Fossil Bluff, and even helped to land it on the runway back at Rothera which was a little nerve wracking. Then we had a BBQ in the snow, followed by a ceilidh in the aircraft hanger – the band played, Mel sang beautifully, we danced, bucketloads of fun. Thanks everyone for the presents from home, the messages, and everyone here for making it a great weekend.
The last week has been full of memorable experiences, there has been lots of wildlife around - we were out sampling in the boat midweek when a pod of minke whales came close, they were curving up out of the water blowing air, it was amazing to be so close to them. Groups of crabeater seals have been hiding from killer whales, skua are nesting on rocks close to my sampling site so I get dive-bombed by them frequently which is quite scary, fur seals are starting to arrive, and penguins can often be seen - I could sit and watch Adelie penguins for hours, the way they waddle along with their arms sticking out is hilarious
The flight yesterday was lovely, flying down over snowy mountain peaks, glaciers flowing down towards the ocean, large icebergs floating away from the broken ice shelf, sedimentatious rocky outcrops as we approached fossil bluff. The depot there is basically an Antarctic petrol station, used for refueling airplanes flying to and from Rothera, a few BAS staff live there on rotation over the summer, and as the name would suggest, the ground is packed full of fossils.
Sunday, 17 January 2010
Monday, 11 January 2010
Flying
On Saturday I co-piloted a twin otter plane from Rothera, up the peninsula, to the Larson Ice shelf, how amazing!
The small propeller plane, which is fitted with skis, is making regular trips from our base to a field party who are camping up on the ice shelf to take in supplies and bring out ice cores. The pilot Richie took off with me sat in the cockpit, gave me a brief rundown of the important instruments, and then handed over control, it was so exciting, flying over snow covered mountains, being able to see the ocean on either side of the peninsula, and hearing the weather updates so Richie could plan his descent to land at the Larissa ice camp. The international Larissa team led by Ellen Mosely-Thompson are making cores on the ice shelf, their camp is amazing! They have a canteen tent complete with tables and chairs and a breadmaker, internet and phone access, and even a shower!
The difference in conditions between Rothera and the Larsen Ice shelf was striking, the dry air is at least 10 degrees colder, and it was so nice to stand on proper snow (it's all slush here now). The difference is due to the ice shelf being on the eastern side of the peninsula - air circulates clockwise aound Antarctica, as it hits the mountains along the peninsula it rises, cools, and the moisture precipitates out. Cold dry air then descends over the ice shelf. The team up there were in high spirits despite camping in the cold conditions.
The remainder of the weekend has been spent finishing off an experiment which has gone well (iodine compounds are being produced by Antarctic diatoms), snowboarding (I have whiplash from an impressive faceplant on Friday evening) and celebrating the birthday of two of the girls on base.
This morning I'm going out sampling in the small boat, I go out into the bay once a week to take water and air samples to measure emissions of iodine and bromine compounds from the natural phytoplankton communities. As the numbers of phytoplankton in the water increase (the summer blooom) we expect to see an increase in the concentrations of these compounds.
As the summer season progresses here in Antarctica the scenery never ceases to amaze, this is the view from the bar on Saturday night:
The small propeller plane, which is fitted with skis, is making regular trips from our base to a field party who are camping up on the ice shelf to take in supplies and bring out ice cores. The pilot Richie took off with me sat in the cockpit, gave me a brief rundown of the important instruments, and then handed over control, it was so exciting, flying over snow covered mountains, being able to see the ocean on either side of the peninsula, and hearing the weather updates so Richie could plan his descent to land at the Larissa ice camp. The international Larissa team led by Ellen Mosely-Thompson are making cores on the ice shelf, their camp is amazing! They have a canteen tent complete with tables and chairs and a breadmaker, internet and phone access, and even a shower!
The difference in conditions between Rothera and the Larsen Ice shelf was striking, the dry air is at least 10 degrees colder, and it was so nice to stand on proper snow (it's all slush here now). The difference is due to the ice shelf being on the eastern side of the peninsula - air circulates clockwise aound Antarctica, as it hits the mountains along the peninsula it rises, cools, and the moisture precipitates out. Cold dry air then descends over the ice shelf. The team up there were in high spirits despite camping in the cold conditions.
The remainder of the weekend has been spent finishing off an experiment which has gone well (iodine compounds are being produced by Antarctic diatoms), snowboarding (I have whiplash from an impressive faceplant on Friday evening) and celebrating the birthday of two of the girls on base.
This morning I'm going out sampling in the small boat, I go out into the bay once a week to take water and air samples to measure emissions of iodine and bromine compounds from the natural phytoplankton communities. As the numbers of phytoplankton in the water increase (the summer blooom) we expect to see an increase in the concentrations of these compounds.
As the summer season progresses here in Antarctica the scenery never ceases to amaze, this is the view from the bar on Saturday night:
Wednesday, 30 December 2009
Christmas photos
A traditional boxing day walk - Antarctic style
Celebrating christmas with the girls
Happy on Christmas day with all essential items
Monday, 28 December 2009
Christmas in Antarctica
What a fabulous place to spend Christmas. It’s been a mixture of fun parties and outdoor sports with a great group of people
On Christmas eve we put on a ‘nativity’ play, cleverly adapted by doctor Matt to tell the story of the birth of the savior Shaun the chippy by Mary the beaker. It was hysterical, here’s a clip:
‘Hark’ they cried out, “make all possible haste.”
“For something miraculous has happened on base.”
“What can it be?” they cried, wiping away their drool
“Has John Withers withdrawn the two can rule?”
“Better than that,” the angels replied,
“Oh has that horrible pet skua finally died?”
“Shut up and listen, you miserable gits.
This day a man is born the king of FIDS.
We drank mulled wine and ate mince pies as the sun shone on the icebergs floating in the bay outside, quite surreal.
A morning walk around the coast to look at the penguins and seals, in a dress, was an unusual but extremely pleasant way to start Christmas day; the remainder of the day was very traditional - playing scrabble with the girls, opening presents from friends at home and on base, eating chocolate and drinking wine, followed by Christmas dinner in the festively decked canteen.
I also stuck to tradition on boxing day and went for a stroll, this year however it involved slapping on some suntan cream, getting into a harness to be roped up, and wearing crampons to hike across reptile ridge, a snow covered mountain ridge close to base. Yesterday we completed another ridge walk – stork ridge, which has spectacular views over the ice cliffs, the air was so clear you could see an island range 100 km away. We also saw Arctic turns nesting on the cliff tops, icebergs calving off into the ocean, and coming down off the ridge into ‘stork bowl’ over fresh powdery snow gave me the feeling you get when you wake up in the morning after a big snowfall and you’re the first person to walk on outside, only on a huge scale. The colors and light were fabulous, the hills and ridges of the windblown snow look like white sand dunes rolling off into the distance, mountain peaks surrounding you are awe inspiring, the sun beating down making you sweat at the same time – it’s all such a sensory overload you struggle to take it in. After returning to base for dinner we went back out into the hills to snowboard for the evening – it’s been a while so I took lots of tumbles, but when we returned to base there was a party on the veranda outside the accommodation block so I was able to rest by aching bones in the low sunlight with a few beers.
Thanks to everyone at home for my presents, and everyone on base for an amazing Christmas
On Christmas eve we put on a ‘nativity’ play, cleverly adapted by doctor Matt to tell the story of the birth of the savior Shaun the chippy by Mary the beaker. It was hysterical, here’s a clip:
‘Hark’ they cried out, “make all possible haste.”
“For something miraculous has happened on base.”
“What can it be?” they cried, wiping away their drool
“Has John Withers withdrawn the two can rule?”
“Better than that,” the angels replied,
“Oh has that horrible pet skua finally died?”
“Shut up and listen, you miserable gits.
This day a man is born the king of FIDS.
We drank mulled wine and ate mince pies as the sun shone on the icebergs floating in the bay outside, quite surreal.
A morning walk around the coast to look at the penguins and seals, in a dress, was an unusual but extremely pleasant way to start Christmas day; the remainder of the day was very traditional - playing scrabble with the girls, opening presents from friends at home and on base, eating chocolate and drinking wine, followed by Christmas dinner in the festively decked canteen.
I also stuck to tradition on boxing day and went for a stroll, this year however it involved slapping on some suntan cream, getting into a harness to be roped up, and wearing crampons to hike across reptile ridge, a snow covered mountain ridge close to base. Yesterday we completed another ridge walk – stork ridge, which has spectacular views over the ice cliffs, the air was so clear you could see an island range 100 km away. We also saw Arctic turns nesting on the cliff tops, icebergs calving off into the ocean, and coming down off the ridge into ‘stork bowl’ over fresh powdery snow gave me the feeling you get when you wake up in the morning after a big snowfall and you’re the first person to walk on outside, only on a huge scale. The colors and light were fabulous, the hills and ridges of the windblown snow look like white sand dunes rolling off into the distance, mountain peaks surrounding you are awe inspiring, the sun beating down making you sweat at the same time – it’s all such a sensory overload you struggle to take it in. After returning to base for dinner we went back out into the hills to snowboard for the evening – it’s been a while so I took lots of tumbles, but when we returned to base there was a party on the veranda outside the accommodation block so I was able to rest by aching bones in the low sunlight with a few beers.
Thanks to everyone at home for my presents, and everyone on base for an amazing Christmas
Monday, 14 December 2009
Fun at Rothera
I’ve been having so much fun. Shortly after our arrival on base we were sent on our field training course. This includes field survival skills, hiking over snow covered mountains wearing crampons, abseiling into a crevasse and camping overnight in a pyramid tent.
After being shown the contents of a field medical box to prepare us for the worst, and some basic rope skills to prepare us for the best, we were driven away from the base in a snow-cat (a big tractor). We were taught how to walk safely (roped together), how to rescue each other in the event one of us took an unplanned crevasse exploration, and how to set up a pyramid tent. Digging out a hole in the snow to prevent air circulating under the tent is the first step, ensuring the door is pointing away from the wind and getting the tent setup is next. These big orange canvass tents are pretty heavy but once inside you see why – they’re so cosy and warm! Inside the tent then goes a ground sheet, a small mountain of rugs, roll mats, blankets and sleeping bags, a pots box, field kit and food box. We were then ready to prepare our evening meal – we melted and boiled snow to make up the dehydrated meals, my culinary delight was vegetable casserole. Following the addition of a bucketload of marmite, and some biscuits and a cup of tea afterwards, the meal was actually tasty, especially after a day of exercise out in the cold.
We left some snow in a pan to melt overnight; when we awoke in the morning it was still snow! However I was toasty and warm in my down sleeping bag and I’d had a reasonable nights sleep, despite the light keeping me awake a little (it’s constant daylight down here at the moment). We melted more snow, had tea and porridge for breakfast, and then set off for more fun. First of all we climbed down in to a crevasse, which was stunning. The diffraction of blue light by snow gives a beautiful blue glow, and you’re surrounded by long icicles formed from melting snow in the summer. I felt like I was in a magical ice kingdom in Narnia! Some bits were difficult to navigate – the ice is slippery and hard when you slide into it. We the set off to walk along reptile ridge - a small mountain ridge close to Rothera. Walking uphill in the snow was hard work but well worth it for the views on the top!
Life on base is fun too, we had an open mike night on Friday, I was astounded by the quality of some of the music, especially Mel’s singing! Saturday night is treated as such - everyone gets dressed up for a three course meal with wine, and the ‘2 drinks per night’ rule is relaxed. Last night we had a poker night and other evening entertainment can include snowsports on the nearby hills, science talks, film showings or playing musical instruments in the ‘green room’.
I’m also finding time to do some work, most of my equipment is set up, the lab here is very well equipped and there’s lots of support from the mechanical workshop, field assistants, electricians and science coordinators. Bad weather has prevented us going out in the boat to get samples- the weather is 1.4 degrees, it’s snowing and the wind speed is 26 mph, so setting up some equipment on the roof of a container this morning was refreshing!
After being shown the contents of a field medical box to prepare us for the worst, and some basic rope skills to prepare us for the best, we were driven away from the base in a snow-cat (a big tractor). We were taught how to walk safely (roped together), how to rescue each other in the event one of us took an unplanned crevasse exploration, and how to set up a pyramid tent. Digging out a hole in the snow to prevent air circulating under the tent is the first step, ensuring the door is pointing away from the wind and getting the tent setup is next. These big orange canvass tents are pretty heavy but once inside you see why – they’re so cosy and warm! Inside the tent then goes a ground sheet, a small mountain of rugs, roll mats, blankets and sleeping bags, a pots box, field kit and food box. We were then ready to prepare our evening meal – we melted and boiled snow to make up the dehydrated meals, my culinary delight was vegetable casserole. Following the addition of a bucketload of marmite, and some biscuits and a cup of tea afterwards, the meal was actually tasty, especially after a day of exercise out in the cold.
We left some snow in a pan to melt overnight; when we awoke in the morning it was still snow! However I was toasty and warm in my down sleeping bag and I’d had a reasonable nights sleep, despite the light keeping me awake a little (it’s constant daylight down here at the moment). We melted more snow, had tea and porridge for breakfast, and then set off for more fun. First of all we climbed down in to a crevasse, which was stunning. The diffraction of blue light by snow gives a beautiful blue glow, and you’re surrounded by long icicles formed from melting snow in the summer. I felt like I was in a magical ice kingdom in Narnia! Some bits were difficult to navigate – the ice is slippery and hard when you slide into it. We the set off to walk along reptile ridge - a small mountain ridge close to Rothera. Walking uphill in the snow was hard work but well worth it for the views on the top!
Life on base is fun too, we had an open mike night on Friday, I was astounded by the quality of some of the music, especially Mel’s singing! Saturday night is treated as such - everyone gets dressed up for a three course meal with wine, and the ‘2 drinks per night’ rule is relaxed. Last night we had a poker night and other evening entertainment can include snowsports on the nearby hills, science talks, film showings or playing musical instruments in the ‘green room’.
I’m also finding time to do some work, most of my equipment is set up, the lab here is very well equipped and there’s lots of support from the mechanical workshop, field assistants, electricians and science coordinators. Bad weather has prevented us going out in the boat to get samples- the weather is 1.4 degrees, it’s snowing and the wind speed is 26 mph, so setting up some equipment on the roof of a container this morning was refreshing!
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