Danger! May contain educational material

What would posses a Met observer to get out of bed at 5 am on a Saturday morning?  That’s a loaded question I know, but on this particular occasion it was due to a rather large balloon flying at 17 km above our heads!  No, we weren’t trying to shoot down Richard Branson; instead this balloon’s payload consisted of a vast array of scientific equipment that is part of an international cooperative effort to study the atmosphere above Antarctica.  These huge balloons were released from McMurdo Station earlier in the month and will spend up to the next 100 days circling the Antarctic continent transmitting from the stratosphere real-time data of winds, temperature, pressure, humidity, and particles and of particular concern to us, ozone.  As the balloon approached Davis the plan was for us to synchronise the fly over with the release of one of our own weekly ozone balloons (hence the early start).

The release of the long-duration stratospheric super-pressure balloon from McMurdo Station early in the month (Photo: McMurdo post).

So what is ozone, why is it so important and why are we still interested in it, wasn’t that so last century?  Well ozone is a special form of oxygen (with the chemical formula of O₃) that constitutes a very small part of our atmosphere, but its presence nonetheless is vital to human wellbeing.  Most ozone resides high up in the atmosphere, between 10 and 40 km above Earth's surface in a region called the stratosphere.  It is here that ozone does us a huge favour by absorbing some of the sun’s biologically harmful ultraviolet radiation.  In 1985 scientists from the British Antarctic Survey discovered that since the mid 1970s ozone values over the Antarctic had been steadily dropping when the sun reappeared each spring.  Something in the stratosphere was destroying ozone.

Satellite data of the ozone hole over Antarctica as of 20 September 2010.  Blue and purple depict areas of depleted ozone.  Latest ozone values from the stratosphere above Davis are 191 Dobson units (Image: NASA)

As we all know, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) that were released into the atmosphere by industrial activity were the culprit.  It was this discovery and its potential consequences to human health that prompted governments around the world to sign the Montreal Protocol, which ensured the swift phasing out of both the production and consumption of ozone depleting substances (ODSs).  The problem however, is that although the Protocol has been successful, ozone depletion will continue for many more decades because several key ODSs last a long time in the atmosphere after emissions end.

Enter climate change.  In the Antarctic, a projected increase in temperatures in the lower atmosphere (troposphere) will paradoxically result in decreased temperatures higher up in the stratosphere.  These lower temperatures would only exacerbate ozone destruction by increasing the frequency and extent of polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs).  These beautiful clouds only form at temperatures below -80°C and contain the chemical compound that is responsible for the catalytic destruction of ozone in the presence of sunlight.  Collaborative work between the Ice, Ocean, Atmosphere and Climate (IOAC) program of the AAD, the Bureau of Meteorology and other international organisations aim to further understand these complex interactions in a changing climate.

An image depicting the “Mother of Pearl” appearance that these high polar stratospheric clouds can exhibit.  As beautiful as they are, their chemistry helps to break down the ozone layer every spring (Photo: McMurdo post)

After the very ordinary weather we’d experience last week it made a nice change to get outside once more.  The fine conditions this week allowed both myself, Ben and Kim to head out on the sea ice and continue the fortnightly seawater sampling.

Kim and Ben drilling through the 1.5 metres of sea ice so that the seawater beneath could be sampled

Whilst we were out water sampling we were paid a visit by a very inquisitive Emperor penguin.  Whata you lookin at?  (Photo:  Ben O'Leary)

(Photo:  Ben O'Leary)

Fitness month

Well we all had a bit of fun in July when the station entered the 2010 Antarctic International Winter 48 Hour Film Festival (quite a mouth-full that).  For those of you who have never heard of it, you're not alone.  It's not exactly a Sundance or a Tropfest, but it's the biggest film festival held in Antarctica!  The festival is in its third year now and is organised out of the American base McMurdo (or is it McMordor)?  The Americans had actually been holding the festival for a number of years before that, but it had always been in-house.  This year the festival is showing signs of increasing popularity with a total of 41 films from 21 Antarctic and subantarctic stations representing 11 nations.

So as with most film festivals the Antarctic festival has a theme.  The film has to be created and produced in a 48 hour period (usually a weekend) and must include five elements that aren't announced until the eve of filming.  This year the five elements were:

1)  A bottle of mouthwash
2)  The sound of a siren
3)  A mop
4)  A grumpy dieso (diesel mechanic)
5)  And the dialogue "Have you seen my chicken?"

I feel that it's particularly important to labour this point, if you watched this film out of context you may think we'd gone completely mad.  Who knows, you might think that anyway!

The voting is open to all expeditioners wintering in the Antarctic or subantarctic, with a total of five categories to vote on, best film, acting, cinematography, screenplay and use of elements.  The elements are chosen by the winners from the previous year's festival.  So it looks like it will be Davis' turn to pick them next time.  After many hours of work by all involved we were able to come out as winners in two categories, best cinematography and best film.  There was also an open category that Davis scored an honourable third place in (go Zupy)!  If you're interested, all of the films can be viewed at this link:

http://cid-143586e833b2f7ce.office.live.com/browse.aspx/2010%20Winter%20Film%20Festival

Or you can just check Davis' entry below.

The traverse

It seems as though every blog entry I've made so far has started off with me making excuses/apologising for the passage of time since my last update!  So, seeing as though 2 months has passed since my last entry, I'll spare you all the blubbering and just get straight into it.  My last blog finished off with our Mid-Winters celebrations and with us preparing to head out on our traverse attempt to Amanda Bay.  So what happened?  Well what didn't happen!

The main purpose of the traverse attempt was to visit the remote Emperor penguin colony of Amanda Bay in the Larsemann Hills which lie some 100 km to the southwest of Davis.  However due to the uncertainty of safe sea ice travel in the more direct and shorter path to the Larsemanns, the traverse route was to head inland.  This particular path was to almost triple our traveling distance and meant that we had to drive some 60 km "inland" over the Antarctic plateau before we could even head towards our intended destination.  This was done in order to avoid the heavy crevassing that occurs on the plateau as it slopes steeply towards the coast.  Here's a map of the route we took.

As you can see we didn't quite make it to our destination, but oh so close.  Along the traverse route over 3 days of travelling we experienced the most extreme conditions that I have, and probably ever will experience.  Who thought travelling to elevations of ~1,500 metres on the Antarctic plateau in the middle of winter was a good idea?  Temperatures hovered between minus 40 and minus 50 degrees Celsius with a blizzard thrown into the mix, just to keep things interesting.  This made life fairly uncomfortable as life inside the sanctuary of our "heated" Hagglunds vehicles never rose above freezing.  The extreme conditions proved all too much for the majority of our equipment.  Engines wouldn't start, doors wouldn't close properly, tents couldn't be packed away properly because the material had frozen, fuel stoves leaked because of frozen "o" rings (causing a fire whilst I was boiling water for everyone), batteries failed and water not kept in thermoses would freeze within minutes.  After overcoming all of these little setbacks it was a broken spring at L126 on the track of the Blue Hagg that put an end to our traverse.

The polar pyramids were erected at this point and camp was made for two nights while some ingenious repairs were made to the crippled Hagg.  Go team dieso!  If I thought sleeping in a tent at minus 45C was bad, I couldn't imagine what those guys went through for over 12 hours whilst they carried out repairs in those hideous conditions.  Thanks to their efforts we were able to break camp and after three days of constant driving, make our way safely back to Davis.

The relief of seeing the lights of Davis off in the distance was a moment we'll never forget, our little home on the edge of the ice never looked so good.  We were all disappointed that we didn't make our destination, but everyone I've spoken to thoroughly enjoyed (in retrospect) the experience.  The way we were able to work together and bond as a group was something that caught me by surprise too.  It will certainly be an experience that I'll never forget.

Mid-Winters!

A few pictures of our Mid-Winters festivities for you all.  Below are just a few of our station Mid-Winter photographs!

Breakfast in the new Living Quarters consisted of bircher muesli, croissants, Russian caviar, eggs, bacon, sausages, toast, Danish pastries and "fresh" juice.  Yes, we do it tough down here.

Dinner was also huge and one of the highlights of the day, if not the year!  Kim (Iron chef) de Laive, raised the bar with that one.

Below is the menu for the evening.

And for the next issue I'll show some pictures of the various shenanigans that took place on the day.  This includes, but is not limited to, the outdoor spar/hot tub, winter Olympics and of course the Mid-Winter swim!  Lots of mankini photos to come (maybe).  For now though 12 of us are heading off on our traverse to the Larsemann Hills to photograph the remote Emperor penguin colony at Amanda Bay.  So I'll be back in a couple of weeks.  But in the mean time here's a teaser for you....

The sun's long gone

Well okay, there have been a few firsts since I last posted something up here.  We've had our first "official" blizzard, I've had my first birthday in Antarctica, we also had our first game of golf and for the first time we said goodbye to the sun for the last time in 38 days!  So with the exception of darkness, what else has been consuming our days down here?  It just so happens that June is a rather busy month for us Davisonians.  For one, mid-winters day is coming up on Monday and a week after that 12 of us are due to leave for the Larsemann Hills on a 800 km traverse for a couple of weeks.

Mid-winters is the biggest day of the year for wintering Antarctic expeditioners and it is something that has been heavily celebrated ever since the first Belgian wintering Antarctic expedition in 1897.  Unfortunately for them they inadvertently spent their winter trapped in the seaice on board their ship the Belgica and two of the ship's crew consequently went mad!  As I've been flicking through the numerous accounts of Antarctic literature in the library shelves down here, I've stumbled across a few accounts from that particular voyage.  The ships doctor, Frederick Cook, wrote in his diary at the time:

"The curtain of blackness which has fallen over the outer world of icy desolation has also descended upon the inner world of our souls"


"I can think of nothing more disheartening, more destructive to human energy, than this dense, unbroken blackness of the long polar night"


Happy days all round there!  I'm glad to say that none of us (to my knowledge) have slipped into any such depression or fits of madness, but I have noticed in myself an even greater reluctance to get out of bed in the mornings.  Even though the sun only left us a couple of weeks ago I have realised that it has been much  longer since we have actually felt any benefit from it.  In recent months the sun has stayed so low on the horizon that what rays had hit us had been too feeble to be of any real benefit.  But I am still looking forward to the 10th of July when the sun will once more poke its head above the horizon.  Until then, small stints in the hydroponics shed will have to suffice.  Below is a photo taken from the plateau of the last time we saw of the sun.

So in between preparations for mid-winters, 12 of us are busy preparing for the traverse at the end of the month.  This has involved various forms of training such as ice arrest techniques, glacial travel techniques, camping in polar pyramids (in rather ordinary conditions, see photos below) and search and rescue skills.  There is also a mountain of gear that needs to be prepared too.  The diesos have been busy readying the three Hägglund vehicles while sleds, trailers, tents, warm sleeping gear and food must also be prepared.  And the purpose of all of this?  Well our aim is to make it to the remote Emperor penguin colony of Amanda Bay to carry out a photographic census of the male birds.  We have to visit the colony at this particularly dark time of year as it is the only time when there will be no female birds around.  Females tend to complicate issues and make simple things difficult (female birds that is). Whilst we're in the area we'll also call in and say hello to both the Russian and Chinese wintering parties at Zhong Shan and Progress.  Should be interesting!

Hope everyone is all well back in civilisation.  Take care, will be in touch again shortly.

They've abandoned us

Hmm... yes, well it seems I'm getting worse at keeping this thing updated.  It's not as if I'm short of time down here, so there's really no excuse.  So what's happened since my last blog?  Well a fair bit really, I wont try and bore you with all of the details, but the most significant thing to occur is V4 (the last voyage of the season) arriving and then leaving again a few days later.  This was significant because it would be the last ship we'd see for an entire 8 months and also when it finally left, it reduced station numbers from 90 odd down to 25.  So our winter experience had finally begun.

Seeing the ship power off over the horizon was a really strange feeling.  I didn't react how I thought I would.  I had been anticipating a feeling of dread or panic as my last contact with the world outside sailed away for 8 months, but instead I was hit by excitement and a realisation that something very few people get to do had just started.  It was a very cool moment.  The dread set in much later.

So what have I been doing since then?  Well I spent the best part of a day opening all of my post and care packages that arrived on V4.  Unfortunately the coffee machine that I bought didn't travel too well and appears to have experienced the espresso form of sea sickness (i.e. getting smashed by something big and heavy in the cargo hold of the AA).  Of course I was a little upset to find something that is worth more than my car, reduced to scrap metal.  At least the 8 kg of freshly roasted coffee beans made it safely.  Thanks to mum and dad and Island Espresso for that one.

As we are actually experiencing nights now, we are also treated to the Aurora Australis on most clear nights (the green light thingy, not the ship).  Although we now have to put up with some slightly colder temperatures to view it.  The mercury is now regularly tipping minus 20 degrees.  Whilst we were unpacking one of the outside food freezers today it actually occurred to me that it was warmer inside the freezer than it was outside.  Shut the door, you're letting all the hot air out!

Jollies, SAR training and medivacs

It is surprising how much actually happens when you look back over a few weeks in your life.  At first I really didn't think there was a great deal to talk about, but there turns out to be one or two interesting things that have popped up over the last month.  A little drama that we had down in this part of the world recently was the medical evacuation of a Chinese expeditioner from the Chinese base Zhong Shan.  The expeditioner didn't come off so well after his abdomen met with an excavator bucket.  This resulted in some major surgery, a helicopter flight to the Davis region, a plane ride in a CASA to the Wilkins runway at Casey and finally a flight on the Airbus from Wilkins to Hobart.  Thankfully, after further emergency surgery in Hobart, the patient is making a steady recovery.  As I am one of the lay surgical assistance here at Davis, I was flown up to the skiway to lend a hand if necessary, in the patients transport from helicopter to plane.  There turned out to be more than enough help however.

Australia Day was also a rather eventful day, with lots of semi-naked swimming, barbecues and beach cricket.  The weather wasn't exactly conducive to swimming though, as the water temperature hovered around -1.8 deg C, with similar air temperatures.  So needless to say, I didn't last that long clad only in my mankini.  The nightmares and counselling will though, for those that were unlucky enough to see me.

And more recently the SAR (Search and Rescue) team had their first full day of training.  This involved doing cool stuff like flying in helicopters, hanging from ropes and doing some basic mountaineering techniques.  It was probably one of the more interesting days I've had since being here and is why I wanted to come down here in the first place.  The day was spent in one of the more spectacular parts of the Vestfolds and was accompanied by some beautiful weather, which consequently, has started to become cooler and more Antarctic-like in the past couple of weeks.  We now have darkness at night and we all find ourselves looking forward to a clear evening sky so that the Aurora Australis can finally be viewed.

Christmas and New Year shenanigans

Yes, it's been a while since last updating this.  So just a brief rundown of the Christmas and New Year season (I'll let the photos tell most of the story).  Both days were quite memorable, but it's a relief to have them out of the way.  I was somehow conned into being one of Santa's "little helpers" for the day and as you can see by the photos I look stunning in that sequinned mini skirt!  This was all for the effort of handing out the Kris Kringle presents that everyone had organised.  Santa (V2) didn't arrive on time for most people.  Our chefs Squeeze and Kim put on an amazing spread complete with crayfish, oysters, ham, turkey, 3000 year old glacial ice etc.  Too much alcohol was consumed, you know how it goes.

It was also Amy's 21st birthday just before New Years so I spent the majority of the morning of the 29th trying to time my pose for when the station web cam takes its 10 minute photo.  The results can be seen below.

New Years Eve was a very similar affair to Christmas Day with an equally disturbing amount of cross-dressing.  The evening had a Hollywood theme, which was complete with red carpet, security, an ice sculptured Oscar and the obligatory smoke machine and dancing lights (we do it tough down here).  Included is a photo of the Met boys.  The guy in the middle, Linc, is my supervisor!  It was then that I realised just how much trouble I am in over the next 12 months.  He did an amazing Flash Dance routine too by the way.  In case you're wondering, I'm supposed to be Caesar, I had to get inventive as a Christmas wreath and a busted weather balloon was all that I could find.  Needless to say there wasn't too much left of the balloon by the end of the night, I guess the temptation to over stretch an incredibly stretchy material was too great for some.  Thankfully the same can't be said for Linc's outfit.

So there you have it, two of the biggest days of the year in one of the remotest locations.  Next on the agenda is our mid-summer swim on Australia Day.  Is the world ready to see me in a mankini yet?