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November has ended as it started. High winds and snow have battered the base for the majority of the last 30 days, halting most work anyone might have wanted to do outside. Anything that is, with the exception of the melt tank. The melt tank is our snow melter and thus our water supply. Without a daily fill we quickly run out of water. On beautiful sunny days it’s a pleasure being outside, shovelling snow into our little hole in the ground, but when you can’t see more than 20 metres in front of you it fast becomes a chore, first having to shovel all the filled in snow away from the hole, before you can shovel it back down. But, those endless claustrophobic days, a flat white sky blurred with the flat white ground have been punctured by some clear, still, crisp Antarctic days and we have snatched what we can, whilst we can. |
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During the first break, Rich T, Paul, Gaz, Neil, Liz and myself made what turned out to be the last trip to Windy Cove to see the massive Emperor Colony that has been there all winter. We have been fortunate to see the chicks grow from little scrawny, furless balls tucked away underneath an adult’s belly, to become the independent, carefree characters they are now, running away from their parents to fight with each other, seemingly oblivious to the inherent dangers all around them. However these creatures, which must be one of the hardiest of all, not only have to survive temperatures of -50°C during the dark winter months, but, are relying on something else they have no control over. The frozen Weddell Sea. Once the sea ice breaks up they have to be ready to swim, and though in their little grey furry jackets they might look, in the words of Cathy and Liz, cute and cuddly; that coat is useless in the water. If the sea ice breaks up before they have moulted they stand little chance of survival. And this month it broke up, early! The sea ice around the entire Brunt Ice Shelf disintegrated during the last ‘blow’ and with it hundreds of Emperor Penguin chicks will have died. The water now teams with adults swimming, but it will be interesting to see how many return next year. This also has implications for our main resupply in a few weeks, as the sea ice would be the usual mooring place of one of the British Antarctic Surveys (BAS) two ships, the RRS Ernest Shackleton. The other options involve long drives of up to 60Km over the Brunt Ice Shelf, which prolong the task and affect the summer building and scientific plans. There’ll be more on this next month. |
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After eight months without seeing a soul, three extra people added to Halleys compliment. Two pilots, Lez Kitson and Jack Hawkins, and Air Mechanic Paul McLean arrived from the BAS Rothera Station earlier than scheduled in one of the four BAS Twin Otters. This particular one is named ‘Ice Cold Kate’, a similar name to the first aircraft used by BAS in 1947, "Ice Cold Katy". Nearly everyone was out by the Skiway, a perfect 1.5Km line of used AVTUR drums laid out by Cathy and Neil to indicate where the aircraft should land. The first plane is always exciting. For eight months we have had no fresh food, and so the brightly coloured salad and eggs are a joy to eat. We’ve also had no Chocolate all winter either, so a few bars went down a treat that night along with a few beers. |
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The whole idea of the plane arriving early was to make a start ferrying fuel to many of the depots BAS keeps in the depths of Antarctica. Logistically, flying around the continent is difficult and depots are placed strategically so that scientific sites can be reached safely and efficiently. A drum of fuel, which only costs £110, can often be worth a few thousand by the time it has been transported by ship and air to a latitude of 80°S. Later on, a second Twin Otter arrived to help out with the early depoting of fuel but the high winds and generally bad weather have meant they have just sat on the ground getting snowed in. The skis have had to be dug out, the engines stripped of their covers to be cleared of snow and ice, thus preventing imbalances in the propellers and shorts in the circuits. By the time you leave this place the one thing you can do is use a shovel! |
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And on the subject of digging, so to fuel raising. During the summer, the RRS Ernest Shackleton delivers 1750 drums of AVTUR to Halley. This is all placed on the snow surface and as with everything here, it gets buried. In one year the snow surface rises by about 1.5m and so the following summer we need to dig it all out again. It’s no easy task, but on good sunny days the exercise is great and we can dig out 198 drums, putting them all on sledges ready for refuelling of the base, vehicles and aircraft. A lot of fuel will be used over the next few weeks with flights by BAS aircraft and those of Polar Logistics (a commercial operator) and the German Alfred Wegener Institute whose aircraft fly via Halley to Neumayer Station, some 450 miles from Halley; close by Antarctic standards.
And so, with the warmer air outside, we don't have to stay in to party any more. The night before the second plane arrived it was Ceiledh night on the open platform. In the end not a note of Scottish Music was played, but never the less it didn’t stop our Scottish contingent dressing up for the occasion.
That wind also has its uses. For the first time this winter a few of us got our kites out for a trial run. The Meteorological team (Dan, Liz and Cathy) use kites of one sort or another throughout the winter to take various readings of the air above us, but this time it was just for fun. Cathy has one of these big Flexifoil types, which tends to drag her along the snow. Mine is smaller and zippier and in a tangle it snapped one of Cathys strings. She’s also got a zippy one, so has Liz, so when it’s good again, the battles will commence!
So now I think about it, the month hasn’t really ended as it started. The sea ice has gone, the Emperors have gone. More people have arrived, so has the warmer weather. The fresh food has already gone and the extra chocolate has now gone. It’s still white out. But then this is Halley!
I’d have it no other way.