Winter @ 66° South: Clark Peninsula

Showing posts with label Clark Peninsula. Show all posts

Monday, 21 August 2017

Persistent Organic Pollutants Air Sampling

A short while ago I wrote about going air sampling with Clint and Watto. http://winterat66south.blogspot.com.au/2017/06/air-sampling-with-clint-and-watto.html
Well I thought I'd actually fill in the gaps around the science on this project, after all the purpose for us being down here is to support science. There are no science personnel on station over winter, and any projects with a year round data collection requirement are reliant on training up Station personnel to support their project.
This project is called "Antarctica as a sentinel for Southern Hemisphere Persistent Organic Pollutant Usage; Facilitation of the Global Monitoring Plan".... or as we know it "Bengston-Nash". Supervising Communications Technical Officer Clint Chilcott was selected to monitor the project over winter, clearly impressing the project proponents with his reliable technical demeanor ( having said that this is the same guy that built the igloo that still stands on the heli pad!).

The project is led by Susan Bengston Nash from Griffith University.

Polar regions are environmental 'sinks' for man-made, Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). These chemicals are toxic, bioaccumulative and considered a substantial threat. The Stockholm Convention on POPs aims to reduce and ultimately eliminate these chemicals from the environment. Australia has ratified the Convention and holds a legal obligation to conduct continuous, comparable, and high
quality monitoring of POPs within their states and territories. Chemical levels and profiles at the Poles of the earth reflect hemispheric usage and as such are of particular importance and special interest under the Global Monitoring Plan (GMP). The Department of Environment are the lead
agency responsible for fulfilling Australia’s responsibilities under the GMP. This project seeks to provide and safeguard ongoing, streamlined Antarctic access for the purpose of longitudinal monitoring of POP input, distribution, fate in the Antarctic region to serve federal obligations under the GMP.

Whilst this sounds awesomely scientific, our role here at station is just to maintain the passive air samplers out near the old Wilkes station. It pretty much involves swapping out foam filter media which is left in place for 6 week at a time to capture air particles.

The first time I went out sampling with Clint it was a lovely sunny day and not nearly as cold as the second trip. On this occasion it was Clint, Steve "Muscles" Middleton, and I that formed the crack science support team. Muscles and I generally tried to stay out of the way, and opened and closed boxes and jars as directed by our trusty leader!

Clint still has all of his fingers, and we achieved another win supporting science in the Antarctic!

Clint supervised by the shadowy assistants. Photo: Jacque Comery

Chnaging the battery of the anemometer. Photo: Jacque Comery

The anemometer. Photo: Jacque Comery

Air sampler. Photo: Jacque Comery

Sample media jars ready to deploy. Photo: Jacque Comery

Inside the air sampler. Photo: Jacque Comery

Clint changing sample media over. Photo: Jacque Comery

Jacque getting jars ready for Clint. Photo: Steve Middleton

Muscles assisting Clint. Photo: Jacque Comery

Clint and Muscles. Job done. Photo: Jacque Comery

Clint and Jac all packed up. Photo: Steve Middleton

View of Newcomb Bay on the way home. Photo: Jacque Comery

Enjoying one of Muscles's yarns on the drive home. Photo: Jacque Comery

Wednesday, 5 July 2017

Snow bubbles in the ice

Snow bubbles in the fresh water ice pools amoungst the rocks on the Clark Peninsula.

They look like pom-poms surronded by diamonds!

Snow bubbles frozen in the ice. Photo: Jacque Comery

Freshwater rock pool. Photo: Jacque Comery

Bubbles. Photo: Jacque Comery

Frozen pom-poms. Photo: Jacque Comery

Frozen pool, the ice surface rippled and dimpled. Photo: Jacque Comery

Friday, 23 June 2017

Air sampling with Clint and Watto

Last week I headed out with Watto and Clint to do the 6-weekly airsampling for a science project. Our Senior Comms Tech Officer Clint is looking after this project whilst the scientists are not here on station.
So last Saturday (after smoko of course), Clint warmed up the Hagglunds and we headed out at around 1030 hrs. On the drive whilst admiring the beautiful pre-dawn colours over the sea I spied the bright moon in the sky, and of course we had to pull over for pictures. ( I didn't even bring my camera along so I borrowed Watto's!!) A quick drive out to the site on the Clark Peninsula, and we were ready to change the air sampling media over. This process is hardest for Clint as he can't wear gloves whilst doing this job.. and on this morning it was around minus 23C or so. Still with excellent helpers in myself and Watto, we soon had the job done.
We were all set by about 1115hrs ish and piled back into the Hagg to return to station. as we drove along the W-line I spied the sun finally peeking over the horizon. On a clear morning like this with no low horizon cloud we actually can see the sun as it slides along the horizon. The last week or so has given us endless beautiful pastel skies for the few hours of light that we have.

Pre-dawn glow. Photo: Jacque Comery

Morning moon. Photo: Jacque Comery

Jac watching Clint change batteries over. Photo: Paul Watson

11:15 am minus 23 and still darkish. Photo: Paul Watcon

If i just reach a little higher.... Photo: Paul Watson

Finally. Sunrise. Photo: Paul Watson

Pastel skies. Photo: Paul Watson

Sunrise: Photo: Paul Watson

Jacque and Clint stop to watch sunrise on a rare cloudless day. Photo: Paul Watson

Monday, 24 April 2017

Sled haul to Wilkes Station

The abandoned Wilkes Station lies to the north of Casey on the Clark Peninsula. Origainally set up by the US Government, it was handed over to the Australian Government in 1959. More on the history of Casey Station here...http://winterat66south.blogspot.com.au/p/abou-casey-station.html
On the Saturday before Easter four of us set out to walk over to the old Station. We walked out along the A-line and then cut across below the Loken Moraines from waypoint A-05 directly to W-02 (check out the Windmill Islands Map 1 of 5 Click Here), keeping clear of the crevasse zone around the coast line. This is one of the few areas where we are approved to deviate from the cane lines and go 'cross country'. We had originally intended to ski this route, but high winds in the preceeding days had scoured all of the snow from the surface leaving the blue ice well and truely exposed.
The winds picked up along the way and it felt colder and colder, despite walking along at a cracking pace and hauling our survial packs. I was wishing that I had on thicker pants as my butt and legs were freezing!
Our survival packs - containing the same contents that I used to sleep out under the stars in my bivvy a few weeks ago - are required to be carried when we embark on any travel outside of Station limits. They have everything that we should need should we be required to go to ground in bad weather or an emergency. On this day, rather than carry our packs, we elected to drag them along in sleds.

Unfortunately on account of my hands also being freezing i didn't take too many pictures enroute. Despite wearing liner gloves and thick work gloves my fingers were going numb, so I graduated to mittens, and was not interested in unwrapping my fingers to play with my camera!
Once we arrived at the hut, we were met by the trusty Blue Hagglunds which had driven out to drop off a few guys spending the night at the Wilkes Hilton. We piled in and hitched a ride back to Station, stopping to snap a few photos along the way, and made it back in time for a hot shower, dinner and a few drinks. I can't wait to get back out to Wilkes to explore the area and embark on a Wilkes photo mission, from the warmth of the hut!