Air NZ Blog #4 - Darryn

This week I have included some shots of glaciers, including the Barn Glacier located at Cape Evans, approximately two hours Hagglund drive north of Scott base. The glacier is truly an amazing sight. It appears to be approximately 100 metres high and extends from the base of Mt Erebus a significant distance out into the Ross Sea. I couldn’t get too close to it but hopefully these shots will reflect its beauty and size.

I have also captured some images of an iceberg that was caught in the Ross Sea as it froze. It is an incredible sight and a once in a lifetime chance to actually walk around an iceberg and climb onto it in certain spots. It's hard to believe that what we are seeing is only one third of the iceberg, with the remainder under the sea ice and water. Extreme caution was required walking around the iceberg and on it as several crevices could be seen as well as concern around chunks of ice falling from it. It's hard to believe the water frozen in this iceberg is thousands if not hundreds of thousands of years old.

I also got to spend half a day putting up and taking down an RAC tent. These have been in use in the Polar Regions since 1995 and are modular tents which can be set up as offices, kitchens, dining areas etc. Space in the tent can be divided and different work areas set up in a single tent for different purposes. The tent we put up was eight metres by five metres but can be as long as 40 metres depending on the purpose. The tent is designed to handle virtually any condition the weather in Antarctica can throw at it, as long as it has a good solid tie-down point. We put the tent up to check all aspects of it before it gets sent out onto the ice to become a scientific laboratory for the summer.

Thursday and Friday I spent working over at the McMurdo base ice pier loading 64 x 44 gallon drops of aviation fuel (approximately 13,500 litres) onto a large sled. Doing this sort of work outside helps you appreciate the importance of getting it right the first time. Even though the temperature was around 20 degrees below zero, with no wind and the sun it actually felt quite pleasant until you stopped working, then you could feel the cold setting in again. This shipment will be used as part of the Ross Ice Shelf transverse and dropped off halfway as a refuelling point. The area where we loaded the sled will eventually become a sea dock for resupply ships, fuel ships and ice-breakers. This is the first time New Zealand has begun scientific studies approximately 1,000km from Scott Base. The preparation needed to complete such a trip to ensure the safety of everyone and the environment is meticulous. This includes putting up and checking every tent that will be used for the journey.

Saturday brought more preparation for the Ross Ice Shelf transverse and putting up more tents to check integrity and that nothing is broken.

The weather all week has been awesome down here. Most days there have been very little cloud, winds between 10-15 knots and temperatures hovering around -15 to -10 below zero.

Sunday is the start of Movember and several staff including myself have decided to take the plunge. For me it was shaving off the old and starting fresh. Follow our progress on the Movember website under the Scott Base team. Feel free to donate to a worthy cause.