Chickens in Choppers

Workin out on the sea ice....chopper style

nice berg stuck in the sea ice

the view from Platcha where we had lunch

Last week we spent most of our time out on the sea ice and in the fjords drilling holes through the sea ice to collect the algae growing underneath. This is a small component of my PhD, but fairly important in determining what eats the algae. As the surface of the sea ice was getting slushy and the edges becoming unsafe, the best option to reach the outer edges of the ice and into the fjords was through helicopter. I don't know how many marine biology PhD students get to use a helicopter to get to their field sites but i don't think it would be too many! Along the way we collected some Weddell seal poo to check out if we could see any human influences in their diet.

We also had our first day in the water dip netting (which we also reached by helicopter). The first hour and a bit we spent flying around looking for suitable sites up and down the coast, finally settling on a narrow section of Ellis fjord where the ice had melted due to the faster flowing tidal movements. I jumped in the water and had a bit of splash with Glenn and we attracted a nearby Weddell seal who wanted to know what all the fuss was about. We collected about 50 urchins for Jake's project and scooped up a small fish. While waiting for the chopper to take us and the urchins back home we cracked open the Camembert and blue vein cheese....

Sometimes i can't believe the stuff we get up to down here.

PS just spent a drink on the chinese research ship...more to come on that and christmas!

-C

Resupply and beyond...

Since landing at Davis we've had a couple of busy weeks. Straight into resupply, we didn't get much of a break doing anything other than making sure containers, fuel and water came of the ship. The station refuelling and water were round the clock, and the container unloading was 8 till 8. My involvement was limited to being a dogman, helping the cranes hook onto the containers at the ship end out on the ice. A slightly precarious job when your 8m up on icy containers which were being loaded onto large trucks parked on sea ice. The resupply lasted a week and the station handover went smoothly, culminating in a large BBQ in the deso's shed.

Last week was resupply hangover, with all sciency things needed to be unpacked and sorted in the lab and field equipment into the field store. Early on in the week we had a quad bike training day, where nine of us went out on the quads to several huts at the end of the fjords. There were a few seals and penguins on the way and and we all had a great day spinning around on the slippery blue ice. Being travel trained meant that we could go out on our own without the aid of a Field Training Officer (FTO)and start out field work. Over the following few days Glenn, Jake and I went out collecting sea ice algae. This involved drilling holes through the sea ice, unfortunately it was a little more difficult than anticipated and left us feeling a little frustrated at the lack of algae which is usually abundant on the underside of the sea ice. We will head out again early next week to try and grab the last samples before the ice turns rotten and is unsafe to travel on.

Glenn and the sea ice drill

Weddel seal, quads and a few chooks...

Weddel seal

Adelie's checking out the ice drill...

By far the best experience of last week were the two helicopter flights. The first being to the Larsman Hills (about 30mins away by chopper). We needed to get some aerial photographs of a few features for some new maps the AAD is producing, so we spent about and hour or so hovering over the hills. We even got to land which was a real treat. Nearby are a Russian and Chinese station, both of which look rather different(and somewhat rundown)than ours.

Larsman Hills...

Weird russian thing...or chinese...

The second flight was on the following day for about an hour or so, flying very low over the Vesterfold Hills where Davis is situated. We needed to have a good look at the area for potential places to snorkel and diving later on in the season, as well as to get a good idea of the large number of islands and fjords in the area. It was pretty cool whizzing over glaciers and icebergs only a few feet away. We even managed to fly 120ft below sea level over a frozen lake not more than a km or so from the ocean. Very nice.

Vestfold hills...

On Saturday I had slushy duty, which means you help out in the kitchen for the day. We have two cooks on station and they both work long hours. Obviously they cant cook and clean for 90 people so 2 people a day are rostered on to help out in the kitchen. Its a good job, as slushy gets to pick the music for the day which is broadcast over our local radio, which everyone on station can hear if they tune their radios to the frequency. Saturdays are special nights were we all dress up and the cooks go all out. Last night we had roast duck with plum sauce and blue eye cod. A pretty tasty treat. Sundays are day offs so today i'm just lounging around and taking it easy. Ok, catch you next time!

Video of the southern ocean

The Voyage South

20/11/09

After 20 days of sailing on the Aurora Australis we have finally made it to Davis! Here’s a voyage recap….On the 30th of September we left Hobart, after much grumbling from everyone that family and friends weren’t able to wave us off at the wharf. I’ve no doubt it’ll change back to the usual status quo next season...people were NOT happy. Anyway, the first few days at sea were fairly uneventful, although the ships cooking has gotten better (if that was possible) and I chug down a healthy slice of cheese cake and ice cream with every meal. There’s fruit galore (might be the last good fruit for 6 months) along with the blue cheese, prawns, stakes and anything else delicious. Stomach: 1, self control: nil.

The seas picked up around 50’ latitude south, winds hitting 60kts and swells 6-8m with seas 2m on top of that. Good fun if your lucky enough not to get sea sick (which I don’t). Good times watching the lighter folk get flung off their chairs and seeing coke floating through the air at meal times. Passing time by seeing who can get the best photos of water crashing over the bow, trying not to get blown off the monkey deck, training for our onboard rowing machine comp or generally lazing around like seals watching DVDs and reading books. Our first iceberg was spotted at 54’30 lat…much more north than expected, but a welcome relief to the non-views of the horizon. It’s been slow going…at 5-8 kts we’re not breaking any speed records. The pack ice is unbelievable, it's truly an amazing experience and when you throw seals, penguins, sea birds and the occasional whale into the mix, its one part of the world you could never forget.

It took 20 days to reach Davis, the last 3 days we travelled only 5km, ramming our way through the fast ice. The ship is still parked 3.49km from shore, with the station resupply happening over the ice. I’ve been posted as a ship dogman (the guy who helps with attaching cranes to containers and containers to trucks). This all happens on 1.5m of seas ice and the trucks travel down an ice road to get to station, where they are stacked up on the ‘beach’ ready to be sorted after resupply.

Ill give a station description and resupply update next week. Stay tuned!

Chris heads south!

Hi,

Welcome to my Antarctic blogg. I’ll be living and working in Antarctica at Davis station (68 degrees south) on the eastern side of the Antarctic continent From October 2009. I’m here for 6 months, working on my PhD (Antarctic food webs) and as part of the diving program assessing the impact of the sewage outfall on the marine environment around Davis station. I hope to update the blogg weekly so you all get a good idea of what life is like on station and the sort of stuff we get up to when we are out working in the field. Feel free to pass the link on to anyone interested…

For further information on Davis station and the surrounding area check out this link:

http://www.aad.gov.au/default.asp?casid=404

It also provides weekly station news, weather updates, live web cams and photos…