Breaking The Ice

Studying a unique marine environment such as the one around the West Antarctic Peninsula is best achieved by getting wet and underwater. I had quite a 'throwback' to my first diving experiences in the tropical waters of Tanzania which were a breeze in comparison to the level of preparation required to dive in Antarctica. In the tropics, it was easy to rapidly assemble our gear outside, sling it over our shoulder and walk a few hundred metres to a sandy beach where we would pile onto a small wooden boat. Diving operations in the polar regions are quite the contrary and are indeed a fascinating process.  My first dives in Tanzania First, the water temperature. Antarctica is a relatively thermally stable region, experiencing temperatures ranging from -1.8  °C  in winter (the temperature at which salt water freezes) to heights of +2 °C  in the summer. I am amazed to learn about the first divers in Antarctic regions who braved the cold in 10mm rubber wetsuits. These hardcore adventu

Through various training courses over the past weeks, I have gradually understood what it means to be a 'Jack of all trades' (but hopefully not a master of none...) whilst living and working at Rothera Research Station. This is certainly not a regular 9-5 job! In addition to conducting marine biology related research in an extreme environment, I will have the responsibility for the safety of not only my colleagues but also passengers that will be transiting through Rothera, landing on the runway and refueling before taking off again into the deep field.  Whilst on station, we will rotate shifts in order that at least two people will effectively take on the role of the fire brigade! If a plane catches fire on landing, it's important that staff are sufficiently trained in order to respond quickly and efficiently to the incident. The first step will be to control the fire externally (most commonly, an aeroplane engine fire), once this is achieved, the next step will be to ext