Breaking The Ice

This time last week at 04:00 am on 19th November, the James Clark Ross (JCR) crossed the Equator. Remarkably, we hit the 0 °  parallel of latitude only 13 days after leaving Harwich. According to the rules at sea, each new member crossing the Equator for the first time must be trialled in Neptune's court as a right of passage- but this is no ordinary proceeding. Over the last week, charge boxes have been gradually filling up in the bar as people report sins that others have committed whilst on board the ship. As you can imagine, this was an excellent team bonding exercise...                                                                     Neptune's court, note the mop used as a wig. Photo Credit: Derren Fox The morning was spent installing the court and preparing costumes. Flags were draped around...

The team of scientists on board including Ryan, the Marine Assistant, and I have been keeping a pretty constant watch for any signs of movement in the vast Atlantic Ocean. We want to document the marine mammals that we pass during our transit South. In order to record this data, we modified a GPS application to suit our survey. We've had great success so far.                                                 Keeping a close watch for marine mammals After we left the port of Harwich, we spotted 33 Harbour Porpoises in the English Channel which was a surprise to us given that is operates as a busy shipping channel. Mark Whiffin, a researcher on board, who will be studying penguins at Bird Island captured this fantastic photo of a juvenile porpoise peaking his head above the surface. Porpoises are in the same taxonomic order as dolphins : Odontocetes, b...

It has been an extraordinary week. Breaking the quarantine bubble was a huge relief as we stepped off the bus into the port of Harwich. We lugged our baggage onto the quay and awaited our names to be called. Multiple journeys between the quay and the ship were necessary for those that had packed an   abundant supply of entertainment and clothes in preparation for our epic voyage crossing the Atlantic and into the Southern Ocean. Upon boarding the James Clark Ross, hereafter JCR, we were assigned to shared cabins- I was put into a spacious 4 berth cabin with three other lovely female colleagues. There was certainly a buzz as the canteen filled with people and many were delighted to finally hug each other! Our first lunch was plentiful with an incredible array of cold pizzas, potato salad and plum tomatoes. I couldn't help wonder how long this fresh food would last for as I was crunching through a salad leaf. Before we could even question how to occupy our time, we were given a ...

In a very illogical manner, welcome to my final training post about our first training course with the British Antarctic Survey. I am writing this from my quarantine hotel room- we have just hit day 11 and with two rounds of negative Covid tests down and one more to go, the excitement is mounting. We are calculating exactly how much luggage each person will be brining onboard the James Clark Ross (JCR) and hoping that it will all fit into our transport that will shuttle us directly from our quarantine bubble to the JCR. We sure have a reward to look forward to, after what will have been 14 days without human interaction, we will be reunited with our team and social distancing will no longer be applicable. Thought, I'm sure that the boarding of 40 buzzing people onto a mini bus, about to finally set sail to Antarctica, will be no doubt thrilling!  Following on from the theme of excitement, I would like to share with you our exhilarating power boat training that we emb...

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 w...

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...

It felt like Christmas receiving a kit bag full of equipment suited for polar conditions and rather amusing prancing around in a bright orange hard hat. As British Antarctic Survey (BAS) employees, we are supplied with gear for all seasons and activities ranging from technical mountain clothing, to highly insulated visibility jackets, to boiler suits for greasy work, to steel toe cap shoes. The best gift was the sturdy snow boats with removable thermal insides- to dry separately when wet. I looked at all this unfamiliar kit and projected myself to the end of my time at Rothera Research Station, when I would have to pack away all this gear and return it to the clothing store. I envisaged all the stories that would be attached to each item. I heard that the water bottles can easily be confused with the pee bottles and therefore correct labelling is paramount! Wintering staff members are each provided with a sizeable black crate to fill with personal possessions that will provide entertai...