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MCAS Antarctic Experience
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23.01.2022 Hi Everyone, Here is Compass Cow’s chat with Anne earlier in the season. NAME: Anne Hellie from USA... HAVE YOU BEEN AN EXPEDITIONER PREVIOUSLY? Yes! I was an expeditioner for the US Antarctic program during the summers of 13/14,14/15 and 16/17.I worked at McMurdos and South Pole stations as well as a number of field camps in the Transantarctic Mountains as an Environmental Scientist/ Engineer now at Casey in a similar role. WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO HEAD DOWN SOUTH? I love Antarctica-the people are so interesting and adventurous,its like finding family every summer,plus I see penguins a lot which I love! YOUR ROLE WITH AAD Im engaged as a Remediation Scientist with the science branch of the AAD. WHAT'S YOUR MAIN WORK FOCUS THIS SEASON? Bioremediation of fuel contamination from spills on station,that means using naturally occurring microbes in the soil to help biodegrade (or eat) the fuel so the soil can be reused on station and is clean. WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO ACHIEVE PROFESSIONALLY AND PERSONALLY THIS SEASON? I love trying new things and the promise of figuring out a faster and better way to improve the environment. Personally I just want to enjoy every day to the fullest. WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR MOST AWESOME EXPERIENCE SO FAR? I got to climb up Mt Erebus(the most Southern active volcano in the world) once and peer into the crater rim at the Lava lake!! WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST SURPRISE? How addicted I've become to Antarctica. WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR MOST VALUABLE LEARNING SO FAR? Be a good listener and tell people you care about how great they are with a smile,a hug or kind words. WHAT DO YOU MISS ABOUT HOME? Fresh vegetables and avocados. WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE WHO WANT SIMILAR ADVENTURES IN LIFE? NEVER turn down an opportunity, if it does not turn out to be what you want you can always go back, but you may never get another chance like the one being offered.
21.01.2022 Hi All, We have had some very pointed and interesting questions from Tara Hutchinson and Miss Lindavies's Year 9 science class which over the next week will endeavour to answer...,to be noted is the buildings are constructed of 150mm insulated panels which assists with heat retention and structural integrity of the buildings ONE OF THE MAIN THINGS WE WONDERED IS HOW YOU KEEP ALL THE WATER FOR HYGIENE(TOILETS ETC) TO STAY IN LIQUID FORM? WITH IT BEING SO COLD,USUALLY WATER WO...ULD FREEZE IN SUCH COLD CONDITIONS. Keeping water in liquid form is quite an effort down here,it involves several processes. First extracting water from a frozen fresh water lake located just South of the station. Heated water is sent through insulated and thermostat controlled electrically heated pipes to a 'melt -bell'.,the melt-bell through radiant and convection heat energy melts ice in the deepest part of the lake which is pumped to large holding tanks in the 'tank-house' The tank house is kept warm (about 25oC) by radiant/convection heating panels ,similar to those you may find at home,this stops the water freezing in the holding tanks. The water is then pumped around the station through continuously flowing closed circuit, heat traced,heavily insulated pipes for all station water needs..fire fighting,drinking ,washing hygiene showers etc. In the next few days we will explore how we heat people ,buildings,equipment and water at Casey station Antarctica..stay tuned!!
21.01.2022 Dr Peter Neff who we met earlier in the season explaining some of the science on going at law dome in regards to climate change
20.01.2022 Hi All, A while since I've posted but now getting some sunlight and able to get out and about weather permitting as usual...Compass and I headed over to Wilkes an abandoned station some 50 years ago by the Americans/Australians for an overnight stay,a hut has been set up for expiditioners to get off station for a bit and enjoy some R/R. A lot of the station is well preserved due to the absolute dryness of the air(not doing a thing for my completion LOL),but alas a lot is embedded in ice now ,some melts out during the summer,still a fascinating thing to do..the AAD recognises all bits and pieces of the station as artefacts, so no taking any as a souvenir as Compass dearly wanted to but a good time had by all
19.01.2022 Democracy at work ,we cast our votes cast at at Casey http://www.antarctica.gov.au//2019/democracy-in-the-deep-f
19.01.2022 Well a bit chilly on the great Southern Continent today
19.01.2022 While out sea ice drilling and generally sight seeing with this unruly bunch, Sparkies Leigh, Matty and Wilkins Aerodrome manager Matty(Colonel Klink),we happen...ed upon a ice bridge and wandered over to an island when nearing the edge we confronted by a Leopard seal of nearly 3 meters and about 300kg(hard to tell from the photos). This hungry fella actually leapt from the water(you can see the ripples in the photos) and lunged at Matty snapping away ,being next to Matt could see all the 3inch teeth close up even while retreating at a rate of knots- reflexes like a cat)..Then he gave us the stink eye for a while and slinked back into the water..while walking back to the quads some 200mtrs away the seal dived under the ice bridge and stalked us all the way to the Quads.... obviously still having designs on a meal. Wow what an experience, totally terrifying momentarily till you think you can move quicker than the seal with a head start and coming to the realisation what an incredible experience you just had..in the end no one taken and all back to station ..one of the highlights of my time down here In a future post will have pictures of the Weddell seals,the fun cute sorta lazy ones we also encountered and some of the incredible scenery from the trip, Weddell's bit like domestic cats while the leopard seal more like a hungry dare I say it leopard..has been reported that they have taken some folk down here from other countries over the years) (some pics supplied by sparkie Leigh) See more
17.01.2022 http://www.abc.net.au/btn/classroom/antarctica/10539254 4 min video posted by BTN
17.01.2022 Working away in the morning about 9.00 am in the morning fuel transfer when across the sky came a Dancing Aurora truly spectacular..i wish my camera and photographic skills were better !!
16.01.2022 As Casey Station ready's itself for one of the highlights of the season, the mid-winters ball to coincide with the winter solstice, including the traditional mid-winters dip into the ocean through the sea ice cut by the deso's into Newcomb bay. There’s a solid covering of ice now(about 800mm). Can’t wait ..sort of!!
12.01.2022 http://www.abc.net.au//classro/life-in-antarctica/10876796 4 min BTN video around Casey Station
10.01.2022 Antarctica is the closest you can get to space without leaving Earth. It’s an isolated, confined and extreme environment where Antarctic expeditioners live remo...tely for nine months of the year. Australian Antarctic Program doctors have been looking after the health and well-being of expeditioners at our stations for decades. These highly specialised remote medicine skills can inform space agencies as they plan future missions to the Moon or Mars. Ahead of the 50th anniversary of the first Moon landing this weekend, Australia’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr Jeff Ayton, will share his insights from the icy continent at the Aerospace Futures 2019 conference in Sydney.
09.01.2022 Gday Everybody, A report from BTN,reported from Casey Station earlier in the season,hope you guys get a little insight into the Antarctic story and the people working and living down here
09.01.2022 Gday Everyone , Today Compass Cow chats with Dr Peter Neff: NAME: Dr Peter Neff(Phd in Geology)... HAVE YOU BEEN AN EXPEDITIONER PREVIOUSLY? 2009-10 U.S.Antarctic program @ WAIS Divide ice-drilling 2012-13 N.Z. Antarctic program @Roosevelt Island ice- drilling 2015-16 U.S. Antarctic program @ Taylors Glacier Mc Murdo Dry Valleys ice-drilling 2018-19 Now at Australian Antarctic program@Lawdome ice-drilling PREVIOUS ROLES Always an ice core scientist WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO COME DOWN SOUTH? Antarctica ice cores tell us about how earths climate works,nowhere freezes better, for the better records than here. PROJECT WITH ADD? Lead field scientist for AAD Law Dome ice core project ,I work for the University of Washington. YOUR MAIN WORK FOCUS IN ANTARCTICA? I was managing science goals for our project and running samples,that is melting very old ice to release then capture ancient air WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO ACHIEVE IN YOUR WORK AND PERSONALLY? To learn about the atmosphere now and in the past and build relationships with the awesome AAD expeditioners. WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR MOST AWESOME EXPERIENCE SO FAR? Successfully completing our science project ,it had been over 7 years in planning. WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST SURPRISE? How many penguins are at Casey!! WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR MOST VALUABLE LEARNING SO FAR? Learning how to work with a small team for a long time! It had been over 100 days of nearly complete isolation(we had comms of course),our team was great so it was easy WHAT DO YOU MISS ABOUT HOME? My wife,my dog I miss having them to talk with(my dog doesn't talk!!) WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE WHO WANT TO HAVE SIMILAR ADVENTURES IN LIFE? Never be afraid to explore, just be passionate and pursue your interests, enthusiasm goes a long way Compass Cow and David Hamilton would like to thank and acknowledge all participants who give up there time for this page
07.01.2022 Hi All, Peter Neff a Phd in Geology from the University of Washington in the States, was many kilometers east from Casey Station some 20 hrs away by hagg ,deep field at Law Dome, one of the snowiest places on earth, apparently great for ice core drilling. Peter's Profile coming up soon!!
07.01.2022 Hi All, With the first clear night in a while we managed to sight a pretty spectacular Aurora on Sunday night . A couple of photos to show the sunrise at approximately 10:30 in the East and Sunset about 3:15 in the West ,the sun hardly crosses the horizon now as we head to the winter solstice in June and 24hrs with out sunlight
04.01.2022 As the sun sinks over the horizon at Casey Station Compass Cow contemplating the contributions of generations past and present to our way of life and freedoms of today..... 'At the going down of the sun and in the morning, We will remember them'
04.01.2022 Gday All, Compass Cow and I headed to Browning Peninsula some 60km from station for some R/R,to check out the Vanderford Glacier and came across some friendly locals on the way(These seals were huge Elephant seals the pictures do not do them justice..awesome experience for which Compass Cow and I are humbled and grateful). Must admit the coldest experience of my life even with all the gear on about -33 not including windchill but well worth the effort. Stay tuned we have received some insightful questions from Ms Lindavies and her Year 9 science class regarding heat and energy transfer a subject close to my heart being a HVAC/Refrigeration Tech. P.S. Sorry about the quality of photos..so cold the camera didnt like it and could not have exposed hands out of gloves for more than 15-30 seconds..painful!!
03.01.2022 Our Midwinters video put together by Jason and Juan
01.01.2022 Gday All, Today we delve further into questions from Tara Hutchinson and Ms Lindavies Year 9 science class: HOW STRONG IS YOUR HEATING? IS IT THE SAME AS ORDINARY HEATING OR WOULD YOU NEED SOMETHING ON A BIGGER SCALE?... WHAT IS THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR THE OUTSIDE COMPARED TO THE INSIDE? Interesting question,part of the reason i'm on Casey station is to audit and calibrate heating systems on station(I just love the first and second law of thermodynamics,Im pretty sure Ms Dargie does too!) Once again heating buildings is a multi stage process,in this post Ill attempt to explain initial heating of water utilised to heat spaces,using a heat recover system. The process involves recovering heat energy rejected by the stations diesel powered electrical generating system,which supplies electricity to the whole station. The generators are similar to those you may find on a truck,tractor or bulldozer just a larger scale. Heat generated by the combustion motor(friction,radiating etc) requires cooling ,this is normally achieve by the use of a radiator,just like your parents car,however instead of the heat being rejected through a radiator,the heat energy is imparted to a 'primary heating loop' via a plate heat exchanger,boosted(and used as redundancy) by conventional diesel fuelled boiler(fitted with internal tube in shell heat exchanger). The heating water is maintained at approximately 70 degrees Celsius,even in the coldest Antarctic winter to maintain daytime temperatures of 18 degrees Celsius and 16 degrees Celsius at night. The tilt of the earth and its position way down South Antarctica only has two seasons Summer and Winter,where temps range from 2 degrees in the summer to -35 degrees in the winter(not including wind chill)The station attempts to maintain constant temperatures as above regardless of the prevailing weather,in fact during summer the most complex job of the heating and ventilation system is to get heat out of the building due to very efficient insulating and building methods!
