Antarctica

Antarctica, 2014

Antarctic Exploration Huts

Published on by David
During our trip to the Ross Sea we were able to visit huts used by four different British Antarctic expeditions during a period known as the “heroic age” of exploration (1897-1917). In 1898, Carsten Borchgrevink led the Southern Cross Expedition (named after the ship he sailed) which was the first expedition to use dogs and sledges and the first to overwinter on the Antarctic continent. We saw the hut from our Zodiac rafts off Cape Adare near the entrance to the Ross Sea, but were unable to go ashore due to high waves crashing against a steep ice-covered shore.
Southern Cross Expedition huts
Adele penguins with steep beach at Cape Adare
At three other sites it was a rare privilege to see the expedition gear and personal effects of the men who mapped the coast line, conducted scientific research, reconnoitered routes and established depots of supplies for expeditions to the South Pole.
In 1901, the Discovery Expedition led by Robert Falcon Scott set up a base at the southern end of the Ross Sea (near the present American Antarctic base, McMurdo Station). The Discovery Hut is currently undergoing repair work to move it back onto a secure foundation where it had been dislodged due to heavy ice accumulation. Most of the artifacts have been removed temporarily until repairs are completed.
Discovery Hut at Hut Point during restoration
Inside Discovery Hut. A pendulum for scientific measurements was installed in the square opening in the floor. Boxes of dog biscuits are stacked to the ceiling
View from Hut Point showing Discovery Hut, a resupply ship and McMurdo Station in the background
Just behind the Discovery Hut at the top of a hill stands a cross in memory of George Vince, a member of the Discovery Expedition who perished when he slipped into a crevasse.
Overlooking McMurdo Station is Observation Hill where members of Scott’s ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition of 1910-12 searched daily in vain for Scott’s party upon their return from the South Pole.
Here we are climbing Observation Hill around 10:00 pm. We began our descent at 11:45 pm while it was still fully light out.
View of McMurdo station from Observation Hill
Antarctic sun at midnight on January 31, 2014
Ernest Shackleton in 1907 led the British Nimrod Expedition where he pioneered a route up onto the South Polar Plateau, reaching the Farthest South record of 97 miles from the Pole. We visited the Nimrod Expedition hut at Cape Royds.
Our trek to Shackleton’s Nimrod Expedition Hut at Cape Royds
Nimrod Hut, dog houses and supply boxes in the foreground
We took great pains to avoid transferring soil or vegetative material from one site to another, to avoid cross contamination.
Condiments used by Shackleton’s team
Joan Boothe is an expert on the Heroic Age of Antarctic expeditions. She seemed to know everything about the people, places and dates important to this era and she was a delight to have on board as a fellow passenger.
Inside the Nimrod hut
In 1910, Robert Falcon Scott set out on a second expedition to Antarctica, the Terra Nova Expedition, in an attempt to reach the South Pole via the route established by Ernest Shackleton. Scott built a second hut for the Terra Nova expedition at Cape Evans, not as far south as his original Discovery Hut (Ice conditions prevented him from reaching his original base).
Spending time inside the Terra Nova hut was a remarkable experience. The restoration work by the Antarctic Heritage Trust has been amazing  Shelves are stocked with tinned food, medicine and cookware. There are slabs of seal blubber (still not decomposed after a hundred years) ready to be boiled down for oil or carved up and made into stew. Reindeer hide sleeping bags lie on bunk beds. Assorted medicines and glassware for doing chemical analyses are arranged on work tables.
Terra Nova hut with Drygalski Ice Tongue in the background
Terra Nova hut at Cape Evans
Food stocks
Chemical glassware and reagents used for research
Food, cookware and utensils used by Scott’s expedition to the South Pole
Cynthia inside the Terra Nova hut
Slabs of blubber used for fuel and food
Skeleton of Siberian Pony used (without much success) by Scott’s Terra Nova Expedition
Boots worn by expedition party member
The Terra Nova hut was a prefabricated structure which was assembled and completed in January 1911, ready to be occupied during the Antarctic winter of April-September. Expedition team members began establishing supply depots on the ice in preparation for an attempt to reach the Pole the following spring.
An exploration party inadvertently came across a camp established by Roald Amundsen of Norway, who had originally set out leading an expedition to the North Pole, but then made an unannounced change of plans and headed to the South Pole instead. The competition between Amundsen and Scott to be the first to reach the Pole is a fascinating story recounted in several books.
Amundsen reached the South Pole on December 14, 1911 and returned without any casualties. Scott reached Pole 33 days later, but he and his team died on the return journey due to scurvy, starvation and severe cold.
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Adelie penguin behaviour

Published on by David

When spent a couple of hours at the Adelie penguin rookery on Ross Island in Antarctica and were able to observe all kinds of behavior–parading along single file from one end of the beach to the other, emerging from the water after feeding on fish, chicks waiting patiently for their parents to arrive with food, and adults being chased before finally feeding their chicks. Quite amusing.

The ones with white bellies have just come out of the water; those with dark bellies have been lying in penguin poo.

Video at http://www.flickr.com/photos/11790404@N02/13050744675/

David

Disappearing Ice

Published on by David

 

At McMurdo Station, there is a large airfield built upon the ice which is used for resupplying the equipment, food and supplies used by the roughly 800 people who reside at the station during the summer and the 100 or so who overwinter. The airfield is used by C-17 aircraft, mammoth transport vehicles that deliver the heaviest loads. Now the airfield is covered by roughly a foot of water and it has become impossible for the C-17s to land. Resupplying by air must be done by a smaller plane, the Hercules. Unlike the C-17s with standard wheeled landing gear, the Hercules are equipped with skis. The Hercules are thus able to land on the runway despite the flooding.

 

Scott Base, the New Zealand Antarctic station stands adjacent to McMurdo Station. Since establishment in 1956-57, the base has always surrounded by ice. But this year has been different. The entire Ross Sea is now almost completely free of ice, all the way down to Scott Base at the southern end. No one has ever seen so little ice. Around 6:30 in morning on January 31, 2014, the last residual ice pack broke away and floated out to sea, opening up the beach to direct access from open water. Our party, arriving at 1:30 pm was the first group of humans in recorded history to set foot on the land at Scott Base directly from the sea.

 

 

David

Moral Contradictions

Published on by David
As we set out on this expedition to Antarctica, I’m inclined to contemplate some dilemmas that arise from our choices to do this. It’s a rare and unique and very expensive undertaking. It definitely has a considerable environmental impact. And it’s arguably self-serving. So what can I learn from this experience?
Our round trip air travel from Seattle to Auckland, plus a few domestic flights within New Zealand and Australia will be responsible for producing about 10 tons of carbon dioxide. Our atmosphere is already overloaded with 395 parts per million CO2, the highest level for over 800,000 years. 
To give some perspective, if we were to stay home and used electricity and propane at our usual rate, it would take about six years to add that much carbon dioxide to the air. So while I think it is important for our species to reduce the amount of jet fuel we burn by flying all over the world, my belief has not restrained us from choosing to make this trip. My desires for adventure travel are inexhaustible and I don’t see putting an end to them any time soon—as long as Cynthia and I are still fit enough for travel.
This dilemma motivates me to share as much of our experience as possible—if we’re going to go anyway, perhaps there is an opportunity to share some of our observations of wildlife and habitats and environmental changes in this remote region of the world. And describing our interactions with friends we make along the way probably adds incrementally to the world’s store of goodwill.
Another important opportunity in international travel is to learn, and share some of the ways other countries deal with social and economic issues. Maybe we Americans can learn something useful. Staying with families enrolled in the Servas program has been particularly valuable for discussing issues common to New Zealanders and Americans. In New Zealand, the disparity between rich and poor is far less than in the U.S. You don’t see homeless people on the streets of the cities. The percentage of children living in poverty in New Zealand is 12% compared with the U.S. at 23% (UNICEF). New Zealand has one of the most comprehensive welfare systems in the world.
When we brought up the subject of guns, our New Zealand hosts were aghast with U.S. policies (or rather, lack of policies) about gun control. They really cannot fathom why Americans choose to have a society so awash with easily accessible guns. We really didn’t have a coherent answer for them as to why this is so.
Environmental consciousness in New Zealand is well established in society. Everywhere you go, you see businesses that embrace green policies, from energy conservation to minimizing air, water and land pollution, to recycling and reusing materials. I get the impression that this is partly due to the synergism between Anglo and Maori cultures. The Maori have a deeply spiritual connection with nature and the Maori culture continues to have an important respected place in society.
It feels important to have this firsthand experience of life outside the United States, even if it is costly in terms of environmental impact.

David

Antarctic Cliff Hanger

Published on by David

Up until about 30 minutes ago, we didn’t know whether to take along our cold weather gear tomorrow when we leave for Auckland. But the people at Heritage Expeditions have now assured us that our voyage is on track to depart Port of Bluff (near Invercargill), New Zealand January 18 according to schedule. It just requires the U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker, the Polar Star to steam down from Sydney, plow through ice 6 feet thick (while moving at three knots), and free up our ship. The Akademik Shokalskiy can then hustle on up to Port of Bluff where we will board.

Thank you, Coast Guard!

Vagaries of Antarctic Weather

Published on by David

When we booked this trip, we were reminded that “circumstances may make it necessary or desirable to deviate from the proposed itinerary.” But we didn’t anticipate our ship be locked in ice, unable to start at our embarkation point in New Zealand. Now that is starting to look like a real possibility.

You may have been following news reports in recent days of the scientific research vessel MV Akademik Shokalskiy being trapped in Antarctic sea ice. Well, that’s our ship!

Here’s the story in the NY Times. … and the latest update in The Guardian. The tour operator, Heritage Expeditions hopes to make a decision before next Monday the 6th as to whether the voyage will go ahead. @DavidDaiku