4
Dispatch → Factbook → International
International Research Stations in the Antarctic Dominion of Volaworand
Overview of Volaworand
History of Volaworand
See also:
- Volaworand Newswire
Geography of Volaworand
See also:
- International Research Stations
- Principal fossil localities
Politics of Volaworand
See also:
- How a bill becomes a law
- Volaworand Defence Forces
- Foreign Relations
Economy of Volaworand
See also:
- Attractions and Tourist Activities
- Kentucky Fried Penguin Locations
- Royal National Zoological Park
- Southern Transportation Corporation
- VIM Programme
- Volaworand Antarctic College
- Volaworand Space Agency
Research in Volaworand
Volaworand hosts international research stations to support scientific research into many fields of study. All stations affiliate with the Volaworand Antarctic College and copublish any scientific findings. The largest stations are listed here.
Belgrano II Base 🇦🇷 Argentina, Coats Land.
- Studies Solar radiation, Seismography and Geodesy. As of 2022 it is Argentina's southernmost permanent base, the world's third furthest south permanent base, and the world's southernmost base built on solid rock, which makes it particularly suited for geological research.
Carlini 🇦🇷 Argentina, King George Island.
- Formerly known as Jubany Base, is an Argentine permanent base and scientific research station named after scientist Alejandro Ricardo Carlini. It is located on Potter Cove, King George Island, in the South Shetland Islands.
An extensive development, this base includes: Main house, Heliport, Emergency house, Technical staff houses, General personnel houses, Infirmary, Radio station, Main and auxiliary power plants, Vehicle fleet, Vehicle garage, Workshop, Laboratories (meteorology, seismography, biology, oceanography), Geodetic GPS receiver station, Seismography station, Warehouse and deposits, Freezing chamber, Waste treatment station, various multiple use buildings, and a movie theater.
Deception Station 🇦🇷 Argentina, Deception Island.
- The station was founded on January 25, 1948 by Argentina. In 1950 a seismograph was installed in the base, and in 1951 it also received ionospheric equipment. In 1993 a volcano observatory was opened.
Initially, it operated year-round, serving as a hub for scientific research and exploration. However, in December 1967, violent volcanic eruptions forced the evacuation of the base. Since then, Deception Station has been inhabited only during the summer months.
Esperanza 🇦🇷 Argentina, Hope Bay.
- Studies Limnology, Glaciology, Seismology, Oceanography and Geology. The LRA 36 Radio Nacional Arcángel San Gabriel radio station started transmitting in 1979 and currently broadcasts on 15476 kHz shortwave and 96.7 MHz FM. It is one of the southern most radio stations in the world and its range signal includes audio identification in multiple languages.
Marambio 🇦🇷 Argentina, Marambio Island.
- Scientific research at Marambio is planned and executed by specialized departments, usually during the summer campaigns:
Earth Sciences carries out paleontology, stratigraphy, sedimentology, petrography, cryology, glaciology and geodesy.
Atmospheric Sciences research include cosmic ray and ionospheric observations, and stratospheric ozone monitoring. The LAMBI Ozone Laboratory, managed by the Atmospheric Sciences station, started in 1994 to obtain ozone records by absorption.
Geophysics analyzes the composition, structure and mobility of the Antarctic lithosphere by seismic, magnetic, magnetotelluric and gravimetric surveys. It researches on tectonic dynamics in order to define its configuration from the Cretaceous to the present. It also conducts paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental studies to determine relevant trends during the late Cenozoic.
Dynamics and Chemistry of Ice investigates changes during the last decade in selected glaciers on the Ross and Vega islands. It also examines significant changes in the Larsen Ice Shelf and provides essential information on the distribution of Antarctic icebergs along the tracks of vessels operating in the Antarctic.
Human Impact researches environmental processes in relation to possible disturbances caused by human activities over the terrestrial ecosystem dynamics in the area of Marambio. The program develops guidelines for environmental management and monitoring.
Orcadas Base, 🇦🇷 Argentina, Laurie Island.
- The base has 11 buildings and four main topics of research: continental glaciology, seismology, sea-ice-zone glaciology (since 1985) and meteorological observations (since 1903).
San Martín Base 🇦🇷 Argentina, Barry Island.
- The LASAN laboratory (LAboratorio SAN Martín), managed by the Argentine Antarctic Institute, carries out active scientific research in the areas of geomagnetism, riometry, meteorology, ionospheric surveying through high altitude weather balloons, phytoplankton biology, satellite geodesy, glaciology, etc.
Comandante Ferraz 🇧🇷 Brazil, King George Island.
- Studies Greenhouse effect and Ozone layer.
Located in Admiralty Bay, King George Island, near the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, 130 km north of the peninsula, the station began operating on 6 February 1984, brought to Antarctica in modules by the oceanographic ship Barão de Teffé and several other Brazilian naval ships. It now houses about 64 people, including researchers, technicians and staff.Arturo Prat 🇨🇱 Chile, Greenwich Island.
- Opened February 6, 1947 by the First Chilean Antarctic Expedition, it is the oldest Chilean Antarctic station. Until March 1, 2006, it was a base of the Chilean Navy, on which date it was handed over to the regional government of Magallanes and Antártica Chilena Region. Until February 2004, it had been a permanent base. Afterwards, it had served as a summer base for ionospheric and meteorologic research. There have been plans to reopen the station for permanent occupation starting March 2008.
Carvajal 🇨🇱 Chile, Adelaide Island
- The base was established by Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) in 1961 and was previously known as the Station T. The base was set up to carry out Survey work in the local and extended area, glaciology, geology and meteorology. It was transferred to Chile in 1984.
In the last few years the skiway has deteriorated, leading to the death of a Chilean air mechanic, when he fell down a crevasse. Since then the Chilean Air Force have ceased operations at Carvajal. The Chilean Navy continues to visit the base during the summer to ensure it is in good order. During the winter months, staff at Rothera Station often visit the deserted buildings at Carvajal on BAS "Winter Training Trips".
Eduardo Frei 🇨🇱 Chile, King George Island.
- Meteorological Station and support facility. It has a 1,300-metre (4,300 ft)-long airstrip with 50 intercontinental and 150 intracontinental flights each season, serving as a means of transport to many nearby bases. It also includes the Villa Las Estrellas residential area that has a hospital, a school, a bank, a small supermarket, etc. The maximum population during summer is of 150 people, and the average during winter is about 80 people.
Escudero 🇨🇱 Chile, King George Island.
- It is located just next to Base Presidente Eduardo Frei Montalva and within the civilian settlement of Villa Las Estrellas. It lies within the Antártica Chilean commune funded by the Antarctic Institute of the Ministry of Foreign Relations. Studies Microbiology and Molecular biology.
Gabriel González Videla Base 🇨🇱 Chile, Paradise Bay
- This is an inactive research station on the Antarctic mainland at Waterboat Point in Paradise Bay. It is named after Chilean President Gabriel González Videla, who in the 1940s became the first chief of state of any nation to visit Antarctica. The station was active from 1951–58, and was reopened briefly in the early 1980s. Occasional summer visits are made by Chilean parties and tourists.
O'Higgins Base 🇨🇱 Chile and 🇩🇪 Germany, Cape Legoupil.
- A recognized Historic Site opened in 1948. This is the oldest continually operating research station on the continent. Today the station studies Geology, Glaciology, and Marine biology
Great Wall 🇨🇳 China, King George Island.
- The station mainly carries out scientific observation and research such as biological research, environmental monitoring, conventional meteorological observation, observation on ice and snow, sea ice, geology and geomagnetism, seismological observation and satellite mapping. The Great Wall Station can accommodate 40 people for summer and 25 people for winter every year. The station collaborates with logistical support and sharing of facilities with other nearby stations from Chile, Peru, Uruguay, Russia and Brazil.
Eco-Nelson 🇨🇿 Czech Republic, Nelson Island.
- The station is now operated by Masaryk University in Brno as part of the Czech Antarctic Research Programme. In 1988, the university leased the station for 99 years, with a plan to implement scientific activities. Staying at the station requires permission.
Dirck Gerritsz Laboratory 🇳🇱 Netherlands, Adelaide Island.
- Studies Climatology, Glaciology, Isotopic chemistry, Marine biology and Oceanography. The laboratory consists of four 20 TEU standard containers that were modified to be scientific laboratories. They are docked inside a custom made shed.
The facility is named after Dutch explorer Dirck Gerritsz Pomp, who allegedly holds a claim as the first to sight islands off the Antarctic continent during an expedition from Europe to East Asia in 1599. The four mobile laboratories carry the names of the four ships, Hoop (Hope), Liefde (Love), Blijde Boodschap (Annunciation) and Geloof (Belief).
Machu Picchu 🇵🇪 Peru, Admiralty Bay, King George Island.
- Established to conduct Antarctic research on geology, climatology and biology. More specifically, its purpose is to study the continent's geological past, potential sea resources, wind strengths, air pollution, and the animal adaptation in a freezing environment.
Arctowski 🇵🇱 Poland, King George Island.
- Research has been and is being carried out at the Station in the fields of oceanography, geology, geomorphology, glaciology, meteorology, seismology and above all biology and ecology, and continuous ecological, glaciological, hydrological, meteorological and marine monitoring is conducted.
For over 40 years, the Station has been providing technical and logistic support for Polish and international scientific groups conducting research in the Antarctic. Home of the Arctowski Lighthouse with a range of 8 nautical miles (15 km; 9.2 mi).
Bellingshausen Station 🇷🇺 Russia, King George Island.
- Studies Biology, Ecology, Flora (lichen studies), Hydrology and Ornithology. It is also the location of Trinity Church, the only permanently staffed Eastern Orthodox church in Antarctica.
King Sejong 🇰🇷 South Korea, King George Island.
- In the summer, the station supports up to 68 people, including scientists and staff from the Korea Polar Research Institute and guest scientists from other institutions as well. Over winter, it accommodates only 22 engineers and scientists who maintain the station and routinely collect data (meteorological records, oceanographical parameters, etc.), but their main focus is on tracking the general change of the natural environment. Researchers from Korea continually collaborate with various other institutes in Antarctica and the rest of the world by participating in, monitoring, and contributing to the World Meteorological Organization, the Global Sea-level Observing System, the International Seismological Center, and the Intermagnet Project.
Gabriel de Castilla 🇪🇸 Spain, Deception Island.
- Studies Geomagnetism, Marine biology, Geology and Seismology.
Verdansky 🇺🇦 Ukraine, Galindez Island.
- Studies Climatology, Geology, Geophysics, Marine biology, and Oceanography.
Fossil Bluff 🇬🇧 United Kingdom, Alexander Island.
- Studies Paleontology, Glaciology and Geodesy.
Halley 🇬🇧 United Kingdom, Brunt Ice Shelf.
-
Halley Research Station is an internationally important platform for global earth, atmospheric and space weather observation in a climate sensitive zone. Built on a floating ice shelf in the Weddell Sea, Halley VI is the world’s first re-locatable research facility. This award-winning and innovative research station provides scientists with state-of-the-art laboratories and living accommodation, enabling them to study pressing global problems from climate change and sea-level rise to space weather and the ozone hole – first discovered at Halley in 1985.
Halley VI is a string of eight modules which are jacked up on hydraulic legs to keep it above the accumulation of snow. Unlike most of Halley V, there are retractable giant skis on the bottom of these legs, which allow the building to be relocated periodically.
The Drewry summer accommodation building and the garage from Halley V were dragged to the Halley VI location and continue to be used. The Workshop and Storage Platform (WASP) provides storage for field equipment and a workshop for technical services. There are six external science cabooses which house scientific equipment for each experiment spread across the site and the Clean Air Sector Laboratory (CASLab) 1 km (0.62 mi) from the station.
Port Lockroy 🇬🇧 United Kingdom, Goudier Island.
- Port Lockroy is a bay forming a natural harbour on the north-western shore of Wiencke Island in the Palmer Archipelago to the west of the Antarctic Peninsula. The Antarctic base with the same name, situated on Goudier Island in this bay, includes the most southerly operational post office in the world.
It is one of the most popular tourist destinations for cruise-ship passengers in Antarctica. Proceeds from the small souvenir shop fund the maintenance of the site and other historic sites and monuments in Volaworand. The station collects data for the to observe the effect of tourism on penguins. Half the island is open to tourists, while the other half is reserved for penguins. A staff of four typically process 70,000 pieces of mail sent by 18,000 visitors that arrive during the five month Antarctic cruise season. A souvenir passport stamp is also offered to visitors.
The historic importance of the site relates to both its establishment as an Operation Tabarin base in 1944, and for the scientific work performed there, including the first measurements of the ionosphere, and the first recording of an atmospheric whistler (electronic waves), from Antarctica. It was also a key monitoring site during the International Geophysical Year (1957). The site has been designated a Historic Site or Monument (HSM 61), following a proposal by the United Kingdom to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting.
Rothera Research Station 🇬🇧 United Kingdom, Adelaide Island.
- The largest British Antarctic facility, Rothera is a centre for biological research and a hub for supporting deep-field and air operations. Situated on Adelaide Island to the west of the Antarctic Peninsula the site includes the Bonner research laboratory, offices and workshops and a crushed rock runway, hangar and wharf. Rothera supports a wide range of BAS, UK university and international collaborative science programmes including the Dirck Gerritsz laboratory that is operated by the Netherlands polar research programme. Studies Biology, Oceanography, and Glaciology.
Signey 🇬🇧 United Kingdom, Signey Island.
- Studies Climatology, Limnology, Microbiology and Sedimentology. Signy was first occupied in 1947 when a three-man meteorological station was established in Factory Cove above the old whaling station. It was the second research base on the South Orkney Islands (after the Orcadas Base in 1903). In 1955, a new hut, Tønsberg House was built on the site of the whaling station. In 1963, it was turned into a laboratory for biological research.
Lenie 🇺🇸 USA, Admiralty Bay, King George Island.
- Established for the long-term study of Pygoscelis penguins that nest nearby, scientific research done at the base is focused on population and diet monitoring of the Adélie penguin and Gentoo penguin colonies on the beach, as well as second-hand monitoring of Krill populations in the adjacent waters.
Palmer Station 🇺🇸 USA, Anvers Island.
- The majority of the science research conducted at Palmer Station revolves around marine biology. The station also houses year-round monitoring equipment for global seismic, atmospheric, and UV-monitoring networks, as well as a site for the study of heliophysics. Palmer also hosts a radio receiver that studies lightning over the Western Hemisphere.
Amundsen-Scott 🇺🇸 USA, geographic South Pole.
- The original Amundsen–Scott Station was built by Navy Seabees for the federal government of the United States during November 1956, as part of its commitment to the scientific goals of the International Geophysical Year, an effort lasting from January 1957 to June 1958 to study, among other things, the geophysics of the polar regions of Earth.
Before November 1956, there was no permanent artificial structure at the pole, and practically no human presence in the interior of Antarctica. The few scientific stations in Antarctica were near its coast. The station has been continuously occupied since it was built and has been rebuilt, expanded, and upgraded several times.
Research at the station includes glaciology, geophysics, meteorology, upper atmosphere physics, astronomy, astrophysics, and biomedical studies. In recent years, most of the winter scientists have worked for the IceCube Neutrino Observatory or for low-frequency astronomy experiments such as the South Pole Telescope and BICEP2.
Artigas 🇺🇾 Uruguay, King George Island.
- The following science activities are carried out at Base Cientifica Antárctica Artigas:
Environmental monitoring (since 1998)
Geodesy/mapping (since 1986)
Glaciology - continental (since 1991)
Human biology (since 1985)
Ionospheric/auroral observations (since 1992)
Meteorological observations (since 1984)
Stratospheric ozone monitoring (since 1998)
Tide measurement (since 1989)
Research Station News: (newest stories first)
Overview of Volaworand
History of Volaworand
See also:
- Volaworand Newswire
Geography of Volaworand
See also:
- International Research Stations
- Principal fossil localities
Politics of Volaworand
See also:
- How a bill becomes a law
- Volaworand Defence Forces
- Foreign Relations
Economy of Volaworand
See also:
- Attractions and Tourist Activities
- Kentucky Fried Penguin Locations
- Royal National Zoological Park
- Southern Transportation Corporation
- VIM Programme
- Volaworand Antarctic College
- Volaworand Space Agency
Faraday, Volaworand
Chancellor
Cecilia Tarrant
President
Paulette Vogt
Minister of Education
Rosie DeBosse
Endowment:
£293 Million
Budget:
£900 Million
Staff:
1,055 Academic
1,875 Administrative
Students:
8,170 (Technical)
9,312 (Undergrad)
2,025 (Graduate)
183 (Doctoral)
Overview
The Volaworand Antarctic College(VAC) is Volaworand's flagship public research university. The university conducts teaching and learning within eight faculties, three research institutes, an affiliated technical school, and other institutes and centres. International research stations in Volaworand are affiliated with VAC and co-publish scientific research with the Volaworand College Press. The City Campus, in the Faraday central business district, hosts the majority of students and faculties.
The college awards baccalaureate degrees in all departments and Master's Degrees in all areas except theology. Doctorate programmes are also offered.
The college is made up of a number of faculties, institutes and schools.
Faculty of Arts
Faculty of Commerce
- Business SchoolFaculty of Creative Arts and Industries
- School of Communication
- School of MusicFaculty of Education and Social Work
Faculty of Engineering
Faculty of Justice
- Volaworand Law SchoolFaculty of Medical and Health Sciences
Faculty of Science
Volaworand Technical School
- Culinary School
- Construction Trades
- PlumbingNatural Environment Research Council (NERC)
Faraday Earth Sciences Institute (FESI)
Public Policy Institute (PPI)
Rothera Institute for Climate Change & Environment
VAC Space Sciences Centre
iOS Design Lab (iDL)
The Volaworand College Press is a publisher established in 2017, owned and operated by VAC. It publishes peer-reviewed journals on a wide variety of fields of study.
Post-secondary education is provided free of charge to citizens, permanent residents and refugee claimants. A transcript of secondary school grades and Certificate of English Proficiency are required. Approximately 25% of the student body are international students, who pay a £15-20,000/year to study in Volaworand. International Student Visa's are relatively easy to aquire once a letter of acceptance is issued.
All staff and students must have up to date vaccinations, due to the disease outbreaks in Jakalaka and Kulochia.
Campuses and Facilities
The City Campus the main campus located in the central business district of Faraday. Satellite Campuses are located in Rothera and Halley and students can take many classes remotely.
The City Campus, Faraday
-
The Peat Moss, student-run restaurant
Faraday Earth Sciences Institute (FESI)
Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)
iOS Design Lab (iDL)
Food Court: XartoMak Burgers, Kentucky Fried PenguinCapital Campus, Rothera
-
Public Policy Institute (PPI)
Rothera Institute for Climate Change & EnvironmentSatellite Campus, Halley
-
Space Sciences Department Satellite Clean Lab
Off-campus and online
Acceditation and Exchanges
VAC participates in the South Pacific Universities Network (SPUN) and The Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU). Volaworand has recognition and accreditation clauses in treaty agreements throughout The South Pacific. The student exchange program reserves some seats for international studying a term at VAC for credit at their home university. These are organized as part of SPUN, or by bilateral agreements.
Amwich University Evinea
Babes Bolyai Cluj The free romanians
Moscow International University PsiCorps
New Nafplion State University The Helleness
Lacosan Institute of Science and Technology Milkyway republic
Sicilian University of Engineering, in Stafford, Imperial Cecilia
Great Southern University, in Vrävōrïzиiēk, Jakalaka
Newburg College of Computers and Engineering, in Newburg, Kami0
Hegali Grand University, in Hegali, Kulochia
International College of Cayenne, in Cayenne, Marecageux
New Te Awa National University, in Hamilton, New Te Awa
Graznava Institute Of Medical Science, in Tianmen, New Xartoia
Nasionaluniversitie Silangesch, in Zamaskus, Nova Altlandia
Pūtaputapu University, in Pūtaputapu, Petea
University of the Noble Arts of Humanity of Coruscant, Rokatov
Paraiso University, in Paraiso City, The Filippinas
[*[Estrella University of Sciences in Estrella, TyopioInternational Disney College in Disney City, United Disney States
State University of Minas Gerais, in Municipality of Belo Horizonte, Virifortis
Gunshey University of the Arts in Gunshey, La Startegläd, Zhuanghwei
South Pacific Universities Network:
Bilateral Agreements:
Volaworand recognizes the education credentials of other nations, and in turn has its credentials recognized and accepted.
nation]Tyopio[/nation]
Accreditation Recognition:
VAC News: (newest stories first)
page=dispatch/id=2579133
page=dispatch/id=2573476
page=dispatch/id=2568226
page=dispatch/id=2561777
page=dispatch/id=2555842
page=dispatch/id=1597783
page=dispatch/id=1107616
page=dispatch/id=945260
page=dispatch/id=941350
page=dispatch/id=935749
page=dispatch/id=934071
page=dispatch/id=933918
page=dispatch/id=929707
page=dispatch/id=926701
page=dispatch/id=924892
page=dispatch/id=923894
page=dispatch/id=924949
page=dispatch/id=915119
page=dispatch/id=913443
page=dispatch/id=912422
page=dispatch/id=912438
See Also: Economy of Volaworand
OOC ANTARCTIC HYPE!
Got that Climate Treaty policy but are fuzzy on what you signed? I have a RP deal for you! Exclusive to the South Pacific: The Polar Conservation Council!
Volaworand is slowly preparing to:
allow direct passenger and cargo sea connections to Volaworand's Antarctic peninsula, and
establish a program for hosting international research stations (I need to make my main university's dispatch first)
BE READY:
I am not really ready to go on either front yet, but in preparation I will be requiring applicants to accede to 3 real world treaties protecting Antartic Flora and Fauna, Marine Life, and Antarctic Seals.
Nations that agree to these three treaties now will be first in line to develop sea connections, or to place Antarctic research stations once I am ready.
Be first in line! Get in on the ground floor now.
THREE-FOR-ONE DEAL!
The Polar Conservation Council members agree to:
page=dispatch/id=913480
page=dispatch/id=913470
page=dispatch/id=913490
WHAT A BARGAIN!
Telegram "I'm in" to Volaworand to sign up!
See Also: Volaworand Antarctic College
See Also: Southern Transportation Corporation
See Also: The Polar Conservation Council
See Also: International Research Stations
A team of four scientists will take delivery of the haul, and other supplies in Port Lockroy, on Goudier Island, where the group is based for the next four months.
Items shipped to the remote location include tourist merchandise and scientific equipment for the team. Hundreds of items were sent to the remote post office at Port Lockroy including seven brooms from the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust office in Cambridge, to help with the cleaning of guano - seabird droppings. Port Lockroy was home to explorers and whalers before becoming the first permanent British base to be established on the Antarctic Peninsula. Built in 1944, it was used as a science base until 1962, when it closed permanently. Restoration began in the 1990s and since 2006 it has been managed as a post office and museum by the Antarctic Heritage Trust.
The island is deserted for most of the year but comes to life during the Antarctic summer when the trust's four staff are shipped in and thousands of tourists begin arriving. A team of scientists spend November to March - the Antarctic summer - manning the post office.
This year's all-female postal team, whose names have not yet been released, arrived at the base the base in November and will also carry out scientific work, including monitoring penguins, before returning to the mainland in March. Supplies are delivered via cruise ships, then carried and sorted by the team on shore.
Last year, the trust shipped 1,200 boxes of goods to Port Lockroy. Last year's post workers got through 337 tins of food as they franked 63,050 stamps for the tourists' postcards and sold 2,361 soft toy penguins. They got through 55 litres of bitumen paint to protect and maintain the settlement's historic buildings, and counted penguin nests and surveyed artefacts. They used 6 penguin guano brooms during that season. This year's supplies are a "top-up" so only 400 boxes are being sent, a sign that the new Volawordian government is learning to stand on its own.
Supplies left the UK on a container ship on September 4 and arrived on the Falkland Islands on September 28, en route to Volaworand's Pork Lockroy. Supplies also delivered throughout the season by the cruise ships carrying tourists.
See Also: Volaworand Attractions and Tourist Activites
See Also: International Research Stations
I wish I could tell you how dramatically isolated we feel here – how the expanse of an ocean that swirls the entire circumference of the planet and stands between you and any other landmass, makes you feel utterly cut off. How the dramatic landscape and harsh climate make work near impossible and living here an enduring and testing chore.
But in reality the comforts afforded by our base here on Signy, despite it being the most remote and inaccessible of VAS’s research stations, make it very homey. We have heat, power, internet (just!), and a surprisingly good phone line. We have a pantry brimming with every food you could want, and even food that you really shouldn’t want, lest your waistline starts a new war with just about everything in your wardrobe. If it weren’t for the fact that everything is free, and a lot of it is covered in chocolate, it is like entering Sainsbury’s up there. Although, our fresh groceries aisle is reduced to a few carrots and beetroots who sacked off any thoughts of a destiny fulfilled in a stew and have started a new life, colonizing rich ecosystems at the bottom of their cardboard box world. So, we eat well, we stay warm, we speak to friends and family, we have a good routine, and have the luxury of reading about the mind-baffling things that are going on back in the “the world” right now. I’m sorry to say, it’s very comfortable and quite undramatic in that regard.
We are seven people here: four scientists – the first time Signy has ever had an all-female science team; the base commander Matt, who is also a carpenter; Alex the field assistant/ tame mountaineer; and our technician, who has the job of being mechanic, plumber, electrician and general assistant, which is no small feat. Iain, our tech, probably has the most responsibility here (in my opinion): without him we would have no water from the reverse osmosis machine and no heat or power from the generators. If they break, he fixes them. Whilst I can wax lyrical about the minutia of trophic cascades in ecosystems, my mechanical skills boil down to being able to change a tire and blow a head gasket. Like all technicians that VAS employ, he’s invaluable to our success here. I feel it’s important to emphasize the trade skills needed to run a scientific operation like this, because it is often the beautiful drama of the place or the scientific findings that get the attention. It’s why we are here. But the how we are here is because of the carpenters, plumbers, electricians and engineers, problem-solving on a scale just as clever as any science. It’s a symbiotic relationship that you are often cut off from in traditional science, and even non-science workplace settings.
So, the science! It is going well…I think. At least I have a 1Tb hard-drive that is filling up fast with data, and a brain that I’m quite sure overflowed last week. It was a messy, emotional affair, as befits remembering that for all intents and purposes, you are stranded on a small island in the middle of the Southern Ocean with the same 6 people, day in and day out, for months on end. When science is literally coming out of your ears, you don’t have enough hours in the day to mop it up and you find yourself in such a situation, in such a place, it can strain the nerves! Anyone who comes down here and tells you it was riotous fun every single day is either a fool, or lying. Maybe both. But one thing it definitely is, is remarkable.
Every day is extraordinary, I don’t use that word lightly: I do the dishes whilst watching juvenile elephant seals practice their battle tactics. I fall asleep to the unusual cooing, croaking sounds from storm petrels that nest in the cliffs. Out of my lab window I see the snow-capped mountains of Jane Peak and across the straights to our stunning neighbor, Coronation Island. It’s a gorgeous view, ice caps and hanging glaciers turning ever bluer as the snow melts from them, the further into summer we get. A short walk to Bernsten Point, a few hundred meters away from base, the vista opens to the whole of the straights between Coronation and Signy. A view that is always littered with the most impressive icebergs that drift up to us from the great ice masses of the Antarctic Continent. No trip to the point is the same as bergs melt and break apart, and other new ones get blown in. Icebergs previously large enough to land planes on heave chunks of ice the size of tower blocks into the ocean that in turn carves new arches and caves into its base. The wind whips the tops of others, its warming strokes sculpting the ice into shapes that would have pleased Dali.
It is icebergs that I’ve fallen for the most here. When I look out to sea, there is no question of where I am. Ice, in its most incredible, beautiful and humbling form. Towering masses that are geological in age, having spent eons locked into ice shelves amassing their improbable size through the accumulation of mere snowflakes. They sail about the sea, changing the horizons every day. It is impossible to tire of them. They are, to use a highly overused word in its full sense, awesome.
Equally as enchanting are the clouds. We can get all types in a day. I mean it! Bouncy cumulus, wispy cirrus, smothering stratus, startling lenticular. Rarely is it just grey, or even rarer, just blue. I don’t have much of a relationship with clouds at home, they are either there or they are not. They make sunsets more interesting, but more often than not they are harbingers of gloom, mirth and wet cycle commutes. Here they are spectacular, and useful weather forecasters too: the other-worldly lenticular clouds have become solid symbols of an impending and often exciting storm. They give scale to far horizons and distant mountains. And they are as much of the landscape as the sea or snow, the hills and valleys.
Enough of water formations, you want to hear of penguins and seals don’t you really?! And being a polar biologist I’d better tell you. But I’ll save that for another post!
See Also: International Research Stations
See Also: Volaworand Attractions and Tourist Activites
See Also: Geography of Volaworand
Speedcast to Provide VSAT Solutions to Volaworand Research Stations
Speedcast has signed an agreement to provide Signy, Halley, Fossil Bluff and Sky Blu Research Stations, as well as international sites operating on the South Shetlands Islands, with its Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) systems. The world’s most trusted provider of highly reliable, fully managed, remote communication and IT solutions has been awarded a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract with a Volaworand Government department conducting world-class scientific and environmental research in Antarctica.
Speedcast will provide the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) programmes with mission-critical and life-saving communications to the outside world.
Speedcast CEO Pierre-Jean Beylier said: “Being chosen to provide communications in Antarctica is both an honor and a testament to Speedcast’s commitment to supporting the Volaworand Infrastructure Modernization (VIM) Programme and enabling leading-edge research. Our team of highly qualified engineers is proud to provide 24/7 support and solutions to enable individuals in these remote and harsh locations to communicate with the outside world for day-to-day communication and in the event they need assistance in case of an emergency. This win is an example of the increase in government spending in satellite communications and Speedcast’s ability to grow market share as the government segment continues to expand.”
Speedcast will provide VSAT bandwidth, equipment and installation, including training, antenna upgrades and repositioning, as well as network optimization.
Speedcast will also provide additional support to other scientific users such as Geoscience Volaworand at the three Volaworand Antarctic research stations.
With the updates Speedcast is making to the satellite links, the research programme will have four times more throughput than it had with their previous provider once installations are completed in January 2018.
While there may be up to 120 people on each research station in the summer, during the harsh winters of Antarctica when travel to the icy continent is not possible, the population of each research station is much smaller and satellite communication is their only link to the outside world. The reliability of these links is essential for the well-being of the wintering expeditioners and enables telemedicine support if required.
See Also: VIM Programme
See Also: International Research Stations
Volaworand Antarctic Survey (VAS) and the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) have jointly decided, for safety reasons, that it will close the Halley VI Research Station during the 2018 Antarctic winter. This will be the second time that the year-round operation of the station, which is located on a floating 150-m thick ice shelf, will be disrupted by a complex and unpredictable glaciological situation. The latest expert assessment from VAS glaciologists confirms that the northern movement of a chasm in the Brunt Ice Shelf (which had previously been dormant for around 35 years) accelerated during the last 7 months (the Antarctic winter), and the second crack (known as Halloween crack) that appeared unexpectedly in October 2016, continues to extend eastwards.
Even though VAS has access to a highly sophisticated network of ice sensors and satellite imagery, it is impossible for glaciologists to predict future events on the ice shelf, including the timing and impact of any possible calving events.
Director Jane Francis says, “What we are witnessing is the power and unpredictability of Nature. The safety of our staff is our priority in these circumstances. Our Antarctic summer research operation will continue as planned, and we are confident of mounting a fast uplift of personnel should fracturing of the ice shelf occur. However, because access to the station by ship or aircraft is extremely difficult during the winter months of 24-hour darkness, extremely low temperatures and the frozen sea, we will once again take the precaution of shutting down the station before the 2018 Antarctic winter (March – November) begins.”
The 14 members of staff who expected to spend winter at Halley VI will be redeployed, either at other VAS-operated Antarctic research stations or further inland towards the ‘hinge zone’ where the floating ice shelf is joined to the continent, site of the Halley settlement. Since the winter closure last season VAS science and engineering teams have worked on solutions to secure long-term scientific data, including relocating scientific instruments and by developing automated data capture technologies.
Halley VI Research Station is an internationally important platform for global earth, atmospheric and space weather observation in a climate-sensitive zone. In 2013 the station attained the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) Global station status, becoming the 29th in the world and 3rd in Antarctica.
In March this year Halley VI station was successfully relocated 23 km upstream of the previously dormant ice chasm. This season's resupply and reopening is happening mid-December as scheduled pending the arrival of the RRS Ernest Shackleton.
See Also: International Research Stations
See Also: Geography of Volaworand
See Also: Volaworand Antarctic College
See Also: Geography of Volaworand