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Latest News
Tas MWD menu released
Mawsons huts funding Media release Mawsons Huts Nude swim goes ahead Constitution approved $25 million for Antarctica Alien invaders minimised Winter trek proceeds ANARE Club constitution Early bird MWD discount ends soon Pinto, adventure penguin Hobarts Auroras Cpt Scotts last letter Antarttic postmistress wanted Win free flights to Hobart Nude swim for Midwinters Red Queen opening night Casey 88 reunion planned Barend Becker Blog Macca DVD 'Edge of Nowhere' Greens media release on funding Antarctica Macca pest eradication project Book on Stay to be released Heard Island trip iconic photos wanted Heard Island report Phillip Law medal nominations ANARE Club berth applications Club berth voyage reports Mawson Mountains on stamps Chasing the Light: Women in Antarctica Minke whale research New bacteria Lake Vostok Madigan book launch Invite to WA Traversing Antarctica Antarctic conf registration opens Movie 'The Thing' 2011 prequel New BAS station unveiled AA to be replaced GG visits Casey station MWD festivities /dinner update Antarctic plane crash Chinese icebreaker in Hobart Antarctic Arts fellowship Shakleton expedition Leopard seal v penguin photo Geographic pole marker moved Fishing season in Antarctica New photos from Scott expedition found UK midwinter lunch New Tas Midwinter festival Conference: strategic science in Antarctica Vale Andrew McLaughlin Round 3 ice drilling Antarctic glacier retreats Hobart climate change conference Ant Div recruiting Ant lake research abandoned Ant machinery photographic exhibition And furthermore... Queen Elizabeth land announced ...And the Argentinians object.. Ant marine park on ice Nella Dan link Arts recipient |
Come behind the scenery...explore Tas at midwinters
Dear Mainlanders,
Looking to explore our magical little island at Midwinters... There's heaps on all over the state. Click here to see Tourism Tas ideas (and their very cool autumn -winter campaign film clip). Using MONA as a starting point, the television ad presents the state in all its quirky glory with an old-style circus feel, heavy on theatrics and chock-full of cameos from Tasmania's most famous locals, including Tino Carnevale, Rob Pennicott, Sally Wise, Bill Lark, John X and David Foster. Tourism Tasmania marketing director Kath McCann said the state was known for its stunning landscapes and incredible food. "The holiday experience is on offer at first glance, but when you dig a little deeper it's the things that sit below the surface that are the real experience of Tasmania," she said.(extract from The Mercury website) Also here for Dark Mofo events... And here for great prices for winter accomodation in iconic locations... Nella Dan 1962-1987
Info from Ship Modelling Society of Victoria website Nella Dan sailed to the Antarctic every year of the twenty-six years she was chartered by the Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions (ANARE). Built as an ice breaker by the Aarlborg Shipyard Pty Ltd, Denmark, in 1961, at the time of her construction, the Nella Dan was regarded as setting the standard for polar vessels. Her specifications included:
*Source: About Antarctica, Dept of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities Australian Antarctic Division Nella Dan Model 1970-1973 The concept for a club or joint build model model was introduced to the Ship Modelling Society of Victoria (SMSV) by Mr. Norm Neale at the November Meeting 1970. He proposed: “to construct a sailing model of a ship as a joint project for members”. The choice of the Nella Dan as the subject of this model was taken in early 1971 with support being provided by National Antarctic Expedition in the provision of plans. The project was undertaken as a club build with the following members meeting two hours ahead of the main monthly club meetings to complete the model. The recorded (club newsletters) participants in the build include: Les Gooch, Norm Neale, Phil Molyneux, Tom Hadley, Kevin Lang, Bill Middleditch, Don McGraw, Denis Kendall and later Sid Rose. The “remotely controlled” model took some 3000 hours to build and was constructed to 1/12 scale from Western Red Cedar, brass windows and portholes (with glass inserts) and the hull laminated externally with fibreglass. The overall dimensions of the model were 10ft x 18inches by approximately 18 inches draft. The model was powered by a 6V aircraft starter motor and controlled using a model aircraft RC unit. The model was capable of turning to port or starboard but restricted to forward motion only due to the complexity of trying to simulate “reversible pitch” propellers. The model was launched by Mrs. Sid Rose at Albert Park Lake at 10:00 am on Sunday, 2nd December 1973. There were 14 SMSV members and 8 guests in attendance with Channel 2 providing TV coverage which was aired in the evening news a few days later. The model was initially loaned to the National Trust (Polly Woodside) for display but in 1910, the model was returned to the SMSV. It was then donated to ANARE who shipped it to Tasmania where it is now on display in the AAD foyer outside the library of the ANARE club. Photos of Nella Dan Club Project: Click here...These photo images are provided by SMSV members for the benefit and interest of model ship builders. Please note that all photo images on this site are subject to copyright and must not be used for any commercial purposes without the permission of the owner. |
MWD menu released
The 3 course meal will feature local Tasmanian produce and will be an alternate drop (e.g. salmon, beef, salmon, beef..) The menu is available here...
Vegetarian options are available. Please advise if you have any particular dietary requirements (vegetarian, vegan, gluten free etc) by early June 2013 at this email..
So far, over 135 people have paid to attend this years MWD in Tasmania. If you'd like to come along and catch up with heaps of friends, get more details here...
The 3 course meal will feature local Tasmanian produce and will be an alternate drop (e.g. salmon, beef, salmon, beef..) The menu is available here...
Vegetarian options are available. Please advise if you have any particular dietary requirements (vegetarian, vegan, gluten free etc) by early June 2013 at this email..
So far, over 135 people have paid to attend this years MWD in Tasmania. If you'd like to come along and catch up with heaps of friends, get more details here...
Looking for....
If anyone has contact details for the following people, can they forward on my email address so we can update some MWD details
thanks Ingrid
And the list is: Jeff Becker, Mark Maxwell, Richard Perrin, Dave Pollington, John Smith, Sue Reynolds, Chris Tickner,
If anyone has contact details for the following people, can they forward on my email address so we can update some MWD details
thanks Ingrid
And the list is: Jeff Becker, Mark Maxwell, Richard Perrin, Dave Pollington, John Smith, Sue Reynolds, Chris Tickner,
Funding for Mawsons Huts
By Matt Smith
Mercury Newspaper
THE amazing story of explorer Douglas Mawson will still inspire Australians for generations after the Federal Government yesterday confirmed support for projects in Hobart and Antarctica.
A $350,000 grant will allow a full-scale replica of Mawson's Hut to be built opposite Mawson Place at the Hobart waterfront, just 200m from the site where Mawson set sail for the Antarctic more than 100 years ago. The original hut was built in 1912 and used as a research base for the expedition.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Heritage Minister Tony Burke also announced yesterday that $472,725 would be provided for conservation work to preserve the original Mawson's Hut at Cape Denison, in Antarctica's Commonwealth Bay.
The Mawson's Huts Foundation, a not-for-profit charity which raises funds for the conservation of the historic huts at Cape Denison, had been attempting to secure money for the project for about three years.
Foundation chairman and CEO David Jensen said yesterday he was absolutely delighted funding had secured the project's first stage.
"Work can now start within a few weeks," Mr Jensen said.
"I can now focus on getting the remainder of the funding for the fit-out."
Mr Burke said the construction of the Hobart replica hut would be as close as possible to the original.
"This proposal has been developed by the Mawson's Huts Foundation, [which] also worked to save the original huts," Mr Burke said.
"It will be built using the same materials in Launceston, and be located on the Hobart waterfront where it will be a major tourist attraction," he said.
Mr Jensen thanked Tasmanian ALP Senator Carol Brown and the Labor candidate for Denison, Jane Austin for pestering the Prime Minister into funding the project.
"Hobart should give Carol and Jane a huge pat on the back for this," Mr Jensen said.
"They have been the driving force behind it."
matthew.smith@news.com.au
posted 20/5/13
Mercury Newspaper
THE amazing story of explorer Douglas Mawson will still inspire Australians for generations after the Federal Government yesterday confirmed support for projects in Hobart and Antarctica.
A $350,000 grant will allow a full-scale replica of Mawson's Hut to be built opposite Mawson Place at the Hobart waterfront, just 200m from the site where Mawson set sail for the Antarctic more than 100 years ago. The original hut was built in 1912 and used as a research base for the expedition.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Heritage Minister Tony Burke also announced yesterday that $472,725 would be provided for conservation work to preserve the original Mawson's Hut at Cape Denison, in Antarctica's Commonwealth Bay.
The Mawson's Huts Foundation, a not-for-profit charity which raises funds for the conservation of the historic huts at Cape Denison, had been attempting to secure money for the project for about three years.
Foundation chairman and CEO David Jensen said yesterday he was absolutely delighted funding had secured the project's first stage.
"Work can now start within a few weeks," Mr Jensen said.
"I can now focus on getting the remainder of the funding for the fit-out."
Mr Burke said the construction of the Hobart replica hut would be as close as possible to the original.
"This proposal has been developed by the Mawson's Huts Foundation, [which] also worked to save the original huts," Mr Burke said.
"It will be built using the same materials in Launceston, and be located on the Hobart waterfront where it will be a major tourist attraction," he said.
Mr Jensen thanked Tasmanian ALP Senator Carol Brown and the Labor candidate for Denison, Jane Austin for pestering the Prime Minister into funding the project.
"Hobart should give Carol and Jane a huge pat on the back for this," Mr Jensen said.
"They have been the driving force behind it."
matthew.smith@news.com.au
posted 20/5/13
Government Support for Conservation of Mawson's Huts
FRI 17 MAY 2013
Prime Minister, Minister for Heritage Hobart
Media release
Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Heritage Minister Tony Burke today announced funding for the conservation of the birthplace of Australia’s modern Antarctic program, Mawson’s Huts at Cape Denison, Commonwealth Bay, Antarctica.
The Gillard Government is providing $472,725 for conservation work to ensure this remarkable part of Australia’s history is preserved for future generations and continues to serve as a reminder of the leadership, bravery and determination of the Mawson expedition more than 100 years ago.
Funding is being provided for the project under the Government’s Your Community Heritage grants program, through the Protection National Heritage Sites sub-program.
Mawson’s expedition was the first large-scale Australian-led scientific expedition to the frozen continent.
Mawson’s Huts are Australia’s first base in Antarctica and the foundation for Australia’s sovereign claim of 42 per cent of Antarctica.
Located 3,000 kilometres south of Tasmania, Mawson’s Huts are on the National Heritage List and the Antarctic Treaty list of historic monuments.
Because of the site’s extreme remoteness and the limited window of time for operating in Antarctica the conservation work will take place on a year by year basis.
Mawson’s Huts are located in the windiest place on earth at sea level and this is compounded by the other extreme weather conditions at Commonwealth Bay.
The main priorities for the conservation work are the stabilisation of the main hut and associated structures, removal of interior ice and the prevention of snow getting inside the structures.
Mawson’s Huts are a critical part of Australia's enduring connection with the continent to our south.
The Mawson expedition left Hobart in December 1911 and reached Commonwealth Bay in January 1912.
The ongoing preservation of Mawson’s Huts will mean the story and inspiration of Mawson’s epic adventure, the tragedy of the expedition and his survival under extraordinary circumstances will continue to amaze Australians for generations to come.
In addition to the conservation work the Australian Government is providing $350,000 for stage one of the Mawson’s Hut Replica venture between the Mawson’s Huts Foundation and the Australian Geographic Society.
Assistance for this project will result in a full scale replica of Mawson’s Hut being built in Hobart, just 200 metres from the site that Mawson and his men departed.
Stage one of the project involves the construction of the Mawson’s Hut replica.
Construction of the hut will be as close as possible to the original.
This proposal has been developed by the Mawson’s Huts Foundation, who also worked to save the original huts.
It will be built using the same materials, in Launceston, and be located on the Hobart waterfront where it will be a major tourist attraction.
The Gillard Government is providing support for Antarctic research and exploration activities, including through $25 million for the Antarctic Cooperative Research Centre announced in the Budget.
It is also investing in the remediation of the Hobart rail yards, helping the long term redevelopment of the Hobart waterfront.
For information on the project go to http://www.mawsons-huts.org.au/replica/ and for information on the Your Community Heritage grants program go tohttp://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/programs/ych/index.html
FRI 17 MAY 2013
Prime Minister, Minister for Heritage Hobart
Media release
Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Heritage Minister Tony Burke today announced funding for the conservation of the birthplace of Australia’s modern Antarctic program, Mawson’s Huts at Cape Denison, Commonwealth Bay, Antarctica.
The Gillard Government is providing $472,725 for conservation work to ensure this remarkable part of Australia’s history is preserved for future generations and continues to serve as a reminder of the leadership, bravery and determination of the Mawson expedition more than 100 years ago.
Funding is being provided for the project under the Government’s Your Community Heritage grants program, through the Protection National Heritage Sites sub-program.
Mawson’s expedition was the first large-scale Australian-led scientific expedition to the frozen continent.
Mawson’s Huts are Australia’s first base in Antarctica and the foundation for Australia’s sovereign claim of 42 per cent of Antarctica.
Located 3,000 kilometres south of Tasmania, Mawson’s Huts are on the National Heritage List and the Antarctic Treaty list of historic monuments.
Because of the site’s extreme remoteness and the limited window of time for operating in Antarctica the conservation work will take place on a year by year basis.
Mawson’s Huts are located in the windiest place on earth at sea level and this is compounded by the other extreme weather conditions at Commonwealth Bay.
The main priorities for the conservation work are the stabilisation of the main hut and associated structures, removal of interior ice and the prevention of snow getting inside the structures.
Mawson’s Huts are a critical part of Australia's enduring connection with the continent to our south.
The Mawson expedition left Hobart in December 1911 and reached Commonwealth Bay in January 1912.
The ongoing preservation of Mawson’s Huts will mean the story and inspiration of Mawson’s epic adventure, the tragedy of the expedition and his survival under extraordinary circumstances will continue to amaze Australians for generations to come.
In addition to the conservation work the Australian Government is providing $350,000 for stage one of the Mawson’s Hut Replica venture between the Mawson’s Huts Foundation and the Australian Geographic Society.
Assistance for this project will result in a full scale replica of Mawson’s Hut being built in Hobart, just 200 metres from the site that Mawson and his men departed.
Stage one of the project involves the construction of the Mawson’s Hut replica.
Construction of the hut will be as close as possible to the original.
This proposal has been developed by the Mawson’s Huts Foundation, who also worked to save the original huts.
It will be built using the same materials, in Launceston, and be located on the Hobart waterfront where it will be a major tourist attraction.
The Gillard Government is providing support for Antarctic research and exploration activities, including through $25 million for the Antarctic Cooperative Research Centre announced in the Budget.
It is also investing in the remediation of the Hobart rail yards, helping the long term redevelopment of the Hobart waterfront.
For information on the project go to http://www.mawsons-huts.org.au/replica/ and for information on the Your Community Heritage grants program go tohttp://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/programs/ych/index.html
Nude swim for Dark Mofo festival gets Tasmania police go-ahead
By Tim Douglas
The Australian newspaper
21st May 2013.
HOBART'S controversial nude solstice swim, being hosted by Tasmania's Museum of Old and New Art, is back on again after police today agreed to in-principle support for the event.
Yesterday, Tasmanian Police deemed the naked swim "contrary to public decency", and forced organisers of MONA's Dark Mofo festival to cancel the event, which had been organised to mirror other European solstice events.
But Tasmanian Minister for Police and Emergency Management, David O'Byrne, said today police had changed its mind. Provided the event gets the go-ahead from Hobart City Council, the Dark Mofo Nude Solstice Swim will take place on June 22 in the frigid waters of the Derwent's Lower Sandy Bay.
Social media had been abuzz with criticism of the police's decision to shut down the event, MONA's Facebook site had received some 200 messages of support.
Dark Mofo creative director Leigh Carmichael said plans would be submitted to council as soon as possible to clear the way for the event. "After further discussions of event management, safety and approval, we now have in-principal support from Tasmania Police to go ahead with the event," Mr Carmichael said.
Surf Life Saving Tasmania had deemed Lower Sandy Bay the safest place to hold the event.
"We are pleased the swim can go ahead. We think this could become a major event for Tasmania's winter on an annual basis, and - as we've seen from the public interest this week - it's just a great thing for the community to engage in together, on the morning after the darkest night."
Dark Mofo, MONA's inaugural winter festival, opens on June 13 and will also host Skywhale, artist Patricia Piccinini's controversial Centenary of Canberra hot air balloon.
The Australian newspaper
21st May 2013.
HOBART'S controversial nude solstice swim, being hosted by Tasmania's Museum of Old and New Art, is back on again after police today agreed to in-principle support for the event.
Yesterday, Tasmanian Police deemed the naked swim "contrary to public decency", and forced organisers of MONA's Dark Mofo festival to cancel the event, which had been organised to mirror other European solstice events.
But Tasmanian Minister for Police and Emergency Management, David O'Byrne, said today police had changed its mind. Provided the event gets the go-ahead from Hobart City Council, the Dark Mofo Nude Solstice Swim will take place on June 22 in the frigid waters of the Derwent's Lower Sandy Bay.
Social media had been abuzz with criticism of the police's decision to shut down the event, MONA's Facebook site had received some 200 messages of support.
Dark Mofo creative director Leigh Carmichael said plans would be submitted to council as soon as possible to clear the way for the event. "After further discussions of event management, safety and approval, we now have in-principal support from Tasmania Police to go ahead with the event," Mr Carmichael said.
Surf Life Saving Tasmania had deemed Lower Sandy Bay the safest place to hold the event.
"We are pleased the swim can go ahead. We think this could become a major event for Tasmania's winter on an annual basis, and - as we've seen from the public interest this week - it's just a great thing for the community to engage in together, on the morning after the darkest night."
Dark Mofo, MONA's inaugural winter festival, opens on June 13 and will also host Skywhale, artist Patricia Piccinini's controversial Centenary of Canberra hot air balloon.
New ANARE Club constitution approved at AGM
The new 'Rules' governing ANARE Club operation and management was overwhelmingly approved at the special AGM yesterday.
Although it was recognised that legally the ANARE Club had to make a number of additions to comply with recent changes in Victorian Government legislation, there was provision to add further information to maintain the essential character of the ANARE Club. With this in mind, several amendments were successfully introduced by members prior to the final vote.
National Council will be making a formal comment on the ratified Constitution in the near future.
Sincere thanks in particular to Joe Johnson and others who put in many hours of work on the project. And also a big thank you to those who took the time and effort to make their opinion count either in person or by proxy.
The new 'Rules' governing ANARE Club operation and management was overwhelmingly approved at the special AGM yesterday.
Although it was recognised that legally the ANARE Club had to make a number of additions to comply with recent changes in Victorian Government legislation, there was provision to add further information to maintain the essential character of the ANARE Club. With this in mind, several amendments were successfully introduced by members prior to the final vote.
National Council will be making a formal comment on the ratified Constitution in the near future.
Sincere thanks in particular to Joe Johnson and others who put in many hours of work on the project. And also a big thank you to those who took the time and effort to make their opinion count either in person or by proxy.
Cartoom from Mercury Newspaper 13th May 2013
$25 million Antarctic lifeline
by Michelle Paine
www.themercury.com.au
13th May 2013
HOBART'S international reputation as the centre of global Antarctic research has been secured, with $25 million in funding to be announced in tomorrow's Federal Budget.
And another $7.9 million will be spent looking at options for a new icebreaker to replace the ageing Aurora Australis, as well as funds to keep it working for the next few years.
There had been fears dozens of top scientists would be lost to the state with the end of funding for the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Co-operative Research Centre. About $4.5 million a year goes towards the centre, which also supports the CSIRO and Australia Antarctic Division, but that money was due to run out next year.
The five-year funding plan was announced by Tertiary Education, Skills, Science and Research Minister Craig Emerson and Environment Minister Tony Burke. "Our Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems CRC has an international reputation as a leader in climate change science," Dr Emerson said. "The funding in this year's Budget means its research will address key scientific questions, including how Antarctica drives global climate, and how the pace and nature of change will affect the wellbeing and economic interests of Australians."
The centre is based at the University of Tasmania, but works with more than 20 organisations.
Dr Emerson said the funding meant the range of work done by the CRC, Australia's largest centre of Antarctic and Southern Ocean climate change research, would continue to include climate-change effects in Australia and the Pacific.
It comes after strong lobbying by the State Government, Greens leader Christine Milne and independent MHR Andrew Wilkie, as well as work by UTAS.
Hobart's concentration of climate change and Southern Ocean research is a key to economic hopes for the state's future and underpins plans for the industry to grow. Tasmania has marketed itself as the Antarctic gateway, a reputation strengthened when a Chinese polar research vessel docked in Hobart in January to be resupplied. More than 900 people are employed in Hobart's Antarctic activities.
Comment on the AAD website can be accessed here...
www.themercury.com.au
13th May 2013
HOBART'S international reputation as the centre of global Antarctic research has been secured, with $25 million in funding to be announced in tomorrow's Federal Budget.
And another $7.9 million will be spent looking at options for a new icebreaker to replace the ageing Aurora Australis, as well as funds to keep it working for the next few years.
There had been fears dozens of top scientists would be lost to the state with the end of funding for the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Co-operative Research Centre. About $4.5 million a year goes towards the centre, which also supports the CSIRO and Australia Antarctic Division, but that money was due to run out next year.
The five-year funding plan was announced by Tertiary Education, Skills, Science and Research Minister Craig Emerson and Environment Minister Tony Burke. "Our Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems CRC has an international reputation as a leader in climate change science," Dr Emerson said. "The funding in this year's Budget means its research will address key scientific questions, including how Antarctica drives global climate, and how the pace and nature of change will affect the wellbeing and economic interests of Australians."
The centre is based at the University of Tasmania, but works with more than 20 organisations.
Dr Emerson said the funding meant the range of work done by the CRC, Australia's largest centre of Antarctic and Southern Ocean climate change research, would continue to include climate-change effects in Australia and the Pacific.
It comes after strong lobbying by the State Government, Greens leader Christine Milne and independent MHR Andrew Wilkie, as well as work by UTAS.
Hobart's concentration of climate change and Southern Ocean research is a key to economic hopes for the state's future and underpins plans for the industry to grow. Tasmania has marketed itself as the Antarctic gateway, a reputation strengthened when a Chinese polar research vessel docked in Hobart in January to be resupplied. More than 900 people are employed in Hobart's Antarctic activities.
Comment on the AAD website can be accessed here...
Early bird discount for Tas MWD ends 18th May 2013...
The ANARE (Tas branch) Midwinter Dinner will be held in Hobart on Saturday 222nd June 2013.
Over 100 people have booked so far. Numbers are capped at 150, so if you wish to attend please make your payments ASAP to guarantee a seat. The early bird discount finishes on 18th May 2013.
A number of ANARE folk have booked for 2 people, but not provided the name of their guest. It would be helpful if you emailed mimacarr@gmail.com with the name for attendees list, seating and name tags. Thanks!
Further information on the dinner and list of attendees can be accessed on our website.
Over 100 people have booked so far. Numbers are capped at 150, so if you wish to attend please make your payments ASAP to guarantee a seat. The early bird discount finishes on 18th May 2013.
A number of ANARE folk have booked for 2 people, but not provided the name of their guest. It would be helpful if you emailed mimacarr@gmail.com with the name for attendees list, seating and name tags. Thanks!
Further information on the dinner and list of attendees can be accessed on our website.
AAD seeks to minimise alien invaders
from the AAD website
A new state-of-the-art Australian Antarctic Division cargo and quarantine hub aims to banish bugs, rats and other ‘alien’ hitch-hikers from boarding ships travelling south.
The federally funded 2.5 million dollar facility is located at the eastern end of the re-developed Macquarie Wharf 2 shed.
It has vermin traps, impenetrable walls and automatic shutter doors to reduce the risk of introduced species reaching the fragile Antarctic and sub-Antarctic environments.
Environment Minister Tony Burke said it’s a significant improvement in bio-security.
“In 1991 the Hawke Labor Government decided that the Antarctic would be the one continent on earth that was kept as a pristine wilderness dedicated to science and peace,” Mr Burke said. “These quarantine facilities are about making sure that the pristine Antarctic stays that way.”
The Director of the Division, Dr Tony Fleming, said Australia is really committed to ensuring we have a minimal impact on the environment at our Antarctic and sub-Antarctic stations “This new facility will improve the efficiency of our screening, processing and management of all cargo and equipment to help prevent the introduction of non-native animals or plant species,” Dr Fleming said.
The cargo and quarantine centre also has a cold and cool store, fumigation area, briefing rooms, and warehousing space.
“This development further cements Tasmania’s status as a dedicated gateway to Antarctica and the Southern Ocean,” he said.
Tasports has spent 7 million dollars redeveloping the Macquarie Wharf 2 building into an Antarctic and Cruise ship precinct. “The cruise terminal will provide a spacious and comfortable area for Expeditioners and their families to farewell or welcome home their loved ones, as well as providing easier access to Antarctic ships,” Dr Fleming said.
The Antarctic Division will move into the cargo and quarantine facility in May and begin operating from there in time for the first voyage of the season in September.
The Division’s cargo operations have been run out of Macquarie Wharf 4 for more than 12 years.
A new state-of-the-art Australian Antarctic Division cargo and quarantine hub aims to banish bugs, rats and other ‘alien’ hitch-hikers from boarding ships travelling south.
The federally funded 2.5 million dollar facility is located at the eastern end of the re-developed Macquarie Wharf 2 shed.
It has vermin traps, impenetrable walls and automatic shutter doors to reduce the risk of introduced species reaching the fragile Antarctic and sub-Antarctic environments.
Environment Minister Tony Burke said it’s a significant improvement in bio-security.
“In 1991 the Hawke Labor Government decided that the Antarctic would be the one continent on earth that was kept as a pristine wilderness dedicated to science and peace,” Mr Burke said. “These quarantine facilities are about making sure that the pristine Antarctic stays that way.”
The Director of the Division, Dr Tony Fleming, said Australia is really committed to ensuring we have a minimal impact on the environment at our Antarctic and sub-Antarctic stations “This new facility will improve the efficiency of our screening, processing and management of all cargo and equipment to help prevent the introduction of non-native animals or plant species,” Dr Fleming said.
The cargo and quarantine centre also has a cold and cool store, fumigation area, briefing rooms, and warehousing space.
“This development further cements Tasmania’s status as a dedicated gateway to Antarctica and the Southern Ocean,” he said.
Tasports has spent 7 million dollars redeveloping the Macquarie Wharf 2 building into an Antarctic and Cruise ship precinct. “The cruise terminal will provide a spacious and comfortable area for Expeditioners and their families to farewell or welcome home their loved ones, as well as providing easier access to Antarctic ships,” Dr Fleming said.
The Antarctic Division will move into the cargo and quarantine facility in May and begin operating from there in time for the first voyage of the season in September.
The Division’s cargo operations have been run out of Macquarie Wharf 4 for more than 12 years.
Antarctic winter expedition team battle elements
BBC news report
Bad weather and dangerous crevasses have slowed the progress of the team trying to become the first to cross Antarctica during the polar winter.
The team was hit before it started its crossing when veteran explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes had to pull out after suffering frostbite.
Now, as Ian Prickett of the Coldest Journey team explains, after seven weeks they are behind schedule, but hoping to make up lost time. See video here...
Bad weather and dangerous crevasses have slowed the progress of the team trying to become the first to cross Antarctica during the polar winter.
The team was hit before it started its crossing when veteran explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes had to pull out after suffering frostbite.
Now, as Ian Prickett of the Coldest Journey team explains, after seven weeks they are behind schedule, but hoping to make up lost time. See video here...
Antarctic visitor numbers up
Numbers of visitors to the Antarctic were up sharply for the 2012-2013 season over the previous year, according to the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO).
A whopping 34,316 tourists visited the Antarctic during the most recent tourist season — about 8,000 more people than the previous year, according to IAATO data, but on par with previous seasons. The increase came from a rise in the numbers of tourists on small and medium-sized boats, as well as a rise in the number of people going on Antarctic cruises (and don't actually set foot on the Antarctic continent), reported the Gadling travel blog. The IAATO doesn't expect the increase for the 2013-2014 season to be nearly as steep, Gadling said.
The tourist season in Antarctica runs mainly from November to February (summer in the Southern Hemisphere). There are no native inhabitants of Antarctica, but some research stations are occupied year-round.
Follow Andrea Thompson @AndreaTOAP, Pinterest and Google+. Follow OurAmazingPlanet @OAPlanet, Facebook and Google+.
Numbers of visitors to the Antarctic were up sharply for the 2012-2013 season over the previous year, according to the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO).
A whopping 34,316 tourists visited the Antarctic during the most recent tourist season — about 8,000 more people than the previous year, according to IAATO data, but on par with previous seasons. The increase came from a rise in the numbers of tourists on small and medium-sized boats, as well as a rise in the number of people going on Antarctic cruises (and don't actually set foot on the Antarctic continent), reported the Gadling travel blog. The IAATO doesn't expect the increase for the 2013-2014 season to be nearly as steep, Gadling said.
The tourist season in Antarctica runs mainly from November to February (summer in the Southern Hemisphere). There are no native inhabitants of Antarctica, but some research stations are occupied year-round.
Follow Andrea Thompson @AndreaTOAP, Pinterest and Google+. Follow OurAmazingPlanet @OAPlanet, Facebook and Google+.
Vote for your say on ANARE Club constitution
The National Council have advised that there is to be a Special General Meeting of the ANARE Club Inc., at the Bayview Eden Hotel, 6 Queens Rd. Melbourne at 2.30pm on Sunday 12 May 2013.
The object of the meeting is to table for ratification, redrafted Rules, (aka “the Constitution”), for the operation and management of the Club and to comply with changes in Victorian Government legislation.
A copy of the redrafted rules are available in pdf format on the National Website.
All Members & Proxy Voting Welcome. Proxy voting can be accessed here...
The review of the Club rules and regulations has been a 2 year work in progress. Joe Johnson in conjunction with many other members of National Council past and present, have spent countless hours drafting the new document for consideration of the ANARE Club members.
It is vital you vote so we have a representative view of the majority of ANARE Club members.
If you are unable to attend please consider forwarding on your proxy vote to Ingrid Mcgaughey or Marilyn Boydell who will be attending the meeting in person.
Although both of us will be placing a personal vote in favor of the amendments, as per proxy vote form you can clearly state whether you are in favor or against the amendments to reflect your personal wishes. We guarantee that all proxy votes forwarded to us will be taken to the meeting.
The object of the meeting is to table for ratification, redrafted Rules, (aka “the Constitution”), for the operation and management of the Club and to comply with changes in Victorian Government legislation.
A copy of the redrafted rules are available in pdf format on the National Website.
All Members & Proxy Voting Welcome. Proxy voting can be accessed here...
The review of the Club rules and regulations has been a 2 year work in progress. Joe Johnson in conjunction with many other members of National Council past and present, have spent countless hours drafting the new document for consideration of the ANARE Club members.
It is vital you vote so we have a representative view of the majority of ANARE Club members.
If you are unable to attend please consider forwarding on your proxy vote to Ingrid Mcgaughey or Marilyn Boydell who will be attending the meeting in person.
Although both of us will be placing a personal vote in favor of the amendments, as per proxy vote form you can clearly state whether you are in favor or against the amendments to reflect your personal wishes. We guarantee that all proxy votes forwarded to us will be taken to the meeting.
Hobart turns on the Auroras
from Helen Kempton, March 19 2013
The Mercury website
THESE stunning images of the Aurora Australis -- or Southern Lights -- were captured late at night just outside Hobart in late March 2013. The video can be viewed here...
Hobart is the nation's viewing hotspot for the Southern Lights and Kingston photographer Xavier Hoenner made sure he was in the right place at the right time to capture the spectacular scene
Mr Hoenner received an alert from the Bureau of Meteorology's Ionospheric Prediction Service that the stunning sky show would be visible.
Then it was just a matter of setting up his equipment away from any artificial light pollution. He chose Howden, just south of Hobart.
The IPS Space weather website said Sunday's light show was caused by a geomagnetic storm and the lights had been visible from Tasmania for several hours.
Mr Hoenner captured this shot of the dramatic light show between 11pm and midnight.
He said the time-lapse sequence was made up of 124 photos taken at 33-second intervals.
Here are the vital statistics for photography boffins -- aperture f/3.5; shutter speed 30 seconds; and ISO 640.
An aurora is a natural light display that occurs in both northern and southern hemispheres.
In the south, Aurora Australis is best viewed from South Georgia Island, Tasmania, Stewart Island in New Zealand, the Falkland Islands and Argentina.
The best light shows of all can be seen in the Arctic and Antarctic.
The Mercury website
THESE stunning images of the Aurora Australis -- or Southern Lights -- were captured late at night just outside Hobart in late March 2013. The video can be viewed here...
Hobart is the nation's viewing hotspot for the Southern Lights and Kingston photographer Xavier Hoenner made sure he was in the right place at the right time to capture the spectacular scene
Mr Hoenner received an alert from the Bureau of Meteorology's Ionospheric Prediction Service that the stunning sky show would be visible.
Then it was just a matter of setting up his equipment away from any artificial light pollution. He chose Howden, just south of Hobart.
The IPS Space weather website said Sunday's light show was caused by a geomagnetic storm and the lights had been visible from Tasmania for several hours.
Mr Hoenner captured this shot of the dramatic light show between 11pm and midnight.
He said the time-lapse sequence was made up of 124 photos taken at 33-second intervals.
Here are the vital statistics for photography boffins -- aperture f/3.5; shutter speed 30 seconds; and ISO 640.
An aurora is a natural light display that occurs in both northern and southern hemispheres.
In the south, Aurora Australis is best viewed from South Georgia Island, Tasmania, Stewart Island in New Zealand, the Falkland Islands and Argentina.
The best light shows of all can be seen in the Arctic and Antarctic.
Captain Scotts last letter on public display
Photo: Graham Barclay/Bloomberg
By Alice Vincent
Full article on The Telegraph news website
Captain Scott's last letter, from inside his final Antarctic camp in March 1912, has gone on public display for the first time, 101 years after the polar explorer's death.Captain Scott at the South Pole and his final letter revealing his dying thoughts were of his wife and son
The letter is addressed to Admiral Sir Francis Bridgeman, who was Scott's former commanding officer in the Royal Navy. In it, Scott expresses his anxiety for his wife and two-year-old son, asking Bridgeman to ensure they are looked after in his absence.
Scott poignantly admits he is at the end of his adventure, writing: "I fear we have shipped up – a close shave."
The letter has been quoted in part before, but was not made public in full until today as the letter was passed into private hands after it was delivered to Bridgeman. It was bought by the Scott Polar Research Institute at the University of Cambridge for £78,816, with donated funds.
Scott wrote eight letters as he faced death. There is one still in private ownership, addressed to Edgar Speyer, after it was sold last year in auction for £165,000.
It is believed the explorer died on 29 March, after writing his final diary entry, which ended: "It seems a pity, but I do not think I can write more. R. Scott. For God's sake look after our people." Read more...
Scott's last letter to Admiral Sir Francis Bridgeman
My dear Sir Francis,
I fear we have shipped up – a close shave. I am writing a few letters which I hope will be delivered some day. I want to thank you for the friendship you gave me of late years, and to tell you how extraordinarily pleasant I found it to serve under you. I want to tell you I was not too old for this job. It was the younger men that went under first.
Finally, I want you to secure a competence for my widow and boy. I leave them very ill provided for, but feel the country ought not to neglect them. After all we are setting a good example to our countrymen, if not by getting into a tight place, by facing it like men when we were there. We could have come back through had we neglected the sick. Goodbye and goodbye to dear Lady Bridgeman.
Yours ever, R Scott
Excuse writing, it is minus 40, and has been for nigh a month.
Full article on The Telegraph news website
Captain Scott's last letter, from inside his final Antarctic camp in March 1912, has gone on public display for the first time, 101 years after the polar explorer's death.Captain Scott at the South Pole and his final letter revealing his dying thoughts were of his wife and son
The letter is addressed to Admiral Sir Francis Bridgeman, who was Scott's former commanding officer in the Royal Navy. In it, Scott expresses his anxiety for his wife and two-year-old son, asking Bridgeman to ensure they are looked after in his absence.
Scott poignantly admits he is at the end of his adventure, writing: "I fear we have shipped up – a close shave."
The letter has been quoted in part before, but was not made public in full until today as the letter was passed into private hands after it was delivered to Bridgeman. It was bought by the Scott Polar Research Institute at the University of Cambridge for £78,816, with donated funds.
Scott wrote eight letters as he faced death. There is one still in private ownership, addressed to Edgar Speyer, after it was sold last year in auction for £165,000.
It is believed the explorer died on 29 March, after writing his final diary entry, which ended: "It seems a pity, but I do not think I can write more. R. Scott. For God's sake look after our people." Read more...
Scott's last letter to Admiral Sir Francis Bridgeman
My dear Sir Francis,
I fear we have shipped up – a close shave. I am writing a few letters which I hope will be delivered some day. I want to thank you for the friendship you gave me of late years, and to tell you how extraordinarily pleasant I found it to serve under you. I want to tell you I was not too old for this job. It was the younger men that went under first.
Finally, I want you to secure a competence for my widow and boy. I leave them very ill provided for, but feel the country ought not to neglect them. After all we are setting a good example to our countrymen, if not by getting into a tight place, by facing it like men when we were there. We could have come back through had we neglected the sick. Goodbye and goodbye to dear Lady Bridgeman.
Yours ever, R Scott
Excuse writing, it is minus 40, and has been for nigh a month.
Earliest satellite maps of Antarctic and Arctic sea-ice
The NSIDC project examined almost 40,000 images from the Nimbus-1 archive to produce the September 1964 maps of Arctic (L) and Antarctic (R) sea-ice extent
By Jonathan AmosScience correspondent, BBC News
24th April 2013
Full text can be accessed here...
The earliest satellite maps of Arctic and Antarctic sea-ice have been assembled by scientists.
They were made using data from Nasa's Nimbus-1 spacecraft, which was launched in 1964 to test new technologies for imaging weather systems from orbit. The satellite's old pictures have now been re-analysed to determine the extent of the marine ice at the poles in the September of that year.
Regular mapping from space did not begin until 1978.
One key finding is that marine floes around the White Continent in the 1960s were probably just as extensive as they are today. The new snapshot, published in The Cryosphere journal, therefore helps put current ice conditions into a longer-term context, say researchers at the US National Snow and Ice Data Centre (NSIDC).
It is also just a fascinating story of how old scientific data can be given a new lease of life.
Matching upThe Nimbus-1 satellite was a short-lived mission that observed the Earth's clouds in black and white video, which it transmitted to the ground as an analogue TV signal. Those transmissions were then photographed on to 35mm film and archived. The NSIDC team had to pull the canisters containing the original film out of storage to perform the re-analysis.
Continue reading the main story
Want to be the postmistress of Antarctica?
Postmistress Cat Totty helping a customer at the British Post Office, Port Lockroy Photo: Rick Price
Adapted from article by Christopher Middleton, The Telegraph website
For full article read here...
Applications are now open for a new Port Lockroy postmistress (or master, male applicants are welcome, though a man has never been chosen), starting November.
The UKAHT is looking for a certain amount of retail experience, along with fluency in a foreign language (French or German preferred), and the ability both to speak in public and keep paths clear of penguin guano. The latter qualification is crucial: despite Port Lockroy’s remote location, it hosts some 18,000 cruise ship passengers during the summer months. Most come to look around the post office museum, which harks back to the days when this was a secret British base monitoring German naval movements during World War Two. Back then, a team of 10 men would live here for two and a half years at a time as part of Operation Tabarin. While watching for enemy ships, the Tabarin team also monitored territory-grabbing attempts by foreign governments. Both the Argentinians and Chileans staked claims by dropping legal documents in canisters from the sky, while the Germans scattered steel markers bearing swastika symbols.
The average working day is 15 hours long, pay is between £1,000 and £1,500 per month, and getting there involves travelling by boat for four days and crossing Drake’s Passage, one of the most turbulent stretches of water known to man.
The UKAHT will only consider applicants with fairly high degrees of physical fitness. “There is very little prospect out there of getting immediate medical help”, says Land. “The location is too remote for helicopters to be able to get there, which means the nearest doctor is probably three days away on a ship.”
There are three other members of staff at Port Lockroy: the base leader, the shop manager and a chronicler of the resident penguin colony.
To apply for the post of Port Lockroy postmistress (or postmaster), during the months November 2013 to March 2014, or for any of the other three positions mentioned above, visit ukaht.org and email your application, with letter, CV and self-declared medical form, to info@ukaht.org by noon on April 26.
Win free flights to Hobart at Midwinters...
As part of the Midwinter festivities, Dark MOFO is giving away $100,000 worth of flights to Hobart from mainland capital cities. There are a few conditions, such as a minimum stay in Hobart for 2 nights, but with so much on at this time, including the Tasmanian Midwinter dinner, you'll want to stay longer anyway...
Further details can be accessed here...
the dark MOFO program can be accessed here....
Further details can be accessed here...
the dark MOFO program can be accessed here....
Nude Solstice Swim
In some parts of the world, it's normal to swim nude during winter solstice. The Dark MOFO festival means to make it normal here, too.
While not an official ANARE Club event, we have heard of several members who are taking part and thought there may be one or two...or more...who would want to relive the midwinter dip sans bathers....
When: Saturday 22nd June at 07.42am....
Where: Nutgrove Beach, Sandy Bay
Cost: free
Registration is essential
Registrations open May 11. To receive more information register your interest here.
While not an official ANARE Club event, we have heard of several members who are taking part and thought there may be one or two...or more...who would want to relive the midwinter dip sans bathers....
When: Saturday 22nd June at 07.42am....
Where: Nutgrove Beach, Sandy Bay
Cost: free
Registration is essential
Registrations open May 11. To receive more information register your interest here.
MONA opening night for The Red Queen...
Mona's major exhibition opens on Tuesday June 18th 2013, with free entry for all on that day. (even mainlanders...) We are doing away with the hoity-toity tomfoolery and throwing our doors open till midnight instead. There will be food and music, as always; when you've eaten and drunk and danced there's always the art… The Red Queen is an assemblage of major commissions, exciting loans, and yet-unseen works from our own collection.
The concept emerged from a comment David Walsh made to curators about the fact that he built the museum 'as an attempt to understand why people make art'. Could it be, ask we, that art is part of a broader evolutionary imperative? Does the compulsion to create permeate our species because it, in some way, enhances our capacity to survive and procreate? Don't look for an answer. Just enjoy yourself, and ruminate.
The concept emerged from a comment David Walsh made to curators about the fact that he built the museum 'as an attempt to understand why people make art'. Could it be, ask we, that art is part of a broader evolutionary imperative? Does the compulsion to create permeate our species because it, in some way, enhances our capacity to survive and procreate? Don't look for an answer. Just enjoy yourself, and ruminate.
Casey 88 reunion at Tas MWD
Tom Maggs has offered to take over organising the Casey 88 reunion at the Tasmanian Midwinter dinner in Hobart. He is missing some contact details for members of this group. If you are interested in coming along, or simply making contact with Tom, please contact Tom via email (tom.maggs@aad.gov.au) or facebook.
posted 23/3/2013
Tom Maggs has offered to take over organising the Casey 88 reunion at the Tasmanian Midwinter dinner in Hobart. He is missing some contact details for members of this group. If you are interested in coming along, or simply making contact with Tom, please contact Tom via email (tom.maggs@aad.gov.au) or facebook.
posted 23/3/2013
Barend (Barry) Beckers Macca blog
Meterorologist Barend Becker has returned down south and is now wintering at Macquarie Island. He is communicating with a number of schools via a blog which can be accessed here...
Macca 'Edge of Nowhere' DVD released ABC shops
Dean Miller wintered at Macquarie Island in 2010. He mad a documentary which was recently seen on the ABC in late February 2013. The documentary has now been released as a DVD in ABC shops, retailing for $20.
The ABC blurb.....
'Macquarie Island, situated in the cold and furious Southern Ocean, is one of the most remote and little known places on Earth and is the last green outpost of land before the ice of the Antarctic. Here, on this tiny island at the end of the world, resides one of the largest concentrations of wildlife on the planet.
Dean Miller, scientist and marine biologist, dedicated twelve months of his life living on the island to study and document the return of the Antarctic fur seals from the brink of extinction.
Armed with a High Definition camera, Dean set out to observe and document every type of seal, every type of penguin, killer whales and every marine bird you can think of, and in the process captured the unique stories of each of these creatures and the wild island that they call home. It is a wild, colourful and rich story; it is the Edge of Nowhere.'
The ABC blurb.....
'Macquarie Island, situated in the cold and furious Southern Ocean, is one of the most remote and little known places on Earth and is the last green outpost of land before the ice of the Antarctic. Here, on this tiny island at the end of the world, resides one of the largest concentrations of wildlife on the planet.
Dean Miller, scientist and marine biologist, dedicated twelve months of his life living on the island to study and document the return of the Antarctic fur seals from the brink of extinction.
Armed with a High Definition camera, Dean set out to observe and document every type of seal, every type of penguin, killer whales and every marine bird you can think of, and in the process captured the unique stories of each of these creatures and the wild island that they call home. It is a wild, colourful and rich story; it is the Edge of Nowhere.'
About the Documentary
Documentaries - Edge of Nowhere
Dr Dean Miller - Website
Synopsis
Director's Statement
Cast Biography
Crew Biographies
Dr Dean Miller - Website
Synopsis
Director's Statement
Cast Biography
Crew Biographies
Greens Antarctic and Marine Science Initiative will boost Hobart’s global reputation
Media release from Christine Milne, Leader Greens party, Parliament House, Canberra, ACT 2600
15 Mar 2013 | Christine Milne Antarctica
The Australian Greens have today launched a $205 million policy initiative to properly resource Australia's Antarctic and Marine Science.
"Antarctica is the world's last great wilderness area. It is an incredible place for scientific exploration and provides an unparalleled source of information on our climate and health of our oceans. It is also a fantastic opportunity for Tasmania." said Senator Christine Milne, launching the initiative.
The Australian Greens propose to:
"Additional funding to Antarctic science and marine research will help promote Hobart as a science hub and reinforce the branding of Tasmania as clean, green and clever. We have already attracted four of the lead authors of the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change to Hobart. This gives us an incredible reputation globally.
"A globally renowned science research centre will attract other countries to make Hobart a base for collaborative research and re- supply. I met the leader of the Chinese Antarctic expedition recently and he was quite enthusiastic about that idea. Wouldn't it be fantastic if we could attract the Chinese to make Hobart their Antarctic base?" said Senator Milne
Anna Reynolds, Greens candidate for Denison launched the Initiative with Senator Milne. "We are in a privileged position in Tasmania to be the global gateway to Antarctic exploration, marine and climate research. The Greens package is the investment needed to secure Hobart into the future as a globally recognised hub for Antarctic science and marine research.The federal government has taken its eye off the ball with this important sector - with funding cuts and uncertainty risking Hobart's reputation as the global hub for Antarctic science."
information supplied by Louise Crossley with thanks
posted 22nd March 2013
15 Mar 2013 | Christine Milne Antarctica
The Australian Greens have today launched a $205 million policy initiative to properly resource Australia's Antarctic and Marine Science.
"Antarctica is the world's last great wilderness area. It is an incredible place for scientific exploration and provides an unparalleled source of information on our climate and health of our oceans. It is also a fantastic opportunity for Tasmania." said Senator Christine Milne, launching the initiative.
The Australian Greens propose to:
- Fund an International Antarctic Science research centre/ joint venture - $10 million a year
- Restore funding for the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) - $0.5 million a year
- Ensure ongoing funding for the Integrated Marine Observing System of $18 million a year
- Provide capacity for the new RV Investigator ship to do up to 300 days marine research (instead of 65) - $24.7 million a year
"Additional funding to Antarctic science and marine research will help promote Hobart as a science hub and reinforce the branding of Tasmania as clean, green and clever. We have already attracted four of the lead authors of the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change to Hobart. This gives us an incredible reputation globally.
"A globally renowned science research centre will attract other countries to make Hobart a base for collaborative research and re- supply. I met the leader of the Chinese Antarctic expedition recently and he was quite enthusiastic about that idea. Wouldn't it be fantastic if we could attract the Chinese to make Hobart their Antarctic base?" said Senator Milne
Anna Reynolds, Greens candidate for Denison launched the Initiative with Senator Milne. "We are in a privileged position in Tasmania to be the global gateway to Antarctic exploration, marine and climate research. The Greens package is the investment needed to secure Hobart into the future as a globally recognised hub for Antarctic science and marine research.The federal government has taken its eye off the ball with this important sector - with funding cuts and uncertainty risking Hobart's reputation as the global hub for Antarctic science."
information supplied by Louise Crossley with thanks
posted 22nd March 2013
Stay..the last dog in Antarctica
“...into the annals of modern polar history strays another character - part legend, part myth, part fibreglass. She is Stay, the Last Dog of Antarctica” - The Age
Author Jesse Blackadder is also planning to release a book on the iconic 'Stay' in July 2013. Her website reads...
'...Based on the true story of a fibreglass Guide Dog who was smuggled to the southern continent in 1991 and is still there today, “Stay: the last dog in Antarctica ” follows Stay’s adventures as she is hidden, liberated, repatriated and dognapped all over again. Antarctica is full of adventures, but will Stay ever manage to raise money for the Royal Guide Dogs and find a way to get it back to Australia?...'
For 8-12 year olds (and anyone who loves Antarctica). Due out 1 July 2013 with ABC Books.
Stories and rumours about Stay abound, but if you have your own Stay stories and photographs please send them to:
and we'll set up a page on the ANARE Tas branch website.
Iconic photos wanted!!!
Each year the Tas branch makes up a series of small cards for guests at our Midwinter dinner. Over the last few years we have featured images by Chris Wilson, Martyn Passingham and Nick Roden. This year we would like to add several new images.
If you have a digital copy of a photo you think would look great, and are happy to share it, please email the image by 16th April 2013 to
Each year the Tas branch makes up a series of small cards for guests at our Midwinter dinner. Over the last few years we have featured images by Chris Wilson, Martyn Passingham and Nick Roden. This year we would like to add several new images.
If you have a digital copy of a photo you think would look great, and are happy to share it, please email the image by 16th April 2013 to
Ideally we would like to have a mix of older and more contemporary images.
The name of the chosen photographers is acknowledged on the card.
We would be happy to present a number of postcards and business cards to the owners of the chosen images as a thank you.
And of course copyright remains with the owner of the photograph...
The name of the chosen photographers is acknowledged on the card.
We would be happy to present a number of postcards and business cards to the owners of the chosen images as a thank you.
And of course copyright remains with the owner of the photograph...
Philip Law Medal
Nominations for awardees for the 2013 Phillip Law Medal are invited. Details are on the National website. Please give consideration to possible candidates for this great honour. The time frame is fairly short. In order that the announcement can be made at Midwinter 2013, nominations close on 1 April 2013.
Nominations for awardees for the 2013 Phillip Law Medal are invited. Details are on the National website. Please give consideration to possible candidates for this great honour. The time frame is fairly short. In order that the announcement can be made at Midwinter 2013, nominations close on 1 April 2013.
Heard Island trip report by Jan Adolph
In August 2012 the Australian Antarctic Division asked me to travel to Heard Island to collect building materials from the former ANARE Station at Atlas Cove to be analysed for asbestos content. In September 2012 a berth was arranged on the Heritage Expeditions ship, Spirit of Enderby, which was travelling to Heard Island in November 2012.
The Spirit of Enderby departed Fremantle on 8 November. For nine days we sailed west through wild seas to Amsterdam Island. Many of the passengers were bird spotting enthusiasts and the sighting of the very rare Amsterdam Albatross was greeted with much excitement. From Amsterdam Island we turned south to Heard Island, arriving off Atlas Cove on the morning of 20 November, 13 days after leaving Fremantle. A south-westerly gale brought rain and snow, so no landing could be made.
The next day we sailed to Spit Bay to see if the conditions were suitable for landing; unfortunately they were not. While returning to Atlas Cove the weather improved and views of Big Ben, bathed in sunshine between the clouds were enjoyed. By 2pm the weather had improved sufficiently and we were able to go ashore by IRB. The landing point was at the southern end of Atlas Cove, over a kilometre from the former ANARE Station. During my time ashore I collected about thirty material samples which were analysed on my return to Hobart. We had about 7 hours ashore, with the last IRB leaving from the southern landing point at 9pm.
From the ship we watched the sun set on Big Ben, magnificent!
The Spirit of Enderby departed Fremantle on 8 November. For nine days we sailed west through wild seas to Amsterdam Island. Many of the passengers were bird spotting enthusiasts and the sighting of the very rare Amsterdam Albatross was greeted with much excitement. From Amsterdam Island we turned south to Heard Island, arriving off Atlas Cove on the morning of 20 November, 13 days after leaving Fremantle. A south-westerly gale brought rain and snow, so no landing could be made.
The next day we sailed to Spit Bay to see if the conditions were suitable for landing; unfortunately they were not. While returning to Atlas Cove the weather improved and views of Big Ben, bathed in sunshine between the clouds were enjoyed. By 2pm the weather had improved sufficiently and we were able to go ashore by IRB. The landing point was at the southern end of Atlas Cove, over a kilometre from the former ANARE Station. During my time ashore I collected about thirty material samples which were analysed on my return to Hobart. We had about 7 hours ashore, with the last IRB leaving from the southern landing point at 9pm.
From the ship we watched the sun set on Big Ben, magnificent!
Since the return of long term expeditions to Heard Island the former ANARE station buildings at Atlas Cove have deteriorated considerably. Presently there is only one building, the Mess/Recreation Hut, still standing. This building is in extremely poor condition and is covered with a cargo net in an attempt to keep it intact.
On 22 November the weather deteriorated again so it was decided to visit McDonald Island, about 40 kilometres to the west of Heard Island.
The fourth day at Heard Island, 23 November, brought better weather and another landing was made in the morning. This time the landing site was on the beach near the former ANARE Station. All passengers were back on board for lunch after which we left Heard Island and headed for Albany.
After another 9 days of rough weather we arrived back in the Port of Albany.
I would like to acknowledge and thank Rodney Russ and the Staff of Heritage Expeditions for all their assistance prior to and during the voyage to Heard Island.
Jan Adolph
posted 17/3/2013
On 22 November the weather deteriorated again so it was decided to visit McDonald Island, about 40 kilometres to the west of Heard Island.
The fourth day at Heard Island, 23 November, brought better weather and another landing was made in the morning. This time the landing site was on the beach near the former ANARE Station. All passengers were back on board for lunch after which we left Heard Island and headed for Albany.
After another 9 days of rough weather we arrived back in the Port of Albany.
I would like to acknowledge and thank Rodney Russ and the Staff of Heritage Expeditions for all their assistance prior to and during the voyage to Heard Island.
Jan Adolph
posted 17/3/2013
ANARE Club Berth 2013/14
Applications are now open for consideration as the occupant of the traditional ANARE Club berth on one of the voyages next summer. We do not yet know if a berth will be available, as it is the gift of the Division and there is always a high demand for space. But we are proceeding with selection well ahead of time as notice of availability may come late. Details, selection criteria and an application form are on our national website. Please make this known among your members. Application close on 30 June 2013.
David Ellyard
Applications are now open for consideration as the occupant of the traditional ANARE Club berth on one of the voyages next summer. We do not yet know if a berth will be available, as it is the gift of the Division and there is always a high demand for space. But we are proceeding with selection well ahead of time as notice of availability may come late. Details, selection criteria and an application form are on our national website. Please make this known among your members. Application close on 30 June 2013.
David Ellyard
2012/13 Club berth report
As previous announced the Club was awarded a berth on a voyage south this summer, largely to recruit new Club members from amongst the expeditioners.
We are grateful as always for the generosity of the Division.
The berth was on the Casey resupply voyage leaving on the17th December 2012 (V2) for the Casey resupply.
The National Council of the Club chose long-serving member Trevor Gadd from South Australia to carry the flag on this occasion
Trevors voyage reports can be accessed on the ANARE NSW branch website here...
Check Trevor'sVoyage track here...
posted 17/3/2013
We are grateful as always for the generosity of the Division.
The berth was on the Casey resupply voyage leaving on the17th December 2012 (V2) for the Casey resupply.
The National Council of the Club chose long-serving member Trevor Gadd from South Australia to carry the flag on this occasion
Trevors voyage reports can be accessed on the ANARE NSW branch website here...
Check Trevor'sVoyage track here...
posted 17/3/2013
Mawson mountains features on new AAT stamps...
Australia Post has released 4 more stamps of AAT mountains. They include Mt Parsons, Mawson Escarpment, South Masson Range and David Range.
These stamps continue the Australian Antarctic Territory (AAT) Landscapes series which began with the iceberg issue in 2011. The mountains and mountain ranges featured reveal the beauty and grandeur of the landscape.
Antarctica is the highest continent on earth and Mt McClintock, in the eastern sector of the AAT is its highest mountain. Although elevations in excess of 4,000 metres exist in the western sector of the AAT, these are ice domes and generally not considered mountains, but the definition is frequently debated.
Mt Parsons near Mawson Base is one of the most regularly ascended peaks due to the repeater installed on its summit. The repeater facilitates communications on VHF band between field parties back to station around the area. Mt Parsons rises more than 1,000 metres above sea level.
Technical details
Issue date: 12 March 2013
Issue withdrawal date: 31 August 2013
FDI withdrawal date: 11 April 2013
Denominations: 2 x 60c, 2 x $1.20, 1 x $1.80
Stamp & product design: Sharon Rodziewicz
Information from the Australia Post website.
Further information and purchase can be accessed here...
And special thanks to Bill Storer for providing the initial information...
posted 16/3/13
These stamps continue the Australian Antarctic Territory (AAT) Landscapes series which began with the iceberg issue in 2011. The mountains and mountain ranges featured reveal the beauty and grandeur of the landscape.
Antarctica is the highest continent on earth and Mt McClintock, in the eastern sector of the AAT is its highest mountain. Although elevations in excess of 4,000 metres exist in the western sector of the AAT, these are ice domes and generally not considered mountains, but the definition is frequently debated.
Mt Parsons near Mawson Base is one of the most regularly ascended peaks due to the repeater installed on its summit. The repeater facilitates communications on VHF band between field parties back to station around the area. Mt Parsons rises more than 1,000 metres above sea level.
Technical details
Issue date: 12 March 2013
Issue withdrawal date: 31 August 2013
FDI withdrawal date: 11 April 2013
Denominations: 2 x 60c, 2 x $1.20, 1 x $1.80
Stamp & product design: Sharon Rodziewicz
Information from the Australia Post website.
Further information and purchase can be accessed here...
And special thanks to Bill Storer for providing the initial information...
posted 16/3/13
Advances in non lethal minke whale research
Photo: John Durban, AAD website
Published on Mar 14, 2013
Satellite tags have been deployed on Antarctic minke whales, giving researchers access to more comprehensive information about them than ever before.
A 3 minute video featuring an interview with AAD Chief Scientist Nick Gales and footage of the tagging can be accessed here...
Further information can be accessed on the Australian Antarctic Division website here
posted 16/3/2013
Satellite tags have been deployed on Antarctic minke whales, giving researchers access to more comprehensive information about them than ever before.
A 3 minute video featuring an interview with AAD Chief Scientist Nick Gales and footage of the tagging can be accessed here...
Further information can be accessed on the Australian Antarctic Division website here
posted 16/3/2013
New book on the first women in Antarctica
'Chasing the light', a novel by Jesse Blackadder about the first women to reach Antarctica, has been released to good reviews.
Blackadder's interest in the topic started when she saw a photograph of Ingrid Christensen in Elizabeth Chipman's book 'Women on the Ice". Christiansen was the wife of a Norwegian whaling captain, and travelled to Antarctica on four occasions. (She was not however the first woman to set foot on the Antarctic continent).
Ms Blackadder, who won the 2011-2012 Australian Antarctic Arts Fellowship, spent six weeks on an Antarctic voyage and visited Davis Station in Antarctica, as part of her research for the novel.
Ms Blackadder also won the Guy Morrison Prize for Literary Journalism in 2012.
Blackadder's interest in the topic started when she saw a photograph of Ingrid Christensen in Elizabeth Chipman's book 'Women on the Ice". Christiansen was the wife of a Norwegian whaling captain, and travelled to Antarctica on four occasions. (She was not however the first woman to set foot on the Antarctic continent).
Ms Blackadder, who won the 2011-2012 Australian Antarctic Arts Fellowship, spent six weeks on an Antarctic voyage and visited Davis Station in Antarctica, as part of her research for the novel.
Ms Blackadder also won the Guy Morrison Prize for Literary Journalism in 2012.
A trailer on the novel 'Chasing the Light' can be accessed here...
Jesse Blackadder. Photo by David Young.
Chasing the Light by Jesse Blackadder is published by Fourth Estate Australia, $29.99.
Read more here:
The Age Newspaper book review by Nick Galvin
“The first woman in Antarctica” - Australian Antarctic magazine
“The story behind Chasing the Light’s cover” - blog
Australian Geographic also has a feature article by Jesse Blackadder on the first women in Antarctica in the march /April 2013 publication.
Thanks to Anthea Wallhead for the initial lead on the story..
posted 16/3/13
Antarctic Lake Vostok yields 'new bacterial life'
By Paul Rincon, Science editor, BBC News website
7th March 2013.
Link provided by Owen Holmwood with thanks
Russian scientists have claimed the discovery of a new type of bacterial life in water from a buried Antarctic lake.
The researchers have been studying samples brought up from Vostok - the largest subglacial lake in Antarctica.
Last year, the team drilled through almost 4km (2.34 miles) of ice to reach the lake and retrieve samples. Vostok is thought to have been cut off from the surface for millions of years. This has raised the possibility that such isolated bodies of water might host microbial life forms new to science.
"After putting aside all possible elements of contamination, DNA was found that did not coincide with any of the well-known types in the global database," said Sergei Bulat, of the genetics laboratory at the St Petersburg Institute of Nuclear Physics. "We are calling this life form unclassified and unidentified," he explained. Dr Bulat added that close attention was focused on one particular form of bacteria whose DNA was less than 86% similar to previously existing forms.
Lake Vostok is situated in one of the most inhospitable places on Earth "A level of 90% usually means that the organism is unknown."
However, other researchers said the data needed to be carefully verified by other experts before the claims could be confirmed.
The Vostok drilling project took years to plan and implement. The lake's location in the heart of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet makes it one of the most inhospitable environments on the planet. It is the place where thermometers recorded the lowest ever temperature on Earth - minus 89C on 21 July 1983.
Vostok Station was set up by the Russians in 1956, and their seismic soundings soon suggested there was an area of liquid underneath all the ice. However, it was only in the 1990s that British scientists, with the help of radar, were able to determine the full extent of the sub-glacial feature. With an area of 15,000 square km and with depths reaching more than 800m, Lake Vostok is similar in size to Lake Baikal in Siberia or Lake Ontario in North America.
The US recently broke through into another Antarctic lake - Whillans. They have also reported the discovery of microbial life in the lake waters. But Lake Whillans is thought by some to have been less isolated than Vostok.
A British expedition to drill through 3km (1.8 miles) of Antarctic ice into Lake Ellsworth was called off late last year after engineers were unable to join the main borehole with a parallel hole that was to be used to recover drilling water.
posted 11/3/2013
7th March 2013.
Link provided by Owen Holmwood with thanks
Russian scientists have claimed the discovery of a new type of bacterial life in water from a buried Antarctic lake.
The researchers have been studying samples brought up from Vostok - the largest subglacial lake in Antarctica.
Last year, the team drilled through almost 4km (2.34 miles) of ice to reach the lake and retrieve samples. Vostok is thought to have been cut off from the surface for millions of years. This has raised the possibility that such isolated bodies of water might host microbial life forms new to science.
"After putting aside all possible elements of contamination, DNA was found that did not coincide with any of the well-known types in the global database," said Sergei Bulat, of the genetics laboratory at the St Petersburg Institute of Nuclear Physics. "We are calling this life form unclassified and unidentified," he explained. Dr Bulat added that close attention was focused on one particular form of bacteria whose DNA was less than 86% similar to previously existing forms.
Lake Vostok is situated in one of the most inhospitable places on Earth "A level of 90% usually means that the organism is unknown."
However, other researchers said the data needed to be carefully verified by other experts before the claims could be confirmed.
The Vostok drilling project took years to plan and implement. The lake's location in the heart of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet makes it one of the most inhospitable environments on the planet. It is the place where thermometers recorded the lowest ever temperature on Earth - minus 89C on 21 July 1983.
Vostok Station was set up by the Russians in 1956, and their seismic soundings soon suggested there was an area of liquid underneath all the ice. However, it was only in the 1990s that British scientists, with the help of radar, were able to determine the full extent of the sub-glacial feature. With an area of 15,000 square km and with depths reaching more than 800m, Lake Vostok is similar in size to Lake Baikal in Siberia or Lake Ontario in North America.
The US recently broke through into another Antarctic lake - Whillans. They have also reported the discovery of microbial life in the lake waters. But Lake Whillans is thought by some to have been less isolated than Vostok.
A British expedition to drill through 3km (1.8 miles) of Antarctic ice into Lake Ellsworth was called off late last year after engineers were unable to join the main borehole with a parallel hole that was to be used to recover drilling water.
posted 11/3/2013
Vale Ian Bruce C88, Q97 and multiple round trips...
Ian Bruce died unexpectedly at his home in Burleigh Heads Queensland on the 16th March 2013.
Ian has been a long term ANARE Club member, and more recently was elected to National Council where he made significant suggestions and changes as the new webmaster.
Further details:
Ian's father, John Bruce advises that there will be a private family service at the funeral directors chapel Monday 25th March 2013.
Should anyone wish to send condolences, John Bruces address is:
21 ELANORA DRIVE
BURLEIGH HEADS
QLD 4220
updated 19/3/2013
Ian has been a long term ANARE Club member, and more recently was elected to National Council where he made significant suggestions and changes as the new webmaster.
Further details:
Ian's father, John Bruce advises that there will be a private family service at the funeral directors chapel Monday 25th March 2013.
Should anyone wish to send condolences, John Bruces address is:
21 ELANORA DRIVE
BURLEIGH HEADS
QLD 4220
updated 19/3/2013
Vale John Hogg M69
Dr John Hogg, the doctor at Mawson in 1969 died on March 1st 2013 after a short illness. He is remembered fondly by the remaining members of his year.
HOGG, Emeritus Professor John OAM.
10.1.1943 - 1.3.2013
John passed away at his home in Wollongong surrounded by his loving family, after a short
and brave battle with Metastatic Melanoma. "A gentleman beyond all description", his loss will be felt by many from old school mates, fellow Antarctic expeditioners, by patients, colleagues, students, friends and family. He made an outstanding contribution to the practice of medicine in the Illawarra over the past three decades culminating in his pivotal role in the establishment of the Graduate School of Medicine, at the University
of Wollongong.
The University has generously offered to host a Memorial Service to provide an opportunity to honour his memory. The Memorial Service will be held at Wollongong University Hall, on Saturday April 6, 2013 at 2 p.m. Please RSVP to vc_rsvp@uow.edu.au
The obituary in his local newspaper the Illawarra Mercury gives further insight on John.
Professor John Hogg was ‘‘a gentleman beyond all description,’’ whose generosity to the community and medicine was immeasurable.
One of the Illawarra’s most respected doctors, Prof Hogg died yesterday following a short illness.
A renowned vascular and general surgeon, Prof Hogg touched the lives of countless patients across the region and beyond and his loss has been felt deeply in the medical community.
Prof Hogg and wife Linda, a physiotherapist, moved to the Illawarra in the late 70s, raising their four children in the region. The couple were in Bali at the time of the 2002 terrorist bombings and chose to abandon their holiday to instead help treat the horrific injuries of the Australian victims. For their work in Bali both were awarded Order of Australia Medals, while Prof Hogg was also named Wollongong Citizen of the Year in January 2003.
He joined the University of Wollongong in 2004 as Foundation Dean of the Medical School, working closely with Professors Don Iverson and Lori Lockyer to develop the school’s innovative curriculum and unique community-based model. Prof Iverson said the school would not exist today had it not been for the work of Prof Hogg.
After 35 years practicing medicine, Prof Hogg gave up his career to join academia and the push for a medical school in Wollongong. He managed to get the medical community’s backing for the school through dogged campaigning and by travelling through regional NSW meeting and working with doctors.
‘‘The legacy that he leaves behind is that all these future doctors that come out of here are here because of John Hogg,’’ Prof Iverson said.
‘‘I think I’ll remember him as a person that always had a smile on his face, always engaging with everybody, never having a bad word to say. ‘‘He lived life to the fullest, he loved people, he loved his family. ‘‘People who are fortunate to know him are blessed,’’ he said.
Retired paediatrician Dr Allen James yesterday paid tribute to his friend and praised his many achievements. ‘‘He was an outstanding person, in a crowd he stood out...just such a delightful guy really,’’ h said.
Prof Hogg is survived by wife Linda, children Genevieve, Sophie, James and Katie and his grandchildren.
HOGG, Emeritus Professor John OAM.
10.1.1943 - 1.3.2013
John passed away at his home in Wollongong surrounded by his loving family, after a short
and brave battle with Metastatic Melanoma. "A gentleman beyond all description", his loss will be felt by many from old school mates, fellow Antarctic expeditioners, by patients, colleagues, students, friends and family. He made an outstanding contribution to the practice of medicine in the Illawarra over the past three decades culminating in his pivotal role in the establishment of the Graduate School of Medicine, at the University
of Wollongong.
The University has generously offered to host a Memorial Service to provide an opportunity to honour his memory. The Memorial Service will be held at Wollongong University Hall, on Saturday April 6, 2013 at 2 p.m. Please RSVP to vc_rsvp@uow.edu.au
The obituary in his local newspaper the Illawarra Mercury gives further insight on John.
Professor John Hogg was ‘‘a gentleman beyond all description,’’ whose generosity to the community and medicine was immeasurable.
One of the Illawarra’s most respected doctors, Prof Hogg died yesterday following a short illness.
A renowned vascular and general surgeon, Prof Hogg touched the lives of countless patients across the region and beyond and his loss has been felt deeply in the medical community.
Prof Hogg and wife Linda, a physiotherapist, moved to the Illawarra in the late 70s, raising their four children in the region. The couple were in Bali at the time of the 2002 terrorist bombings and chose to abandon their holiday to instead help treat the horrific injuries of the Australian victims. For their work in Bali both were awarded Order of Australia Medals, while Prof Hogg was also named Wollongong Citizen of the Year in January 2003.
He joined the University of Wollongong in 2004 as Foundation Dean of the Medical School, working closely with Professors Don Iverson and Lori Lockyer to develop the school’s innovative curriculum and unique community-based model. Prof Iverson said the school would not exist today had it not been for the work of Prof Hogg.
After 35 years practicing medicine, Prof Hogg gave up his career to join academia and the push for a medical school in Wollongong. He managed to get the medical community’s backing for the school through dogged campaigning and by travelling through regional NSW meeting and working with doctors.
‘‘The legacy that he leaves behind is that all these future doctors that come out of here are here because of John Hogg,’’ Prof Iverson said.
‘‘I think I’ll remember him as a person that always had a smile on his face, always engaging with everybody, never having a bad word to say. ‘‘He lived life to the fullest, he loved people, he loved his family. ‘‘People who are fortunate to know him are blessed,’’ he said.
Retired paediatrician Dr Allen James yesterday paid tribute to his friend and praised his many achievements. ‘‘He was an outstanding person, in a crowd he stood out...just such a delightful guy really,’’ h said.
Prof Hogg is survived by wife Linda, children Genevieve, Sophie, James and Katie and his grandchildren.
Book Launch: Madigan's Account: The Mawson Expedition (C.T. Madigan)
Professor Patrick Quilty (Honorary Research Professor in Earth Sciences, and the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies at the University of Tasmania) will be launching Madigan's Account: The Mawson Expedition (The Antarctic Diaries of C. T. Madigan 1911-1914).
These diaries describe the experiences of Cecil Thomas Madigan in Antarctica as a member of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition. Madigan gives his account of the first year at the main base at Cape Denison.
The transcriber, Julia W. Madigan, will also be in attendance.
When: Thursday March 7 @ 17.30
Where: The Hobart Bookshop, 22 Salamanca Square Hobart Tasmania Ph. 03 6223 1803
Cost: free
posted 5/3/2013
These diaries describe the experiences of Cecil Thomas Madigan in Antarctica as a member of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition. Madigan gives his account of the first year at the main base at Cape Denison.
The transcriber, Julia W. Madigan, will also be in attendance.
When: Thursday March 7 @ 17.30
Where: The Hobart Bookshop, 22 Salamanca Square Hobart Tasmania Ph. 03 6223 1803
Cost: free
posted 5/3/2013
V4 departs
The final voyage of the 2012/13 shipping season departed Thursday 28th February for the Macquarie Island resupply and changeover. The Aurora Australis is due home on the 14th March 2013.
The final voyage of the 2012/13 shipping season departed Thursday 28th February for the Macquarie Island resupply and changeover. The Aurora Australis is due home on the 14th March 2013.
Invite to opening of Traversing Antarctica exhibition
The Western Australian Museum has sent an invite for 1-2 people to attend the launch of 'Traversing Antarctica' in Geraldton, WA on Friday 15th March 2013 @ 17.30.
If you are interested in attending please ring Ingrid or Michael on 0402 677 483 or 03 6224 8573 by 11 th March so we can RSVP names for entry.
posted 5/3/2013
The Western Australian Museum has sent an invite for 1-2 people to attend the launch of 'Traversing Antarctica' in Geraldton, WA on Friday 15th March 2013 @ 17.30.
If you are interested in attending please ring Ingrid or Michael on 0402 677 483 or 03 6224 8573 by 11 th March so we can RSVP names for entry.
posted 5/3/2013
Traversing Antarctica exhibition opens in Geraldton
Traversing Antarctica highlights Australia's connection with the Antarctic and has beendeveloped by the National Archives of Australia in partnership with the Australian Antarctic Division and Western Australian Museum, with support from the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery and South Australian Museum.
The exhibition includes a rare collection of artifacts that are on display together for the first time, among them are original equipment and diaries used by members of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition. The exhibition is interesting as rather than focus predominantly on Sir Douglas Mawson, there is a real attempt to highlight the contribution of other AAE members. One of the most moving exhibits is Stillwell's diary with the sentence '...still no Mawson...'
The exhibition is opening on 16th March 2013 until 26th may 2013. It will then continue to tour nationally until 2014. The ANARE Club and Pat Quilty were consulted by curator Jane McKnight for expert advice in the development stages of the exhibition (and appreciate being recognised on the exhibition acknowledgements board!) It is pleasing to see a number of large format photographs by ANARE Club member Chris Wilson as well as several hobby items made by ANARE expeditioners in the exhibition.
Where: West Australian Museum, 1 Museum place, Batavia Coast Marina, Geraldton.
When: 16th March -26th May 2013.
Cost: free
The exhibition includes a rare collection of artifacts that are on display together for the first time, among them are original equipment and diaries used by members of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition. The exhibition is interesting as rather than focus predominantly on Sir Douglas Mawson, there is a real attempt to highlight the contribution of other AAE members. One of the most moving exhibits is Stillwell's diary with the sentence '...still no Mawson...'
The exhibition is opening on 16th March 2013 until 26th may 2013. It will then continue to tour nationally until 2014. The ANARE Club and Pat Quilty were consulted by curator Jane McKnight for expert advice in the development stages of the exhibition (and appreciate being recognised on the exhibition acknowledgements board!) It is pleasing to see a number of large format photographs by ANARE Club member Chris Wilson as well as several hobby items made by ANARE expeditioners in the exhibition.
Where: West Australian Museum, 1 Museum place, Batavia Coast Marina, Geraldton.
When: 16th March -26th May 2013.
Cost: free
Registrations open for Antarctic science conference
Antarctic night sky (Photo: Chris Wilson)
From Australian Antarctic Division website with thanks
Registration is now open for the ‘Strategic Science in Antarctica’ conference to be held from 24-26 June 2013 at the University of Tasmania in Hobart.
The inaugural conference is a collaboration between Australian Antarctic Division and Antarctica New Zealand, and will feature a number of key note speakers, science presentations, poster displays and social functions.
A series of post-conference workshops will also take place on 27 and 28 June.
Australian Antarctic Division Chief Scientist, Dr Nick Gales said he hoped the strategic science theme will encourage researchers to think about how their research informs and shapes policy.
“The conference will highlight the important role science plays in informing environmental management and biodiversity conservation in Antarctica, the Southern Ocean and beyond,” Dr Gales said.
“We welcome abstracts for presentations, posters or workshops under six key sub-themes: physical change and global connections; marine ecosystems; land and coastal marine; data management; frontier science and science communication,” Dr Gales said.
The conference will provide an opportunity for Antarctic scientists, researchers, policy and support personnel from institutions across Australia and New Zealand to exchange information on existing and planned research, management and policy priorities and to identify opportunities for further collaboration.
Abstract submission is open until 8 April, and early bird registration rates are available until 10 May.
A special reduced registration rate is available for full-time students.
Visit the conference website for further information, to view the call for abstracts or to register.
Slushies Choice... The Thing...
Valmar Kurol of the Montreal Antarctic Society has compiled a list of fictional movies about Antarctica.
This months feature for our newsletter is The Thing (USA 2011).
The well known 1982 cult classic and annual ‘drive in’ event at the ANARE stations has been has now been developed as a prequel.
Valmar Kurol writes...'Directed by Matthijs van Heijningen Jr., featuring May Elizabeth Winstead, Joel Edgerton and Ulrich Thomsen and a cast of Swedish and Norwegian actors.
This film was developed as the prequel to the 1982 classic of the same name by John Carpenter, in which an alien being takes on human form at an American Antarctic base, following its discovery at a deserted Norwegian base.
The current film explains the beginnings of the 1982 film. A gritty female scientist is invited to a dig at a Norwegian base in Antarctica, where the scientists uncover an alien and its space ship buried in the ice. Paranoia ensues.
While one film review had fun with descriptions of “an animate pile of chocolate Jell-O adorned with a couple of half-eaten human heads” and “a series of attacks and counter-attacks with an overused flame-thrower” (Globe & Mail), it seems to have been accepted as “no great thing but just a better Thing than expected” (Globe & Mail) and “a whole lot better than it had any right to be” (Montreal Gazette). Orchestrated music is by the American composer Marco Beltrami.
Both films were predated by the original The Thing (From Another World), a 1951 movie by Howard Hawks, in which the polar base was an Arctic one, rather than Antarctic. All three films were based on the 1938 short story, Who Goes There?, by John W. Campbell.
The list can be accessed here…
This months feature for our newsletter is The Thing (USA 2011).
The well known 1982 cult classic and annual ‘drive in’ event at the ANARE stations has been has now been developed as a prequel.
Valmar Kurol writes...'Directed by Matthijs van Heijningen Jr., featuring May Elizabeth Winstead, Joel Edgerton and Ulrich Thomsen and a cast of Swedish and Norwegian actors.
This film was developed as the prequel to the 1982 classic of the same name by John Carpenter, in which an alien being takes on human form at an American Antarctic base, following its discovery at a deserted Norwegian base.
The current film explains the beginnings of the 1982 film. A gritty female scientist is invited to a dig at a Norwegian base in Antarctica, where the scientists uncover an alien and its space ship buried in the ice. Paranoia ensues.
While one film review had fun with descriptions of “an animate pile of chocolate Jell-O adorned with a couple of half-eaten human heads” and “a series of attacks and counter-attacks with an overused flame-thrower” (Globe & Mail), it seems to have been accepted as “no great thing but just a better Thing than expected” (Globe & Mail) and “a whole lot better than it had any right to be” (Montreal Gazette). Orchestrated music is by the American composer Marco Beltrami.
Both films were predated by the original The Thing (From Another World), a 1951 movie by Howard Hawks, in which the polar base was an Arctic one, rather than Antarctic. All three films were based on the 1938 short story, Who Goes There?, by John W. Campbell.
The list can be accessed here…
New BAS station operational
by Jonathon Amos, BBC Science correspondent
from BBC news website
View video with Architect Hugh Broughton explaining how Halley VI was built in extreme conditions (flash player needed)
Britain's new Halley research station in the Antarctic goes into full operation this month.
The base sits on the Brunt Ice Shelf, and is the sixth such UK facility to be erected at this location since 1957. Together with Rothera on the Antarctic Peninsula, it will spearhead UK science on the White Continent.
Halley gathers important weather and climate data, and it played a critical role in the research that identified the ozone "hole" in 1985. In recent years, Halley has also become a major centre for studying solar activity and the impacts it can have on Earth. This is most evident in the beautiful auroras that form over the base - the consequence of particles from the Sun crashing into air molecules high in the atmosphere. Halley VI's researchers now have a state-of-the-art complex from which to monitor these phenomena.
Perhaps the most striking thing about the new station is its appearance. "It looks like something in space," says architect Hugh Broughton.
The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) station comprises eight modules in all. The seven blue ones are work and habitation units. The central red module, which is on two storeys, is the social hub where residents can gather to relax. It contains the dining room, the bar and even a gym.
The entire base stands on a hydraulic leg and ski system that allows it to be raised above the annual snowfall, and periodically to be towed closer to land. If these adjustments were not to happen, the station would eventually be buried and carried to the ice edge where it would then be dropped into the ocean.
Halley bases I to IV were abandoned to this fate. The new design makes the adjustments easier and less labour intensive. The station was constructed in large part in South Africa and then shipped to the Antarctic in easy-to-assemble units.
"The idea was to prefabricate as much as possible," explained Karl Tuplin, the project manager for the Halley VI building programme. "Room pods, bedrooms, bathrooms - they were all made in advance. Mechanical, electrical services - the wires and piping - came in cassettes that were just slotted into place." The hope is, some refurbishment notwithstanding, the new Halley can last 30-40 years before a wholly new structure is required.
"The feedback has been great," Mr Broughton told BBC News. "In the last station, not everyone had a window from their bedroom. Now everyone's got a view. The acoustics are better, and there're more opportunities to rest. But also the working conditions are much better and there's a far greater array of different scientific experiments now possible at Halley VI compared to Halley V."
The old station has just been dismantled and all its parts removed from the Antarctic.
Thanks to Ian Thomas and Phil Barnaart for providing the links..
posted: 8th February 2013
from BBC news website
View video with Architect Hugh Broughton explaining how Halley VI was built in extreme conditions (flash player needed)
Britain's new Halley research station in the Antarctic goes into full operation this month.
The base sits on the Brunt Ice Shelf, and is the sixth such UK facility to be erected at this location since 1957. Together with Rothera on the Antarctic Peninsula, it will spearhead UK science on the White Continent.
Halley gathers important weather and climate data, and it played a critical role in the research that identified the ozone "hole" in 1985. In recent years, Halley has also become a major centre for studying solar activity and the impacts it can have on Earth. This is most evident in the beautiful auroras that form over the base - the consequence of particles from the Sun crashing into air molecules high in the atmosphere. Halley VI's researchers now have a state-of-the-art complex from which to monitor these phenomena.
Perhaps the most striking thing about the new station is its appearance. "It looks like something in space," says architect Hugh Broughton.
The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) station comprises eight modules in all. The seven blue ones are work and habitation units. The central red module, which is on two storeys, is the social hub where residents can gather to relax. It contains the dining room, the bar and even a gym.
The entire base stands on a hydraulic leg and ski system that allows it to be raised above the annual snowfall, and periodically to be towed closer to land. If these adjustments were not to happen, the station would eventually be buried and carried to the ice edge where it would then be dropped into the ocean.
Halley bases I to IV were abandoned to this fate. The new design makes the adjustments easier and less labour intensive. The station was constructed in large part in South Africa and then shipped to the Antarctic in easy-to-assemble units.
"The idea was to prefabricate as much as possible," explained Karl Tuplin, the project manager for the Halley VI building programme. "Room pods, bedrooms, bathrooms - they were all made in advance. Mechanical, electrical services - the wires and piping - came in cassettes that were just slotted into place." The hope is, some refurbishment notwithstanding, the new Halley can last 30-40 years before a wholly new structure is required.
"The feedback has been great," Mr Broughton told BBC News. "In the last station, not everyone had a window from their bedroom. Now everyone's got a view. The acoustics are better, and there're more opportunities to rest. But also the working conditions are much better and there's a far greater array of different scientific experiments now possible at Halley VI compared to Halley V."
The old station has just been dismantled and all its parts removed from the Antarctic.
Thanks to Ian Thomas and Phil Barnaart for providing the links..
posted: 8th February 2013
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Techport at Osborne downplays Antarctic icebreaker project claims
from news.com.au website
'...ADELAIDE-based Commonwealth shipbuilder ASC has downplayed suggestions it will construct an icebreaker for the Federal Government.
The Antarctic division of the Environment Department has initiated a request for proposal - the first step in bidding - for a replacement for the Aurora Australis.
"We have invited industry to come forward with cost-effective proposals for a new ship ... but no decisions have yet been made on proceeding with further stages of the procurement," Environment Minister Tony Burke said in announcing the request last month...
...Government-owned ship builder ASC said today it had made no decision yet on whether to respond to the opportunity...'
posted: 8th February 2013
'...ADELAIDE-based Commonwealth shipbuilder ASC has downplayed suggestions it will construct an icebreaker for the Federal Government.
The Antarctic division of the Environment Department has initiated a request for proposal - the first step in bidding - for a replacement for the Aurora Australis.
"We have invited industry to come forward with cost-effective proposals for a new ship ... but no decisions have yet been made on proceeding with further stages of the procurement," Environment Minister Tony Burke said in announcing the request last month...
...Government-owned ship builder ASC said today it had made no decision yet on whether to respond to the opportunity...'
posted: 8th February 2013
Aurora Australis to be replaced
The Australian Government, acting through the Australian Antarctic Division, is currently seeking proposals for the design, construction and ongoing operation and maintenance of a new research and supply icebreaker. (info on the AusTender website).
The plan to replace the Hobart based icebreaker Aurora Australis was formally announced over a year ago by previous Australian Antarctic Division Director Lyn Maddock.
The 23-year-old ship has made over 120 voyages 'down south' and while owned by P&O maritime services, is under lease to the Australian Antarctic Division until 2016.
The Environment minister Mr Burke said the Government had allocated $1.7 million in 2012–13 for the development of a detailed business case for a new Antarctic shipping capability, including essential associated infrastructure and support.
Further information on the Aurora Australis can be accessed here...
The Australian Government, acting through the Australian Antarctic Division, is currently seeking proposals for the design, construction and ongoing operation and maintenance of a new research and supply icebreaker. (info on the AusTender website).
The plan to replace the Hobart based icebreaker Aurora Australis was formally announced over a year ago by previous Australian Antarctic Division Director Lyn Maddock.
The 23-year-old ship has made over 120 voyages 'down south' and while owned by P&O maritime services, is under lease to the Australian Antarctic Division until 2016.
The Environment minister Mr Burke said the Government had allocated $1.7 million in 2012–13 for the development of a detailed business case for a new Antarctic shipping capability, including essential associated infrastructure and support.
Further information on the Aurora Australis can be accessed here...
Governor General visits Antarctica
from AAD website with thanks!
5th February 2013
Governor-General, Ms Quentin Bryce AC CVO, has become the first Australian Governor-General to travel to Antarctica.
Her Excellency today flew to the Wilkins runway in Australia’s Antarctic Territory as part of the ongoing centenary celebrations of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition 1911-1914 led by scientist and polar explorer, Dr Douglas Mawson.
Ms Bryce was greeted at Wilkins by Allan Cooney, station leader at nearby Casey station and a number of scientists and support personnel who are crucial to the success of Australia’s Antarctic program. She also toured the communications facilities and living quarters, and experienced the confines of a remote field camp.
In honour of the Mawson-led expedition one hundred years ago, Her Excellency unveiled a plaque. Rather than a traditional unveiling, the plaque had been set in ice which Ms Bryce cracked with a small hammer to reveal its inscription marking the event...
...The Governor-General was accompanied on the early morning flight from Hobart by the Director of the Australian Antarctic Division, Dr Tony Fleming and Climate Program Leader, Dr Tas van Ommen, among others.
Ms Bryce returned to Hobart this afternoon on the flight which also brought back some summer expeditioners whose research on the Antarctic continent has come to a close for this season.
5th February 2013
Governor-General, Ms Quentin Bryce AC CVO, has become the first Australian Governor-General to travel to Antarctica.
Her Excellency today flew to the Wilkins runway in Australia’s Antarctic Territory as part of the ongoing centenary celebrations of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition 1911-1914 led by scientist and polar explorer, Dr Douglas Mawson.
Ms Bryce was greeted at Wilkins by Allan Cooney, station leader at nearby Casey station and a number of scientists and support personnel who are crucial to the success of Australia’s Antarctic program. She also toured the communications facilities and living quarters, and experienced the confines of a remote field camp.
In honour of the Mawson-led expedition one hundred years ago, Her Excellency unveiled a plaque. Rather than a traditional unveiling, the plaque had been set in ice which Ms Bryce cracked with a small hammer to reveal its inscription marking the event...
...The Governor-General was accompanied on the early morning flight from Hobart by the Director of the Australian Antarctic Division, Dr Tony Fleming and Climate Program Leader, Dr Tas van Ommen, among others.
Ms Bryce returned to Hobart this afternoon on the flight which also brought back some summer expeditioners whose research on the Antarctic continent has come to a close for this season.
Tas Midwinter festivities including dinner
The main event is the ANARE (Tas branch) Midwinter Dinner which will be held in Hobart on Saturday 21st June 2013. We encourage you to come along...it's sure to be a great night with a wide mix of ANARE expeditioners and their guests. Last year 160 people attended. Each attending ANARE expeditioner /AA crew is welcome to invite a guest to the dinner...husband, wife, partner, friend, son, daughter...whoever!
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This year we are pleased to announce a number of special reunions including Davis 2003 and Macquarie Island 2000 (so far...).
Further information on the dinner and list of attendees can be accessed on our website.There will also be a number of other events occurring in Tasmania around the same time. If you are from the mainland, why not catch several other events while you are down here!! We will be listing more midwinter festivities as details become available...
Further information on the dinner and list of attendees can be accessed on our website.There will also be a number of other events occurring in Tasmania around the same time. If you are from the mainland, why not catch several other events while you are down here!! We will be listing more midwinter festivities as details become available...
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Dark MOFO midwinter festival
Following the success of the recent MOFO festival in Hobart, there are now plans to host a Midwinter festival. Called DARK MOFO, the festival will embrace a number of events between the 14 to 24 June 2013.
Although formal programming has yet to be announced, Dark Mofo will commence with a large-scale fire and light event at Salamanca, and will include a night market at Princes Wharf 1 with music programmed by Brian Ritchie, a headline musical artist, and partnerships with existing events including the Festival of Voices.
Although formal programming has yet to be announced, Dark Mofo will commence with a large-scale fire and light event at Salamanca, and will include a night market at Princes Wharf 1 with music programmed by Brian Ritchie, a headline musical artist, and partnerships with existing events including the Festival of Voices.
Tours of the ice breaker Aurora Australis
The Masters of the Aurora Australis in conjunction with P&O have offered to run a tour of the Australian icebreaker Aurora Australis.
A tour of the Aurora Australis will be on the weekend of the 21/22nd June (date and time yet to be confirmed).
Please meet outside the front doors (city side) of Princess Wharf 1...just next to Salamanca.
Covered /enclosed shoes will need to be worn
When: to be confirmed
Where: Please meet outside the front doors (city side) of Princess Wharf 1...just next to Salamanca
Cost: free
A tour of the Aurora Australis will be on the weekend of the 21/22nd June (date and time yet to be confirmed).
Please meet outside the front doors (city side) of Princess Wharf 1...just next to Salamanca.
Covered /enclosed shoes will need to be worn
When: to be confirmed
Where: Please meet outside the front doors (city side) of Princess Wharf 1...just next to Salamanca
Cost: free
The Longest Night Film Festival
The Longest Night Film Festival is held at the State Theatre, North Hobart. A short season of cutting edge documentaries and historical film footage from the frozen south, and north! Open to all including members of the public. Further details of the program and session times will be available on the State Theatre website closer to the date.
Where: 375 Elizabeth Street, North Hobart
When: Friday 21st -Monday 24th June 2013
Cost: TBA but usually around Adult $18, Senior $14
Where: 375 Elizabeth Street, North Hobart
When: Friday 21st -Monday 24th June 2013
Cost: TBA but usually around Adult $18, Senior $14
Polar Pathways Walking Tour
An interesting 1.5 hour guided walk showcasing Hobart’s rich Antarctic history and connections with local guides from Polar Pathways can be organised for interested groups, or individuals if sufficient numbers (around 10 people) .
Pace: gentle.
Dates: to be announced
Cost: $15.00 pp. A minimum of 10 bookings are required for the walk to proceed. Participants will be notified of the departure point prior.
Further tours can be organised for reunion or other groups on request. If interested please contact us.
There is also the opportunity to do your own self guided polar pathways tour. Walking and driving options are available. Brochures can be collected from the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, the Tourist Information Centre in Hobart , or a copy downloaded from the excellent Polar Pathways website.
The Polar Pathways website also offers the opportunity to download additional information on Polar Pathways sites and explorers, by clicking here.
To further enhance your experience of the Polar Pathways walking and driving tours, Podcasts are now available for all sites. Again these are available from the Polar Pathways website. Download all or just your selected sites and listen on your computer or transfer the Podcasts to your MP3 player and listen as you tour the sites.
Pace: gentle.
Dates: to be announced
Cost: $15.00 pp. A minimum of 10 bookings are required for the walk to proceed. Participants will be notified of the departure point prior.
Further tours can be organised for reunion or other groups on request. If interested please contact us.
There is also the opportunity to do your own self guided polar pathways tour. Walking and driving options are available. Brochures can be collected from the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, the Tourist Information Centre in Hobart , or a copy downloaded from the excellent Polar Pathways website.
The Polar Pathways website also offers the opportunity to download additional information on Polar Pathways sites and explorers, by clicking here.
To further enhance your experience of the Polar Pathways walking and driving tours, Podcasts are now available for all sites. Again these are available from the Polar Pathways website. Download all or just your selected sites and listen on your computer or transfer the Podcasts to your MP3 player and listen as you tour the sites.
Australia mourns loss of ‘great friends’ in Antarctic plane crash
One of Kenn Borek Air's Twin Otters at McMurdo Station (Photo: Dana Bergstrom)
from AAD website
The Director of the Australian Antarctic Division Dr Tony Fleming says the Australian Antarctic community is deeply saddened by the plane crash in Antarctica and thoughts are with the families, friends and colleagues of the crew.
Dr Fleming said the Twin Otter operated by Canadian based Kenn Borek Air, which crashed in the Queen Alexandra range halfway between the South Pole and McMurdo station on Wednesday, had worked with the Australian Antarctic program over the summer season.
“The crew were great friends of the Australian Antarctic program and our expeditioners,” Dr Fleming said.
“The air crew were very well respected and had been embraced as part of our Antarctic station communities, we are deeply saddened by their loss,” he said.
“A couple of the crew had just completed a second year working with us in Antarctica performing a vital role supporting our science and moving expeditioners between stations during the season.
“I know they loved working with us and we certainly enjoyed and valued their contribution and friendship,” Dr Fleming said.
“Our hearts go out to their families, friends and colleagues at Kenn Borek Air as we share their grief at this time.”
Dr Fleming flew to Australia’s Wilkins Runway in Antarctica today to meet with some of the Antarctic expeditioners who are mourning the loss of their great friends.
The Director of the Australian Antarctic Division Dr Tony Fleming says the Australian Antarctic community is deeply saddened by the plane crash in Antarctica and thoughts are with the families, friends and colleagues of the crew.
Dr Fleming said the Twin Otter operated by Canadian based Kenn Borek Air, which crashed in the Queen Alexandra range halfway between the South Pole and McMurdo station on Wednesday, had worked with the Australian Antarctic program over the summer season.
“The crew were great friends of the Australian Antarctic program and our expeditioners,” Dr Fleming said.
“The air crew were very well respected and had been embraced as part of our Antarctic station communities, we are deeply saddened by their loss,” he said.
“A couple of the crew had just completed a second year working with us in Antarctica performing a vital role supporting our science and moving expeditioners between stations during the season.
“I know they loved working with us and we certainly enjoyed and valued their contribution and friendship,” Dr Fleming said.
“Our hearts go out to their families, friends and colleagues at Kenn Borek Air as we share their grief at this time.”
Dr Fleming flew to Australia’s Wilkins Runway in Antarctica today to meet with some of the Antarctic expeditioners who are mourning the loss of their great friends.
More on the tragedy...
From 'The Australian' newspaper
28/01/2013.
THE bodies of three Canadians who died when their plane crashed into an Antarctic mountain will not be recovered until October at the earliest, officials said today.
Conditions on the frozen continent were too dangerous for an immediate recovery operation, with the plane's cockpit embedded in snow and ice at a height of 3900m, Antarctica New Zealand (ANZ) said.
"I'm sad to say our teams have not been able to access and safely recover the remains of the crew, it's just unsafe to do so," ANZ operations manager Graeme Ayers told Radio New Zealand.
"The aircraft has suffered a major impact into the side of the mountain and the front of the aircraft is firmly embedded in snow and ice."
The Twin Otter belonged to Kenn Borek Air, a Canadian firm that charters aircraft to the US Antarctic program, and disappeared last Wednesday while on a supply run from the South Pole to Italy's Antarctic base at Terra Nova Bay.
Ayers said search crews had managed to recover some equipment from the tail of the plane but no attempt would be made to reach the bodies until conditions eased later this year.
"At this stage we're deferring the operation for recovery of any remains until the next Antarctic science season, which commences in October this year and runs through to February of the following year," he said.
Rescuers initially hoped to find the crew alive but described the crash as "not survivable" when they found the wreckage Saturday.
New Zealand coordinated the search, with cooperation from US and Italian authorities in Antarctica, because the Queen Alexandra range lies in its rescue zone.
From 'The Australian' newspaper
28/01/2013.
THE bodies of three Canadians who died when their plane crashed into an Antarctic mountain will not be recovered until October at the earliest, officials said today.
Conditions on the frozen continent were too dangerous for an immediate recovery operation, with the plane's cockpit embedded in snow and ice at a height of 3900m, Antarctica New Zealand (ANZ) said.
"I'm sad to say our teams have not been able to access and safely recover the remains of the crew, it's just unsafe to do so," ANZ operations manager Graeme Ayers told Radio New Zealand.
"The aircraft has suffered a major impact into the side of the mountain and the front of the aircraft is firmly embedded in snow and ice."
The Twin Otter belonged to Kenn Borek Air, a Canadian firm that charters aircraft to the US Antarctic program, and disappeared last Wednesday while on a supply run from the South Pole to Italy's Antarctic base at Terra Nova Bay.
Ayers said search crews had managed to recover some equipment from the tail of the plane but no attempt would be made to reach the bodies until conditions eased later this year.
"At this stage we're deferring the operation for recovery of any remains until the next Antarctic science season, which commences in October this year and runs through to February of the following year," he said.
Rescuers initially hoped to find the crew alive but described the crash as "not survivable" when they found the wreckage Saturday.
New Zealand coordinated the search, with cooperation from US and Italian authorities in Antarctica, because the Queen Alexandra range lies in its rescue zone.
Chinese icebreaker in Hobart
from 'Particle' newsletter,
organised by the Tasmanian Government Antarctic Science and Research Unit
Photo: Chinese icebreaker Xue Long sunbaking at Hobart's waterfront with the Macquarie Wharf Number 2, Antarctic redevelopment in the background.
Chinese icebreaking research vessel Xue Long, translated as ‘Snow Dragon’, arrived in Hobart for a port call on 18 January 2013, as part of China’s 29th scientific expedition to Antarctica. It resupplied in Hobart before returning to East Antarctica to conduct further research in the vicinity of a site identified for a fourth Chinese station near the Ross Sea, a location easily accessible from Hobart.
Antarctic Tasmania has been working with the Tasmanian Polar Network, the Australian Antarctic Division and the Hobart City Council to build on Hobart's reputation as a re-supply port for Antarctic nations, particularly those working in East Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. Already home port for the French and Australian Antarctic programs, the Xue Long’s visit, as well as recent visits from Japanese research vessels, are increasing Hobart’s profile as a centre of excellence.
Read more
If you wish to subscribe to Particle' newsletter please click here...
organised by the Tasmanian Government Antarctic Science and Research Unit
Photo: Chinese icebreaker Xue Long sunbaking at Hobart's waterfront with the Macquarie Wharf Number 2, Antarctic redevelopment in the background.
Chinese icebreaking research vessel Xue Long, translated as ‘Snow Dragon’, arrived in Hobart for a port call on 18 January 2013, as part of China’s 29th scientific expedition to Antarctica. It resupplied in Hobart before returning to East Antarctica to conduct further research in the vicinity of a site identified for a fourth Chinese station near the Ross Sea, a location easily accessible from Hobart.
Antarctic Tasmania has been working with the Tasmanian Polar Network, the Australian Antarctic Division and the Hobart City Council to build on Hobart's reputation as a re-supply port for Antarctic nations, particularly those working in East Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. Already home port for the French and Australian Antarctic programs, the Xue Long’s visit, as well as recent visits from Japanese research vessels, are increasing Hobart’s profile as a centre of excellence.
Read more
If you wish to subscribe to Particle' newsletter please click here...
Antarctic Arts Fellowship applications due
By previous recipient Stephen Eastaugh
info from AAD website
The Australian Antarctic Division is now accepting applications for the 2013–14 Australian Antarctic Arts Fellowship.
Each year, the Australian Government awards an Arts Fellowship to enable those with a non-science focus the opportunity to experience Antarctica and Australia’s work there first-hand so they may communicate this experience and understanding to others.
The program aims to nurture the production of excellent and significant works of art and interpretation by leading professionals and talented emerging artists.
Favel Parrett, Arts Fellow for 2012–13 recently returned to Australia after travelling to Antarctica as part of her research for her novel about the Nella Dan – a supply ship that was used by the Australian Antarctic Division for 26 years.
Ms Parrett said she would encourage anyone with a passion for Antarctica to apply.
“It will change your work in ways that you can’t even imagine. It will change you in ways you can’t even imagine.”
“And once you have seen it – the beauty, the stillness of the ice, the intense power of the Southern Ocean – it will be with you forever,” she said.
Previous participants have included sound artist Philip Samartzis; mixed-media artist Stephen Eastaugh; installation artist David Burrows; printmaker Jörg Schmeisser; dancer and choreographer Tina Evans; children’s authors and illustrators Coral Tulloch and Alison Lester.
Applications can be submitted online, and are due by 30 March 2013.
“Don’t miss this opportunity to do something that not many get a chance to do,” Ms Parrett said.
More information
The Australian Antarctic Division is now accepting applications for the 2013–14 Australian Antarctic Arts Fellowship.
Each year, the Australian Government awards an Arts Fellowship to enable those with a non-science focus the opportunity to experience Antarctica and Australia’s work there first-hand so they may communicate this experience and understanding to others.
The program aims to nurture the production of excellent and significant works of art and interpretation by leading professionals and talented emerging artists.
Favel Parrett, Arts Fellow for 2012–13 recently returned to Australia after travelling to Antarctica as part of her research for her novel about the Nella Dan – a supply ship that was used by the Australian Antarctic Division for 26 years.
Ms Parrett said she would encourage anyone with a passion for Antarctica to apply.
“It will change your work in ways that you can’t even imagine. It will change you in ways you can’t even imagine.”
“And once you have seen it – the beauty, the stillness of the ice, the intense power of the Southern Ocean – it will be with you forever,” she said.
Previous participants have included sound artist Philip Samartzis; mixed-media artist Stephen Eastaugh; installation artist David Burrows; printmaker Jörg Schmeisser; dancer and choreographer Tina Evans; children’s authors and illustrators Coral Tulloch and Alison Lester.
Applications can be submitted online, and are due by 30 March 2013.
“Don’t miss this opportunity to do something that not many get a chance to do,” Ms Parrett said.
More information
Leopard seal makes a meal of a penguin
A leopard seal lunges in to feast on a young penguin in graphic images highlighting the daily threat the birds face each day in the Antarctic Peninsula. Read (and see) more here...
A leopard seal lunges in to feast on a young penguin in graphic images highlighting the daily threat the birds face each day in the Antarctic Peninsula. Read (and see) more here...
Photo by Amos Nachoum, a wildlife photographer and tour leader
Shackleton expedition sets off
from The Telegraph newspaper website
A British-Australian expedition recreating Ernest Shackleton's perilous 1916 crossing of the Southern Ocean in a small boat has set off, braced for fearsome seas and icy, bleak conditions.
The Shackleton Epic team prior to their departure from Elephant Island off the Antarctic Peninsula Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Led by renowned adventurer Tim Jarvis, the team of six plans to sail 800 nautical miles in a spartan lifeboat from Elephant Island off the Antarctic Peninsula to rugged South Georgia, their support team said.
While there were unusually moderate winds and a small swell as they pushed off, the team was heading for looming pack ice to the east as they bid to relive part of what is widely regarded as one of the greatest ever survival tales.
They plan to only use the equipment, navigational instruments and food available to Shackleton during his 16-day voyage before facing a two day climb to 2,950 feet over the mountainous, crevassed interior of South Georgia.
That will take them to the old whaling station at Stromness on the other side of the island, where Shackleton and his crew, with little more than the clothes on their backs, raised the alarm about the sinking of their ship, the Endurance.
"We are well aware of the dangers but believe we have a good little boat (an exact replica of the original James Caird), a great team and the spirit and courage to be able to honour the legend of Shackleton," Mr Jarvis said.
For further pictures of the expedition and plans of the James Caird click here...
While there were unusually moderate winds and a small swell as they pushed off, the team was heading for looming pack ice to the east as they bid to relive part of what is widely regarded as one of the greatest ever survival tales.
They plan to only use the equipment, navigational instruments and food available to Shackleton during his 16-day voyage before facing a two day climb to 2,950 feet over the mountainous, crevassed interior of South Georgia.
That will take them to the old whaling station at Stromness on the other side of the island, where Shackleton and his crew, with little more than the clothes on their backs, raised the alarm about the sinking of their ship, the Endurance.
"We are well aware of the dangers but believe we have a good little boat (an exact replica of the original James Caird), a great team and the spirit and courage to be able to honour the legend of Shackleton," Mr Jarvis said.
For further pictures of the expedition and plans of the James Caird click here...
2013 geographic South Pole marker moved
The 2013 geographic South Pole marker was installed on Jan. 1. This year's version was created by science machinist Derek Aboltins during the 2012 winter.
from the Antarctic Sun website
By Jeffrey Donenfeld, Special to the Sun
Posted January 11, 2013
As tradition dictates, on New Year’s Day the geographic South Pole marker was moved to its freshly surveyed position, and the new brass-and-copper plaque that tops the marker was revealed.
The Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station sits on a moving sheet of ice more than two miles thick. The site where the geographic marker, sign and American flag are installed drifts about 30 feet per year due to ice flow. In order to keep the marker in close proximity to the point where all the lines of longitude meet, the site is re-surveyed Jan. 1 each year. [See previous article — A good point: South Pole geographic marker changes with the times.]
The 2012 South Pole Station winter-overs engraved their names on the underside of the geographic marker.
The entire South Pole Station staff gathered outside between the old and new pole locations this year and formed a semicircle. Each person helped pass the American flag from its drifted location to the new location just beside the 90 degrees South marker.
Almost all hands were present for the ceremony, including station manager Bill Coughran, winter site manager Weeks Heist, and National Science Foundation representative Vladimir Papitashvili. The weather was sunny and a warm at just below minus 14 degrees Fahrenheit.
Once the American flag had been moved, Heist revealed the design of the newly relocated geographic South Pole marker. This year’s marker was created by science machinist Derek Aboltins during the 2012 winter. It was machined out of brass and copper.
The marker shows the position of the planets as viewed from the South Pole on Jan 1, 2013. There are seven brass planets displayed on a copper inlay. In the very center is a small copper star that marks the South Pole.
It also “represents the earth sciences done from here, as we reach out to understand our planet. The large brass star represents astronomy and astrophysics, as it extends out past our solar system in the quest for knowledge,” Aboltins wrote in his description of the marker.
“In the center of the marker (in brass) we have the sun, sunset and moon, with the Southern Cross, including the pointers. If you look carefully, the small inscription above the moon reads, ‘Accomplishment & Modesty.’ This was a reference to honor Neil Armstrong, as he passed away when I was making this section with the moon.”
There was even a nod in the design to disenfranchised Pluto: “For those of you who still think Pluto should be a planet, you’ll find it included underneath, just to keep everyone happy,” Aboltins said. “Bring back Pluto, I say!”
The previous 2012 South Pole marker was removed from its old location, and a flag was placed in its stead to mark the previous site. The 2012 marker will be displayed at the entrance of the South Pole Station.
By Jeffrey Donenfeld, Special to the Sun
Posted January 11, 2013
As tradition dictates, on New Year’s Day the geographic South Pole marker was moved to its freshly surveyed position, and the new brass-and-copper plaque that tops the marker was revealed.
The Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station sits on a moving sheet of ice more than two miles thick. The site where the geographic marker, sign and American flag are installed drifts about 30 feet per year due to ice flow. In order to keep the marker in close proximity to the point where all the lines of longitude meet, the site is re-surveyed Jan. 1 each year. [See previous article — A good point: South Pole geographic marker changes with the times.]
The 2012 South Pole Station winter-overs engraved their names on the underside of the geographic marker.
The entire South Pole Station staff gathered outside between the old and new pole locations this year and formed a semicircle. Each person helped pass the American flag from its drifted location to the new location just beside the 90 degrees South marker.
Almost all hands were present for the ceremony, including station manager Bill Coughran, winter site manager Weeks Heist, and National Science Foundation representative Vladimir Papitashvili. The weather was sunny and a warm at just below minus 14 degrees Fahrenheit.
Once the American flag had been moved, Heist revealed the design of the newly relocated geographic South Pole marker. This year’s marker was created by science machinist Derek Aboltins during the 2012 winter. It was machined out of brass and copper.
The marker shows the position of the planets as viewed from the South Pole on Jan 1, 2013. There are seven brass planets displayed on a copper inlay. In the very center is a small copper star that marks the South Pole.
It also “represents the earth sciences done from here, as we reach out to understand our planet. The large brass star represents astronomy and astrophysics, as it extends out past our solar system in the quest for knowledge,” Aboltins wrote in his description of the marker.
“In the center of the marker (in brass) we have the sun, sunset and moon, with the Southern Cross, including the pointers. If you look carefully, the small inscription above the moon reads, ‘Accomplishment & Modesty.’ This was a reference to honor Neil Armstrong, as he passed away when I was making this section with the moon.”
There was even a nod in the design to disenfranchised Pluto: “For those of you who still think Pluto should be a planet, you’ll find it included underneath, just to keep everyone happy,” Aboltins said. “Bring back Pluto, I say!”
The previous 2012 South Pole marker was removed from its old location, and a flag was placed in its stead to mark the previous site. The 2012 marker will be displayed at the entrance of the South Pole Station.
Fishing season in Antarctica
– daily reporting system to forecast fishery closure
from The Particle newsletter
Antarctica is surrounded by a rich marine environment. This area is managed by 24 countries and the European Union, through the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), which has its secretariat in Hobart on Macquarie Street.
Vessels fishing in CCAMLR fisheries are closely monitored in order to mitigate the potential impacts on the ecosystem.
Read more
– daily reporting system to forecast fishery closure
from The Particle newsletter
Antarctica is surrounded by a rich marine environment. This area is managed by 24 countries and the European Union, through the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), which has its secretariat in Hobart on Macquarie Street.
Vessels fishing in CCAMLR fisheries are closely monitored in order to mitigate the potential impacts on the ecosystem.
Read more
Reginald Koettlitz's photos of Scott’s Antarctica expedition revealed for first time
See more pictures here...
See more pictures here...
2013 MidWinter Lunch in United Kingdom Sat 18 May 2013
European-sector ANARE Club Members have now enjoyed two Mid Winter Functions: a Dinner in 2011 and a Lunch in 2012. Both were held in the UK, with the 2012 Lunch gaining from a British Antarctic Survey (BAS) Club representative joining with the ANARE Club Members.
Paul Gigg* and Ian Thomas* are again planning to organise such a MWLunch for 2013 in the UK and would like to invite any ANARE Club Members who are resident in the UK / Europe, or planning to be in the general London area on Saturday 18 May 2013 to consider joining in this get-together and celebration of our times working in Antarctica.
Due to timing constraints in Paul’s and Ian’s movements after May, the Lunch has had to be brought forward to 18 May (and closer to the 130th anniversary of Sir Douglas Mawson’s birth in Shipley Yorkshire on 05 May 1882).
It is planned to have a buffet lunch at Ian and Fiona’s home in Surrey, with hopefully too a representative of the BAS Club again joining with ANARE members.
Costings: Paul and Ian will again provide “softs”, water and juices, with each person separately bringing their own beers/wines etc and funding all transport and accommodation costs.
If any Club Member who is not already in touch with Paul Gigg or Ian Thomas and is interested in so participating, please contact the organisers before 29 March 2013 on the email addresses below, and they will ensure they update you per email with further details. Equally, if you are interested in linking in Europe but cannot join in the 2013 MWLunch and have not contacted Ian or Paul before, please also do respond and indicate your interest and you will be added to the “e-mail-out” contact list.
* Just as background:
Paul Gigg was a radio technician at Mawson in 1990 and at Macquarie in 1998 and is the UK on a posting. Email: ptgigg@gmail.com
Ian Thomas was an auroral physicist at Mawson in 1967, and worked with NZARP over 1975-1984 based on Scott Base; and has been resident in the UK from 1984 consulting on environmental satellite applications. Email: ilt@eoci.info
Information on the 2013 Tas Midwinter festival & dinner will be released at the end of January 2013....
European-sector ANARE Club Members have now enjoyed two Mid Winter Functions: a Dinner in 2011 and a Lunch in 2012. Both were held in the UK, with the 2012 Lunch gaining from a British Antarctic Survey (BAS) Club representative joining with the ANARE Club Members.
Paul Gigg* and Ian Thomas* are again planning to organise such a MWLunch for 2013 in the UK and would like to invite any ANARE Club Members who are resident in the UK / Europe, or planning to be in the general London area on Saturday 18 May 2013 to consider joining in this get-together and celebration of our times working in Antarctica.
Due to timing constraints in Paul’s and Ian’s movements after May, the Lunch has had to be brought forward to 18 May (and closer to the 130th anniversary of Sir Douglas Mawson’s birth in Shipley Yorkshire on 05 May 1882).
It is planned to have a buffet lunch at Ian and Fiona’s home in Surrey, with hopefully too a representative of the BAS Club again joining with ANARE members.
Costings: Paul and Ian will again provide “softs”, water and juices, with each person separately bringing their own beers/wines etc and funding all transport and accommodation costs.
If any Club Member who is not already in touch with Paul Gigg or Ian Thomas and is interested in so participating, please contact the organisers before 29 March 2013 on the email addresses below, and they will ensure they update you per email with further details. Equally, if you are interested in linking in Europe but cannot join in the 2013 MWLunch and have not contacted Ian or Paul before, please also do respond and indicate your interest and you will be added to the “e-mail-out” contact list.
* Just as background:
Paul Gigg was a radio technician at Mawson in 1990 and at Macquarie in 1998 and is the UK on a posting. Email: ptgigg@gmail.com
Ian Thomas was an auroral physicist at Mawson in 1967, and worked with NZARP over 1975-1984 based on Scott Base; and has been resident in the UK from 1984 consulting on environmental satellite applications. Email: ilt@eoci.info
Information on the 2013 Tas Midwinter festival & dinner will be released at the end of January 2013....
Dark MOFO: a new Midwinter festival for Tasmania
Information from Events Tasmania website
Dark MOFO - A new winter festival for TasmaniaDark MOFO will be for cornerstone of a three-month calendar of cultural activities, led by MONA, during winter next year. Dark Mofo is scheduled to take place from 14 to 24 June 2013.
The Premier and Minister for the Arts, Lara Giddings, announced on 22 October 2012 that Tasmania will host a new cultural festival, Dark Mofo, which will be held in winter 2013.
“Dark Mofo will be the cornerstone of a three-month calendar of cultural activities being led by MONA in conjunction with the Festival of Voices and other partners” Ms Giddings said
“Dark Mofo will commence with a large-scale fire and light event at Salamanca, and will include a night market at Princes Wharf 1 with music programmed by Brian Ritchie, a headline musical artist, and partnerships with existing events including the Festival of Voices.”
The festival will be centred around a major winter exhibition at MONA, which will run for approximately three months.
“Following the great success of Theatre of the World in collaboration with French curator Jean Hubert Martin and the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, I am delighted that MONA will once again host a major winter exhibition during 2013.”
Ms Giddings said events play an important role in creating demand for travel to Tasmania throughout the year, and the Tasmanian Government, through Events Tasmania and Tourism Tasmania, would invest $1 million per year, for three years in the new event.
“Dark MOFO will build on the existing success of MONA FOMA as a powerful cultural tourism driver and will attract visitors to Tasmania during winter,” Ms Giddings said.
“This is particularly important to sustaining our tourism and hospitality industries through the traditionally quieter months.”
“I am delighted that David Walsh and MONA have seen an opportunity to build on the success of the summer MONAFOMA by designing a winter cultural event.” Ms Giddings said.
David Walsh, creator of MONA, attributes much of his motivation for backing Dark Mofo, to his father.
“My dad once said ‘I'll back the winter to beat any tourist business in Hobart’. He was a bit of a punter, but I've been known to have a bet myself, and I'm going to take his wager. I think he would understand why we think this is a race worth rigging,” said Walsh.
The Premier also thanked the Hobart and Glenorchy City Councils for their support of Dark Mofo and the many groups and organisations helping to make Dark Mofo a success –, Hobart’s Theatre Royal, Salamanca Arts Centre, Glenorchy Arts and Sculpture Park (GASP!), Conservatorium of Music at the University of Tasmania, CAST, the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra.
“It is exciting to see the organisers of existing and proposed events working together with the promise to create an event that is larger than the sum of its parts.”
“This sort of dedication and collaboration within our arts and cultural sector is one of the reasons Tasmania now enjoys a reputation as a burgeoning cultural destination,” Ms Giddings said.
Dark MOFO - A new winter festival for TasmaniaDark MOFO will be for cornerstone of a three-month calendar of cultural activities, led by MONA, during winter next year. Dark Mofo is scheduled to take place from 14 to 24 June 2013.
The Premier and Minister for the Arts, Lara Giddings, announced on 22 October 2012 that Tasmania will host a new cultural festival, Dark Mofo, which will be held in winter 2013.
“Dark Mofo will be the cornerstone of a three-month calendar of cultural activities being led by MONA in conjunction with the Festival of Voices and other partners” Ms Giddings said
“Dark Mofo will commence with a large-scale fire and light event at Salamanca, and will include a night market at Princes Wharf 1 with music programmed by Brian Ritchie, a headline musical artist, and partnerships with existing events including the Festival of Voices.”
The festival will be centred around a major winter exhibition at MONA, which will run for approximately three months.
“Following the great success of Theatre of the World in collaboration with French curator Jean Hubert Martin and the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, I am delighted that MONA will once again host a major winter exhibition during 2013.”
Ms Giddings said events play an important role in creating demand for travel to Tasmania throughout the year, and the Tasmanian Government, through Events Tasmania and Tourism Tasmania, would invest $1 million per year, for three years in the new event.
“Dark MOFO will build on the existing success of MONA FOMA as a powerful cultural tourism driver and will attract visitors to Tasmania during winter,” Ms Giddings said.
“This is particularly important to sustaining our tourism and hospitality industries through the traditionally quieter months.”
“I am delighted that David Walsh and MONA have seen an opportunity to build on the success of the summer MONAFOMA by designing a winter cultural event.” Ms Giddings said.
David Walsh, creator of MONA, attributes much of his motivation for backing Dark Mofo, to his father.
“My dad once said ‘I'll back the winter to beat any tourist business in Hobart’. He was a bit of a punter, but I've been known to have a bet myself, and I'm going to take his wager. I think he would understand why we think this is a race worth rigging,” said Walsh.
The Premier also thanked the Hobart and Glenorchy City Councils for their support of Dark Mofo and the many groups and organisations helping to make Dark Mofo a success –, Hobart’s Theatre Royal, Salamanca Arts Centre, Glenorchy Arts and Sculpture Park (GASP!), Conservatorium of Music at the University of Tasmania, CAST, the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra.
“It is exciting to see the organisers of existing and proposed events working together with the promise to create an event that is larger than the sum of its parts.”
“This sort of dedication and collaboration within our arts and cultural sector is one of the reasons Tasmania now enjoys a reputation as a burgeoning cultural destination,” Ms Giddings said.
Vale Andrew McLaughlin
It is with great sadness that we report the passing of Andrew Mc Laughlin aged 51 years at the Lyell McEwin Hospital at Elizabeth in South Australia on 16th October 2012 after a major, courageous battle with cancer for 2 1/2 years.
Andy was a Casey 2000 Winter Electrician and he also took on extra responsibility as the Deputy Fire Captain and the Post Master.
Antarctica had been a dream for Andy for many years and he was very enthusiastic about all aspects of station life. He was a warm and friendly expeditioner who liked to socialise but most of all he loved to get out into the field away from the warmth and modernity of the Casey Red Shed!
Our thoughts are with his wife Liz and two children Sean and Erin in South Australia and his parents ken and Jan in Tasmania.
Marilyn Boydell
Andy was a Casey 2000 Winter Electrician and he also took on extra responsibility as the Deputy Fire Captain and the Post Master.
Antarctica had been a dream for Andy for many years and he was very enthusiastic about all aspects of station life. He was a warm and friendly expeditioner who liked to socialise but most of all he loved to get out into the field away from the warmth and modernity of the Casey Red Shed!
Our thoughts are with his wife Liz and two children Sean and Erin in South Australia and his parents ken and Jan in Tasmania.
Marilyn Boydell
Round 3: drills v Antarctic Ice
from the Smithsonian website
It’s been a busy year for Antarctic exploration. Earlier this year, a Russian team announced that they had managed to successfully drill through 2.4 miles of glacier ice into subglacial Lake Vostok. The Russians were looking for microbial life hidden beneath the ice, but they have so far come up empty handed. Then, in December, a British team tried and failed to push through 2 miles of Antarctic ice into another subglacial lake, Lake Ellsworth.
Scientists did recently find life hidden in Lake Vida, another Antarctic body of water. But that was a shallow and relatively young lake compared to lakes Vostok and Ellsworth.
But now, says Nature, it’s time for the Americans to try their hand. On Sunday, a team of scientists made their way from McMurdo Station to the West Antarctic Ice Sheet where they aim to sample from subglacial Lake Whillans, one of the lakes that underlies the Whillans Ice Stream. Lake Whillans is buried about half a mile down.
Later this week, the American team will begin using a hot water drill to push through the ice—the same technique used by the British Lake Ellsworth team.
According to The New York Times, the U.S.’s Lake Whillans project differs from the Vostok and Ellsworth missions “in several ways.”
Lake Whillans is smaller and not as deep, and is replenished more quickly from other water sources under the Antarctic ice shelf. It is a basin in a subglacial river where water accumulates to form a lake but keeps flowing, eventually reaching the ocean.
As such, any potential microbial life won’t likely be quite so disconnected from the environment, as is the case for the other two subglacial lakes. read more here...
You can follow along with the Lake Whillans project on twitter or on Facebook.
Follow us: @SmithsonianMag on Twitter
posted 15/1/2013
It’s been a busy year for Antarctic exploration. Earlier this year, a Russian team announced that they had managed to successfully drill through 2.4 miles of glacier ice into subglacial Lake Vostok. The Russians were looking for microbial life hidden beneath the ice, but they have so far come up empty handed. Then, in December, a British team tried and failed to push through 2 miles of Antarctic ice into another subglacial lake, Lake Ellsworth.
Scientists did recently find life hidden in Lake Vida, another Antarctic body of water. But that was a shallow and relatively young lake compared to lakes Vostok and Ellsworth.
But now, says Nature, it’s time for the Americans to try their hand. On Sunday, a team of scientists made their way from McMurdo Station to the West Antarctic Ice Sheet where they aim to sample from subglacial Lake Whillans, one of the lakes that underlies the Whillans Ice Stream. Lake Whillans is buried about half a mile down.
Later this week, the American team will begin using a hot water drill to push through the ice—the same technique used by the British Lake Ellsworth team.
According to The New York Times, the U.S.’s Lake Whillans project differs from the Vostok and Ellsworth missions “in several ways.”
Lake Whillans is smaller and not as deep, and is replenished more quickly from other water sources under the Antarctic ice shelf. It is a basin in a subglacial river where water accumulates to form a lake but keeps flowing, eventually reaching the ocean.
As such, any potential microbial life won’t likely be quite so disconnected from the environment, as is the case for the other two subglacial lakes. read more here...
You can follow along with the Lake Whillans project on twitter or on Facebook.
Follow us: @SmithsonianMag on Twitter
posted 15/1/2013
Antarctic Glacier's retreat unprecedented
from Becky Oskin, OurAmazingPlanet Staff Writer | LiveScience.com
Like a plug in a leaky dam, little Pine Island Glacier holds back part of the massive West Antarctic Ice Sheet, whose thinning ice is contributing to sea level rise.
In recent decades, Pine Island Glacier's rapid retreat raised fears that the glacier could "collapse," freeing the ice sheet it buffers to flow even more rapidly into the southern seas. The West AntarcticIce contributes 0.15 to 0.30 millimeters per year to sea level rise.
The big question is whether the hasty retreat is a recent change, caused by climate change, or a more long-term phenomenon.
"We need to know if what we observe today is something that started perhaps at the end of the last Ice Age or something that started in more recent times," said Claus-Dieter Hillenbrand, a marine geologist with the British Antarctic Survey.
Pine Island Glacier's small ice shelf, a platform of ice floating on the ocean's surface, acts as a plug, holding the rest of the ice stream in place on land. As warm ocean currents melt the ice shelf from below, inland glaciers flow down to the coast and feed the thinning ice shelf. Changes to Antarctic wind currents, driven by global warming, have pushed relatively warmer ocean waters beneath the ice shelves.
In the past 20 years, Pine Island Glacier's grounding line, the location where the glacier leaves bedrock and meets the ocean, has retreated at a rate of more than 1 kilometer a year. The glacier itself has thinned at a rate of 5 feet (1.5 meters) a year since the 1990s, and its flow rate has accelerated by 30 percent in the past 10 years.
posted 15/1/2013
from Becky Oskin, OurAmazingPlanet Staff Writer | LiveScience.com
Like a plug in a leaky dam, little Pine Island Glacier holds back part of the massive West Antarctic Ice Sheet, whose thinning ice is contributing to sea level rise.
In recent decades, Pine Island Glacier's rapid retreat raised fears that the glacier could "collapse," freeing the ice sheet it buffers to flow even more rapidly into the southern seas. The West AntarcticIce contributes 0.15 to 0.30 millimeters per year to sea level rise.
The big question is whether the hasty retreat is a recent change, caused by climate change, or a more long-term phenomenon.
"We need to know if what we observe today is something that started perhaps at the end of the last Ice Age or something that started in more recent times," said Claus-Dieter Hillenbrand, a marine geologist with the British Antarctic Survey.
Pine Island Glacier's small ice shelf, a platform of ice floating on the ocean's surface, acts as a plug, holding the rest of the ice stream in place on land. As warm ocean currents melt the ice shelf from below, inland glaciers flow down to the coast and feed the thinning ice shelf. Changes to Antarctic wind currents, driven by global warming, have pushed relatively warmer ocean waters beneath the ice shelves.
In the past 20 years, Pine Island Glacier's grounding line, the location where the glacier leaves bedrock and meets the ocean, has retreated at a rate of more than 1 kilometer a year. The glacier itself has thinned at a rate of 5 feet (1.5 meters) a year since the 1990s, and its flow rate has accelerated by 30 percent in the past 10 years.
posted 15/1/2013
And furthermore....IPCC meeting in Hobart
More than 250 lead authors of the report commissioned by the Intergovernmental panel on Climate Change (IPCC) are in Hobart for a meeting. The report is due to be released in just over eight months.
More than 250 lead authors of the report commissioned by the Intergovernmental panel on Climate Change (IPCC) are in Hobart for a meeting. The report is due to be released in just over eight months.
Australian Antarctic Division now recruiting...
from the Australian Antarctic Division website
OPPORTUNITY TO APPLY HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO 10 JANUARY 2013
Would you like to work and live in Antarctica or on Macquarie Island in the Southern Ocean?
You can!
The Australian Antarctic Division is now accepting applications for job opportunities supporting the 2013–14 Australian Antarctic Program.
Go online now and lodge your application via our online applications link. Applications will close DST midnight on 10 January 2013.
The Australian Antarctic Division recruits for a wide range of jobs in Antarctica and at Macquarie Island each season.
Periods of employment vary depending on the type of job (with initial preparation and training in Hobart, Tasmania ranging between two weeks and three months):
If your application is successful, you will become part of a team of professionals ensuring that our Antarctic Stations are safe and efficient and working to conduct important scientific research in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean.
Working and living in Antarctica is not for everyone, but if your application is successful, we will support, train and equip you for the demands of Antarctic employment. To become eligible, you will satisfy a comprehensive range of technical, personal qualities, medical fitness and psychological assessments. The AAD will ensure that you are fully informed about Antarctic employment to ensure that the experience is both safe and satisfying.
Other Benefits? You will be provided with all required cold weather clothing, accommodation and when in Antarctica, your food. This has the potential to save you thousands of dollars in costs that you would normally incur working in Australia.
If this opportunity sounds attractive to you, the links below and to the right will provide you with information that will allow you to decide whether you have the skill set and qualities which are required to perform this role.
If you decide to apply, please access the General Information document for important information.
You may like to try our working in Antarctica quiz.
Jobs availableStation Support
Antarctic Medical Practitioner
Telecommunications
Aircraft Ground Support
OPPORTUNITY TO APPLY HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO 10 JANUARY 2013
Would you like to work and live in Antarctica or on Macquarie Island in the Southern Ocean?
You can!
The Australian Antarctic Division is now accepting applications for job opportunities supporting the 2013–14 Australian Antarctic Program.
Go online now and lodge your application via our online applications link. Applications will close DST midnight on 10 January 2013.
The Australian Antarctic Division recruits for a wide range of jobs in Antarctica and at Macquarie Island each season.
Periods of employment vary depending on the type of job (with initial preparation and training in Hobart, Tasmania ranging between two weeks and three months):
- Summer jobs are generally offered for periods between early October and March–April of the following year
- Winter jobs can commence as early as July and run through until November–December of the following year
- Shorter winter opportunities may arise, between January and November–December in the same year
If your application is successful, you will become part of a team of professionals ensuring that our Antarctic Stations are safe and efficient and working to conduct important scientific research in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean.
Working and living in Antarctica is not for everyone, but if your application is successful, we will support, train and equip you for the demands of Antarctic employment. To become eligible, you will satisfy a comprehensive range of technical, personal qualities, medical fitness and psychological assessments. The AAD will ensure that you are fully informed about Antarctic employment to ensure that the experience is both safe and satisfying.
Other Benefits? You will be provided with all required cold weather clothing, accommodation and when in Antarctica, your food. This has the potential to save you thousands of dollars in costs that you would normally incur working in Australia.
If this opportunity sounds attractive to you, the links below and to the right will provide you with information that will allow you to decide whether you have the skill set and qualities which are required to perform this role.
If you decide to apply, please access the General Information document for important information.
You may like to try our working in Antarctica quiz.
Jobs availableStation Support
Antarctic Medical Practitioner
Telecommunications
- Communications Technical Officer & Supervising Communications Technical Officer
- Communications Operator
- Engineering Services Supervisor (ESS)
- Building Services Supervisor (BSS)
- Carpenter
- Electrician
- Tradesperson
- Instrument Electrician
- Plumber
- Station Mechanical Supervisor
- Expedition Mechanic
- Station Plant Operator
- Aerodrome Grader Operator
- Aerodrome Plant Operator
Aircraft Ground Support
Antarctic lake research abandoned
- Alok Jha, science correspondent
- The Guardian, Thursday 27 December 2012 14.55 GMT
Speaking to the Guardian from Antarctica, Prof Martin Siegert of the University of Edinburgh said he made the "sad decision" to halt the project in the early hours of Christmas Day, after the drilling did not go according to plan. He said the scientists remained committed to the project, however, and would return to complete the job, though that might take at least four or five years. "You don't do this kind of research without thinking about the risks involved," he said. "It is the cutting edge of science."
Scientists from the British Antarctic Survey flew to the site above Lake Ellsworth on the West Antarctic ice sheet in early December, joining a team of engineers who had already set up camp with the drilling equipment. They planned to use a hot-water "drill" to cut through the ice cap and sample the contents of the lake, which is liquid because of the extreme pressure of the ice on top of it. By looking for any forms of life in the water, which has been cut off from the rest of the world for anything up to a million years, they hoped to find clues about the evolution of life on Earth and, perhaps, the possibility of life on other planets.An ambitious British plan to search for minute forms of life in an ancient lake beneath Antarctica's ice has been suspended due to technical problems.
In a move that clears the way for US and Russian teams to take the lead, Professor Martin Siegert said technical problems and a lack of fuel had forced the closure on Christmas Day of the 7-million-pound project, which was looking for life forms and climate change clues in the lake-bed sediment.
"This is of course, hugely frustrating for us, but we have learned a lot this year," said Siegert of the University of Bristol, principal investigator for the mission, which was headed by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS).
"By the end, the equipment was working well, and much of it has now been fully field-tested," he said on the BAS website. Experts from Britain's Lake Ellsworth mission had expected to find minute forms of life in the lake three km (two miles) under Antarctica's ice, the most remote and extreme environment known on Earth.
They had also hoped that by dating bits of seashell found in the water they would have been able to ascertain when the ice sheet last broke up and to better understand the risks of it happening again. Read more....
Antarctic machinery photographic exhibition
Long recognised as a major figure in New Zealand photography, Wellington-based Anne Noble is an internationally renowned artist. Noble's work ranges from her well-known romantic 1982 essay exploring the Whanganui River to a graceful photo essay about the contemplative life of nuns, to photographs of her daughter Ruby and most recently to an exploration of the notion of the Antarctic.
A recent series on Scott Base machinery, particularly focusing on the names (usually female) of various tractors and trucks is being shown at the Stills photography gallery in Paddington, Sydney and can be accessed here...
Any stories /photos of Australian Antarctic /subantarctic machinery, especially the origin of the names and murals welcome... if we get a few we'll do a page on them...
A recent series on Scott Base machinery, particularly focusing on the names (usually female) of various tractors and trucks is being shown at the Stills photography gallery in Paddington, Sydney and can be accessed here...
Any stories /photos of Australian Antarctic /subantarctic machinery, especially the origin of the names and murals welcome... if we get a few we'll do a page on them...
And furthermore...
And Stills Gallery has just uploaded photographer Anna Nobles latest Antarctic series from her Scott base visit. Entitled 'Piss Poles', they are pretty self explanatory...and an unusual addition to any Antarctic Art collection....
Swathe of Antarctica renamed after Queen Elizabeth
Foreign secretary William Hague announces new name.
- Jerry Brotton
- guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 19 December 2012
- Jerry Brotton
In the old days, the British empire could name huge swaths of Africa, North America or south Asia after any number of dodgy explorers and troubled aristocrats. Now the government is reduced to presenting the Queen with an uninhabited, icy desert twice the size of the UK; the only colonies here are not those of grateful subjects, but penguins and seals. As if to counter charges that this wasn't your average Christmas present, someone in the cabinet came up with the bright idea of also giving the Queen 60 placemats showing views of Buckingham Palace, the kitschness of which would make my own mother blush.
Behind all this lies a more serious point. Look at any political world map from virtually any era and you'll see how all cultures (and not just Europeans) try to impose their authority on places by naming them in their own image. From America (named after the Florentine explorer Amerigo Vespucci) to Rhodesia (created by Cecil Rhodes before it became Zimbabwe), even Greenland (from the Old Norse, and still part of the Danish kingdom), a world map offers a historical lesson in empire, warfare and colonisation just within its toponymy. The naming of Queen Elizabeth Land isn't new, but it comes at a very different moment in the history of empire. In this instance, it does not affect an indigenous people who find an alien name imposed on their land. The Foreign Office also justified its decision by saying "a currently unnamed area requires a name for scientific or logistical purposes", and that this is in line with the Antarctic treaty of 1959, which froze (to forgive the pun) competing claims to the region, making it the first truly "globalised" continent.
Today, more than 75% of Antarctica faces land and territorial claims made by Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway, and the United Kingdom, many of which overlap, while Russia and the United States still reserve the right to make future claims. With fewer than half the world's maritime boundaries agreed according to international law, and the commercial possibilities of mining the natural resources of both the North and South Poles still to be explored, it is no wonder the Foreign Office is getting in there quickly, combining a shrewd jubilee celebration with a claim to future prospecting in a region where it has longstanding interests in claiming control over the seabed. The move will be seen as a particular provocation by Chile and Argentina, who already contest the British Antarctic Territory.
The government needs to tread carefully to avoid this becoming yet another PR gaffe. The name Queen Elizabeth Land will now be used on all British maps, but nobody else is required to adopt it, and undoubtedly few will do so. Just putting your ruler's name on the map won't do these days: it needs political and economic backing, and in today's globalised, trans-national world, it's unclear if Britain will have the authority to make this new name stick. The Queen should also bear in mind the fate that often awaits those who allow a place to be named after them. When her predecessor, the "Virgin Queen", Queen Elizabeth I allowed one of her most cherished attributes to be used in naming a rather more famous region than Antarctica, it came back to bite the British authorities in the American wars of independence. The place was called Virginia.
Reference: read here
Argentina complains to UK over QE Land 'imperialism'
The note handed over by the foreign ministry to John Freeman in Buenos Aires criticised the UK's "anachronistic imperialist ambitions that hark back to ancient practices".
The newly named area has long been claimed by Argentina as its own, along with other contested areas in the south Atlantic including the Falkland Islands, which Argentina claims as Las Malvinas.
The note expressed Argentina's "firmest rejection of the recently announced pretension of the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland of naming an area of the Argentine Antarctic sector".
The ministry accused London of infringing the spirit of the Antarctic treaty, signed in 1959 in Washington DC by 50 nations including Britain and Argentina to preserve the Antarctic from territorial disputes by guaranteeing freedom of scientific investigation and banning military activity on the continent.
Two days ago Argentina's senate unanimously rejected the territory's new name. Read more...
- Uki Goni in Buenos Aires
- guardian.co.uk, Friday 21 December 2012
The note handed over by the foreign ministry to John Freeman in Buenos Aires criticised the UK's "anachronistic imperialist ambitions that hark back to ancient practices".
The newly named area has long been claimed by Argentina as its own, along with other contested areas in the south Atlantic including the Falkland Islands, which Argentina claims as Las Malvinas.
The note expressed Argentina's "firmest rejection of the recently announced pretension of the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland of naming an area of the Argentine Antarctic sector".
The ministry accused London of infringing the spirit of the Antarctic treaty, signed in 1959 in Washington DC by 50 nations including Britain and Argentina to preserve the Antarctic from territorial disputes by guaranteeing freedom of scientific investigation and banning military activity on the continent.
Two days ago Argentina's senate unanimously rejected the territory's new name. Read more...
Fiennes sets off on Antarctic challenge
from website Western Daily Press
31st December 2012.
Veteran explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes set off on a gruelling Antarctic challenge on Saturday – but was more worried about missing his daughter’s birthday.
He and his five-man team hope to become the first to cross the continent during the polar winter, in temperatures plummeting to minus 90C.But he will be leaving behind his only child, six-year-old Elizabeth during the six-month expedition and will miss her seventh birthday in April.
Exmoor-based Sir Ranulph, who was childless until he met his second wife Louise, said: “My late wife was usually the radio operator on my previous expeditions but when I re-married when she died seven years ago, we had a daughter so this will be the first expedition where I’m away from a child and my 18-year-old step-son.”
He does not yet know if he will be able to contact his family and said he had left presents for Elizabeth’s birthday.
He flew out on Saturday to join the SA Agulhas, the team’s ship, in Cape Town, South Africa.
The journey across the Antarctic has never before been attempted during the polar winter but a Norwegian exploring team recently crossed the Arctic during the summer months.
At 68, Sir Ranulph, who was educated at Sandroyd School, Wiltshire, is the oldest explorer to attempt the crossing and has been described by The Guinness Book of Records as “the world’s greatest living explorer”. He was the first person to visit both poles by surface and the first to cross Antarctica on foot.
He said: “In the last moment before certain expeditions there is a feeling like in the old days of not wanting to go back to school.”
In March 2013 the Ice Team, as they are known, will set off to travel 2,000 miles across the Antarctic, mostly in complete darkness and in temperatures averaging minus 70C.
During their sea voyage, the team will undertake a number of scientific tasks to provide unique data on marine life, oceanography and meteorology.
They will be using the very latest technological innovations such as transportable medical imaging machines, but these have never been tested in such severe winter conditions.
Sir Ranulph explained: “I’m particularly worried about the welding on the tracks. We are not entirely sure when they are under strain.
“We’ll need to carry a lot of food and fuel for a year for six people.”
The Ice Team includes Brian Newham, 54, a British mountaineer; Spencer Smirl, 28, a mechanic from Canada; Ian Prickett, 34, an engineer from Hampshire; Richmond Dykes, 30, an engineer from Northern Ireland and Dr Robert Lambert, from Cumbria.
The expedition aims to raise $10 million (£6.17 million) for Seeing is Believing, a charitable initiative tackling preventable blindness across the globe.
31st December 2012.
Veteran explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes set off on a gruelling Antarctic challenge on Saturday – but was more worried about missing his daughter’s birthday.
He and his five-man team hope to become the first to cross the continent during the polar winter, in temperatures plummeting to minus 90C.But he will be leaving behind his only child, six-year-old Elizabeth during the six-month expedition and will miss her seventh birthday in April.
Exmoor-based Sir Ranulph, who was childless until he met his second wife Louise, said: “My late wife was usually the radio operator on my previous expeditions but when I re-married when she died seven years ago, we had a daughter so this will be the first expedition where I’m away from a child and my 18-year-old step-son.”
He does not yet know if he will be able to contact his family and said he had left presents for Elizabeth’s birthday.
He flew out on Saturday to join the SA Agulhas, the team’s ship, in Cape Town, South Africa.
The journey across the Antarctic has never before been attempted during the polar winter but a Norwegian exploring team recently crossed the Arctic during the summer months.
At 68, Sir Ranulph, who was educated at Sandroyd School, Wiltshire, is the oldest explorer to attempt the crossing and has been described by The Guinness Book of Records as “the world’s greatest living explorer”. He was the first person to visit both poles by surface and the first to cross Antarctica on foot.
He said: “In the last moment before certain expeditions there is a feeling like in the old days of not wanting to go back to school.”
In March 2013 the Ice Team, as they are known, will set off to travel 2,000 miles across the Antarctic, mostly in complete darkness and in temperatures averaging minus 70C.
During their sea voyage, the team will undertake a number of scientific tasks to provide unique data on marine life, oceanography and meteorology.
They will be using the very latest technological innovations such as transportable medical imaging machines, but these have never been tested in such severe winter conditions.
Sir Ranulph explained: “I’m particularly worried about the welding on the tracks. We are not entirely sure when they are under strain.
“We’ll need to carry a lot of food and fuel for a year for six people.”
The Ice Team includes Brian Newham, 54, a British mountaineer; Spencer Smirl, 28, a mechanic from Canada; Ian Prickett, 34, an engineer from Hampshire; Richmond Dykes, 30, an engineer from Northern Ireland and Dr Robert Lambert, from Cumbria.
The expedition aims to raise $10 million (£6.17 million) for Seeing is Believing, a charitable initiative tackling preventable blindness across the globe.
HEAT telescope observes star-making clouds
from the Antarctic Sun website
The HEAT (High elevation Antarctic terahertz) telescope has been installed at Ridge A about 900 kilometers from South Pole station in a joint Australian /US initiative.
At around 4,100 meters in altitude, and a dry atmosphere, Ridge A provides ideal conditions for looking at the molecular clouds in space.
The three-mirror telescope focuses light to a small cryostat that holds detectors cooled to 50 Kelvin (minus 370 degrees Fahrenheit). The terahertz telescope observes molecular clouds where stars are made.
The telescope “tunes” into frequencies between 0.5 and 2 THz, about 1,000 times higher than a mobile phone or 10,000 times higher than a typical two-way radio. Read more...
posted 21/12/2012
The HEAT (High elevation Antarctic terahertz) telescope has been installed at Ridge A about 900 kilometers from South Pole station in a joint Australian /US initiative.
At around 4,100 meters in altitude, and a dry atmosphere, Ridge A provides ideal conditions for looking at the molecular clouds in space.
The three-mirror telescope focuses light to a small cryostat that holds detectors cooled to 50 Kelvin (minus 370 degrees Fahrenheit). The terahertz telescope observes molecular clouds where stars are made.
The telescope “tunes” into frequencies between 0.5 and 2 THz, about 1,000 times higher than a mobile phone or 10,000 times higher than a typical two-way radio. Read more...
posted 21/12/2012
Centenary of Ninnis death
from Australian Antarctic Division website
Today, Friday 14 December 2012, marks 100 years since the death of Douglas Mawson’s sledging companion, Lieutenant Belgrave Edward Sutton Ninnis.
Ninnis was a Lieutenant in the Royal Fusiliers, an infantry regiment in the British Army, before he joined Mawson’s 1911-1914 Australasian Antarctic Expedition as a minder of the 49 Greenland huskies that would be used for sledging in Antarctica.
Ninnis was part of the three-man sledging team, the 'Far Eastern Party', with Douglas Mawson and Xavier Mertz, who headed east on 10 November 1912 to survey King George V Land.
After three weeks of excellent progress the party was crossing a glacier (now known as the Ninnis Glacier), when Ninnis fell through a snow-covered crevasse. Mertz had skied over the crevasse lid, Mawson had been on his sled with his weight dispersed, but Ninnis was jogging beside the second sled and his body weight is likely to have breached the lid.
Six of the best dogs, most of the party's rations, their tent and other essential supplies disappeared into a massive crevasse 480 km east of the main base. Mertz and Mawson spotted one dead and one injured dog on a ledge 46 m down, but Ninnis was never seen again. He was 25 years old. Read more...
Today, Friday 14 December 2012, marks 100 years since the death of Douglas Mawson’s sledging companion, Lieutenant Belgrave Edward Sutton Ninnis.
Ninnis was a Lieutenant in the Royal Fusiliers, an infantry regiment in the British Army, before he joined Mawson’s 1911-1914 Australasian Antarctic Expedition as a minder of the 49 Greenland huskies that would be used for sledging in Antarctica.
Ninnis was part of the three-man sledging team, the 'Far Eastern Party', with Douglas Mawson and Xavier Mertz, who headed east on 10 November 1912 to survey King George V Land.
After three weeks of excellent progress the party was crossing a glacier (now known as the Ninnis Glacier), when Ninnis fell through a snow-covered crevasse. Mertz had skied over the crevasse lid, Mawson had been on his sled with his weight dispersed, but Ninnis was jogging beside the second sled and his body weight is likely to have breached the lid.
Six of the best dogs, most of the party's rations, their tent and other essential supplies disappeared into a massive crevasse 480 km east of the main base. Mertz and Mawson spotted one dead and one injured dog on a ledge 46 m down, but Ninnis was never seen again. He was 25 years old. Read more...
Antarctic marine park on ice
by Matthew Denholm, Tasmanian Correspondent
published in The Australian Newspaper and online
3rd November 2012.
PLANS by Australia, the United States and other Antarctic nations to create the world's biggest marine parks, in the Southern Ocean, have been blocked by Russia and China but will be considered again next year.
The global body charged with conserving Antarctic marine life, meeting in Hobart, failed to adopt two plans for the planet's largest marine protected areas (MPAs) covering more than 4 million square kilometres of ocean.
While the proponents - Australia and France, and the United States and New Zealand - apparently secured majority support, the historic move was blocked by China, Russia and the Ukraine late last night.
The 25-member Commission for the Conservation of Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) makes decisions by consensus only, meaning the proposals were defeated with the effective veto of Russia and China. Australia's head of delegation, Tony Fleming, joined other nations in expressing disappointment at the decision, which followed 12 months of work and two weeks of deliberations. Their hopes now turn to a special summit on the issue that CCAMLR has agreed to hold in Germany in July next year.
However, there are concerns China and Russia will continue to play a spoiler role, despite CCAMLR having previously resolved to create a network of Antarctic MPAs by the end of this year.
"This year, CCAMLR has behaved like a fisheries organisation instead of an organisation dedicated to conservation of Antarctic waters," said Farah Obaidullah of Greenpeace.
by Matthew Denholm, Tasmanian Correspondent
published in The Australian Newspaper and online
3rd November 2012.
PLANS by Australia, the United States and other Antarctic nations to create the world's biggest marine parks, in the Southern Ocean, have been blocked by Russia and China but will be considered again next year.
The global body charged with conserving Antarctic marine life, meeting in Hobart, failed to adopt two plans for the planet's largest marine protected areas (MPAs) covering more than 4 million square kilometres of ocean.
While the proponents - Australia and France, and the United States and New Zealand - apparently secured majority support, the historic move was blocked by China, Russia and the Ukraine late last night.
The 25-member Commission for the Conservation of Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) makes decisions by consensus only, meaning the proposals were defeated with the effective veto of Russia and China. Australia's head of delegation, Tony Fleming, joined other nations in expressing disappointment at the decision, which followed 12 months of work and two weeks of deliberations. Their hopes now turn to a special summit on the issue that CCAMLR has agreed to hold in Germany in July next year.
However, there are concerns China and Russia will continue to play a spoiler role, despite CCAMLR having previously resolved to create a network of Antarctic MPAs by the end of this year.
"This year, CCAMLR has behaved like a fisheries organisation instead of an organisation dedicated to conservation of Antarctic waters," said Farah Obaidullah of Greenpeace.
Arts fellowship recipient to feature Nella Dan
from AAD website
The 2012 Australian Antarctic Arts Fellowship has been awarded to Australian writer Favel Parrett.
Each year, the Australian Government awards an Arts Fellowship to enable outstanding applicants with a non-science focus to experience Antarctica first-hand so that they may communicate this unique experience and understanding to other Australians.
The Director of the Australian Antarctic Division, Dr Tony Fleming, said Ms Parrett would use the Fellowship to research a novel based on the Nella Dan, a supply ship that was used by the Australian Antarctic Division for 26 years.
“The Nella Dan’s service record remains unchallenged as Australia’s longest continuously serving Antarctic ship,” Dr Fleming said.
“This year marks the 25th anniversary of her scuttling off Macquarie Island, and Favel’s novel will draw attention to Australia’s rich Antarctic history and the Nella Dan’s role.
“The Nella Dan visited every one of Australia’s Antarctic stations several times, and supported major exploratory activities along much of the Eastern Antarctic coastline.
“From 1981, she continued to provide a research platform for Australia’s increasingly sophisticated and prestigious marine science program.
“Through this Fellowship, Favel will get the opportunity to experience first-hand what it is like to travel on a working polar and marine science vessel, visiting one of the stations and the areas that Nella Dan worked in.”
Favel Parrett, from Carlton, in Victoria, will travel to Antarctica on Australia’s current icebreaker Aurora Australis, leaving Hobart on 7 November. She will visit Australia’s Davis station before returning in early December.
Ms Parrett grew up in Hobart, and knew the Nella Dan well as a child – even keeping a photo of the ship at Heard Island on her bedroom wall. She has already interviewed many past crew and expeditioners who travelled on the Nella Dan as research for her book.
Ms Parrett was a recipient of an Australian Society of Authors Mentorship in 2009 and has had a number of short stories published in journals including Island, Wet Ink, Griffith Review and Best Australian Stories 2011.
Her first novel, Past the Shallows, was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary award 2012 and also won the Dobbie Literary Prize and Newcomer of the Year at the Australian Book Industry Awards.
More information
Australian Antarctic Division Arts Fellowship
The 2012 Australian Antarctic Arts Fellowship has been awarded to Australian writer Favel Parrett.
Each year, the Australian Government awards an Arts Fellowship to enable outstanding applicants with a non-science focus to experience Antarctica first-hand so that they may communicate this unique experience and understanding to other Australians.
The Director of the Australian Antarctic Division, Dr Tony Fleming, said Ms Parrett would use the Fellowship to research a novel based on the Nella Dan, a supply ship that was used by the Australian Antarctic Division for 26 years.
“The Nella Dan’s service record remains unchallenged as Australia’s longest continuously serving Antarctic ship,” Dr Fleming said.
“This year marks the 25th anniversary of her scuttling off Macquarie Island, and Favel’s novel will draw attention to Australia’s rich Antarctic history and the Nella Dan’s role.
“The Nella Dan visited every one of Australia’s Antarctic stations several times, and supported major exploratory activities along much of the Eastern Antarctic coastline.
“From 1981, she continued to provide a research platform for Australia’s increasingly sophisticated and prestigious marine science program.
“Through this Fellowship, Favel will get the opportunity to experience first-hand what it is like to travel on a working polar and marine science vessel, visiting one of the stations and the areas that Nella Dan worked in.”
Favel Parrett, from Carlton, in Victoria, will travel to Antarctica on Australia’s current icebreaker Aurora Australis, leaving Hobart on 7 November. She will visit Australia’s Davis station before returning in early December.
Ms Parrett grew up in Hobart, and knew the Nella Dan well as a child – even keeping a photo of the ship at Heard Island on her bedroom wall. She has already interviewed many past crew and expeditioners who travelled on the Nella Dan as research for her book.
Ms Parrett was a recipient of an Australian Society of Authors Mentorship in 2009 and has had a number of short stories published in journals including Island, Wet Ink, Griffith Review and Best Australian Stories 2011.
Her first novel, Past the Shallows, was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary award 2012 and also won the Dobbie Literary Prize and Newcomer of the Year at the Australian Book Industry Awards.
More information
Australian Antarctic Division Arts Fellowship
And the winner is...New Tas Branch president elected!!!
Jan Adolph by Susan Gordon Brown
Jan Adolph was elected president of the ANARE Club Tas branch at our recent AGM. The current council includes:
President: Jan Adolph
Treasurer: Michael Ooyendyk
Social Secretary: Marilyn Boydell/ Michael Carr
Webmistress: Ingrid Mcgaughey
General Council member: George Cresswell
Jan writes...
'I have been a member of the ANARE Club since 1984. I wintered as an electrician at Davis in 1982 and Macca in 1984. After returning from Macca I commenced full time at AAD. I have spent a number of summers down south since then and I’ve also been on a few round trips. I have visited all the stations plus Commonwealth Bay. I am currently planning to travel to Heard Island.
I look forward to working with our Tasmanian members to get next year’s Midwinter Dinner organized and being another successful event.
Thanks to Noel Barrett and the previous committee for all their hard work over the last couple of years...'
President: Jan Adolph
Treasurer: Michael Ooyendyk
Social Secretary: Marilyn Boydell/ Michael Carr
Webmistress: Ingrid Mcgaughey
General Council member: George Cresswell
Jan writes...
'I have been a member of the ANARE Club since 1984. I wintered as an electrician at Davis in 1982 and Macca in 1984. After returning from Macca I commenced full time at AAD. I have spent a number of summers down south since then and I’ve also been on a few round trips. I have visited all the stations plus Commonwealth Bay. I am currently planning to travel to Heard Island.
I look forward to working with our Tasmanian members to get next year’s Midwinter Dinner organized and being another successful event.
Thanks to Noel Barrett and the previous committee for all their hard work over the last couple of years...'
250 Mile Depot, Mawson...
The Tas branch website is keen to circulate photos and stories of past and current ANARE activities. If you have a photo and /or a bit of a story, just send it in to us.
We saw this photo from Phil Barnaart recently...
'...It was taken during our "Autumn Traverse" on Friday 22 April 1988 at "250 Mile Depot" which was laid by Bill Bewsher (OIC) and his crew during the 1956 Mawson ANARE and our visit was the first since the depot was established.
It contained rations, clothing and spare parts for the "Weasel" tracked vehicles and dog sleds used at the time. Although much of the depot had been scattered by the wind and ice movement during the intervening 32 years, it was easy enough to locate using field trip reports from 1956.
On the day, we had finished our task of locating a suitable site for the proposed Dovers base at the foot of Mt Jacklyn in the Northern Prince Charles Mountains, and depoting 320 drums of fuel and other stores for operations at Dovers during the following summer. Before starting the journey back to Mawson station, we decided to try to locate Bewsher's depot as the "Weasel" spares might be handy for restoration purposes (and we really wanted to find it!)
The weather conditions at the time were: clear sky, temperature minus 25.5, wind from the SW averaging 40 knots gusting to 50. I recorded in the traverse log "perfect weather at sunset"! It got down to minus 42 on the traverse though and on 27 days the temperature was less than minus 30. The traverse lasted six weeks. We had a ball.
On the way back we re-explored a slightly shorter route to Mawson station which hadn't been used for years. We also located Bob Dover's "50 Mile Depot" but that is another story...No traverses had operated out of Mawson for eight years and without Dave McCormack's expertise it's doubtful we would have achieved what we did...'
We saw this photo from Phil Barnaart recently...
'...It was taken during our "Autumn Traverse" on Friday 22 April 1988 at "250 Mile Depot" which was laid by Bill Bewsher (OIC) and his crew during the 1956 Mawson ANARE and our visit was the first since the depot was established.
It contained rations, clothing and spare parts for the "Weasel" tracked vehicles and dog sleds used at the time. Although much of the depot had been scattered by the wind and ice movement during the intervening 32 years, it was easy enough to locate using field trip reports from 1956.
On the day, we had finished our task of locating a suitable site for the proposed Dovers base at the foot of Mt Jacklyn in the Northern Prince Charles Mountains, and depoting 320 drums of fuel and other stores for operations at Dovers during the following summer. Before starting the journey back to Mawson station, we decided to try to locate Bewsher's depot as the "Weasel" spares might be handy for restoration purposes (and we really wanted to find it!)
The weather conditions at the time were: clear sky, temperature minus 25.5, wind from the SW averaging 40 knots gusting to 50. I recorded in the traverse log "perfect weather at sunset"! It got down to minus 42 on the traverse though and on 27 days the temperature was less than minus 30. The traverse lasted six weeks. We had a ball.
On the way back we re-explored a slightly shorter route to Mawson station which hadn't been used for years. We also located Bob Dover's "50 Mile Depot" but that is another story...No traverses had operated out of Mawson for eight years and without Dave McCormack's expertise it's doubtful we would have achieved what we did...'
