The Night Carte

An irregular collection of Scott Base doings for August 1998

A C141 Starlifter is unloaded at Pegasus Airfield as part of the Winfly series of flights (Photo by Chris Hayes)  

Skies on Fire

In last month’s edition there was a report about Auroras. We didn’t have to wait long for another high altitude visitor made its way into the skies of Ross Island.

Nacreous clouds burst forth on August 6th and treated the residents of Ross Island to wispy mares tails of iridescent colours. Eric, with uncanny timing honed by a couple of winters, decided to go to Crater Hill to do some radio checks for Herm that afternoon. He happened to have his video camera and tripod handy after the 150m climb to capture this fiery wonder of the polar skies. The clouds low on the horizon were orange and red with dashes of gold. Higher in the sky the wave of electric blue and pearlescent pinks and purples predominated. Dazzling white clouds, like rips in the fabric of the heavens also made an appearance. The show changed constantly over a six hours starting at about 11am.

Nacreous Clouds viewed from Crater Hill

The clouds look like colours reflected of the surface of a pearl hence the term ‘Nacreous’. The scientific name is ‘Polar Stratospheric Clouds’ or PSC’s. A combination of the cold Antarctic spring and altitudes of 14 to 22km produce temperatures of -80°C, freezing water and Nitric Acid into clouds of ice crystals. Sunlight, often from well below the horizon, strikes these high altitude ice crystals, which refract and reflect the light, producing all the colours of the rainbow.

Close-up of the high altitude clouds refracting light

The appearance of the clouds hides a dark side. The conditions and chemistry within these clouds provides another link in the chain of ozone depletion. The chlorine released from chloroflorocarbons by ultraviolet light is broken down to more active forms by the clouds’ chemistry. The crystals also provide a surface for the chlorine / oxygen reaction which results in chlorine oxide, and the reduction of precious ozone to oxygen gas. The ozone ‘hole’ appears during the Antarctic spring and closes later in summer primarily because of the conditions required for the formation of PSC's.

Rocky Evacuation

Early this month Gerry Ness from McMurdo was Medivac’ed to Christchurch. ‘Rocky’, a veteran of Antarctic winters was flown out to New Zealand with suspected appendicitis. Dennis, the doctor at McMurdo, diagnosed Rocky’s condition at about 10 pm on August 11. The decision to evacuate was made and by six the next morning pilots and crew of the RNZAF were being woken with the news that they were to prepare to go to the Antarctic.

The C130 Hercules needed to go to Auckland first to pick up the Antarctic survival packs for the crew and by 10 am the four engined long range transport was winging its way to the icy continent. Meanwhile, back in McMurdo, the ambulance was readied and Rocky was made as comfortable as possible for the drive to Pegasus Airfield. American equipment operations staff had been preparing the permanent ice runway for Winfly so they worked swiftly to make it ready for the Hercules’ arrival.

Rocky is loaded into the ambulance

The ambulance left McMurdo with 'plenty' of time to arrive at Pegasus before the arrival of the first aircraft in five months. Passing by Scott Base the ambulance was met by the whole New Zealand contingent. Typical of the camaraderie between the bases, the kiwis were holding up a sign to cheer the patient on his way. Steve, Scott Bases’ winter manager, arranged for a delivery of Guinness to Rocky in Christchurch, for ‘medicinal purposes’.

Scott Base staff turn out in force to send Rocky off

The ambulance arrived late at Pegasus, as the driver had to slow down to a crawl on the 15km of ice road leading to the airfield. The drive proved to be more rocky than expected and Gerry was experiencing acute pain with each jolt. On arrival, he was quickly bundled onto the aircraft and shortly afterwards the mighty turboprops bit into the cold Antarctic air and the Hercules lifted it’s bulk into the darkening sky. Five and a half-hours later the tyres squealed on the more traditional tarmac of Christchurch Airport’s runway and Rocky was whisked away to surgery immediately.

The surgery was successful and it wasn’t long before Rocky was talking of his return. A couple of days after being under the knife he was walking around and making calls to ensure he’d be back to his home away from home, the Antarctic, on a Winfly flight.

Medical Evacuations have occurred in the Antarctic before; in the darkness of midwinter 1991 Peter Harding, an engineer from Scott Base, was airlifted to New Zealand for medical care.

Those Boomerang Blues

The first flight of WINFLY ’98 was scheduled on August 20. It started out like any other Antarctic flight, with a check in at the Antarctic Passenger Centre three hours before the departure. Since the planned departure time was 6:30am, that meant a 3:30 check-in. It was interesting to gauge people's abilities to function at that time in the morning. All went as planned: the weighing of baggage and passengers, a good breakfast at the Southern Lights café, safety briefing, and donning Antarctic survival gear. We then were taken in buses out to the plane, and a brown paper bag of lunch food was thrust into our hand's as we were packed into the webbing seats, closer together really than you’d like to be.

We took off on schedule and the job of keeping oneself entertained, eating or asleep for the expected five and a half-hour flight had begun. A new diversion was a feedback form on the lunches, to evaluate a new food provider. I wrote on mine. "There’s enough for a normal flight but if were boomeranged, we’d be a bit hungry". Ha! We’d been in the air around five hours, and everyone was thinking that they’d soon be getting out of the cramped aluminum tube and stepping onto firm ice, when the crew announced a turnaround. The wind at the Pegasus runway was only 15 knots but because it was a crosswind, it was apparently too much for a safe landing. At -40 it wasn’t a particularly inviting day to arrive in Antarctica anyway. Oh joy, we’re now only halfway though the flight and I’ve eaten all my food. We made slightly better time on the way back and touched down in Christchurch at 3:50pm. What a way to spend a day… getting nowhere. In more than a dozen trips to the ice, this was the first full-length boomerang flight I’d had, so perhaps I haven’t been doing to badly. Still, I wouldn’t recommend it as an experience to go out of your way for.

"Try again tomorrow" was the call, but the check in wasn’t quite as early, as they’d already got our baggage. We were even spared that experience by a 3am phone-call canceling the flight and had a day to kill in Christchurch. The following day’s attempt was successful, another five and a half hours in the plane, a gentle touchdown, some cheerful winter-over folks to meet us, and a drive back to Scott Base, only a couple of days late. However, passengers on the second flight were even worse off, they had two boomerang flights on consecutive days, then five days of waiting in Christchurch, before they touched down on August 31, 9 days after the original scheduled date. Welcome to Antarctica! Stevo - K085 Sky Doctor

C141 Starlifter finally lands during Winfly    

Brown Chippie back at Scott Base

No, it's not a new type of biscuit, rather the quintessent Winfly Carpenter, Steve Brown, back for another season:

After hanging around Christchurch for a couple of days due to flight delays I finally landed at Pegasus airfield. The first thing you notice apart from the cold is the warmth of the welcome, familiar faces in the form of Mike and Ray. It is hard to believe that eight months have passed since I was here last. Driving back to Scott Base, Mike fills me in on what's been happening and it sounds like it's been a busy and eventful year for the winter crew.

As I walk in the door everything looks and feels the same, it is as though I never left. Next move was a quick peek in the chippie shop and I could tell instantly that the boys had been busy indeed! (Brownesque for Rubbish Tip. Ed). I headed up the linkway to the mess for lunch and caught up with the rest of the crew. Everybody looked like they had come through the winter unscathed with no visible signs of "toasting" (an Antarctic term for people that stare into space for long periods and tend to be brittle and crumbly 'round the edges. Ed).

After lunch, while I was waiting on my bags, I had a nosy around base and confirmed my thoughts that this team had been busy! The bar was undergoing a major refit and Q Hut had been completely transformed., What a great job, should have been done sooner! Knowing everyone on base means you settle in quickly and before you know it you are into your first job. Great to be back!

Steve Brown

K085 - The Sky Geeks

The first flight of Winfly brought eleven new people onto base. Three of them - Steve Wood, John Robinson and Udo Friess are from NIWA (National Institute of Water and Atmospheric research) and were here to work on Event K085. Their upper atmospheric research has been keeping Herm up at nights when the moon is full. There were supposed to be four from NIWA, but Sylvia Nichol decided that raising a family was more important than advancing the cause of Antarctic science or boosting the skill level on the Scott Base hockey team. That gave Steve, a.k.a. Stevo, about three weeks notice re/ being away from home from Winfly until late October. Those weeks were filled with a huge list of jobs to get done at home - fencing, a bit of carpentry and some plumbing - and a partner, Robyn, that wasn’t too happy.

Now on the ice after that wonderful boomerang flight, their job was to set up a new instrument for probing the skies at Arrival Heights, K085's home away from the home that's away from home. This new instrument is from Germany and Udo was the person that came with it to set it up. Udo was still writing the computer program to run it while he was here, but at least the mechanical side of things was set up, including a fridge to help the instrument keep its cool. Some carpentry up at the Heights saw a hole in the roof expanded a bit to fit the viewing bit in. We did ask Peter Brookman… honest!

Meanwhile, John and Stevo checked all the other instruments that Herm's been looking after. That included the ones she's had in pieces, and found most of them to be in running order, or at least easily fixed. The Arrival Heights building was the tidiest it has been for years, so as well as doing a great job of running the gear, Herm had done the housework too. John and Udo left on the second plane, which was nine days after the first one. Udo's experiment is running, and only occasionally crashing its computer.

So that leaves Stevo on the ice until the silly season in October. Half of the instruments he has at Arrival Heights need either the sun or the moon to make measurements so it's been frustrating to see those clouds every day so far. Although we can't see it too well yet, the ozone hole is beginning to open above us. Reach for that sunblock.

Stevo - K085 Sky Doctor

The Other Side of Sunrise Dinner

With a ready wit, quick smile and a hint of the Irish, Patricia is a good friend of the people of Scott Base:

On the 14th of August sixty hungry Americans traveled over the hill from McMurdo to Scott Base at the invitation of twelve brave Kiwis. They were to join the New Zealanders for the Sunrise Dinner. At this, the last of the three seasonal celebratory dinners, tables were set with their usual good taste. Bottles of wine were spaced evenly along the length of each table and red napkins added a touch of color. Delicious entrees and an array of waist-enlarging, artery-clogging desserts provided hosts and guests alike with another memorable evening.

Having also enjoyed the Sunset and Mid-Winter dinners, I’d say the Sunrise Dinner was perhaps the more subdued of the three. (Or perhaps it was myself that was subdued and I didn’t notice the rowdiness of the other guests?). By the end of August, with Winfly just around the corner, we were a cohesive group who knew each other well, and the familiarity of people who have wintered in Antarctica together provided a relaxed homeliness to the festivities. As is always the case when entertained by the Kiwis, it was an enjoyable evening with conversation, good humor, and wine flowing freely. Thank you Pauline, Helen, Herm, Steve, Mork, Ray, Eric, Geoff, Johno, Michael, David, and Chris once again for a wonderful evening.

Patricia McCairen, McMurdo Station

Hobbies from Hels

As soon as people found out I was heading to the ice for a year they'd ask " so what are you going to do with all that spare time?" "Spare time... what's that?" would have to be my reply now. I managed to keep myself busy with a variety of projects and sporting activities to the point of having w-a-y too much on my plate. My main project was creating two mosaic mirrors with an Antarctic theme. It is like trying to do a huge jigsaw without the cover picture to guide you. I must have watched 'Pride and Prejudice' ten times while cutting the tiles to shape and laying them around the mirror. I constantly changed my mind as to what looked good and would often do big reshuffles. The rest of the gang would wander in and offer their opinion, some of which was way beyond my artistic capabilities. Before the gluing process I managed to dump one of the mirrors all over the floor not once, but twice! It was like one of those slow motion nightmares watching hundreds of small tiles scatter all over the floor. After letting out an almighty "Noooo!", I just stood there thinking "Why me?"

Helen with her mirrors  

Another winter project was to make a ten minute 'fun video' and a twenty minute educational video from the footage I shot throughout the summer. This turned out to be rather an epic adventure as quite often the video equipment simply refused to co operate. I would have to call in the big guns (namely Eric) to talk nicely to the equipment and ask it to give me a break.

Herm and I made a valiant effort and learnt how to touch type. This proved to be extremely frustrating for a month or so, as we took forever to type just one line. However I'm pleased to report our fingers now race around the keyboard at a rapid rate of knots.

Juggling was also another project on my hit list, which I attacked with a vengeance (for a while at least). Ray would join me during the lunch time practices and the constant thud, thud, thud of the balls hitting the floor must have been annoying for those who were trying to have a peaceful lunch-break reading. I have now mastered quite a few tricks but juggling with the elusive 4th ball was not terribly successful at all… oh well maybe next time!

Sunrise Swim

Winfly was approaching and there were a number of activities on the agenda. So it came to pass that at the base meeting of Saturday 15 August it was suggested that we ditch the sunrise swim from the calendar due to a lack of interest. "Noooo!" cries Helen who then volunteers to dig the hole. "I guess I could help dig the hole" mutters Eric, with only a hint of enthusiasm... more interested in ensuring that a tradition doesn’t die than the joys of plunging into icy waters. So it was that he ended up with a shovel in his hand on a Saturday afternoon.

It took about two hours to dig out the swim hole. A snow-bank had formed between the sea ice and the land which, at the point where the water intake for the base enters the sea, was about 1.5m deep. Eric was wary of putting too much weight on his forward foot as the RO (reverse osmosis) hole is kept clear by pumping warm Scott Base water out at the same point, undermining the ice in that place. Digging away steadily at the snow-bank (digging too fast makes you sweat, filling your jacket with moisture and ice that ends up chilling you) the extent of the solid ice became evident. There was a 1metre diameter hole around the RO leg. Once a firm ice footing was established the dugout was enlarged to allow enough space for a jump platform and place for the ladder. Steps were cut up out of the hole and so the snow work was complete.

After lunch on Sunday, Mork came down to the hole armed with a chainsaw. He cut through the sea ice to make the swimming area large enough to jump into and provided a place for the ladder to exit the water. The sea ice blocks floated in the hole and so needed to be lifted out. Mork reached into the freezing water and dragged them up onto the launch platform and Eric heaved them up and out of the area. The ladder was weighted, put into the hole and secured in place with ice screws, snow stakes and ropes... It was plunge time!

About ten people made the plunge in the end. The conditions were near perfect, about -30°C and very little wind. Mork was first in, making the most of a dry safety belt. Others soon followed making their way to the hot tub afterwards to soak in water forty five degrees warmer, for a soothing reheat.... Aaaah!

There is a strong temptation at this time of year to say "Naaaa, I can’t be bothered!" but in the end, to our credit, the Winter Crew of ‘98 kept the faith.

Bowling

It was a bit of an up and down month at the bowling alley during August. All members of the team struck some good frames with Dave managing a 181, Eric a 177, Geoff a 130 and Michael showed some of his original form with a 141. Unfortunately the performance was a little sporadic and so Scotties Strikers managed only one win for the month, so we'll only tell you about that one (that's what I like, an unbiased Press!).

In our winning game three of the team got their high scores for August giving us a very convincing win 545 to 460. We lost the other games by about 50 pins.

Nigel Cup Newsflash

As the season is rapidly coming to a close, the hockey players at Scott Base felt we could not leave without tidying up some loose ends. So we have done the right and proper thing, that is, challenged the Yanks to a re-match. The opening salvos have been fired in the war of words leading up to the big night. The replies have been somewhat stilted and lacking imagination, which just goes to show they must be scared!

So for all those sitting around home on Sunday September 13, spare a thought for us as we head into battle. Hopefully our result will be better than some other NZ teams of late. Mork

The Pool Tournament

It was a long time in the making, but finally, a day before the official start of Winfly, the Pool Tournament came to a close. The only true Scott Base team - the rest had ganged up with the enemy - made it all the way. Without hustling, Geoff and Mike 'Z' won the crown of the Antarctic pool circuit and learnt the true colour of money.

It was a hard fought, well-deserved victory. Since our team came up from the looser bracket, we had to beat the last surviving team from the winner bracket, twice. The teams played very nervously and a lot of 'sure' shots were missed on both sides. The first set of the final went to us two games to one. In the second set we managed to make a clean sweep two-nil (even if the first game of that set was won only because the American team 'scratched', sinking the white together with the 8 ball).

The Pool Tournament was enjoyed by all except for the fact that it took so long. The beginning is shrouded in the mists of early winter history but reliable sources, assisted by carbon dating, put the start sometime in March. I think that in future some sort of time limit has to be put on each game and if deadlines can’t be met, games must be forfeit.

Future Winter Over teams now face the challenge of keeping up the winning streak. One of the secrets for winning the last tournament might be found in the fact that 50% of the team were of German descent. According to well founded rumours, the other 50% of the team claims German heritage as well. So there is really no surprise that we won, it was probably a foregone conclusion. Mike 'Z' (need we have noted it!)

Q Hut Update

Now that Winfly has finally finished we have a nice pile of new joinery stacked on the front lawn (whose turn is it to mow the grass anyway? Ed). The two very large rolls of carpet are residing in the garage at present, as it is the only place big enough. These will, shortly we hope, be cut up and laid in the new bunkhouse, followed by said joinery and the other finishing touches that go with the end of a job. Who knows we may be able to christen it in some form or other before we leave! Mork

Cape Roberts

This time last year Jim Cowie (Project Manager) and Alex Pyne (Science Manager) were not at all sure that the $8 million Cape Roberts Project would go ahead. Because of the poor sea ice conditions in McMurdo Sound it was a bit of a gamble, but drilling began into the sea floor 16 kilometres off Cape Roberts in October. Things went well, with good core recovery for the scientists, until a big storm in late October. The 1.6 metre-thick sea ice in the vicinity of the 55 tonne drill rig began breaking up. It was far too close for comfort and time to call it a day!

They're back again this year! An advance party of nine committed Cape Roberts bods flew into Scott Base at Winfly. Their task is to travel overland (actually over sea ice) to Cape Roberts and begin setting up the main and drill site camps. These camps cater for ten drillers and up to fifty scientists who will come down in October.

The Cape Roberts camp in 1997

Cape Roberts is 135kms to the north of Scott Base on the Antarctic continent and the Project has positioned tonnes of equipment there over the last four years. The plan is to drill up to three holes and recover about 1,500 metres of rock core from the unique sedimentary rocks that lie under the sea just off the coast from the Cape. From these cores it is hoped that we will gain more knowledge of the Earth's ancient climate and enhance our understanding of continental drift.

The key to the success of the Project is thick and stable sea ice. This thick ice becomes the platform for the heavy drill rig. The sea ice is usually at its thickest and strongest in October and November so these are the only two months of the year that drilling can be done. It's a high-risk undertaking. The water off Cape Roberts varies in depth from 150 to nearly 500 metres.

Jim and Alex, who 'call the shots' on this project, have been sleeping easier these last few months because, unlike the last two seasons, they know the sea ice is forming up very nicely. They can monitor its growth and stability from the comfort of their offices and computers back in New Zealand. Satellites passing over the region send back infrared and other special images of the ice. In fact when the team traversed up to Cape Roberts a few weeks ago they navigated by these pictures to find the easiest and safest route.

With good sea ice, good planning and a little bit of luck the Cape Roberts Project should be a real success this year and the science that comes from it very exciting.

Jim Cowie (the frazzled Project Manager)

A Day in the Life of Eric

Eric taps out a few lines for the Nite Carte

Awareness creeps up on me slowly and I drift in and out of sleep, it’s probably about seven. There are muffled, sporadic sounds as the early risers make their way down the corridor and the squeak of boots on crystalline snow outside. There’s the odd thump from the next room as Herm wrestles control of her body from the night. Seven Thirty… BEEP.. BEEP.. BEEP... off goes my pager (which doubles as an alarm clock) and I switch on the light. The next ten minutes I think about life in general, offer a prayer for whatever strikes me as important at that moment and consider the coming day. Semi-awake I realise that time has passed and check my watch.... Aaagh, it’s twenty to eight so there’s no point in hanging around any longer, time to get into it.

After dressing I’m mostly awake as I make my way down the hall; Johno’s coming from the other end and we wave or nod a greeting. I keep silent in the corridor and tread lightly, a good habit to get into with the paper-thin walls. Ablution stop and then down to breakfast. Hmmm, looks like Mork has given up on the music this morning, pity really; it’s always fun to start the morning with something different. A cherry "hello" to those present, then take a plate. What’s it to be this morning? Maybe a bit of yogurt, some canned fruit and cornflakes. Grab a spoon and drop the stuff off at the table and come back for my mug and make a nice milky Milo. Breakfast is generally quiet although if someone comes through the door really struggling with the wake-up thing something inside of me suddenly feels super perky and the person gets a hearty greeting and a big smile... I like to make them feel good and I think it’s working! With my dishes in the rack it’s a quick clean up in the bathroom then off to work.

On with the computer and while it crunches away I check for any alarms on the Telecom equipment. A telltale red light is showing on the telephone exchange so I head back to my desk to see what’s happening. I try a software reset to no avail so it’s back to the exchange and a hardware reset on the offending circuit. It won’t be long before I’ll find out who static blasted the exchange this time; if they really charged themselves up before picking up the phone their circuit will probably be dead. Check the emails and then continue on.

Today I’ll be repairing some Tait T302’s, our older handheld radios. We broke five of them last summer but today I manage to repair three of them so we’re just about up to full strength. The team breaks for morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea and I usually use that time to read. While I’m not the most prolific reader this season I’ve managed to get through about a metre of books. Somehow, while reading (which normally absorbs me) the radar is on and if I think of something to add to the conversation I normally slip it in quietly and carry on with my book.

The working day officially ends at 5 pm but I find that I’m normally in the swing of things at the time and normally stop some time after 5:30 and go straight to dinner. Another gastronomic feast and killer desert later I contemplate those extra 4 kilos I’m carrying but decide to keep it for a while yet! My bowling was fairly mediocre this evening but the chapel planning meeting went well and we remain behind in the chapel to talk and enjoy the company of friends. I walk home from McMurdo; my little effort at remaining at least a little fit, it's also a chance to get some fresh air and ponder the wonders of the night sky.

Back at base I have a drink from the cordial machine and catch up with whomever’s up, maybe watching the end of a movie before heading to bed. I take in a passage from the Bible or another spiritual reading before punching the button on the day and drifting into the air-conditioned darkness.

Weather Watch

August turned out to be much the same weather as July. Here's how it looked in the numbers game:

Maximum Temperature -10.7°C

Minimum Temperature -46.2°C

Average temperature -28.2°C

Lowest Pressure 973.9 mBar

Maximum Wind 60 kts, South

What's HOT and What's NOT

The water down at the RO hole where we do the polar plunge is NOT (-1.8°C) and neither is the air temperature at this time of year (-30°C). Soaking in the Hot Tub afterwards however, is definitely HOT (42°C) and plenty pleasant as well!

Waiting around for a C141 out at Pegasus while it's minus forty and there's fifteen knots of wind (a wind chill of -70°C) is NOT, especially when the aircraft turns around only twenty five minutes out!

Getting 'Freshies' from New Zealand is really HOT. It had been about five months since we'd sunk our teeth into a nice apple, banana, orange, kiwifruit, tamarillo…. After we'd loaded the freshies through the outside door of the dining room, the room was NOT, but who cares!

Paper back copy compiled and edited by Eric Tripp

Internet version reconstituted from the paper-back version by Ray

www.geocities.com/coolrunnernz/

9-3-01