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Mar

antarctic report 8 – bashing sea ice

This is the eighth in our series of reports from David Goulden working for The British Antarctic Survey. In this report Dave gives us an account of his departure from Antarctica aboard the Ernest Shackleton.

The Ernest Shackleton (ES) arrived approximately a week earlier than scheduled and surprised us all. It seems that they had finished their science and thought that they would make their way to our section of the Brunt Ice Shelf.

Arriving early meant there was yet more pressure on us to shut the base down and leave for the winter. We started working on a “job and knock” basis where finishing our tasks meant we could actually go home! As part of the building tech services team it meant that the rest of base was waiting on us for the last two scheduled days of the season. The Base commander asked us every hour or so when we would be finished.

We had a quite a few helpers that weekend and we completed the programme of works by 1630hrs on Saturday afternoon fully expected to leave the base that evening. The James Clarke Ross (JCR) was moored up next to the ES down at the creek and ready and waiting to take her passengers on board, however the storm that had been threatening to come in did and, before we knew it, both ships had slipped there lines and pulled off to deep water to ride the storm out.

We became effectively base bound for the next 3 days waiting for the wind to drop. We fnally got the nod on Tuesday night that the construction teams would be leaving and we would depart the following day.

Our trip down to the coast took 40 minutes in terrible conditions, snow storms and very poor visibility which served as a reminder of why the continent empties of research staff at this time of year.

As we pulled up at the creek we were greeted by the ES and JCR. The JCR had stayed behind to offer wind cover for the ES as she loaded – the JCR had rammed herself into the ice 100 metres beyond the bows of the ES and at 90 degrees to her effectively shielding her from the weather.

We boarded quickly and the lines were cast off by the four solitary Winterers who stood at the edge of the sea ice with a skidoo. They waved as we reversed off and steamed north at 15kns into open water and, through the mist, we watched the continent fade into the sea and sky.

It was evening before we came across solid ice. We had been “bashing” small lumps of ice all afternoon but now there was solid islands of ice blocking our path. The ship did little to avoid such floes, the officer on watch made a visual assessment of the age of the ice. If it was less than 1 year old then no action was taken. If it was deemed several years old then the ship sped up and used its 4inch thick bow to crack through the ice floes.

As night approached the ship slowed slightly and spot lights were used to illuminate the floes through thick falling snow. The Captain took up residence in the crows nest with a set of binoculars and directed the officer on watch.

During the next two days the ship hit the floes with such impact that it we were almost thrown off our feet and a couple of times it stopped us dead. The sound as the floe passed the hull seemed like someone trying to open the hull with a can opener! During one of my visits to the bridge I heard the Captain order full speed on both engines and watched in trepidation and no little fear as we closed the gap on a large floe. The impact had the officers swearing and me trying to step backwards in an attempt to avoid the blow. My confidence wavered when I noticed the deck officer who appeared too young to shave!

We encountered much wildlife in these few days in the ice floes; seal, penguins (scurrying from bergs as we bore down on them), various birds and minke whales.

At night we lay in our cabins with the porthole open watching the floes glide by and the ship shuddered as it met resistance. After drifting off to sleep we would wake in the small hours and look out over a vast tumultuous sheet of ice. Unfortunately it wasn’t long before we came across open ocean, surprised at what good time we had made.

The ES is shaped like a spoon under the water and has no discernible relative draft. This means she is particularly unstable in anything more than ice floes and pitches and rolls like a bar of soap in a bath.

The weather was OK for the first few days with the Wedell Sea staying relatively calm as we crossed protected by the Antarctic peninsular for most of it. The sea has a gyratory current that traps bergs and spins them around. It is also pretty deep with the abyssal plain being over 4000m deep.

During the afternoons the ship practices sea trails and tests it’s dynamic position system which effectively holds the ship above a certain point over the sea bed using a complex array of thrusters and satellite navigation. When the ES is not in the Southern Ocean she spends her days in the North Sea as an oil support vessel running ROVs etc.

As we neared Signy, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands the sea became more shallow and less sheltered. We started picking up some weather that made the trip a little more unpleasant: Two days of force eight gales that trapped most of the team in bunks with even the hardiest of us mooching around nursing our stomachs and sleeping. The most comfortable place I could find turned out to be the running machine – holding on with one had at all times as I mnemonically trudged through km after km. I tried the rowing machine but this made me decidedly unwell; so much so that I had to stop.

We then had a few days of calmer water as we reach the ocean convergence zones where the Antarctic meets the Southern Ocean and the sea temperature rises creating sea mist. This is prime whaling territory and is ringed by an arc of islands with historic whaling stations.

We are making good time to Stanley and may arrive early – this will do us little good as our birth is not booked until the 19th and currently Stanley is very busy with oil rig support vessels and (hopefully) the odd destroyer.

A number of us are hoping to compete in the FI marathon which is deemed to be the toughest on the circuit. I have never run a marathon before and somehow doubt 12 weeks of running in snow followed by two weeks at sea will improve my chances but it will be good fun trying!

The wind has increased again to over 40knts as we head towards the Falklands shelf. The sea is staring to build and we have two or three wandering albatrosses gliding in our wake and alongside.

- David Goulden, Aboard the Ernest Shackleton, The Southern Ocean, Antarctica

31/01 Antarctic Report 7 – baffin boots and polished copper pipes
12/01 Antarctic Report 6 – deadmen timbers and russian catering
30/12 Antarctic Report 5 – prime movers, melt tank and cricket
22/12 Antarctic Report 4 – quiet week at 75 degrees south
15/12 Antarctic Report 3 – Mech boys, adventuring and the flow
08/12 Antarctic Report 2 – Penguins, balloons, stuffing and apple sauce
06/12 Antarctic Report 1 – Nunatacs, Blue Ice and 4 beers on Saturday night

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Jan

antarctic report 6 – Deadmen timbers and Russian catering

By jonesxxx Leave a Comment

Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: Antarctica, BAS, caboose, cargo sledges, deadmen timbers, Drury annexe, Ernest Shackleton, Gallifords, Halley, ice, ice drills, ice driver, Igarka, Laws Building, Morrisons, penguins, Prime Movers, Relief barbecue, russian catering, sea ice, Shelf ice, sledge, snow cat, Wor Geordie

Convoy

This is the sixth in our series of reports from David Goulden working for The British Antarctic Survey. Last time Dave had just heard of the arrival of the Russian supply ship Igarka. This time we hear of the unloading.

After taking a leisurely breakfast over at the Drury annexe kitchen we had met at the garage at 0745 where I read the instructions from a white board pinched from the kitchen in the Laws building.

We were then given 15 minutes notice to get packed and be ready for the Relief party heading down to the coast. I jumped on my skidoo and raced back to my bunk room where I threw everything in a bag and went to the pick up point where I was assigned a snow cat for the 40min journey to the coast.

We arrived as the Russian supply ship Igarka was steaming over the horizon trailing a plume of black smoke from its funnel. It arrived an hour later and spent the rest of the day charging at the ice in an attempt to break off the jagged ice so that it could moor square to the edge.The 3no 100t cranes only have a lift reach of 12m and so it could not afford to be anything but snug against the sea ice.

A stubborn lump of ice refused to break away from the shelf so we ended up with 6 Jiffy ice drills with 2 men a piece stitch drilling a line of holes in an attempt to assist in breaking off a section of ice. Each man was roped up as they were standing in sea water whilst drilling.

Eventually at 1900hrs after a final successful charge at the ice, the ship was able to moor up and we accepted her bow lines, dug holes for deadmen timbers and wire strops and secured her bow. We handed over to the night shift at 2100 hrs and headed home to base for dinner and bed.

The Relief rotation started that night. We were the first point of contact for the cargo with sea ice drivers delivering sledges to us at the ship side where we loaded and stropped all the material. We had a small caboose with a paraffin heater and 4 beds in with us on the sea ice edge – this acted as our refuge throughout the day.

As one sledge departed another pulled in from its waiting point at the mooring lines and made its way to us. The loaded sledge travelled off the ice and up the ramp to the Shelf ice where the full cargo sledges were lined up so that they could be collected by the Prime Movers 3 or 4 at a time and delivered to base.

As the Prime Mover left the Shelf ice depot it radioed Halley Comms and gave a description of the cargo which was logged.The cargo was then deposited on the Cargo lines at base from where it would be distributed.

The first shift went amazingly well and we moved 40 sledges. We had 6 holds to empty each with its own crane. The holds had “‘tween” decks. This meant that you emptied the top half and then opened the hatches below (the floor) and started work on the lower hold below. My job was banking and slinging loads and strapping the cargo. We got to recognise the Russian vocab for “up” and “down” and developed a rapport with each shift. They worked extremely hard for us considering they were on a day rate (20,000k a day for the ship and crew not inc fuel)

We were bunked on the Igarka and had a hot bed rota with the night shift. The cabins were OK but reminded me of travelling in China and the hostels common to the country. Each cabin had its own WC/shower room. One of the best things was the fact that you could open the windows!
The russian catering was, as expected peas and spam for breakfast, but the crew were very friendly and perfect hosts. In the evenings we explored the ship and its holds. They had a swimming pool and gym on board but the pool was empty and covered in oil and the Gym had parts of cargo hold bolts as dumbbells!

Because the unloading was non-stop we had a couple of days of cargo moving where we ate on the run and were fed with coffee and chocolate by the sea ice driver’s mate. The shelf ice kitchen caboose (our canteen staffed by one of the chefs) opened at 1300hrs. If we managed to get back we would be served much welcome soup or sandwiches. More often than not we were sent flasks of soup down and ate between loads. The Russians were on an 8hr shift.

Loading a Challenger cat onto the Ernest Shackleton for return to Cape Town

The Ernest Shackleton (ES) turned up 2 days into the Igarka relief. She moored to the bow of the Igarka and was dwarfed by the bulk carrier. The Shackleton is much more manoeuvrable, having bow and stern thrusters, and she was able to shave off sections of the sea ice.

Our access to the Igarka was via a Wor Geordie which was dropped at 1930 hrs with the n/s crew and not dropped again until 0700 hrs the next morning with us hanging on. It was a great way to get to work as but you had to hang on!

Some friendly penguins joined in the Relief. They would sit in the middle of the operation squawking and franticly moulting trying to rid there down feathers in favour of their mature and waterproof coats. They could not leave the ice for the sea until they had moulted.

We were moved over to the ES half way through the week.The accommodation aboard made the Igarka look like a prison ship. I have never been on a cruise ship but if I had I would expect her to look like the Shackleton. We had en suite facilities and our own lounge and TV room. The food was fantastic. We could dine on 5 course meals and I took the opportunity to eat my weight in fresh fruit and soft cheese. We even had real milk (well UHT).

The Igarka was unloaded in 4.5 shifts and departed playing the Russian national anthem on its deck speakers and the crew waving as she steamed away. She was on charter to BAS until she left the sea ice zone.

We then moved to emptying the ES. For this section of work I was to be a sea ice drivers mate which meant riding a skidoo shadowing the snow cat driver in case the cat fell through the ice. We all carried/wore life jackets and throw lines which are mandatory when on sea ice.

The ES relief was run by the ES bridge officers. Protocol was such that you had to call them up to request permission to come along side or depart with the loads. Each wagon would be held at the mooring lines until its predecessor was ready to depart. It was a much more formal arrangement and slowed the process down somewhat. We were also back on BAS work schedules so stopped for smoko and lunch for an hour each day.

As far as I was concerned I was quite happy to dawdle the days away as it meant we had more time eating and sleeping on the ES – we very nearly had the ship to ourselves for the period and there were a few days when I was actually bunking on my own for the first time since leaving the UK.

Once the ship was unloaded we began backloading waste from base. This took a couple of days and we then started wrapping up our makeshift shanty town. On the last day the remaining 5 of us had our last meal on the ES (we were treated to lobster and prawns) before being assigned a snow cat for the journey home. As we loaded up the sledges in preparation for the convoy journey we were handed a can of beer for the hour trip. It was a very satisfying trip home. We had completed the largest relief in the shortest time. We’d moved over 250 wagons and travelling over 4000km over the sea ice. We arrived back at base at 2200hrs and were given the next 2 days off.

Saturday night was the Relief barbecue night with a free bar supplied by Morrisons (Gallifords) and the RSA teams supplied and cooked the meat. It was a great night but most of us were more than a little tired after 10 days of non stop working and shift changes.

Our next task will be unloading and categorising the cargo and carrying out repairs and logistics work before the end of the season – we are half way through today……

- David Goulden, Halley Research Station, Antarctica

30/12 Antarctic Report 5 – prime movers, melt tank and cricket
22/12 Antarctic Report 4 – quiet week at 75 degrees south
15/12 Antarctic Report 3 – Mech boys, adventuring and the flow
08/12 Antarctic Report 2 – Penguins, balloons, stuffing and apple sauce
06/12 Antarctic Report 1 – Nunatacs, Blue Ice and 4 beers on Saturday night

Dec

Antarctic report 2 – Penguins, balloons, stuffing and apple sauce

By jonesxxx 3 Comments

Antarctic Monkey

This is the second in our series of reports from David Goulden working for The British Antarctic Survey…in Antarctica. As yet our correspondent has not been able to send any pictures but to the right is an artists impression of what Mr. Goulden might look like, were he surrounded by snow.

I am starting to settle into life down here and am not feeling so tired! We completed the construction of the Drury annexe and have moved onto the construction of the Laws annexe. This is much smaller and we hope to have learnt from the mistakes that we made on the first project.

We were expecting a storm this week and it teased us tentatively before finally whipping into full force with 30 kn winds and snow. Whenever the wind blows the System tends to raise the temperature here and we are treated to temperatures of about 0 deg. The wind chill, however, makes it feel considerably colder.

I spent a morning with the scientists on the Simpson building and learnt all about ozone measurement. If all the ozone taken from a column of air above the building here, from sea level to 50km high, was captured and stacked together it would only be 3mm thick! Ozone is measured in units called Dobsons and the banning of the CFC that cause the ozone molecules to stop replenishing has gone a great way to reducing the green house affect.

The next day I set off the daily weather balloons with Richard; they will transmit temperature, pressure and relative humidity back to the station before swelling to the size of double decker buses and exploding about 20km high. They have some great maps in the building as well as some cool weather charts and data.

We have started doing more surveying work and we are using an EDM to survey the snow profile under the Laws platform. This enables everyone to understand how the snow will build up over the next year and how the platform will be surrounded.

Normally the building is jacked up each year and re-levelled which can involve a team of “steelies” with jacks. It is no mean feat and can take some time to carry out. The issue is that the decision has been made not to increase the height of the platform again before Halley VI is ready.

The problem here is the effect of the prevailing wind on the snow around the buildings. Wind whistles around a building leaving it clear within approx a meter or so but, at the front, as the wind speed increases, it picks up the snow and raises the level. While at the rear it will drop some snow in the back eddy. This will continue to happen until the snow reaches the top of the building where it will fill in the hole entirely. Buildings are always placed at 90 deg to the prevailing wind to help this.

Snow management is, therefore, a big deal down here. Wherever something is placed, snow will re-form and level around it creating “wind tails”. It is one of the reasons that the container lines are so spaced out as we must allow for the sculpting of snow around an object.

The same is happening to the Laws platform to some degree as it is affected by the surrounding structures. Currently it is about 1.5 m above the snow level which allows the wind to sweep under it and scoops snow out from below the platform.

The true level of the shelf is known as the Bondu and is the true level of the shelf with the accumulated annual snow deposited on the continent every year. Antarctica currently only receives this amount of snow and is a dry continent. Trying to survey this natural level means working further and further away from the man made structures to get to this natural level area. This is what I have been surveying. I suppose it is the mean ground level and is a level that has not been affected by Man’s intervention!

The Igarka, possibly the ship Dave refers to

We have had another influx of people onto the base – some of them I recognise from Cambridge. The base swells in size in preparation for the “relief” effort that comes when the ships arrive. We are 20km from the coast and hence it can take weeks to unload each vessel and requires men and machinery working in 24hr shifts. The whole aim is to unload the construction materials asap to allow the construction team to get on with VI and avoid having to come out again for another build season. The
cladding panels will be arriving on a Russian owned transport ship named the Igarka.

The Ernest Shackleton is due to rendezvous with the Igarka in Cape Town and guide her through the ice to a safe mooring in Antarctica however we have been told that the ES has been delayed and hence the Igarka will have to make her own way in to us – she is not an ice breaker and was relying on the ES to forge the route. We do have the ability to send one of our Basler aircraft up to view the sea ice but the ice is so changeable and it is not always possible to ascertain ice thickness from the air.

If the Igarka cannot make it through then we will all be waiting for the ES to steam here and pilot for the Igaka and this will mean that the construction team will have less time than they had hoped for to complete the cladding to the units.

All the modules have now been dragged out of their winter snow holes and are lined up and ready. A sample jacking of one of the units was carried out today with the legs being raised, snow packed underneath each and then the unit lowered.

A penguin

Our Sunday outing today was a trip to Windy bay to see the emperor penguins. This involved an open sledge ride for the 20k or so to the creek and a roped descent down to the multi-year sea ice. There is little sea ice this year and thus not much room for the penguins to raise their young – many of them are stuck in smaller sections of wind blown sea ice out in the palermini.

We pick up skidoo suits for the journey (sleeping bags that you wear!). It is good to see the sea again. It is calm and steely grey and looks bitterly cold.

The penguins are noisy and smelly and fear us little. The young ones still have there down feathers and will not leave the ice until they have moulted. They vary in size from 300mm to 600mm and some seem to have been left to perish. Abandoned, it seems, they stand feebly on their own.

From our vantage point we can see penguins swimming under water. They seem to metamorphose into fish and speed through the water and under the ice. Then use both their wings and there beaks to lever themselves out of the water and up right. Skewers and Antarctic snow petrels investigate the small colony. The petrels gliding over the ice cliff.

We spend the day here, before heading back on the sledge making sure every inch of skin is covered as the spindrift from the tracks of the snow cat dust us continually on the way home. We end up a mass of dozing bodies being slowly buried by the snow on the journey home.

I headed out for a run with Justin and Adrian before dinner – we seem to all be content with the pace which is good and I enjoy this much more than the last one. The temperature is -7 and the ice/snow is that much firmer under foot. We talk of doing this a couple of times a week and fitting in some cross country skiing too.

Sunday dinner is fantastic as always and I go for the roast pork, stuffing, crackling and apple sauce. This week I am sure we will carry out some more surveying and perhaps do some work on the sea ice cabooses. The ships are not due until then end of December now.

- David Goulden, Halley Research Station, Ant-bloody-tarctica

06/12 Antarctic report 1 – Nunatacs, Blue Ice and 4 beers on Saturday night

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