King Edward Point Diary – October 2011
31 October, 2011 BAS Bloggers
The beginning of October saw a hefty amount of snow still with us here on the fair isle of South Georgia. It was in these snowy conditions that visitors arrived …
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Bird Island Diary — September 2011
30 September, 2011 BAS Bloggers
The final Wanderer chick survey for the season kick-started September. The vast majority of chicks survived the constant batterings handed out by the squalls and blizzards that regularly accompany life …
Halley Diary — September 2011
30 September, 2011 BAS Bloggers
We are fortunate enough at Halley to have an Emperor Penguin colony at “Windy Bay”, about 20Km from base. Naturally everyone is keen to see them. So I thought I …
King Edward Point Diary – September 2011
30 September, 2011 BAS Bloggers
A busy month at KEP for fishing and a lot of snow fell making for some great skinning at lunch times and skiing at the weekends. I started the month …
Bird Island Diary — August 2011
31 August, 2011 BAS Bloggers
The weather has had the biggest impact on life at Bird Island this month. Southerly winds kept the temperature well below freezing causing the streams around base freeze into beautiful …
Halley Diary — August 2011
31 August, 2011 Brett Walton
By far the most important event that occurred in August was the appearance of the sun above the horizon for the first time in over three months signalling the beginning …
King Edward Point Diary – August 2011
31 August, 2011 BAS Bloggers
Greetings to all you dedicated avid KEP web diary readers. I’m sure you have had some healthy verbal meals served up to you by previous entries and have been digesting …
North Sea 2011
3 August, 2011 BAS Bloggers
The Shackleton has been through quite a lot since you last heard from us down south. We departed Stanley in April and headed North for warmer climes. We had an …
Halley Diary — July 2011
31 July, 2011 BAS Bloggers
So what went on in July? To be honest with you I’m now writing the diary and its the end of August so I’m having to trawl the memory banks …
Rothera Diary — July 2011
31 July, 2011 BAS Bloggers
Cold and Icy I am sitting in my office in The Bonner Laboratory looking out over the frozen sea towards the snowy mountains and remembering why it was such an …
King Edward Point – July 2011
22 July, 2011 BAS Bloggers
The month kicked off with cold weather and a continuation of our midwinter celebrations — interrupted at the time by shipping and work commitments which often occur outside of normal …
Bird Island Diary — June 2011
30 June, 2011 BAS Bloggers
June on Bird Island is dominated by the Midwinter Celebrations. Midwinter is celebrated at research stations throughout Antarctica, as it represents the turning point in the long, dark winter months …
Halley Diary — June 2011
30 June, 2011 BAS Bloggers
The following events took place between 1st June and the 30th of June Welcome to the June diary, June has been a busy month for all of us on station, …
King Edward Point Diary – June 2011
30 June, 2011 BAS Bloggers
June at King Edward Point was a varied month. It featured the most important celebrations of the Antarctic calendar, events of astronomical significance, and was punctuated by holidays, fishing vessels …
Rothera Diary — June 2011
30 June, 2011 BAS Bloggers
Some Things Never Change Spending June in the Antarctic gives you time to think a little. Darkness, blizzards and the all important task of polishing my midwinter’s present often left …
JCR Refit 2011
9 June, 2011 BAS Bloggers
The James Clark Ross entered Portsmouth Naval Base on Wednesday 1st June to start the annual refit period. The James Clark Ross entered Portsmouth Naval Base on Wednesday 1st June …
Bird Island Diary — May 2011
31 May, 2011 BAS Bloggers
Life on Bird Island was made a little more interesting with the onset of an unforeseen blizzard which impacted smack-bang in the middle of the monthly Wanderer chick survey. The …
Halley Diary — May 2011
31 May, 2011 BAS Bloggers
The sun sets for the last time May already… wow. One thing I’ve noticed since arriving down at Halley is just how quickly the time has flown by. It doesn’t …
King Edward Point Diary – May 2011
31 May, 2011 BAS Bloggers
A month of holidays, parties and a little bit of work! The two bank holidays of course coincided with some deep depressions bringing miserable weather however, Rob, Tommy and myself …
Rothera Diary — May 2011
30 May, 2011 BAS Bloggers
It’s been two months since the RRS Ernest Shackleton left us, and left 20 of us alone at Rothera Research Station to look after the facility and maintain the science …
Bird Island Diary — April 2011
30 April, 2011 BAS Bloggers
The whole base (all 4 of us!) turned out on the 1st of April to conduct the Wandering Albatross chick census. The aim is to provide information on the number …
King Edward Point Diary – April 2011
30 April, 2011 BAS Bloggers
After a busy couple of months with the rat eradication project the start of April felt much quieter. The beginning of the month brought with it our first real drop …
Rothera Diary — April 2011
30 April, 2011 Mike Brian
With memories of those who left us in March becoming more distant by the day, April was a month of “getting into the swing” of the Winter regime proper. While …
Bird Island Diary — March 2011
31 March, 2011 Stacey Adlard
March is a month of change on Bird Island. It is the transition month between summer and winter. This is my last month on Bird Island, after 2.5 years here, …
Halley Diary — March 2011
31 March, 2011 Christopher Walton
Well it was almost a year to the day that I was on the Ernest Shackleton and waved goodbye to the winter team of 2010 as they stood on the …
King Edward Point Diary – March 2011
31 March, 2011 BAS Bloggers
Had it not been for the fact that there was a great deal of activity on base throughout the month of March, it would have been apparent to the “first …
Rothera Diary — March 2011
30 March, 2011 Malcolm Airey
Good morning, outside world! As I sit here typing this, the first few snowflakes of winter are starting to fall outside the window, and Rothera is well and truly taking …
Halley Diary — February 2011
28 February, 2011 BAS Bloggers
February started with a bang. As part of BAS winter training we have an annual major incident scenario to make sure we are all ready and well rehearsed just in …
King Edward Point Diary – February 2011
28 February, 2011 BAS Bloggers
With some incredibly warm and sunny weather everyone on base has been making the most of the magnificent scenery, taking photos and getting out walking in the mountains whenever the …
Antarctica 2011
17 February, 2011 BAS Bloggers
After a rather long leave of absence the “Shackleton Blog” is once again back in action. With a crew change completed on the 29th January in Stanley, behind us, we …
Weddell Sea
15 February, 2011 BAS Bloggers
For the past few days we have been steaming through the Weddell Sea, stopping every now and then to do more science. Yesterday was a day of coring using the …
RRS James Clark Ross Cruise JR244 to the southern Weddell Sea
11 February, 2011 BAS Bloggers
RRS James Clark Ross Cruise JR244 to the southern Weddell Sea British Antarctic Survey scientists on this cruise are carrying out marine geological and geophysical studies to determine the long-term …
Read more on RRS James Clark Ross Cruise JR244 to the southern Weddell Sea
Bird Island Diary — January 2011
31 January, 2011 Agnieszka Fryckowska
The new year took us all by surprise here at Bird Island. Not only did it come around very fast but it also reduced the number on station quite significantly. …
Halley Diary — January 2011
31 January, 2011 BAS Bloggers
Happy New Year from Halley base Antarctica! As 2011 was rung in, I was ‘fresh off the boat’ (RRS Ernest Shackleton) having sailed from the UK eight weeks previously. In …
King Edward Point Diary – January 2011
31 January, 2011 BAS Bloggers
January 2011 and another year beings at King Edward Point, South Georgia… The New Year was welcomed in with a fantastic three course meal, drinks and party atmosphere a’flowing, and …
Bird Island Diary — December 2010
31 December, 2010 Joe Corner
For 13 months, I have been living and working at Bird Island, and now yet another Christmas is quickly dawning on us. For me this will be my fourth Antarctic …
Halley Diary — December 2010
31 December, 2010 BAS Bloggers
The summer season at Halley is the busiest, most important time in the Halley V calendar. Whilst the science and maintenance activities continue all year round it is during the …
King Edward Point Diary – December 2010
31 December, 2010 BAS Bloggers
A busy month on base with lots of peaks being bagged, cruise ship visits, pups being born and the ex winterers leaving to get home in time for Christmas. At …
Bird Island Diary — November 2010
30 November, 2010 BAS Bloggers
Welcome to Bird Island When I told people that I was going to live on a tiny island in the sub-Antarctic for two and a half years, most of them …
Halley Diary — November 2010
30 November, 2010 Penny Goodearl
This is my first visit to Antarctica. Being here is an adventure. Getting here was an epic journey. At 23.30pm on 11 November we left Cape Town on board a …
King Edward Point Diary – November 2010
30 November, 2010 BAS Bloggers
November was my first full month on the Island. A whirlwind month, despite being unusually calm, warm, and sunny. Experienced winterers recounted tales of woe & snow; of clouds in …
Rothera Diary — November 2010
30 November, 2010 BAS Bloggers
On 2nd November BAS’s first aircraft of the season arrived, the DASH 7. The October weather had been somewhat inclement, and there had been delays in flight arrivals. For the …
Bird Island Diary — October 2010
31 October, 2010 Andrew Wood
This month the diary is mainly penned by the “new arrival”. I arrived in late September heralding the start of spring (but somebody forgot to tell the weather man). A …
Halley Diary — October 2010
31 October, 2010 BAS Bloggers
So here we are the final month of our winter. I will finish it how I started, by writing the diary. It has been a great winter with so many …
Bird Island Diary — September 2010
30 September, 2010 Joe Corner
A year on Bird Island can be compared to that of the school year back in the UK. The academic year starts off in September, and continues all the way …
Halley Diary — September 2010
30 September, 2010 BAS Bloggers
The month of September, so often associated with dew on the ground, the rustle of crisp leaves and woodsy aromas back home in the UK, brings a starkly contrasting ambience …
Rothera Diary — September 2010
30 September, 2010 BAS Bloggers
Diving and music As the marine biologist at Rothera, I had an unusual start to my career here. I flew in late in February this year and after a whirlwind …
Bird Island Diary — August 2010
31 August, 2010 BAS Bloggers
August. The month that marks the mad scramble to the finish line — the end of winter. Or maybe it marks the mad scramble to the starting line — the …
Halley Diary — August 2010
31 August, 2010 BAS Bloggers
August already and according to the Halley planners, as it stands, we will soon see our winter finish in just shy of 2 months, but all is not lost! Our …
King Edward Point Diary – August 2010
31 August, 2010 BAS Bloggers
A door opens, a draught builds (the furious winds try to gain entry) and a Jenga tower of to-do lists, scrap paper of words I still haven’t looked up, wrappers …
Bird Island Diary — July 2010
31 July, 2010 Joe Corner
This month I thought I would have a bit of a change from the usual diary entries. So: A day in the life of a Bird Island Techie. 0700 One …
Halley Diary — July 2010
31 July, 2010 BAS Bloggers
I thought I had drawn the short straw having to write the diary for July because, with no birthdays to celebrate and mid-winter festivities behind us, I suspected there might …
King Edward Point Diary – July 2010
31 July, 2010 BAS Bloggers
“Oh! Ma ma ma, Oh! Ma ma ma, Oh! Ma ma ma- My July” Fellow Irishman and musician from County Offaly, Mundy, and his song “July” is the first thing …
Rothera Diary — July 2010
30 July, 2010 Iain Rudkin
July — potentially a period of anticlimax following the events of midwinter and all the furore that surrounds it, but this year July has been one of my favourite months …
North Sea July 2010
10 July, 2010 BAS Bloggers
The RRS Ernest Shackleton has been through quite a bit since you heard from us. The trip north from the Falklands and arrival in Grimsby, a crew change and Dynmaic …
Bird Island Diary — June 2010
30 June, 2010 BAS Bloggers
by Claudia Mischler, Albatross Field Assistant June here on the little island was a fantastic month. We finally got a nice thick snow layer shortly before mid-winter. The white stuff …
Halley Diary — June 2010
30 June, 2010 BAS Bloggers
Well here is the June diary, a chance to write something about something? It is now my chance! I’m Craig Douglas Brown, the electrician at Halley and I have the …
Rothera Diary — June 2010
30 June, 2010 BAS Bloggers
Midwinter The month of June is one of great celebration in the Antarctic; it is the month when the days are at their shortest and the sun remains below the …
Wilkins Ice Shelf breakup video
18 June, 2010 Andrew Fleming
Wilkins Ice Shelf Breakup from AHF on Vimeo.
Halley Diary — May 2010
31 May, 2010 Timothy Gee
Changing temperatures Welcome to the May 2010 winter diary. My name’s Tim and I am the wintering vehicle operator mechanic at Halley. So what happened in May then? Well May …
King Edward Point Diary – May 2010
31 May, 2010 BAS Bloggers
The start of the month seemed to bring a health drive as most members of base had agreed to take part in a virtual 6,000km race across Antarctica, from the …
Bird Island Diary — May 2010
30 May, 2010 BAS Bloggers
May is the month of transition between summer and winter on Bird Island. The last of the summer staff left Mid April, so by May we were starting to get …
Rothera Diary — May 2010
30 May, 2010 BAS Bloggers
Diving & Discos Hi everyone and welcome to May’s diary, my name is Jon James and I am the Diving Officer here at Rothera. My job involves organising and maintaining …
The Antarctic Peninsula And Back…
3 May, 2010 Adam Bradley
Radio Officer Patrick and the Crew got off the Mighty Ernest Shackleton in Stanley, Falkland Islands in Mid-March. Pat told me he was doing a monthly blog and would I …
Bird Island Diary — April 2010
30 April, 2010 BAS Bloggers
April began as April begins every year on Bird Island, with the Wandering Albatross egg/chick survey. Wandering Albatross begin laying their eggs during December and the final egg is laid …
Halley Diary — April 2010
30 April, 2010 BAS Bloggers
Welcome to the April diary. My name is Matt and I am the wintering Genny mech this year. So what has happened in April? We have had our first proper blows, with …
Rothera Diary — April 2010
30 April, 2010 Nathan Bowen
Beach parties and Barbee sauce So we have reached the official start of winter… what, already? How did that happen? Surprisingly it seems time really does pass quite quickly down …
Bird Island Diary — March 2010
31 March, 2010 BAS Bloggers
The month started with two days of gentoo penguin chick counts across the island; this involved most of the folks on the research station heading out to all the breeding …
Halley Diary — March 2010
31 March, 2010 BAS Bloggers
So here we are at the start of another winter season at Halley! Since late Feb the numbers on base have dropped from 111 to 11. It has been a …
King Edward Point Diary – March 2010
31 March, 2010 BAS Bloggers
On the last day of March there is much licking of wounds to the body and the pride, tending of mild strains, aches and pains, and a general gingerness to …
Rothera Diary — March 2010
30 March, 2010 BAS Bloggers
March — the month of change in an Antarctic context! Welcome to March, a month in the Antarctic calendar that signifies change, a rising sense of panic and relief. Depending …
Data links
12 March, 2010 Andrew Fleming
ESRIN rolling archive Kiruna rolling archive PO.DAAC NSIDC MODIS Rapid Response LP.DAAC GloVis NESDIS NEODC NEODAAS BADC BODC CEH EIDC NODC NASA Ocean Color NASA Giovanni AVISO GHRSST NGDC MOA …
Back at Halley
28 February, 2010 BAS Bloggers
Well the Science section of our cruise duly came to an end and we made or way out of the Weddell sea pack ice towards Creek IV at Halley. The …
Bird Island Diary — February 2010
28 February, 2010 Stacey Adlard
February began with the whole island Wandering albatross census. This year we only have 697 active nests, which is sadly the lowest number on record. Very strong winds during January …
Halley Diary — February 2010
28 February, 2010 Christopher Walton
It was the beginning of February and I had now been in Antarctica a full 2 months as one of the new summer chefs. The time was flying and everything …
King Edward Point Diary – February 2010
28 February, 2010 BAS Bloggers
February was a very busy time at KEP, it began with the aroma of fish and a hint of diesel perfuming the base, signalling the return of Team Fish from …
Rothera Diary — February 2010
28 February, 2010 BAS Bloggers
As I sit here sipping Earl Grey in the comparative comfort of the surgery it is hard to believe that just a few weeks ago I was sipping tea in …
Signy Island Diary — February 2010
28 February, 2010 Andrew Webb
February 2010 started off with a distinct end to the summer weather! Snow fall and temperatures failing to reach anything resembling a summer day in Wales prevent the snow from …
Weddell Sea Wanderings
15 February, 2010 BAS Bloggers
Our Science program kicked into gear quite smoothly and we have had a very high success rate with our buoy retrieval efforts so far. Our first task was to …
Cape Town and Back
7 February, 2010 BAS Bloggers
Well Cape Town has come and gone and we are we are entering the pack ice once again after a rather rough trip down. Our trip North was largely uneventful …
Bird Island Diary — January 2010
31 January, 2010 Joe Corner
Well, 2010 has commenced, and for the third year in a row I have been in the Antarctica to see the New Year in. New Years Eve started with all …
Halley Diary — January 2010
31 January, 2010 BAS Bloggers
Dear Diary, January, as a month, is usually looked forward to not a lot particularly in the UK where the usual rain and fog takes a break to be replaced …
King Edward Point Diary – January 2010
31 January, 2010 BAS Bloggers
The year two thousand and ten started, as many do, with a party. The New Year’s celebrations at King Edward Point commenced with a formal dinner followed by the inevitable …
Signy Island Diary — January 2010
31 January, 2010 BAS Bloggers
We started off the year with a day off work and a wonderful four course meal prepared by Dirk Briggs. Despite starting with a day off work, January would turn …
Rothera Diary — January 2010
30 January, 2010 Nathan Bowen
Power Downs and Parties The year is 2010, the month is January my task to write about the trials and tribulations of base life down at Rother research station. Well …
Creek 3 Halley – Discharge
11 January, 2010 BAS Bloggers
New Years Greetings to you all. After a difficult final passage through compacted pack ice we finally broke through into open water and made our way down the coastline towards …
Polar View links
7 January, 2010 Andrew Fleming
General Polar View project site – www.polarview.org Polar View Antarctic node – www.polarview.aq Google Earth links Envisat ASAR WSM N1 files – last 24 hours Envisat ASAR WSM N1 files …
Southward Bound 2009
31 December, 2009 BAS Bloggers
Capt Marshall’s team joined the ship in Immingham, in late November, which was a surprise to us all as we had been due to join in Cape Town. We departed …
Bird Island Diary — December 2009
31 December, 2009 BAS Bloggers
December tends to be the month when everyone thinks of Christmas and a time to kick back and spend time with family and friends. But down here on the little …
Halley Diary — December 2009
31 December, 2009 BAS Bloggers
I’ve now been here just over two weeks. As people become familiar with each other, we get another plane load of new faces and names. For a short while, the …
King Edward Point Diary – December 2009
31 December, 2009 BAS Bloggers
The month was started by the new members of the team going field training for 4 days, Ali Massey, Susan Woodward Tom Marshall and Matt Holmes to Sørling Valley. Tom …
Rothera Diary — December 2009
31 December, 2009 BAS Bloggers
Fresh Marmite November’s diary ended with Mike returning to base on the RSS James Clark Ross, having spent most of the previous month loitering in the Falkland Islands. As the …
Signy Island Diary — December 2009
31 December, 2009 BAS Bloggers
Hi, I am Antony Clements. I am the facilities technician here in Signy. Back home I live in a small village in North Dorset, where I work as a plumber. …
Bird Island Diary — November 2009
30 November, 2009 BAS Bloggers
It is my first visit to Bird Island and I have heard nothing but glowing comments about this place. I was worried that this would lead me to disappointment but …
Halley Diary — November 2009
30 November, 2009 BAS Bloggers
November started with all hands on deck as we prepared for the first plane to arrive. The electrician Robert (wrongun) Johnson, plumber Robert (zebedee) Dunn and myself were busy de-winterising …
King Edward Point Diary – November 2009
30 November, 2009 BAS Bloggers
Outside my office window an elephant seal weaner (weaned pup) has propelled itself caterpillar fashion (it’s termed “humping”) across the fresh snowfall and unsuccessfully attempted to gnaw through the base …
Rothera Diary — November 2009
30 November, 2009 BAS Bloggers
A Glimpse of Life on the Outside At the time of volunteering to write this month’s entry for the Rothera Diary, I had no reason to suspect that I might …
Signy Island Diary — November 2009
30 November, 2009 BAS Bloggers
Welcome back to Signy Island in the first diary entry of the 2009–10 season. The summer season on Signy began on the 6th November when Matt (Base Commander), Bruce (Field …
Bird Island Diary — October 2009
31 October, 2009 BAS Bloggers
October is ‘peak season’ for the flying-bird fieldwork team on Bird Island. Both Derren and Stacey have spent long days in the field monitoring the arrival of the black-browed and …