Lots of things have been happening the last two weeks here at Davis Station. Due to the Aurora Australis (Ship) not coming to Davis we had a visit from the US Air Force with their C-130 Hercules. They picked up the majority (35) of the summer expeditioners and took them to McMurdo where they departed for Australia on the Skytraders A319. Two summer expeditioners remain which will be picked up by the Zue Long, a Chinese ship possibly tomorrow that will take them back to Australia. Then there will be 16 of us wintering crew remaining on station.
Our winter station leader with the C130 crew overlooking the icebergs
The weather is slowly getting colder, temps anywhere between -10.5 to +0.9 degrees cel. Not including the wind chill factor, which has been around -17 in recent hours. Shy of blizzard conditions yesterday we had winds of 29kts (54kms/hr) gusting to 43kts (80kms/hr), visibility of around 1km at some stages.
In the far distance you can see the sea ice which is progressing it's way towards the station. Won't be long before I can say I can walk on water.... (Frozen of course!) It's nice to see some small icebergs and pancake ice in the waters near the station. At some stages it looks like the ice will stay, then gets blown away by the strong sometimes gale force winds.
Pancake ice along the shores of Davis Station. (Black and White).
The suns rays at first light across the vast ocean with a subtle orange and yellow glow casting shadows onto icebergs behind.
We also farewelled the Heli-Res crew that had done a fantastic job during the season providing not only transport for the expeditioners but a major advantage in transporting goods to and from station and remote locations. It was such a privilege to be able to get a few helicopter rides for field training and work purposes. Seeing this part of Antarctica from the sky really puts things into perspective and makes you realise how big this continent is.
The majority of the winter expeditioners at the heli-pad farewelling the Heli-Res crew.
The team from Heli-Res and their 3 helicopters.
Make sure you check out their website at www.helires.com.au
The first of 3 helicopters departs Davis enroute to Mawson station.
The other night after dinner I wondered out to take a few photos. I'm glad that I did because I came across this adélie penguin standing on top of this snow which made for a perfect photo opportunity. It looks like the penguin is wearing a coat with a hood, it is actually malting. This young penguin will loose all of it's baby feathers and be replaced with adult feathers. During this process the penguins stay on the land as they are not waterproof and cannot go swimming or catch fish.
Adélie penguin looking into the distance.
That same night about an hour before sunset I captured this next photo. The suns rays peaking through the dense clouds above illuminating a line of stratocumulus below. Earlier I had heard one of the large icebergs breaking up and crashing into the ocean below, I had thought it was the iceberg with the hole in the side, but it had been there for a few days already.
(Black and white photo).
Wondering around the waters edge I was looking at all the small bits of ice that had washed up. For some reason this small piece of ice looks like a bear.
(Black and white photo).
Wondering around the waters edge there are some magnificent little ice shelfs overhanging the rocks. I love the icicles precariously dangling over the sea below.
(Black and white photo)
As mentioned before it was very windy and at times close to blizzard conditions, but we did not have a blizzard. The following conditions must be met for a blizzard to occur:
- Persistent gale force winds above 34kts for more than 1 hour
- Visibility less than 100m
- Temperature below 0 deg cel.
Being the storm chaser I am, I had to go out to experience the harsh conditions Antarctica has to offer. Spare a thought for these cute adélie penguins, all puffed up braving the weather outside. Stay tuned for video....
4 adélie penguins in front of the station sign with directions to all places around the world.
Don't forget to check out "This week at Davis" at the AAD website for all the latest station news.
Stay tuned for more updates ~ Aaron.