Science battles the elements

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A C17 Globemaster leaves McMurdo Station for Christchurch. Vince's Cross and Hut Point are in the foreground and the Royal Society Mountains are visible in the background. Photo by Tony Harrison.

As you read this I will hopefully be packing in readiness for my journey back to New Zealand. I say hopefully because the weather has been very unhelpful for flying. Most flights from Christchurch have been able to get through, and after delays at the beginning of the season they are on schedule.

On the Antarctic continent it is another story. Flying has been much more difficult. The weather may be good for flying at one place, but aeroplanes cannot land at the other, or vice versa. By now there should have been six flights to the South Pole, but so far there have only been three.

Last week, a group of 50 Australians arrived here to be flown to the base at Casey. The first group left on Monday, after Saturday's flight had to turn back, because of weather, when they were within 30 minutes of landing. The aeroplane was in the air for about seven hours before landing back at McMurdo.

This means the population of McMurdo has boomed. There is limited space, and more travellers are due this week, which is causing a headache for the housing people - so much, the flight scheduled for Monday with another 50 passengers was delayed a day.

Among the group here for the Australian mission is Margot Rhys-Jones, from Queenstown. Margot is not new to the Antarctic, having previously been a chef at Scott Base.

Other field camps serviced by air include Siple Dome and the WAIS (West Antarctic Ice Sheet). Getting people to these sites has been difficult. At the WAIS Divide, they are drilling for ice core samples. As ice freezes it captures the atmosphere at that level.

From this study it is possible to work out what the air was like at the time it froze. It all helps to tell the story and fill in the gaps about global warming and climate change, whether it is fact or fiction, or part of the cycle of naturally recurring weather patterns. At a time many years past, trees grew in the Antarctic, and dinosaur fossils have been found.

Last Saturday we celebrated Halloween. All kinds of costumes suddenly appeared. My fellow chaplain made use of a green US Navy chaplain's uniform and with a little help from me, went as Father Mulcahy from M*A*S*H.

I have a deep admiration for those first explorers who came here.

On the wild days, and we had another last Wednesday, some people must work outside, but they can return to the heated buildings, and some only have to go out for meals and to bedrooms. Those early explorers only had a tent for shelter, and did not have the benefit of today's clothing.

Whether looking at the sky or drilling into the ice or sea bed, scientists here are discovering more about the origins of our planet and the universe every day. And because of the care that is being taken to protect the Antarctic and its environment, that research will continue and be of benefit to future generations.