A trip on the glacier

The snow and avalanche study establishment people have put up an antenna at a place called Sankalp point about 5 km from here. It is located on the glacier, on a 1 km thick layer of ice. We trekked down all the way. We had to ascend the glacier first. It is quite steep and since there has been minimal fresh snow deposition this year, it was all ice. So we were slipping all the way. Things were easier once we reached the plateau. There were small crevasses all over, but none were dangerous. All over, the radiation from the sun had raised ridges wherever it hit. We took about an hour and a half to reach Sankalp point. There is a living module, Banjara, over there, meant for use during convoys to the ice shelf. We reached that place and had a picnic there. The temperature was at least 10 deg less than Maitri, and the temp at Maitri has dropped to - 18deg. So it was damn chilly. Our breath froze on the balaclava; ice also froze on my glasses. I was shivering so much that I was unable to even hold my cup of tea. Banjara is very well equipped. It has sleeping arrangements for 10 people, toilets, cooking, heating, TV- everything. It was very well stocked. So we had some snacks and juices followed by beer. But it was damn cold and windy inspite of the bright sun. We spent an hour there and then trekked back. Once we were on our way, we did not feel so cold. On our way down the glacier, it was so slippery that we were unable to walk. It was also dangerous. So we sled down all the way. As a result I am aching all over now. It was so slippery that there was no way to break our slide. But it was a lot of fun.

The Idiosyncrasies of the Antarctica Sun

As soon as one crosses the Antarctic Circle one notices the sun doing strange things. We had crossed the Antarctic Circle on 31st December 2007 during the peak of the austral summer. After that the sun did not set till January last week. It used to dip in the west at around midnight, and then it again started to rise from the south. It used to move crazily in the sky thereafter. We used to fool ourselves into believing that it is night by drawing the curtains and turning on the lights. After the sun started setting, the duration of day reduces by about 5 min everyday. Initially, it used to set in the west and rise in the south-west. Then it began rising in the south and setting in north. Presently, it rises in the east at around 7:15 AM and sets in the north at around 3:15 PM and barely rises above the horizon. Its rays are cold and cast long shadows throughout the day. Soon, as the days get still shorter and the austral winter sets in, it will rise in the north and set in the north itself. Then around 20th of May, it will set in the north and rise again after 2 months. This period is the polar night. Although the sun is cool throughout the year, it is brighter than anywhere else. One gets sunburnt more easily here than back home in India. Sunscreen lotion and snow goggles are a must here. That is due to less particulate matter in the atmosphere, less water vapour and water droplets and reflection of the sunrays by the snow. We are now gradually winding up our outdoor activities in preparation for the polar night. The summer camp has closed down long back like the doors of the Badrinath shrine. It will soon be buried in the snow. The convoys will also be over by then, the workshop will close down. The station will be fully stocked up. All maintenance work will also be over soon.

The Convoys

The most challenging task that awaits any Indian Antarctic Expedition has finally started- The Convoys. The ship carrying our supplies and rations for the whole year drops them off on the ice shelf about 90 km from here. The winter team runs convoys to fetch them. The convoys usually start in mid March after the summer team leaves and continue till mid May when it gets too cold and windy to work in the open. But this year, due to excessive ice melting and lack of adequate fresh snow deposition even till mid April, the route was unsuitable and convoys had to be postponed. Maitri is located in a rocky area surrounded all around by the continental ice cap. The vehicles used for convoys are the Pisten Bullys. These are tracked vehicles meant for running on snow. In the initial 5 km of the route when the convoy is leaving Schirmacher, the glacier is not very thick. Poor ice conditions have caused the underlying ground to become exposed at places, making the route uneven and nonnegotiable. Our rations were getting exhausted and delaying the convoy any more was not possible. So the logistics staff undertook a daunting task of constructing a 5 km kutcha road by clearing the rocks and boulders. This work was done in temperatures well below freezing point with 30 knots wind worsening the situation. After the road was constructed, the next task was to see if the trailers could be taken out without overturning. This was also achieved and 4 trailers were dropped off at Sankalp Point. There are 3 trailers already present on the ice shelf, taking the total number to seven. A full convoy was now possible. The generator named Jeevan Jyoti for the living module named Banjara had still to be moved out. This was the most crucial task because the generator for heating and electricity in Banjara, without which life would be really unpleasant with temperatures on the ice shelf being 10° less than at Schirmacher (remember my experience on the glacier). The loaded trailer might still topple over. This task was also achieved. The convoy has finally left today, 15th April at 5AM with 6 Pisten Bully’s carrying 9 people including one doctor. The entire station was up all night to prepare for the convoy. Rations were loaded, meals for the journey were prepared, vehicles were started early to enable them to warm up, aarti was performed before departure. The convoy is expected to return in 3 days if weather permits.

A pointer to the future?

The above were the words of our leader today- a veteran Antarctican. It is almost mid April now. The winters should have been right on us now. The place should have been covered with snow. But hey, what’s happening? The lakes here in Schirmacher Oasis usually freeze completely by February end. But this year they froze in mid March. The skuas- the eagle like predatory birds found here usually leave around mid March to March end. But they are still here. The skuas that were here all through the summers have left but some other skuas have come from elsewhere. Could this be similar to the delayed migration of birds or the early end to hibernation of polar bears or early appearance of foxes seen in the Arctic? Usually by this time Schirmacher Oasis experiences good blizzards that lead to heavy snow deposition. No exposed rocks can be seen. But this year although we have had one blizzard, but there has been minimal snow deposition. The gaps in the glacier caused by melting during the summers have not even started to fill up. Inspite of 98 knots winds there was no snow on one occasion. This is not a normal phenomenon during the winters. The Dakshin Gangotri glacier at one end of Schirmacher has been observed to be receding rapidly by Indian scientists since the early 80s. earlier the rate of recession was 0.77 meters per year but of late it is 1.1 meters per year Finally, the temperatures. This summer the temperatures went up to 8 deg Celsius, which is very unusual. This caused excessive ice melting. So much so, some of the Ilyushin- 76 flights run by ALCI had to be cancelled due to excessive ice melt on the runway (the runway here is on a 2 km high glacier). Towards the end of March, the temperatures had dropped down to -18 deg Celsius. But since then, there has been as upward trend. During the last bad weather period that ended yesterday, the temperatures rose to +0.3 deg. This at a time when they should be in the region of -20. Are these normal climatic variations or are they a part of the normal warming trend seen all over the globe. Is global warming affecting Antarctica finally? I wish I could search for answers online. But there is no internet available here.

The ship of the icy desert

No roads, no cars, buses, trains, aircrafts- nothing. No traditional means of transport are available here for transporting men and material. The paradox is that often there is no destination either. But vehicles are nevertheless, needed for the above purposes. Since Antarctica is a vast continent covered by layers of ice many kilometres in thickness, normal means of transportation cannot be available here. No roads can be constructed on ice.

So the only means of transport here are tracked vehicles. The tracks, like those of a tank, offer a good grip on the slippery ice and hence prevent skidding of vehicle. They also distribute the weight of the vehicle over a much larger surface. So they are helpful in negotiating crevasses. Unless the crevasse is as big as the vehicle, it won't harm the vehicle. Moreover, if the crevasse is covered by snow and hence not visible to the naked eye, it won't give way under the weight of the vehicle because of the even distribution of weight. The tracked vehicles are also capable of negotiating treacherous landscape and steep inclines. It can smoothly pass over an uneven surface and into deep gorges.

The tracked vehicles used at Maitri are the Pisten Bulleys. These are available with variable power, ranging from 270 to 660 BHP. But since we don't have to negotiate mountains, 330 BHP is sufficient for us. These have sufficient power to pull a 20 tonne container on a trailer. Some Pisten Bulleys have a cabin attached to it, which is used for transporting people. The front seat can accommodate 2 people, including the driver. The cabins are centrally heated, the inside temperature reaching 30ºC. Trailers can be hitched to the rear of the Pisten Bulley for transporting containers. The Pisten Bulley also has a blade in front, something like that of a bull dozer. It is meant for clearing snow for small stretches. It can also be used to push a vehicle that is trapped in snow from behind. Some Pisten Bulleys have a bucket instead of a blade. It is used to carry luggage, as a bonnet of a car. The Pisten Bulley can also be modified to be used as a snow clearance vehicle, like that used to clear the roads after heavy snowfall in the Himalayas. But vehicles are not needed here.

The maximum speed of the Pisten Bulley is around 25- 30kmph. But we rarely drive at that speed to avoid damage to the tracks. This is because most of the landscape here is hard ice and not soft snow. It is also very uncomfortable to drive on. Because of the extremely low temperatures here, the vehicles run on Aircraft Turbine Fuel. Any other fuel would freeze.

The main purpose of the Pisten Bulley is to run convoys to the ice shelf for fetching our supplies for the year.

The trailers used here are also tracked. Earlier they used to be on sledges. But since a sledge needs more power to pull them, they were abandoned. The Banjara is still on a sledge because of its dimensions.

The Russian Station, Novolazarevskaya, near here, uses the modified T-72 tanks for the purpose of transportation. They continue to use sledges instead of trailers.

An International Airport in Antarctica

A few days back, we had a very exciting experience. The summer team
left that day. The choppers made their final sortie. And the ship left
India bay. That marks the official beginning of our wintering. The
previous winter team also flew back to Cape Town yesterday night. We
went to the Novo runway to see them off. The Novo runway is about 9 km
from here. We went there on pisten bulleys, which are tracked vehicles meant for plying on snow.

There is a huge 100 metre high glacier right behind our station that stands like a wall. We have to ascend it to reach the runway. Although it was quite steep and full of moraines and small crevasses, but the piston bulley was able to negotiate them
without any stress. Gradually, the terrain evened out. All landmarks were slowly disappearing from view. Soon, there were no landmarks to be seen- only a vast expanse of snow all around. If one is left there, one will not be able to distinguish one direction from another. Soon, we reached a cluster of tents that I realised was the 'airport.' In the distance, we could see an IL76 aircraft standing on the icy runway. We had reached a plateau. It was damn chilly there. Inspite of all the polar clothing I was wearing, I was chilled to the bone. After all, we were standing on a 2 km thick
layer of ice. It was the most fascinating airport I will see in my life. For miles and miles there was nothing but ice. The airport was like a tiny speck in the vast unending landscape. One could just gaze at the spectacular sights all around. We parked our vehicle in the 'parking area', and then the luggage was loaded on to sledges pulled by snow scooters upto the aircarft. We went to the cafeteria in the nearby tent and had plenty of fresh fruits and chocolates- things we will yearn for all the year round. The facilities were rudimentary, but the best that could be managed under the conditions. The passengers were taken to the aircraft on sledges like they had taken the luggage.
This is the only "international" airport in the world where you can walk right upto the aircraft and actually board the plane to see off your near and dear ones. The runway was on blue ice, which is very slippery. We had to walk on it with extreme care.
The IL 76 is a Russian airforce transport aircraft with capability to land on ice. It did look like a transport aircraft from inside- crude and rough. But it was comfortable and heated- thankfully. After a round of goodbyes, we started back for Maitri. On our way back, one of the vehicles started slipping on the descent to Maitri as it was very steep. It had to be towed down. The exercise took about 2 hours, but was handled efficiently by our logistics team. We finally reached back around 12 midnight.

About the Station-II

The station has many complexes. The main station is self contained and has living quarters for the winter team. It faces the north. Behind the station lies the generator and fuel complex. The summer camp lies to the north-east, about 1.50 metres from the main complex. It consists of a number of small huts and is not compact like the main station. Most of the laboratories are situated in the summer camp. The workshop area is located about half a kilometer away to the northwest. It is meant for repair and maintenance of pisten bully vehicles. The containers containing most of our non food supplies is also located close to the workshop. It is known as Kuber Bhandar. The pump house, called Trishna, is located in the Priyadarshani lake and is used for supplying water to the station.Dozer point is the point from where permament ice starts. The area beyond that is always covered with snow. It is about 1.5 km away. Previously, the pisten bullys, bulldozers and cranes had to be parked there, since beyond that the snow ends and there was no road from dozer point to maitri. It was all rocky. But now, a kutcha road has been constructed by removing all the rocks and boulders and leveling. So pisten bullys can come right upto the station. Sankalp Point is located about 5 km away, on the glacier. Its importance is that some instruments of the Snow antennae are situated there, and also, the living module for the convoys- Banjara is dropped off there when the convoy returns. The only other permanent station close to us is the Russian station, Novolazarevskaya. It is about 4 km away. Of late, the Antarctica Logistics Company International (ALCI) has started operating IL-76 flights from Cape Town to Dronning Maudland.The “airport” is called Novo Runway. They cater to all stations in Dronning Maudland and also the tourist traffic. The flights operate from November to March.

About the Station-1

I will give a brief idea about our station.

Maitri is situated in a 13×5 km region of exposed rock called Schirmacher
Oasis, which is located in central Dronning Maudland region of east
Antarctica at 70°45'S and 11°44'E . Schirmacher Oasis is called so because
it is an oasis of exposed earth in the huge continental ice cap that covers
98% of Antarctica. It is somewhat of a depression so the temperatures are
around 10°C less than the surrounding glaciers. The wind velocity is also
less. We are about 2500 km away from the South Pole and around 100 km from
the coast.

Schirmacher is a hilly area with the highest point being Trishul hill,
rising about 300 mtr above sea level. The other prominent hills are Shivling
and Bataiya hill. Schirmacher has about 120 lakes, all of them glacier fed.
The water supply of our station also comes from one such lake called the
Priyadarshani Lake or the Zob Lake. These lakes do not support life except
for a few micro-organisms and mosses because of the extreme climate.

Schirmacher was once covered by the glacier, but gradually, the glacier
receded and the underlying earth was exposed. The imprints of the glacier
movement can be seen on the rocks. One can make out the direction of glacier
movement from these imprints.

The temperature during summers is about 0°C and during winters is -30°C.
The most feared thing here are the blizzards. The wind velocity during
blizzards is about 100 knots. Such winds would cause immense damage in the
civilized world. The blizzards continue for about 4-5 days at a stretch and
many times one blizzard follows the other in quick succession. They lead to
immense snow deposition, often covering half the station in snow. The pisten
bullys get completely buried in snow. The snow deposition here is due to
blowing snow from the coast, rather than actual precipitation. We are
restricted indoors during the blizzards. The peculiar thing about the winds
here is that they always blow from the south or the south- east. It's as if
they don't know any other direction.

The most memorable 200 meters

Before I move ahead with my story, I want to share an experience I had here today. I am staying in the summer camp of the Indian Antarctic Station- Maitri since my room is being renovated. My room is around 200 meters from the main station. And I walk to and fro 3-4 times everyday. Yesterday there was a strong wind of about 40 knots, touching 66 knots at times. Towards night, there was a mild snowdrift as well when I walked back to my room for the night. When I woke up in the morning and opened my door to walk back to the station, I was awestruck by the most wonderful sight that I have every seen. There was snow blowing all around and visibility was reduced to a few meters. I could not see our station. And all around there was a lovely blanket of snow. Just outside my door, 2 feet of snow had piled up, and in the few seconds that I opened my door, a considerable amount had blown into my room as well. I stepped out with a bag containing my laundry and an empty water bottle and started the walk to the station. My legs sank knee deep in the snow. As I trudged to the open area, the thickness of the snow decreased but I was taking the direct impact of the wind now. I felt as if the wind would blow me away. I had to make no effort to walk. The wind carried me. The blowing snow also started to hit me directly. It was not the kind of snow that I have seen till now. It appeared dry and powdery, and the flakes were tiny. They can be described as cold talcum powder. The snowfall was horizontal rather than vertical. They were bombarding me into blindness. I turned my face away from the direction of the wind. It can be called a horizontal waterfall. The snow was accumulating in a peculiar manner. There was minimal snow accumulation on the windward side of anything- stone, pebbles, building, boulders, and vehicles as the wind would blow away any snow. But there were huge snow pileup on the leeward side. So one side of my cabin was in 2 feet of snow, whereas on the other, there was hardly any snow.
I could not see the station at first. But I was walking in the direction of the station. Then I saw the outline of the station when I was a few meters away. I as I entered the station and turned around to close the door, I paused for some time to take in the beauty of Antarctica outside- our first brush with winters and my first real Antarctica experience. The blizzard is still continuing as I am writing, the wind is blowing hard as ever, making a sound of a noisy generator. I must soon start the walk back to my room, but this time, its dark outside. I cant wait to start.

The Antarctica experience so far - II

The choppers began their sorties soon after, ferrying men and material to and from the Indian Antarctic Station, Maitri. The summer team was shifted first to enable them to begin their work early. Then it was time for me to leave for Maitri. That chopper ride was an awesome experience. I had my video camera ready. The chopper took off and was flying over the fast ice. Then it reached the ice shelf. It was an awesome amount of ice. All around the chopper was just ice. It was broken by shades of blue, which was the melting ice. We could see some crevasses and streams down below. Some small lakes had also formed in places. But these were just temporary. The landscape was absolutely featureless. If one were dropped off in that place, one would not be able to tell one direction from the other, something similar to a desert. It was all level ice. Then I saw some hills in the distance. They were the Schirmacher Hills, the region where Maitri is located. It was an oasis of exposed land in the icy wilderness of Antarctica. Hence, it is also called Schirmacher Oasis. This was all rocky, brown terrain, interspersed with numerous glacier fed lakes. Then I saw my home for the next one year- Maitri. It resembled a small village built around the Priyadarshani Lake, also known as Zob Lake. We landed on a dusty area on which a small helipad was constructed. The station was at time bustling with energy. There were around 80 people there at that time- old and new winter teams and the summer team. The young scientists from the summer team were working overtime to finish their projects well in time and also taking time out to explore the region as much as they could. The old winter team was biding its time, desperate to get home, and the new team was full of trepidation about the long winter ahead.
The summer team and the old winter team have since left in mid Feb, coincidently on the same day. Our wintering has begun and we are settling down and preparing for the winters. The temperatures are dipping fast, the lakes have frozen, the weekly flights from Cape Town have stopped, the tourists have all left, the skuas- the eagle like birds found in these parts have left for their winter abodes in the sub Antarctic islands, the days are shortening and the nights are lengthening, and it is getting windier days by day. Soon it will be total darkness for a period of 2 months. There is still one and a half months for that. We have to run convoys to the ice shelf, a 100km away to fetch our winter stocks before the polar night sets in. Time is short and we all have our individual goals to achieve before the next summer team starts arriving in November.