Speaker: John Griffiths explorer & meteorologist
Important note: These are the author's personal recollections and interpretations, which are likely to suffer from errors and selectivity. There is no endorsement from the IET or the speaker.
On a warm and sunny evening, it seemed incongruous to be transported down to the frozen wildness of Antarctica. Yet it was well worth the journey to get an expedition into meteorology in extreme environments.
What a hostile environment to operate in:
- On a floating ice-shelf, over 100 km away from the nearest base and 1000 km from any other land mass
- With temperatures from -56 to -1 degC, 3 months of no sunshine and 3 of sun (when 24 hr shifts are possible, if so desired!), very windy (often > 60 mph), low ozone
- A logistical nightmare, all transport is costly, only a light plane runway (for small items), a port 12 km distant, inaccessible in mid winter
- The ice-shelf is threatening to split off, so the base is closed at present
Why bother? UK needs to keep a presence and to help set the rules. The weather models need its data and the other science / experiments are useful
The Halley base has had quite a history: From a wooden hut in 1956 (which got buried), to a steel-reinforced version in 1967, to wooden huts underground in an egg-shaped steel container in 1973 (noisy from the crushing down of the ice), to an egg-shaped structure placed on the snow in 1983 (which warped and got crushed - a dangerous place to be!), to three wooden structures on jackable steel legs in 1990 and now version VI. This is a movable, jackable string of units: Labs, offices, station support facilities, doctor, entertainment centre (Bar, pool table etc), sleeping areas. All the pieces were brought in and assembled over 5 years. The video shown of the construction really put the effort into perspective.
It's currently closed for the year and will be moved to a safer place on the ice, as the ice is speeding up because of climate change (now 1.7km/year).
John took us through life and work on the base with many humorous anecdotes and observations. It's like a prison without walls or boundaries; it's dangerous outside, with crevasses etc. Fancy taking a knife to cut your hand off, in case of emergency? The need for piles of chocolate and the benefit of a good chef! With a crew of 14 representing all the trades - they really have to get on well! They need to keep themselves entertained through the long winter nights - including naked runs at -52 degC and a BBQ outside!
Oh yes, the job was to create the new weather station, Jaws (Just Another Weather Station) which worked in the end. Then to launch a daily weather balloon and report back data, keeping the sensors clear of snow and ice.
Many interesting questions were answered by John before we all moved up to The Riverside Room and the marvellous roof terrace with its spectacular evening views for a cooling drink and socialising.
We owe great thanks to John for entertaining and informing us, as well as to Marianthe Evangelidis for organising the event and to the IET & Savoy Place staff for supporting us so well.