In Brief

New stamps celebrate anniversary

Australia Post has issued a set of 20 new Australian Antarctic Territory stamps to mark an important anniversary for Australia's Antarctic program. 2001 is the 50th birthday of the ANARE Club, founded in 1951 to provide a forum and network for all those who travelled south with Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions (ANARE). The stamps commemorate a century of Australian achievement in the Antarctic, beginning with the first mainland wintering party of 1898-1900, through Douglas Mawson's expeditions of 1911-1914 and 1929-1931 to the modern ANARE era with a continuing Australian government program. While each stamp tells its own story, it is also a part of a continuing narrative across the century. For the first time on Australian stamps, text explaining each image is printed on the back of the stamps.

Antarctic exhibitions attract thousands

The Australian Antarctic Division staged a photographic exhibition in Canberra's Parliament House to mark the anniversary of the first Antarctic Treaty meeting held in Canberra in 1961. The exhibition was held in the Presiding Officers' Gallery from 28 April to 30 May and featured the images taken by Australian expeditioner-photographers.

The AAD also participated in the annual Australian Science Festival at the National Convention Centre in Canberra from 1 to 5 May. The Science Festival aims to promote science and technology to society through exhibitions, films, workshops and keynote talks. Professor Michael Stoddart, ANARE Chief Scientist, and Dr Stephen Nicol, Antarctic Marine Living Resources (AMLR) Program Leader, gave lectures on Australian research programs in the Antarctic, and Rob King from the AAD's AMLR program organised an interactive display, including a live krill aquarium, that attracted about 40,000 visitors over the five days.

The AAD's travelling exhibition "Beyond the Ice", a fresh look at Antarctic science and the big questions it seeks to answer, continues its tour of rural and regional Australia. Now 18 months into its program, the APEX-hosted exhibition is currently in Lithgow, NSW, along with the NSW State Library's travelling exhibition on the photography of Frank Hurley.

Six honoured in Australian Antarctic Medal award

Distinguished service by six Antarctic expeditioners has been honoured in this year's award of the Australian Antarctic Medal. Contributions in field glaciology, telecommunications, logistics, engineering and community leadership and service have been recognised in the award, announced by the Governor-General, His Excellency the Honourable Sir William Deane AC, KBE, on 21 June 2001.

This year's Medal awards - part of the traditional Antarctic celebration of Midwinter - have gone to:

• Alan Elcheikh, of South Hobart, Tasmania, for an outstanding and sustained contribution to Australia's glaciology program over ten years;
• Dr Joe Johnson, of Garran, ACT, for distinguished service as station leader at Casey and Davis and his contribution to feasibility studies for an Antarctic air transport system;
• Dale Allan Main, of Yarramalong, New South Wales, for distinguished service in telecommunications and scientific collecting in Antarctica and at Macquarie and Heard Islands;
• Ian John McLean, of West Footscray, Victoria, for outstanding support to scientific field workers and station communities;
• Peter Sprunk, of Miriam Vale, Queensland, for his outstanding effort and innovation in support of scientific fieldwork and station communities; and
• Michael Stone, of Wundowie, Western Australia, for distinguished service in managing fuel supplies and helping maintain station morale during a difficult year at Casey in 1999.

'Just tell them I survived'

"Just tell them I survived", a book that celebrates women's participation in national and private expeditions to Antarctica, was launched at the Australian Antarctic Division on 4 May. Author Robin Burns (pictured) based this comprehensive account of women in Antarctic expeditions on 130 interviews with women from many different backgrounds, from the first women scientists to visit Macquarie Island in 1959, right through to contemporary 'winterers'. Robin is Senior Lecturer in Education at La Trobe University and her research has previously been in areas of women's issues and the sociology of knowledge and learning. In 1995 she received a ASAC grant for Antarctic fieldwork, and has been concentrating on this area since then.

(Allen & Unwin, rrp $24.95, ISBN 1865083828)

Antarctic environmental approvals

Anyone planning to visit the Antarctic or subantarctic should be aware of relevant national and state environmental protection measures. On the AAD website at http://www.aad.gov.au/default.asp?casid=3735 can be found information about permit and environmental protection requirements under Australian law. The information is mainly for research scientists, but also informs non-government visitors on their obligations.

Activities needing a permit include entering a protected area or the Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands, using a helicopter, disturbing seabirds or marine mammals, interfering with listed species, collecting or sampling biological and geological specimens, using weapons and importing and exporting specimens. Some permits cannot be granted unless the activity has been subject to an environmental impacts assessment (EIA) and authorised.

The web-based information complements other related Commonwealth and State departmental websites such as Environment Australia, Australian Quarantine Inspection Service and Tasmanian Parks & Wildlife Service (who manages visits to subantarctic Macquarie Island). Links to these related websites have been provided.

Energy-efficient refrigeration wins engineering award

Keeping food fresh in the Antarctic is harder than it might seem, but an invention by Australian Antarctic Division engineers has made it that much easier while making the refrigeration process more energy-efficient.

A new 'Coldpump' cold-store system now in use at Mawson station, 5462km southwest of Hobart, has been given the top award in its category in the Institution of Engineers Australia's Tasmanian Engineering Excellence Awards for 2001.

The Coldpump system has markedly improved the taste and freshness of vegetables, fruit and dairy products kept in storage for long periods.

Food storage is a critical aspect of maintaining year-round stations in Antarctica. With ship visits to stations suspended for up to nine months through the non-summer period, food must be kept for a very long time. At this time of year, outside temperatures fall to well below zero.

AAD engineer Murray Price was faced with the challenge of developing storage conditions that improved the taste of food towards the end of the storage period while reducing the demand on energy. Energy to drive refrigeration plants is currently provided by diesel-powered generators - to be largely replaced in a few years by wind-generated power.

Murray knew that perishable foods can be stored safely for long periods only at precise temperatures and at a high relative humidity. Putting aside conventional refrigeration compressors and gas, he looked for a system that could draw directly on cold outside air to cool stored food.

The new system comprises external radiators and a system of pipework, pumps and valves which expose coolant (a glycol-water mix) to low external temperatures then deliver it to coil units inside the coldstore to regulate the internal temperature.

On the relatively rare occasions when external temperatures rise too high to maintain the desired storage temperature, a standard compressor-driven refrigeration plant is brought into play.

New hydroponics facilities for Australia's Antarctic stations

A new hydroponics unit was installed at Casey station in the 2000-01 summer. Casey was the first Antarctic station to receive a purpose-built hydroponics facility, which offers the latest technology and a much-needed increase in growing space. Two insulated 20-foot shipping containers were joined together and the interior lined with stainless steel to provide an easy to clean surface. The unit is entered through a cold porch, which provides protection for the growing rooms and space for general storage and outdoor clothing. It was assembled in Hobart, and shipped to Casey early last summer for fit-out by the summer trades group. Ray Paul from Access Hydroponics in Melbourne designed, supplied and documented the unit. Ray (Mawson plumber 1995) was involved in setting up for hydroponics at Mawson in 1995. He has also trained ANARE expeditioners in hydroponics techniques and supplied station units for the past few years, all useful experience for designing the new facility. He has designed a similar unit for Davis station, which is due for installation this summer. It incorporates minor modifications, based on Casey's experience this year. At Mawson the recently vacated Paint Store (ex Auroral Observatory) will be refurbished and fitted out, using the Casey model, but redesigned to fit the existing building.

Dedicated work in all station hydroponics facilities has provided a wide variety of salads, vegetables and herbs for expeditioners over the years. It is hoped that new facilities will allow the production an even wider range and volume of produce, with fewer of the pitfalls experienced in the old units. They should also ease the workload for the hydroponic gardeners, who dedicate much of their spare time to the cause.

Casey's record of produce since the start of planting on 13 May certainly augers well for the future: 64kg of vegetables and herbs were produced in 5 months, including tomatoes (Grosse Lisse), Cos and Mignonette lettuce, herbs (basil, parsley, chives, dill and thyme), snow peas, cucumbers, spring onions and silver beet. The success with tomatoes is particularly pleasing, (38.6kg harvested from 24 plants) as there was a relatively poor success rate with tomatoes in the other (old) facilities, despite a lot of hard work.

AAD, Collex join in clean-up effort

The Australian Antarctic Division has joined forces with a leading international waste management company in a multi-year effort to fulfill a long-standing commitment by Australia to clean up abandoned waste sites in Antarctica. An agreement between the AAD and Collex/Onyx Australia - a subsidiary of French-based Vivendi Environment - will result in Collex providing 240 purpose-built containers to transport waste collected from Antarctic sites. After their initial use at Australia's Casey station, the containers will be made available for future work by Australia and other Antarctic nations.

The Minister for the Environment, Senator Robert Hill, said the agreement provides a boost to Australia's work under the Antarctic Treaty to remediate past waste sites in Antarctica. "Australia is committed to protecting the Antarctic environment, and Collex brings a wealth of experience in waste management to this long and important task," he said.

The Collex-provided containers will initially be used to return rubbish from a site near Casey station, called Thala Valley, which for over 20 years through the 1970s and 1980s was the station's main waste dump. The clean-up, to begin next year, follows a two-year study of the site by AAD scientists to determine how best to remove waste from the area without creating further environmental impacts. The study will continue into the clean-up process, monitoring the work and obtaining data for future work at other sites. AAD crews at Casey will sort waste and load the containers at the tip site. Collex will treat and dispose of the waste on its return to Australia.

The cooperative endeavour between the AAD and the French company Vivendi continues a record of cooperation between Australia and France in protecting the Antarctic environment which dates back to their joint instigation of the historic Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty. Specialist equipment employed in this exercise will later be made available to other nations for similar work elsewhere in Antarctica.

Station Leaders for 2002

A management consultant, a career pubic servant executive, a school deputy principal and a scientist with a PhD in hydrology make up one of the most experienced leadership teams of Australia's Antarctic program for many years.

All four of the 2002 station leaders know the job from previous experience. Michael Carr (Mawson 2000, Macquarie Island 1998, and Davis 1994), returns to Davis; Joan Russell, (Macquarie Island 1994, Casey 1990) returns to Macquarie Island; Marilyn Boydell (Casey 2000) tackles Mawson and John Rich (Macquarie Island 1990) will spend the year at Casey.

The challenges facing them include conducting a tractor traverse in support of a major scientific program in the Southern Prince Charles Mountains (Marilyn); coordinating operational support for the largest of the Australian Antarctic scientific programs (Michael), managing the final stages of a successful feral animal eradication program (Joan) and overseeing establishment of the infrastructure for air flights into Antarctica to connect with the other Australian stations (John).