This week at Mawson: 17 November 2017

This week, eighteen new expeditioners landed on the sea ice at Mawson to kick off the summer program.

The seabird science team will continue the long-term monitoring of Adélie penguin populations at Bechervaise Island as Australia’s contribution to the international CCAMLR Ecosystem Monitoring Program.

The team of scientists will travel to islands along the Mawson coastline and to the Framnes Mountains to collect data on other seabird species including the cape petrel and the snow petrel. This data will contribute to ecosystem-based management of fisheries, assessing climate change impacts, and identifying conservation needs of, and threats to, Antarctic seabirds.

We also welcomed the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) team to provide specialist maintenance to the radionuclide monitoring station at Mawson. This maintenance program ensures Mawson station will continue to be certified by the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organisation as part of the global monitoring network.

A multi-skilled trades and technical team also joined us to support infrastructure and upgrade projects throughout the summer.

We’re also joined by photographer Martin Walch who is here on an Arts Fellowship who will no doubt capture the changing beauty of Mawson station and surrounds with time lapse and still photography throughout the summer.

We look forward to highlighting the work of the expanded summer team over the coming months.

Until next week

Kat, Station Leader

Although the weather wasn’t great on Sunday, it was pretty much overcast but with light winds and warm temps, Mal and I headed over the Welch Island for a look–see.

There are lots of Adélie’s nesting but the place doesn’t look full so there are few more to come.

There were also quite a few snow petrels checking out the cracks in the rocks to nest. They are very fast flyers and very hard to get photos of when they are on the wing, and very shy on the ground.

Until next time,

BJ