This year at Davis we are short on scientists who would ordinarily be frantic, trying to get their work done during the busy summer period. This year, due to COVID-19, it's just us, 24 remaining winterers who have now been given the chance to do what we can to assist the scientific community back home with some of their work.
In many ways, it's kinda what you sign up for with the Antarctic Program, being creative with the resources you have to produce an outcome or solve a problem. This week's problem involved completing an underwater survey of an area that may be used to build a new wharf for Davis station as part of a longer term upgrade to the station's infrastructure. Last year we had a team of Naval Hydrographers in inflatable rigid boats and two expert Benthic Ecologists with an underwater ROV (robot) for jobs like this. So what did we have this year? A plant operator, a GoPro, a 7m long pole, a drill, some rope, and a lot of duct tape.
We'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story....
