Casey Airdrop

Video transcript

Robb Clifton - Operations Manager

So yesterday we used a Royal Australian Air Force C-17A Globemaster to do an airdrop of needed parts into Casey station which will assist us get the runway at Wilkins, which is about 70 kilometres from Casey, open to start the summer season.

The parts that we've dropped in are to repair a snow blower and this snow blower is needed to clear the runway in order to land the first flight.

The airdrop capability is a fantastic capability for the Australian Antarctic Program. It means we can get cargo and much-needed materials into our stations without going through the effort of preparing a full runway for an airplane to land on, so for us it's a real game-changer.

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Expeditioner training

Video transcript

>> LUKE – EXPEDITIONER: I'm Luke.

>> GAVIN – EXPEDITIONER: I'm Gavin.

>> DANE – EXPEDITIONER: I'm Dane.

>> BILL – EXPEDITIONER: I'm Bill.

>> SCOTT – EXPEDITIONER: I'm Scott.

>> JOSH – EXPEDITIONER: I'm Josh.

>> ALL: And we're going to Antarctica!

[music]

>> DAVE O’NEILL – MECHANICAL WORKSHOP MANAGER:Okay, folks. We're here today to learn how to operate the Hägglunds in all sorts of terrain. What we're going to do now is immerse the machine in water which is sort of an unnatural act, I would say, to drive a passenger vehicle into a lake.

[music]

>> EXPEDITIONER: Land ahoy!

[music]

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Exploring the deep field

Video transcript

Anthony Hull: Having a traverse or ground-based capability allows us to move inland in all weather conditions and allows us to access areas that we can't traditionally access by aircraft.

Dr Tas van Ommen: It opens up the interior for a number of scientific projects, and the million year ice core is the first of these projects that we will be using that traverse capability for. You can typically drill - if you have a good season - several hundred meters in a season, maybe a thousand meters, and so we expect the millionaire core to be three thousand meters long and take at least three, perhaps four, summer seasons of drilling.

Many of the components are specialist designs that have to be constructed and built in-house and we've got the right team to do that.

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The Antarctica Experience trailer

Video transcript

Robb Clifton – Davis Station Leader and Australian Antarctic Division Operations Manager

Welcome to Davis station. We are here on the shores of East Antarctica and it’s really great to have you here, in my office.

Dr Louise Emmerson – Australian Antarctic Division Seabird Ecologist

Here we are out at Magnetic Island. At the moment we just have to be a bit quiet because there are penguins coming past.

Dr Sarah Thompson – Glaciologist and Geophysicist

If we look around us, we can see melt ponds forming on the surface. The ice flows down into the ocean where it starts to break up and form icebergs.

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Antarctic game changers

Video transcript

Mark Milnes: Hi, this is a really cool underwater robot. We've instrumented it with a 3D camera system and a really clever optical sensor that measures the amount of algae and the sea ice above it. It's a game changer because we can use this vehicle to swim around underneath the sea ice and cover a large amount of area in a very short amount of time.

Jim Williams: Hi, I'm working on the fiber optic breakout termination system. This allows us the functionality of transmitting data over thousands of meters of cable at around about a thousand times the bandwidth of a standard NBN connection all through these tiny fibers. This is a game changer for us because it allows us to control and record video live from the ocean floor.

Kym Newbery: Hi there, I'm working on the next batch of penguin nest cameras and we're sending these down to Antarctica to take lots and lots of pictures of penguins on sitting on their nests. And this is a game changer because if we had to do this with people we'll get lots of complaints, it will be very boring and they'd get very cold and hungry. So, it's a fantastic thing because these guys do it with no pay and no complaints. So thanks very much for visiting AAD Science Technical Support!

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Antarctic 48 hour film festival: Trusty Rusty

Video transcript

G'day, Rusty here. Welcome to the first ever instalment of my adventure around this great white continent. Strap yourself in and let's go!

Today we're preparing for a journey to the Vestfold Hills in search of ancient relics and maybe even some long lost inhabitants. For what we're planning takes hours of meticulous planning, preparation and of course planning.

G'day mate.

Coming along on the journey with us this week is Chris, a young bloke from the city on his first trip to the continent.

I'll be showing him the ins and outs of Antarctic travel and making sure he doesn't get himself into too much trouble.

Now, I was just explaining to this young, inexperienced bloke here one can never underestimate the importance of securing your load securely with a series of FTO-approved knots. And as any FTO will tell you, if you can't tie knots, tie half inch lots.

Now naturally there's plenty of work to be done before we can take off. Let's load up these quads and head on out.

First stop will be over to the Met building to get a weather prediction for the next few days.

Now, whilst Davis station has an array of state-of-the-art weather sensing technology and equipment, of course nothing beats years of solid outdoor experience and a good old look up at the sky. But let's go.

A quick trip upstairs and we'll find our mate Jason hard at it.

G'day, Jase.

Rusty!

Now the Met folks work pretty hard to bring us the best predictions they can but they can't always be 100%.

But luckily for us, old Rusty knows exactly what he's doing.

And, ahh... so obviously this is your weather ensemble, yeah? For the pressure for the next couple of days?

Ah, nuh, Rusty. That's a drawing from my niece.

Oh.

Let's not waste too much time though. We best be getting over to the workshop.

Here we'll find the station's best mechanics doing their finest work.

Let's hope they've got time to squeeze us in though.

Now the last thing we want in the field is any mechanical breakdowns.

That's why we've got Steve here giving everything the once over just to make sure it's tickety-boo.

Isn't that right, Steve?

Isn't that right, mate?

Now a quick step in to see the plumbers.

Alright. Oh, Jesus!

And then we'll be heading on in to comms to grab our radios for the trip.

Of course it pays to check your comms equipment before you take it out in the field because it's the only link you have back to the folks back here that can rescue you if needed.

Copy, Chris.

So, I was just telling Chris here the importance of navigating in the field and knowing where your north point is when you need it to get you out of a real bind.

So what you can do… is your trusty clock… a straight edge off any household object… so you're going to line up this with this… draw a line here to here… point that at the sun… and there you go… you're on your way.

Now it's time to be collecting one of the most important things for our trip.

Now to maintain energy in the field we need food and lots of it. Luckily for us, we've got our mate Rocket on the case to keep our bellies full. Let's go catch up.

Hey! G'day, Rocket.

Oh, what do you guys want?!

Just come to get a bit of food for our field trip.

More food! They always want food! Food! Here! Here! Food! I've had enough of youse! Get your food and get out!

Now, Rocket's always up for a chat.

But we best not waste any more time.

Now of course we don't expect to have any injuries in the field but if we do we need the right medical equipment so we'll go and see the doctor and get a first aid kit.

Hey, hey, get out!

Back down with you. We've got to find the source of this bleeding.

Now let's hope poor old Graham is soon on the mend.

As for us though, it's almost time for us to be heading off.

Now one last check of the equipment but I reckon I've got just about everything I need.

Your boots! Your clothes! Your motorcycle!

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LEGO icebreaker sets sail on its maiden voyage

Video transcript

Hi! I'm Haidar Alnasser, one of the winners of the naming of the new icebreaker, Nuyina.

I'm standing here next to the new ship which is the new Lego model. One of my favourite features is the helicopter pad, where we can land and bring down cargo.

Another amazing part of this ship is the science deck right here where they can bring scientific samples and pass them off to the science laboratories we've got in the middle of the ship.

Across from the scientific laboratories we have the living quarters for all the scientists this is where they can relax, sleep, eat on their long journey down to Antarctica.

At the bottom of the ship here we have the massive engine room which powers all of the ship and helps it sailing along the way. Another amazing part of the ship is the moon pool down here - which is a big hole at the bottom of the ship - where scientists can lower down machines such as drones where they can capture all the sea life below. We've also got a really nice cool guy here dressed as a shark!

Now that I've shown you a few of the amazing features of this ship model, come check it out for yourself.

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