The Australian Antarctic Division invites people to join its popular ‘Icy Tweets’ sessions and talk drones, droids and robots in Antarctica as part of National Science Week.
A scientist, electronics engineer, weather observer, and future concepts manager will share some of their Antarctic adventures during the Q&A sessions on Twitter — simply follow @AusAntarctic to follow or join the conversation.
Sea-ice ecologist, Dr Klaus Meiners spent the past summer at Davis research station where he used a robot to explore the underside of Antarctic sea ice. The remotely operated vehicle was used to measure ice algae distribution and carried a range of high tech equipment, including a radiometer (light sensor), cameras, and an upward-looking sonar to detect the extent of ice below the surface and its algal concentrations.
Kym Newbery, who was awarded the 2016 Australian Antarctic Medal in June, has worked with the Australian Antarctic Division for 17 years. Kym is an electronics engineer who designs and builds the innovative equipment that is used by scientists working in harsh Antarctic conditions — including remote penguin monitoring cameras which have been used in a popular citizen science project, Penguin Watch.
Aaron Stanley is living at Davis research station in Antarctica where he works for the Bureau of Meteorology as an engineer and weather observer. Aaron is responsible for recording weather observations, releasing weather balloons and maintaining the nearby automatic weather stations. He’s also a keen photographer of the aurora australis, a weather phenomenon that puts on a spectacular show in the skies of the Southern Hemisphere — especially in Antarctica.
Australian Antarctic Division Future Concepts Manager, Matt Filipowski, led an innovative project that saw a quadcopter drone help navigate Australia’s icebreaker, Aurora Australis, through sea ice on its annual resupply voyage to Casey research station in December 2015. Drones are increasingly popular in Antarctica — for both science and operations.
You don’t need a Twitter account to see the tweets appearing throughout the day however you do need one if you’d like to ask a question or join the conversation. You can also ‘follow’ @AusAntarctic to keep up with Antarctic news, jobs and events. Search for the hashtag #natsciwk or for updates and news about other National Science Week activities on Twitter.
