Australian Antarctic Division: Season begins amid preparation for Nuyina’s first science voyage
The Australian Antarctic season will officially commence with a resupply mission as expeditioners and crew prepare to embark on the RSV Nuyina’s first dedicated marine science voyage next year.
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Australia’s Antarctic season will kick off on Tuesday as a team of more than 130 expeditioners and crew prepare to embark on a crucial resupply mission to Davis station ahead of the RSV Nuyina’s first dedicated marine science voyage early next year.
The Australian Antarctic Division’s flagship icebreaker will leave Hobart on Tuesday, setting off on a six-week round trip that will see the ship break through about nine kilometres of ice at the end of the southbound leg of the voyage.
The $568m Nuyina, which has a remit to supply Australia’s Antarctic research stations and undertake 60 days of dedicated marine science expeditions a year, will be carrying 700 tonnes of goods, including 100kg of coffee beans, 350kg of apples, 180kg of oranges, and 215kg of 11 different varieties of nuts.
It will also transport 450 litres of ice cream, 12,600 eggs, 1920 rolls of toilet paper, 240,000 litres of drinking water, a six-wheeled Polaris ATV for field work, and two helicopters for resupply and science efforts.
Voyage leader Anthea Fisher said the crew was “very excited to be under way” and that “years of planning” had gone into the journey.
“Journeying to Davis at this time of year involves a section of icebreaking through, first of all, the pack ice to get in towards Davis station and then lastly into what we call the fast ice at Davis station,” she said.
“And we’ll break into that fast ice and park in the ice about one kilometre out from the station. And once we’re parked up there, people can literally walk off the ship onto the ice and walk across to Davis station.”
The team of researchers and crew currently stationed at Davis will come aboard the Nuyina for its return voyage, being replaced by a new cohort.
Trades teams will commence large-scale annual maintenance operations at the station and endeavour to complete a new desalination plant this season. It’s hoped the new plant will afford Davis the water capacity required to support future science work.
Acting head of the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) science branch, Rhonda Bartley, said three scientists on the voyage would examine legacy waste issues at Mawson station and two seabird scientists would look for evidence of avian influenza in bird populations and seal colonies near Davis, before conducting routine seabird monitoring.
“These are critical parts of the Australian Antarctic science program and areas that the [AAD] leads, particularly in the areas of environmental stewardship, Southern Ocean ecosystems protection and our climate program, as well,” she said.
All of this comes in the lead-up to the Nuyina’s first dedicated marine science voyage in February next year, when about 60 expeditioners will venture to the Denman Glacier – one of the fastest retreating glaciers in East Antarctica.
The AAD hopes to gain a clearer picture of the glacier’s history, as well as that of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. The glacier’s rate of melt and the associated impact on ecosystems and potential contribution to rising sea levels will also be investigated.
Cargo for the RSV Nuyina’s resupply of Davis station:
– 240,000 litres of drinking water
– A six-wheeled Polaris for field work
– Two helicopters for resupply and science work
– 100kg of coffee beans
– 450 litres of ice cream
– 117kg of frozen berries
– 180kg of oranges
– 350kg of apples
– 215kg of nuts (11 varieties)
– 1920 rolls of toilet paper
– 12,600 eggs
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Originally published as Australian Antarctic Division: Season begins amid preparation for Nuyina’s first science voyage
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