Antarctica

During the 1980s I worked with the Australian Antarctic Division and over-wintered twice at Casey Station in Wilkes Land, once in 1983 and again in 1986. Images in this album are from those two expeditions.

My role in both years was station Electronics Engineer. The main research activity at Casey during the 70s and 80s was glaciology, principally the modelling of the ice sheet in east Antarctica. Data collection for this program required extended mechanised traverses deep into the interior of the Antarctic continent using "tractor trains". These tractor trains consisted of specially modified Caterpillar D5 and D7 dozers each hauling typically several sleds with total payload capacities of up to 50 tonnes per prime mover. With each D5 consuming around 6 litres/km and each D7 around 11 litres/km of aviation turbine kerosene, much of this load was fuel!

Glaciological traverse parties normally consisted of 6 specialists working together as a tightly knit team - 3 diesel mechanics, a surveyor/navigator, a glaciologist/leader and an electronics engineer. The team spent much of the year away from the station on inland traverses lasting sometimes more than 3 months, at elevations over 2000 metres and in temperatures typically around minus 40 to minus 60 Celcius.