Bad weather starts in Antarctica

Hello!

During the last days, the weather was still good. As it is supposed to change and get worse today and the following days, we have been going to the field everyday to do as much work as possible. The weather in Antarctica changes so fast that, even if the forecast for the next day says it is going to be sunny and without wind, we still need to check every morning if the conditions haven’t changed. For example, today was supposed to be very windy and cloudy, but in reality, it is sunny and the wind speed might drop down during day. Therefore, Jury and Quentin might be able to go to Teltet to map it with the drone (see map). To fly the drone, we need a speed of less than 10 knots and a homogenous light (that means that it is either sunny or homogenously cloudy), so the weather conditions are very important for a safe flight and good models.

Map of the study sites we visit. Note that PES is for Princess Elizabeth Station.

These days we’ve been mapping and finishing the sampling in Perlebandet and Pingvinane, both North and South nunataks. In the following picture, you can see Quinten, Juri and Bea waiting in Perlebandet South for the drone to finish the flight. It was getting a little bit windy and cold, so we sat next to the rocks to be protected against the wind. Moreover, the rocks are warmer than the air temperature because they absorb the solar radiations.

Picture over Perlebandet South taken with the drone.

Finally, yesterday we went to Petrellnuten, a granite nunatak close to the mountain range of Pingvinane (see map). Here, two kinds of birds inhabiting the Sor Rondane Mountains are very common: the Snow Petrel (Pagodroma nivea) and the South Polar Skuas (Stercorarius moccarmicki). Skuas are top predators, and they are the only ones in this region. Therefore, we need to always be careful and check with Henri Robert, the scientific liaison officer of the station who is also an ornithologist, which precautions we need to take once we are in the field with the drone. For instance, if there are nests, we don’t approach them, avoiding noise disturbance for the birds. The noise is even more noticeable in Antarctica. Here, you can hear the silence. Sometimes we could hear the birds or the ice breaking when we walk over it, as the only noticeable noises. One of the two parts of Petrellnuten nunatak that Juri mapped was inside the wind scoop and only accessible with crampons and a rope installed by our field guide, Raphy. That wind scoop is one of the most impressive ones that we have seen during our campaign!

Raphy and Valentina going down the wind scoop with a rope in Petrellnuten

Wind scoop in Petrellnuten nunatak

The MICROBIAN team

Microbian Team signature on the snow with Pingvinane North nunatak in the background