Participants’ Handbook A guide to going south with British Antarctic Survey Director’s foreword Antarctica is the coldest, windiest and driest continent on Planet Earth. It is capped by an ice sheet over 4km thick in places. In winter, Antarctica is dark for many months and the sea – the world’s stormiest – freezes to cover an area the size of the continent itself. Antarctica is the remotest and most inhospitable continent of all. It also has no permanent inhabitants – the only continent on the planet of which this can be said. So, welcome to you, one of the very special people who are going to live and work there! Whether this is your first time or one of many trips with the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), congratulations on being selected to work in this wild and amazing place; you are a critically important member of ‘Team BAS’. In our rapidly-changing world we have important work to do. BAS scientists, operations and support staff, and our close collaborators from the UK and across the world, play a pivotal role in polar research. By concentrating on key global scientific problems, by being efficient and effective in managing our research stations and ships, and in the safe deployment of our field parties and marine cruises, we advance knowledge and achieve world-wide recognition for excellence. Everyone in BAS plays a vital role in our wide range of polar activities, from the purchase of equipment in Cambridge to research and science support on the ships, stations or in the deep field. The forthcoming field season 2017/18 is particularly important for us because we will be putting logistics in place to support the Thwaites project, a major collaboration between UK and US scientists and operators, funded by the US National Science Foundation (NSF) and the UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). This is an ambitious project to understand how climate change is affecting the Thwaites Glacier in the Amundsen Sea region. In many places around Antarctica, deep, warm ocean water is beginning to lap up under the ice shelves, melting them from below. If this is happening to the Thwaites Glacier then we need to know what the impact will be on the huge West Antarctic Ice Sheet, which holds several metres worth of sea- level rise. Increasingly, we are also carrying out research in the Arctic. Antarctica is land surrounded by ocean and the Arctic Ocean is encircled by land but both have extensive sea ice and ice caps. Arctic sea ice is thinning but Antarctic sea ice is much more variable – we use these similarities and differences to help our understanding of the Polar Regions, especially using climate models. The strength of any organisation lies in the expertise and enthusiasm of its people. In joining BAS you will be carrying on a tradition of excellence in science and support of world-leading research in one of the most challenging environments on the planet. This handbook is here to help you make the most of your trip south safely and effectively, both for BAS and for you as an individual. I wish you fair winds, smooth seas, clear skies, good snow, good company and a productive time in the Antarctic. You are about to embark on one of the most amazing experiences of your life. Are you ready? Professor Dame Jane Francis Director, BAS Cover image: Bad weather at Halley VI Research Station on the Brunt Ice Shelf, Antarctica. i For more information, please visit our website: www.bas.ac.uk 2 Contents 2 Director’s foreword 20 Living in Antarctica 4 Our vision, mission and culture Living on ships Living on stations 5 Introduction Morale and behaviour of staff 6 Antarctica past and present Recreation History Living in the field The Antarctic Treaty Time differences Permits Computing 9 The organisation and structure of BAS Communications 11 BAS infrastructure Family and Friends Liaison 12 Basic preparations Personal accounts Health matters 26 Health and safety and medical issues Passports and visas Your health and safety Financial affairs Health and safety management at BAS Voting What do we need from you? Making a will A few key terms and definitions in BAS Safety Bad news whilst you are away Management Training 14 Packing for the Antarctic Medical cover What NOT to take to Antarctica Personal health What to take to Antarctica Unaccompanied personal belongings 28 Environmental protection Scientific cargo 29 Communications and media Northbound cargo Sponsorship and endorsement 18 Travelling to and from Antarctica 30 Human Resources policies How do I get there? 30 Final considerations What information can I expect to receive from 30 Further information BAS? MOD flights to the Falkland Islands 31 Checklist Commercial flights to South America and the 32 Glossary Falkland Islands 33 Index Commercial flights to Cape Town 35 BAS offices and research stations Commercial flights to other destinations What facilities are available at the gateway destinations? Gateway Destination: The Falkland Islands Gateway Destination: Punta Arenas Gateway Destination: Cape Town How will I travel onwards from the gateway Destination? BAS aircraft BAS ships How will I travel home from Antarctica? Our vision Our culture To be a world-leading centre for polar science BAS aspires to a culture that is: and polar operations, addressing issues of global • Positive – positive attitude, energy, realism, enjoy the work importance and helping society adapt to a • Responsible – safety conscious, environmentally friendly, changing world. accountable for one’s actions, honourable, ethical, open and fair • Innovative – creative, entrepreneurial and outward looking, Our mission flexible, constructively challenging, and capable of learning from BAS is a research-driven organisation recognised for: experience • Commitment to excellence in science • Co-operative – open, communicative, caring and loyal to one • Operational professionalism and innovation in everything we do another, working in the best interests of BAS and science • A partner of choice for science, operations and business • Excellent – professional, efficient and effective, successful and wherever polar expertise can be applied recognised, high quality, applying best practice and developing • Safely delivering complex operations in extreme environments our people • Commitment to environmental stewardship of the polar regions • Developing our staff to reach their full potential • Sustaining an active and influential presence in Antarctica on behalf of the UK, and playing a leadership role in Antarctic affairs • Engagement with policy-makers, government and the public Image: The Bonner Laboratory at Rothera Research Station, Adelaide Island, Antarctic Peninsula. i For more information, please visit our website: www.bas.ac.uk 4 Introduction This handbook is provided to all participants in the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) Antarctic programme. It aims to provide some background to the environment and organisation within which you will be working, outline some of the steps that you need to take before travelling and answer the most commonly asked questions about living and working in the Antarctic. Much of the information given here is repeated or amplified at the annual Cambridge Antarctic Pre-deployment Training Course in September. During the course there will be films, talks and discussions to introduce you to BAS and the Antarctic. It also provides an opportunity for you to meet the people with whom you will be going south and members of Cambridge staff. There are some practical matters that you need to consider before attending the training course – please make sure you read straight away the sections on basic preparations, packing for the Antarctic and health and safety and medical issues, and that you make any necessary arrangements in good time. Supplementary material will be provided during the Antarctic Pre-deployment Training Course giving the latest practical information, and a list of sources for further information is given at the end of the handbook. The BAS Participants’ Handbook is regularly updated. We welcome any feedback on its layout, style or content. Images: Top: A glaciology field camp on Berkner Island, Antarctica. Middle: Emperor penguins on the Brunt Ice Shelf, near Halley Research Station. Bottom: Halley VI Research Station on the Brunt Ice Shelf. i For more information, please visit our website: www.bas.ac.uk 5 Antarctica past and present History The United Kingdom has a long history of exploration and and stocks of shipping oil falling into enemy hands; collect research in Antarctica. During the 18th and 19th centuries this meteorological data and to re-enforce British territorial claims was undertaken largely either by Royal Navy expeditions or by through the establishment of bases. A programme of mapping sealers and whalers exploiting the living resources of the area. and science was undertaken. At the end of the war the operation James Cook, RN, made the first circumnavigation of Antarctica was established on a permanent basis under the Colonial Office in 1772-75. He sailed to 71°S and discovered the island of as the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS), the bases South Georgia. In 1820 William Smith’s expedition to the South established during Tabarin becoming the first to be permanently Shetland Islands first sighted the Antarctic continent and Edward occupied on the continent. The primary purpose of FIDS was to Bransfield, RN, charted part of the Antarctic Peninsula coastline. continue (through occupation, mapping and scientific research) the James Weddell, John Biscoe, James Clark Ross, RN, and Carsten British presence in an area whose sovereignty was contested by Borchgrevink led other significant 19th century British expeditions. other countries. FIDS grew rapidly, opening bases throughout the During the early part of the 20th century, William Speirs Bruce, Antarctic Peninsula and related sub-Antarctic area, and expanding Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton led important British many areas of scientific investigation. The name ‘Fids’ is still used to expeditions to Antarctica.