Life Beyond the Beaker

I have had a mighty 6 weeks at Rothera where my aim was to keep up the Long Term Data set of the Rothera Antarctic Time Series Data set. I have stepped back in time to my old job which I did from 2015-2017. My main aim is to complete water sampling to capture the start of the plankton bloom and to act as a boat taxi driver for the divers so that we can get the IBIS blocks done! It's great coming back in with a fresh pair of eyes. I have been hired out by my company SAMS to BAS until mid January, which then I will be going back to doing Arctic Science as when I am come I am switching poles to attend an Arctic Conference! Super hectic. Zoe and Marlon are flying back in January to take over from me eek! I have definitely been getting my hours up on driving the ribs around Rothera! With the boaties moving boat shed this year and me without my valid dive medical I have been driving everyone around. ] Here the two dive officers preparing for their dive to find and measure the...

 After coxing a dive we all piled into the snowcat to get a lift up to Stork Bowl, Julie guided us there! This is evidence of my first time using a split board and yes I put the skins on backwards which is apparently why I was struggling so much....  After all of the faff of turning it back into a splitboard it was definitely worth it, as the powder was deep and sticky which made for some fantastic boarding. I think once I've mastered the faff of splitboarding it could take us to some awesome places!  2 days before I arrived, this beauty was caught on camera. Very gutted to have missed it but thanking the base for sharing their photos of it!  Another fantastic photo on the shared drive!!!   This week the RRS Shackelton has been at Rothera, where we spent a few days unloading cargo. Mostly food and drink!   One of my favourite places on base, the balcony overlooking Ryder Bay!  The base has been over run by Elephant...