13 - 19th November. A little about some of the people & jobs being performed around the station.
Hello All,
My weekend away to Robbo’s was cancelled due to bad Blizz conditions. So it is rescheduled for next weekend. I don’t mind, I would rather have the comfort of the red shed during a Blizz than being stuck out in a hut with nothing to do but play 500. I shall get to see all my little seal friends next week. I am sure the babies are big fat monsters by now. It will be lovely to catch up with them all and see their progress.
In the mean time I thought I would tell you a little bit about some of the people and projects on station at the moment.
We have Greg – our Comms operator. I met Greg last year when he stopped at Casey for a little while on his way home from Davis last year. He is a top bloke and a good friend. We have kept in touch all year since our last meeting and it is nice to have him back with us once more.
Greg is on rather a long stopover at Casey this year on the way to Davis station. He is waiting for the CASA airplanes to arrive from Hobart. When they finally get here he will board one and toodle off to Davis for the rest of the summer to perform Comms for the summer flight plans. While Greg is at Casey he is looking after our VHF and HF Radio traffic. This leaves Andrew and I more time to do our CTO work. Greg keeps track of the two dive teams when they are out working, he liaises with the field teams when they leave station, scheds with the Wilkins party on HF most nights and also ran all of the heli-ops for V1 when the choppers were here. So life in radio land is pretty cruisy for Andrew and I with Greg here.
Mel is our Field training officer for this summer. She is a legend and an amazing woman who has lived a pretty cool life and has some awesome stories to tell. Mel is a glaciologist and a scientist who’s passion is Global warming. This has been a large part of her professional life for more than 15 years. Mel sent us all a warning the other day “A reminder that this year is the largest ozone depletion ever seen in Antarctica and it is very noticeable on people's skin at Casey during field training. The ozone depletion will last until late December (when the atmosphere where the depletion occurs starts warming up and the ozone destruction stops). Even if people plaster themselves with 30+ sunscreen, after about five hours in the sun their skin has usually passed the 30 times exposure limit. Most fair-skinned people (like myself) will burn after about 10 minutes in the sun - hence the 30+ gives us 300 minutes exposure time. That time has been reduced due to the lack of ozone (that normally absorbs UV). Rather than just using sunscreen, I am urging people to cover up or not be in the sun in the middle of the day.” Most of us have suffered from sunburn in the last four weeks or so and it is more than evident that this year there is little protection from the sun’s rays down in this part of the world. We have also watched the Al Gore movie “An inconvenient truth” which I strongly urge every person to either go and see or get hold of a copy and watch. It is a very scary and very real wakeup call for all of us.
More climate change info can be found at:
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/climate-change & http://www.ipcc.ch/ & www.greenhouseinfo.nsw.gov.au & http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/change/ & www.epa.gov/climatechange/
However, I digress, Mel is also a wilderness expert who has spent many years guiding and teaching outdoor education. She is involved in mountain rescue and also teaches kayaking and mountain climbing. Next year Mel is off to the US, Alaska, the Rocky Mountains and Utah to run 30 – 40 day leadership courses. On top of that she is a top chick and an absolute scream. I am really enjoying having her at Casey for the summer; she is a lot of fun. Mel works 6 months on, 6 months off. Tough life but somebody has to do it!
On the science side of things: There is a group of scientists running a human impacts project. It involves setting up a Terrestrial Barrier which traps contaminated soils. By studying the soil samples scientists are able to develop particle separation and adsorption technologies using permeable reactive barriers to remove mobilised pollutants from ground and surface waters. This will prevent the spread of contamination during Antarctic site clean up activities.
We also have a large dive team down here this summer, as we had last summer also. The divers are partaking in quite a few projects this year. One of these projects looks at “contaminants that may persist in marine sediments and be re-suspended during storms or by the activity of animals. This project will assess the impact of contaminated sediments on plants and animals that live directly above the sediment. Rocky-reef organisms form a large component of Antarctica’s biodiversity and include algae as well as filter feeding animals such as sponges, lace corals, and fanworms. Many of these plants and animals live on boulders embedded within sediments. Information on the response of individuals, populations and communities to contamination will be used to develop sediment quality guidelines appropriate for the protection of the Antarctic environment.”
So there you have it. Another week in the life of Tracey in Casey. Bit of an info and education session for you this week.
It has been educational for me also, though on a different level. Our new doctor on station, who is staying for the next winter, is a very clever and interesting man. His wife is a psychotherapist, so he has an interest in this area. He and I have been chatting about self development and searching for peace and happiness within yourself and your life. Sometimes, all it takes is for someone to suggest a new way of looking at an issue; which then allows you to think outside the box. From there, whole new worlds of possibilities and positive experiences can open up before you. I have recently ordered the Deli Lama’s book “The art of happiness” online and it will be waiting for me to read when I get back to Aus. I also have a couple of other books to look at, recommended to me by John, our new Doc.
The Buddhists say “When the student is ready; the teacher will appear” And so it seems to be with me in meeting John. I am nearing a fork in the road and a new life is about to begin for me. For the first time in a long time I feel I may be about to walk a path that is the right one for me to take. Mind you, it has taken a lot of heartache, self doubt and soul searching to reach this place.
Ok, enough philosophizing for one week, it isn’t really in my nature to get too serious about these things. At the end of the day I like to think the good old Karma Fairies will take care of me. I am not a religious person by any stretch of the imagination. I was raised as a catholic and had 12 years of Catholicism shoved down my throat, which jaded me considerably I have to say.
I did read Krishna a long time ago, while rebelling against my upbringing and I am starting to read about Buddhism now.
Krishna teaches:
“If you can: help someone – if you can’t: don’t hurt them”.
I think that is a nice sentiment to live your life by. I have tried to live with this statement in mind ever since I read it. I am not nearly as patient as I need to be, though I am getting a lot better! ;oP
Till next week.
Sing like no one is listening: dance like no one is watching and love like you will never be hurt.
And make sure you hug your Puppy Dog if you have one ;o]
Trace xx
My weekend away to Robbo’s was cancelled due to bad Blizz conditions. So it is rescheduled for next weekend. I don’t mind, I would rather have the comfort of the red shed during a Blizz than being stuck out in a hut with nothing to do but play 500. I shall get to see all my little seal friends next week. I am sure the babies are big fat monsters by now. It will be lovely to catch up with them all and see their progress.
In the mean time I thought I would tell you a little bit about some of the people and projects on station at the moment.
We have Greg – our Comms operator. I met Greg last year when he stopped at Casey for a little while on his way home from Davis last year. He is a top bloke and a good friend. We have kept in touch all year since our last meeting and it is nice to have him back with us once more.
Greg is on rather a long stopover at Casey this year on the way to Davis station. He is waiting for the CASA airplanes to arrive from Hobart. When they finally get here he will board one and toodle off to Davis for the rest of the summer to perform Comms for the summer flight plans. While Greg is at Casey he is looking after our VHF and HF Radio traffic. This leaves Andrew and I more time to do our CTO work. Greg keeps track of the two dive teams when they are out working, he liaises with the field teams when they leave station, scheds with the Wilkins party on HF most nights and also ran all of the heli-ops for V1 when the choppers were here. So life in radio land is pretty cruisy for Andrew and I with Greg here.
Mel is our Field training officer for this summer. She is a legend and an amazing woman who has lived a pretty cool life and has some awesome stories to tell. Mel is a glaciologist and a scientist who’s passion is Global warming. This has been a large part of her professional life for more than 15 years. Mel sent us all a warning the other day “A reminder that this year is the largest ozone depletion ever seen in Antarctica and it is very noticeable on people's skin at Casey during field training. The ozone depletion will last until late December (when the atmosphere where the depletion occurs starts warming up and the ozone destruction stops). Even if people plaster themselves with 30+ sunscreen, after about five hours in the sun their skin has usually passed the 30 times exposure limit. Most fair-skinned people (like myself) will burn after about 10 minutes in the sun - hence the 30+ gives us 300 minutes exposure time. That time has been reduced due to the lack of ozone (that normally absorbs UV). Rather than just using sunscreen, I am urging people to cover up or not be in the sun in the middle of the day.” Most of us have suffered from sunburn in the last four weeks or so and it is more than evident that this year there is little protection from the sun’s rays down in this part of the world. We have also watched the Al Gore movie “An inconvenient truth” which I strongly urge every person to either go and see or get hold of a copy and watch. It is a very scary and very real wakeup call for all of us.
More climate change info can be found at:
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/climate-change & http://www.ipcc.ch/ & www.greenhouseinfo.nsw.gov.au & http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/change/ & www.epa.gov/climatechange/
However, I digress, Mel is also a wilderness expert who has spent many years guiding and teaching outdoor education. She is involved in mountain rescue and also teaches kayaking and mountain climbing. Next year Mel is off to the US, Alaska, the Rocky Mountains and Utah to run 30 – 40 day leadership courses. On top of that she is a top chick and an absolute scream. I am really enjoying having her at Casey for the summer; she is a lot of fun. Mel works 6 months on, 6 months off. Tough life but somebody has to do it!
On the science side of things: There is a group of scientists running a human impacts project. It involves setting up a Terrestrial Barrier which traps contaminated soils. By studying the soil samples scientists are able to develop particle separation and adsorption technologies using permeable reactive barriers to remove mobilised pollutants from ground and surface waters. This will prevent the spread of contamination during Antarctic site clean up activities.
We also have a large dive team down here this summer, as we had last summer also. The divers are partaking in quite a few projects this year. One of these projects looks at “contaminants that may persist in marine sediments and be re-suspended during storms or by the activity of animals. This project will assess the impact of contaminated sediments on plants and animals that live directly above the sediment. Rocky-reef organisms form a large component of Antarctica’s biodiversity and include algae as well as filter feeding animals such as sponges, lace corals, and fanworms. Many of these plants and animals live on boulders embedded within sediments. Information on the response of individuals, populations and communities to contamination will be used to develop sediment quality guidelines appropriate for the protection of the Antarctic environment.”
So there you have it. Another week in the life of Tracey in Casey. Bit of an info and education session for you this week.
It has been educational for me also, though on a different level. Our new doctor on station, who is staying for the next winter, is a very clever and interesting man. His wife is a psychotherapist, so he has an interest in this area. He and I have been chatting about self development and searching for peace and happiness within yourself and your life. Sometimes, all it takes is for someone to suggest a new way of looking at an issue; which then allows you to think outside the box. From there, whole new worlds of possibilities and positive experiences can open up before you. I have recently ordered the Deli Lama’s book “The art of happiness” online and it will be waiting for me to read when I get back to Aus. I also have a couple of other books to look at, recommended to me by John, our new Doc.
The Buddhists say “When the student is ready; the teacher will appear” And so it seems to be with me in meeting John. I am nearing a fork in the road and a new life is about to begin for me. For the first time in a long time I feel I may be about to walk a path that is the right one for me to take. Mind you, it has taken a lot of heartache, self doubt and soul searching to reach this place.
Ok, enough philosophizing for one week, it isn’t really in my nature to get too serious about these things. At the end of the day I like to think the good old Karma Fairies will take care of me. I am not a religious person by any stretch of the imagination. I was raised as a catholic and had 12 years of Catholicism shoved down my throat, which jaded me considerably I have to say.
I did read Krishna a long time ago, while rebelling against my upbringing and I am starting to read about Buddhism now.
Krishna teaches:
“If you can: help someone – if you can’t: don’t hurt them”.
I think that is a nice sentiment to live your life by. I have tried to live with this statement in mind ever since I read it. I am not nearly as patient as I need to be, though I am getting a lot better! ;oP
Till next week.
Sing like no one is listening: dance like no one is watching and love like you will never be hurt.
And make sure you hug your Puppy Dog if you have one ;o]
Trace xx
posted by Tracey in Casey - Antarctica at 12:34 pm
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