| News: September-December |
ANTARCTICA NEW ZEALAND SCIENCE UPDATE NO. 5118.12.2009The bumper December issue of the monthly science update is now available for reading and downloading here.
WIND ENERGY COMES TO SCOTT BASE11.12.2009Electrical energy susbtainability arrived at 5pm on 5 December 2009, when Scott Base was connected to the wind energy supply for the first time. With the No 1 turbine producing at full capacity it was covering all of the Base's electrical demand. A new webcam has also been installed on Crater Hill at the site of the wind farm. See the webcam here.
CELEBRATING ANTARCTIC RESEARCHERS04.12.2009Congratulations to the following people who have recently been in the news: Tim Haskell, Don Cowan, Tim Naish, Kate Sinclair. Haskell Strait was officially gazetted last month. The large expanse of ice between McMurdo Sound and White Island has been named by the New Zealand Geographic Board as Haskell Strait. The strait, which is about as wide as Cook Strait and up to 900 metres deep in places, is an area of relatively high human activity, with two airfields above it. Dr Haskell, a senior scientist at Industrial Research in Lower Hutt, has previously been a recipient of the Antarctic Medal, amidst a host of other prestigious science prizes and awards in his long career. He first travelled to Antarctica in 1978, and is now the leader of the sea ice programme, supported by the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology.
Don Cowan has recently been elected as Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand (FRSNZ). Don is currently Professor of Microbiology at the University of the Western Cape (South Africa) and Director of its Institute for Microbial Biotechnology and Metagenomics, but is an alumnus of the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Waikato, undertaking his Masters under the supervision of Prof Alan Green and PhD with Prof Roy Daniel. Throughout his time overseas he has continued to collaborate with University of Waikato researchers.
Tim Naish has been appointed to the Marsden Fund Council for a 3-year term. Professor Naish is director of the Antarctic Research Centre and the Joint Antarctic Research Institute at Victoria University of Wellington and a principal scientist with GNS Science. He is the Chair of the International ANDRILL science planning committee and leads the ANDRILL programme.
Kate Sinclair, Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the New Zealand Ice Core Programme at Victoria University of Wellington, has been appointed Vice-President of the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS). New Zealand continues to have strong representation on this body with 2 of the five-member Executive Committee being from New Zealand.
ANTARCTICA NEW ZEALAND SCIENCE UPDATE NO. 5020.11.2009The latest Science update is now available. It discusses Antarctica New Zealand's response to the recent Ministry of Research, Science and Technology document on government research funding that proposes that Antarctic research be separated into its own research domain. It also has a reminder that the application round for Antarctica New Zealand's Postgraduate Scholarship is now open with a deadline of March 5th 2010. For information on this and other Antarctic science news download the 2009 updates here. ANTARCTICA NEW ZEALAND SCIENCE UPDATE NO. 4827.10.2009The latest Science update is now available. Amidst many items of interest to those in the Antarctic science community, and others, it advises that the application round for Antarctica New Zealand's Postgraduate Scholarship is now open with a deadline of March 5th 2010. For information on this and other Antarctic science news download the update here. LATEST FINDINGS FROM ANDRILL RESEARCH05.10.2009The latest findings from ANDRILL sediment core samples indicates that 15.7 million years ago there was a remarkably warm period in Antarctica. The evidence, which includes fossils of marine algae and pollen of woody plants, indicates that land temperatures reached a January average of 10° C while estimated sea surface temperatures ranged between 0 and 11.5° C. The algae and pollen were found in sedimentary rock cores drilled in 2007 from beneath the sea floor of McMurdo Sound during ANDRILL's Southern McMurdo Sound Project. For more information read the Press release here. NEW ZEALAND SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY MEDAL05.10.2009Professor Tim Naish of the Antarctic Research Centre, Victoria University of Wellington, has been awarded a New Zealand Science and Technology medal by the Royal Society's New Zealand Science and Technology Medals Committee. The medal acknowledges his scientific leadership and contributions of fundamental new knowledge on how the Antarctic ice sheets have influenced global sea-change and climate, with implications for our warming world. Professor Naish was co-chief scientist for the 2006/07 McMurdo Ice Shelf project of ANDRILL, when a 1285m-long sediment core was successfully recovered from beneath the Ice Shelf. MCMURDO DRY VALLEYS WEBSITE LAUNCHED22.09.2009A website for the McMurdo Dry Valleys Antarctic Specially Managed Area (ASMA) has been launched. The website contains general summary information about the Area's unique environment and features, maps and images, both science and non-science related current activities in the Area and the management plans for the ASMA and Specially Protected Areas within the ASMA. It is also the host site for the Management Group to add and share information about activities, management planning and archiving documents. You can view the website here. ANTARCTICA NEW ZEALAND SCIENCE UPDATE NO. 4721.09.2009The latest Science update contains local and international items of interest. The first biennial Polar week (a continuation of the IPY International Polar Days) occurs in the first week of October and is entitled: What Happens at the Poles Affects Us All, while the data focus this month is the Antarctic Biodiversity Database. For information on this and other Antarctic science news download the update here. SCOTT BASE SEEKS VOLUNTEERS07.09.2009Antarctica New Zealand, in collaboration with the New Zealand Antarctic Society, is seeking volunteers for this coming summer season in Antarctica. The two volunteers will be sourced from New Zealand Antarctic Society membership and will be helping with project work at Scott Base during January 2010. Applications close on 30 September, and an application form can be accessed from the New Zealand Antarctic Society website. For more information read the press release. |