| News: September-December |
CHRISTMAS GREETINGS24.12.2010Antarctica New Zealand wishes all a safe and happy Christmas and very best wishes for a fulfilling 2011. Our offices will be closed until 8am Wednesday 5 January.
ANTARCTIC SCIENCE SPECIAL LGP ISSUE06.12.2010The latest issue of Antarctic Science (22 no. 6) is devoted to research from the New Zealand-led Latitudinal Gradient Project. The LGP has been operating for 8 years, has involved over 15 separate research groups and has entailed over 3000 field-person days. It has enabled relatively small research programmes, ranging from marine ecology to glacial history, to contribute to exploring the changes along a latitudinal gradient as a proxy for climate change.
SCIENCE AND INFORMATION UPDATE29.11.2010There is much interesting Antarctic news in the latest issue of our Science and Information update. Information relating to the SCAR Open Science Conference (the 2014 meeting of which will be held in Christchurch), scholarships available, potential science funding and research review and Scott Base visits are among the miscellany of items of interest. You can read or download here.
FRIEZE AT THE GOW LANGSFORD GALLERY26.11.10The first Antarctic painting by Peter James Smith who visited Antarctica as an Invited Artist in 2009, will be included in the exhibition Frieze, running at the Gow Langsford Gallery in Auckland from 1 December 2010 - 29 January 2011. The exhibition will include paintings by a number of artists including John Walsh who also travelled to Antarctica as an Invited Artist, in the 2007/08 season. For more information go here.
APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN FOR ANTARCTIC SCHOLARSHIPS16.11.2010The Postgraduate Research Scholarship Programme is designed to encourage researchers to pursue interests in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. This year Antarctica New Zealand will be encouraging applicants to focus on projects with specific themes including climate data that is available on the Ross Sea Region, including data collected as part of the LGP project. Another target project is to advance work that Antarctica New Zealand is completing with Biosecurity New Zealand on non-native species risks. More information on these projects, application procedures and requirements, can be found in the Scholarships and Fellowships section of this website.
ARMISTICE DAY SERVICE11.11.2010A joint service of remembrance to mark Armistice Day was held at the Chalet at McMurdo Station today. It was attended by defence and other personnel currently resident both at McMurdo Station and Scott Base. Speakers included the United States Antarctic Program representative, George Blaisdell and Commander of the 13th Air Expeditionary Group, Colonel Gary James. Those speaking on behalf of those currently at Scott Base were Antarctica NZ's senior representative Ed Butler, and the Senior National officer of New Zealand Defence Forces at Scott Base Lt Commander David Washer.
VISIT BY SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY CLINTON08.11.2010Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke on the strength of the US/NZ Antarctic relationship at a function held in the Antarctic Departure Terminal, Christchurch on Friday 5 November. During the visit she was hosted by Antarctica New Zealand Board Chairman Rob Fenwick and was presented with an Antarctica New Zealand cold weather jacket. Her speech, along with that of Rob Fenwick, and Art Brown representing the National Science Foundation, the manager of the US Antarctic Program, can be read here.
SCIENCE AND INFORMATION UPDATE02.11.2010Information about the Scott Polar Centenary scholarship, along with the MFAT Scholarship in Antarctic and Southern Ocean Studies on offer from Gateway Antarctica at the University of Canterbury can be found along with other items of interest in the latest science update which you can read or download here.
KOREAN ICEBREAKER VISITS LYTTELTON01.11.2010The Korean icebreaker Araon was in Wellington last week and hosted a number of diplomats from Antarctic Treaty partners along with several New Zealand scientists. It then sailed to Lyttelton to take on Korean scientists for a trip to the Korean research base, King Sejong Station at King George Island on the Antarctic Peninsula. Later it will return to Christchurch before sailing to Terra Nova Bay in the Ross Sea region where preparations will begin for the construction of South Korea's second Antarctic research base, Jang Bo-go, scheduled for completion by the end of 2014.
IMPACT ANTARCTICA: WORKS BY JAN CHAFFEY20.10.2010Canterbury artist Jan Chaffey is holding an exhibition of Antarctic paintings at COCA, 66 Gloucester St, Christchurch. Jan visited the Antarctic Peninsula several years ago and this exhibition of images of her trip shows the vast distances and enormity of the Antarctic continent as experienced over many days at sea; passing frozen islands, watching the flight of seabirds, meeting with some apprehension the enormous icebergs, then the ice shelf itself. The exhibition runs until 7 November in the Front Gallery.
CENSUS OF ANTARCTIC MARINE LIFE (CAML)19.10.2010Final findings from the Census of Antarctic Marine Life (CAML) were presented in London recently. CAML is a major International Polar Year (IPY) initiative and a component of the Census of Marine Life (CoML). The London event marks the end of the 10-year programme and celebrates the work of more than 2700 scientists from 80 nations. For the CAML investigation marine biologists from around the world were involved in the largest-ever Antarctic marine survey, which saw 19 separate voyages to Antarctic waters to collect marine life samples from over 2000 locations all around Antarctica. Understanding what lives in the Southern Ocean has helped to establish a benchmark against which we can measure the effects of climate change. The marine life studied in Antarctica is, naturally, vulnerable to these effects including warming sea surface temperatures, rising ocean acidification and decreasing winter sea ice. The CAML programme has, however, illustrated just how resilient some of these creatures can be, surviving in some of the most challenging conditions on the planet.
SUCCESSFUL MARSDEN GRANTS12.10.2010In the recent announcement of successful Marsden grants there are two that have an Antarctica New Zealand logistics component. Charlie Lee from Waikato University has been granted a total of $300 000 over 3 years for his programme titled: Microbial diversity in the extreme-Abiotically driven biocomplexity in the Antarctic Dry Valleys and launches off the work Craig is doing around biocomplexity in the Dry Valleys. Also successful with a grant of $300 000 over 3 years was Hinrich Schaefer from NIWA with his programme: Stable carbon isotope constraints on methane sources during fast climatic transitions. This is a joint research programme with the US and will investigate past climates from ice cores and using the National Isotope Centre's ice core laboratory. Antarctica New Zealand congratulates these successful recipients and looks forward to supporting their work.
ANDRILL TEAM TO CONDUCT ANTARCTIC SURVEY PROJECT IN 2010-11 SEASON1.10.2010After recording the two most successful sediment recovery projects in Antarctic history, ANDRILL, the Antarctic Geologic Drilling programme, is set to begin an ambitious survey project in the 2010-11 Antarctic field season.
The joint United States-New Zealand expedition will operate from a remote camp on the Ross Ice Shelf from late October through to early February, studying the ice and its movements, the sea beneath the ice and its movements, and the rocks beneath the seafloor. The Coulman High Survey Project is funded by a $2.68 million grant from the US National Science Foundation through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, with significant additional support coming from the New Zealand Foundation for Research, Science and Technology and Antarctica New Zealand. It is led by Frank Rack, executive director the ANDRILL Science Management Office at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in the United States, and Richard Levy, a paleoclimate research scientist for GNS Science in New Zealand.
To read the full press release or view associated media files go here.
ANTARCTIC SEASON OPENS21.09.2010The first of the Mainbody flights is due to leave for Antarctica on 23 September, with an Airbus A319 scheduled to deploy up to 70 people south, followed by the first C17 flight on 28 September formally opening the season at McMurdo Station. During the season there will also be four flights by the FNZAF Boeing 757 and six by the RNZAF C130 Hercules. The South to Antarctica church service will be held at 10am on Sunday 26 September, at ChristChurch Cathedral which has now re-opened after its post-earthquake closure. The last of the summer season flights is scheduled for 4 March 2011.
REFLECTIONS ON COLIN BULL21.09.2010Seminar Room, Third Floor, Cotton Building, Kelburn Campus, Victoria University of Wellington Thursday 23 September 3-4pm
Antarctica NZ was saddened to hear of the recent death of long-time Antarctic researcher Colin Bull. Victoria University is holding a meeting on Thursday in tribute to Colin's contribution to Antarctic research. Speakers will include Prof Peter Webb (by telephone from Columbus, Ohio), Prof Peter Barrett, Prof Tim Naish and Dr Andrew Mackintosh, chaired by Assoc Prof Michael Hannah. Others who knew Colin will also have an opportunity to speak. Please register attendance with This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . For other queries contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Colin was Senior Lecturer in Physics at VUW 1956-61 and leader of the 2nd VUW Antarctic Expedition in 1958-59. By dint of personality, vision and administrative style he had a lasting influence on Antarctic research at VUW, and glaciology world-wide, through his role as Professor and later Dean at The Ohio State University.
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES: Colin acquired several degrees from Birmingham University (1945-51), following which as a Cambridge PostDoctoral Fellow he led several expeditions to the Arctic. He then married Gillian and came to VUW (see above). In 1961 he, Gillian and family left VUW for The Ohio State University (OSU) in Columbus, where he became Assistant then Associate then Professor of Geology, Director of the Institute of Polar Studies (1965-69), chairman of Geology (1970-76) and Dean of the Faculty of Mathematics and Engineering (1976-86) He retired with Gillian to become an Emeritus Professor and Polar Bibliophile on Bainbridge Island, near Seattle. In his career he attracted and inspired a number of staff and graduate students, including pioneering glacial geologist John Mercer, glaciologists Ian Whillans and Lonnie Thompson, and VUW's Peter Barrett. He also attracted VUW's first Antarctic student (with Barrie McKelvey) and geologist Peter Webb to become Chairman of Geology at OSU for many years. This added significantly to the OSU-VUW connection, as Peter also led the US component of a partnership with VUW in Antarctic offshore scientific drilling in the period 1970-2001. Colin died two weeks ago (September 7) on the first night of cruise to coastal Alaska to take Gillian to past research areas. Peter Webb noted last week "Colin would be pleased to reflect on the fact that both he and Shackleton checked out while on a ship headed into the high latitudes."
PLACE: Seminar Room, Third Floor, Cotton Building, Kelburn Campus, VUW DATE/TIME: Sep 23, 3.00-4.00 pm, followed by refreshments, Antarctic Research Centre, 5th Floor
RNZAF COMPLETES SUCCESSFUL MEDICAL EVACUATION FROM ANTARCTICA14.09.2010A Royal New Zealand Airforce P3 Orion has successfully completed a medical evacuation of a seriously ill resident of the McMurdo Station in Antarctica. After 3 days of delays due to blizzard conditions on the Ice the P3 Orion was able to land in calm and clear conditions at Pegasus Ice runway near McMurdo Station today. The patient who is in a serious but stable condition has been transferred to the aircraft and is on route to Christchurch International Airport. For more information read the press release.
TVNZ AT SCOTT BASE18.09.2010TVNZ weather presenter Karen Olsen is currently at Scott Base from where she will deliver live broadcasts. The expected schedule includes a live broadcast into the 6pm news today, Friday and Saturday. She will also be broadcasting live into the Breakfast Show at around 7.40am tomorrow. |