Polar Radar for Ice Sheet Measurements

Data Page from Oct. 14 - 20, 2000 All information is from the Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions Voyage 1, 2000/2001 Davis-Mawson-Heard Island taken by Aurora Australis. All observations taken at 0500 Universal Time. All temperatures are in degrees Celsius.

Remarks by Suzanne and Gordon:

Oct 14: All enjoyed talk on Friday afternoon by Judy Clarke on Penguin Monitoring. 'Fright Night' produced a Pirate with a Penguin on his shoulder, the Headless Horseman, a victim or two, black cats, and some ghouls and goblins but no spirits!! ANARE ingenuity is alive and well!! Continuous Plankton Recorder retrieved from second transect at 0800 and immediately deployed on third transect. Clocks back one hour tonight.�

Oct. 15: Gordon Bain presented an interesting talk on the 'History of Antarctic Aviation' on Saturday afternoon. The Davis Laboratory Manager held a meeting on Saturday afternoon for all scientists who will be using the labs there. Expeditioner safety muster and talk on launching liferafts held this morning. Voyage Leader attended Ships' Safety Meeting.�

This commenced at 1330 (Sat 7 Oct local) at 46 degree 47.91'S; 142 degrees 06.87'E and should be completed by 1630. Info recorded in Event Log. We are very pleased to retrieve this important data and equipment. Many thanks to the dedicated band of lookouts who assisted in the operation and to the ships' crew for their efforts in bringing it all onboard.

Field Training commenced today. Other programs continue. Also preparing for deployment of Continuous Plankton Recorder after completion of sediment trap work.

Oct 16: Malcolm Lambert spoke about 'Noctalucent Clouds' and 'Photographing Auroras' yesterday afternoon. Onboard bird, whale and noctalucent cloud observation programs continue. Continuous Plankton Recorder still on transect. New mess and lounge arrangements are working well. The lounge is used for quiet reading, playing games and the occasional video.

Following damage to Inmarsat B handset in very rough weather we have borrowed a unit from Surveyor onboard to enable e-mail comms to continue at least until Da\1s. Measures have been taken to protect this handset� from damage.

Oct. 17: Melissa Giesse spoke on Monday afternoon about her work on the impact of humans on wildlife -excellent background prior to our arrival in Antarctica. The Continuous Plankton Recorder was recovered from the third transect and packed away. It will next be redeployed between Mawson and Heard Island. Two weeks now since our departure and no ice to be seen - not even in our drinks! "When are we going to get there" building to a crescendo. Clocks back one hour tonight.

Monday's Fuel figures (1200 local): 1,020,433 litres

Oct. 18: Tracy Rogers et al spoke about the Leopard Seal Program in Tuesday's Talks. The seal team held a planning meeting for all involved with their program. Final of the Darts Doubles Championships held last night with some impressive playing including triple bullseyes!! Onboard observation programs continue.�

Oct. 19: The Science talk on Wednesday afternoon was a presentation by Birgit Buhleier (National Geographic) on 'Critter Cam' (animal borne imaging and data logging). Film of the world as seen by a seal was a fast moving rollercoaster ride!! Whew. Regular e-mail comms with Davis. Seeing a few ice blocks now- guess we are headed the right way after all!! Quiz Nite tonight.

Oct. 20: Helicopter Operations planning meeting held with crew. Protocols reviewed. Stephen Bray presented a talk on the Sediment Trap Program (now we know all about what we found). It was worth looking for. Entered first band of ice at 1600 (local) Thursday afternoon. Quiz Night a great hit especially with Master of Ceremonies Paul Brown, Chef Extraordinaire keeping everyone in line -there were fines for cheating or talking out of turn!! We raised money for Camp Quality. First iceberg sighted at 0133 this morning (thus ending marathon iceberg sweep) and iceberg program commenced. Field Training continues as does Seal training meetings. Cargo and Fuel Transfer planning meeting held with crew. It's all go!! Clocks back one hour tonight.�