Answers from Antarctica
In issue 37 we told you about Tamsin Gray who works in Antarctica. You sent in lots of interesting questions for her. There were far too many for them all to fit in the paper so here are all the questions and Tamsin's answers.
Do you work and sleep in the same house?
No, I don't but some people do. There are 5 main buildings here and three of them are on stilts to keep them above the snow. The biggest is the building where we eat and sleep, which also contains workshops for the electrician, carpenter and plumber. There are 2 science buildings, as I'm a scientist I go to work there but it's only a minute walk away. Some days I ski to work if the sun is shining. If there is a blizzard, I sometimes fall over in the snow several times on my short journey to work, as I can't see what's in front of me!
The other 2 big buildings are on skis and get moved by huge tracked vehicles every summer. They are the garage and an extra accommodation building for all the extra people that come just for the summer.
Do you play in the snow much?
Yes! There are no hills to sledge down but I often go out cross-country skiing or snowboarding with a big kite to pull me along. The snow here is not very good for making snowballs - it's too cold and powdery to stick together - so we don't have very many snowball fights.
And do you ever make a snowman?
Yes, it's really hard work because the snow doesn't stick together very well. My friend Tom made a really good one at the start of the year. Now it's mostly buried as it has snowed so much since then! I have also had a go at making ice sculptures of penguins.
What food do you eat?
There isn't much fresh food but we have a professional chef to cook for us so the food always tastes great. We've even had a BBQ in temperatures as low as -43 degrees C!
What is it like when it's dark all day?
I like it a lot. You can see the stars when you are walking around in the daytime and often the moon is so bright you don't even need a torch. Sometimes we see the southern lights too - bright green and red and white streaks of light snaking across the sky - really amazing.
How do you get around?
Mostly just by walking or skiing. In the summer months we also use snowmobiles, big tracked vehicles called snocats and planes with skis attached so they can land on snow.
How do you get to sleep when it's light all day?
Work in the summer time can be really tiring, a lot of digging and outdoor jobs, so I don't usually have a problem. Some people find it hard though. I sometimes found it difficult to get up when it was dark all day long in the winter, but I'm not a morning person!
In the picture under the building there are some flags. What do they mean?
We use flags a lot to help mark out different areas of the base and routes to places we like to visit (like the penguin colony). We have black flags to mark a route to follow and red or crossed flags to mark danger or keep out.
Do you ever feel like packing up and going home?
No! Antarctica RULES! I do miss my friends and family though. We have email and phones now, which makes life easier. I miss green grass, maltesers (I ran out in May) and going shopping too.
Have you ever got lost in the snow?
No. People have been living in this part of the Antarctic for more than 50 years and have learnt a lot about how to stay safe and warm in the snow. When the weather is really bad, with gales and snow blowing around, it would be really easy to get lost. We call it a 'white out' because ther's so much snow flying around that you can't even see your own boots! If we go outside we have to follow ropes that lead us from one building to another and carry a walkie talkie so we can call for help in an emergency. We also have search and rescue training back in the UK, which involves wearing goggles covered in a sheet of white paper so you are totally blind and walking around holding hands in a long line across the hills to search for someone. It can be very funny.
Do you have any pets in Antarctica?
No but our nearest neighbours are Emperor penguins! Until 13 years ago there were husky dogs at the British bases but now there is a law against bringing any non-native species here.
Have there been any noticeable temperature changes at Halley over the years?
Not really at Halley but definitely at Rothera, the other British base on the Antarctic Peninsula.
The Antarctic Peninsula is one of the fastest warming regions of the planet. Temperatures in some areas have risen by nearly 3 degrees in the past 50 years, which is 10 times the average rate of global warming. The ocean around the peninsula is warming up too. Together, the warm air and ocean are causing floating ice shelves to melt, and glaciers to flow into the sea, which contributes to sea level rise.
Many thanks to Tamsin Gray and her colleagues a the Halley Research Station in Antarctica.