In addition to providing guests with once-in-a-lifetime experiences in the White Continent, Antarctic Logistics and Expeditions has the privilege to provide logistical support to different government and science programs throughout the season. Highlighted below are the 2024 season’s projects and successes.
Seismic Investigation at the South Pole with Weisen Shen & Team
A team of scientists including Weisen Shen, Frank Chin, and Hanxiao Wu traveled to the South Pole to better understand sub-ice structures. Shen’s team arrived at the South Pole, installed portable seismic nodes, and collected data from them for four weeks. ALE hosted members of the team at our South Pole Camp during the process. Shen and his team’s research is critical for studying geological history and modern tectonism of the continent, modeling its continental dynamics, and developing more accurate ice sheet dynamic models to predict their response to global climate change.
Understanding ice sheet evolution and stability with ANET-POLENET
ALE hosted six members of the ANET-POLENET team at Union Glacier camp while they worked to service existing GPS stations and Seismic sites. In addition to camp services, ALE provided medical, metrology, and flight operation support. The ANET-POLENET team consisted of three scientists, one mountaineer, one T-295-M EarthScope GAGE engineer, and one T-299-M EarthScope SAGE engineer. They were supported by an NSF chartered Kenn Borek Air Twin Otter aircraft, crewed by Capt. Troy Mckerral, Griffin Kelly and Phil Pion. The team worked for over month on the ice excavating instrumentation, collecting seismic data, and swapping out equipment replacements across Western Antarctica.
P-3 Orion’s first landing at Union Glacier
In conjunction with Center for Scientific Studies (CECs), the Chilean Antarctic Institute (INACH), and the Chilean Navy, ALE supported the first-ever landing of a P-3 Orion at Union Glacier’s blue-ice runway. This landing is the furthest south landing for the Chilean Navy and the furthest south landing of an Orion P-3. Fitted with radar sensors, the aircraft traveled over Antarctica on a surveying mission to map the continent at a higher resolution as part of the “Campaña Antártica Hielo V” mission.
Estación Polar Científica Conjunta Glaciar Unión (EPCCGU)
ALE supported Fuerza Aérea de Chile (FACh) during their activities to open, operate and close EPCCGU. This included cargo flight using ALE aircraft for transport of cargo.
During the season, the President of Chile, Gabriel Boric Font, visited EPCCGU on his way to the South Pole as part of Operation Pole Star III. The visit was supported by two FACh Twin Otter aircraft and two FACh Blackhawk helicopters. ALE provided fuel and other general logistics support for the visit at Union Glacier.