Overland Transport
A new Brazilian scientific laboratory, the Criosfera 2, was installed this past summer on the Skytrain Ice Rise in Antarctica. The Criosfera 2, similar to its predecessor The Criosfera 1, is a completely self-sustaining laboratory. It uses only wind and solar energy to run year-round, as it collects meteorological information for the Brazilian National Institute [...]
Professors Chris Fogwill and Chris Turney are in the news again, with a new study that highlights the crucial role that Antarctic sea ice plays in controlling global CO² levels. ARC Linkage Research Project ALE has a long association with the duo, providing logistic and financial support for fieldwork focused on changes in ice sheet [...]
Al may be the most elusive member of the ALE team and it took a bit of bribery to trick him into giving us an ‘interview’. Al works behind the scenes, overseeing ALE's mechanical services department and without him, Union Glacier Camp wouldn't run. So meet the man behind the machines - and be warned [...]
A review of the Subglacial Lake Ellsworth project was recently published in The Annals of Glaciology. The article included details of the Lake Ellsworth field experiment, the circumstances that led to its failure and the corrections required for future success. This UK project, involving the British Antarctic Survey, the National Oceanography Centre and several Universities, [...]
The ALE mechanical team has completed their first big project of the season, a 280 km tractor-train traverse to the Lake Ellsworth drilling site. The tractor-train loaded with equipment arrived at Lake Ellsworth on Saturday November 24, after a difficult journey through soft snow from Union Glacier Camp. ALE Team Preps Drill Site The mech [...]
There is excitement in the air at ALE as we gear up for the new season, especially because of our logistic role in one of the top Antarctic science projects this year. Searching for Life in Antarctica’s Subglacial Lakes This season, after years of planning and logistic preparations, a team of British scientists and engineers [...]
Criosfera 1, the first Brazilian standalone module for atmospheric data collection, has arrived at its destination on the West Antarctic ice sheet. “It is a pioneering achievement of Brazil’s institutions and a landmark for the Brazilian Antarctic Program. When we return from the expedition, automatic equipment of weather monitoring, measurement of carbon dioxide, also [...]
ALE presented a Poster Paper and attended a workshop on Inland Traverses in Antarctica, hosted by the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs (COMNAP) in Stockholm on July 31, 2011. Antarctic traverses are undertaken by many nations and there is a growing interest by other countries who wish to develop their capability in this area. [...]