Schirmacher Oasis, Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica

Adventure Travel in Antarctica - Paradise Less Visited

‘The Icy Continent’, ‘The Home of the Blizzard’, ‘Edge of the World’ and many more epithets describe Antarctica, the coldest, highest, remotest, windiest and driest among all continents. Ringed by an ocean that’s frozen for most of the year, it is a continent draped in darkness for most of the long, harsh winters, a continent groaning under the weight of ice sheets a few thousand meters thick and whose boundaries change each minute owing to variable extent of sea ice.

Among this unending desolation of east Antarctica, lies Dronning Maud Land, directly south of the tip of Africa, which is riddled with numerous Nunataks (mountain peaks jutting out of the ice sheets), rugged Humboldt Mountains and oases of exposed rock in a vast, never ending expanse of ice. This region is home to numerous national research bases, namely, Maitri (India), Novolazarevskaya (Russia), Troll (Norway), Georg Von Neumayer (Germany) and SANAE (South Africa), which are the only outposts of human habitation in the vast desolation Dronning Maud Land. These are round the year bases with a small contingent of scientists and logistics staff wintering over in the continent. Most of the activities in Antarctica are limited to the short summer season. Scientists, and now an ever increasing number of tourists descend on the continent for periods ranging from a few days to months.

The bases are all permanent structures. Most of them are constructed on exposed landmass to ensure longevity. Some of the bases like Neumayer are constructed on ice. These have to be abandoned every few years owing to gradual sinking and eventual burial of the structure in ice. Modern technology has improved the longevity of such bases by a few years, but the life of stations constructed on ice still does not exceed 10 years. Maitri and Novolazarevskaya (Novo) are located on Schirmacher Oasis, a 20 x 3.5 km (12.4 x 2.2 mile) area of exposed rock. Schirmacher Oasis, being close to the Novo runway, is the hub of all activity in the region.

Modern Antarctic bases are very comfortable and well-equipped. Living and working quarters are spacious and have most of the amenities needed for comfortable living. 24 hours running hot and cold water, electricity, central heating, electronic equipment of all sorts, games and sports facilities, audio visual media, books and much more are available. Clothing is now of superior grade as compared to the first half of the 20th century. It’s more lightweight and effective. Synthetic fibre has replaced animal skin and fur.

The quality of food is continuously improving. Nutritional deficiencies are rare and food is more palatable as compared to survival grade rations served till a few years back. A few years back, such rations were not provided. Supplies are constantly improving with each passing year. A lot depends on the logistics. Clothing, boarding, lodging and transportation to and from Antarctica are provided by the respective governments to all the expedition members since these are national expeditions and not privately sponsored.
Research is conducted on a vast variety of scientific disciplines, including geology, glaciology, ornithology, botany, microbiology, meteorology, geophysics, astronomy, oceanography, geomagnetism and many more. Field work is more often than not limited by the number of clear weather days. Once windy and blizzard like conditions set in, they can last for days and sometimes weeks at a stretch. Even during the peak of Antarctic summers, the temperature hovers around freezing point.

Human presence in Antarctica is currently governed by the Antarctica treaty that recognizes no national claims to territory in Antarctica and limits human activity in Antarctica to peaceful, non nuclear scientific research. The emphasis is on causing least possible environmental damage due to human interference. Tourism is not permitted under the Antarctica treaty, though there is no mechanism to prevent private operators from organizing tourist related activities.

Novolazarevskaya accommodates tourists during the summers under a tie up with Antarctica Logistics Company International (ALCI). Private operators offer two-week packages and charge astronomical sums in the region of $40,000 per head. Independent groups go on mountaineering expeditions to the Humboldt Mountains, where temperature hovers in the region of -25°C (-13°F) even in the peak summers. In the summer of 2008-09, a skiing expedition to the South Pole was organized by ALCI.  
Wildlife in Dronning Maud Land is quite unique. The Southern ocean teems with various species of seals and whales. Krill forms the basic component of the food chain. Snow petrel is a pigeon like bird found in these parts. The Skua is a predatory bird. The Adelie penguin is found in abundance. Some areas also abound with the Emperor penguin. Flora is limited to a few species of lichens and moss.

Antarctica is currently accessible only during summers by air and sea. The air link to Dronning Maud Land is provided by ALCI between Cape Town and Novo runway, 10 km (6 miles) away from Schirmacher Oasis. Flights operate between November and March and frequency of flights varies from once a week to once a month. Since the runway is situated on an 800 m (2,625 ft) thick ice sheet, flights can be cancelled for up to one month in the event of excessive melting. Due to the unpredictable weather conditions, flights cannot follow a strict schedule. The runway is maintained by ALCI with assistance from the Russian Antarctic expedition.

A solitary Ilyushin-76 aircraft currently operates between Cape Town and Novo runway. Smaller Basler aircrafts provide taxi service between Novo and other Antarctic bases and also sites for scientific study. These are also used for rescue operations and tourist related activities. The Basler aircraft has now connected Dronning Maud Land with distant bases like Davis (Australia), Zhong Shan (China) and Progress (Russia) in Larsemann Hills and the various stations on the Antarctic Peninsula and the Weddel Sea region.

No sea cruises currently operate to Dronning Maud Land. But national expeditions rely heavily on ships to transport expedition members and supplies to Antarctica. Ships usually ply between January and March, when the sea ice conditions are favorable, though the Russian ice breaker, Akademic Federov, often arrives as late as May.
Most human activity in Antarctica ceases in March, when the summer teams have departed, flight operations have stopped and winter has set in. The winter teams are left behind to face the wrath of the polar winter. This is a period of absolute physical isolation. No evacuation is possible even under the direst circumstances. The seas have frozen over, and flight operations have ceased owing to increasingly unpredictable and harsh weather conditions.

With the onset of winters, the days rapidly become shorter, temperature plummets, frequency of blizzards increases and wildlife migrates to lower latitudes. Good weather days are few and far in between. The two month long polar night stretches from May to July. Temperature on rocky areas is about -35°C (-31°F), whereas on the ice sheets, it can go down to as low as -55°C (-67°F). Physical hardship is not as much due to the cold as due to the windy conditions. Wind speeds in the region of 100 knots are the routine and blow incessantly for a few days to weeks. Every 4-5 days a fresh low pressure system hits the coast, often causing a blizzard. The blizzards bring with them copious amount of snow, making outdoor activity impossible.

Life support systems of the bases are put under great strain. Though the bases are centrally heated, outdoor activity requires polar clothing. This includes three layers of clothing – woolen underwear, a warm shirt and trousers and the outer layer that can be a wind-insulated dungaree, or a jacket and a lower. Balaclavas, triple-layered gloves with liners, snow boots with liners or mukluks, polar socks and snow goggles complete the kit. While indoors, one can wear comfortable clothing due to controlled temperatures.
Since most of the bases in Dronning Maud Land are at a distance from the coast, convoy trains operate through most of the winters, when ice conditions are stable, to tow the supplies dropped off by the ship at the coast, to the station. The convoy is the most daunting winter task for all teams and consumes a major chunk of energy and resources of the station and team members.

The winters are a very gloomy time for all teams. Many team members develop psychological disturbances of various degrees. This has been taken care of to a large extent with the advent of internet connectivity and television broadcast at most bases. Telephone connectivity has also improved manifold. But long periods of inactivity and physical isolation do take their toll. On 21st June, mid-winter day celebrations are held all over Antarctica. This is the only festival celebrated all over Antarctica and is unique to the continent. The celebrations break the monotony to a great extent. They generally consist of parties, music, dance, cultural programs, indoor games, etc. These may vary from one station to the other.

Conditions improve in September when temperatures begin to rise, days become progressively longer and outdoor activity begins. Preparations for the coming summer season begin in right earnest. The summer camps are spruced up, emergency demand lists are drawn up and teams prepare to receive the new expedition and await the transfer back to their home land on completion of their expedition. The winter season ends with the start of flight operation in October end/ November. Wildlife returns by October, lakes begin to melt and sun is out for most part of the day. This is the time for the old teams to depart after handing over charge to the new teams. The cycle repeats itself year after year.

About the Author

Dr. Abhijeet Bhatia has wintered over in Antarctica at the Indian Antarctica Research Base, Maitri, as the team doctor of the 27th Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica. He maintains his own blog based on his experiences in Antarctica (www.imprintsonice.blogspot.com). His is the only wintering blog by an Indian from Antarctica. He can be contacted on abhijeetbhatia77@gmail.com.