Arrival.

Well it’s not quite arrival! I have been at Mawson station now since Monday 28th February 2011 almost a month. Information on the trip from Hobart on the Aurora Australis will be added later.

But before that here is a bit about the present. I will touch Mawson's interesting features on in future notes. 

The 19 of us who are wintering have over the last 4 weeks has been settling into our work, and getting the station ready for the coming winter and actively doing Fire, Search and Rescue and Survival training. The last of summer visitors left via 3 helicopters to Davis station on 12th March. 

 

Where do we live - The Red shed is a two storey accommodation building from the early eighties. It includes sleeping quarters, laundry and bathrooms as well as doctor’s surgery, operating theatre and small hospital. The kitchen and dining area, recreation area including a bar, pool room, library and small theatre are located at one end. A small home brewery operates in the basement. 

 Basic Services - The station is powered by 2 wind turbines as well as diesel generators. Water comes from melted ice and melt streams in the summer. Sewerage is treated on station and all solids burnt as well as burnable waste. Recyclable and non burnable rubbish are returned to Australia. A chef prepares food, a doctor provides medical services and trades people keep the station ticking over.

Station crew make up the fire and rescue service. 

Where I work - I work at the weather station. Measurements taken from Mawson and other Antarctic stations are used by global computer models for accurate forecasts for up to a week ahead. The long term climate data is also very important in helping to understand changes to global climate including temperatures. On a day to day basis Mawson weather is cold and very windy. Having to climb in and out of cold weather cloths every time you go outside takes a lot of getting used to. 

Mawson is located on a rocky part of the coast and on Horseshoe Harbour. The scenery away from the station is spectacular with the plateau rising behind the station to the south and glaciers to the east and west of horseshoe harbour. The sea has been frozen over since last autumn for about 70 km off the coast.