*PREPARATIONS FOR THE FIELD

• Reception and planning for your event

  The reception was well organised, friendly and efficient. The main issues of the event were promptly discussed and organised. The delayed travel to Antarctica was constructively discussed.

• Availability and condition of equipment received

  Most of the equipment requested from Scott Base was supplied in time and in good condition. In the following we would like to point out a few details.

  Chainsaw : An electric chainsaw was provided from Scott Base to help cutting the drilling and core logging trench on Mt Erebus Saddle where the firn below 1.5 m was extremely dense and difficult to cut with hand saws. Regrettably, the saw available was externally vented and ice cutting dust was sucked into the motor where it melted and caused mote arcing. The saw was not used once this began but confirmed that a suitable un-vented electric chain saw would be very helpful for trench cutting in the future.

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  Electrical: Field Equipment: We were grateful for the provision of a 25 m electrical extension lead from Scott Base. Unfortunately this heavy-duty lead and the smaller white leads provided are PVC sheaved and become extremely stiff in the cold. Leads made from either natural rubber cabling or new synthetic low temperature cabling would give better and safer field service.

  Field Fuel storage and use: K049 used both a mixture of 209 and 60 litre drums of Mogas and Kerosene. In general the drums were in good condition and no spills occurred. To improve handing of fuel in the field we suggest that Ant.NZ consider providing:

  • Collapsible bunds for bulk drum storage. The US program has several sizes of bund available ranging from single drums to butyl rubber bunds for multiple drums.
  • Trigger hand pieces on manual fuel pumps used in the field.

• Field training

  The field training was helpful and appropriate for the new members of our team. The full AFT training for Kingan was unhelpful and a waste of resources and time. The re-fresher AFT for Pyne and Bertler was helpful and appreciated. The frequency of full AFT requirements for experienced people should be reviewed to take account of personal experience and regular Antarctic activity that includes fieldwork. The "current" 3 year frequency is too short.

• Field party equipment shakedown journey

  To test our drilling equipment before deploying to EPG, we conducted a test drill at Windless Bight (Fig.1). This is a convenient location, as it is close to Scott Base and also a future drill site of ANDRILL. The shakedown went well, none of the equipment suffered from the transport. The 21m firn core will be the basis for a MSc study to quantify dust input into the McMurdo Sound and hereby has the potential to contribute directly to the ANDRILL science effort.

  

  Fig. 1: Test drilling at Windless Bight

• Delays at Scott Base, whatever the cause

  All staff at Scott Base were very helpful and supportive, allowing a smooth operation of our project. However, three independent breakdowns of Hugglands delayed somewhat our test drilling and traverse to EPG. Due to unsuitable weather conditions at MES, field deployment was deferred for one day.

• Safety and Risk Management processes

  The safety and risk assessment was appreciated.

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• General comments about Scott Base

  The staff at Scott Base create a very friendly, supportive environment. We are grateful for the helpful and professional support we received from Scott Base staff.