Categoria: Articoli

The Italians did participate in the first Antarctic missions mostly as members of expeditions and/or with the support of other Countries.

Giacomo Bove, at the end of 1800, unsuccessfully sought funding for an Italian Antarctic Expedition and then carried out one in the sub-antarctic islands on behalf of Argentina.

Pierre Dayné, an Alpine scout from the Aosta Valley, was the first Italian to spend the winter in Antarctica. It was the 1903-05 expedition of Jean Baptiste Charcot.

Luigi Bernacchi, was a doctor on the Borchgrevinck expedition. He spent the polar night of the year 1900. Bernacchi was not exactly an Italian but a Tasmanian of Italian origins.

Around the 1950s an Italian film expedition, under the direction of Arturo Gemmiti did  work for a while at the Chilean bases.

Lieutenant Franco Faggioni carried out seismic measurements at Scott Base during the International Geophysical Year of 1957. (See pic aside)

In the same years, a passionate scholar of the Arctic and Antarctic, Silvio Zavatti, tried to organize a national expedition but the time was not ripe; he managed to visit Bouvet Island anyway. As a scholar and explorer he promoted expeditions to Greenland and Antarctica and in 1958 he developed a program for the construction of a permanent Italian scientific base in the Norwegian Antarctic sector.

We were already in the early 60s when an Italian group of researchers joining the Belgian expedition, performed an ice core drilling in Queen Maud Land.

In 1962, geologist Ardito Desio was able to visit the Dry Valley, near the American McMurdo Base, and also the South Pole Station.

The mountaineer Carlo Mauri also visited Dry Valley  a few years later (1967) as a guest of the New Zealand mission.

Between the late 1960s and early 1970s, an enterprising merchant navy officer, Giovanni Ajmone Cat, made two trips from Italy to the Antarctic Peninsula aboard a felucca of which he was the designer and captain, as well as the owner. It was the first time that a vessel flying the Italian flag sailed in Antarctic waters.

Italian sensitivity towards the Antarctic, was therefore maturing in those years and the first institutional interventions began to be recorded: the National Research Council (CNR) organized three interventions, albeit limited in duration and resources, which nevertheless proved to be decisive for the maturation of an Italian government commitment. This would be implemented, with the name of PNRA, in the 1980s. The CNR expeditions, evidently had to rely on the logistics of another country (NZ), they developed in Victoria Land (1968-69, 1972-73 and 1975-76) and had a character that was not only scientific but also mountaineering.

It was the austral summer of 1975-76 when Renato Cepparo, entrepreneur from Milan, conceived and organized a completely self-sufficient private expedition with the aim of carrying out scientific measurements and building a permanent refuge;  fifteen men on board a 900-ton Norwegian ship headed for King George Island (Antarctic Peninsula) and the base, named after Giacomo Bove (See pic aside) was built down there. However, it was short-lived, because shortly afterwards an Argentine military group proceeded to demolish it, perhaps not having appreciated that settlement, in an area subject to national claims!

 

Pierre Dayné
The figure of the Italian, Pierre Dayné, an alpine guide from Valsavarenche Aosta Valley, Italy, has been unjustly forgotten for too many years. Pierre Dayné was the only alpine guide of Jean Baptiste Charcot’s French Antarctic expedition from 1903 to 1905.

The series of five postcards published by “TURIN POLAR” and the related postmark issued for the 120^th anniversary (1904-2024) celebrating the first Italian in Antarctica, intend to recall the expedition and its ascents following Jean Baptiste Charcot’s mission 1903-1905.

In 1903, learning that the Nordenskjold expedition was lost in Antarctic waters, Charcot decided to rush to its rescue with the “Francais”, a 32  meter long, 3 masted ship. Its crew was made up of French scientists and sailors with the sole exception of an alpine guide from the Aosta Valley: Pierre Dayné. The ship, having left France on April 31, 1903, docked in Brazil and then reached the mouth of the Rio de la Plata where it underwent repairs from damage suffered during the crossing. Here Charcot learned that the purpose of his voyage was no longer valid since in the meantime, the Nordenskjold expedition had been saved. Charcot nevertheless continued southwards, towards the Strait of Gerlache around which his expedition would take place.

In Dayné’s Alpine Guide booklet we find very interesting attestations issued by Charcot at the end of the 1903-1905 expedition. “The guide Pierre Dayné was part of the French Antarctic expedition that I commanded. I was very satisfied with him from all points of view. Extremely courageous and equipped with exceptional physical strength, he rendered great services on several occasions due to his habit of long marches and glaciers. In particular, 2 beautiful ascents completed in adverse conditions on Wandel Island and Wiencke Island are to be highlighted. We have christened the latter with the name of “Pique Louis de Savoie”. I am very happy to issue him with this certificate. Done in Paris on 18/7/1905

Signed: J.B. Charcot, expedition leader of the French Antarctic expedition “

And about the climb to Louisi Peak made by Dayné with the naturalist Jabel, Charcot wrote in his logbook: “Finally the two of them reach us exhausted by fatigue because they have been marching for over 22 hours. Pierre says that it was one of the hardest and most dangerous climbs he has ever made. We congratulate them and I decide to give this 1500 m high peak the name of the Duke of the Abruzzi to please Pierre Dayné and to pay homage to the great royal explorer.”

The first real mountaineering ascents in Antarctica are therefore due to Pierre Dayné and as such, his name deserves to be remembered in the great book of Antarctic explorers.
Pierre Dayné died on March 23, 1936 in Villeneuve. Aosta Valley, Italy.

TNX Giancarlo Poletto for the 5 post cards with philatelic cancellation, scattered &  shown in this article

The beacon is situated in a loft space of Old Bransfield House at Rothera Station (WAP GBR-12), Adelaide Island, British Graham Land. The transmitter is the original Pye transmitter which Laurence ‘Flo’ Howell first made VP8ADE out of (in 1978 approximately). It has a new keyer based on a PIC to replace the original G8AGN diode matrix keyer which broke down.
Here aside, is a picture of Flo  and antenna on the tower; below is Flo in the loft with the beacon.

Feb 2024 –  Flo KL7L, the beacon’s founder, has confirmed via contact with R that the beacon is indeed online, producing 10W up the pipe into an antenna. Surely not the same bamboo & wire effort from 2010…!

Sep 28 2023 – VP8ADE identified & recorded by F5MTH listening via a webSDR which was located in Brazil

Sep 27 2022 – VP8ADE identified by F4CXO in JN26PP

Nov 29th 2019 – VP8ADE recorded & confirmed in Tierra del Fuego by LU1XU.

Nov 2016: VP8ADE confirmed operational by the WONDERFUL Bonner Babe at Rothera, still transmitting through the old bamboo antenna!

Oct 2011 – across Northern Europe has VP8ADE been heard, in particular by Arvid Husdal, SWL, in Kristiansand, Norway.

Oct 2010 F5OUX Cyril and other French hams successfully recorded VP8ADE.

VP8ADE‘s antenna is now a vertical quarter-wavelength of wire supported on a bamboo, mounted on the balcony around the ops tower. In the background of the pic here aside,  the rotatable log-periodic HF antenna used for HF SSB comms with aircraft and sledge parties can also be seen as well as are marine & aeronautical VHF and an Iridium satellite antenna on the tower.

VP8ADE is the only Amateur radio beacon in Antarctica.The most likely point of failure is the vertical bamboo antenna……

The Old Timers will certainly remember  Laurence ‘Flo’ Howell, who use to operate as VP8SB from Rothera Station (WAP GBR-12) on Adelaide island
His QSL card, did report among the list of Flo callsigns,  over 40 years ago did report among the list of calls used by Flo,  the VP8ADE’s beacon callsign as well!
TNX Flo KL7L & Olivier F6EPN (Spratley Woody)

Parts of icy Antarctica are turning green with plant life at an alarming rate as the region is gripped by extreme heat events, according to new research, sparking concerns about the changing landscape on this vast continent.

Scientists used satellite imagery and data to analyze vegetation levels on the Antarctic Peninsula, a long mountain chain that points north to the tip of South America, and which has been warming much faster than the global average.

They found plant life — mostly mosses — had increased in this harsh environment more than 10-fold over the past four decades, according to the study by scientists at the universities of Exeter and Hertfordshire in England, and the British Antarctic Survey, published Friday in the journal Nature Geoscience.

Vegetation covered less than 0.4 square miles of the Antarctic Peninsula in 1986 but had reached almost 5 square miles by 2021, the study found. The rate at which the region has been greening over nearly four decades has also been speeding up, accelerating by more than 30% between 2016 and 2021.

Red more at: Antarctica is turning green at an alarming rate, satellite images show | CNN
Thanks and Credit to CNN 

 

For more than 20 years, Prof. Julius Fabbri has tried to gain international recognition of a time 49 years ago when an Italian private expedition built a Scientific Base in Antarctica.

In late 1975, the Italian explorer Renato Cepparo and his 14 crew members were about to embark on a private expedition to Antarctica. The expedition had been given a clearance by the Antarctic Treaty System, and the crew members were prepared to establish Italy’s very first Base in Antarctica.

Unfortunately, a few days before they were set to sail out from Montevideo, Uruguay, Cepparo received a letter from the Argentinean government. The letter informed him that Argentina had exercised a veto, and that Italy was no longer allowed to construct their base on the southern continent. Cepparo and his crew, though, were sure that they had their authorization in order, so they decided to start their expedition as planned.

The story is  very long and WAP will not enter now into details, but the facts  remain and make the whole story paradoxical. For sure everything is well known by the Argentine authorities who, with a gesture of sincere friendship and transparency could make it public!

 

After many vicissitudes, Cepparo’s  expedition landed in Antarctica and the Base, was built, this is a fact.  The Giacomo Bove Station, named after a 19th century Italian explorer, was inaugurated on January 20th, 1976.

Ham radio was performed at Giacomo Bove Camp  as well, with the callsign I1SR/p (WAP ITA-Ø2) and QSL card to confirm the contacts, have been printed and sent.
The evidence says that Argentina did destroy Giacomo Bove Station when  in September of 1976, they sent an icebreaker to the South Shetland Islands to tear down the newly inaugurated Base. In the middle of the Antarctic winter, the Argentians did take the Base off in the same time it had taken to construct: three to four days. The materials, which had just arrived in Antarctica, were transported back to Buenos Aires. Prof. Fabbri strongly believe that,  some if it, either hidden or forgotten,   is still stored in a military facility in the Argentinian capital.

 

«I hope someone will tell the world where they are. It’s a mystery, no one wants to remember this cold case which I have been trying to open since 2003», Prof. Julius Fabbri said.

 

As a day job, Julius Fabbri (IV3CCT-II3BOVE) teaches science at a high school in Trieste, a city in northeastern Italy, but since he was young his hobby has been to be a radio operator. And in the Italian hobbyist radio operator community the story of Renato Cepparo’s Antarctic mission, a story that is otherwise not well-known, has become legendary.

Prof. Julius Fabbri himself first heard about it in 2003 when he made his first and only trip to Antarctica. While there, a colleague told him about it, and since then he has been researching the incident passionately and, some would say, obsessively.

Back in 2008, for instance, as a project in his science class, Prof. Fabbri and his students built a full-scale model of the ruins of Giacomo Bove Base, and a few years later, he helped design a virtual 3D model of it.

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«Most people just laugh when I tell them what I know; they don’t believe its a true story, but there are official documents, publications and articles that confirm it,  and I even met one of the mariners from the Argentinean navy who wrote a detailed account of this diplomatic incident,” Julius Fabbri says.

The first days of spring in the Antarctic: for over a month, the island of Galindez has been almost completely packed with ice

We already have good news about the past winter, say the researchers : sea ice has formed near “Vernadsky Station (WAP UKR-Ø1)” ; our polar explorers reported that since August 5, they cannot go out into the ocean by boat, because the water area around Galindez Island, where the Station is located, is packed with ice.
“Yesterday, we looked at satellite images, and there was 100 km of ice around,” says Vitaly Kaminsky, a participant of the 29th UAE. What the station looks like in ice captivity, see in incredible pictures from a drone. For comparison, last year 2023 there was almost no sea ice in our region, and the year itself became a record for the minimum amount of such ice in the Antarctic for the entire time of observations.

Sea ice plays an important role in the Antarctic ecosystem. It acts as a “blanket” that separates the ocean from the atmosphere. In addition to blocking sunlight from entering the water and reflecting it, the ice also traps the heat in the ocean, preventing it from heating the air.

The ice floes are the birthplace of seal cubs, rest and travels of various types of adult seals and emperor penguins.

By the way, very soon we expect the appearance of Weddell seal pups near “Vernadsky“.

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TNX Dr. Vitaly Kaminsky for the pic and information

The Southern Hemisphere polar vortex took a unique journey this winter. A mid-July, minor Sudden Stratospheric Warming event saw the vortex become elongated, weaker, wobbly. This stratospheric anomaly affected tropospheric weather patterns, but now appears to be easing. In late July and early August, a rapid stratosphere-troposphere coupling contributed to the development of a major high pressure cell and heatwave over Antarctica, while a very deep low formed over the Southern Ocean, and a heat dome affected Australia. It was associated with relatively cool conditons in Chile and Argentina.
New Zealand experienced, and continues to experience, rounds of strong, westerly winds and active weather because of this. However, mid-to-late September may take on a different flavour, as a La Niña-like weather pattern takes shape and grabs hold of Mother Nature’s “steering wheel”. This may result in the formation of a blocking high pressure system to the south-east of the country and a slowing of the general weather patterns.

Read also:  The rare event driving the Southern Hemisphere’s weather | NIWA

An unusual disturbance high above Antarctica is causing polar air to encroach on different parts of the Southern Hemisphere, including New Zealand.  Every winter, a ring of stormy, freezing weather – known as the polar vortex – encircles Antarctica. Typically, it keeps harsh, wintry conditions locked up near the south pole. NIWA meteorologists discussed the polar vortex in their just-issued Seasonal Climate Outlook for August-October.
NIWA, the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, is a crown Research Institute established in 1992. It operates a stand-alone company with its own Board of Directors and Executive.

Thanks and credit to NIWA: Home | NIWA

Leidos is the prime contractor supporting the U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP) with several teammates. Together the support contract is known as the Antarctic Support Contract (ASC).

See: Antarctic Support Contract | Leidos

First up, the large-and-in-charge C-17 Globemaster! Operated by the 62nd Airlift Wing out of Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state, the C-17 can carry more than 10,000 lbs. of cargo or up to 125 personnel virtually anywhere in the world. They move more than 2.5 million lbs. of supplies to Antarctica every year to keep USAP operational. These large aircraft provide vital air-drop capabilities, and they are the only U.S. aircraft capable of a mid-winter evacuation.

ASC is celebrating the many aircraft that it relies on to support the National Science Foundation (NSF) United States Antarctic Program.

We’ve highlighted the large cargo planes, but small fixed/rotary wing aircraft are also essential to supporting USAP science teams out in the field. USAP utilizes a fleet of three helicopters, each capable of landings at altitudes of 12,500 ft. above sea level; a DC-3T (BT-67) Basler medium lift aircraft, which can transport 20 passengers or 5,000 lbs. cargo; and the USAP de Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter, which provides access to deep field science camps in hard-to-reach areas.

Now in the Northern hemisphere it’s almost summertime, the ideal period to travel to the northern latitude while in about 6 months time, it will be better heading to the South Pole.

Our “WAP Ambassador” Dr. Volker Strecke DL8JDX is again on board of  Polar cruise  MS “Hamburg” as lecturer and support guide and this time they will visit Norwegian Fjords  and Spitzbergen islands.
Volker was in the Svalbard;  at Longyearbyen last july 23 and 24 and at Ny Alesund on july 25.

From there he sent greetings and a couple of Polar envelopes with some interesting cancellations.
WAP readers and followers send Volker greetings for the hot weather that hits our sunny plains!

TNX Voklker DL8JDX

A protection perimeter drawn around Endurance, one of the world’s greatest shipwrecks, is being widened from a radius of 500m to 1,500m.
The extended zone will further limit activities close to the vessel, which sank in 1915 during an ill-fated Antarctic expedition led by celebrated polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton. 
The measure is part of a newly published “Conservation Management Plan” (CMP). Already, no-one should retrieve or even touch objects in the protected zone. Everything must be left in situ.
The perimeter update is a recognition that debris from Endurance – including crew belongings – may be strewn across a larger area of ocean floor than previously thought. The ship lies 3,000m down in the Weddell Sea. 
(Pic above, shows the oil painting by George Cummings)

“Endurance is very well protected where it is now, given its remoteness, depth and a near-permanent cover of sea-ice,” explained Camilla Nichol, the chief executive of the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust, which drew up the CMP in partnership with Historic England. 
Read the full article at: Shackleton: Famed explorer’s Endurance ship gets extra protection (bbc.com)

Thanks and credit to BBC

El País is a national Uruguayan daily newspaper one of the most important source of information in  Uruguay. It is based in the capital city of Montevideo and is regarded as the newspaper with the largest circulation in the Country. It was first published on September 14, 1918 and previously belonged to the same media group as the television network Teledoce.  and  an important newspaper il Uruguay.

Recently, El Pais has pubblished a series of articles about Antarctica, an interesting work carried out in collaboration with the Instituto Antártico Uruguayo (IAU) and the Ministerio de Defense Nacional.

WAP is happy to share the first one which starti with a trip on the Hercules plane and a view of the Artigas Base inside. Fly with us and enjoy the trip.

To get to Antarctica from Uruguay you need to make two flights on a Hercules Air Force plane. After eleven hours you arrive at the Teniente Marsh Airport, close to the Artigas Base, the only access to King George Island by air.
Uruguay has two Bases in Antarctica: Artigas (WAP URY-Ø1) and Teniente de Navió Ruperto Elichiribehety Station (WAP URY-NEW).
Artigas Base is the most popular and has the greatest presence of people: in summer about 50 people can live there while in winter only eight live there. Scientists and the military coexist in this place where the development of science is the priority. Uruguay is present in the area and has been part of the Antarctic Treaty for 40 years. El País traveled to Antarctica in February 2024 to learn first-hand how the Artigas Antarctic Scientific Base works, who travels to that place, why Uruguay has a presence and how people live on this Continent.

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Thanks and credit to: Istituto Antartico Uruguayo and El Pais

 

People may not be aware of the historical richness of Hobart in Tasmania in relation to Antarctica. Most of the greats of Antarctic exploration had a connection to this town. Biscoe, Dumont D’Urville, Ross, Bernacchi, Borchgrevink, Weddell, Mawson, Amundsen, Franklin, Furneaux, Crozier and others. As a staging point for Antarctic expeditions, Hobart was in an ideal position and is still today one of the Antarctic gateway cities. Not everyone used it though and Scott and Shackleton never came here but they still had some connections to it.
The author of this article tells  one story from its rich history. Roald Amundsen is probably most famous for being the first to reach the South Pole in the ‘race’ against Robert Falcon Scott. Tragically, Scott and his companions died in their attempt. While they were still trudging through the snow, Amundsen had completed his mission and returned to his base camp, boarded his ship, Fram, and headed back to Hobart.
On his trek to the Pole, Amundsen slept in a small, cramped tent with his companions, while the Antarctic winds battered it from all sides, but I don’t recall him ever complaining. However, when he arrived back in Hobart on the 7th March, 1912, after his epic adventure he described his hotel room as ‘miserable and small’. He wrote in his diary that he was treated as a tramp.
This wasn’t so surprising when you consider that he didn’t announce his arrival, was wearing a seaman’s sweater, peaked cap, speaking with a foreign accent and perhaps looking worse for wear after 99 days of trekking in the ice. To the owners of Hadley’s Hotel he looked like someone who might skip out without paying but they gave him a cramped room under the stairwell anyway.
The next day Amundsen went to have photographic plates developed and sent a coded telegram to his brother to give to the King of Norway announcing his success in reaching the Pole. A few days later when the news reached the media his hotel lobby was crowded with reporters. He was no longer the foreign tramp but Amundsen the great explorer. A thanksgiving service was held for him in the cathedral opposite the hotel and boat races held in his honour. Amundsen hosted a dinner for his entire crew at Hadleys and his earlier treatment was forgiven and forgotten.
If you go today to the Grand Mercure Hadleys Hotel you’ll find the Amundsen Suite, a grand double suite, which is nothing like the small room Amundsen actually spent a few nights in.

Thanks and credit to Robert Evans at:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/2212798205/?hoisted_section_header_type=recently_seen&multi_permalinks=10163721019658206

WAP staff wishes all Antarcticians a Happy Easter celebration, with the hope that Holy Easter brings PEACE to the world

Climate researchers on board the RRS Sir David Attenborough have described their latest polar expedition as “really successful”.

A team of 40 scientists, led by the University of East Anglia (UEA), have spent the last month conducting research in the Antarctic.

They have been investigating how carbon dioxide moves and transforms from the atmosphere into the Southern Ocean in the hope of improving models that make predictions about climate change.

Some of the work, such as operating underwater gliders, has been carried out remotely, almost 9,000 miles (14,500 km) at the UEA’s campus in Norwich.

Prof Karen Heywood, the UEA’s lead principal investigator, said her team had used “every scientific capability the ship had”. “We’ve been deploying instruments from the ship to profile the ocean, we’ve been collecting lots of  water for analysing and we’ve been looking at how much krill there is,” she said.

Read more at: UEA scientists say latest polar research expedition ‘successful’ (bbc.com)

Thanks and credit to BBC

WAP Antarctic Bulletin nr. 302, released on Febr. 18^th 2024 is available online with last info and reported activity from Antarctica.

Bull 302 is downloadable at: http://www.waponline.it/wap-antarctic-bulletins/

This issue contains the information and the guide for the important Argentine Activity (22 February-10 March 2024) to celebrate  the 120 years of continuous presence of Argentina in Antarctica and the related available Certificate.

TNX Max IK1GPG and Betty IK1QFM, editors of WAP Antarctic Bulletins.

In the summer of 1924 Ernst Krenkel went to Leningrad with what little money he had saved, hoping to find employment as the radio operator on any ship undertaking a long voyage. At that time, only specially designated Soviet vessels went on long voyages, and in Leningrad there were already qualified naval radio operators without work. Just when Krenkel had given up all hope of finding work he was told that the hydrographic management bureau was in urgent need of a radio operator prepared to go on any expedition, to any island in the Arctic ocean. There was little interest because the pay was poor and it was necessary to be away for the whole year, living in ‘hellish’ conditions.

Ernst rushed around for an interview, and was offered a post. With a small advance on his salary, and wearing his new naval uniform he set off by train to Arkhangelsk (Archangel). On arrival he was assigned to the “ Yugorski Shar “ which was preparing to take the relief crew to the first Soviet polar observatory “Matochkin Shar”, constructed the year before on the northern coast of the Matochkin Shar strait of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago.

After returning to Moscow the following year he was enlisted in the Red Army and served in the radiotelegraphic battalion in Vladimir. At around this time the USSR government decided to allow ‘private radio stations’ on the short-waves. Ham radio was born in the USSR and Ernst Krenkel was delighted. Soon he was on-air using homebrew equipment, with the callsign EU2EQ (later U3AA).

This is just a brief anticipation of what is well reported in the detailed article available with lots of historic pictures which tell of the heroic deeds of Ernst Krenkel RAEM.

Read the whole history at: https://qst.su/archives/29525

But Ernst Krenkel  traveled also to Antarctica and operated under the call RAEM/MM in 1968/1969. Thanks to Oleg UA6GG for providing WAP few historical QSLs shown above, which confirm Krenkel’s radio operations activity in Antarctica

TNX Oleg UA6GG
www.dxtrophy.com

Hi folks,
for the whole 2023 we have dedicated our efforts as we have done for over 40 years. We have followed the activities of the Nations, Researchers and Personnel in Antarctica, animated by the passion that has not abandoned us until now.
With this spirit, we wish our Readers, the Radio Amateurs from all over the world who follow us and all those who love Antarctica as we love it, the best wishes for the coming up 2024 , which will certainly find us a little older but always here,  turning the VFO knob.

We hope and wish the whole world a year of PEACE, that hatred between peoples ceases … we need PEACE,  peace not bombs!

With best wishes from Max IK1GPG, Betty IK1QFM, Gianni I1HYW together with thousands of friends who share and help us to keep alive the love for Antarctica, a land of peace and research for the good of humanity.
Sincerely,

Happy and prosperous 2024 everyone

The Belgrano 2 Base Crew, together with the Mactrail company, did  embark on the ARA Almirante Irizar Icebreaker , a shelter that will be installed 350 km from the Base in the direction of the South Pole. It will serve as a logistical support point for a future expedition.

The Huts should be two, one named “Refugio Base Antarctica Esperanza”    and the second one named “Refugio Base Belgrano 2”.

New ones to look for …

While waiting two years and three months to be rescued when their sloop Favorite was shipwrecked at Kerguelen in 1825, the British sealer and cartographer John Nunn and his crew spent some miserable months trying to survive on Saddle Island  (now called Ile de l’Ouest) at  49°17’59” South, 70°31’56” East,  buffeted by the merciless westerly winds.
Nunn concluded that there was a better chance of being discovered on the southeastern part of Grande Terre, the main island, so his group gradually skirted the southern coast in search of a place to settle in. (Image above is extracted from page 148 of Narrative of the Wreck of the “Favourite” on the Island of Desolation: detailing the adventures, sufferings and privations of J. Nunn, an historical account of the Island, and its whale and seal fisheries, by NUNN, John. Original held and digitised by the British Library. )

After passing Shoal water Bay (now called Baie Norvégienne), they were eventually able to find an area suitable for monitoring passing ships at Long Point (now called Pointe Charlotte) on the East coast of Courbet Peninsula, where they built two comfortable cabins which they baptized Hope Cottage.

The group was finally spotted in 1827 by Captain Alexander Distant on the schooner Sprightly, belonging to the celebrated shipowner Enderby of London. Nunn and his crewmates joined the Sprightly in hunting whales and elephant seals until 25 March 1829, at which point they were finally returned to Harwich, England  four years after the shipwreck.

In 1997, the French post office issued a 20-franc air mail stamp to commemorate the shipwrecks and the construction of Hope Cottage.

Thanks and credit: Kerguelen Islands, French Southern and Antarctic Lands (Part 1) – Iles Kerguelen, TAAF (discoverfrance.net)

 

Giant under water landslides induced in Antarctica by the climate crisis might lead to tsunami waves with the potential to cause a “substantial loss of life far from their origin”, according to a new study. Underwater landslides are global hazards that can displace large volumes of sediment and generate killer tsunamis. For instance, a submarine landslide near Papua Nwe Guinea in 1998 generated tsunami waves that killed 2,200 people. Researchers, including those from the University of Plymouth in the US, discovered that between 3 and 15 million years ago, during a past period of global heating, loose sediment layers slipped in Antarctica, triggering giant tsunamis that ravaged the shores of New Zealand, southeast Asia and South America. In the new study, published recently in the journal Nature Communications, scientists found extensive layers of weak, fossilised and biologically rich sediment hundreds of metres beneath the seafloor. Read more at: Scientists warn climate crisis could trigger giant killer tsunamis resulting in ‘huge loss of life’ | The Independent

Interesting is the chart provided by Climatologist  Cliff Harris and Meteorologist Randy Mann.
They said:  We should remember, that the Earth’s coldest periods have usually followed excessive warmth. Such was the case when our planet moved from the Medieval Warm Period between 900 and 1300 A.D. to the sudden “Little Ice Age,” which peaked in the 17th Century. Since 2,500 B.C., it’s estimated that there have been over 70 major climate changes worldwide, including two major changes in just the past 50 years. In terms of upcoming cooling and warming periods, only time will tell.

Read more at: Global Temperature Trends From 2500 B.C. to 2040 A.D. (longrangeweather.com)

What follows is an abstract of a most complete past  history of Castaway Depots (Huts)  in the remote Sub Antarctic Islands of New Zealand. Most of the Huts and Depots in these islands are listed on the WAP WADA Directory and they just need to be visited by Hams to put such  rare ones on the air.

The Snares Islands in particular (The Snares consist of the main North East Island WAP NZL-10 and the smaller Broughton island as well as the Western Chain Islands) , but also Antipodes Islands (The island group consists of one main island, Antipodes Island WAP NZL-11, Bollons Island to the North, and numerous small islets and stacks), and some never activated islands in the Aucklands Group (Auckland Island WAP NZL-Ø4 & NZL-Ø9 is surrounded by smaller Adams Island, Enderby Island WAP NZL-Ø8, Disappointment Island, Ewing Island, Rose Island, Dundas Island, and Green Island).

Also known as Castaway Huts, Castaway depots were small shelters strategically placed on isolated islands by governments or maritime organisations and equipped with basic supplies and tools to people who survived shipwrecked and found themselves stranded. These little isolated huts tell legendary stories of bravery, adventure and loss, passed down for generations, but was has become of them? Are there any left?

Picture aside: Snares Island Castaway Depot & Research Hut first built by the New Zealand government in the 1880s, is now maintained as an historic site by the Department of Conservation. The use of Castaway depots began in the 19^th Century and continued into the 20^th Century and typically contained items such as food, water, medical supplies, and other essential items that could help stranded seafarers survive until escape or rescue. The idea was started by the New Zealand government in the 19^th century when it erected several depots scattered across the Chatham, Kermadec, and the Subantarctic Islands. One particular island, Disappointment Island, had been named as such due to the frequent occurrence of shipwrecks on the island and its extreme lack of resources. The small hut-like structures could withstand high winds and hurricanes as best as possible for as long as possible in the hopes of saving the lives of potentially shipwrecked men.

There are at least five notable shipwrecks that occurred on the Auckland Islands in which all or most of the crew was saved by the provisions left in castaway depots. The last shipwrecked crew to survive as castaways was the crew of the French barque President Felix Faure that was wrecked off the North Cape of Antipodes Island in 1908. The entire crew made it to shore close to a castaway depot. When all the supplies had been depleted, the crew hunted albatross, penguins, and a single calf; the sole remnant of the cattle that had been set ashore with other supplies by the Hinemoa, a New Zealand government service steamer that serviced and patrolled New Zealand territorial waters. The crew of was rescued by the HMS Pegasus and eventually made a successful return journey to France via Sydney.
Thanks and credit:  A Shipwrecked Sailor’s Guide to Castaway Depots (messynessychic.com)

WAP wish the readers a Wonderful Easter time

May a desire for peace among peoples be our best wish now and ahead

by WAP Staff

 

Valery Sushkov RW3GW is an Old Timer DXpeditionner and actual President of the Russian Robinson Club (RRC).

Valery is a researcher, postal historian, traveler and marketer, document-list, chief postmaster of the International Society of Philatourism, author of the new concept of “philatourism” in the history of world tourism practice, curator of the Museum of World Postal Communications. Project Manager & Postal Adventure. Visited more than 50 countries of the world, participant and organizer of more than 100 different expeditions on 6 continents, conqueror of the South Pole and Mount Kilimanjaro the highest peak of Africa. Mmember of the Russian Geographical Society,  Society for the Study of the Amur Territory, member of the Union of Journalists of Russia, laureate of the National Prizes of the Russian Geographical Society “Crystal Compass”

Valery  is the author, general producer and project manager of the  Great Russian Travelers. Under the Prism of Philaturism

The great Russian travelers were pioneers and put new lands and seas on the map of the world, made discoveries that enriched world science, pushed the development of maritime trade, and also raised the prestige of their country and contributed to the development of new territories.

See: GREAT RUSSIAN TRAVELERS. UNDER THE PRISM OF PHILATURISM (postventure.ru)

The Museum was built to raise funds for the ongoing conservation of the historic buildings at Cape Denison which were used as the main base for the 1911-14 Australasian Antarctic Expedition (AAE)

The Replica Museum is a boutique, world class museum providing visitors with the opportunity to learn and understand the history and achievements of the men of the 1911-14 Australasian Antarctic Expedition led by Douglas Mawson.
Standing on the Hobart waterfront just 200 metres from where Mawson’s expedition departed from in 1911, the Replica also serves as an educational facility and promotes the legacy of the AAE.

The museum promotes awareness of Australia’s involvement in the Antarctic and highlights Hobart as the gateway to the Antarctic continent for the Asia Pacific region.
Situated on land generously provided by the Hobart City Council (HCC), the Replica Museum was constructed off-site in an area provided by the Tasmanian Ports Authority. Construction was done in three sections to allow transportation to the current site where it was bolted together for the final fit-out.
After years of securing funding and the support of the HCC in providing a site, work on the Replica began with the assistance of a special grant of $350,000 from the Federal Government in 2011 and the generosity of many Tasmanian businesses and individuals who donated time, goods and goodwill.
Construction took just four months and it was officially opened on December 2, 2013 on the 102nd anniversary of Mawson’s departure from Hobart as leader of the AAE.

Thanks and Credit to: Replica Museum – Mawson’s Huts Foundation (mawsons-huts.org.au)

Project Blizzard aimed to increase public awareness of Australia’s involvement in Antarctica and, in doing so, conserve Mawson’s Huts. In particular, viewed the scientific work, including meteorological, biological, geological and magnetic research of the AAE, as significant. The organization immediately began to look for financial support from the community, hoping to raise capital for a privately-funded Antarctic expedition. The campaign used the slogan ‘Buy a board for Mawson’s Hut’.

The Project Blizzard team carried out two expeditions to the site, the first in 1984/85 and the second in 1985/86. In 1984/85 their work largely involved recording of the site and structures by surveyors, architects, archaeologists and a materials conservator. The red fibreglass Apple Hut was constructed during this visit, adjacent to the Granholm Hut. In 1985/86, they focused on stabilising the internal platform of the Main Hut, which had partly collapsed under the load of snow ingress, using metal and timber props. This work involved an associated archaeological excavation program in areas disturbed for the works.

The Project Blizzard efforts had two positive effects. They clearly stimulated increased efforts in conservation planning for the site and also led to further co-operative efforts between the public and private sector to conserve the Mawson’s Huts.

In 1986 ANARE returned to Cape Denison. The Sorensen Hut was constructed during this expedition, sited in a valley 500 m to the east of the Main Hut. The structure was composed of insulated metal panels.

Meanwhile, conservation planning for the site had begun. The Antarctic Historic Sites and Monuments Advisory Committee was established in 1986.  In 1993 Michael Pearson prepared a Conservation Plan at the request of the Mawson’s Huts Conservation Committee and the AAD.

Source: Project Blizzard — Home of the Blizzard (antarctica.gov.au)

 

After six days of activities on the White Continent, a new version of the Antarctic School Expedition (EAE) organized by the Chilean Antarctic Institute (INACH) ended successfully. In this instance, the winning students of the XVIII Antarctic School Fair (FAE) participated in the company of their teachers and adult guides, who were able to comply with a scientific program that allowed them to learn about the work of polar researchers.

The group was made up of eight young people (all women) from the communes of Arica, Talagante, Linares, Parral, Constitución and Futaleufú, who were accompanied by four teachers and two adult guides. Between December 13 and 19 they were on King George Island to complete an interesting scientific-pedagogical program prepared by INACH professionals. The operations center was the Professor Julio Escudero base  (WAP CHL-Ø7), where they were received by their chief scientist, the marine biologist Francisco Santa Cruz, and were introduced to the scientists who carry out their research in the sector, in addition to the logistics personnel who were there. 

Read more at: An unforgettable experience on the White Continent lived the winning students of the Antarctic School Fair – INACH

The Electromagnetic Geophysics Laboratory at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University develops and applies electromagnetic geophysical imaging techniques to study Earth processes in offshore, onshore and glacial environments. 

Four person Team consisted of Columbia graduate student Chloe Gustafson, Columbia Prof. Kerry Key, Colorado School of Mines Prof. Matt Siegfried and mountaineer Meghan Seifert, spent the first three weeks at Camp 20 while surveying the grounding zone.

During November 2018 to January 2019 we carried out an extensive geophysical survey on the Whillans Ice Stream in West Antarctica.  Our survey is the first to use magnetotelluric (MT) imaging to map subglacial groundwater water beneath an ice stream. We collected a total of 44 passive MT stations, as well as several active-source electromagnetic (EM) stations using a large loop transmitter system. These data will be used to study the distribution of groundwater at the base of the ice stream at both the grounding line where the ice stream turns into the Ross Ice Shelf and at Subglacial Lake Whillans.  We also serviced a few long term GPS stations that have been recording data for several years and that have been used to track transient changes in ice velocity associated with basal water filling and draining in subglacial lakes. Our project is in collaboration with Matt Siegfried (Colorado School of Mines) and Helen Fricker (Scripps Institution of Oceanograpahy, UC San Diego). Both EM and MT methods and the rationale for their use are described in our feasibility study paper.

See the video shot during 30-40 knot winds at Camp 20 during the SALSA EM survey.

 More info at:  https://emlab.ldeo.columbia.edu/index…

SALSA EM: Mapping Subglacial Groundwater in Antarctica – Electromagnetic Geophysics Lab (columbia.edu)

The larval health of an Antarctic cold-water coral species may be resistant to warming water temperatures, a University of Maine study finds, bringing new hope for the climate change resilience of deep-sea ecosystems in the Western Antarctic Peninsula.

The study was published in the journal Coral Reefs. The research was funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation. 

The past few decades have shown unprecedented levels of warming in Earth’s polar regions. To date, the West Antarctic Peninsula has the most dramatic warming in the Southern Hemisphere, with expected water temperature increases between 0.5 and 1.9 degrees Celsius by 2100.

Because they are long-lived and slow-growing, deep-sea corals in these Antarctic waters will not adapt well to changing temperatures, particularly in the sensitive larval stage. Or so scientists thought.

“Although their habitat is now changing faster than other places around the world, most marine animals in the Southern Ocean are thought to have a limited capacity to adapt to environmental shifts,” says Julia Johnstone, principal author of the study. “Especially during the larval stage, when developmental processes are organizing and laying the foundations for key life-long functions like prey capture and growth, those environmental changes can have an outsize impact.”

Read more at: Antarctic deep-sea coral larvae may be resistant to climate change | NSF – National Science Foundation
Thanks and Credit to NSF

In 1897, the young Belgian “Adrien de Gerlache”, bought a Norwegian ship called ‘Patria’. He changed the name into “Belgica” and set sail to become the first man ever to scientifically explore Antarctica during the winter.

Monday  August 16 , 897. The port of Antwerp is filled with people. The National Anthem is being played, canon shots of joy are heard across the River. The Belgica leaves the harbour, setting sail to Antarctica. Other than a lost whaler, there has never been a soul nearby…

After three months of darkness, -40°C, storms, despair, desertion, mutiny, starvation, disease and death, the Belgica returned to Antwerp on the 5th of November 1899. The crew was received in triumph. Even before they disembarked, De Gerlache and his officers were knighted by The Order of King Leopold. The Belgica Expedition returned with an enormous amount of valuable scientific information.

To celebrate the 125th Anniversary  departure Antarctic Expedition Antwerp  (16th Aug.1892-16th Aug. 2022) a new commemorative stamp and a special envelope have been recently issued  by Belgian Post

TNX BPES (Belgian Polar Expedition Society)

Dr. Eddy De Busschere

 

The Belgian Antarctic Expedition of 1897–1899 was the first expedition to winter in the Antarctic region. Led by Adrien de Gerlache de Gomery aboard the R/V Belgica, it was the first Belgian Antarctic expedition and is considered the first expedition of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Among its members were Frederick Cook and Roald Amundsen, explorers who would later attempt the respective conquests of the North and South Poles.

Most recent History

In 1916,  Belgica was sold to the Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompagni , renamed Isfjord and converted to a passenger and cargo ship.  She was rebuilt to include cabins for female staff. Isfjord was used to carry coal and passengers between Svalbard and northern Norway. In 1918, she was sold and renamed Belgica, being converted to a factory ship.

Requisitioned by the British in April 1940, she was used as a depôt ship, being scuttled when the Franco-British Expeditionary Force evacuated Harstad in northern Norway. 

Polar ice couldn’t break the Belgica but war could. The ship sank in 1940 nearby the coast of Harstad (Norway), in mysterious circumstances.
50 Years later, on Easter of 1990, a Norwegian diving club discovered the wreck, only 22 meters deep and 200 meters off the coastline. It was immediately clear that the remains of the Belgica could not be restored. But they did contain enough valuable information for the ship to be rebuilt.
See the video at: https://youtu.be/8uSqKoWbj-w

Non-profit organization “De Steenschuit” is now rebuilding the original Belgica. The New Belgica will be a full scale museum replica of the original vessel. The University of Ghent has taken the initiative to design architectural plans, based on photographs, sketches and drawings of the original BELGICA wreck. The New Belgica will be built with durable materials and eco-friendly construction methods. 
Read more at: The New Belgica Project | PSA Antwerp (psa-antwerp.be)

The 12-member crew of Concordia Research Station (WAP MNB-Ø3) woke up to a most welcome sight in early August: sunrise, after four months of Antarctic darkness.

The return of the sun is a major milestone for the isolated and confined crew; they are three-quarters of the way through their Antarctic residency and will soon prepare to welcome the summer influx of researchers at the base.

ESA-sponsored medical doctor Hannes Hagson snapped this picture from the Station’s front door in early on 5 August. “Time here has the strange quality of both passing really quickly and very slowly at the same time,” he shared, “and in just two days we expect the return of the sun to grace us here at 75 degrees south! The returning daylight certainly has us all cheered up and starting to sense the beginning of the final part of this adventure.”

The winter months in Antarctica are tough, with temperatures dropping below −80C under a pitch black sky.

To combat winter blues, the crew keep busy, celebrating mid-winter (and the half-way point in their Antarctic stay) in June with their own traditions and taking part in the Antarctic Winter Games in July. Stations with a winter crew across Antarctica participate in a series of physical challenges and friendly competition.

With August comes not only sunlight, but production work for the Antarctic Film Festival, with each base submitting an original piece. Check out last year’s winning entry from Concordia in the Open category.

Of course, it’s not all fun and games. Hannes has been busy with biomedical research, as he continues to gather data from crew urine, stool and blood samples, as well as cognitive and psychological measures through questionnaires to study the effects of isolated, confined and extreme environments on the human body.

In October 2022 the crew will begin to prepare the base for the summer campaign. Rooms and tents must be prepared for the 40 or so incoming researchers.

Source: ESA – Winter, over

TNX Dr. Volker Strecke DL8JDX

Something interesting has been publish recently on the web. Here an abstract:  

Among the places over which we must not fly we find, for example, Antarctica. It is forbidden to fly over Antarctica because, due to the strong winds and storms.

First, the pilot would not have good visibility; furthermore, in the event of an emergency landing, passengers would be exposed to almost certain freezing. Furthermore, Antarctica is made up of mountains which does not make it a suitable territory for landing a plane.

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The North Pole is surrounded by magnetic fields whose radius and direction can change for kilometers even every year: if the magnetic field moves, the pilot cannot orient himself precisely to the north and would not be able to keep the course and land. In fact, the runways in airports are oriented by calculating the distance from the North Pole: a strong magnetic field such as that of the North Pole, therefore, would cause a loss of alignment and the impossibility of reaching the landing strip. This is why pilots must avoid flying over poles and magnetic fields in general.

Source: Perché gli aerei non sorvolano l’Antartide? Pochi conoscono la risposta | Impensabile (nanopress.it)

TNX IZ1GJK Maury

Due to the ’70s industrial whaling, the fin whale had become nearly extinct in the Antarctic.

Now, for the first time, a research team has been able to show systematically that the fin whale population is recovering. The findings were published in the journal Scientific Reports.

150 Southern Common Whales were filmed swimming in the waters of Antarctica, and feeding in groups was the exciting sight, hailed by scientists of the team of biologists of Helena Herr, of the University of Hamburg, and of Bettina Meyer, of the Alfred Wegener Institute in the city of Bremerhaven, carried out in 2018 and 2019 near the Antarctic Peninsula, have documented over one hundred sightings of these cetaceans , which measure over twenty meters in length.

A sign of hope, for the second largest animal in the world and rarely, have these ocean giants been seen in such large groups.

The fin whale population in Antarctica is recovering for the first time since hunting these whales was banned, according to a survey by German scientists published today.

Read more at: https://www.uni-hamburg.de/en/newsroom/presse/2022/pm37.html

 

TNX IZ1GJK Maury

The Government of India tabled The Indian Antarctic Bill, 2022 on the floor of the Lok Sabha on last April 1, 2022. (The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India’s bicameral Parliament,)

The Bill is introduced to “provide for the national measures for protecting the Antarctic environment and dependent and associated ecosystems and to give effect to the Antarctic Treaty, the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources and to the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto”.

While the Lok Sabha has passed the Bill, it will now be tabled in the Council of the States for passing.

India signed the Antarctic Treaty on August 19, 1983, and was soon granted the observer status on September 12, 1983. The protocol entered into force for India on January 14, 1998. India has active research stations Maitri (WAP IND-Ø3) at Schirmacher Hills, Bharati (WAP IND-Ø4) at Larsemann Hills as well as Himadri station in the Arctic — and it now belongs to the elite group of nations that have multiple research stations within the Polar Region.

Though there is no Arctic Bill, for the simple reason that there is no Arctic Treaty, India did roll out its Arctic Policy in January 2021. There are currently five states from Asia that enjoy the status of ‘Observer’ in the Arctic Council. These states are China, Japan, India, South Korea and Singapore, and all of them joined the Arctic Council in 2013.

 

Indian Antarctic Bill 2022: Key Points 

1-The Bill passed by the Lok Sabha earlier this month seeks to protect the Antarctic environment, and also regulate activities in the region.
2-The provisions will apply to any person, vessel or aircraft part of an Indian expedition to Antarctica under a permit issued under the Bill.
3-There will be a central committee on Antarctic Governance and Environmental Protection, which will be chaired by the secretary, Earth Sciences, and have 10 members, not below the rank of joint secretary, from ministries and organisations such as defence, external affairs, National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research, and National Security Council Secretariat. Two experts from Antarctic environment and geo-political fields will also be part of the panel that will grant permits for various activities, implement and ensure compliance of relevant international laws for protection of Antarctic environment, and negotiate fees/charges with other parties for activities in Antarctica, among other functions.

4-The Bill prohibits nuclear explosion or disposal of radioactive wastes in Antarctica, introduction of non-sterile soil, and discharge of garbage, plastic or other substances into the sea that are harmful to the marine environment.
5-The Bill specifies penalties for violation of its provisions.

Read more at: What Is Indian Antarctic Bill 2022 And What Its Provisions Aim To Achieve In North And South Poles (abplive.com)

During the long winter, no supplies or people can be flown in and the high altitude causes the crew to experience chronic hypobaric hypoxia or lack of oxygen in the brain.
After months of preparation, a crew of 12 scientists, explorers, and staff at Europe’s Concordia Research Station in Antarctica (WAP MNB-Ø3) are braced for long winter nights as Antarctica goes dark for four months. The Antarctic night and the winter will be a goldmine for research as the European Space Agency (ESA) commences living and working in isolation for six months on the frigid continent.

The penultimate sunset at Concordia research station marked the beginning of the long night, where no sunlight will be seen on the continent as it submerges in complete darkness. ESA said that medical doctor Hannes Hagson and his crew are ready, “finally embarking on their ‘real’ mission in Antarctica: living and working in isolation for six months in the name of spaceflight research.”
While the world experiences four major seasons, Antarctica has just two, summers and winters as it remains covered in thick ice. The region has six months of daylight in its summer and six months of darkness in its winter.

Read more at: https://www.indiatoday.in/science/story/long-night-begins-antarctica-goes-dark-as-the-sun-sets-for-four-months-1949938-2022-05-16
TNX Bhagwati Prasad Semwal (VU3BPZ ,Ex-AT10BP & 8T2BH)

The Italian-French outpost Concordia is located 3233 m above sea level where temperatures can drop to –80°C in the complete frozen darkness outside.  This image above, was taken by Hannes Hagson on 3 May. The last full sunset took place the day after but appeared only as a thin sliver in the sky.

For this reason, Hannes is facilitating biomedical experiments on himself and his crewmates to understand how humans cope with living in extreme isolation. From sleep studies to gut health measurements to mindful practices, the crew are poked and prodded to help researchers understand and overcome the challenges extreme environments, like space, pose to present and future explorers.

Follow Hannes during his winter-over on the Chronicles from Concordia blog.

• ESA/IPEV/PNRA-H. Hagson
• Human Spaceflight
• Human spaceflight and robotic explorations image of the week 

 TNX Volker Strecke DL8JDX

Clouds come in myriad shapes, sizes and types, which control their effects on climate. New research led by the University of Washington shows that the splintering of frozen liquid droplets to form ice shards inside Southern Ocean clouds dramatically affects the clouds’ ability to reflect sunlight back to space.

The paper, published in AGU Advances, shows that including this ice-splintering process improves the ability of high-resolution global models to simulate clouds over the Southern Ocean — and thus the models’ ability to simulate Earth’s climate. The research was funded by the US. National Science Foundation

“There’s much of interest in this paper, not only the surprising effect of ice splintering on clouds but the combination of high-res modeling with real-world data from satellites and an airplane,” said Eric DeWeaver, a program director in NSF’s Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences “It will be interesting to see what more happens with this toolkit.”

Thanks and credit NSF (US. National Science Foundation)
Read more at: Ice shards in Antarctic clouds let more solar energy reach Earth’s surface | NSF – National Science Foundation

Scientists have for the first time managed to get a glimpse of a vast reserve of water hiding under the Antarctic ice sheet.

In what could be a game-changing discovery, scientists have detected vast quantities of water hiding in the sediments beneath an Antarctic ice stream that could boost our understanding of how it might affect sea levels across the world. The new discovery confirms what researchers had already suspected.
The Team managed to image just one such ice stream on the frigid world, but suspect there are many more that can shed light on how the system works and how it changes over time in response to climate.

Electromagnetic techniques have been used to image shallow groundwater in the upper 100 to 200 meters (328 to 656 feet) beneath some thin glaciers and permanently frozen areas. This time the Team used the technology to measure about 800 meters at the Whillans Ice Stream. “This technique typically hasn’t been used in polar environments.

Read more at: https://www.indiatoday.in/science/story/water-reserve-hiding-under-antarctica-discovered-enough-to-submerge-statue-of-unity-1946162-2022-05-06

Sir Vivian Ernest Fuchs (11 February 1908 – 11 November 1999) was an English  explorer.  Fuchs is best known as the leader of the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition, a Commonwealth-sponsored expedition that completed the first overland crossing of Antarctica via the South Pole in 1958

Planning for the expedition began in 1953, and envisioned the use of Snow Cat tractors to cross the continent in 100 days, starting at the Weddell Sea, ending at the Ross Sea, and crossing theSouth Pole.

Fuchs and his party arrived in Antarctica in January 1957 after camp had been set up. The party departed from Shackleton Base on 24 November 1957. During the trek, a variety of scientific data were collected from seismic soundings and gravimeteric readings. Scientists established the thickness of ice at the pole, and the existence of a land mass beneath the ice. On 2 March 1958, Fuchs and company completed the 100-day trip by reaching Scott Base, having travelled 2,158 miles.

In 1958, Fuchs was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.  He co-wrote, with Sir Edmund Hillary The Crossing of Antarctica. In 1959 he was awarded the Hans Edge Medal by the Royal Danish Geographical Society.

The Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition (CTAE) of 1955–1958 was the first expedition to reach the South Pole overland for 46 years, preceded only by Amundsen’s expedition and Scott’s expedition in 1911 and 1912.

Read more at: Sir Vivian ‘Bunny’ Fuchs · CAPTAIN ANTARCTICA

Something interesting about Antarctica,  are certainly the illustrated cards which has become a rarity for collectors. The “fashion” of advertising one’s products spread by giving buyers different types of gadgets has been followed a lot and the Liebig cards are a typical  example.

A friend, sent WAP a set of small illustrated cards with Antarctica theme. We made some investigation and discovered that this one,  came out in 1936 published by Liebig. This company, did print  1871 series of small cards with different subjects, most of which consisted of six juxtaposed images. This collection of advertising trading cards consists of the colored lithographed cards found on the packaging of the products. The production of these cards started in 1870 and ended in 1975, spanning more than 11,000 different types of cards. The last lithographed series were released in 1939, but series were edited and reproduced through the 1970s. The cards were divided into subjects that nearly always made up a set of six or twelve.

The series of cards were produced in multiple countries, therefore the cards can be found in a multitude of languages. Belgium, France, United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, and Italy are just some of the countries in which these were produced.

Birth and history of Liebig cards

Liebig cards originate around the middle of the 19th century. In this period in France the “fashion” of advertising one’s products spread by giving buyers different types of gadgets – mostly of the cards, were printed in black and white or in color using the lithographic technique.

Usually these stickers represent the most varied scenes and at the same time promote a certain product, either directly in the cartoon, or on the back with written or direct advertising messages. At that time, very few companies could afford such a form of advertising. Baron Justus Von Liebig chooses to adopt the small cards system himself to promote his meat extract, first giving them to customers and then distributing them through a real point collection.

On the rear side of each of this cards, there is the description of the subject, do we have:
Erebus and Terror vulcanoes and elephant seals

Crushing of the ice at Cape Crozier

Icebergs in the Weddell Sea and Weddell seals

The Devil glacier

Cockburn Island

Cape Renard to the Bay of Flanders

TNX Mr. Polato of the Salesian School in the town of Lombriasco –Turin, Italy-

Professor Arif Herekar,  Professor of Neurology together with excelling in his professional duties is a passionate traveller and globe trotter. He happens to be one of the few Pakistanis to step on to the Antarctic soil, probably the only Pakistani certified as an Antarctic naval seal camping on the Antarctic continent has made this beautiful country Pakistan proud by hoisting the national flag on the Antarctic soil.

These achievements were made during his coveted expedition with a group of Polar explorers between the end of year 2015 and first week of year 2016.

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While on April 25th the world  celebrates the penguins, it’s also a time to think about saving them. Many penguin colonies have been lost to climate change and it’s estimated that half the population of emperor penguins will vanish by the end of this century.

Penguins are some of the most adorable, lovable and impressive creatures in the animal kingdom, so why not dedicate a day to these flightless birds?

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World Penguin Day is a celebratory and educative initiative that encourages people to learn more about penguins and their environment, how important they are to our ecosystems and the threats they face. Interested in learning more about this day?

Read more at:  It’s World Penguin Day! » Explorersweb

WAP has recently got a  mail from Frank, FØDUW :

Hello, congratulation for your WAP website. I am on HamSphere 4.0 and we have Antarctica operators but this is virtual via internet. If you know an operator in antarctica who like to be on HamSphere 4.0 please give him the information.

73 de Frank FØDUW who was FT3/FØDUW on French Antarctica

The QSLs attached to the mail (see pictures  aside) did capture my attention, there were Antarctic QSLs for calls we never heard on the air!

So, I did ask Frank FØDUW more information about, and here is the answer:

Only amateur radio operator with a call sign can work a remote on HamSphere 4.

The TX and antenna are for exemple, located in Antarctica but the operator is, for exemple, in Paris. The propagation in Antarctica will be the same of real Amateur Radio. We have dirctional antenna and 100 watts.

Operators who are on HS like 14HS10 they can also work from Antarctica with  RM1 call sign. (See the picture). So this is virtual but realy like amateur radio. Just no need to travel on the frozen Continent!

73, Frank FØDUW

We personally didn’t know that,  and now we understood that HamSphere is a subscription-based internet service which simulates Amteur Radio communication over the Internet as designed by Kelly Lindman, 5B4AIT.

The simulator allows licensed radio amateurs and unlicensed enthusiasts to communicate with one another using a simulated ionosphere.

The system allows realistic worldwide connections between amateur radio operators as well as radio enthusiasts. In general it is similar to otherVoIP applications (such as Skype), but with the unique addition of characteristics such as channel selection by tuning, modulation, noise effects and shortwave propagation simulation.

We did also ask Mario Fontanella IK4HAQ (ex IK3HAQ) about a strange QSL, forwarded us by Frank FDUW.  Mario, kindly reply  with his comment:

I used to live in Venice, when I was IK3HAQ.  Now I live in Bologna and, there is no way to  install antennas from this QTH, I have been looking for solutions to keep my passion for radio communications active and I found HamSphere,  a web platform that simulates the HF propagation conditions according to the VOACAP indications, allowing radio amateurs and “radio enthusiasts” to get practice to listening to and virtually,  connecting other stations present, both physically and /or remotely, in various locations around the world.

These activities are not connected to the real Ham radio activity. Hamsphere is a system that uses Internet to connect to radio equipment through the ionosphere. It’s only a simulation, even if very well done.

Among the various active virtual stations,  there are some that operate remotely from the (simulated) positions of the Antarctic Bases and/or  the Antarctic islands.

It is, -I repeat-  only a simulation, not a real communications, therefore they are not valid for purposes such as Awards or recognition from the radio world, but only among the participants of the Hamsphere platform.

73’s Mario Fontanella IK4HAQ (ex IK3HAQ)

To our understanding and convinction, Ham Radio should not be a trick or a virtual game; a real DX contact, a real QSO especially with Antarctica must be struggled and perhaps suffered with a real radio, with a real antenna and not only with a PC or the desire to feel himself a virtual OM!

A motto says: The world is beautiful because it is varied!  OK…  varied, not spoiled!

The small branch with its colors, gives hope to all hearts. It is Spring, the world is reborn, may it be an Easter of change and PEACE

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From WAP Staff

An old copy of “Il Collezionista”  an Italian  Philatelic Magazine  (Jan. 1967) reports a bit of story of the famous  Ship Scotia  which was depicted on a stamp issued by the  Falkland Islands,  Scotia was also depicted on two stamps issued by the British Antarctic Territory.

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Scotia was a barque ( built in 1872 as the Norwegian whaler Hekla). She was purchased in 1902 by William Speirs Bruce, a natural scientist and former medical student from University of Edinburg who organised and led  the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition (SNAE) from 1902 to1904 on board of Scotia which  was refitted as a research vessel for that specific use.

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Scotia sailed on 2 November 1902 for the Antarctic. She arrived at the Falkland islands on 6 January 1903,  She then sailed to Laurie island, South Orkneys where she arrived on 25 March.

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Scotia overwintered in Scotia Bay where she was frozen in for eight months. She departed for the Falkland Islands on 27 November en route for Buenos Aires, Argentina where she underwent a refit. Scotia returned to Laurie Island on 14 February 1904, sailing eight days later for the Weddel Sea. She departed from the Antarctic on 21 March. Calling at Saint Helena in June, she arrived at Millport, Cumbrae, Ayrishire on 21 July, and was escorted by a number of ships to her final destination of  Gourock Renfrewshire.

After the expedition, Scotia served as a sealer, patrol vessel and collier, she was destroyed by fire in January 1916.

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TNX Gabry IK1NEG

This event is completely unprecedented and upended our expectations about the Antarctic climate system,’ one expert said

The average high temperature in Vostok Station (WAP RUS-14)— at the center of the eastern ice sheet — is around minus-63 (minus-53 Celsius) in March. But on Friday, the temperature leaped to zero (minus-17.7 Celsius), the warmest it’s been there during March since record keeping began 65 years ago. It broke the previous monthly record by a staggering 27 degrees (15 Celsius).

“In about 65 record years in Vostok Station, between March and October, values ​​above -30°C were never observed,” wrote Di Battista in an email.

Vostok, a Russian meteorological observatory, is about 808 miles from the South Pole and sits 11,444 feet above sea level. It’s famous for holding the lowest temperature ever observed on Earth: minus-128.6 degrees (minus-89.2 Celsius), set on July 21, 1983.

Eastern Antarctica’s Concordia Research Station (WAP MNB-Ø2), operated by France and Italy and about 350 miles from Vostok, climbed to 10 degrees (minus-12.2 Celsius), its highest temperature on record for any month of the year. Average high temperatures in March are around minus-56 (minus-48.7 Celsius).

Read more at: Un’anomala ondata di caldo in Antartide – Il Post

The Journal of The Royal Society of New Zealand published a paper by scientists from the University of Otago proving that New Zealand’s original inhabitants, the Maori, discovered Antarctica at least a thousand years before Europeans arrived there in the early 19th century. For this sensational conclusion, New Zealand researchers have studied Aboriginal oral history, as well as all sorts of documents and reports published by various organizations that do not have common academic or commercial channels. It turns out that the Polynesian leader Hui Te Rangior, together with his team, swam into the waters of the Antarctic back in the 7th century and, perhaps, was the first person to set foot on the White Continent.

Read more at:  https://thetimeshub.in/battle-for-antarctica-why-scientists-believe-that-the-apocalypse-may-break-out-on-the-white-continent

and  Battle for Antarctica. Why scientists believe that the Apocalypse may break out on the white continent – The Times Hub

23 Special Event Stations did join the 19th edition of the International Antarctic Activity Week that last february 2022, has celebrated Antarctica.

Bands conditions were very strange  with atmospherical background noise,  and short DX openings on 10, 15 and 20 mts. 40 meters was the most usable band.

Here below some notes from lucky and unlucky participants:

 

From Cap. Eduardo Abril de Fontcuberta EA4GKV/EO4HAG WAP-242

«I am sorry to tell you that my wife is ill from COVID, not just positive, and I am quarantined.

I won’t be able to reliably operate the 2022, AAW.

Now I am more or less ok but I expect that to change very soon just as it happened with my wife».
Eduardo EA4GKV (pic aside) is now feeling better and we hope to have him aboard next week!

From Alex OE3DMA/OE19AAW WAP-341

Some results of the OE19AAW activity:

«814 QSOs on 3 bands. – 160, 80 and 17 meters. Unfortunatelly a series of storms killed my antenna system, a few days before start.  Even the Activity Week was stormy itself.

The rotator is broken, the ultrabeam UB-50 is broken (again), so I was only able to use 17 meters with the ultrabeam. The dipole did well. I made most contacts on 80 and 160 meters. I missed 40 meters this time, so the QSO rates were much lower than usual.

From Gianni I1HYW/IR1ANT WAP ØØ2

Nearly 750 QSOs on 20 & 40 mts.

From 18,00 UTC , 14MHz were practically dead even if some short but nice openings allowed QSOs with  USA, Alaska and Australia. Most of the contacts has been made within Europe.  Lots of Scandinavian stations ( OH, LA and SM as well as ES and YL)  are on the log.

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From the other side, many of the participants have already got the special online free Award to recall the 19th AAW, issued by Paolo IK3GER that, in spite of the misfortune that struck him for the loss of his wife, he dedicated his time to make and send the diploma to many Hams who did request it.

TNX Paolo IK3GER

KEP  (King EdwardPoint WAP GBR-24)  is funded by Government of South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands & run by BAS. Together, they  carry out critical marine and fisheries research to help manage the South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands Marine Protected Area, and the sustainable fisheries in the area.

Becky (station Doctor), Meghan (Fisheries Scientist), Kate (Higher Predator Scientist), Vicky (South Georgia Heritage Trust Senior Museum Assistant), Sally (GSGSSI Invasive Plant team) and Sarah (Station Leader) make up half of the fantastic KEP team this season.