It is with immense sadness that the International Polar Foundation learned of the death of friend and Expedition Medic, Jacques Richon, who fell victim to an avalanche in the Canton of Valais, Switzerland on Friday 19th March.
Born in Switzerland in 1950, Jacques’ love of nature and the mountains of his native country was visceral and was a key part of who he was and who he became, the Mountain Rescue doctor. He completed his medical degree, specialising in surgery and emergency medicine.
In 1975 he met and became close friends with Alain Hubert (Founder of the IPF) while both were young men with a shared love of the mountains. With his emergency medical training, and experience as a mountain guide, Jacques was able to take on additional roles and responsibilities such as that of Emergency Surgeon at Air Glaciers (a local Swiss helicopter company that provides emergency services in the Alps). He also played an active role in the GRIMM (the emergency medical intervention group specialised in high mountain rescue in the Alps), as well as numerous other mountain-related associations.
His multiple competencies, and his ability to remain cool under pressure, made him the logical choice for Chief Medical Officer at the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica Research Station, overseeing all of the station’s medical facilities and procedures.
During his time on the Expeditions crew, he made it his mission to improve the station’s medical infrastructure and telemedicine protocols in collaboration with the Sion Hospital in Switzerland. He also organised the pre-season Field Training in Chamonix and the field rescue simulation at the Princess Elisabeth Station. He was also a go-to medic for Alain Hubert for every problem associated with medicine for extreme conditions, in particular handling frostbite. He continued to do his utmost to ensure the safety preparedness of everyone who went to the station.
IPF Founder and Belgian Antarctic Expedition Leader Alain Hubert said of his close friend:
"Jacques always challenged us in his own unique way, with his self-possessed attitude, his love of philosophy, and his acerbic sense of humour.
"Only a few weeks ago, as he landed in Cape Town after completing his 12th season in Antarctica, he shared with us his pleasure in having finally inaugurated the surgery room at the station during the past season – after many delays, he had finally been able to see the finished work.
"Of the next season, he had explained that there were still a few details to take care of so that his eventual replacement as Chief Medical Officer at PEA would have plain sailing. We will always be thankful for having had the privilege of working with Jacques - not only due to his multi-faceted competencies, but also his wide experience, his friendship, and the trust he inspired over the years.
"Jacques was my friend for 45 years. We climbed many mountains and lived so many adventures together. I learned much from him, and he will be missed."
Swiss doctor Jacques Richon spent twelve seasons at the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica from 2008 to 2021 as the station’s Chief Medical Officer. His decades of experience working as a surgeon, an emergency doctor carrying out helicopter rescues in the Alps, and a renowned mountain guide for extreme environments was a major asset to the teams he accompanied to the station. In his last interview with IPF, he talks about the work he did to improve the medical facilities at the Princes Elisabeth Antarctica, (PEA) and future plans he had for the station.
On Friday 19th March, Jacques Richon lost his life in an avalanche in the Swiss canton of Valais. The BELARE team, IPF and all his myriad friends are devastated by this terrible event. Dr Jack died as he lived, at full throttle. A very hard act to follow. We are impoverished by his absence and eternally in his debt for all he did to keep operations at Princess Elisabeth safe for all expeditioners.
What initiatives did you take to improve PEA’s medical facilities over the years?
I was the on-site doctor when the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica Station was being built during the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 seasons. The station wasn’t finished yet during those first two seasons. We were living in tents until the main building of the station had been constructed, so medical facilities back then were very rudimentary - basically a red container called the “Swiss Hospital” - which was kitted out with examination bed, a window, a door, some shelving, and counters for the medical equipment and supplies.
As the station neared completion, we opened a small medical office in the main building. Despite space restrictions, we were able to fit an examination bed and monitoring equipment in the space. We had enough equipment to stabilise a seriously injured patient until a medical evacuation was possible. These past few years we began to concentrate on providing better medical facilities, particularly with regard to diagnostics as the costs of these technologies have decreased over time.
Three or four years ago, when we started to rebuild the station’s annexes, Alain had the idea of adding a new surgery room in case a more serious medical intervention might be required at some point. The construction team installed walls, heating, electricity, and lights, and then last year, we added medical fittings and furniture designed to be as ergonomic as possible.
The new surgery room is upstairs in the South Annex, so in case of emergency, we can access it from the outside using a stair ramp.
What improvements did you make during the last season (2020-21)?
During this past season, despite the COVID pandemic restricting operations, we managed to install the remaining furniture in the surgery room, including a fully mechanical operating table, which, as it’s not electric, can easily be repaired in case of damage. We also painted the room with a clear, washable bactericidal paint, making the room easier to disinfect. With no window in the room, having white-coloured walls makes the room feel brighter.
The new surgery room is very well-equipped. We’ve got surveillance equipment, oxygen, a defibrillator, medication, and surgical equipment for the eventual interventions. We can also administer local anaesthesia (for general anaesthesia, we would need someone on hand who has the qualifications and certification for this).
Will you still use the medical office in the main building of the station?
The medical office will still serve as a place where station residents can have a general medical consultation. The new surgery room will be used specifically for more severe injuries, reanimation, and surgical interventions.
Have you ever considered having more than one doctor at the station at a time?
There aren’t many of us at the station, and having two doctors simultaneously would be a big cost. Over the years, we’ve had very few serious injuries. Thankfully we’ve never had a very serious case that required a medical evacuation. So it makes sense to have only one doctor on-site. However, we frequently have additional personnel with paramedical skills on the staff. Most of the time there is no work for the Medical staff and you help with other tasks at the station.
How did you handle the Covid-19 situation?
Dr. Martin Leitl was the station’s doctor for the first weeks of the most recent season. I relieved him in mid-December. IPF bought a PCR test machine and Martin took care of testing everyone during the quarantine in South Africa and also at the Station. It worked out very well and no one contracted the virus. GG had established the DROMLAN medical protocols to contain the risk of infection and transmission.
Even though everyone who came to the station had to follow very strict quarantine before leaving for Antarctica and were tested several times before leaving, we made absolutely sure that no-one at the station was infected with Covid at any time. Everyone was able to live at the station over the four months of the season without any worries.
Do you have other tasks apart from handling medical consultations while you’re at the station?
I’m not much of a carpenter or technician myself. This last season, in addition to painting the new surgery room, I helped the cook prepare meals every day. During previous seasons, I regularly worked as a guide and accompanied scientists in the field. We also organized field rescue simulations to train the personnel in case of an emergency in the field.
What are your future plans for medical facilities at the PE station now that the operating room has been completed?
Next season we hope to add a few more things to the surgery room such as a sink with running water. In the coming years, we had the idea that if there ever were a big medical emergency, it would be a good idea to have a room to monitor a patient. In the coming years we could free up a room next to the surgery room where we could put two beds, e.g. for a quarantine or a recovery room. One bed could be used for a patient and the other for the person providing the medical support. We also had the idea of one day installing a new medical laboratory, but this isn’t a priority at the moment. There is an existing wet lab shared with the water management team, but it is getting a bit crowded of late.
Between seasons, I’ve been working on updating the station’s medical plan and making a doctor’s mission statement so that IPF management are fully aware of all health risks at the station. The Belgian/Swiss collaboration between the hospital in Sion, Switzerland and IPF allows us to provide doctors for the missions in Antarctica. As part of this contract, I’ve been asked to consult with various specialists.
I’m also interested in further developing telemedicine capabilities at the station. We have a privileged contact with the emergency room staff at the hospital in Sion. We could connect with them using our satellite link via Skype or Zoom, which would allow us to share information such as patient scans and ultrasounds with specialists at the hospital.
Do you think you will continue to go on expeditions over the next few years?
My goal is to find a highly skilled replacement. I’m not getting any younger. We need someone who has the right skills in surgery and in administering anaesthesia. I’ll have to consult with Alain because there are a lot of qualified candidates for the position now. I hope to be able to train someone who will take over my position one day.
Guus Luppens, an electromechanical engineer who first travelled to Antarctica during the 2018-2019 research season, was tasked with handling a number of maintenance tasks for Princess Elisabeth Antarctica’s renewable energy production systems. We spoke with him about the work he had done with his colleague Johan Demuylder during the most recent season (2020-2021) at the station.
What were your primary objectives at the Princess Elsiabeth Antarctica this year? Were you able to accomplish them?
This season's goal was to increase renewable energy production to meet the increasing demand due to the expansion of the station to higher occupancy. The station was initially designated to host 18 people when it first opened in 2009; this past season we’ve made it possible to host 45 people.
We also replaced old-generation solar panels on the fuel platform's roof with new solar panels with two faces. The top face catches incidental solar radiation from the sun and the bottom face catches radiation reflected from the snow below it. Now each module produces almost 500 Watts per module, which is a lot compared to a single-faced solar panel, which produces only 345 Watts per module.
Thanks to the new double-sided solar panel modules, renewable energy production at the station almost doubled. With more people staying at the station, areas of the station such as the kitchen use more energy than before, so it’s good that we increased renewable energy production.
Once we installed the new double-faced solar panel modules, we worked for a week in-stalling 32 new solar panel modules on the new garage’s façade. We mounted them vertically on the façade because they get a lot of direct sunlight when the sun is low in the west in the late afternoon, which allows them to produce a lot of energy at this time of day. These new panels help to prevent any possible gaps in afternoon energy production.
How much have you been able to increase the energy production capacity of the station? What is the station's potential peak production capacity?
We mangled to increase the peak power of the solar panels by 43%, which is an outstanding result! In terms of how many extra kWh we produce, it's difficult to say, as we installed new solar panel technology this season, and the solar arrays are at different angles and orientations.
For us, maintaining continuous energy production throughout the day is more important than what is produced during peak production, as the goal is the sustainable use of energy. This means we don’t rely as heavily on the batteries as before.
Have you observed changes in the energy production capacity since you first started working at the station three seasons ago?
Yes, I’ve observed changes. What we’ve implemented has had some fascinating outcomes.
Last year, we installed several new and improved dump load systems. These are intelligent controllers that can convert excess renewable energy into heat. In the past, this potential excess energy was simply not harvested and was forever lost. Now, when the station's battery arrays are full, excess renewable energy production gets put to good use, for example, towards a hot water tank that creates hot water for the station, or toward ambient heaters for the station’s annexes.
As a side effect, the wind turbines are slowed every time energy is consumed in the station (they are designed to do this), meaning there is less need for wind turbine maintenance.
Would any of this have been possible to accomplish without Johan?
Definitely not! Johan and I make a great team! He did almost all of the installation work, and I assisted him. A lot of planning and design goes into these kinds of procedures at the beginning of each season.
Once the solar panels are installed, we need to connect them and configure e-inverters to get the solar panels connected to the main building. For this, I was grateful to have Johan on board, as we could share the installation work.
How do you think PEA could be a model for people to increase renewable energy use and reduce their energy consumption?
Princess Elisabeth Antarctica is the best example to show that we do not have to rely on fossil fuels for our energy needs. Even in a remote and harsh place like Antarctica, we succeed at being 100% energy-sufficient using renewable energy. If we can accomplish this in Antarctica, it is undoubtedly possible to reproduce this in Europe or elsewhere in the world.
We must also remember that Princess Elisabeth Antarctica was built more than ten years ago when renewable energy technology was not as developed as it is today. Today renewable energy is cheaper and a lot easier to install.
What have you been doing since your return to Belgium?
I have a lot of work waiting for me! We’re planning many meetings with IPF to evaluate the past season and start working on new renewable energy designs for next season!
Do you plan to go back to the station for the next season?
Two days before I left for Antarctica, I found out that my girlfriend was pregnant!
At first, I thought that becoming a father would keep me from going back to PEA. However, when you’re expecting a child, you reflect a lot on what the future will be like for future generations. I concluded that the best way to give my child a fair, sustainable and environmentally safe future would be to make sure I continue supporting climate change research as much as possible. So yes, I do hope to be able to go back to PEA.
The last 2020-2021 BELARE crew left Princess Elisabeth Antarctica on Tuesday 16 February after securing everything and putting the station into winter mode. The station is now running on its own and will do so for the next eight months. It will continue to provide energy for the scientific equipment gathering data for various meteorological and geophysical projects running all year long.
After a short flight in a Basler (DC-3), the ten last members of the BELARE team for the season reached the Russian Novolazarevskaia Station, where they had a six-hour layover before boarding a Russian (IL-76) Ilyushin to continue their trip to Cape Town.
As this was the last flight of the season out of Antarctica from the Dronning Maud Land to Cape Town, the last crew members for the 2020-2021 austral summer season leaving from various stations in the vicinity, including six from the Indian Maitri Station and several non-overwintering crew from Novolazarevskaia Station, accompanied the remaining BELARE crew members on the flight.
Once everything was prepared, the plane took off in the dusk of the waning austral summer, destination Cape Town. After an uneventful six-hour flight, everyone arrived safe and sound in Cape Town in the early morning the following day.
A touch of summer before heading home
The warmth of the South African summer was a welcome change from the bitter cold of Utsteinen, which is experiencing longer and longer nights now that the austral autumn is approaching quickly. Most members of the team spent a day or two recovering from the long journey from PEA at a hotel, where they quarantined as a group.
At the hotel, they held debrief meetings for the season and completed the necessary COVID-related paperwork to be able to travel back to Europe, facilitated as always by IPF South Africa Director Michel De Wouters.
Unfortunately, the pandemic forced the usual post-season decompression ritual in Cape Town to be more restricted. Although every member of the team was living in an isolated and completely COVID-free environment at PEA for the last several months, the whole team stayed together as a group at the same hotel in Cape Town, observing local safety guidelines, before those in the team who were travelling back to Europe did so.
Once all team members observe the local COVID quarantine guidelines for their respective countries of residence, many of them will return to their lives as doctors, engineers, mechanics and technicians, with the happy memory of having contributed to the exciting improvement projects that were undertaken at the world’s first zero-emission polar research station this past season.
As February progresses and the sun dips below the horizon for longer and longer periods of time each night, it’s a reminder that the 2020 - 2021 season is drawing to a close. Preparations are already underway to prepare the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica for overwintering.
Packing up
With a scheduled departure date of 16 February, the entrance hallway is already starting to fill up with boxes and bags. Some are filled with scientific equipment, while others are being prepared to transport frozen atmospheric particle samples taken this season to Cape Town for the CHASE project. In South Africa, they will be stored in a freezer before being sent to Europe for analysis. Certain scientific instruments must also be removed from the roof during the winter and stored in safe locations of the station.
Anything that must stay at PEA, such as the containers the team and scientists uses during field expeditions along with other heavy machinery must also be properly stored. One by one the team is putting the Prinoth tractors, cranes and other vehicles away in the Winter Park hangar that was built two seasons ago on a patch of blue ice where snow accumulation is very limited.
Meanwhile, the carpenters have been placing wooden boards over the solar panels. This is to protect them from the ice and snow that will inevitably accumulate around the station during the austral winter.
Shutting down
Bernard Polet, the station’s plumber, has been busy for the past few days to shut down and drain the station’s water treatment system. The entire network of pipes needs to be drained to avoid any pipes bursting in case the station experiences freezing conditions over the winter. The bacteria used to treat wastewater must also be removed from the station’s bioreactor and stored for the winter in the core of the station. Most of these bacteria will survive and be used to regenerate the system during the opening of the station’s sewage system on the next BELARE expedition.
With the water production and treatment system shutting down, no new snow is being melted and put into the system. Water use is now rationed to make sure the team has enough to survive on until they leave for Cape Town.
The station’s technicians are also starting to program the station’s winter mode to kick in once the BELARE team leaves on 16 February. Winter mode must be engaged so the station continues to run autonomously until the next team arrives in November. A multitude of scientific instruments rely on the station’s winter mode to continue to collect data while the Princess Elisabeth remains unoccupied.
Soon everyone will have head back to rejoin the rest of the world, after nearly tree months of a successful expedition away from home.
Over the past few years, Science Liaison Officer and Deputy Station Manager Henri Robert has been giving online classes to students in Belgium and around the world from the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica. This season, his lessons have been more popular than ever.
Fostering dialogue and raising climate awareness
Ever since the IPF has been offering online classes in 2009, soon after the inauguration of the the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica, teachers and professors have enthusiastically welcomed the International Polar Foundation's STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) outreach activities to primary and secondary schools in the form of online classes.
Over the years, staff and scientists at the world’s first zero emission polar research station have taken time from their busy schedules to present to classes the groundbreaking design on the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica (PEA), the world-class science taking place at the station, daily life in Antarctica and what can be done to reduce one’s environmental impact and combat against climate change.
Part of Henri's role at IPF is to increase outreach activities and popularise PEA and the scientific projects taking place there. As a biologist who has had experience in the field over many years, Henri had a number of contacts in schools in Belgium and other countries, even before his first mission to PEA in 2017. So it was logical for him to be in charge of educational outreach activities.
A typical lesson
During the 2020-21 season, Henri has been speaking to university, high school and grammar school classes in Belgium, Canada, Spain, Croatia and the UK.
At the beginning of each class, Henri usually gives a PowerPoint presentation about the design and function of PEA. He presents the different areas of the station to give his audience an idea about everyday life at the station and how it optimally uses renewable energy to power everything.
He then gives a historical timeline of Belgium’s involvement in Antarctica, staring with Adrien de Gerlache’s first scientific voyage and overwintering in 1898 aboard the Belgica research vessel. He then moves to subsequent Belgian Antarctic missions starting during the International Geophysical Year (IGY) 1957-58, and finally how the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica was conceived and constructed as part of Belgium’s legacy for the International Polar Year (IPY) 2007-08.
Henri discusses in detail the station’s zero-emission concept, focusing on renewable energy production and managing energy use with a smart microgrid system, the station's water treatment system and passive construction methods. He also highlights that due to its extreme environment, PEA is a great platform for testing out new renewable technologies, showing that the station is as good as anywhere else in the world to put them to good use.
A biologist by training, Henri also fascinates students by telling them about Antarctica’s unique biodiversity, from megafauna such as penguins, whales and seals found along the coast of Antarctica, to snow petrels and microbes that live on the rocks close to PEA. He also explains concepts such as the aquatic food web in the Southern Ocean.
Most importantly, Henri introduces his audience to everyday initiatives they can take to reduce humanity's impact on the planet's ecosystems. Even the smallest gesture done on a large scale can have a significant impact on reducing humanity’s environmental footprint.
“A popular question students often ask is whether scientists in Antarctica witness firsthand the effects of global warming,” Henri explained. “Unfortunately, the symptoms of global warming are becoming more and more obvious.”
“An island just off the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula witnessed a never before seen high temperature of 20.75°C in February 2020. Warming ocean currents are melting glaciers and ice shelves in West Antarctica; about 60% of ice shelves may be at risk of collapsing in the coming decades according to recent research. And a warming climate is already having a significant impact on indigenous species in Antarctica.”
Ideal for all ages
Henri has received quite a lot of positive feedback from teachers about his online lessons this season.
Claire Gillet, a biologist and teacher from the Montjoie Institute in Brussels, with whom Henri has been doing seminars for two years, is always happy with the outcome of Henri’s virtual visit with her high school students:
“I think it’s great that the students get a little bit into the reality of daily life in Antarctica. It breaks down some barriers, which is important at the beginning of the exchange,” said Ms. Gillet. “The students also answered a number of technical questions about the station, which gave them the opportunity to learn about more topics in the follow-up.
Teachers AmandaTulli and Nadia Lakhdari, teachers from Lasalle Elementary Senior in Montreal, Quebec, were grateful for Henri’s ability to communicate with their fourth graders in an understandable way.
“Thank you for using language that was easy for the kids to understand,” they wrote. “They loved how you were able to show them the view from your window! Thank you again for answering all their questions in a child-friendly way!”
Judith Moreno, a teacher from the Montserrat Institute in Barcelona applauded Henri for making such a big impact on her young students and for giving them advice on how to make a difference.
"They appreciated a lot the practical advice on how they can make a difference in the climate crisis,” she commented.
Henri also gives talks to university students. This season, he’s spoken with geology students at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) a number of times, a special treat for university students who are often taking online course these days anyway.
Get in touch!
Both children and young adults will likely witness significant impacts of climate change during their lifetimes. Giving them the possibility to talk with scientists actively conducting research in Antarctica encourages them to become even more passionate about STEM subjects, nature conservation and taking an active role in combatting climate change.
If your school or university would like to organise an online class with some of the scientists and engineers working for the International Polar Foundation, please feel free to contact Henri Robert at science@polarfoundaiton.org.
Preben Van Overmeiren, a PhD candidate from Ghent University working for the EnVOC research group, conducted field work collecting organic and inorganic atmospheric particles for the CHASE project, which seeks to learn more about atmospheric circulation in the Southern Hemisphere and how atmospheric particles and gas phase compounds are transported to Antarctica. He also did field work for the CLIMB project, which is investigating how such particles influence cloud formation and precipitation in Antarctica.
What are the objectives of both CHASE and CLIMB projects?
CHASE is a project that started in 2017 with funding from the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office (BELSPO). It has four main partners: the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), the Vrije Universiteit Brussels (VUB), Ghent University and the Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium (KMI/IRM).
The project has two goals. Firstly, we’ve sampled the air in Antarctica to learn details about the chemical characteristics of atmospheric particles and gaseous compounds. Secondly, we’re investigating the atmospheric transport pathways, a task the Royal Meteorological Institute oversees. This year the project is coming to an end, but we’ve still got work to do to analyze the samples we’ve collected.
The CLIMB project continues on some of the discoveries made in previous projects such as CHASE as well as AEROCLOUD. CLIMB is coordinated by the Royal Meteorological Institute with partners Ghent University, KU Leuven and the Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (IASB-BIRA). It focuses on taking measurements of meteorological, aerosol, cloud, and precipitation characteristics at the Princess Elisabeth Station and directly at the cloud level, on the edge on the Antarctic Plateau south of the Sør Rondane Mountains.
For both projects, we’ve been tracing different sources of both natural and anthropogenic aerosols and gases in Antarctica, how abundant pollutants are, and how they reach Antarctica. Yet while the CHASE project investigated a broad range of organic and inorganic species in the Antarctic atmosphere, the CLIMB project is investigating the role of atmospheric ice nuclei particles and organic compounds on cloud formation and precipitation. This information will be used in a regional climate model for the Dronning Maud Land area.
What methodologies did you use in each project?
Within CHASE, we used a few well-established methods such as using high volume samplers to sample particles and gases from the atmosphere. As the project was coming to an end this year, we had to collect all the passive samplers, which were installed on remote sites in the field four years ago, and bring them back to Belgium.
For CLIMB, a big challenge was to design and install active sampling equipment at high altitude (2350 m) and have it work with some batteries and a wind turbine year-round. We’ve managed the challenge quite well but installations like this are only possible due to IPF’s thorough support! At the station, we use small instruments such as the ice nuclei particle (INP) sampler to take samples of these important cloud-forming particles and remote sensing equipment like a CIMEL sunphotometer and a MAXDOAS (multi-axis differential optical absorption spectroscopy) instrument. On both sites, a unique VOC sampler is installed which monitors organic gases during the year.
Collecting atmospheric samples along a 250 km transect from the high plateaus to the coast has helped us compare the transport and composition of aerosols in inland highland regions to their transport and composition in lowland coastal regions.
For example, in the interior highlands, atmospheric circulation transports fine particles produced through mountain erosion. At the coast, atmospheric circulation brings in compounds from different landmasses surrounding Antarctica in the Southern Hemisphere: South America, Africa and Australia. At the coast, you tend to see more anthropogenic influence showing up in our samples.
Why are aerosols so important to the cloud formation process?
Various primary and secondary aerosols affect the microphysics of clouds. They act as nuclei for the formation of cloud droplets or small ice crystals. Clouds are an important factor in the earth’s albedo. They reflect a fraction of the sun’s radiation back into space, but they also reflect thermal radiation of the earth itself back towards the ground. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) defined the effect of clouds on climate change as one of the biggest uncertainties. There is also a lot of indirect effects of aerosols on clouds which can have a positive or negative effect on the radiative energy budget.
Within CLIMB, we’re measuring ice-nuclei particles (INP), aerosol size and number concentration, volatile organic compounds (which can form secondary organic aerosols and precipitation) and cloud characteristics at PEA. At the aforementioned high-altitude site, we also try to measure aerosol size, precipitation and chemistry inside clouds. The location of PEA is interesting for such studies because you have easy access to higher altitude regions, it is influenced both by synoptic (large-scale) and katabatic (from the higher interior of the continent) meteorological regimes, and historically there aren’t a lot of similar studies done in this part of Antarctica.
As part of your fieldwork, you went on a field expedition to the coast for a few days. How did you like this experience?
We went to the coast driving in the Toyota Hilux, following in the path of two big Prinoth tractors. We could only travel at 15 – 20 km/h, so it took quite a while, but it was a great way to experience a different part of Antarctica.
At one point, the tractors left us to take care of some other business, and I was left alone to work with Henri Robert, the Deputy Station Manager. It was such an unforgettable experience to be doing fieldwork far away from civilization.
How was it travelling to Antarctica under COVID-19 restrictions?
The journey was hectic, but very well managed by the first crew. Poor weather conditions delayed our departure for Antarctica, so instead of spending two weeks in Cape Town, we spent three before we were able to start our mission.
It wasn’t all bad. The location where we were staying was delightful. I roomed together in a house with Alexis Merlaud (BIRA), who also contributed to the CLIMB project this season. I had never met him before, so it was a great opportunity to bond with a fellow scientist and share some ideas before the start of the season.
You stayed longer than expected this season. Why?
Normally I should have arrived at PEA mid-November and left mid-December before Christmas, which would have given me four or five weeks to conduct fieldwork. But as I said, our scheduled flight to Antarctica from Cape Town was delayed for more than a week due to poor weather conditions in Antarctica. After we arrived on the continent, I was part of the team that was stuck at Novo for 72 hours before being able to travel on to PEA, again due to poor weather conditions.
Since my mission this year included work for both the CHASE and CLIMB projects and I was already more than a week behind schedule when I finally arrived at PEA, I decided to stay longer and postpone my return flight until mid-January to make sure I could accomplish everything I was sent to do.
On the bright side, I got to celebrate Christmas and New Year’s in Antarctica for the first time at PEA with the crew. This was special for me! If there ever were one time in your life to spend Christmas and New Year’s in Antarctica, this was the year. COVID-19 has made it impossible to have large gatherings in Belgium. But in Antarctica, as we were all together isolated from the world in a COVID-free environment, it was more enjoyable.
As the team has been putting the finishing touches on the station’s new annexes, this past week they also got a lift thanks to a new system they installed last season that can help keep the two annexes level.
Adjusting to glacier movement
The station’s new annexes underwent a vertical lift this past week thanks to a new system the BELARE team installed over the last few seasons, which allows the two annexes to be lifted as the glacier beneath them recedes and moves over time.
While the main part of the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica was constructed 2007-09 on a solid and unmoving granite ridge, the two new annexes have been built at a level below the ridge on top of a slowly-moving glacier.
All ice-covered areas in Antarctica are constantly moving by a few centimetres a year. Due to gravity, glaciers and ice streams that are part of the massive ice sheet covering Antarctica slowly flow towards the coasts all the time. The ice is actually not entirely solid, but rather behaves like an incredibly slow-moving stream.
As a consequence, any construction done on top of ice-covered areas in Antarctica (or on top of any ice-covered area in the world for that matter) must take into account the constant movement of this ice, as well as additional snow that gets deposited on top of the ice. Adequate engineering solutions are necessary to compensate for the ice movement.
The system used at the station consists of 13 pistons placed under the 13 beams that support the floor in each of the new annexes from below, as well as a series of hinges fastened to the granite ridge in both annexes that can compensate for vertical movement. The pistons can be raised gradually as the ice moves. Each piston can be raised individually to allow precise adjustments to be made to the level of the annexes.
In anticipation of the average 8 cm retreat the glacier below the annexes experiences between seasons, the BELARE team has raised the annexes slightly above normal for the final weeks of the season. When the team returns in November for the next season, the annexes will not need as much adjustment as they needed at the beginning of this season.
Finishing up the garage
With the walls of the new garage are covered in solar panels installed by engineers Guus and Johan earlier this season, it was decided to put windows in the doors of the garage. This past week the team has been putting the finishing touches on the windows and moving equipment and mechanical parts (temporarily stored in containers outside) in their definitive storage area inside the new building.
Although the garage has been hooked up to the station's smart grid to receive power and can be fully lit, it’s both pleasant and useful to be able to have some natural light in the garage.
With a few more finishing touches, the three-season construction project of the new north and south annexes is finally coming to an end.
Aymar de Lichtervelde, a Belgian process engineer in charge of the water treatment systems at the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica (PEA) Station, recently took part in an international project bringing together amateur musicians from all seven continents of the world in order to raise money to help support COVID-19 relief efforts.
A bold idea
The Intercontinen7al initiative is the brainchild of amateur musician Matt Smith from Columbia, Maryland in the United States. After COVID-19 restrictions made it difficult for him to play with his bandmates in the Baltimore-Washington, DC area band Toast, he started using the BandLab online platform to compose and record songs with fellow local musicians.
Not long after he started this collaboration, he realised the potential for the platform and set his sights on a much larger ambition: record an album with contributions from musicians from all seven continents.
“If I could collaborate online with local musicians using BandLab,” Matt explained. “I thought ‘Why not try it with musicians from all over the world?’”. Matt was inspired by the rock band Foo Fighters and their album Sonic Highways, which includes songs that were recorded in various cities across the United States.
Responding to the call
In hopes of finding someone who could contribute to the Intercontinen7al initiative from Antarctica, Matt contacted the International Polar Foundation in September 2020, two months before the start of the 2020 - 2021 Antarctic research season. Luckily for him, Aymar de Lichtervelde, who was scheduled to go to Antarctica during the 2020-2021 austral summer research season to work on the station’s water production and treatment systems, agreed to take part in the initiative.
An amateur classical guitarist who keeps a guitar at the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica Station, Aymar contributed to the album in his spare time during his scheduled work this season.
"He asked me if I could play the intro to one of the songs he was composing,” Aymar recalled. "He told me the key to play it in: A minor. When I found some time, I recorded the intro on my phone and I sent it to him. Eventually, he was able to integrate my recording into one of the songs on the album.”
Aymar’s recording ended up becoming the introduction to the song "Manor Hill" on the Intercontinen7al album.
A truly international project
Ultimately, Matt managed to get 22 musicians spanning all seven continents to take part in the project, including a drummer working in Antarctica at the French-Italian Concordia Station.
One by one, the musicians recorded their assigned parts, and Matt put everything together into complete songs. In total, he and the other musicians were able to put together 12 songs for the Intercontinen7al album. Each song has contributions from musicians from at least two different continents. The song Aymar contributed to, Manor Hill, features artists from all seven continents.
“We’re looking into whether 'Manor Hill' might be the first-ever recording to feature musicians from all seven continents,” Matt explained. “If we were the first group of musicians to try to do this kind of recording from all seven continents, we might even be recognised by Guinness World Records.”
All for a good cause
Sales from the album will go towards supporting COVID-19 relief efforts. Matt and his team wanted to give any proceeds from the COVID-19 Relief Fund, which provides financial assistance to individuals impacted by the pandemic and organisations coordinating relief efforts.
Anyone can purchase the album on the Intercontinen7al website or listen to it on platforms such as Spotify, Amazon, or iTunes and make a contribution.
Matt Smith was grateful to everyone who contributed to the project and found it extremely rewarding. Connecting people that have never met one another and uniting them for a good cause shows the power of modern technological solutions.
“I never thought in a million years that the project would grow exponentially the way it did,” Matt explained. “I can’t thank Aymar enough for his contribution. This project is a good example of what can be accomplished when we put our heads together for a good cause.”
In a decision handed down on the 5th of January 2021, the Chambre du Conseil of Brussels definitively dismissed all charges of conflict of interest against Alain Hubert and the International Polar Foundation.
The charges were lodged in December 2013 by the former Director of the Belgian Science Policy Office, who challenged the appointment of Alain Hubert as President of the Polar Secretariat, and contested the participation of the International Polar Foundation in the Public-Private Partnership embodied by the Polar Secretariat.
The Court held that neither the Polar Foundation nor Alain Hubert could be considered as having profited personally from these appointments.
In its judgment, the Court upheld the conformity with the law of the partnership agreements signed between the Belgian State and the International Polar Foundation in 2007 and 2009. This finding is in line with the decision of the Council of State (the highest administrative Court in Belgium), handed down in June 2017.
The Court found that due to the various checks and balances exercised by the public administration, Alain Hubert would have at no time been able to promote his private interests as President and member of the Polar Secretariat. At no point was the public interest harmed, and the Court maintained that there is no evidence of a conflict of interest. In reality, the Foundation has carried on with the tasks entrusted to it by the State since 2009, demonstrating the working collaboration between the parties.
The International Polar Foundation and Alain Hubert have welcomed the decision of the Courts, bringing as it does to a close a long period of unfounded attacks on the honesty and integrity of the Foundation.
The Foundation wishes to thank all those in both the private and public sector who have shown their confidence and offered support to the IPF during all these years.
The IPF is a public utility foundation created in 2002 by Alain Hubert in conjunction with renowned academic scientists, with the intention of advancing the cause of polar sciences internationally. The Princess Elisabeth Antarctica Station, the first “zero emission” research station in Antarctica, is a flagship project of the IPF. The reinforcing of the Belgian presence in Antarctica and the support for research that ensued are key objectives of the IPF in promoting sustainable development through showcasing Belgian and European engineering and scientific excellence as well as being at the service of citizens.
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