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The Bout2Bois wood workshop located at the Nos Pilifs farm in the Neder-Over-Heembeek Commune of Brussels was chosen as the 2019 winner of the International Polar Foundation Award during the annual Belgian Energy and Environment Prize ceremony, held at Tour and Taxis event centre in Brussels on 6 June.

Part of the suite of awards given out under the Belgian Energy and Environment Prize, the International Polar Foundation Award is given every year to an individual or organisation in Belgium for their outstanding achievements in creating sustainable solutions to issues related to the environment and energy use.

Bout2Bois aims to contribute to the circular economy by extending the life cycle of discarded wood and wood products. The workshop transforms the wood into a wide variety of items, including furniture, garden fences and playground equipment.

The workshop is also very socially engaged, as it is adapted to be able to employ people with disabilities.

This year was the 14th time the awards ceremony took place. The International Polar Foundation has been involved in the prize from the start.

A total of 84 projects were in competition for the suite of ten awards given out under the Belgian Energy and Environment Prize. The themes of the activities that were considered under the prize fell under one of six categories: education, circular economy, food, energy, mobility and construction.

When Carole Stora-Calté wrote the children’s book, “Le Monde OUKA” (OUKA World), she was working with the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Initially written in French, the book aims to raise awareness about climate change to very young children (4 to 8 years old).

The story focuses on a magical people called the OUKAS, how they learn about climate change on Earth, and what everyone can do about it.

Ms. Stora-Calté discusses how the idea came about and the positive reception to the book.

What gave you the idea to do a children’s book focusing on climate change?

I’m passionate about sustainable development in general, and climate change in particular. It’s a topic that concerns everyone. No one can say that climate change doesn’t concern them.

The inspiration came from my little cousin, who was then in primary school. One day she asked me what I was doing on my computer, and I told her that I was doing research into climate change. Then my little cousin asked me “What is climate change?”

I was astounded that children weren’t aware about climate change - that there was no explanation about it in primary school. So I said to myself, “It’s time to do something to educate young children about climate change!”

Since I specialized in climate change issues, I had some very marvellous experiences in my work with scientists. So I thought, “What better way to teach young children about climate change and how to take care of the planet, than through a magical children’s story?”  The story helps children learn about what they can do themselves to take action against climate change.

What’s the story about?

The story follows a a group of magical creatures called the OUKAS - who live in a fantasy world with fountains of pomegranate syrup, magical lanterns, and candy everywhere - as they travel to Earth for a holiday.

When the OUKAS arrive on Earth, they discover that the planet is experiencing a lot of problems, and they don’t know at first what’s causing them. So they ask the inhabitants of Earth bit by bit to find out what’s happening to the planet, and then they consult a wise elder from their own planet. Eventually they find out what climate change is and the problems that it causes.

In the end, the OUKAS learn that each and every person has the power to act and make a difference in fighting against climate change - no matter how small the action is. Even the small actions children take themselves can add up to make a difference. And the children love it! They, too, can do something!

This is the second edition of the book that’s coming out now.  What’s the history behind the second edition?

The first edition came out during the COP 21 in Paris in 2015.  I was working with the IPCC, so I knew many climate scientists.  In particular, French glaciologist and climatologist Prof. Jean Jouzel (who was co-recipient of the Peace Nobel Prize in 2007) was very impressed with the book. He showed it to his granddaughter, who was fascinated by it.  His granddaughter asked Jean Jouzel when she will be able to read the next story of the OUKAS. This is how it came about that he wrote the preface to the first edition.

Following this, other noteworthy people also wanted to add a commentary, including Nicolas Hulot and Alain Hubert, who’s a leading figure in ecological advocacy. As someone who’s passionate about communicating about climate change, Mr. Hubert completely embraces the educational values of my book.

The first edition of the book came out in 2015, with the support of France Nature Environnement, an independent organization. Each page of the book was reviewed by both climate scientists and environmental NGOs to make sure that scientific information mentioned in the book is correct.

Since the French National Commission for UNESCO has started to help raise awareness about climate change to young children, and given that there are very few resources available for raising awareness to very young children (4 to 8 years old), UNESCO agreed to be a partner for the book. So a second edition of the book was released with their label during European Sustainable Development Week (30 May - 5 June 2019).

The original language of the text is in French, but UNESCO is interested in having the book translated into English to help it reach a wider audience. A document of the text of the book translated into English is already available upon request for those who order the book in French.

Very nice interviews in French have been done about the proejct, which are available on the OUKA website in French.

For more information about ordering the book, please visit the OUKA website at www.ouka.fr!

Nander Wever is currently a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the University of Colorado, Boulder in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences. His research interests include modelling snow cover processes in the Polar Regions. This is part of what led him to take part in the 2018-2019 season at the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica station and to accompany researchers on the MASS2ANT project and shoot some video footage of the project, including some beautiful drone footage. Nander shares some of his throughts on his time in Antarctica in this interview.

What kind of research were you doing in Antarctica this year? Could you tell us what your goals were during the 2018-2019 season?

Antarctica gains mass via snowfall. But the windy conditions continuously erode snow from the surface, depositing it somewhere else. This is a very complex process to understand.

Sometimes, dunes that form in a single drifting snow event are of the same height as the amount of snowfall over the entire year. My goal during the 2018-2019 season was to collect measurements of snow accumulation and snow properties.

I used a terrestrial laser scanner to get a detailed map of how the snow surface changed during our stay at the camp. This way, we can see where snow erodes and deposits due to snowfall and wind.

I also had a SnowMicroPen with me, a high precision instrument to measure snow properties (for example density and grain size) in the upper metre of the snowpack. Near the coast, this is roughly the amount of snowfall per year, so these measurement show the snowfall events over a full year. We can thereby compare the snow structure from snowfall events in winter to those in summer.

Why did you accompany the MASS2ANT project team from the ULB on their mission to extract ice cores from the ice shelf?

The MASS2ANT team had to travel from the Princess Elisabeth Station to the coast, a distance of about 200 km. Over this distance, the climate changes: near the coast, temperatures are higher and yearly snowfall is larger than near the Princess Elisabeth Station. It was a unique opportunity to collect measurements along this traverse and near the coastal area.

The measurements I took during this trip complement another ongoing measurement campaign near the station from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne. They kindly allowed me to borrow their instruments for this campaign.

The data I collected are also very useful for the MASS2ANT campaign. For example, near the weather stations installed for the MASS2ANT project, I collected SnowMicroPen measurements. These measurements are useful for interpreting the weather station measurements and validating computer models used in the MASS2ANT project.

It was great that you were able to film some of the action of the ice core drilling team. What motivated you to film everything?

Working as a scientist, I often read papers and hear talks about ice core data revealing past climate conditions. But I never was aware what has to come together to drill those cores. It turns out it's a tremendous effort! Seeing the whole process in action, I realized that it's worth filming it. For the team, it's useful as documentation of how they collected their data.

Also, different drilling teams from all over the world can learn from each other by looking at videos of other drilling campaigns. And last but not least, I also think that it is very important that scientist not only collect data in the field, but also use the opportunity to show the general public about these unique places, and the scientific work going on.

You took some astounding aerial images of the traverse and drilling site with a drone. How were you able to do this? Did you take your own drone to Antarctica?

Actually, it was my first experience with drones! I bought the drone just a month before leaving for Antarctica.

It's clear that drones have added a new, unique view to film making. So I was sure that in a place like Antarctica, a drone would be able to deliver a unique perspective.

It's also impressive how accessible the technology has become. I was impressed with how easy it was to fly the drone, how stable and how resistant they are to high winds and low temperatures.

The day we left the Princess Elisabeth Station, it was very windy. You can see it on the video how the snow is blown from the Prinoth tracks.

It was very challenging to fly the drone: I got a constant stream of warnings and it was difficult to control the flight. However, looking at the footage, it's incredibly stable and beautiful.

Of course, it's important to keep the batteries and preferably also the drone in a warm spot. And when there was wind, I generally started flying against the wind, such that in case of low battery, the drone would not need extra power to fly back against the wind.

I also never exhausted the batteries to their limits, especially in cold conditions. There is always a risk with wind and low temperatures that the battery cannot keep its temperature and the output power drops rapidly.

And lastly you need some cold-resistant fingers! Without gloves, it's easier to operate and you have a finer, more accurate control over the movements of the drone.

How was your overall experience in Antarctica this past season? Did it live up to your expectations? What was daily life like?

As always, Antarctica is a beautiful place! It's just incomprehensible how much ice is stored on the continent: ice as far as the eye can see! You feel every day that the place is not for humans, it's a privilege to be there, and you need to do a step back.

So often in our modern daily life, we are used to have some kind of control over most aspects in life. But in Antarctica, you have to surrender to the conditions. Antarctica dictates. It requires a team effort to get the work done. Luckily, you find yourself often with like-minded people, or for sure you will become like-minded as there is no other option than to work together.

What I also like is that without WiFi and 4G, and minimal satellite internet only for urgent issues, you get one of those unique opportunities to disconnect from the rush of daily life.

As a scientist, these are the rare moments that, while being in the environment you study, you have time to think and develop new ideas.

On Wednesday 15 May, the Second Arctic Professionals Network Event (and the first such event to be held in Brussels), welcomed nearly 20 professionals working in the political sector as well as natural and social scientists working in polar research.

Representatives from the International Polar Foundation joined members of the Arctic Institute and APECS (Association of Polar Early Career Scientists) Belgium in hosting the event. The goal was to create a bridge between early-career polar professionals and more experienced polar stakeholders from different disciplines and backgrounds in an informal and relaxed atmosphere, outside of the hustle and bustle of a formal meeting or conference.

"Over the last few years there has been an increase in formal networking events for decision-makers and politicians about Arctic and polar issues in Brussels, yet there is a lack of informal gatherings where one can engage with key stakeholders," according to Liubov Timonina from the Arctic Institute, one of the co-initiators of the event who reached out to the International Polar Foundation and APECS Belgium to help organise the evening.

"Informal networking events where people can gather and chat are still one of the most productive ways to create healthy and robust cross-sector and multidisciplinary relations," added Romain Chuffart, also one of the co- initiators of the event from the Arctic Institute.

Those who turned up to the networking evening included a diverse group of polar professionals, such as scientists who have done research at the "zero-emission" Princess Elisabeth Station in Antarctica, academics specialised in Arctic policy issues, and representatives from the European Institutions and European Member State regional offices. One academic even travelled all the way from Amsterdam to join in.

Due to the interest shown by those who attended the event on 15 May to attend similar informal gatherings in the future, the organising partners are considering holding another networking event before too long. Keep following the International Polar Foundation's website and social media accounts for information about the next networking event!

On Wednesday 15 May, the International Polar Foundation and APECS Belgium will co-host the Second Arctic Professionals Network Event, organised by the Arctic Institute at the Sister Café in the centre of Brussels.

The purpose of the event is to allow professionals and early-career experts from all disciplines working on Arctic and polar issues to get together in a relaxed atmosphere.

Following the highly successful First Arctic Professionals Network Event, which took place in Oslo in November 2018,  the Arctic Institute sought partners in Belgium to help them organise and host a second edition of the event in Brussels. The International Polar Foundation is proud to be be a part of this important initiative to help all interested individuals gather in an informal environment.

As space is limited, we kindly ask those who  would like to come to register on the Arctic Institute’s website.

The Sister Café is committed to reducing its impact on the environment. It has a zero-waste philosophy and serves locally sourced organic fresh food and drinks, including vegan, gluten-free and lactose-free options.

A young Belgian bioengineer, Aymar de Lichtervelde, stepped up to the challenge of spending a season at the Princess Elisabeth Station Antarctica. He was given the daunting task of improving both the efficiency and the capacity of the station's water treatment system.

At the end of the season, Aymar's work surpassed everyone's expectations, reducing even further the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica's environmental footprint while providing an incredible experience to a young professional.

What was your main job at the station during this past season?

I took care of the water systems of the station, especially the water treatment system. My main goal was to increase the water treatment system’s capacity to be able to handle wastewater from a larger volume of people, increase its efficiency and level of automation.

I also monitored the quality of the drinking water at the station for potential contamination from harmful bacteria. People arriving from Cape Town might have bacteria foreign to the station and can contaminate the user points (faucets, etc.). When you have 30 people using the same facilities, contamination is a potential problem.

How is drinking water produced at the station?

Water is produced at the station by melting snow. From the snow we get very pure water.

But the water is too pure, and this can be problematic.

Why is it a problem to drink water that’s “too pure” ?

Because it contains no minerals.

If you drink only chemically pure water, then your body doesn’t get essential minerals that it needs. This can result in fatigue, problems with concentration, and a sensation of being thirsty all of the time, even if you constantly drink water. Long-term effects can even lead to reduced bone density. The World Health Organisation has even done research on the problems that can result form drinking demineralised water.

When I first arrived at the station in November 2018, several people in the station’s team had the symptoms I described. We then started adding minerals to the drinking water and provided mineral powder to the staff. Lack of minerals is a rather subtle health issue, but an issue that must be taken seriously.

And what about your work on the water treatment system at the station?

The water treatment system was first installed in 2008, when the station was being built. The system wasn’t originally designed to handle the number of people who go to the station now, so it’s become necessary to increase its capacity and improve its functionality.

One of the challenges of the Princess Elisabeth Station is that it’s a victim of its own success. It was originally designed to welcome 18 people, but during a normal season, there can be as many as 30 or 40 people on-site at peak times.

Did you find it easy to increase the water treatment system's capacity?

It was not easy, no. In practice, wastewater treatment is quite a complex process that demands a multidisciplinary approach. A background in process engineering, physics, microbiology and biochemistry is essential to understand and optimise such a living process.

On top of that, we face major space and energy constraints at the station, making the  treatment process much more challenging than in a building in Europe, for example.

Before leaving for Antarctica, I did an audit of the entire system with Dries Demey, the engineer who designed the station's water treatment system 10 years ago. We had to first discuss modifications to the system that would allow for an increase in its capacity, and how to implement these changes.

Then, when I arrived in Antarctica, I had to do a lot of learning about the system on-site. To implement hardware modifications, one of the station’s two plumbers, Bernard Polet, gave me a hand. We established a very fruitful collaboration, and thanks to him, I learned a lot about plumbing!

It was a challenging three months with lots to do, but I was happy to have experienced this challenge.

Were you happy with the result of your efforts?

This the first year that the water treatment system at the station has been able to treat wastewater more quickly than it is produced, which is a key goal. The system is now working better than it ever has. The water leaving the system is clean enough to drink!

Compared to other research stations in Antarctica, the Princess Elisabeth is far ahead in terms of meeting its environmental obligations under the Madrid Protocol to the Antarctic Treaty System (Under the Madrid Protocol of the Antarctic Treaty System, station operators are required to do as much as they can to have as little impact on the Antarctic environment and report any environmentally damaging incidents). I know another station in Antarctica that treats and recycles grey water. But Princess Elisabeth is the only station in Antarctica I know of that can treat black water to such standards.

Being able to treat both grey and black water in situ is a major help to the environment and reduces operating costs of the station. Not being able to do so means that one is left with two options: discharging untreated wastewater into the environment (into the ocean if the station is at the coast, for example), or shipping it to South Africa or South America, which costs a lot.

The point of our water treatment system is to avoid doing either of these things to save both money and the environment. So we evacuate the purified water to the environment
without harmful effects, and it doesn’t cost us money to ship organic waste to Cape Town at the end of the season. In addition, purified water can be recycled for non-drinking use, such as showers and toilets, which can help a lot when there is a high demand for water at the station but little energy to produce it.

We also managed to automate the system even further, so that it can function better on its own. The long-term goal is not to have to send an engineer to the station every season specifically to handle the water treatment system.

How did you enjoy your time living at the station?

It was great, especially because I got to learn new things on the job and experience Antarctica for the first time!

The cooks at the station were amazing. They made some really great meals. The Princess Elisabeth station is know for having some of the best food in Antarctica.

We also had time for extracurricular activities. On Sundays, we were able to do cross-country skiing, and hiking on the “windscoop trail” around the small mountain near the station. We could also play games, watch movies, or even play the guitar!

The main challenge, though, is living in the same place where you work for several months. For those of us who had to work on the station’s systems, we had to be on call at pretty much any time, ready to go to work in case there might be a problem. You have to to find a way to make a good work-life balance, as much as that’s possible.

We usually worked six, sometimes seven days a week, 11-14 hours a day. It’s a good thing that the season is only three months long. Otherwise, you might get tired of working like this without any vacation.

Nonetheless, I enjoyed my time at Princess Elisabeth Antarctica very much, and working at the station was very enriching and rewarding. It was great to be part of a team with so much motivation and good spirit!

The International Polar Foundation would like to publicly affirm its full support for the student climate protests taking place around the globe. We’re heartened by the fact that so many young people have chosen to make their voices heard on a crucial issue that affects all of humanity.

Our children are the future of Planet Earth, and we believe they have every right to demand action from their political leaders against the global threat of climate change - a threat that will have far-reaching consequences for them and their children, more so than the politicians in power today.

Since 2002, the International Polar Foundation has drawn attention to the need to take action to reduce carbon emissions and live in a more sustainable manner for the sake of our planet and future generations. Our foundation has met words with actions as we designed and built the first ever zero-emission polar research station in East Antarctica, the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica, proving that it’s possible to live more sustainably even in some of the harshest environments on Earth. We inform the general public about the important scientific research happening in the Polar Regions, which allows humanity to know more about how Earth’s climate system works, and how it will be affected by climate change. Through our educational projects and materials, we’ve taught young people about the need to live a more sustainable lifestyle, and have inspired them to become tomorrow's innovators who will create sustainable solutions for themselves and for future generations.

We encourage more young people to make their voices heard on the issue of climate change. We also urge all people, young and old, to take concrete actions to live a more sustainable lifestyle. Climate action starts with each individual. We must all change how we live and consume in order to guarantee a healthy planet for future generations, and to help prevent the worst-case climate change scenarios that climate scientists have predicted from ever coming to pass.

Alain Hubert

President, International Polar Foundation

After another very successful season, the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica is now in overwintering mode. The last eight members of the BELARE team left the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica on February 27th.

Following a transit via the Russian Novolazarevskaya Station, the Belgian Antarctica Research Expedition (BELARE) team reached Cape Town, South Africa on Friday, March 1st. Here, members of the team usually spend a short time re-adjusting to hearing noise and seeing lots of colour again before heading back home.

In the coming weeks, operations team heads will work on preparing reports of the 2018-2019 season, while some team members will return to their regular jobs almost immediately.  Some of the team planned a weekend reunion in Chamonix last week to carry out an unofficial de-briefing of the season.

"We just completed the tenth summer season of operations at the Princess Elisabeth. What amazes me the most is that this season was different from any other," said expedition leader and International Polar Foundation President Alain Hubert upon his return. "Conditions are unpredictable in Antarctica, and the team had to face new challenges in order to be able to support the various scientific projects which took place over these last four months. The enthusiasm and energy of the fantastic team was the secret to our success!"

The station has grown

During this past season, the Work Programme was completed ahead of schedule. During the first team rotation, the South Annex Phase II fit-out was virtually completed, after its construction last season.

The newly completed annex has 16 bedrooms that can sleep two persons each, which restores the 32-berth capacity to the annex to the station. If you add this to the original 16-bed capacity of the upper part of the station, it’s now possible for the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica to host 48 people in the Station buildings, not counting the mobile units.  However, some hardy individuals still choose to spend their season sleeping in tents, pitched to the West of the Station in an area protected from the wind.

The new annex also includes an additional toilet and bathroom, as well as a storage area on the lower level of the annex. The snow melter - which provides the station with fresh drinking water - was also moved from the outside the station to inside the South Annex Phase II, which has drastically reduced heat losses and has improved the water production capacity. This capacity was tested this season when occupancy climbed over 50 on certain days this season.

Accommodating so many people sustainably

The zero-emission concept was originally designed for 16 people, and so some upgrades to the station’s systems have become necessary in order to accommodate additional guests.

Systems engineer Aymar de Lichtervelde spent three months at the station this past season working on doubling the capacity of the station’s water treatment system so it can handle as many as 50 occupants.  While it took some time for Aymar to become familiar with the station’s water treatment system, he was able to improve its functionality and significantly increase the amount of grey water (from showers and laundry) and black water (from toilets) that can be treated.

Meanwhile, electromechanical engineer Guus Luppens - who built the first off-grid house in Belgium, (which he proudly lives in) - spent some time working at the station this season. In addition to replacing the station’s battery systems and doing other maintenance tasks on the station’s renewable energy systems, he began devising a plan to increase the renewable energy production at the station. Over the coming seasons, this plan of action will be implemented.

The BELARE team is once again rising to the challenge of increasing the capacity of a station located in one of the harshest environments on the planet and doing so in a sustainable manner.

New and improved Winter Park

Before the team leaves each season, they must take time to prepare the station, the vehicles, and the equipment to spend a harsh austral winter in Antarctica.

Thanks to a new hangar that the BELARE team constructed this season at the Winter Park, located 2 km from the station, vehicles and equipment will have some protection from the elements. This will also save several days of work next season, as the team will not need to dig the vehicles and equipment out from beneath huge piles of snow that accumulate in front of the station garages over the winter.

Staying connected

Although the station is now in winter mode, it can be monitored from Belgium thanks to the satellite link that was established with the station ten years ago.

During the 2018-2019 season, the station’s satellite system received some significant improvements to make the link with the outside world faster. The team installed two new block up converters for the main SES satellite link. These modems consume less power and provide higher stability. The antenna was also repositioned in order to lock on to the new SES-5 satellite.

During the season, the satellite system allows scientists to send data from their installed instruments back to their research institutions, and for team members to communicate with their families and friends back home. Although the station is in winter mode, it is designed to monitor the station’s renewable energy systems from a distance, as well as transmit data from weather monitoring and other scientific instruments at the station to researchers in Belgium and elsewhere.

Still more to come

While preparations are already underway for the 2019-2020 season, we will continue to post information about the various scientific research projects that took place during the 2018-2019 season and to get some feedback from other members of the team.

Guus Luppens is an electromechanical engineer who travelled to Antarctica for the first time during the 2018-2019 research season. He was tasked with taking care of a number of maintenance tasks for the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica's renewable energy production systems. We asked him about his work in Antarctica this past season.

How did you get the job with IPF to do work at the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica?

I answered a job advertisement a few months before the start of the 2018-2019 season. The Princess Elisabeth Antarctica station is powered by exactly the same battery system that powers my house, which I built in the last few years.

My house is the first in Belgium to be completely off-grid, meaning that it's not connected to public electrical grid at all. It runs just on solar power and batteries that store energy for times when there isn't enough sun to produce energy.

Therefore the International Polar Foundation was excited to have me be a part of their team in Antarctica this season.

Did you have to hit the ground running when you arrived?

There was not a lot of time between when I first answered the job advertisement to starting to work for IPF at the station in Antarctica. So I had a lot to learn in a short amount of time. But the challenge was definitely worth it for the experience!

What were your tasks at the station this past season?

When I arrived at the beginning of the season in November 2018, I spent a lot of time getting to know the station systems. The last few engineers had been there for a long time, so they knew the station systems very well. But I found that there wasn’t much information about the station’s renewable energy systems.

I spent the first few weeks mapping photovoltaic circuits and checking to see if they were functioning. Together with some team members, we replaced any modules that were broken. I also checked the inverters and the circuits and made a complete inventory of all the circuits of the renewable energy systems of the station.

Did you also handle the solar thermal energy systems?

Afterwards, I got to know the solar thermal systems, which are used to melt snow and produce hot water for the station. We added some modules and changed any that were damaged. Now entire façade of the south annex is now full of solar thermal panels being used to produce hot water for the station.

We needed to be able to produce more hot water for the snow melter as well. Since this season saw the construction of extra 16 rooms so that more people will be able to stay at the station next season, the station has to be able to produce a much higher volume of drinkable water. Therefore, we needed a lot more solar thermal energy capacity in order to make more drinking water.

We also use solar thermal energy in the waste water treatment process. If we have more people staying at the station, more wastewater will be produced, as more energy will be needed. This was important as my colleague Aymar de Lichtervelde was tasked with doubling the volume capacity of the waste water treatment system.

You also had to change the batteries that store energy produced by renewable sources. Why was this needed?

The next main task I had was to change the batteries that store the energy produced by the solar photovoltaic panels and wind turbines. They’d already been there for six years, so it was time to change them. They'd reached the end of their functional life.

This was a big task. We had to change 192 batteries that weighed 80 kg each. This meant 15 tonnes of batteries going out of the station and 15 tonnes of batteries going into the station.

We noticed that there were a few problems with the batteries’ circuits. We performed some tests to determine which batteries in the setup were not performing as well.

This allowed us to learn that we don’t need to change as many batteries in the system as often. Now we’ve learned how we can keep the batteries for a longer time without having to change them all at the same time like we’ve done this season. In case any batteries go out, we'll be able to shift to using only batteries that are working. This means less waste.

Is it possible to make the station’s energy systems work for higher occupancy?

The station was originally designed to house 18 people. But this past season, we had as many as 40 people at the station at one time. So the station needs to be able to produce more energy to welcome more people in the coming years. I'm in the process of designing a roadmap for how to increase renewable energy production and energy storage at the station.

In order to do this, we’re looking at using the latest technologies. In the last few years, battery storage technologies have improved dramatically, which means we'll be able to store more renewable energy for longer periods of time. We plan to install these over the coming years.

So we looking at how we’re going to approach this. Already next season (2019-2020) we plan to add a significant amount of solar power.

However, as there’s no more room to install solar panels on the station building and its annexes, we’re thinking about installing more solar panels on a ridge not far from the station. We'll start working on this from next year.

Did you lend a hand to any of the scientists during your time at the station?

I went with many scientists into the field to install small, mobile solar and battery-powered systems to power scientists' instruments. I helped Dr. Kate Winter install a power supply system for the Raspberry Shake seismometer she's using in her field research there. I also went with my colleagues further into the field to install or maintain solar power systems for weather stations.

You managed to build a house in Belgium that's completely off-grid. Do you think it's possible for people in Europe and elsewhere to do this?

It's always possible, if the house is designed not to be connected to the power grid form the start. If you have devices in your home such as a heat pump that consume a lot of energy in winter, when there's not a lot of solar energy production, then it can be hard. But you have to engineer the house to get around the need for high energy-consumption situations when there is less renewable energy available.

I've already lived two winters in my house without any energy shortage problems. This is pretty impressive since I live in a country that's known for not getting a lot of sun!

Did you need to get a special permit to build a house that's completely off-grid?

There's no law in Belgium that says you need to get a special permit to build a house that's completely off-grid. You can also have a connection to the public electricity grid in Belgium and not use it. It's completely up to you.

I know that there are some countries, or certain municipalities in certain countries, that don't allow you to build a house that's completely off-grid, due to specific zoning laws. Belgium is ahead of the curve in this regard.

But as you can see, Belgium is also ahead of the curve in Antarctica. It's already been ten years that the Princess Elisabeth station has been running on renewable energy, while all the other stations are still running on diesel-powered generators!

Was it expensive to design and build an off-grid house?

You have the initial investment to install the renewable energy producing systems. But these costs are made back over time as you don't pay any electricity bills.

The main goal for me was to have a self-sustaining house that runs on energy produced by the sun 24 hours a day, even in winter. I've managed to construct a self-sustaining house myself.

In the coming years, I'll be happy to continue lending my know-how to upgrading the Princess Elisabeth station's renewable energy systems.

Prof. Jean-Louis Tison and a team of scientists from the Glaciology Laboratory at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) conducted field work in East Antarctica this past season for the Mass2Ant project, which hopes to contribute to our understanding of how much ice the Antarctic Ice Sheet has been gaining or losing over time. Prof. Tison was kind enough to answer questions about his team’s research.

What are the objectives of the Mass2Ant project?

In the Mass2Ant project, which stands for “East Antarctic surface mass balance in the Anthropocene: observations and multiscale modelling”, we’re trying to get a better understanding of the mass balance of the Antarctic Ice Sheet over time in the region of the Princess Ragnhild Coast in East Antarctica, since the beginning of the Antropocene (the time in Earth’s geological history during which humans have started to have a significant impact on the planet’s climate system).

We hope to document surface accumulation during the last four or five centuries by examining medium-depth ice cores taken from ice rises in the Princess Ragnhild Coast area. We hope to use these data to validate results from regional high-resolution atmospheric models and large scale global climate models.

What is mass balance and how is it linked to sea level rise?

The mass balance of an ice sheet, like the ones covering Antarctica and Greenland, is the balance between the amount of ice added to the ice sheet in the form of snowfall and the amount of ice taken away from the ice sheet through iceberg calving, ice melting (ice surface coming in contact with the atmosphere or the bottom of the ice coming in contact with the ocean), and ice sublimation (ice turning directly to water vapour).

sform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;"> When ice is added to the Antarctica Ice Sheet, it contributes to a net fall in average global sea level, as snowfall that falls on Antarctica comes from water that evaporates from the ocean to form clouds, and is deposited on the ice sheet as snow. Over time, the snow hardens and becomes the ice of the ice sheet, and is covered by more and more layers of snow over time. Ice taken away from the ice sheet contributes to a net increase in average global sea level, as ice that flows off of the ice sheet is added to the water in the oceans.

Predicting the future evolution of sea level from global warming requires a good knowledge of the Antarctic (and Greenland) ice sheet mass balance to reduce large present-day uncertainties.

Ice loss from the Antarctic is increasingly better documented, especially in West Antarctica, as a recent NASA study shows. Paradoxically, surface mass balance is less well known, especially in East Antarctica, where the Princess Elisabeth Station is located. An important issue is how snow deposition and redistribution varies over time and in different locations.

What was your mission in Antarctica during the 2018-2019 season?

Field activity during the 2018-2019 BELARE season focused on the recovery of a third ice core from ice rises at the Princess Ragnhild Coast, about 200 km from the Princess Elisabeth Station.

Ice rises are mounds of ice located above local bedrock elevations on the sea floor, which makes the ice stick up in these areas as it flows towards to ocean on an ice shelf. Ice rises have the peculiarity to develop their own simple ice flow, as the ice flows radially from the summit to the sides, mostly independent of how the ice in the surrounding ice shelf flows. This makes them an ideal tool for reconstructing past climates.

During this past season, we were able to recover a 260 metre-long ice core of excellent quality, which will give us more than four centuries of climate information of the area. We also took 360° videos of the walls of the borehole, its Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) position, radar images, snow properties, and meteorological measurements. All this information will be fed into models that describe local ice sheet dynamics and atmospheric processes.

We aim to reconstruct snow accumulation over the last four centuries, including changes in surface mass balance, to detect changes linked to global warming, and to compare it to the same data for the other two ice cores of 120 and 208 metres we took from different locations (other ice rises) along the coast during previous seasons, in order to look for any similarities or differences in past climate across the region.

We also hope to reconstruct sea ice extent by looking at ice chemistry, using satellite records from 1979 to the present day to calibrate our models, as well as all ice core data available. Radar data and ice core borehole images we collected will contribute to ice flow modelling to help decipher annual snow accumulation rates using “raw” annual layer thickness, taking into account firnification (transformation of snow to ice) processes and ice deformation.

What were some of the highlights and difficulties you encountered in the field ?

This year, the main challenge was to switch to “wet drilling” at depths below 90 metres.

Last year, the quality of the ice cores considerably degraded below 100 metres due to the large pressure difference between the drill hole at the surface (normal atmospheric pressure) and the surrounding ice (about 10 atmospheres at 100 metres). The pressure difference makes the ice very sensitive to the shocks of cutting, which resulted in a series of broken ice discs, making further analyses of the ice core extremely challenging.

The only solution was to fill the borehole with a drilling liquid that does not freeze and has a density close that of ice. From previous experiences with international deep drilling projects, the liquid to use is ESTISOL. It is the least problematic for the operators. The only issue is that it can dilate and eat up all rubber components (including shoes, gloves, etc.), and can irritate the skin and eyes.

More and more ESTISOL had to be added as we penetrated deeper and deeper in the ice rise. By the time we reached 260 metres, we had a 75 metre-high liquid column.

Switching to this new drilling method was totally new for us. We benefited from highly useful advice from our Canadian, Danish, and Australian colleagues, as well as the building skills of the IPF team. Still, many challenges were adequately solved, allowing us to work routinely until the end of our mission.

What were your living conditions in the field this season ?

Knowing how demanding these field expeditions are, IPF provided us with excellent logistical support and relative comfort, which makes all the difference! We cooked, ate, and worked in specially designed mobile container units. A solar-powered heating and hot water system, indoor toilets, and a small bathroom with a sink and shower really made life easier in the field, and outdoor scientific activity much more efficient.

We ate frozen meals cooked at the Princess Elisabeth Station, which considerably reduces the time invested in domestic tasks in the field, and also provides us with high quality, delicious and balanced nutrition.

We slept in individual tents, which are very comfortable, and surprisingly highly resistant to very strong winds. The tents were sometimes too warm in the morning and during the day with the constant sun streaming through the orange fabric, especially for the drilling team, who was working at “night” to keep the ice cores from melting.

We discussed the details of the mission with the IPF team several months in advance. IPF contributed at all levels, from making specific material for ice cores and handling drilling liquid in the drilling tent, to the return of the ice cores and cargo to our universities in Belgium. IPF also organised the training of the personnel at the Princess Elisabeth Station, supported the preparation of the field trip, and managed the convoy that transported the research team to and from the two working sites at the coast. We had continuous support from a field guide and mechanics during the whole field trip, and help from the base leader with setting up and dismantling the field camps.

A recent study published by NASA found that the Antarctic Ice Sheet is melting six times faster today compared to 40 years ago. Is there any link between this study and the expected findings of your research?

As explained earlier, the mass balance of Antarctica includes both the net input of snow at the surface and the loss of ice from iceberg calving and ice melt at both the surface and at the base of floating ice shelves.

The NASA study focuses on ice loss, while our work focuses on potential gains from surface accumulation of snow, and its trends over the past several centuries. These two approaches are complementary and need to be combined to reduce uncertainties about future sea level rise.

How can your research help to understand past climates and how can we use the findings of your research to mitigate and adapt to current climate change?

Current IPCC model projections for average global sea level rise by 2100 still show a large range of possibilities: from 0.2 metres to more than 1 metre. What the actual number will be will depend on actions we, as a society and as individuals, take to limit greenhouse gas emissions.

However, having a better understanding of the Antarctic Ice Sheet’s response to climate warming can help reduce the uncertainty in projections.

You can follow the Mass2Ant team’s adventures in Antarctica on their blog!