Special Report From Prof. Jay Rotella:
For us to be able to conduct our field project, many people from a wide variety of job descriptions in the U.S., in New Zealand, and at McMurdo Station provide critical support. Each year during springtime, or about 5-6 months before our field project begins, we work with members of The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and contractors for the United States Antarctic Program (USAP) to agree on what support we’ll need and can expect for the October-December field season.
It takes a network of support to be able to accomplish our science work on the sea ice of
Erebus Bay, Antarctica. McMurdo Science Implementer Randall "Randy" Jones is one of
the many people who play a major role, as described in this new video interview.
Over the summer, each person on our team works with the support team, their personal doctor and dentist, as well as members of the University of Texas Medical Branch to be declared Physically Qualified (PQ) for deployment. Early in the summer, new and repaired field gear that needs to be shipped to Antarctica must be packaged and sent off, so that it can arrive in New Zealand and be air lifted to Antarctica in time for our field work in October. Travel staff from the Antarctic Support Contract team arrange for our tickets from the U.S. to New Zealand.
Staff at the United States Antarctic Program’s Clothing Distribution Center in Christchurch, New Zealand prepare duffel bags that contain crucial cold weather clothing so that the items are ready for us when we arrive in New Zealand. Members of various military branches arrange and conduct flights from New Zealand to McMurdo. At McMurdo, personnel prepare sea-ice runways, manage fuel, and handle the arrival and departure of various aircraft.
At McMurdo Station, various members of the United States Antarctic Program organize and check a wide variety of key items that we use during the field season such as snowmobiles, field gear, fuel, and food. Throughout the field season, we rely on many people from more than a dozen work centers. For example, we rely on snowmobile mechanics to maintain and repair our snowmobiles; carpenters to put out emergency shelters; members of the Field Safety & Training team to provide our team with safety trainings, monitor sea ice conditions, and flag safe routes on the sea ice to a variety of key locations in our study area; members of Fuels and Fleet Operations to have snowmobile fuel available and maintain local travel routes; staff at the Berg Field Center to provide us with key gear such as backpacks, water bottles, ice axes, carabiners, etc.; the Central Communications to manage our daily check-in/check-out procedures for our field work; Helicopter Operations to schedule and conduct reconnaissance flights and travel to/from several sites that we access by air; and Crary Science Building staff to manage a wide variety of items including chemical supplies and our office and lab spaces.
We also rely on many others here at McMurdo for housing, food, and many other aspects of daily life. At the heart of it all is our science implementer - Randall (Randy) Jones, a Leidos employee - who helps coordinate all the support we need, from the pre-planning in April to our redeployment flight from McMurdo back to New Zealand and everything in between. We truly appreciate all who make our project possible!
- Prof. Jay Rotella, Lead Scientist
Erebus Bay Weddell Seal Population Study
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