Last sunset of 2015 for Antarctica

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2015

Last sunset of 2015 for Antarctica

Scientists at Antarctica have witnessed the last sunset of the year as the continent moves into 24-hour daylight.

NIWA marine physics technician Brett Grant captured this shot at McMurdo Sound where NIWA and the University of Otago have set up camp to try and find out why Antarctic sea ice is not shrinking at the same rate as Arctic sea ice.

The camp, comprising eight converted shipping containers, has been towed from Scott Base and provides everything needed to undertake a range of scientific experiments.

NIWA marine physicist Dr Craig Stevens and Otago’s Dr Patricia Langhorne from the Department of Physics, are researching the possibility that the answer lies in the production of supercooled seawater beneath the giant Antarctic ice shelves that make up 40 per cent of the Antarctic coastline.

From inside one of two science containers they are melting holes through the sea ice to take oceanographic measurements. Heated water is used to melt out blocks of ice through cut-outs in the floor containers which enables access to the ocean while being sheltered from the weather.

An oceanographic mooring is stationed about 100m from the camp with 16 instruments attached at various depths in the ocean below. They provide background data to aid the experiment.

Four people are based at the camp for the next few weeks, with support provided by three other visiting team members from Scott Base from time to time.

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