{"id":78,"date":"2008-02-08T00:00:44","date_gmt":"2008-02-08T00:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.doctorross.co.za\/uncategorized\/im-embarrased\/"},"modified":"2008-02-08T14:25:47","modified_gmt":"2008-02-08T14:25:47","slug":"im-embarrased","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/doctorross.co.za\/?p=78","title":{"rendered":"I’m embarrased…"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a><\/a>\u00e2?\u00a6not yet to have written something on our (very brief) visit to Troll.<\/o:p><\/span>\u00c2\u00a0<\/o:p><\/span>Troll is not a large, ugly beast hiding under a bridge, but rather the Norwegian research base to our east. \u00c2\u00a0<\/span>Although they are strictly speaking our neighbours, the Juttelstraumen Glacier lies between our bases. \u00c2\u00a0<\/span>35 nautical miles wide, it is the second largest glacier\u00c2\u00a0 in the world (the honour belonging to the Lambert Glacier at S70 E70) and thus a significant barrier. \u00c2\u00a0<\/span>We can only reach Troll by air, but I was fortunate enough to make the journey with some of our scientists who were retrieving data from a ground thermal logger, and collecting equipment.\u00c2\u00a0 I had the aim of examining the medical facility at the Norwegian base in comparison to our own, and in the light of my recent visit to Neumayer.\u00c2\u00a0 By the time we had loaded several other scientists and the flight crew, it was a group of 17 South Africans that swooped down from the sky.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Juttelstraumen<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0\"The<\/a><\/a><\/span><\/span>\u00c2\u00a0\"The<\/a> <\/span><\/span>\"The<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0<\/a><\/a>\"The<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>I took great pleasure in meeting our Norwegian counterparts, as I’ve always had respect for their Antarctic exploits.\u00c2\u00a0 The ever-stoic Amundsen was Norwegian, beating Robert Scott to the South\u00c2\u00a0Pole\u00c2\u00a0through his\u00c2\u00a0adoption of traditional methods of ice travel.\u00c2\u00a0 The account of his successful expedition is inspiring reading; it tells a\u00c2\u00a0tale\u00c2\u00a0of a man dedicated\u00c2\u00a0and undistracted: “Adventure,” said he, “is simply poor planning.”\u00c2\u00a0 The Norwegian involvement in Antarctica did not stop with Amundsen, however.\u00c2\u00a0 Most of Queen Maud Land (or Dronning Maudland, if\u00c2\u00a0you wish to tip your hat) was explored and mapped by the Norwegian Antarctic Research Expeditions (NARE), which explains why so many of the landmarks in our area bear\u00c2\u00a0names in their language.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0The South African\u00c2\u00a0expeditions are also\u00c2\u00a0historically tied to Norway, as the site of our first research base was that of a Norwegian establishment which was\u00c2\u00a0handed over in 1959.\u00c2\u00a0 Nowadays, the co-operation continues as we\u00c2\u00a0exchange knowledge, assist each other with logistical arrangements, and collaborate on scientific projects.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/span><\/span>The first thing to strike me about\u00c2\u00a0Troll was\u00c2\u00a0it’s absolute difference in appearance to SANAE, or Neumayer for that matter.\u00c2\u00a0 Built on a low neck between two peaks, it is a profusion of small buildings, storage facilities, equipment and containers – very unlike the self-contained sleekness of SANAE, or the concealed-below-the-ice Neumayer.\u00c2\u00a0 I felt as if I was venturing into a Yukon mining village, replete with honkey-tonk bar and yapping malamutes.\u00c2\u00a0 Of course, the impression faded as I explored the technologically advanced base.\u00c2\u00a0 How can I make such a sweeping statement?\u00c2\u00a0 Well, any base that uses their excess heat energy to power a\u00c2\u00a0jacuzzi must be pretty advanced :)\u00c2\u00a0 Troll has only 6 overwintering team members, although they are looking to expand upon this, and so they use every available spot for accomodation during the summer.\u00c2\u00a0 About a week before our arrival they had 45 visitors, including the Norwegian Prime Minister…who slept in a tent.\u00c2\u00a0 Need I say more about my respect for their nation?\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

The second thing that stood out was the use of wheeled vehicles at Troll.\u00c2\u00a0 Being built on the slopes of a large mountain, they have real ground to walk upon (as opposed to the ice and rock at SANAE) and have thus they have made some dirt roads around the base, and down to their runway.\u00c2\u00a0 It is odd to see\u00c2\u00a0a quad-bike passing one way on a dirt track while a skidoo flies by in the opposite direction on the adjacent snow, but then Antarctica is full of suprises.\u00c2\u00a0 What I never thought I would see, however, was a large bakkie (aka pick-up truck, for the non-SA readers).\u00c2\u00a0 Yes, it was a genuine Toyota Hilux, standing proudly in front of the base.\u00c2\u00a0 Let’s see the Land Rover fan club live this one down…<\/span><\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Our expedition’s geologist, Dave Hedding, is undertaking a series of experiments\u00c2\u00a0which include the need for measurements of temperature variation within the soil, rock and ice relative to the air temperature.\u00c2\u00a0 Problem:\u00c2\u00a0 We have no soil\u00c2\u00a0to speak of at SANAE.\u00c2\u00a0 Solution:\u00c2\u00a0 The Norwegians, having plenty of the brown gritty stuff, invited Dave to install\u00c2\u00a0his logger at their base.\u00c2\u00a0 This was accomplished\u00c2\u00a0last year, and Dave was now able to download a year’s worth of\u00c2\u00a0data from the diminutive logger.\u00c2\u00a0 With Dave on hand to point out the local features, it was fascinating to see the sorting of rocks, pebbles and sand into geometric patterns that happens as water within the ground thaws and refreezes.\u00c2\u00a0 Pictured below is Dave downloading the data with the assistance of Jen Lee, our biologist.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0\"Dave<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Jen was interested to discover that there is a population of the mites which she is studying on the nunataks at Troll, and as her work involves comparing genetic variation between these isolated populations, she will hopefully be working with the Norwegians in the future.<\/span><\/p>\n

My mission at Troll was to meet the base doctor and tour the medical facility.\u00c2\u00a0 Dr \u00c3?ystein Johansen was somewhat suprised to see me, as he hadn’t been told of our visit.\u00c2\u00a0 Recovering quickly, he took me on a gentlemanly tour of the base, and we had a good discussion about the medical facilities at our respective bases.\u00c2\u00a0 Troll’s hospital is smaller than that of SANAE IV, but well equipped.\u00c2\u00a0 Diagnostic equipment is very similar between bases; SANAE has slightly greater operative, anaesthetic and dental capabilities.\u00c2\u00a0 The pharmacies of the two bases are quite similar in content, although I have not done a detailed comparison.\u00c2\u00a0 If you want to learn more about Troll through the eyes of their summer doctor, visit<\/span> oysteinantarctica.blogspot.com\u00c2\u00a0<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0where he\u00c2\u00a0has a blog.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 All too soon the weather began to worsen, and so we hurriedly bid farewell to our hosts and boarded the helicopter.\u00c2\u00a0 The journey back to SANAE was beautiful, with the Juttelstraumen dominating the views – I’ll post some more photographs in a photo gallery before too long, but here is an example:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Juttelstraumen<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00e2?\u00a6not yet to have written something on our (very brief) visit to Troll.\u00c2\u00a0Troll is not a large, ugly beast hiding under a bridge, but rather the Norwegian research base to our east. \u00c2\u00a0Although they are strictly speaking our neighbours, the Juttelstraumen Glacier lies between our bases. \u00c2\u00a035 nautical miles wide, it is the second largest […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-78","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-antarctic-medicine","category-antarctica"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/doctorross.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/doctorross.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/doctorross.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doctorross.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doctorross.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=78"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/doctorross.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/doctorross.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=78"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doctorross.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=78"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doctorross.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=78"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}