To the earliest explorers,
Antarctica was a wonderful yet forbidding place.
Beyond the ice cliffs
they spent their summers exploring this vast
¡°land of the midnight sun¡±.
But in winter
when the moon shines at midday
and the sky is lit by the cold fire of auroras,
they endured the frozen misery
of ¡°The Longest Night¡±.
¡°THE LONGEST NIGHT¡±
These days as summer ends
and most wild and human life prepare to leave Antarctica;
there are some who choose to stay for the winter.
The unique opportunity to explore and study the planets last great wilderness
draws people here.
Twenty nations send citizens to the ice.
Among them is New Zealand,
a neighbour from 4000 kilometres to the north.
New Zealand¡¯s Antarctic territory
begins at the Ross Sea Ice Shelf
and is centred on Ross Island.
There are two permanent bases here,
McMurdo Station for the United States
and New Zealand¡¯s Scott Base.
This small complex of buildings
is one of the most isolated places on earth
to spend the summer or winter.
Over summer
it has been home to 200 scientists and staff
but most are now leaving,
taking sizeable chunks of the Antarctic continent with them.
Over the hill,
McMurdo Station is a frontier town
of 2000 citizens during the United States summer programme.
As late January temperatures creep above freezing,
it¡¯s warm enough for an outdoor concert.
But soon it¡¯ll be either a trip home
or a long hard winter on ice.
From the 200 staff who¡¯ve lived and worked here for six months
just 11 have been selected as the winter team.
It will be their job to keep the base alive until next summer.
Some are apprehensive about the hardships ahead,
but now it¡¯s too late for a change of mind.
The winter team will be kept busy
there¡¯s much scientific maintenance work to be done.
But it¡¯s only now, as their colleagues leave,
that they can begin to face up to six hard, isolated months
in the coldest place on earth.
This is the last flight out until next spring.
Suddenly the winter team are alone
and in charge.
They¡¯ve been selected
because they¡¯re able, stable and compatible.
But after six months of isolation,
stress and tension will compete with
the easy familiarity of summer¡¯s end.
By the end of February
the sun is setting for the first time
just briefly on the southern horizon.
This is the beginning of the Antarctic autumn.
Two months of increasingly shorter days
and longer nights.
But the eleven New Zealanders and their 200 American neighbours
aren¡¯t the only over winterers around Ross Island.
Minke Whales will stay close to the pack ice all winter.
They¡¯re feeding on krill
and using holes in the thin ice for breathing.
These convenient holes were originally made by Weddell seals.
They will winter beneath the ice
and continue to maintain their breathing holes
as the pack ice grows.
Spending winter at Scott Base
is only possible with the help of a major life support system.
For the team leader Ross McDonald
this is the sweetest music in Antarctica.
As long as the generator is roaring
it¡¯s supplying power and running the machinery
that makes fresh water from seawater.
It¡¯s up to Ross, to keep it
and the base running efficiently.
Scott Base has a double skin
and it¡¯s Peter Harding¡¯s job as base engineer
to regularly crawl between the two layers
and maintain all life support systems.
The skills of base electrician Max Olliver
will be essential when winter arrives
in its full fury.
And the job of maintaining precious communication with the outside world
falls to technician Roy Joblin.
But each winterer has several jobs.
Sally White is general duties person.
She¡¯s also a registered nurse
and Deputy Fire Chief.
The break out of the sea ice in McMurdo Sounds
brings Minke Whales right to the front door of Scott Base.
They frolic and feed in the plankton rich waters of the sound
in the short time before it refreezes.
But as the clock ticks on toward winter
it¡¯s time for others to leave.
In April
the skuas gather after a summer scavenging and piracy
among penguin colonies.
Their winter will be spent at sea
in much warmer climes.
Perhaps the hardiest of winterers of all
are these visitors to the base.
In the depths of the longest night
Emperor Penguins will hatch and raise chicks.
Today the temperature drops to minus 30 degrees Celsius
for the first time.
A deep freeze might seem unnecessary in Antarctica
but its thermostat is more reliable than outdoors.
To offer a balanced diet from frozen, canned and dried ingredients
over six moths
is a real challenge for kiwi chef Karen.
And she knows that her food supplies will dwindle
just when morale is likely to hit rock bottom.
But for now,
relaxed evening mealtimes bring the whole group together.
And all eleven are fit and well
as the long night draws near.
Summers thaw has long since ended.
As the air temperature plummets,
the relatively warmer sea begins to smoke.
Now the pack ice starts to grow.
Soon it will extend around the whole continent.
At first the ocean becomes oily
as fragile ice crystals from in the water.
As the temperature falls still further,
solid ice forms which the ocean jostles into pancakes.
The pancakes join up in a solid layer
which will eventually cover an area
as large as the United States,
and extend around the entire continent.
And finally,
the emperor penguins begin the trek to their breeding colony,
200 kilometres away.
Technicians Chris McCarrol¡¯s previous assignment
was on a tropical island.
He now records March¡¯s lowest temperature,
minus 37 degrees celsius.
Recording the weather is vital
both here and over at the United States base
at McMurdo Station.
Daily balloon tracks
are one of many sources of weather information.
Weather imaging also comes from satellites.
The two teams share data
that links to weather stations around the world.
Much of the planet¡¯s weather
is generated by Antarctica¡¯s extreme cold.
In summer,
80% of the suns heat
is reflected back from the continents pure white surface.
As winter approaches,
the tilting earth blocks Antarctica from the sun completely.
And, isolated from other landmasses,
the cold circulating ocean
adds to it¡¯s bitter chill.
This intensity of cold
gives rise to great troughs of disturbed air
that swirl in huge vortices before arcing north.
This freezing air reaches the tropics and beyond.
On its returns
it¡¯s drawn in over the ice
where it cools, sinks,
then accelerates out toward the coast
as Katabatic winds ¨C or blizzards.
As pressure drops,
the air is compressed by friction
but as the wind speed rises
so strangely does the temperature.
Blizzards can last for weeks.
After days being cooped up inside
it¡¯s a relief to go for a walk.
Not that the view is all that great.
But with winds that gust up to 150 kilometres per hour
and visibility that can drop to one metre or less,
it doesn¡¯t pay to wander away
from the marker flags.
Becoming disorientated or lost
is a real Antarctic fear.
But a constant fear is fire.
Fire drills are held regularly with McMurdo Base.
There¡¯s more water in Antarctica than anywhere else in the world
but ice can¡¯t be used to fight fires.
The dry air here also boosts combustion
these fire-fighting practices in the bitter cold
are deadly serious.
An unusual aftermath of the blizzard
is the arrival of this family of large tabular icebergs
that have broken off the Ross Ice Shelf.
The Base itself has weathered
the first blast of winter¡¯s power well.
April the 25th is the last day of sun.
The tilt of the earth has brought dusk to Antarctica.
This final sunset is very significant.
We take for granted the suns daily cycle of rising and setting.
Knowing that it won¡¯t rise tomorrow
nor any morning for four months
is a very strange feeling.
What follows are days of half-light,
and some strange rituals.
Rules are basic
no clothes and total immersion.
Wind-chill makes the air minus fifty eight degrees Celsius.
The water is only minus two.
The polar plunge demonstrates our frailty
in this desperate place.
The Scott Base team make off duty trips
over to visit their American friends at McMurdo station.
It's may
and the two communities have been isolated for two months.
If it¡¯s a case of whatever gets you through the night
for some it¡¯s ceramics.
And the kiwis find the shopping over here¡¯s no bad either.
The facilities at McMurdo need to be good.
260 Americans are wintering here this season.
There are two television channels,
for movies, sitcoms, gameshows and old news.
Even exercise has its own entertainment value.
No one knows how he or she
will cope with the months ahead.
Each guards their privacy
and Sally keeps a diary.
It becomes a familiar friend
and a tonic for mental health.
Sally also gets outside whenever possible
to enjoy the twilight.
Facing up to the longest night
may help her get through it.
The full moon brings another member of the party outside
to the remote laboratory.
Using moonlight to take spectrophotometer readings,
technician Peter Kraak
will record ozone levels throughout winter.
Back at Scott Base
he uses seismographs to register the frequent earthquakes
from nearby Mount Erebus.
This moody neighbour is the only active volcano
on the Antarctic continent.
Although it¡¯s dark at midday
the base keeps normal working hours
8 to 5 with lunch at noon.
One of storeman Phil Clerkes major duties
is to prepare supplies for next summer¡¯s field expeditions.
Other pitch in and help
it¡¯s a big job to pack hundreds of
food, kitchen and survival bags.
Early May
one month since sunset.
But there¡¯s still a little bit of sunlight in Antarctica.
It¡¯s artificial of course
but it maintains a flourishing little garden.
Feeding plants in the hydroponic house
is a welcome break from base routine.
It¡¯s also a reminder of summer warmth.
One day
hydroponics may provide a much large supply
of the base¡¯s needs.
Its mid May,
halfway to mid winter.
What better reason for
a Scott Base toga party.
The kiwi and their American neighbours
organise an active social calendar.
It helps to raise morale
though base engineer Peter Harding isn¡¯t drinking.
He¡¯s not well.
At first,
there¡¯s a shortage of dancing partners
of the two hundred and seventy people over wintering
less than a third are women
but alcohol soon loosens inhibitions.
And tonight
the heavy male imbalance takes its toll.
What begins as games
can get serious.
Two weeks after the party
a crisis hits the team at Scott Base.
A recurrent illness means that
Peter Harding is to be evacuated.
For the past month
Peter¡¯s health has been deteriorating.
The McMurdo station doctors
fear a possible bowel haemorrhage
and even death.
It¡¯s devastating news.
The decision to evacuate Peter
shatters the cycle of relaxed routine at McMurdo.
The base is bought to full alert.
There¡¯ll be only one chance.
Two aircraft have been dispatched
from a United States Base in California
to one of the most remote communities on the globe.
The weathers good
and with four days non stop runway preparation
all is ready for the first mid winter evacuation
in 25 years.
Touchdown is at noon.
A faint glow of day can be seen behind Mount Erebus.
The engines are kept running so they won¡¯t freeze.
But refuelling is slow
because fuel has thickened in the hoses.
Peter faces an eleven hour flight back to New Zealand.
In the urgency of the operation
goodbyes are almost missed.
The flight also brings Peter¡¯s replacement.
The fact that Bob Geddes has been here before
will help him settle in.
He wintered over 1979 and 1987.
But this time he¡¯s joining an already close knit team.
A week after Peter Hardings evacuation
a folk concert brings the two bases together
for the first time.
Peters recent departure
kindles thoughts of home and family
but they may as well be on another planet.
In the land of the midday moon
it¡¯s now less than two weeks
till midwinter.
Folk songs recall the heroic past,
before diesel generators and central heating.
But there are modern hardships
an overwhelming sense of time hanging heavily,
a lack of motivation.
For the unprepared
the longest night can become unbearable.
Much early Antarctic exploration
was by men hauling sleds.
But they didn¡¯t make winter journeys
unless compelled to.
And while not compulsory
this journey out onto the sea ice
is important therapy.
It¡¯s a chance to breathe air that¡¯s super chilled
to minus 40 degrees celsius.
The sea ice is now safe to walk on,
it¡¯s more than a metre thick
except for the tide crack
between land and frozen sea.
The moving ice moans.
And in the tide crack
they meet another over winterer.
Weddell seals keep these breathing holes open.
Summer and winter
the inky depths are their domain.
It¡¯s much warmer below the ice
with water close to zero.
But with all their insulating blubber
they rarely come out onto the ice in winter.
They have a lot more sense than the eleven New Zealanders.
The midwinter plunge heralds an important event,
the midwinter airdrop.
Final arrangements for the drop
are to be announced at the regular weekly meeting
that base leader Ross McDonald has
with his American counterparts.
The Base, run by the National Science Foundation,
is headed by Art Brown.
Antarctic Support Associates
supplies workers and technicians
and Naval Support Force
controls all flights,
fuel, and runways.
Today Ross¡¯s news of Peter Hardings good recovery
is eagerly received.
And he brings good news back to Scott Base.
The mid winter airdrop
is on for the next full moon.
Runway lights target the drop zone
for a C141 Starlifter laden with supplies.
Then the starlifter makes its low approach.
Each load of supplies is on a parachute,
whose strobe light sparkles in the clear sky.
It¡¯s a moment of high tension
for the two groups who¡¯ve been isolated for four months.
It¡¯s also a race against time.
The drop zone is a confusion of chutes and boxes,
some damaged.
In the extreme cold
fresh fruit and vegetables will be ruined within minutes.
But somehow everything gets to its proper destination
and suddenly its ¡®Christmas¡¯ at Scott Base.
That is for everyone except Helen
whose mail doesn¡¯t arrive.
And what¡¯s an appropriate gift
for an Antarctic overwinterer?
Just about anything.
A second airdrop does bring Helen¡¯s letters
and a recording of Peter Hardings dramatic evacuation,
just three weeks ago.
And with the first fresh food in four months
it¡¯s Christmas, New Year, Winter solstice
all rolled into one
and should lift the most flagging spirits.
Chef Karen¡¯s moment of glory,
the midwinter banquet,
is another tradition designed to break the monotony.
And it¡¯s an invitation that friends from McMurdo Station
never refuse.
The tradition goes back eighty years
to a far off winter
when Captain Robert Falcon Scott,
after whom the base is named,
celebrated his birthday.
This season
the Auroras that light up the sky during June and July
are particularly spectacular
but not for those on base
trying to use the telephone to contact home.
The weekly chat via radio with friends and family
is often cut off
when the auroras light up the night.
During an auroral storm,
Scott Base can lose communication with the outside world for days.
When charged particles rush from the sun in the solar wind,
they¡¯re drawn toward the poles by the earth¡¯s magnetic field
where, they collide with gases and glow.
The colours depend on the gases they meet.
Nitrogen glows violet,
and oxygen green.
The base mechanic Jack Jenniskens
is one of the busiest members of the team.
The over snow vehicle fleet
has to be fully overhauled for summer.
These days
machines make the Antarctic programme tick.
And everything relies on fuel.
The United States Naval Support
regularly tops up Scott Base fuel tanks.
Specially blended Antarctic grade fuel
is the life blood of the diesel generator
that powers the base through the long night.
Other engines have other important functions.
In his spare time,
Jack builds scale model miniatures.
A little fine tuning
and it¡¯s ready.
To join a host of other exhibits
in the annual midwinter McMurdo art show.
Much of the art is therapeutic.
Interpreting the isolation and the alien landscapes
is a way of coping.
Early July sees another milestone
for the first time
the temperature drops below minus 50 degrees celsius.
The air outside is so cold¡­
That boiling water freezes instantly it touches it.
The dry air becomes so very dry
and charged with static electricity,
that sharp shocks are the result.
But it¡¯s not just the temperature that bottoms out in July.
Previous ¡®overwinterers¡¯ talk of a late winter slump in spirits
and this team hasn¡¯t escaped it.
The night seems to have no end.
To counter depression,
some team members try to keep active.
Ross seeks out the company
of another generation of Antarctic leaders.
But dawn is coming.
This is one of Peters last chances
to indulge in a little star gazing.
In early August
the planet Venus shines vividly in the crystal clarity
just before the first sunrise
only two weeks away.
Finally dawn brings overwinterers together
to give thanks for deliverance
from their longest night.
Whatever your god,
sunrise in Antarctica is a sublime moment.
On August 19th
after four months of darkness,
spring arrives.
And the overwinterers time here is nearly up.
With winter¡¯s grip now broken
there is so much to do.
This is payoff for all the tedium of night.
They¡¯re released to rediscover Antarctic magic.
The first expedition is onto the sea ice.
Over winter the ice has grown two metres thick
and stretches a broad 1500 kilometre apron around Antarctica
which doubles the size of the continent.
This huge mass of sea ice
will delay the warming effect of the sun.
On the tongue of a glacier
that flows off Mount Erebus,
there are great ice caves
formed last summer by the action of the sea.
And this fairyland of hoarfrost crystals
grew out of moisture in the air during autumn
when the sea began to smoke.
Further north over the sea ice, at Cape Evans,
the kiwis come to pay homage to their forbears.
It was here that Captain Robert Falcon Scott
wintered before his ill fated 1910 ¨C 1912 expedition
to the South Pole.
The base was resupplied and re-used
by Sir Ernest Shackleton
on his Trans Antarctic attempt in 1916.
Everything, including an Emperor Penguin study skin
has been left
as if those pioneers had just stepped outside for a moment.
A few hundred metres to the North
is another base whose time has come to an end.
Greenpeace established their presence here in 1987
to lobby for a world park in Antarctica.
Their base is very advanced in communications,
energy use and waste disposal
but now it is to close.
The signing of a convention to stop mining in Antarctica
means Greenpeace¡¯s work on the frozen continent is done
for the moment.
Elsewhere the work of a new season
is about to begin.
Modern explorers of Antarctica
come by the plane load.
Winfly brings supplies
and an advance party into the tight community.
It also means
the winterers work is all too suddenly finished.
The new season is also celebrated
in the spring sky.
Sunlight is reflected and refracted by ice crystals,
this diamond dust in the air.
Like the Antarctic autumn,
spring has both day and night,
and in the growing light,
marvellous nacreous of mother of pearl, clouds form
as the sun refracts off ice in the stratosphere.
But these clouds
are also an ominous sign.
Antarctic science is increasingly turning its eyes
to the polar sky.
Peter can now scan the upper atmosphere
to check the health of our protective ozone layer.
Each season a large hole opens up over Antarctica.
The effect of this zone depletion
is to allow entry to powerful,
life threatening radiation.
Monitoring work here
measures the health of the whole planet.
In spring
the real Antarctic overwinterers produce their young.
Weddell seals emerge from their dark confines beneath the ice
to nurture their pups.
Sadly
some pups fail to thrive¡­
Mothers will stay with their dead young
for many days.
From the first week of October
operation Deep Freeze begins the summer season.
Mountains of freight
and hundreds of people are flown in to support
the new summers science.
Once again 2000 Americans will turn McMurdo Station
into a bustling frontier town.
And at Scott Base
there¡¯s a hundred kiwis where there was eleven.
It¡¯s not Karen¡¯s kitchen anymore,
there¡¯s no place for any of the eleven winterers
who¡¯ve grown used to having the place to themselves.
It¡¯s time to leave.
There were some troubles.
The mid winter slump,
coping with confinement and darkness.
But they¡¯ve all survived a unique experience.
Friendships made here last forever
and the team relish their membership
of a most exclusive club
of Antarctic overwinterers.
After a year as the Antarcticans
they¡¯ll go home to a warm,
colourful, smelly, rushing world
where they might take some time to fit in again.
And all
will remember for the rest of their lives
this overwhelming and beautiful place
where they spent
THEIR LONGEST NIGHT.