Everything Antarctica Matty Jordan & Jonny Harrison

What’s a day in Matty’s life like in Antarctica? The short answer is that it varied dramatically between seasons, with the summer being busier and more hectic than the winter which tends to be more relaxed and a bit slower. If you’re interested in listening to what a typical day is life in Antarctica then this is the episode for you.

Dr Dan Price is a glaciologist with research work focussing on Antarctic sea ice thickness with satellite and airborne sensors. He has been to Antarctica 8 times for both scientific research and program and logistical support. He developed crevasse avoidance techniques for heavy vehicle traverses across the world’s largest ice shelf- the Ross Ice Shelf which is roughly the size of France. This involved finding a new 1,000km long route across the West Antarctica using novel satellite techniques. Dan took this theoretical investigation and was able to put it in to practise in Antarctica with his participation in the initial traverse. Dan has now driven across the Ross Ice Shelf 6 times. In 2015 he led a campaign called Pole to Paris to draw attention to the COP21 climate conference. He cycled a push bike from New Zealand to France over an 8 month period passing though more than 18 countries. During this expedition he gave presentations about the threat of climate change to people who will most likely be affected by sea level rise. He is currently the Chief Scientist for Christchurch based aerospace company Kea Aerospace, who are developing high altitude solar powered aircraft for earth observation. These initiatives will enhance our ability to respond to natural disasters by reducing the time it takes to assess impacts and damage from these events. Dan remains involved in sea ice research at Gateway Antarctica at the University of Canterbury and plans to launch a project to undertake the largest sea ice study ever conducted in Antarctica by flying a sea ice measuring instrument 5,000km from New Zealand’s Scott Base to Australia’s Casey Station. Dan has a bachelor of science from Cardiff University in Marine Sciences and a doctorate (PhD) in sea ice remote sensing from the University of Canterbury. He’s an Edmund Hillary Fellow and is actively involved in not for profit organisations.

In this week’s episode we do a basic introduction to the different types of ice in Antarctica. Do you know the difference between sea ice, glacial ice, ice shelves, ice caps, and ice sheets? Do you know what a polynya is? Have you heard about the shrek the sheep who got shorn on an iceberg?
We explain all of these in the hope that it helps with future episodes when we talk about these topics. While we are not ice experts or glaciologists, we have put this one together to provide a foundation for some of the discussions we will have in future episodes.
Don't worry if you don't fully understand these concepts immediately; we will revisit them often.

In this week’s episode of the Everything Antarctica Podcast, Matty and Jonny sit down with Tom Newell. Tom was the water engineer at Scott Base in the 2011 and 2012 season, wintering over in 2012.

One of the most popular questions we get is how do you produce drinking water, and what do you do with the waste? Tom answers both of these questions!

His job was to produce the drinking water and potable water for the station and manage the water infrastructure. He also processed all of the station’s wastewater through the wastewater treatment plant.

Tom dealt with many challenges including trying to keep all of the infrastructure warm so that none of the water froze inside the pipes.

He talks about how he got his job, and what his day-to-day life was like when he was south.

The question that we get asked every day on social media is "How do I get a Job in Antarctica?"
Many people think that working in Antarctica is only for scientists and people with PHD's from a top university, but that absolutely isn't the case. In this episode we delve into all of the types of jobs that are available and how you can get one of them!

There are jobs available for chefs, engineers, plumbers, electricians, medics, cleaners, mechanics and almost everything in between. Hopefully, there is something available for you!

As part of the episode, we are also giving away a FREE e-book called "How to get a job in Antarctica"
You can get it here:

https://mattykjordan.com/ebook

We really hope you find this episode useful, and the accompanying e-book valuable. Please let us know if you would like any more additional information about this topic, because we love talking about it.

If you got value from this episode, please subscribe to the podcast, and leave us a 5 star review. It really will help us spread the word about how special Antarctica is!

This is the second episode we’ve done on recreation, with this one focussing on outdoor recreation as opposed to last week’s episode on indoor recreation. Outdoor recreation is tied very closely to the weather conditions on the day, and as a result is more difficult to plan than an indoor activity. Some of the key activities include hiking, walking, biking, cross country and downhill skiing, spotting wildlife, trips to historic huts, hagglund adventures to interesting sights, visits to nearby research stations, photography and much more. Listen in this week to discover how we keep ourselves entertained. We hope you enjoy the episode!