Alain Hubert : live from Utsteinen

What has been done since you arrived a month ago?

Hello everyone. I should start by explaining the condition the station was in when we returned and say up front that last winter (i.e. during our summer months in the north) was particularly harsh in the Antarctic. Snowfall – at least in this part of the Frozen Continent – was abnormally high. Just coming along the route that leads from the coast, I saw accumulations of snow up to 1.5 metres in depth in some places. Almost all of the areas of blue ice around the station are no longer visible because they are covered in snow. And, finally, we had to do some very significant clearing of snowdrifts and other lying snow all around the base. In fact this work has still not been completed, because we need to review some of the landscaping on the outside, such as thinking about moving this or that rock to a better location.

How many people are currently working at the base?

At the moment we have eighteen people at the station. But just recently there were a lot more of us, because a team of 11 Japanese scientists (all or nearly all of whom were geologists) spent a few days here to find out more about the facilities and meet the Belgians here. These were the people from JARE/51 (Japanese Antarctic Scientific Expedition, and ‘51’ because it is their fifty-first consecutive year of polar exploration), led by Professor Tsushiya NORIYOSHI. They have now left and are 60 kilometres from the base carrying out observation work on the rocks. They are also waiting for a Japanese ship (a brand-new vessel, by all accounts), which is due to arrive at around Christmas to pick up some of the researchers and drop off some others – as is usually the case here in Antarctica. When the other Japanese scientists get here, it will be my job to take them to the eastern end of the Sor Rondane mountains, about 200 kilometres from here. We’ll be doing this little expedition in January, with two tractors and eighteen sledges.

The 18 members of our expedition have been allocated the following tasks: electricians and mechanics are busy finalising all the cabling. You need to remember that we have 320 m2 of solar panels that still need wiring, because we didn’t have the time to finish that job off last season. Another team is working on the system that will be used to melt snow in the future. Because we want to do all that without fuel, it’s not easy to get it right first time and you have to do endless tests. Finally, we have a strong team of mechanics working on everything mechanical, including our vehicles. Plus, of course, they are also busy fixing any breakdowns around the base. I also mustn’t forget one person in particular: a specialist radio engineer (Karel Moerman from Oudenarde, ON 708M), who has installed a whole system of amateur HF radios, like in the good old days. Thus far, we have had over 1200 contacts with radio ‘hams’ all over the world. It has to be said that this is the first time that Belgians have broadcast for 45 years – in fact since the old King Baudouin base was closed down in 1964.

I suppose you have a huge amount of work to do before you go home in February…

Of course. I should point out once again that we are setting up a “zero emissions” station here that is particularly innovative and experimental. To achieve our goal, we need to succeed in generating the energy required to run the station with just one-tenth of that energy at our disposal. As you can imagine, we need all sorts of sophisticated equipment, plus a powerful computer to control the station. It works on a certain number of priorities (which we provide, of course) to decide how that energy is managed. We are still at the prototype stage, so we need to keep on testing it until we get it right. But I have to say that the guy from Laborelec who is with us here to help reckons that things are making good progress and heading in the right direction. Which means we have made the right choices.

So, to sum up what awaits us in January, we have all the scientists arriving (the Japanese and the 18 others who are coming from countries including Belgium). Then there are the various tests on all the gear and the installation of various other bits of equipment. Another important task that is still underway is finishing off the installation of a satellite reception station.

What do you do for leisure?

I have to say that thus far we have been pretty lucky with the weather. This means, for example, that on Sunday 29th November we were able to go on a great excursion of about sixty kilometres by skidoo to explore the surrounding area – and in particular to explore a little dry valley (a valley with no ice) that is not too far from us. And last Sunday (because we work 6 days out of 7), we did a little climbing in the magnificent landscape. Every time we go climbing here, it’s like doing things for the first time. The excellent weather has also enabled me to take my first flight in the microlight. I flew over the base at a height of 600 metres. The machine may not be much to look at, but it’s a fantastic tool because it enables us to carry out all sorts of necessary reconnaissance flights around the base in complete safety. It has a range of 400 kilometres and doesn’t cost much to run.

Anything particularly satisfying, Alain?

Lots of good things, of course. But we have been able to make one essential confirmation (apart from the idea that we are in the process of succeeding with our goal of “zero emissions”) as a result of the trips I have just made to the coast, to the exact spot we chose three years ago to access the continent by boat. It’s a place we named Crown Bay and it’s 211 kilometres from the base. Before that, we used to land elsewhere. What we now know is that the rift formed there that makes it possible to land a ship, is reformed year after year, which indicates it is a permanent feature. This means that the Princess Elizabeth Station has a totally secure access way that is close by – another excellent result.