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Volunteer gains experience of a lifetime in Antarctica
A few months into his year as DST National Youth Service volunteer, he became aware of the opportunity to accompany a team of space physicists from the HMO and the University of KwaZulu-Natal on a three-month visit to the South African base on Antarctica. The purpose of the visit was to do maintenance work on instruments such as the High Frequency radar antennae, and to replace damaged fibre optic cables. SANSA Space Science is a key player in the South African National Antarctic Programme (SANAP) and has several ongoing space science and space weather related projects in Antarctica, as well as on Marion and Gough Islands. Research conducted by SANSA includes the monitoring of space weather to provide data related to the effect of space weather on communication satellites. The project involves the installation and maintenance of scientific instruments in these isolated places, and is supported by SANAP with logistical support provided by the Department of Environmental Affairs. When the opportunity to go to Antarctica arose, Max had recently completed his BSc degree studies in Geology, the Environment and Water Science at the University of the Western Cape and had joined HMO as a volunteer to assist the science advancement team. But he jumped at the chance to visit Antarctica and has never regretted it. Voyage to the continent of ice The voyage to Antarctica on the old SA Agulhas research vessel was an experience, with land disappearing within an hour as they left Cape Town, and only water to be seen for the next 20 days. "The ship is very comfortable, though," says Max, "with adequate accommodation for all, and great meals with lots of variety." He was pleasantly surprised with the large number of disciplines represented by the researchers on their way to Antarctica. "When we reached the 'Roaring 40s' - 40 degrees South - the sea turned very rough and we were not allowed outside at all." Soon they started seeing ice in the sea, then icebergs, and finally the icy continent. A hair-raising experience Max will never forget occurred while they were repairing radar masts a few hundred metres from the South African base, SANA IV. "We were caught in a snow storm, there was zero visibility, and we had to locate a cabin that is equipped to assist people to survive such storms," he says. They did not dare try to find their own way back to the cabin or the base, since there is a tall cliff right near the base that they could have fallen down. "Roger van Schie, radar engineer for the SANAE 49 team in 2010 came to our rescue, roped us all together and got us to the safety of the radar hut, where we sat out the storm." Engaging learners with space physics On his return to South Africa, Max took up his volunteer job again doing community science engagement outreach, visits to schools and handling school visits to the HMO. "We were involved in science shows, physics workshops for educators, and toured all over the Western Cape visiting the most rural of schools. One that stuck in my mind was a farm school in Uniondale, where the farmer and his wife ran the school, and another in Zoar, engaging educators and learners with space physics." They also visited North West Province and represented their organisation at Scifest Africa in 2011. "I found the work very inspiring and will never forget the look on children's faces when we told them where science could take them," he says. At the end of his internship, Max applied for, and was awarded a SANSA bursary to do his Honours year in Geoinformatics (commonly confused with Geographic Information Systems) at the University of Stellenbosch, which he completed in March this year. He is currently looking for a suitable position and is also hoping to enrol for an MSc degree next year. "The experience I gained at SANSA and in Antarctica was invaluable. I have proved that I can work in any conditions and thrive. The year I worked as volunteer really changed my life for the better," he says. |
