Scott Base watches sun rise over Antarctica

Friday, 19 August 2016

A nacreous cloud catches the first sunrise of 2016 at Scott Base, Antarctica.

They have spent their lunch breaks eating sandwiches under the stars, and for the past four months their daily work was carried out in the dark.

Now, Thursday's sunrise over Antarctica signals the homeward stretch for the 12 Kiwi scientists who have been working at Scott Base.

But while the sun made a brief appearance, mother nature shielded her from view and ushered in a storm with 100km/h gale force winds.

Andy Waters, the winter leader at Scott Base, is spending his second winter season in Antarctica, but while it ushers in new beginnings, the day is always 'a bit gloomy'.

* Winter flights to NZ's Scott Base in Antarctica underway**

'It's a tricky one with the first sunrise, it just sort of approaches the horizon but Mt Erebus blocks it from the north so we don't really get to see if fully for the first two weeks,' said Waters.

'It is a bit of a pain this time of year, with the sun coming back it really stimulates the wind and it's the worst time of year for weather.'

On Friday, the Scott Base team travelled road-tripped west for 40km to the Pegasus Field — one of the southernmost air field's in the world which is used to mainly service McMurdo Station — to get a clear view of the sun.

Waters and his team have spent a 'solid three months in near darkness', but when the sun approaches the way change happens quite quickly.

'It goes from stars at lunch time to a pretty decent day around midday.

'It's funny, it throws your body clock out but the days get brighter and beautiful. We ge nacreous clouds this time of the year and that's when the sun sort of hits the polar atmosphere and hits the clouds because they're so high up in the sky.'

But while the sunrise signals the new day clearly for the scientists, it also signals the start of a fresh season of fresh faces, fresh adventures and fresh food with Winfly kicking off - the late winter fly-in of about 400 support staff for McMurdo base.

'McMurdo is just over the hill, at the moment they're at about 130 people but close to 400 people come up so it's all busy from here on in.'

More Antartica NZ support personnel have also headed over as the 2016-17 research season begins to ramp up.

The new team will set a different pace for the scientists who become 'a bit like family' over the winter.

'We're quite busy with work, and the weather is so bad. It's so cold outside and there's no light so people tend to hibernate.

'But we still get out and socialise with the Americans on weekends.'

This new winter season is particularly significant for the team as it brings New Zealand's presence in the region to 60 years, with the first Trans-Antarctic Expedition Hut completed on January 20, 2017.