Entry 2 Day 7 08 October Altitude: 9000 ft Distance: 5647.61 km Speed: 150 knots/hr
Journey across the world
We’re over halfway through our epic journey to Antarctica and our intrepid pilots and engineers are currently flying down through South America. They’ve been making the most of the warmer climate before they have to dig out their thermals ready for their arrival to Antarctica.
Let’s take a look at their journey so far…
Halfway to the end of the Earth
Along the way, the team fly over a huge range of environments – from the wilderness of the Rocky Mountains, the vast plains of middle-USA and the cobalt blues of the Caribbean. South of the Equator, the landscape changes again – from jungle forests to deserts, and then to the snowy mountains of the Andes.
Our flight team Vicky, Olly, Tom, Eli and Jeremie have been keeping a photo diary of their journey so far. Check out these amazing photos (and keep your eyes peeled for a surprise, non-Antarctic critter..!)
The changing landscape of the ferry flights
A science pit stop
Even though our planes and scientists do most of their work in Antarctica, they can use their special expertise to do research in other parts of the world as well.
One of our planes is doing something very special this year. Twin Otter VP-FAZ – more fondly known as Ice Cold Katy – has been in Brazil helping scientists to do some very exciting research.
In mid-September, the Twin Otter arrived in Santarém in Brazil, where the Amazon and Tapajos rivers join. Over the course of a week, the plane was transformed from ferry flight mode to science mode.
Dan Beeden The CarbonARA project
You might have heard that trees and forests are ‘carbon sinks’ – meaning they’re able to absorb some of the excess carbon that humans are creating in our atmosphere, helping to slow down climate change. In fact, the Amazon Basin – home to the world’s largest rainforest – stores hundreds of billions of tonnes of carbon in its trees and soil.
However, there is new evidence that suggests the Amazon rainforest’s ability to absorb carbon is weakening. Alarmingly, some places may already be giving out more carbon than they absorb.
We aren’t certain what is happening, so scientists from Brazil, the UK and Europe are working together to collect data from this important region. They’re studying a 100km square area of the eastern Amazon in Brazil using a combination of sensors in the forest, satellites up in space and (here’s where we come in!) planes.
Dan Beeden
J. Witherstone In the Twin Otter, researchers are flying over primary forest (forest that has not been disturbed by people), degraded forest (forest that has been damaged or partly cut down) and areas affected by fires. They’re using cutting-edge science kit to map the land below and collect samples of the atmosphere. They’re measuring greenhouse gases, pollution and small bits in the air called particulates – these can all come from the forest itself, or from the fires in the region – and collecting information about wind speed and direction.
This research is taking place when there are usually more forest fires. The aircraft’s instruments collect data about the smoke, where the fires are and their intensity. All this data from the ground, air and space is collected simultaneously and compared.
This information will help scientists to understand the Amazon’s shifting role in the global climate cycle – will the forest remain a carbon sink or become a source – and help researchers predict what might happen in the future.
Want to learn more about the CarbonARA project?
Check out this page on the European Space Agency’s website.
Dan Beeden is the Air Unit Operations Coordinator – he helps organise all the different science research that happens using our planes. He was in Brazil helping to get the plane ready for its science mission.
Living and working in Santarém was an amazing experience, although the heat created challenges for the science instruments and the people using it. We saw some incredible wildlife (monkeys, macaws, butterflies and tarantulas) and amazing scenery – very different from what we usually see flying in Antarctica!
Dan Beeden
Extreme delivery
The planes are already well on their way to Antarctica, but our big red polar research ship – RRS Sir David Attenborough – is just getting ready to depart. The crew are busy loading the ship with cargo – all of the food, supplies and science equipment the team needs for a busy season of science.
RRS Sir David Attenborough at Harwich International Port – its home port in the UK
Have you ever wondered how scientists in Antarctica get their supplies?
Take a look inside the hub that keeps Antarctica running. This is a behind-the-scenes tour of the British Antarctic Survey’s new Polar Distribution Hub in Cambridge – the warehouse where everything from research equipment to everyday essentials gets packed and shipped for a journey 8,000 miles south to some of the most remote research stations on Earth.
From when goods arrive at this facility to when they’re loaded onto the RRS Sir David Attenborough, this team are in charge of keeping track of every little item needed to make polar operations and science happen – from bits of building, to palettes of mayo, to huge science buoys waiting to be deployed.
You might say our warehouse is giving ‘extreme IKEA delivery’, except you definitely can’t pop back if you’ve forgotten the allen key!
