Macquarie Island Adventure: Winter has arrived

Last Saturday, we at Macquarie Island celebrated Mid-Winters day. This is one of the most important days on the Antarctic calendar. It is almost universally celebrated at all nations Antarctic communities.
It celebrates the winter solstice, which this year occurred at precisely 05:04 UTC on the 21st of June.

This post celebrates winter and the images reflect this theme.

Dreaming of the summer

Winter solstice is the time at which the sun appears at noon at its lowest altitude above the horizon. In continental stations that are south of the Antarctic Circle ∼ 66º 33.75' S, the sun actually is below the horizon. Davis Station is at 68º 35' S (south of the Antarctic circle) the sun set just after noon on the 3rd of June only to rise again just before noon on the 10th of July. For the rest of July on these short days, though progressively lengthening, the sun will only rise up to 4º above the horizon.

Taken out of the porch of Hasselborough House (my accommodation) after the first reasonable snowfall in late May

View south from the station gate with Mt Elder lit up by the sun

Here on Macquarie we are operating on a UTC +11 time zone, which puts us one hour ahead of eastern Australia. Being further north on our Mid winter day the sun rose at 0848 and set again at 1604 and at solar noon it was only 12º above the horizon. Not that we enjoyed either sunrise or sunset as it was a cloudy, windy, drizzly day on which the sun did not make an appearance.

The following photos are of a day late in May on which we were blessed with light winds, occasional sunshine and fresh snow.

Aaron and I went for a walk on this beautiful winter day in late May

Lone gentoo penguin near Gadgets Gully

Aaron at the base of Gadgets Gully looking across at the king penguins

The king penguins at the base of Gadgets Gully

A closer look at the king penguins at Gadgets Gully

If you look at the statistics for Macquarie Island weather it becomes plainly obvious that it is wet, windy and cold. It has been all of that and more. You will notice that the average temperatures for June range from a low of 1.5ºC (34.7ºF) to a high of 5.0ºC (41ºF). The thing to note here is that the is very little variation during the day.

As Macquarie Island is surrounded by ocean, the temperature of the airmass moving across the island is predominantly the temperature of the water it passes across. Thus temperature on Macquarie Island is dependent on the wind direction. In basic terms if the wind is blowing from the north it is warmer - as the airmass has been travelling over warmer water. So it stands to reason that if the wind blows from the southern quadrants it is colder.

The following pictures are of a walk I did with Aaron up Gadgets Gully to the top of the plateau and own again along the Doctors track

View down Gadgets Gully from somewhere near the top of the gully

View looking northeast from the plateau above Gadgets Gully - the small stream is dammed at the top of the gully and is the stations water supply. North Head is on the top left

Aaron making his way down the Doctors track

Yours truly just before the steep descent down the Doctors track

Another factor that isn't shown in the statistics is that the maximums don't always occur during the afternoon and the minimums in the early morning. Again, because of the direction the airmass is coming from, the maximums and minimums usually occur at any time during the day or night.

This is shown in June where the coldest temperature for the month, -2.6ºC (27.3ºF) occurred in the middle of the day on the 19th, when the winds were blowing from the south. Also the warmest temperature of 7.4ºC (45.3ºF) occurred around 11pm on the 6th.

This next series of pictures were again taken in late May, on a day of frequent snow showers.

Snow shower passing over the station

Late May - at around solar noon when the sun is at its highest elevation for the day

Late May - a brief sunny break between the snow showers

Sunny respite before the snow showers return

Constant practice at becoming beach master, while others frolic in the surf

Late May - around sunset in front of the Met building

As a result of being surrounded by ocean another effect is that the daily temperature range is small. On many days the temperature may only vary by 2ºC or 3ºC. One day in June the range was 0.6ºC over 24 hours. This is because the ocean waters absorb a high proportion of incoming radiation through a relatively deep layer and because of water movement (currents) this is mixed through the layer.

This is the complete opposite on a Australian land based location. Earth and rock absorb a lot of radiation in the top thin surface layer and at night radiate back into the atmosphere. Thus the temperature range over a land surface can be quite large over a 24 hour period. That is why at Alice Springs (in the middle of a continental land mass) the temperature can regularly vary by as much as 20ºC to 25ºC (36ºF to 45ºF) in any given 24 hour period.

The following pictures were taken in early June after a heavy overnight snowfall. The temperature hovered between -1ºC and 1ºC (30ºF and 34ºF).

Weather observation enclosure - The white 'box' is a instrument Stevenson Screen

View along East Beach to the south

Another view along East Beach with the ANARE dome and the sunlit plateau in the background

Sunlight on East Beach

Snow storm passing to the west of the isthmus

Looking west from just beyond the Magnetic quiet zone (Magnetic zone buildings)

Looking towards the snow covered eastern slopes - note the steps to the lookout up Razorback ridge

As Macquarie Island lies in the Furious Fifties latitude belt, it is safe to say that it is a windy place. There are on average 280 days of the year that we experience strong winds (on the Beaufort scale at least a 10 minute average of 22 to 33 knots) and 85 of those days the winds reach gale force (average wind of 34 knots or greater). The highest wind gust recorded at Macca is 100 knots (185 km/h, 115 mph).

When the temperature is 3ºC (37ºF) and there is no wind it can be quite pleasant out, but the same temperature with 30knots of wind it feels a lot colder. This effect is called wind chill - the perceived decrease in temperature felt by the bodies exposed skin due to the flow of cold air.

The following photos were taken from the 'golf tee' - halfway up the Wireless Hill track.

View from the golf tee with a snow shower passing just south of the station

View to the west from the golf tee - note the beautiful colour of the ocean

View from the golf tee - note the contrasting colours of the ocean on the west and eastern side of the isthmus

Another factor about being here in winter is that we experience very little sunlight. This is partially due to the shorter days as well as the constant cloud in the predominantly moist westerly stream. On average we only experience 36 minutes of sunshine per day in June. We were below that average experiencing only 30 minutes (on average) per day. Because of the lack of sunshine we have been given vitamin D supplements.

The following day I went up to the golf tee again as we had more snow fall overnight. In some places the snow was 15cm (6 inches) deep. It was a glorious day to take pictures. It also shows the versatility of my Tameron 18-270mm lens.

Morning sun on the plateau beyond the isthmus

Close up view of the east coast - far right is the steps up to the lookout. Gadgets Gully is central and if you look closely you can make out the king penguins near the base of the gully

The quintessential view of Macquarie Island

Another beautiful view of the isthmus and plateau - note the seals and penguins on the isthmus and beaches

It was pointed out to me today by the TASPWS ranger Chris, that the 12 months up to June have all been above the long term average in rainfall, with 243mm (9.6 inches) more rain over that period. That is a huge 25% increase over the annual average of 963mm (37.9 inches). No wonder the ground is so boggy and wet in places.

The next lot of pics are of the animals on Macca and how they cope with winter.

A couple of young elephant seals jousting in the snow

Gentoo penguins 'chilling' on the isthmus

Joker - one of the 11 MIPEP dogs on Macquarie Island

Gentoo penguin tracks

The MIPEP dogs in their station kennels

The forecast for this coming Wednesday - snow showers and 20 to 30 knot winds increasing to 25 to 35 knots late morning. Should be a fun day with all station personnel participating in a mock SAR (Search and Rescue) exercise. We have been told it will involve a location off station so we have to have our survival packs ready.

The next photos are of a stunning afternoon on which we could enjoy the winter snow.

Gentoo penguins on West Beach

Approaching snow showers in the late afternoon

Gentoo penguins heading down the beach to see their mates the ele seals

The following is an extract from Captain Robert Falcon Scott in 1905 to describe the sentiment of the men on Scott's exploration party as they celebrated the mid-winter solstice.

"We are half-way through our long winter. The sun is circling at its lowest; each day will bring it nearer our horizon. The night is at its blackest; each day will lengthen the pale noon twilight. Until now, the black shadow has been descending on us; after this day, it will rise until the great orb looms above our northern horizon to guide our footsteps over the great trackless wastes of snow.

If the light-hearted scenes of today can end the first period of our captivity, what room for doubt is there that we shall triumphantly weather the whole term with the same general happiness and contentment?"

The following stunning photos are from Steve Horn (Team Leader of MIPEP). showing that winter is harsh on the plateau.