by Ria Olivier | Aug 25, 2022 | Announcement, Current Event, Gough Island, News, Overwintering Team, Stations, Team member, Team Photo, Tristan da Cunha
G68 Team (Left to Right): Lucy Dorman, Joyfull Ntobeko Gaju (removed from the team and replaced with G67 Medic, Sandile Nkebe), Philani Siyabonga Ngcobo (removed from the team and replaced with G67 Assistant Meteorological Technician, Tshililo Kharivha), Sibusiso Maduna, Rebekah Goodwill, Mphumzi Brooklyn Zilindile, Eddy Mfezeko Xaki, Khuliso Collen Maphaha, Mayembe Kapenda.
On 20 August 2022, the S.A. Agulhas II departed to Gough Island, via Tristan da Cunha. They will soon arrive at their new home, where they will be living for the next approximately 13 months. The G68 team will replace the G67 team.
68th Gough Island Overwintering Team (G68)
We asked the team members why they applied to be part of G68?
Two team members stayed behind from G67. The Medical Orderly, Sandile, will be replaced at a later stage and Tshililo will stay on for the year as part of G68.
Anche Louw, Antarctic Legacy of South Africa, 25 August 2022, updated on 19 September 2022.
by Ria Olivier | Aug 23, 2022 | Current Event, Gough Island, News, Overwintering Team, SA Agulhas II, SANAP, Science, Southern Ocean, Stations, Take-Over Operations, Tristan da Cunha
The S.A. Agulhas II departed from East Pier, V&A Waterfront on her annual Gough Island relief voyage on Saturday, 20 August 2022.
On the way to Gough Island, the vessel will stop at Tristan da Cunha, offloading Tristan passengers and cargo. This stopover will approximately be 60 hours. From here the vessel will depart to Gough Island. Passengers will disembark and cargo will be offloaded with helicopters. Scientific projects will commence.
Onboard are the DFFE Logistics team, the 68th Gough Island Overwintering team (9 team members), the National Department of Public Works (NDPW) maintenance team, Helicopter crew, Scientific personnel, and Tristan passengers.
Logistics Team
Department of Forestry Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE)
Directorate: Southern Oceans & Antarctic Support
Management, logistics and support for this voyage |
| Departmental Co-ordinator (DCO) | Ms Nomzi Ndzandzeka |
| Assistant DCO | Mr Zukisa Kuse |
| Technical Section | Mr Willem Boshoff |
| Medical Doctor | Dr MC Taggart |
| Waste Technician | Mr Tatulo Fipaza |
68th Gough Island Overwintering Team (Click here for profile pictures of the team members)
| Medical Orderly/Team Leader | Mr Joyfull Ntobeko Gaju |
| Diesel Mechanic | Mr Sibusiso Maduna |
Communications Engineer/
Deputy Team Leader | Mr Mayembe Kapenda |
| Electrical/Base Engineer | Mr Eddy Mfezeko Xaki |
| Senior Meteorology Technician | Mr Philani Siyabonga Ngcobo |
| Assistant Meteorology Technician | Mr Khuliso Collen Maphaha |
| Assistant Meteorology Technician | Mr Mphumzi Brooklyn Zilindile |
| RSPB Field Assistant | Dr Lucy Dorman |
| RSPB Field Assistant | Ms Rebekah Goodwill |
National Department of Public Works Maintenance Team
| Project Manager Leader | Mr Takalani Mudau |
Refrigeration Mechanical
& Deputy Leader | Mr William E Kriege |
| Carpenter | Mr A Petersen |
| Carpenter | Mr E Roberts |
| Carpenter | Mr ME Gazi |
| Bricklayer | Mr MI Jantjies |
| Plumber | Mr M Maluka |
| Plumber | Mr MW Samsodien |
| Plumber | Ms N Sogoni |
| Painter | Ms B Nelani |
| Crane Technician | Mr James Page |
| Crane Technician | Mr L Pierce |
| Mechanical | Mr J Zeelie |
| Mechanical | Mr MLG Porta Nova |
| Mechanical | Mr B Mpengesi |
| Mechanical | Mr LN Thomas |
Helicopter Crew
| Team Leader & Engineer | Mr Raymond van der Watt |
| Captain | Mr Waldo Venter |
| Captain | Mr Eugene Viljoen |
| First Officer | Mr Mukapitendwa Khalushi |
| First Officer | Mr Jason Abrey |
| Engineer | Mr Daniel Carstens |
Engineer Engine/
HLO/Crewman | Mr Warren Vogt |
| EngineerCrewman | Mr Eduan Teich |
| EngineerCrewman | Mr Jodi Brophy |
| Fire Fighter | Mr Zakariah Johnson |
Scientific fieldwork planned for the 2022 take-over
| South African Weather Service (SAWS) |
| Atmosphere and Ocean Surface Research |
| Group Leader | Mr. Julian Grace |
|
| Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) |
| Monitor trends and changes in water quality, provide guidance and support |
| Group Leader | Ms Silindokuhle Ndlela |
|
| Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) |
| Gough Island Restoration Programme |
| Group Leader | Dr Antjie Steinfurth |
|
| South African National Space Agency (SANSA) |
| Polar Space Weather Studies |
| Group Leader | Mr Christopher Gray |
|
| University of Fort Hare |
| Landscape and climate interactions (LCI) |
| Group Leader | Dr Elizabeth Rudolph |
Featured Image: Gough Island station (Credit: Julius Klette).
Anche Louw, Antarctic Legacy of South Africa, 23 August 2022
by Ria Olivier | Aug 17, 2022 | Antarctica, News, Research, SA Agulhas II, SANAP, SANAP Student, Science, Southern Ocean, sub-Antarctic
“SCAR’s mission is to advance Antarctic research, including observations from Antarctica, and to promote scientific knowledge, understanding and education on any aspect of the Antarctic region. To this end, SCAR is charged with the initiation and international co-ordination of Antarctic and Southern Ocean research beneficial to global society. One of the most effective ways to do this is to bring researchers together to share their latest results, discuss new ideas, and provide opportunities to develop new projects” – www.scar.org
SCAR expanded its biennial business meetings to include an Open Science Conference (OSC). This year’s open science conference was held from 1 – 10 August 2022, hosted by India. It made it possible for participants and attendees to discuss current results and develop future projects. The conference included plenary, parallel and satellite events, as well as workshops. Business meetings of the science groups were held before the open science conference.
South Africans participated and attended various sessions during the conference (see details below):
- Keynote speaker Katye Altieri: “Stable isotopes as a tracer of reactive nitrogen emissions and aerosol formation in the Southern Ocean”.(link)
- Bettine van Vuuren chaired a mini-symposium.
- Christel Hansen, Mia Wege, Geoff Grantham, and Charne Lavery were session convenors.
- The business meetings were attended by Bettine van Vuuren, Sarah Fawcett, Ria Olivier, Christel Hansen, Anche Louw, Charney Lavery, Geoff Grantham, Thulani Makhalanyane and Werner Nel.
Presentations delivered:
- Geoff Grantham: The Age And Chemistry Of Granitic Gneisses From The Western H.U.Sverdrupfjella, Maud Terrane, Western Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica. (link)
- Ria Olivier: Digging into the Past; An archive as a tool to compile and establish a timeline of human impact in our polar heritage (link); Collaboration of South African Researchers in an Extreme Cold Environment. (link)
- Marcel du Plessis: Insights from the SO-CHIC Expedition: what have we done and where are we now? (link)
- Morgan Raath-Krüger: Do Anisotropic Processes Influence Fine-Scale Spatial GeneticStructure Of A Keystone Sub-Antarctic Plant Species? (link)
- Charne Lavery: Antarctica, Africa and the Arts (link)
- Adrienne van Eeden Wharton: On Aftermaths and Afterlives, Afterimages and Aftersounds: Mourning-As-Witnessing Ecological Destruction in the SouthernOcean/S
- Daniela Monsanto: Landscape Genetics Of A Springtail Endemic To Marion Island (link)
- Sophie Kohler: Ice in the Southern Imagination (link)
- Pedro Lebre: Uncovering The Unexplored: The Microbial Ecology Of Sub-AntarcticIsland Soils (link)
E-Posters:
- Liezel Rudolph: A geospatial database for the sub-Antarctic Prince Edward Islands (link)
- Geoff Grantham: The Kuunga Accretionary Complex of Sverdrupfjella, western Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica (link)
- Shilpa Parbhu: Understanding how an invasive springtail adapted to cold sub-Antarctic Marion Island (link)
- Trevor McIntyre: The ontogeny of southern elephant seal foraging migration strategies: finding their way as they go (link)
Antarctic Legacy of South Africa communicated South Africa’s participation and conference-related announcements on Twitter (47 Tweets). A highlight was the session on the discovery of Shackleton’s Endurance, where South Africa was frequently mentioned during the talk.
What is to come:
- SCAR Delegates Meeting (5-7 September 2022)
- All the best to Bettine van Vuuren and Tracy Klarenbeek attending as SA representatives.
All posters and presentations can be found on the ALSA digital archive.
The conference virtual site is still available – if you have missed out on any sessions you can listen to the recordings, and all abstracts and posters can still be downloaded.
Ria Olivier, Antarctic Legacy of South Africa, 17 August 2022.
by Ria Olivier | Aug 12, 2022 | Announcement, Research, SA Polar Infratsructure, SA Polar Research Infrastructure, SANAP, SAPolarRI
Nishendra (Nish) Devanunthan (right) has been appointed as the Operations Coordinator for the South African Polar Research Infrastructure (SAPRI) of the Logistics Node. He will work directly with Dr Juliet Hermies (left), the acting director of SAPRI.
The operations coordinator will be based at SAEON Egagasini Node, in Cape Town, and will be responsible for the day-to-day operational and logistical management of SAPRI. The main responsibilities will be to support effective communication and coordination between SAPRI stakeholders, coordinate Supply Chain Management activities at SAPRI to meet organizational objectives, and support the promotion of transformation within polar science. Nish Devanunthan brings to SAPRI a wealth of knowledge in engineering, logistics, operations, and project management. His understanding of navigating the public administration landscape, public procurement, stakeholder engagement, planning and execution of logistics are very relevant to his appointment as operations coordinator.
Nish hails from a small town in KwaZulu-Natal on the North Coast and completed his MBA in 2017. His previous appointment was the Director of Southern Oceans & Antarctic Support in the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE): Oceans & Coasts since 2013. His activities and responsibilities as director at DFFE, such as planning, forecasting, and overseeing execution of projects as well as financial and contract management will be very relevant to his appointment as operations coordinator. Read more.
He has been to SANAE IV, Marion Island, and Gough Island and was South Africa’s representative at the Council for Managers of National Antarctic Programs (COMNAP), and has attended the past Antarctic Treaty consultative meeting (ATCM).
Read more about Nish Devanunthan in the mid-month series on the SANAP website.
Cover photo: Andrew McDonnell
Ria Olivier, Antarctic Legacy of South Africa, 12 August 2022.
by Ria Olivier | Aug 2, 2022 | Research, SA Polar Research Infrastructure, SAPolarRI, SAPRI, Science
The All-Atlantic Ocean Research Alliance 2022 Forum was co-hosted by the United States and Brazil, in collaboration with the European Commission, over two events between May and July 2022. Outcomes from the Scientific Event in May were highlighted at the Ministerial Event in Washington, D.C. July 12-14, which featured ministerial interventions and the signing of the All-Atlantic Ocean Research & Innovation Alliance Declaration. The Declaration outlines the vision of the All-Atlantic and will build upon collaboration between existing initiatives in the Atlantic Ocean on ocean research and innovation.
During a side event “Research Cooperation from Pole to Pole” hosted at the residence of the Portuguese Ambassador in the USA, Washington, DC. Dr Juliet Hermes, Acting Manager of SAPRI hosted at the South African Environmental Observation Network (SAEON) Egagasini node and Dr Tamaryn Morris, Senior Marine Scientist at South African Weather Service attended this meeting on 12 July.
Introduction to the Southern Ocean/Antarctic Research interests of the All-Atlantic partners from the United States, Europe, Brazil and Canada. Dr Tamaryn Morris gave an introduction of South Africa research interests.
A panel discussion on challenges and best practices for All-Atlantic cooperation and preparation of recommendations and next steps to facilitate an All-Atlantic cooperation in Polar research was chaired by Evan Bloom. Dr Juliet Hermes was one of the panelists. A summary of recommendations was done afterward.
Juliet Hermes: ” The panel raised some very pertinent questions around polar infrastructure. It was interesting to hear those other countries struggle with the same issues as us and the need for shared best practices was highlighted.
The meeting was a great networking opportunity and SAPRI has been invited to collaborate on the next major European funding call. We also had the opportunity to contribute to key messages for the ministers.”
Juliet and Tammy did make time to take a picture while in Washington.
Ria Olivier, Antarctic Legacy of South Africa, 02 August 2022
The 
Nish hails from a small town in KwaZulu-Natal on the North Coast and completed his MBA in 2017. His previous appointment was the 
He has been to SANAE IV, Marion Island, and Gough Island and was South Africa’s representative at the 
The 
Introduction to the Southern Ocean/Antarctic Research interests of the All-Atlantic partners from the United States, Europe, Brazil and Canada. Dr Tamaryn Morris gave an introduction of South Africa research interests.
Juliet Hermes: ” The panel raised some very pertinent questions around polar infrastructure. It was interesting to hear those other countries struggle with the same issues as us and the need for shared best practices was highlighted.
Juliet and Tammy did make time to take a picture while in Washington.
