The S.A. Agulhas II is expected to depart to Antarctica today, 15 December 2022.
The 62nd South African National Antarctic Expedition team (SANAE 62) is on board the vessel. The S62 team with be replacing the S61 team during this Antarctic relief voyage.
Bon Voyage to all on board the S.A. Agulhas II.
Anche Louw, Antarctic Legacy of South Africa, 15 December 2022
World Science Day for Peace and Development is coordinated each year by UNESCO on 10 November.
The theme of World Science Day for Peace and Development is Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development. This day is being celebrated within the International Year of Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development, which kicked off on 8 July 2022 (UNESCO).
World Science Day for Peace and Development aims to build a bridge between science and society. This should be an encouragement to all scientific programmes to create an open line for communication between scientists and the public. The public needs to be informed about polar research as “the polar regions are extremely important and connected to the rest of the planet. The polar regions are essential for the health and future of the fantastic planet earth” (European Polar Board Executive Secretary, Dr Renuka Badhe).
Keep an eye out for more information on the Antarctic Season Launch 2022 – providing a platform for discussions between the SANAP scientific community and the public.
Scientific projects within the South African National Antarctic Programme (SANAP) are based on basic sciences (Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology). Below we point out some of these scientific projects funded by the National Research Foundation (SANAP-Funding).
See below a list of all the research projects funded by the NRF-SANAP. These projects will be funded until the end of 2023.
Researchers previously involved in SANAP and those new to Antarctic research from universities not previously involved in SANAP are encouraged to put in a project proposal once the new cycle for applications opened.
View the current NRF-SANAP projects and previous NRF-SANAP projects here.
Anche Louw, Antarctic Legacy of South Africa, 10 November 2022.
As per job advertisement:
The South African Environmental Observation Network (SAEON) is a research platform funded by the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) and managed by the National Research Foundation (NRF).
SAEON is mandated to establish and manage long-term environmental observatories; maintain reliable long-term environmental data sets; promote access to data for research and/or informed decision making; and contribute to capacity building.
This position is supported by the Department of Science and Innovation’s South African Polar Research Infrastructure (SAPRI) programme and will be based in Cape Town.
A Senior Electronics Technician to provide technical and logistic support for the SAPRI programme’s various research and long-term monitoring activities in the offshore marine and Southern Ocean, sub-Antarctic Islands and Antarctica, conducted onboard South African and international research vessels.
Application Closing Date: 16 November 2022
Click here to view the position advert.
Read more about SAPRI:
South African Polar Research Infrastructure (SAPRI): Feedback and start of the Preparatory Phase
Anche Louw, Antarctic Legacy of South Africa
L-R: James Burns, Selvin van Wyk, Karabo Mokwena, Nkosi Madama, Kim Stevens, Peter Chuku, Vonica Perold and Roelf Daling.
The 67th Gough Island Overwintering Team has returned to Cape Town. Two members of this team stayed behind on Gough Island.
Departure to Gough Island: 15 September 2021
Disembarked at East Pier: 20 September 2022
This image was taken during midwinter.
Back (L-R): Selvin van Wyk, James Burns, Nkosi Madama, Karabo Mokwena, Kim Stevens, Roelf Daling; (front) Sandile Nkebe, Vonica Perold, Peter Chuku and Tshililo Kharivha.
Links to relevant articles:
Team photo supplied by: Roelf Daling
Anche Louw, Antarctic Legacy of South Africa, 20 September 2022
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 |
“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):
Presentations delivered:
E-Posters:
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.
Goosebumps!! If you're missing this mini-symposium, make sure to watch the recording.
John Shears, Expedition Leader of #Endurance22 just shared a great video of the expedition and now talking more about the brave explorer, Sir #ErnestShackleton and his men of the #Endurance. pic.twitter.com/kZpH7aGtVg
— antarcticlegacy@sun.ac.za (@Antarcticlegacy) August 4, 2022
What is to come:
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.
East Pier Shed, East Pier Lane,
V&A Waterfront, Cape Town,
South Africa
