by Ria Olivier | May 24, 2023 | Announcement, Antarctica, Jobs, Marine Protected Area, Oceanography, Research, SA Agulhas II, SA Polar Research Infrastructure, SANAP, SAPolarRI, SAPRI, Science, Southern Ocean, sub-Antarctic
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.
The SAEON Egagasini Node, based in Cape Town, Western Cape, requires the services of a:
Ocean and Polar Coordinator for day-to-day scientific, operational and logistical coordination.
Application Closing Date: 05 June 2023
Click on the link below:
Position: Ocean and Polar Coordinator
Read more about SAPRI – click on the link below!
South African Polar Research Infrastructure (SAPRI): Feedback and start of the Preparatory Phase
Anche Louw, South African Polar Research Infrastructure (SAPRI DPS Node), 24 May 2023
by Ria Olivier | May 4, 2023 | Announcement, Antarctica, Gough Island, Legacy, Marion Island, News, Prince Edward Islands, SA Agulhas II, SA Polar Research Infrastructure, SANAE IV, SANAP, SAPolarRI, SAPRI, Southern Ocean
Dear Colleagues,
As I prepare to turn the page of a decade-long chapter of managing Operations and Infrastructure Support for Antarctica and Southern Ocean work and move on to new horizons, I wanted to take a moment to express my heartfelt gratitude to each and every one of you. Working together in enabling South Africa’s presence in this unique and challenging environment has been an unforgettable experience that has enriched my life in countless ways.
The extreme conditions and remoteness of the environment have demanded the best of me, and I am incredibly proud to have been part of it all. It sometimes felt like dealing with the logistical complexities of supporting Marine and Antarctic activities were the same as navigating the harsh ice conditions. We have faced and overcome numerous challenges as a team. Even though we may not have agreed on everything, the bonds we have built and the memories we have made will always hold a special place in my heart. I am truly grateful for the friendships, support, agreements and disagreements we have shared.
I am also deeply appreciative for being entrusted to manage South Africa’s presence in these pristine environments, and to have personally witnessed the beauty and wonder of Antarctica, Marion Island and Gough Island. The rough seas, breathtaking landscapes, unique wildlife, and understanding that there is so few which get this opportunity, have left an indelible mark on me, and I will forever cherish these memories.
As I move on to new endeavours away from the Ocean and Polar space, I will carry with me the valuable lessons I have learned especially when dealing with an unpredictable environment – the importance of adaptability, resilience, teamwork, and tenacity. The various curveballs and unexpected challenges have made me more resourceful in finding solutions. I am confident that the skills and experience gained will serve me well in my future pursuits.
I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to each and every one of you for your unwavering support, dedication, and friendship during my tenure in the Antarctic and Marine space. I will always treasure the memories and the connections made, and I wish you all the very best in your ongoing work in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean or wherever your paths may lead you.
Thank you for being a part of this incredible journey, and please stay in touch.
With deepest gratitude,
Nish Devanunthan
Former Operations Coordinator: South African Polar Research Infrastructure (2022 to 2023)
Former Director – Operations and Engineering: South African National Antarctic Program (2013 to 2022)
Farewell gathering at SAEON Egagasini Node end of April 2023
Message from the SAPRI Team:
Even though Nish was with SAEON and SAPRI for only 9 months, he left a great legacy and managed to really ramp up the operations within SAPRI. He has a fountain of knowledge on Antarctica and Islands, DFFE, the S.A. Agulhas II and supply chain management, yet he still has a great sense of humour and commitment to action in the face of bureaucracy.
Nish, fair winds and following seas, we have the watch (although might ring you every now and then!).
SAEON Egagasini Node and SAPRI Team (L-R) Back: Simoné Louw (Node Administrator), Laura Braby (Postdoctoral Research Fellow), Saffiya Seddick (Seamap Coordinator), Juan-Jacques Forgus (Technician), Nicole du Plessis (Science Officer), Arno Botha (PhD Student), Zach Smith (Systems Developer), Nkululeko Memela (Operational Ocean Modeller); (middle) Lara Atkinson (Offshore Marine Scientist), Jennifer Veitch (Numerical Ocean Modeller), Anne Treasure (SAPRI DPS Node Manager), Anche Louw (SAPRI Digital Marketing and Communications Manager), Daneeja Mawren (Postdoctoral Research Fellow); (front) Juliet Hermes (SAEON Egagasini Node Manager and SAPRI Manager), Nish Devanunthan (Former SAPRI Operations Coordinator) and Thomas Mtontsi (Science Engagement Officer).
Feature Image: Nish Devanunthan at the South African National Antarctic Expedition Station, SANAE IV.
Anche Louw, South African Polar Research Infrastructure (SAPRI DPS Node), 04 May 2023
by Ria Olivier | Feb 17, 2023 | Announcement, Research, SA Polar Research Infrastructure
The Data, Products and Society (DPS) Node of the South African Polar Research Infrastructure (SAPRI) is planned to bring together the SAPRI Data Centre, the various types of generated data and downstream products, including modelling and the societal outreach program.
DPS is built on a phased integrating approach. The Antarctic Legacy of South Africa (ALSA) contributed to creating a community ethos, via the creation and administration of the ALSA and South African National Antarctic Programme (SANAP) websites as well as updates on the different social media platforms. The potential for this initiative to become a reference for the South African “polar society” at large is enormous, and it is at the core of the DPS facility. Building on the ALSA experience, and through a complete integration of ALSA within SAPRI, it will bring the infrastructure closer to research/training institutions and stakeholders that have historically been less involved with polar science.
The appointment of the DPS Node Coordinator (Manager), Dr Anne Treasure, and the Digital Marketing and Communications Manager, Anche Louw, were approved by the DPS User Fora and the SAPRI interim advisory committee in March 2022 to ensure the integration of ALSA in phases and to establish data management within SAPRI. The committee and User Fora approved that the DPS node will be hosted at Stellenbosch University and the node was established in November 2022.
Dr Anne Treasure has been part of ALSA for the past 5 years as a collaborator, with a focus on data management, and is currently fulfilling the role of SA representative on the Standing Committee on Antarctic Data Management (SCADM) at the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) as well as on the SA National Committee for SCAR. Dr Anne Treasure was on the SAPRI proposal writing committee, and was responsible for compiling the data management, and the data infrastructure and system requirements that will be implemented within SAPRI. She will have a huge impact on implementing the data management component of SAPRI. The DPS Coordinator is to bring this Infrastructure together with its different components to support the community of SAPRI and all its stakeholders, including all governance structures such as the SAPRI management team, the advisory committee, and the User Fora, as well as the SANAP community, which includes overwintering team members (past and present), scientists and researchers, vessel crew, maintenance crew and take-over personnel. The coordinator will ensure to make the data centre, products, and society available to all stakeholders and a large component will be to inform national and international communities about the work done by South Africa in the polar environment. Anne has overwintered on Marion Island as part of Marion 65 (ALSA Archive) and has participated in many Marion take-overs and other visits to the island. She has also spent time on Prince Edward Island, and has participated in many oceanographic research cruises, including ice experience.
Anche Louw has been part of ALSA for the past 9 years, first on part-time basis and later as Communicator, Assistant Project Manager and Co-Investigator. Anche specialises in digital marketing and has built a huge social media presence for ALSA and SANAP. She is a SA representative on the Standing Committee on Humanities and Social Sciences (SCHASS) at SCAR and on the SA National Committee for SCAR. She is a member of the action group for Public Engagement with Antarctic Research (PEAR) at SCAR and was nominated for the SCAR medal on outreach and awareness in 2022. Her current position at ALSA will now be carried on within SAPRI as part of the integration of ALSA in phases. Her role as the Digital Marketing and Communications (DMC) Manager is to maintain the relevant websites related to SAPRI, SANAP and ALSA. A huge role is keeping track of digital marketing trends and to ensure that SAPRI and its stakeholders have a social media presence on a daily basis, on a national and international level. The DMC Manager is to bring the awareness and outreach together with its different components to support the community of the South African Polar Research Infrastructure and all its stakeholders, as well as the SANAP community, which includes overwintering team members (past and present), scientists and researchers, vessel crew, maintenance crew and take-over personnel. Anche has overwintered on Marion Island as part of Marion 70, participated in take-overs to Marion Island and has visited SANAE IV during the 2019 take-over. Anche has represented SA at various international conferences and has visited four of the five Gateway Cities to Antarctica (Punta Arenas, Chile; Ushuaia, Argentina; Cape Town, South Africa and Hobart, Australia).
The DPS Manager, DMC Manager, together with ALSA need to manage a space that makes the community feel it is their own, and to showcase the work done by all those in the community. The DPS node has a cross-cutting role and the DMC Manager needs to engage with the other SAPRI components to transform the perception of the polar environment in society. The DPS node will play a major role in transforming, consolidating, and strengthening polar sciences.
SAPRI proposal has been approved by the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) as part of the South African Roadmap Infrastructure (SARIR) in 2021. As Principal investigator of the Antarctic Legacy of South Africa (ALSA) Project I have been involved since the start of the SAPRI proposal. SAPRI is also based on the Antarctic and Southern Ocean plan (2014) and the Marine and Antarctic Strategy (2016).
Ria Olivier, Antarctic Legacy of South Africa, 17 January 2023
by Ria Olivier | Nov 2, 2022 | Announcement, Antarctica, Gough Island, Jobs, Marion Island, Prince Edward Island, Prince Edward Islands, SA Agulhas II, SA Polar Research Infrastructure, SANAE, SANAP, SAPolarRI, SAPRI, Science, Southern Ocean, sub-Antarctic
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
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 appointment of the DPS Node Coordinator (Manager), Dr Anne Treasure, and the Digital Marketing and Communications Manager, Anche Louw, were approved by the DPS User Fora and the SAPRI interim advisory committee in March 2022 to ensure the integration of ALSA in phases and to establish data management within SAPRI. The committee and User Fora approved that the DPS node will be hosted at 
Dr Anne Treasure has been part of ALSA for the past 5 years as a collaborator, with a focus on data management, and is currently fulfilling the role of SA representative on the Standing Committee on Antarctic Data Management (
Anche Louw has been part of ALSA for the past 9 years, first on part-time basis and later as Communicator, Assistant Project Manager and Co-Investigator. Anche specialises in digital marketing and has built a huge social media presence for ALSA and SANAP. She is a SA representative on the Standing Committee on Humanities and Social Sciences (
The DPS Manager, DMC Manager, together with ALSA need to manage a space that makes the community feel it is their own, and to showcase the work done by all those in the community. The DPS node has a cross-cutting role and the DMC Manager needs to engage with the other SAPRI components to transform the perception of the polar environment in society. The DPS node will play a major role in transforming, consolidating, and strengthening polar sciences.
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.
