“Arctowski”, meaning 14.5 thousand km away

Poles are among the first polar explorers who studied Antarctica, and thanks to the Arctowski Polish Antarctic Station, Poland belongs to a small, elite group of countries in the world, which have the right to decide about the fate of this continent.

What life in a Polish station looks like is described in the weekly „Sieci” in an article by Przemysław Barszcz. Here is the information straight from the Polish arctic station, sent to the author despite difficulties with communication by Zuzanna Świrad - oceanographer of the 43rd expedition, who, despite many duties one December afternoon, a few days ago, when a strong wind made it impossible to go outside the station, answered the questions.

Where do you get electricity from at the station? What does telephone, radio and Internet communication look like?

Suzanna Świrad: We have power generators at the station, so we produce electricity ourselves. Telephone and Internet communication is via satellite connections. It works well. You can call Poland and the Internet usually works quickly.

What does station logistics look like? Where and when do the provisions come from? How is the station supplied with fuel?

Once a year, at the end of October, a ship (so far Russian Polar Pioneer) arrives with supplies from Poland. Then the winter team changes at the station. The cruise Gdynia-„Arctowski” lasts 40 days. Food, spare parts for equipment and household goods are supplied from Poland. The ship stops in Argentina (Mar del Plata), where we also buy fresh fruit and vegetables for the first few weeks. A small supply of food products also takes place at the end of March (usually products from the Falkland Islands), when the six-monthly team (the so-called summer team) leaves the station. Fuel is pumped from the ship to a tank located about 1 km from the station buildings.

What does the outfit for field research look like? Are modern fabrics used in clothing? How many layers and what kind of layers is the polar explorer of Antarctica wearing?

Typical terrain costumes include: thermoactive underwear, several pairs of socks, fleece (or down jacket), inner fleece trousers, waterproof jacket and goretex trousers. The best footwear in the terrain are wellingtons with thick woolen insoles. There are also gloves (thin inner and outer - made of goretex or down), buff and a cap with a windstopper. A balaclava or mask is also a good choice. For eyes, goggles or sunglasses with high UV filter and covered sides.

What does January look like in Antarctica?

January is the warmest month with air temperatures of up to 10˚C. Until then, the snow melts and stays only in places where the sun does not reach (e.g. gullies on the mountain slopes). It is also the most colourful month: green mosses, yellow and orange lichens, brown moraines, white glaciers. In January, there is the largest number of scientists who come to the station to carry out their research projects; also a lot of tourist ships come and visit us for a few hours. So this is a month of joy for us, in which a lot is happening.

What are the most interesting, the utmost zoological observations of recent years?

The greatest zoological achievement of the station is the continuous ecological monitoring conducted for four decades, thanks to which we can trace how the population of birds (especially penguins - Adela, white-beam and masked penguins) and pinnipeds marine mammals (sea elephants, Weddell seals, sea lions, creabeater seals, leopard seals) is changing from year to year. Thanks to this continuity, the station plays an important role in tracking global changes in animal population, which is of course connected with climate changes in Antarctic areas and krill population, which yield standards are set taking into account the population of indicator species monitored, among others, at our station. An interesting discovery was the observation of two royal penguins on the 41st expedition (two years ago), which laid an egg in the area of the summer base at Lions Rump, where two ecological observers work for six months. This area is only visited by royal penguins and they practically never nest here. So it was a sensation.

What can be considered the greatest achievement of the station in recent years?

Conducting the longest ecological monitoring in Antarctica. Moreover, thanks to the fact that the station operates all year round, hydrological research (research into the rubble dragged by the streams flowing out of the glaciers) is carried out throughout the summer season (on average from November to March). This is the length of the measurements which is practically unheard of elsewhere. One of the most important scientific projects carried out at the station in recent years was the MONICA project run by the Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics of the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN), in which unmanned aerial vehicles were used to count penguins’ nests and determine the area occupied by particular breeding groups (i.e. compact subgroups of colonies).

What are the biggest challenges, problems of the station?

The biggest challenge is transport logistics. The station is supplied only once a year and in addition to the basic products that are provided every year (food, household goods), spare parts for damaged equipment have to be supplied and it is necessary to foresee what will be needed if anything is damaged within the next year. In addition, all technical challenges are a problem. The infrastructure of the station is very extensive and the weather conditions are particularly unfavourable. Leaving anything outside threatens that this thing can fly away or be smashed by stones flying in the wind. In emergency situations we have to solve the technical problem efficiently, and if the wind blows 30-40 m/s, it is very difficult.

What is the most troublesome for polar explorers in Antarctic everyday life, and what rewards sacrifices?

Above all, the lack of freedom is particularly tiresome. If the wind is blowing hard, you can’t move outside the main station building even for a few weeks. The wind is so strong that many people sleep in the earplugs; you have the impression that the floor is floating and the roof will fly away anytime. The pebbles hit the windows. You can’t go to a pub, shop, museum or theatre. We dream of fresh vegetables and fruits - especially tomatoes and avocados. This is rewarded by the beautiful views, peace and the deep relations that are formed between polar explorers- in such conditions we have to stick together.

Tłum. K.J.