Antarctica - Bharati Station, Sea and ship

Our next target was to go to the seaside. I was looking forward to walking as well as riding the ice scooter on the frozen sea.

During childhood when I started getting exposure to the English language I had heard the proverb “tip of the iceberg”. It actually took time for me to understand the phrase, but it had created curiosity in my mind about icebergs. Another exposure to the iceberg happened when I watched the movie Titanic. That time I had never imagined that I would be able to see them in real. Here in Antarctica, I got a chance to see them deep inside the sea and very close too.

The icebergs are the fantastic creations of nature. They have various shapes and sizes. Some of them are so large that their area could easily be many square kilometers. The largest iceberg on the record called 15A is over 11,000 square km which was 295 km x 37 km calved from the Ross Ice-shelf from Roosevelt Island in North - West Antarctica. This iceberg was larger than Jamaica. Eventually, it then got broken into several small icebergs.

Iceberg 15A

Large Iceberg near Bharati Station

Icebergs form when chunks of ice break off from glaciers, ice shelves or larger icebergs. On the iceberg surface, warm air melts snow and ice into pools called melt ponds, which can trickle through the iceberg and widen cracks.

The large ones are mostly stationary. The medium sized and the smaller ones undergo movements based on seawater currents. These movements happen during summer when sea ice melts.

I was venturing into the sea on ice-scooter(ski-doo) along with the scientists who were going there for the collection of samples for their research. I felt a bit scary as the thought of riding on the frozen sea was sufficient for getting goosebumps, but that was temporary and finally, our excitement and determination took over.

Generally, the thickness of sea ice more than one meter is considered safe to ride. These routes are marked by expedition members of India, China, and Russia after doing proper recces.

So finally we landed on the sea surface with four of us on one ski-doo. I also got an opportunity to try my hands on it and it was really fun. We were bestowed by good weather with the temperature around -7deg C, very little wind and proper sunlight. The dark blue sky was giving amazing shades to the ice and one could just stand and enjoy that serene environment to the fullest. Believe me, it was impossible to capture even a small part of it in a camera.

Riding Ski-doo

As we rode a few kilometers deep into the sea we started getting more and more close to the icebergs. On our way, we spotted one tiny iceberg with beautiful caves in it. It was so beautiful that we could not resist stopping there and taking pictures.

Caves inside iceberg

As we proceeded further there were plenty of icebergs and the sight was astounding like what we see in Hollywood movies. We were surrounded by icebergs that were looking like white buildings. It was nature’s beauty at its best. We ended up spending a lot of time in that area and thoroughly enjoyed all of it.

 Iceberg colony 1

Iceberg colony 2 

 Iceberg colony 3

 Iceberg colony 4

On our return, we bumped into the most desired and loved creatures of Antarctica. Our dear Penguins. I had only seen them in pictures and now was seeing them in real. We stopped our vehicles a little far and walked to them. They are the smaller of the species called Adélie Penguins, and perhaps the most beautiful and delicate Penguins in Antarctica. They were looking too cute in that atmosphere with their appearance, color, and overall movements. They too were curious to see us. Actually, if you are on your knees and be of the same height as them, they come close to you and stand beside you. Myself standing on my knees with Penguins on the icy sea surface in the middle of Antarctica was an unforgettable experience in itself.

 Adélie Penguins

The Penguins are found across the entire coastline of Antarctica. There are around 18 types of Penguins. The other common species are Emperor Penguins. They are like big brothers to Adélie with around 4 ft tall and can weigh up to 45 kilos. They are seen in movies like Happy Feet, Madagascar, March of the Penguins and so. The Penguins have colonies called Rookery where you can actually find thousands of them.

 Rookery - Emperor Penguins

The Penguins can swim in sea waters and can move at a speed of around 70 km/hr. They feed on another species called Krills in the sea. 

We did not want to leave that place but had to walk back to our ski-doo and start our ride back to the station. After riding some more, we saw two black dots at a distance. As we went closer to them we discovered that they were Seals. There were two of them lying on the sea surface.

Seals

Seals are normally in waters but as sea melting starts they surface up. There are various types of them weighing from a few kilos to around 4 tons. The largest one is called Elephant Seals. On the surface, they are quite ungainly but in the water, they are very graceful and are excellent swimmers. With Seals, you need to be careful and cannot go too close as they might attack you.

We stopped by the seals to click a few photos and headed back to the station. As I would be here for a few months, I was looking forward to witnessing the sea melting. It happens by December end and the sea is in the original form till March when winter begins and it starts freezing again.

When I reached Bharati it was the beginning of summer and the melting was just about to start. The sea was still frozen and we could go visit various places over the sea. At Bharati, the major commuting routes were over the sea. The sea melting became more intense towards the end of December and then it was impossible to ride on it. The movement over the sea was completely stopped by Christmas. The only movement which could happen after that was on land(Ice sheet) through pisten bully point. That also becomes riskier as the sheet ice also melts resulting in the formation of crevasses. The scientists had to go and get their sampling done as most of the scientific activity happens during summer only. There was good logistics support available so that they could go out safely and comfortably to perform their tasks. There were people who could understand the behavior of ice sheets and the dos and don’ts in this kind of weather.

When the sea started melting, it took a few weeks to melt fully from the completely frozen surface. This process got accelerated towards the end and the melting was completed in just 2-3 days. It was interesting to watch all these stages. From the complete ice surface, we saw the cracks being developed. These cracks then got converted into ice palates. As time passed further these palates also melted and what we could see was a pure blue ocean.

Frozen Ocean

 Melting started

 Formation of ice palates

Blue Ocean

It was eternal bliss to watch these wonders of nature and felt like saluting the Almighty again and again. As more melting happened we also got lucky to spot killer whales which were a pleasant surprise to us.  

Killer Whale

All of the species found in Antarctica are along the coast and almost all of them have a common food called Krill. These small, shrimp-like crustaceans are essentially the fuel that runs the engine of the Earth’s marine ecosystems. Antarctic krill is the key prey species for many animals, including seals, whales, seabirds, fish and squid.

Krill

As summer got to its peak we had the ship visiting us. The arrival of the ship is the most awaited event here.  The ship came from Capetown and was to go to Maitri after operations at Bharati.

Ship approaching

Ship arrived

The ship carries annual supplies, which includes fresh food items, fruits, milk, and other soft drinks. It was quite some time that our winter team members had not seen fresh vegetables. The ship also carries Jet-1 fuel for consumption at the station. The required quantity of fuel is decanted at the station for its use for one complete season.

Interestingly it was also carrying two helicopters. These helicopters were for transferring the material from ship to the station as well as for scientific members for visiting the field sites which are not reachable by the pisten bully or on foot. One helicopter was Russian Komov which was heavy-duty equipment with a capacity of 4 tonnes. This was used in World War 2 and is popular since then for such expeditions. The other one was a lightweight Squirrel with the capacity of carrying 4 passengers and its crew members.

Komov

Squirrel

Komov was used for transferring heavy material and could easily lift a container. The ship had a voyage team with a voyage leader and other members such as scientists, doctors, and logistics personnel. The ship also had its own crew and support staff. After the ship was parked at the bay they had to prepare for helicopter sorties for the transfer of goods. It is done with the help of containers or with slings. It is indeed an interesting operation to participate in. 

Sortie by Squirrel

Sortie by Komov

It was a joy to fly in helicopters and watch this pristine continent. It actually gave a different dimension to what I saw till that time. I could see half the melted ocean with splendid combinations of blue and white on water. I could also see plenty of icebergs from the top and also the penguin colonies underneath. The arrival of the ship and helicopters had actually brought a dramatic increase in the overall enthusiasm and the activity levels at the station.

 View 1

View 2 

View 3

View 4

All these were surely the WOW moments. Back in India, we have a 2 wheeler and a 4 wheeler parked outside the building as your personal means to commute. Here it was a ski-doo, pisten bully, helicopter and a huge ship. But yes…this is Antarctica and we all were on a National Mission.

And to top it all…in front of the station, we have our tricolor flying high all the time. Our identity here is just an Indian. Whenever we get visitors from the other stations or we go to them, they meet the Indian team and that itself gave a feeling of Patriotism for sure.