No, our Christmas tree here at Neumayer Station doesn’t need it: the fairy lights!
Most of us know the feeling when the light of the candles or the fairy lights enchants the room with a Christmassy glow and the church bells can be heard from outside.
Christmas days here in Antarctica are completely different from the rest of the world. This does not include the fact that it is midsummer here: we share this with the entire southern hemisphere. I have already come across plastic Christmas trees, like ours here, in Australia because of the risk of fire there in summer.
No, it’s different, because the few Christmas trees for which lighting just doesn’t make sense would still have to be set up south of the Arctic Circle. That’s the way it is, because the sun shines for 24 hours. and our lounge is always lit as bright as day. Our Christmas tree is therefore something special.
It is now lovingly decorated in our lounge and the evening station meetings are held here. Incidentally, these always begin with a graphically displayed weather forecast from Paul, our meteorologist. Most of the planning also depends on the weather in summer.
Its colors shine most beautifully in the morning around 2:00 am, when the early morning sun bathes our tree in a warm light. Then it looks like this:
Christmas tree in the early morning light. (Photo: Peter Jonczyk)
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In addition to this peculiarity, there is also no cozy candlelight or open fireplace, as there might be at home. The fire protection regulations do not allow open fire on the station. In contrast, we were allowed to use LED candles in the polar night.
The sunshine is most intense here around Christmas time, because on December 21st. was summer solstice here. The sun has not set for about a month and now it has its highest level around Christmas. In practical terms, this means that we shouldn’t go outside without goggles and sunscreen, even at midnight. A very painful snow blindness due to the intense UV radiation, which is also reflected by the snow, is a serious danger for us right now. Almost all rooms in the ward have an opaque roller blind on the window, because hardly anyone likes to sleep in the glaring light of the polar summer.
With the pyranometer (glass dome in the picture) the incident sunlight is measured in the meteorological measuring field. (Photo: Peter Jonczyk)
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The natural warming by the sun (including reflective radiation from the white background) leads to something that we were never allowed to experience here in winter: flowing water outside the station. The partly very decorative ice thaws on the facade elements and water droplets run along the outside of the station. Occasional puddles can even arise. The pyranometer shown above no longer has to be de-iced daily by Paul, as in winter.
Christmas decorations (ice hangings) on the window. (Photo: Peter Jonczyk)
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Annual review 2021
After we were able to experience ÜWI’s now in winter (June to August 2021) the coldest monthly average with -28.65 ° for over 40 years here on Neumayer, we now enjoy the warming rays of the sun all the more. In some cases, we can now work outside in T-shirts despite sub-zero temperatures.
A 2021 filled with wonderful experiences is coming to an end for us ÜWI’s. Personally, I was able to take a “learning booster” with me in an incredible number of areas. I’m just grateful for all of that.
We would like to wish all AtkaXpress readers a merry Christmas break and a successful jump into the New Year 2022.
Your / your
Peter Jonczyk
No Christmas candles are made in our cellar: These are ice cores for glaciological analysis.
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