So, who’s heard of Heard Island? - PowerPoint Presentation

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So, who’s heard of Heard Island? Slide2

Where’s Heard Island Located?

Heard Island

is part of

a sub-Antarctic island group located in the Southern Ocean, about 2,400 miles southwest of Perth, Australia and about 2,400 miles southeast of Cape Town, South Africa.Darwin would say the Galapagos are Ecuador’s island sanctuary and Heard is Australia’s, except considerably more remote and much colder … Slide3

History of Heard Island

The first sighting of Heard Island was made in 1853 by Captain John Heard aboard the vessel Oriental. He described the island as one immense iceberg

Shortly after its discovery, Heard Island became a sealing hub of the Southern Ocean until the early 1900s, then the island transitioned to a whaling outpost until the 1940s.

In 1946, the Australian Government commissioned 14 men to build the Australian National Antarctic Expedition (ANARE) research station on the island.

They lived on Heard for 15 months and built a small station.

Their story is well chronicled in the

The Fourteen Men

Because of the extremely harsh weather, few were willing to return ever and the station was abandoned in 1953.

Since then, Heard has only been visited handful of times in the last 60 years, so the islands natural qualities have been not been impacted by human activities at all.Slide4

Potential risks with traveling to Heard Island ….

We

will be traversing the treacherous Southern Ocean, specifically waters known as Roaring 40s and Ferocious

50s, so

I'm wondering, when a storm spins up, how big will those waves really be? Traveling in sub-Antarctic waters, how cold will the inside of the Braveheart really be? (I've been told 40F all the time)? Hence my nuclear gloves … Finally, apparently the landing on Heard Island can be really rough, as the surge in the harbor is big. I'm one of the "landing mules" (my term - guy with big strong back), so it will be challenging to keep dry and not get hurt …

Others risks (e.g., falling overboard, getting lost, freezing)? Anything else?Slide5

Started almost two years ago

Formed a team of crazies

10 Americans, 2 Australians, 1 Swiss + 1 Ukrainian

Created a mission (what do we want to do?)Part science, part exploration + part radio communications

100% adventure!Negotiated with the Australian Government for permissionSecured transportationChased donations and sponsorshipBegan organizing logistics … What do we need, how many, by when?Do we have it, can we buy it, or get it sponsored/donated?If we buy it, where? San Francisco (CA), Norfolk (VA) or Cape Town (RSA)?Turn the crank, over and over againPreparations for our Heard Island ExpeditionSlide6

So, what do we need to survive on Heard Island?

Shelter

Sleeping bags

Food

Water containers + waterChairs, tables

Pots, pans + silverware Really warm clothing

Communication gear

Power generatorGas, oilLighting

Science equipment Medical suppliesSlide7

Our Gear Getting There …

Walnut Creek, CA

25 Nov 2015Slide8

Heard Island Transportation

R/V

Braveheart

Home Port: Northern

New ZealandLength: 128 feetConstruction: All steelEngine: 1200 HPAccommodation: 12 passengers in 2 cabins with a/cCrew: Normally 5Fuel capacity: 25,000 gallonsRange: 33days at 24hrs per dayWater capacity: 1600 gallonsWater maker: 1200 gallons per day

Southern Ocean Weather Video

Inside the BraveheartSlide9

So, the Antipode to Heard lsland

is …

The antipode of

any place on Earth is the point on the Earth's surface which is diametrically opposite to it.

So, two points that are antipodal to each other are connected by a straight line running through the center of the Earth …Here are the simple steps to manually compute an antipode:1) Take the latitude of the place for which you want to find the antipode and convert it to the opposite hemisphere. We'll use San Francisco as an example. San Francisco is located at approximately 38° North latitude. The antipode of San Francisco will be at 38° South latitude.2) Take the longitude of the place for which you want to find the antipode and subtract the longitude from 180. Continuing with our example, San Francisco is located at approximately 120° West longitude. So the antipode of San Francisco will be at 60° East Longitude and about 500 miles south of Madagascar … Antipodes - Tunnel Map Heard Island’s antipode is northern Saskatoon, SaskatchewanAnd we’ll be there in September/October … weather?Slide10

Life on Heard Island - The three things I care about … Slide11

What to Expect Life on Heard Island?

Life on Heard Island Time-Elapsed Video

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What we will be doing on Heard Island?

En-route to Heard Island, we will:

Deploy a series of

weather

and current buoysOnce on Heard Island, we will:Collect and study debris on the beachMeasure glacier erosionDeploy a remote weather stationEstablish a communication linkTest satellite capabilitiesSearch for new (mico) life forms

Ocean Trash Simulator

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Why me? … Why not?

Very adventurous and very crazy!

Started by volunteering with the team

Quite a bit of maritime experience

Since graduating from college have: Spent six weeks trekking the HimalayaClimbed Kill-a-man-jaro in TanzaniaSpent four weeks trekking the PyreneesHoneymooned trekking in the jungles of LaosSpent a month tracking White Desert Rhinos in NamibiaRecently restored a communications station in Eastern BotswanaSlide14

A Post-Ski Week Proposal …

Ms. Lomax can collect everyone’s best question about the Heard Island trip (~ 25)

E-mail me the batch before I depart on March 10

th

from Cape Town, South AfricaI’ll respond back via e-mail once on Heard Island after a week or soMaybe, just maybe, assuming our satellite will cooperate, I can phone into the class and answer a few of those questions liveWhen I get back to California, I can return to the class and we can talk about what I learned, what I discovered and answer any remaining questions. Slide15

Any Questions?

So, who wants to go, do you?

Heard Island as seen from the Space Station in November 2011