Antarctica Blog 1: Before we go

Before we go

Going on an expedition to Antarctica is and will always be a very special experience. We, Daniela and Machiel, have both been lucky to have experienced this several times before due to our PhD research projects. We can imagine that you may think that we are spoiled or that organizing Antarctic fieldwork is probably easy for us, but both thoughts are far from the truth.

Travelling to the Antarctic is easy if you have enough cash. For prices between 8 and 12 thousand Euros you can board an expedition cruise to the Antarctic Peninsula. More and more people worldwide apparently are able to afford such a trip (around 105,000 passengers last season), which is why research is needed on the drivers and impacts of these activities and on the effectiveness of regulations. Studying these topics through one of the many National Antarctic Programmes could be cheaper, but requires serious social and cultural capital. We were able to secure two spots on an Uruguayan and a Spanish research station due to long standing research contacts, friendly and cooperative policy makers at Dutch ministries, and a funded research project of the Netherlands Polar Programme of NWO. Possibly our previous research efforts in this field may also have something to do with it. Particularly since the Netherlands Polar Programme does not have a strategic partnership with Uruguay or Spain (it does have with the United Kingdom and Germany), coming to a workable fieldwork arrangement involves a lot of improvisation by us, as well as by others in our network, for which we are truly grateful.

Hurdles along the way

Next to getting access to these Antarctic research stations many hurdles have to be crossed, forms have to be filled and things have to be prepared. The following examples provide only a glimpse of the many obstacles involved.

For one, Groups traveling to Antarctica need to have an environmental permit, based on an environmental impact assessment. The employer needs to approve the risks associated with Antarctic travel. Funnily enough, Antarctica was not covered by the risk mapping undertaken by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which meant that a new form had to be created for our trip by the Department of Social Science. Antarctic researchers also need to undergo a thorough medical assessment and be declared fit for work in this remote area with very little medical care and very expensive medical evacuations. Insurance coverage has to be checked and guaranteed. Robust, waterproof and spare equipment has to be carefully selected and purchased, as Bol.com does not deliver in the Antarctic.

Summing it up in song

On my first expedition to Antarctica, as a young PhD student, I wrote a song about this long and tedious process of preparation, administration and anticipation, titled “Before we go”. “Before we go we need to know of the rules. Regulations. Before we go we need to read of all the heroes. Inspiration. It may very well be so that think we run this show. But we don’t know what we don’t know, before we go”. A lot can go wrong during this process, including bad weather and ‘boomerang flights’ on the last stretch of our journey. We will keep our fingers crossed until we actually arrive. And god knows when we will return.

The next blog will focus on where precisely we are going (Antarctica is big), and what we will actually be doing (social science research in Antarctica?). Stay tuned!

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