Episodes

  • S3 Ep13: Ash Shinn is looking after your Antarctic research station

    S3 Ep13: Ash Shinn is looking after your Antarctic research station
    Aug 14 2024
    Do you have to get past hundreds of sleeping elephant seals to get to work? Ash Shinn does - but there's no fresh water, heating or toilets at Antarctic research stations without him.

    Ash apparently can't get enough of working in Antarctica. He's done a real tour of Antarctic Stations almost continuously since 2021 - he worked at BAS a through the winter at Rothera Research Station as a Mechanical Maintenance Technician, before going to the US Amundsen-Scott South Pole Base where temperatures plunged to -40°C. Host Nadia Frontier interviews him on their new deployment overwinter at the comparatively warm and green BAS King Edward Point station in South Georgia.

    Nadia and Ash chat about what it's like to have worked at all these different stations, the ins and outs of Ash's job, and taking the time to appreciate the scenery when Antarctica starts to feel ordinary. What keeps Ash coming back to Antarctica season after season? What's it like looking after a remote station that's running mostly on hydro-electricity? And what, exactly, is a Reverse Osmosis Plant?

    ICEWORLD is hosted and recorded by marine biologist Nadia Frontier, and produced in partnership with Boffin Media.
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    17 mins
  • S3 Ep12: Yes, diving in Antarctica is COLD - with Jack Gordon and Mike Lindsell

    S3 Ep12: Yes, diving in Antarctica is COLD - with Jack Gordon and Mike Lindsell
    Jul 31 2024
    Have you ever wondered what it's like to go diving in the freezing ocean around Antarctica? Meet Jack Gordon and Mike Lindsell, Field Dive Officers at Rothera Research Station, who are no strangers to braving immersion down to -1.8°C during winter. Their job is to look after the safety of marine scientists as they study life deep in Antarctic waters.

    In this episode, host Nadia Frontier chats to Jack about his adventures during his 7th season South - from the highs of spotting local penguins, to evacuating a dive in sudden changing conditions. Later in the show, Nadia chats to experienced commercial diver Mike about his first winter in Antarctica, after a number of years auditing and training divers for British Antarctic Survey.

    Today's Antarctic lingo:
    • 'Dingle Day' - a beautiful, sunny and clear day
    • 'Winter trip' - as part of wintering at Rothera, the team can go on short exploratory expeditions.
    • 'Winter gift' - winterers at Rothera learn and deploy their craft skills to make each other gifts to mark Midwinter's Day!
    Iceworld is presented by marine biologist Nadia Frontier, and produced in partnership with Boffin Media.
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    23 mins
  • S3 Ep11: Fixing Skidoos in Antarctica with Matthew McPherson

    S3 Ep11: Fixing Skidoos in Antarctica with Matthew McPherson
    Jul 10 2024
    Vehicle mechanic Matthew McPherson chats to Nadia Frontier about fixing skidoos, his love for building snow tunnels and skiing. It's no surprise that Matthew's draw to Antarctica started with his fascination of snow.

    This episode was recorded live in the Rothera garage, a location where plant is maintained and specialists parts are machined on a metal lathe.

    Cover photograph of plant operator Angus and Vehicle Mechanic Matthew McPherson snow clearing the runway by Sam Hunt. This episode is produced in partnership with Boffin Media.
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    17 mins
  • S3: Happy Midwinter, from King Edward Point Research Station

    S3: Happy Midwinter, from King Edward Point Research Station
    Jun 21 2024
    Welcome to the longest night of the dark Antarctic winter - and the biggest celebration in the polar calendar. Coming to you (almost) live from King Edward Point (KEP) Research Station on the sub-Antarctic Island of South Georgia, Nadia Frontier chats to five members of the team as they prepare their hand-made gifts, limber up for the station olympics, and think about friends and family at home.

    Midwinter is celebrated every year on 21 June by all of the stations of different nations across the frozen South. This year, host Nadia is one of the nine intrepid winterers at KEP who will be marking their journey half way out of the dark.

    Featured in this episode are: Winter Station Leader Cameron Fox-Clarke, Marine Biologist Katie Wells, Mechanical Maintenance Technician Ash Shinn, Doctor Tom Hubbard, and Boating Officer Louis Day.
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    26 mins
  • S3 Ep10: Engineers of Antarctica, with Jonathan Witherstone & Jaskiran Nagi

    S3 Ep10: Engineers of Antarctica, with Jonathan Witherstone & Jaskiran Nagi
    May 23 2024
    From living beside a growing ice chasm, to signing up to live in Antarctica through dark Antarctic Winter - Jaskiran Nagi and Jonathan Witherstone are electronics engineers with a shared love of knowing how things work and being outdoors.

    Jas chats about his work at Halley Research Station and maintaining the seismic instruments on the ice shelf there, and Jonathan reveals the surprisingly low-tech secrets behind maintaining comms in the snow at Rothera Research Station.

    Iceworld is presented by marine biologist Nadia Frontier, produced in partnership with Boffin Media; cover photo by Dani Stewart.
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    25 mins
  • S3: Fossil hunting and managing Antarctic mud, with the Seymour Island expedition team

    S3: Fossil hunting and managing Antarctic mud, with the Seymour Island expedition team
    May 8 2024
    Featuring ammonites shaped like giant paperclips, curry cooking in the field, and emergency mud liquidation techniques - this team of fossil hunters are fresh off their expedition to Antarctica's Seymour Island. Led by Dr Rowan Whittle from British Antarctic Survey (BAS), they want to understand how life on the Antarctic sea floor evolved over the last 100 million years.

    Host Nadia Frontier chats to Rowan about leading her first major Antarctic expedition, along with team members Dr James Witts from the Natural History Museum, BAS paleobiologist Dr Saurav Dutta, and Field Guide Sam Hunt.

    Iceworld is presented by marine biologist Nadia Frontier, produced in partnership with Boffin Media.
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    33 mins
  • S3 Ep9: Watching wild weather in Antarctica, with Jo Cole

    S3 Ep9: Watching wild weather in Antarctica, with Jo Cole
    Apr 24 2024
    Meteorologist Jo Cole chats to Nadia Frontier about fixing weather stations in remote locations, and seeing the sun return after Winter from the top of a mountain.
    Being a meteorologist in Antarctica is a busy job! From launching weather balloons, to making hourly observations to support flights on the frozen continent, the information captured is important for safe operations *and* science.
    Produced in partnership with Boffin Media.
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    19 mins
  • S3 Ep8: From Arran to Antarctica with Niall Macleod

    S3 Ep8: From Arran to Antarctica with Niall Macleod
    Apr 4 2024
    In a conversation ranging from ice climbing to the trials of wearing a kilt in Antarctica, Nadia chats to Niall Macleod, the Plant Operator at Rothera Research Station through Antarctic Winter.

    Niall's route to Antarctica was through agriculture, quarrying and civil engineering - before deciding that he wanted to do something for the environment. His job is to look after the research station's unusual machinery, and to keep the snow at bay as it blows through in the darkest period of the year. In his own words: he likes helping people.

    This episode's Antarctic glossary:
    • 'Snowcat' - a big truck on caterpillar tracks that can be used to clear snow or tow heavy loads.
    • 'Scheds' - the high frequency radio communication set up at field camps so that the station can communicate with field parties.
    • 'Smooth Operator' - the name of Niall's claimed climbing route... and tongue-in-cheek nickname for himself.
    Iceworld is presented and recorded by Nadia Frontier, and produced in partnership with Boffin Media.
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    19 mins