The last flight has flown and weve had the first sunset of the year, which means winter is on the way here at Scott Base. The base is now in winter operations mode, which means extra clothing and equipment when we leave base and remembering to plug-in the vehicles to keep them warm when theyre parked. It also means that once weve eaten all the fresh fruit and veg, there won’t be anymore until August. Fortunately, we just had a large shipment of freshies, so were torn between rationing them and eating them before they go bad. Except for the bananas, for which we have a strict quota system - weve got a mountain of them to get through and everyone has to eat their daily quota! Recipe suggestions suggestions are welcome.

Although winter operations are in full swing on base, the ocean on our doorstep didn't get the memo. Weve begun taking measurements of the temperature and salinity through a hole in the ice and the water in McMurdo Sound is still significantly above its freezing point (about -1.9 degrees C). As a result, the older, thicker multiyear ice is melting at about 1 cm per day at the bottom even while new ice is forming on open water further north. The photo shows new ice forming on open water around the Dellbridge Islands, northwest of Scott Base. The steam, called seasmoke, is caused by the cold air over the relatively warm water. Hopefully, when the ice is thick enough in a few months time, well have a camp near this area from where we’ll carry out the majority of our winter field observations.