Ambassador Slinki Malinki

Kia ora,

I'm Slinki Malinki from Alexandra Primary School in Central Otago. I have been visting the homes of the Room 10 Lovely Learners. Now I am ready to go further afield! I can't wait to go to Antarctica and find out more about ice and climate change.

I'm off to pack some warm clothes.

Talk soon,

Slinki Malinki.

Tuesday 27 October

Kia ora,

It is so cool to be down in Antarctica! I have made lots of new friends already and met scientists from all over the world. The flight down was on a gigantic C17 aircraft and took about five hours. It was amazing to see sea ice for the first time. We landed on the Pegasus airfield which is actually on an ice shelf and after an hour long bus ride we arrived at Scott Base. You would like this base, it is warm and comfortable and they serve fantastic food.

We had to do lots of safety training before we could head outside. We learnt about first aid, clothing, making emergency shelters and even how to ride a skidoo. It is so much fun zooming across the sea ice.

Well, I am off to catch up on sleep.

Talk soon,

Slinki.

Wednesday 28 October

Kia ora,

Today I drove a skidoo right out to the K131 field camp on the sea ice. It was so much fun and I can’t wait until out next trip out. I am getting used to the cold down here but always have to remind myself when I am out on the sea ice that this will be open-ocean in a few months – hard to believe eh!

I found out that the scientists are interested in measuring the sea water to find out how cold and salty it is. Tomorrow if the weather is good we will head back out to talk to K131.

See you tomorrow,

Slinki.

Thursday 29 October

Hi there,

I woke up early this morning and had to remind myself that I am actually in Antarctica! The sun was shining and I almost needed my sunglasses just to look out the window.

We met up with some of the K131 team who are based here at Scott Base. They have to work in a freezer because they are working with ice cores – I thought Antarctica would be cold enough but they need a constant -22 degrees Celsius. It became rather cold in there so to warm up we climbed Crater Hill. The views were fantastic.

Well, we are back out in the field tomorrow so I’ll say good night.

Slinki.

Friday 30 October

Kia ora,

We were out in the field today making the most of the fine weather. We managed to drill ice cores, recover the sea ice temperature probe and lower an instrument called a CTD through a drill hole to measure the sea water below the ice. It was hard to believe that we were actually standing on ice above 500m deep ocean.

I learnt that the sea ice here in McMurdo Sound grows about a centimetre per day in winter. In the summer the sea ice doesn’t really melt here in Antarctica, it just breaks up and then moves with the wind and currents into warmer water where it does melt.

Tonight we are going out to the K131 field camp to stay overnight.

Talk to you tomorrow,

Slinki.

Monday 2 November

Kia ora koutou,

I can now say that I have camped out on sea ice, and not many people can say that! I thought it was a good idea to wear my life jacket just in case I fell into a crack in the sea ice. The scientists told me that the ice was over 2 metres thick around the camp site and strong enough to support the camps eight heavy shipping containers, so I probably didn’t need the life jacket.

I found out more about how the ice shelves are melting and causing the sea ice to grow. It is quite strange to think about one form of ice being replaced by another.

Tomorrow is our last day here in the Antarctic. I’m going to have a good night’s sleep so I can make the most of it.

See you later,

Slinki.

Tuesday 3 November

Kia ora,

We had one last action packed day here in Antarctica. The weather was perfect and it was so much fun skidooing back across the sea ice to the K131 field camp.

Gabby showed me her paintings and photos of platelet ice which look amazing. It takes her hours to paint the platelets as she carefully copies all the air pockets and layers.

Back at Scott Base I learnt how to use the metrotome which is used to make thin ice sections from the ice cores.

I have had a fantastic time down here on the ice but I am looking forward to arriving home.

See you all soon,

Slinki.