Davis+Base+-+Edwina

=__ Antarctica: Davis Base __=

**Antarctica**
=__Introduction:__= ====** Antarctica is located at the very bottom of the earth right below Australia and South America and is the fifth largest continent. South America is the closest country to the Lareen ice shelf in that is located at the very tip of Antarctica. Antarctica is one of the coldest places on earth and the lowest temperature ever recorded in Antarctica was below -82 degrees and it is so windy, cold and dry that Antarctica is known as a cold desert. **** Cyclones, landslides, or tornadoes are natural disasters that rarely occur in Antarctica but blizzards especially the ground blizzard are the most common type of weather in Antarctica. **====

===**Scientists have predicted that if all of Antarctica melts, which is not likely to happen until 7000 years later, the sea level would probably rise 60 - 70 metres higher. That means that the Sydney Opera house would be underneath the water and only half of the Harbour bridge will be showing**===



=

= =** Davis Base **= **At the Davis base, the sun rises at 9:00 am and will set at 6:00 pm in the evening.**
 * The Davis base is located on a ice free coast of Antarctica called princess Elizabeth land but was called Vestfold hills by the Norwegian whaler who had first discovered this area. The Davis base is managed by the AAD (Australian Antarctic Division). An Australian company that manages all the Australian stations. **

**History of Davis Base**
 * The Davis base had to close down temporarily on January 25th 1965 because of the rebuilding of the other Australian Casey base. The Davis base was soon opened again 4 years later on the 15th February 1969 and has always been very busy ever since it reopened.**

=**Where is Davis base located?**=
 * 1.The Davis base is an Australian base that is located on a section of Antarctica claimed by Australia**
 * 2.A photo of Davis base taken from a distance.**
 * The Davis base is located on princess Elizabeth land which is an ice free coast of Antarctica that was first discovered by Norwegian whalers and then found by Sir Douglas Mawson, a well known Australian explorer. The Davis base is built next to the Amery ice shelf where they will conducting new scientific research.**
 * The Davis base has been around for about fifty six years and will be celebrating its fifty seventh anniversary this year.**

= Who was John King Davis? =

**John King Davis volunteered to jion the Sydney military in World War 1 as one of the staff members who transported horses and troops to England and Egypt**.
 * Many people believe that John King Davis was the first man to set foot on Antarctica. **
 * John King Davis is a well known Australian captain that was born in the United Kingdom on February 19 1884. He was first a steward's boy when he was 16 before becoming an apprentice of a seaman who was one his way to Australia. As he grew older, he then earned a masters certificate that was given to him in New Zealand.**
 * At an exhibition for Antarctic equipment, Davis met Sir Ernest Shackleton, a famous explorer who had Davis to be his his chief officer on his ship "//Nimrod."// during his expedition to Antarctica in 1907 where he also met Douglas Mawson who is also a well known Australian explorer who also became good friends with Davis.**
 * Davis worked on Shackleton's ship "//Nimrod// //"// 1911 which is when he became the captain of the Australian ship //"Aurora"//**
 * When Davis no longer worked for the //Nimrod,// and was a captain of his own ship, Shackleton created a Ross sea expedition to Antarctica. Shackleton and his failed attempt to cross the Wedell sea left him and his crew on a shore. Davis had then sent down a rescue party in the //Aurora// to save Shackleton and his men.**
 * The Davis base in Antarctica was named after John King Davis in honour of the Australian Captain.** ** When Davis owned his own ship, he also had a crew who would call him "Gloomy Davis".  **
 * World War 1 **
 * John King Davis was aged 87 when he died on May the 8th 1967 in Australia Melborne. **


 * [[image:http://www.antarctica.gov.au/__data/assets/image/0020/36803/varieties/popup.jpg width="186"]] ||
 * //**John King Davis**// ||

**Davis base Webcam**
 * // The AAD ( Australian Antarctica Division) has a webcam outside of the Davis base that records things that happen everyday. Click on the link below to watch a fast forwarded video of Friday 30th of August to Saturday 31st of August. // **
 * // LINK: [] //**
 * // At the bottom of the left hand corner, you can see that the webcam also records the temperature at the time. if you look at the top right hand corner you will see the time and date. //**

= = = How The Area was Discovered =
 * The area where the Davis base was built was discovered by Norwegian whalers in 1935.The Norwegian captain named Klauris Mikkelson with his wife and seven men from his crew named this section of Antarctica after a place in Norway called Vesfold hills. His wife Mrs Caroline Mikkelson, was the first woman to ever set foot on the Antarctic continent. Mikkelson and his men built a large stone cairn with the Norwegian flag placed in the centre to mark the discovery of this area. The stone cairn was then found a couple of decades later by the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) in 1960. The lost the location of the flag and cairn but was then discovered by them again 5 years later in 1965.**



=
 * 1. The first image is a photo of captain Klauris and his men with the completed cairn made out of rocks.**
 * 2. A cairn is a man made pile of stones and rocks stacked on top of each other.**

= =__ People who work in Antarctica Davis base __=
 * There are over a dozen types of jobs at the Davis base. **


 * //** Doctors **//
 * //** plumbers **//
 * //** water craft operators **//
 * //** telecommunications **//
 * //** engineering supervisors **//
 * //** field training officers **//
 * //** Carpenters **//
 * //** Electrician **//
 * //** scientists **//
 * [[image:http://i.imgur.com/npFVJ.jpg width="369" height="247"]] ||
 * **Australian LIDAR experiment ( light detection and ranging)** ||
 * Screen shot of the information that has been collected by the LIDAR experiment.**


 * 1. This a picture of the Davis base at night and its view of the stars. The light coming out from the base is an Australian LIDAR ( Light Detection And Ranging). experiment. The LIDAR laser is an instrument that is used by scientists to learn and research about gravity waves. This scientific instrument is used by workers in Antarctica from all over the world to collect data all year round and it is able to gather information during the day and even the night. **


 * Scientists are one of the few people who travel down to Antarctica to study about the wildlife, fossils, glaciers and climate change. Scientists at the Davis base also study about Auroras. It is like watching a natural light show in Antarctica. The most common coloured Aurora is green. The rare colours would be blue and purple.**


 * // LINK:[] //**
 * In the video below, you can see that there is a green laser pointing up wards. It is an Australian LIDAR experiment that collect information during the day and even at night.**

media type="youtube" key="s-Qf0rr0fBs" width="560" height="315"

= How to travel down to Antarctica. =
 * There are several different ways to travel down to Antarctica.Here are some of the few different ways that scientists from all over the world travel to Antarctica**
 * **Ship/icebreaker- Australia usually travels to Antarctica by Ship. The ship that is used the most is Aurora Australis. It is an icebreaker ship that is able to destroy any pieces of ice that is blocking the ships way and was built and designed by Carrington Slipways.**
 * **Plane- You could travel to Antarctica by plane and you could also travel to Antarctica on a helicopter.**


 * [[image:http://www.gotravel24.com/files/media/Airports/antarctica_airport-technologydotcom_450.jpg width="450"]] || [[image:http://www.marinebuzz.com/marinebuzzuploads/HelicoptersreachDavisstationwithaddition_87A/Aurora_Australis.jpg width="393"]] ||
 * **This is a picture of a plane that has just arrived in Antarctica** || **The Aurora Australis breaking through the ice.** ||


 * Because Australia usually travels by ship, it takes a few months to get to Antarctica and workers have to wait for a few months for the next ship or aeroplane to pick them up and return back to Australia.**

= Living at Davis base. =
 * The Davis base can station hold up 120 scientists/workers at the base but there is about 70 people working in Antarctica in the summer and only 20 people in the winter. Inside of the Davis base, there are lounges, dining rooms, kitchen, cinema, entertainment rooms, mini bars and library.Every one working at the Davis base has natural lighting provided in their rooms/dorms. **


 * [[image:http://www.antarctica.gov.au/__data/assets/image/0019/35083/varieties/popup.jpg width="341" height="277"]] || [[image:http://www.antarctica.gov.au/__data/assets/image/0020/35084/varieties/popup.jpg width="314" height="290"]] || [[image:http://www.antarctica.gov.au/__data/assets/image/0005/35087/varieties/popup.jpg width="312" height="285"]] ||
 * * ** In this picture inside of the Davis base,there is an eight ball table and couches to keep the biologists, scientists and other workers entertained during their visit to Antarctica. ** || * ** There is also a kitchen were the food is made and prepared and the workers can sit at a dining room table next to the kitchen where all the food is self served. ** || * ** There is also a mini bar near the lounge room where most of the drinks and refreshments are provided. ** ||


 * The "local supermarket" in Antarctica is a large walk in cupboard called "//Woolies"// where can browse for what ever they need such as toiletries. All the " local supermarkets" in Australian stations in Antarctica have the the same name so the Davis, Casey and Mawson bases supermarkets are all called "Woolies".**


 * Scientists don't just research and learn about Antarctic animals, features and environment, they also have a chart showing the different duties and chores that they have to do every day. They are all expected to take turn shovelling the snow outside, cleaning the floor and sometimes helping out the chefs in the kitchen to make breakfast, lunch or dinner.**
 * During the summer,the water supply is limited so the workers at Davis base can only take a three minute shower once in every three days. **

**Researching And Wildlife At Davis Base.**
 * At the Davis base station, the Australian scientists at the Davis base station research about Human Impact, The environment in Antarctica, Climate changes, ice and glaciers. There are also a large variety of different Antarctic animals such as elephant seals, Emperor penguins, Weddell seals and Snow petrels. They are common Antarctic animals that can be found around the Davis base station.**

=**Animals**=
 * These are some pictures of Antarctica animals that Australian scientists are studying and researching. These animals are found near the Davis base so researching about these animals makes it easier for the scientists.**
 * **Scientists study about a different variety of seals such as the Weddell seal, leopard seals and elephant seals.**
 * **They also study about penguins such as the Adelie Penguins and emperor penguins. Emperor penguins are a type of penguins that are often studied at the Davis Base station.**
 * **The leopard seals are the second largest species of seals and their prey is the Adelie penguins.**


 * [[image:https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTxjB5FFAdH_DKPAXqJ8NfCieijdJ0ertQLdgyJtxdyBfxyR7Fc width="238" height="161"]] || [[image:http://www.petsfoto.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Leopard-Seal1.jpg width="245" height="170"]] ||
 * **Adelie Penguin** || **Sleeping Leopard seal** ||

media type="youtube" key="j9qD53rwVGk" width="560" height="315"

==
 * // This is a video of an Australian biologist working at the Davis base researching about the leopard seal. The leopard seal has an satellite camera attached to its back so the biologist can see where and how far the seal swims and the prey it is catching. LINK: // [|http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9qD53rwV]GK**

== =**Minerals and Ice Cores.**=


 * Australian Scientists working at the Davis base station working on Rocks Glaciers and ice cores to figure out what the worlds atmosphere was like a few thousand years ago.**


 * **Scientists drill ice cores that are many km long and drill deep down into the ice to collect the air trapped in the snow for several thousand years to discover what the environment and atmosphere was like back then.**
 * **Glaciers are big large icebergs that Australian scientists At the Davis Base station are researching about.**
 * **Rocks. Rocks in Antarctica contain lots of valuable minerals such as diamonds, iron and fossils of extinct animals that scientists study can about.**


 * [[image:http://www.dismuse.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Glacier2_p.jpg width="239" height="189"]] || [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/31/GISP2_1855m_ice_core_layers.png/384px-GISP2_1855m_ice_core_layers.png width="342" height="199"]] || [[image:http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3427/5840722330_8c790b7255_z.jpg width="290" height="192"]] ||
 * **glaciers** || **Ice Cores** || **Antarctic Rock** ||


 * [[image:http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/08/images/070816-fossil-spider_big.jpg width="186" height="241"]] ||  ||
 * **A fossil of a sea spider found in Antarctica.** ||  ||

=**Environment and Climate change.**=
 * Australian scientists also work on the Antarctic environment, climate change and global warming. Workers at the Davis base are conducting new research at the Amery ice shelf (The closest ice shelf to the Davis base.) to study about how much the sea level would rise if Antarctica melted which is something that will only happen in 7000 years as scientists have predicted and they also research about how global warming could change the world.**
 * Australian scientists also research about marine life such as sea urchins and how polluted waters can harm or infect these Antarctic sea creatures.**

Building the Davis Base

 * It was a last minute decision made by the ANARE ( Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions.) to change the location of the base. They also wanted to change the name of the base to "Davis ' in honour of Captain John King Davis. There was a small ceremony held in 1957 a few years later after the base was built to celebrate the opening of the the the new base station.**

=__ Temperature at the Davis base __=
 * **September - Wednesday 4th** || **~ Temperature** ** high: - 19°C ~ low: -28°C ** ||
 * **September - Thursday 5th** || **~ Temperature** ** high: -9°C ~ low:-17 °C ** ||
 * **September - Friday 6th** || **~ Temperature** ** high: -10°C ~ low:-18°C ** ||
 * **September - Saturday 7th** || **~ Temperature** ** high: -14°C ~ low: -6°C ** ||
 * **September - Sunday 8th** || **~ Temperature** ** high:-4°C ~ low:-11°C ** ||
 * **September - Monday 9th** || **~ Temperature** ** high: -6°C ~ low: - 4°C ** ||
 * **September - Tuesday 10th** || **~ Temperature** ** high: -9°C ~ low 26°C ** ||
 * **September - Wednesday 11th** || **~Temperaature** ** high: -19°C ~ low: -25 ****°C ** ||
 * **September - Thursday 12th** || **~Temperature** ** high: -19°C ~ low:-25°C ** ||
 * **September - Friday 13th** || **~ Temperature** ** high: -15°C ~ low: -25 °C ** ||
 * **September - Saturday 14th** || **~ Temperature** ** high: - 13°C ~ low:-24°C ** ||
 * **September - Sunday 15th** || **~ Temperature** ** high:-9°C ~ low:16°C ** ||
 * **September - Monday 16th** || **~ Temperature** ** high: -19°C ~ low: -24° ** ||
 * **September - Tuesday 17th** || **~Temperature** ** high:-17°C ~ low:-23°C ** ||


 * Above shows the temperature from September Wednesday 4th to September Tuesday 17th. The temperatures experienced at Davis base can be extremely cold and windy so not wearing enough layers of clothing or not wearing the right type of clothing can cause sickness from too many frostbites.**

//** A video of how cold and windy it is at the Davis base. **// media type="youtube" key="1rx2vSwbfhM" width="560" height="315"

23.08.13 || 25.08.13 || [|https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTxjB5FFAdH_DKPAXqJ8NfCieijdJ0ertQLdgyJtxdyBfxyR7F] [|c] 24.08.13 || 27.08.13 || [] 24.08.13 ||
 * Information and image URLS and sources With dates.**
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 * [|en.wikii/Davis_Stationpedia.org/wiki] 21.08.13 || [] 21.08.13 ||
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 * [|en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Antarctica] 25.08.13 || [] 23.08.13 ||
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 * [|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_King_Davis] 27.08.13 || [] 24.08.13 ||
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 * [] 05.09.13 || [] 28.08.13 ||
 * || **Antarctica leopard seal video: [] 24.08.13** ||
 * || **Aurora video:[] 01.09.13** ||


 * **windy video:** [] 14.09.13 || **Davis base webcam video**:[] 01.08.13 ||