Antarctic Research Station: Living & Working at the Bottom of the World | Free Documentary Shorts

this is awesome you can't see anything no sky no ground for two weeks we are allowed to accompany the researchers at the German research station in Antarctica no Maya station 3 they give us an insight into their everyday life and their work in the perpetual ice a place like no other on the planet it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen a very special adventure for our team - here we go at last we've waited so long for this we've put half a year of preparation into this film we that's cameraman Patrick and editor Mattias to travel to Antarctica at all is real adventure for us our journey begins in a doctor surgery in Germany everyone who wants to go to the research station has to undergo an extensive checkup and so do we it's supposed to reduce the risk of someone becoming seriously ill while in Antarctica the things they want to know about you all this for two weeks the diagnosis we are fit and healthy now the clothes the Alfred Wegener Institute which also operates the neue Meyer station provides researchers and us with polar equipment now that's a sleeping bag it's like a giant clothing school just for expedition gear how cool is that [Music] [Applause] each of us gets over 30 pieces of equipment for our time in the Antarctic [Applause] however everything is only borrow and now we pack for the shoot in Antarctica we've taken more than we usually do spare cameras and lots of batteries at low temperatures they deplete very quickly everything has to be packed safely and Arctica isn't really the place where you can buy replacements no we're off to Antarctica the journey really starts in Cape Town South Africa from the airport there we're supposed to be heading straight to Antarctica for now it's still Sandell weather how are you I'm excited it's the most extreme thing I've ever done only for a few months year during the Antarctic summer our flights to the Antarctic possible at all weather-wise the passengers are almost exclusively scientists but we're a bit surprised everything else is just so normal okay not everything the backs in the front of the plane contained the polar clothes from the clothing store so we better take them along good morning from the inside the plane looks like a normal holiday aircraft but after a few hours in the air [Music] the first people suddenly start to get changed in the aisle let's just join in then we look at the window and get our first view of the Antarctic overwhelming but where do you land a plane in Antarctica on the ice of course we're here have you looked out of the window it's incredible I've never been so excited have you looked out of the window yet here we are weird I still can't believe it but we're now in Antarctica although not yet at our destination we change to this little polar plane to be able to land where we want to go it needs skits instead of wheels after a total of eight hours since leaving Cape Town we finally reach our destination no MIR station 3 about 40 people from different countries are there at the moment and now so are we while it's winter in Germany it's summer here and actually it's not that cold at all not even minus 10 degrees but there's a blizzard raging we want to experience it just this once and get ready for a walk in a small group we set off finding your way is only possible in this weather thanks to the black live lights our plan is to get up the Hutt pictured on the right our bedroom for the next two weeks this is how we'll sleep afterwards we go right back it is only a few hundred meters but the walk is a real adventure [Laughter] my gloves frozen how was it so cold a little windy no Maya station 3 is the only German research station in Antarctica that is occupied all year round it is operated by the Alfred Wegener Institute in summer up to 50 people live here most researchers stay for several weeks but there's a group that stays all year round the group of over interests consists of nine people four scientists one doctor one cook one radio operator and two technicians they spend 14 months at the station even during the Antarctic winter when the station is completely cut off from the outside world neither ships nor planes can get in or out and during the polar night the Sun never Rises for more than two months it's dark around the clock he is one of the over winter Asst dr. Bernard grappa is a doctor and head of the station he's responsible for a medical study that has nothing to do with Antarctica but with space travel yes all over winters take part in the study this includes station engineer tour must dance yes we mainly look at the overwinter ability to the isolation to the lack of stimuli and also to the stress reactions these are all factors that cause a stress reaction the study provides important findings for space medicine the idea the overwinters lives here resemble a space mission they are isolated they are always in the same environment how this affects the health of the over interest is checked with the help of blood samples but the extraordinary circumstances here also have an effect on the psyche over the winter ie the dark polar night you can see most of the team members slowing down a bit that the need to sleep has increased and you have the feeling that you don't remember things as well this is a subjective perception of course but I think you do notice it besides the blood samples there are also psychological tests how much the overwinter is sleep and how much they move during the day are also tracked around the clock and there is a space simulator once a month Tomas jamuns has to try to capture a satellite with a robot arm an exercise that prospective astronauts have to do and which requires an extreme amount of skill and concentration [Music] now we've pushed him out into space not good no that's definitely not good but the robot has a lot of axes and you can move it in almost every direction this is exactly why the study participants do this exercise the question is does live here have an influence on spatial perception or fine motor skills the results of the study are still to come but maybe research here in Antarctica will be able to improve space travel a bit more in the future a storm has been raging at the research station for several days the underground carpark remains closed for safety reasons so the researchers have to work inside including sea ice physicist Stephanie ant this thing is an electromagnetic measuring device it measures the conductivity of the environment the scientists want to use it to determine the thickness of sea ice because metal falsifies the measurements they put the device into a plastic kayak but why is it even important to know how thick the ice on the sea is sea ice is of course a very important indicator when it comes to understanding climate interactions and changes in climate and even if we don't see the strong changes in Antarctica yet it is of course important to describe the actual state in order to see where this might lead oxygen will converse for lighting soon meaning if climate change were to arrive in Antarctica Stephanie ant will be able to measure it yes now we wait what's stopping you from just driving off the weather there's still quite a storm out there and that's why they are afraid that when they open the hatch everything will be covered in snow and that's why we have to be patient for now but it is worth the wait once the weather is good the scientists can finally get out and we're right there with them and we'll find out what's hiding under this flap in the ice also a moment of shock our cameraman takes a four during a snowstorm so stay tuned for the second part of our trip to Antarctica [Music] our team has now been in Antarctica for a week on the other side of the world at the German research station no Meyer 3 we want to know what are they actually researching here a snowstorm has been raging since we got here but we won't let that stop us together with geophysicist Mirko Jovanka our editor in his black jacket is heading towards the geomagnetic observatory now what could that be first problem getting there if the weather was good we could go straight there there's a wooden signpost but because the way there is not good we have to follow the black life lights they show the way to all important research facilities the so called observatories in the vicinity of the station this is one of them but this is not our final destination here we have to put belts on because we're going to climb downwards into the ice and how deep does it go about 10 meters okay then a hatch suddenly appears in the middle of the ice so this is the entrance into the magnetic field observatory I think the idea of climbing into the ice is so crazy we learn that the shaft gets deeper every year every year it grows about one meter in height the reason snowfall Matthias enjoys the descent this is so funny but the station's geophysicist has to come down here every other day which is quite a commute yeah it's not easy at the bottom we discover the devices used to measure the magnetic field here they are particularly sensitive to cold and vibrations but deep inside the ice it's relatively warm throughout the year and there's no wind [Music] geophysicist Mirko Jovanka works here as a kind of watchdog for the Earth's magnetic fields he regularly measures the field strength and orientation without the magnetic field the sun's rays would hit the earth and make life difficult so the magnetic field protects the earth from magnetic solar storms for example sometimes much because of eruptions on the Sun such solar storms cure again and again this is not a bad thing at first because the Earth's magnetic field is like a protective shield but if the magnetic field changes or becomes weaker the protective shield no longer functions properly that's why it is so important to study the magnetic field without a protective shield solar storms could cause large-scale power outages or even caused our mobile phone network to collapse the scientists in this ice cave are making sure that we find out about this early enough back at the research station we get something to eat and it's not dry bread or astronaut food we are fascinated by what the station chef cooks up here three times a day circus nets that is in Antarctica fresh food is only available when planes land in summer but there's nothing else missing once a year an ice breaker delivers 60 tons of food and on the way back the ship also becomes a garbage disposal vessel the station engineer explains that the researchers waste doesn't just get this post off somewhere in Antarctica [Music] all garbage that comes to Antarctica must also be taken back which means it's compressed as small as possible shredded and then stowed in containers every gram is written down so we can reconstruct what's in each container the next day it's still blowing a gale but we really want to get out Tim Hite London's going to accompany us he's a former overwinter ER and now coordinates the station's operations what's this this is the ball in which we record who's currently in the facility because in case of a fire you can see who else is in the station who else is missing and who to look for and I just changed my stages here absolutely [Music] outside the storm is blowing at over 80 km/h due to a physical effect under the station built on stilts the wind is even stronger not exactly perfect working conditions for cameraman Patrick but the storm isn't the scariest part if you walk away from the station it looks like there's just nothing out there this is weird you see no sky you see no ground you see nothing at all yeah we call these conditions whiteout practically no contrast no horizon and on top of that there's the flying snow [Music] we're still in the middle of an interview when suddenly poor Patrick are you alright let's hope it's nothing serious so first of all camera off the next morning Patrick's foot hurts he can hardly walk fortunately there's a fully equipped hospital at the research station and a doctor the x-rays show that nothing is broken so all he can now do is wait I'm gonna take a day off and then I'll go out again tomorrow I also hope that the weather will be better by then yeah the next day the weather is wonderful we can finally go out and Patrick is actually back on his feet so now it's nonstop filming sea-ice physicist Stephanie aunt is getting her kayak ready which has a nice thickness Gorge inside it we're accompanying her to find out how climate research works can I put this in here the camera equipment it's the first time I editor has been on a snow mobile and it's the first time we can see blue sky in Antarctica [Music] here we go at last we've waited so long for this I'm so excited what a sight an endless ice desert this is awesome check it out [Music] this is so incredibly beautiful [Music] Antarctica is almost twice as big as Australia and even if it doesn't look like it's not just ice Antarctica is a real continent land that is largely covered by an ice sheet it is almost five kilometres thick in places at the edge of this ice sheet the so-called shelf ice floats on the sea it is still several hundred meters thick after all the outermost edge of Antarctica consists of sea ice sea water that freezes in winter in summer however it melts and the sea ice surface shrinks by 80 percent as a result Antarctica shrinks as well until it grows again in winter this is where the sea ice begins all this will break up in a few months and drift away then there's only water here so Stephanie and has to work fast she wants to know how thick the sea ice is in certain places along a so-called transit she uses an electromagnetic measuring device to measure the thickness of the sea ice a reduction in sea ice could be a crucial indication of how far climate change is affecting our planet what we can read from the data and this is a very important point is the change what are we measuring today and what did we measure on the same transect eight years ago and what can we deduce from that what can we observe in terms of global climate change researchers can't yet find any indication of climate change here the hope is that thanks to Antarctica's remote and isolated location this could remain so for a while then we let the scientists continue their work in peace Tim Ireland has another surprise for us incredible ice formations on the edge of the shelf ice the transition between sea ice and shelf ice wow that's really beautiful good isn't it I think so too as we drive away from the edge of the ice shelf again they are suddenly everywhere emperor penguins the colony here is home to almost 30,000 penguins what a sight what a noise what a dream to be here Tim this is so wonderfully beautiful here do you still see it like this - for me it hasn't lost any of its magic I still think it's one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen our time in Antarctica has unfortunately come to an end for us it is back to now Maya station and then home what remains are the memories of scientists who are passionate about their research to help us understand how the magnetic field protects us from solar storms what climate change is doing to our planet and what happens to astronauts on space missions and last but not least this trip was a huge adventure that we will certainly never forget you

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Keywords: Free Documentary, Documentaries, Full documentary, HD documentary, Short Documentary, Short Docs, Documentary (TV Genre), Documentary - topic, Antarctic, antarctica, Research Station, Neumayer Station, Neumayer 3, living in antarctica, ice, South Pole, Ekström Ice Shelf, Polar Regions, Arctic, North Pole, Polar Night, Polar Day, aurora borealis, aurora australis, Doc Bites, Free Documentary Shorts

Id: X3Tt03yJHIU

Length: 23min 14sec (1394 seconds)

Published: Fri Aug 28 2020