Station-H, Signy Island, South Orkney Is.: Life in the ‘Banana Belt’ with the BAS: Mark Sanders

Описание: This is a lecture organised by our Younger Members/Early Career Group.

Lecture Synopsis:
Signy Island is situated in the South Orkney Islands, a subantarctic group of islands positioned at the northern end of the Weddell Sea, approximately 375 miles north-east of the Antarctic Peninsula tip. Given their geographical latitude of 60-degrees South, the islands lie roughly 400 miles north of the Antarctic Circle, in a relatively warm region of the Antarctic, playfully referred to by others in the polar community as the ’Banana Belt’.

Mark will endeavour to give an insight into what it was like to live and work on the Signy Island (Station-H) biological research station nearly four decades ago, in a time before an ability to communicate instantly with the outside world was commonplace. The islands abundant wildlife, and its impact on the science, will also be briefly discussed. During his time ‘South’, the base was operated as a wintering station by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). Today, it is maintained by the BAS as a summer-only station.

Speaker Bio:
Mark Sanders is a chemist by training and is a former Principal Scientist with oilfield services company, M-I SWACO, Schlumberger. His oil-related experience spans nearly 33 years, gained mainly in laboratory-based positions involving drilling fluids technical support, product development, and in research roles. In recent years, his research interests have focused on wellbore strengthening and lost circulation issues. Past research has also included project work in conjunction with Durham University on novel high-temperature fluid-loss additives.

However, prior to discovering the joys of the oil industry, in the early-to-mid 1980’s he worked for the British Antarctic Survey as a Biological Field Assistant, having trained originally as a biologist. This included spending a 30-month period in Antarctica studying freshwater lakes. Based on Signy Island, in the South Orkney Islands, he was responsible for the biological and chemical monitoring of freshwater Antarctic lake ecosystems as part of a long-term research programme.

Over the course of his professional career, Mark has authored or co-authored over 30 scientific papers and journal articles, and has been awarded 8 patents. Career postings include spells in Cambridge, Paris, Houston, Aberdeen, and of course… Antarctica.

Schedule:
18.00 - Start of Livestream
18.00 - Welcome and Start of Lecture
18.50 - Question and Answer session
19.30 - End of stream

Note on Q&A session:
If you wish to ask a question through YouTube please post your question, as clearly and concisely as possible, in the live chat. We will monitor the chat and relay questions to the speaker during the session.

About the Institute:
The Mining Institute is the Royal Chartered membership organisation for science and technology in the North. Founded in 1852 by some of the most important contemporary Northern scientists and engineers, our members still actively contribute to academia, industry and public life across the region.
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