Amy Valach us
ing a bog pole
to test the ice
for cracks
Amy Valach is an atmospheric
scientist based at Halley. She
has been there since December
2015. She phoned SPARK from
thousands of miles away to tell
us about her life and work.
How is life out there today, Amy?
The wind is blowing and my office is
shaking a little bit!
How dark is it at the moment?
We didn’t see the sun from May until
the middle of August, but it is light now.
It’s sort of the normal day night cycle.
What are you doing in Antarctica?
I’m studying the mixture of gases in
the atmosphere. We look after the air
experiments and also monitor the weather.
Does it feel different working there?
I know there’s a lot of people in a
small area working together.
It is a very strange place. It’s a bit like a
space station, or like living and working
on Mars. You’re very far from the rest
of the world but at the same time
there’s 13 people in total over winter.
I like it; you still have people you work
and live with. It doesn’t really feel any
different from back home, apart from
you don’t go out to other places.
When you can’t go out much in
winter, how do you find a way to do
something new?
People working on Halley are
adventurous and also organise parties
SPARK
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