23 jobs advertised for the Antarctic, more jobs coming

Christchurch, March 6 – The New Zealand Antarctic Programme (NZAP) is looking for 23 people to carry out engineering and supporting activities on the ice next summer. Eighteen of the Antarctic vacancies are for engineers, electricians, carpenters, cooks, domestic staff and science technicians at New Zealand’s Scott Base. The other five positions are for a special international scientific drilling project being managed by New Zealand at Cape Roberts, 140km north of Scott Base. A containerised camp has been established at the site for 35 people who will help in the drilling over the next two seasons. Applications for the vacancies close on March 16. An NZAP spokesman said Scott Base would be busier than usual next summer, which had resulted in the need for more positions. The vacancies at Cape Roberts were new jobs and NZAP would soon advertise for drilling vacancies for the next summer season. The Cape Roberts project is the biggest and most ambitious science project ever coordinated by New Zealand’s Antarctic organisation. The project will search for clues about ancient climate and mountain building processes. New Zealand is running the $8 million project on behalf of scientists from Britain, the United States, Germany, Italy and Australia. They aim to find out whether ice sheets covered Antarctica more than 40 million years ago. By working out how periods of melting and freezing affected world sea levels, they hope to gain insights into the impact of current global warming. Drilling is due to start in October, with teams working around the clock and scientists examining the rock core on site, at the nearby base camp and at a United States Antarctic laboratory to obtain the maximum amount of data while the samples are fresh. NZPA CHC kb am 06/03/96 12-09NZ