Working In Ice-solation
Press Release – New Zealand Police
Sean specialises in hot water drilling through the ice and recently returned from his seventh Antarctic stint as part of an international research team.
SPECIAL REPORT: Feeling a bit chilly as winter approaches? Try minus 12 in summer. Central District SOCO SEAN HEAPHY tells Ten One about his Antarctic adventures.
When Manawatū SOCO Senior Constable Sean Heaphy is not dusting for fingerprints, he's on the ice in Antarctica helping scientists conduct research to understand the impacts of climate change.
Sean specialises in hot water drilling through the ice and recently returned from his seventh Antarctic stint as part of an international research team.
Before Sean joined Police in the mid-90s, he trained as a diesel mechanic and worked for the Electricity Department. One day he was perusing the Government Gazette for job vacancies and came across an opportunity for mechanics in Antarctica as part of the New Zealand Antarctic Research Programme which at the time was part of the DSIR, a forerunner of ESR.
Sean jumped at the opportunity, applied and was successful, deploying for his first posting in October 1988 for a year. After this, Sean was contacted by the programme and invited back to complete further stints.
Between 1988 and 1992 Sean bounced between Antarctica and Palmerston North before applying for Police College and being accepted on to Wing 166 in 1996. He was posted to Palmerston North in 1997 and has spent his entire career there – first working in general duties, then spending time on Traffic, Community and SAR before becoming a SOCO in 2017.
'What I enjoy about being a SOCO is that it's kind of like the tradesperson of Police. I like examining things, figuring out how they work and finding the evidence,' says Sean.
'It complements being a mechanic really well as we spend a lot of time working on vehicles, including identifying them if they are stolen.
'When I stopped going to Antarctica in the 90s, I got calls asking me back. It was tough to say no, but due to other commitments, I had to put postings on ice for a while.
'It's valuable work you do down there, so I've always wanted to go back.'
Sean got the calling again in 2019, spending nearly two months in Antarctica. Since then he has spent another three seasons in Antarctica.
These trips have mainly been spent in the field, hot-water drilling with Victoria University for research projects.
Sean's team was responsible for drilling holes through the Ross Ice Shelf to provide access to the sea cavity. The science teams use the hole to conduct research below the ice, with the hot-water drilling team offering practical assistance when needed.
A typical drilling season for Sean in Antarctica sees the team head down in mid-November to mid-January as the work is only doable in summer – it needs to be relatively warm and in mid-summer there is 24-hour daylight.
'As a hot-water drill operator, I work alongside a team in a remote location about 850 kilometres from Scott Base on the Ross Ice Shelf,' says Sean.
'The ice shelf is about the size of France and 580-600 metres thick where we operate.
'We have operated at different sites at the Kamb Ice Stream, with ocean cavities under the ice ranging from 30-200 metres.
'One of those cavities included a meltwater river channel which drains part of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.'
Sean and his team drill a 35cm-diameter hole through the ice shelf using hot water to create access to the ocean cavity and the sea floor. Once they've done this, they need to maintain the hole to prevent it freezing up.
Temperatures range from about -40C through the main section of ice shelf and warm to about -2C where it meets the sea. 'Before we start drilling, we melt snow to create about 20,000 litres of water that we store in inflatable round tanks called flubbers,' says Sean.
'The drilling equipment is kept as simple as possible to make it reliable and consists of generators, pumps, burners and a reel with 1000 metres of hose and drilling lance supported by a mast, and a control panel – this is set up in a large tent that makes operations simpler and more comfortable.'
There are six drillers, working 24 hours in two shifts. Air temperatures range between 0C and -12C, with wind chill making it feel colder.
'Just like here, it tends to be warmer in the middle of the day when the sun is high in the sky.
'Sometimes we get fog which is made of ice crystals – that tends to make it chilly but it can form really cool shapes of rime ice on objects.'
The work Sean and his crew do is focused on the preservation of Antarctica and understanding the impact of warmer temperatures, and it's a real team effort from all involved.
They have worked with NIWA on oceanographic research. Other projects included taking short sediment core samples of the seabed, and one intriguing project they have worked with was Icefin.
'This involved lowering a robotic remote-operated vehicle down the hole so it could swim around under the ice shelf gathering oceanographic data,' says Sean.
'It had a live video feed, and it was great seeing first-hand the operators explore a place no one has ever been.
'Even though there is no sunlight down there and we are hundreds of kilometres from the coast, there are still fish and other sea life swimming around.'
One long-term goal of Icefin was to gather experience operating under ice sheets. 'The project was at least partly funded by NASA with a view of exploring the ice-covered ocean on Europa, one of the Jupiter's moons.
'I found it amusing that the robot was controlled with a PlayStation controller!'
Sean's most recent trip was with the SWAIS2C international research project – Sensitivity of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet to 2C of Warming.
Once the hole was drilled, a custom-designed intermediate depth geological drill was deployed, attempting to retrieve a sediment core of up to 200 metres from the seabed.
'This has never been done before in such a remote location, and unfortunately a technical challenge occurred which we couldn't overcome on site in the harsh and remote Antarctic conditions,' says Sean.
'Work is under way to rectify this, and the core will have to wait for another season.
'Very little is known of the geological history in this region, so having this record will help scientists understand the past so it can be applied to future climate models.
'It's a privilege to be a part of the research and recording process to help with understanding the impact of climate change on Antarctica.'
Just getting around Antarctica is an adventure, with Sean and the team flying to sites on a heavily modified DC3 rumoured to have seen service during World War 2 and contracted by the US Antarctic Program.
The plane is based at Willy's (Williams) Field near Scott Base and the weather must be fine for the 6-7 hour round trip so it can land back at Willy's.
When Sean has some down time, he enjoys making snow buildings and says there is a big social part of being down there as you get to know people from all over the world.
'Including the science teams, we have had Americans, British, Australians, Kiwis, Germans, Koreans, Zimbabweans, Italians and Japanese working with us,' says Sean.
'It's interesting getting to know people's backgrounds and what has drawn them to this beautiful place.
'On the last trip I spent 45 days in the field, so I'm used to sleeping in a polar tent and luckily we each get one each.
'My supervisor and Police have been supportive of my Antarctic secondary employment, which has also created some good recruitment opportunities with one person I met down there joining up and becoming a police officer.
'It's an enriching experience and I like going out into the field and working in a challenging environment.
'The work flexibility allows me to combine both my passions.
'It's the environment that draws you there because it's such a cool place, but it's the people that keep you coming back.'
Sean has given presentations on forensics and scene of crime work to the other workers who have been very interested to find out more about his job and working for Police.
'Since Scott's day, it is traditional for Antarcticians to share knowledge and experience with each other, and this still occurs today and we have regular evening talks in the field mess tent,' says Sean.
There are many highlights in Sean's Antarctic experiences so far, with one of his favourites being a visit to an Emperor Penguin colony.
'On one of my earlier trips, I got to visit an Emperor Penguin colony and assist a film crew from the TVNZ natural history unit who were making a documentary,' says Sean.
'We got to see the penguins up close and after spending a week at Cape Crozier observing them in their habitat it was an experience I will never forget.
'Allegedly, the documentary helped inspire the film Happy Feet.'
Sean encourages others to look for opportunities and ways to make them work alongside policing, like the ones he's taken.
'There are lots of people in Police with a variety of skills and it benefits Police to have multi-skilled people,' says Sean.
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