Iceworld Podcast

Out now, Training for Antarctica – secrets of the pre-deployment programme, with Michaela Boak. So, you’re going to Antarctica. But what skills and training do you need to live and work there? Learn how BAS personnel prepare for deployment to Antarctica in this episode of Iceworld.

Welcome to Antarctica. What’s it like living and working in one of the most extreme environments in the world?

From polar scientists to plumbers, Iceworld is a series of interviews with ordinary people who are doing extraordinary jobs in Antarctica. The team talk climate science, extreme living, expeditions and becoming a community.

Iceworld is hosted and recorded by Nadia Frontier, and produced in partnership with Boffin Media.

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So, you’re going to Antarctica. But what skills and training do you need to live and work there? That’s the question that faces every person who is offered a job with British Antarctic Survey to work South – and there’s a long to-do list, including two weeks of Pre-Deployment Training (PDT) at BAS HQ in Cambridge. During PDT, future-Antarcticans learn everything from polar hygiene to chemical safety and firefighting, as well as meeting the people they’ll be living with on station. Think “first day of school” nerves!   

In this episode, host Nadia Frontier meets Michaela Boak, Deployment Support Coordinator. They discuss how to prepare for deployment to Antarctica (including the importance of the ceilidh social), the support available during deployment, and how Michaela’s own experience South shaped her perspective on training the UK’s Antarctic team.  

What are the challenges of preparing to work in such an extreme environment? How do the experts plan training that will keep everyone safe? And what training does it take to become an Antarctican? 

Previous episodes

S5 E4. Land of the rising sun – life at a Svalbard research station, with Iain Rudkin and Henry Burgess
S5 E3. Keeping Halley Research Station online, with Dominic Jacques
A person that is standing in the snow S5 E2. Midwinter nights and southern lights: Antarctic celebrations with Eloise Saville, David Reid, and Charlotte Rayner
A snow covered mountain S5 E1. Rothera at 50 – with Rod Arnold, Alysa Fisher, Matt Hughes and Aurelia Reichardt
S4 E12. Travelling in the Tractor Train Traverse,n with Nick Withey and Rory Fleet
S4 E11. Doctors of Antarctica, with Dr Nisha Mistry and Dr Rebecca Boys
A person standing next to a pile of rocks S4 E10. Moss, mites, bacteria and algae: looking for the smallest life in Antarctica
A person standing in front of a bus S4 [Bonus] Women at the poles – with Jane Francis, Jo Johnson, Katy Rumm, Vicky Auld, Laura Taylor, and Kat Turner
A man holding a sign posing for the camera S4 E9. A carnival of polar animals, with Katie Wells
A sign in front of a sunset S4 E8. ‘Drilling into the ice rift – with the RiPIce expedition to the Larsen C Ice Shelf’ 
A person holding a sign S4 E7.  Carbon cycling, biogeochemistry, and cruising on RRS Sir David Attenborough – with Emily Rowlands, Laura Taylor & Kat Turner
A man standing in front of a plane  S4. E6. Uncovering the secrets of clouds, with Floortje Van Den Heuvel
A man holding a book S4. [Bonus] Life after Antarctica: post-deployment with Dr Bav Sasi, Jerry Gillham and Kirsten Shaw
A man holding a sign posing for the camera S4 E5. Penguin passion at the poles, with Derren Fox and Peter Fretwell
A man standing in front of a beach S4 E4. Scouting for shags and skuas with Paul Whitelaw and Aurelia Reichardt
A group of people posing for the camera S4 E3. The operation to survey sea ice – from land, sky and satellite
A man sitting on a rock in the snow S4 E2. Evolving in the cold with Professor Melody Clark and Dr Simon Morley
A person holding a sign posing for the camera S4 E1. Piloting flights from Canada to Antarctica, with Vicky Auld and Olly Smith
A person holding a cell phone S3 E14. The life Antarctic, with marine biologist Nadia Frontier
A man wearing a hat with snow on the ground S3 E13. Ash Shinn is looking after your Antarctic research station
A person that is sitting in the snow S3 E12. Yes, diving in Antarctica is COLD – with Jack Gordon and Mike Lindsell
Graphical user interface, website S3 Ep 11. Fixing Skidoos in Antarctica with Matthew McPherson
A group of people standing in front of a crowd posing for the camera Bonus episode. Happy Midwinter, from King Edward Point Research Station
A group of people standing in front of a sign S3 Ep 10. Engineers of Antarctica, with Jonathan Witherstone & Jaskiran Nagi
A person sitting on the ground Bonus episode. Fossil hunting and managing Antarctic mud, with the Seymour Island expedition team
A group of people on a boat S3 Ep 9. Watching wild weather in Antarctica, with Jo Cole
S3 Ep 8. From Arran to Antarctica with Niall Macleod
A group of people standing on top of a snow covered slope S3 Ep 7. Leading polar expeditions, with Ed Luke and Matthew Shepherd
A penguin in the snow Bonus episode. Leadership and a life on the ice, with Professor Dame Jane Francis
S3 Ep 6.  Chefs of Antarctica, with Sadhbh Moore and Katy Rumm
A man holding a sign S3 Ep5. Ryan Mathews on diving and exploring in Antarctic Winter
A man standing in front of a stove  S3 Ep4. Stu McManus on his journey to Antarctica as an electrician
Text Bonus episode. A polar voyage into the New Year, with Captain Matt Neill and Jo Johnson
Text Bonus episode. It’s Christmas in Antarctica, with Aurelia Reichardt, Matt Hughes & Jo Cole
A woman standing in front of a stove S3 Ep3. Joe Clay on small community living, and keeping the power on in Antarctica
S3 Ep2. Allie Clement on scientific fishing and life as an Marine Assistant in Antarctica
A couple of people that are standing in the snow S3 Ep1. Louis Day on boating in Antarctica and navigating ice