Latest from the Ice
Welcome to the latest postcard from Rothera Research Station. Work is continuing at pace as the season heads towards its close. Here’s a look at what’s been happening on site through March.
Discovery Building
Good progress has been made inside the Discovery Building throughout the month. The open plan office and training room platform have been formally handed over to British Antarctic Survey (BAS), joining the growing list of completed spaces. Firestopping works (sealing around doors and spaces) are almost complete. Interior decoration is progressing well with the areas around the central stores, lift enclosure and stairwell now painted. Snagging works across all areas are being ticked off the to-do list.
Works on the Combined Heat and Power (CHP) systems and within the energy centre have continued. The team has been busy working on configuring the four generators and focus is on heat recovery and integration testing. The aim is to meet a 25% reduction in carbon emissions across the station. We’re well on track for a complete handover of the new scientific support and operations facility to BAS on 6 May.
Weatherproofing
Weatherproofing works to the operations tower upper and lower sections are now complete, with painting of those sections still to be finished.
Deconstruction and site clearance
The deconstruction area has been tidied and cleared. Old underground fuel pipes between the generator shed, vehicles garage and operations tower have been excavated and removed. The large crane has been moved out of the deconstruction area and the majority of remaining waste containers have been cleared. The deconstruction area will be cleared with soil and rock moved to prepare the land for handover to BAS. This includes the footpath from the bridge to the Bonner Laboratory which has been realigned to increase road width. All of the engineering works between the Discovery Building and the Admirals building are completed.
The scrap steel pile outside our construction partner’s (BAM) workshop has been fully cleared. This has been transported to the western end of the wharf in preparation for loading. The area around the workshop has been thoroughly tidied, backfilled and landscaped.
Site-wide works
Site Wide Services (SWS) support installation is now ready across the new network. These are the essential utilities and systems that run across the station, making sure everything can function.
Legacy road crossings north of the Discovery Building and north of the Bonner Laboratory have been removed and backfilled (excavated areas that are now filled in).
Containers and the MV Stevie
The logistics team has had a busy month preparing for the arrival of the commercial vessel MV Stevie, expected at the Rothera wharf on 29 March. Container consolidation and inspections have continued throughout with 280 containers now inspected and 280 ship-ready containers staged and ready for loading. All the scrap steel is now at the wharf ready for loading too!
Waste batteries have also been carefully packed and prepared for proper disposal back in the UK. Once loaded, the containers will make the long journey back to the UK, where materials will be processed for recycling. This reflects BAS’s commitment to ensuring that nothing from the project is left behind in Antarctica beyond what is absolutely necessary.
Science at Rothera
All of this construction work exists to support science that matters. Rothera underpins research spanning everything from deep ocean monitoring to space weather, gathering long-term data that provides critical insights into global climate systems affecting communities far beyond the polar regions.
The main deep field project this season was led by Dr Liz Thomas, Head of Ice Core Research at BAS, for the Rewind project. There were also some engineering and mapping projects that worked from the new Discovery Building this year including the re-establishment of the survey control grid which will help future projects. Modernising Rothera means that vital research can continue for decades to come.
What’s next?
Only some of the team will remain on site until the RRS Sir David Attenborough departs Rothera on 6 May to complete the remaining scope for the season. The ship will arrive back at Rothera towards the end of April.
The station is being prepared for wintering (from May to October). So Winter 2026 will be the first with the Discovery Building fully operational post-handover to BAS. We’ve made a successful transition into the new building and are ready for the Winter ahead!
A huge thank you to everyone who has worked so hard to get to this point, brilliant work all round.
The next modernisation update will be on 24 April 2026.