Quick Dips

Chilly Dip and Beer

A New Zealander has become the world record holder for survival in sub-zero Antarctic waters, floating in the icy waters at Scott Base for up to six hours while testing a new Quick Don Immersion Suit.

The suit worn by engineering manager Roger Moffat is designed for use in such conditions, and is less cumbersome and more leak-proof than previous models. The tests involved the subjects floating in the water while their blood pressure, electrocardiograms, and mouth, skin and rectal temperatures were monitored. The people involved were also asked to assess their thermal sensations and mental comfort. The tests are the only trials using human subjects in the Ross Dependency this season.

"We expect to find information that will lessen the trauma of sudden immersion in extremely cold water, which usually means hypothermia and probable death," says Dr Stephen Legg, a physiologist with the Aviation Medicine Unit.

Other researchers are studying how well Antarctic fish survive in different temperature ranges, and the special proteins released when the fish are stressed. They have discovered a cost-effective bait for catching their subjects.

"[Beer] tabs are shiny, cheap and we like the source," says project leader Dr John Macdonald. The tabs, illuminated by a fluorescent light stick, jiggle and flash, attracting the fish which are hungry and competing for food.

Macdonald and two colleagues are studying the adaptations that allow the fish to live in the dark, -1.8^oC water under the ice, measuring energy levels, steroids, and adrenalin in the blood plasma.