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BAMOS May 2026
Article
Weathering Davis: a winter at Australia’ s southernmost Antarctic research station
Kasey Williams, Australian Antarctic Division( Kasey. Williams @ aad. gov. au)
A chilly winter field trip to Platcha Hut, the intersection of the Plateau and Vestfold Hills, two critical geographical features that shape the weather we encounter at Davis Station. Credit: Kasey Williams
“ The world is a huge place. How will you know where you fit in unless you explore beyond your comfort zone?” – Ernest Shackleton
“ Why then do we feel this strange attraction for these Polar Regions, a feeling so powerful and lasting that when we return home we forget the mental and physical hardships, and want nothing more than to return to them?” – Jean-Baptiste Charcot
Antarctica is one of the few places in the world that has left me speechless on more than one occasion. I find it hard to describe, due to it being so rugged, remote and otherworldly – my everyday vocabulary just doesn’ t seem to do it justice. Thankfully, the words of Shackleton and Charcot help me make sense of my experiences on the Great White Continent. Their experiences resonate with me because it is a place of great juxtaposition and challenge, yet once it gets into your blood, you become addicted and fall in love.
In October 2024, I embarked on my fourth season in Antarctica and my first winter as a Bureau of Meteorology meteorological observer at Davis Station in East Antarctica. I enjoyed my first three seasons so much that, despite some of the hardships I encountered, I wanted to come back, and this time do a winter, to truly feel the full brunt of the Antarctic – much like how Charcot describes it.
I also wanted to expand my scientific skill set, and the Bureau was the place to do this. My previous work as an environmental remediation engineer required me to look down at Antarctic soil, underlying geology, fuel infrastructure and water bodies, whereas my role with the Bureau required me to look up – observing clouds and weather phenomena, collecting data from our meteorological instruments, and launching the twicedaily weather balloon.
During my 14-month deployment, the days were shaped not just by schedules and observations, but by wind carving across the ice, light shifting endlessly along the horizon, and the quiet presence of a landscape that makes you acutely aware of every change in weather. In a place where the environment is both constant and unpredictable, I had the privilege of a role that forced me to stop and take notice of the environment around me, and channel that into meaningful observations for meteorology, aviation and station operations.