Meet the team - Base Commander

Name: Rob Webster


Age: 28

Rob joined the team from an interesting and varied background.  Hailing originally from the Scottish Highlands, he has travelled extensively prior to BAS including India, Sri Lanka, Europe and parts of South America.  Throughout 2005, He spent time teaching English to children in Nepal.  During this time, Rob also shared his talent for the violin. He taught the father of one of his pupils to play, and it is thought that this man is likely to be the only violinist in western Nepal, and one of only a small handful in the entire country, such is the irregularity of the instrument in the region.

In 2004, Rob was awarded a Bachelor of Science Degree with Honours in Physics from Edinburgh, and has gone on to work in the science field.  Prior to KEP, he was stationed at the BAS research facility at Rothera on the Antarctic Peninsula, and has served a number of winters on Antarctica as a meteorological assistant.  Rob was charged with making meteorological observations, looking after radar and spectrometer equipment, making ozone measurements and launching weather balloons.  He was also involved in placing weather stations in remote field sites around the Antarctic Peninsula.  I asked Rob why there was such an interest in meteorology in Antarctica – “The Antarctic continent is very important to the global climate, and parts of it are amongst the fastest warming places on the planet which makes monitoring the conditions there crucial to understanding and tracking climate change.  Climate scientists are very keen to monitor the effects of warming on the vast ice-sheets of the continent which have the potential to influence sea levels in the event of their collapse.  Antarctica's kilometres of ice also provide the best records available of the past character of the atmosphere in ice cores - we can use these track such things as the carbon dioxide content of the air in the past”

I asked Rob what his new role of the Base Commander in South Georgia means to him;

“The role of the Base Commander is primarily to maintain the safety of the staff, coordinate the base activities, and act as a conduit for information between base and BAS Cambridge.  Every monday morning I have a base meeting involving the scientists, Government officers, and support Staff which sets the tone for the week and highlights things like ship movements, messages from HQ, requirements for boating support and any other business.  I also have a host of general administrative duties, beyond which I try to help the others as much as possible with their work”.  He added, “I definitely see my job more as a facilitator than a ‘commander”. 

It is, however, a unique circumstance in South Georgia due to the fact that BAS are here to support the Government of South Georgia. Rob was sworn in as magistrate of the Island during our passage through Stanley in the Falkland Islands.  “I conduct my work to the spirit of the oath, but don’t believe I shall ever need to use its powers!”

Robs spare time on base is largely taken up by his music.  “I have a bit of a fascination with weird and wonderful sounds. I like the idea of making music out of ambient noises, or sounds that people wouldn’t normally associate with music.  I am currently working on a collaborative project with a producer in London to create a South Georgia themed album made with sounds recorded around the base and the local area.  Once they are finished I will match them up with album art made of imagery I have photographed on the Island.  I have also dabbled in movie soundtrack production and would like to explore that some more.”

Rob also plays the Guitar (very well indeed), the drums, and the Violin.  George (the outgoing boatman) and Rob entertained us all at the Ceilidh at Grytviken church last year playing Scottish Folk music on the fiddle, and also gave an impromptu performance on Tijuca jetty at Grytviken to the passengers of an expedition ship at Christmas.

Rob’s other passion is Skiing.  “I started Skiing when I was 4 growing up in the Scottish Highlands and skiied extensively in the Cairngorm mountains when I was growing up.  I hope to explore more of the island this winter backcountry skiing.  There is some superb skiing to be had in the local travel area if conditions suit, and we are very lucky to have the opportunity to make the most of it during the winter months.”

Rob is keeping a “365 project” photo diary, and is also a prolific blogger.  See his Rothera diaries (I hope to work there one day) at http://www.rotherapoint.blogspot.com and www.robertwebster.org/blog.html

His photo diary of KEP can be found at http://365project.org/robwebster/

Rob also blogged about making his beloved guitar from raw materials.  See this at http://www.antarcticguitar.blogspot.com