The Otago Polytechnic Te Pūkenga New Zealand diploma in engineering (mechanical) student is due to board a United States Air Force C-17 Globe Master in Christchurch later this week, bound for Scott Base, where temperatures will range from zero to -10degC.
"I’ve been in alpine areas, but going to Antarctica is something else."
He will be there for the next month, testing equipment he has helped develop as part of a University of Otago project, which Otago Polytechnic is supporting by providing engineering solutions.
Mr Lochhead said the project, Tere Tīpako Tio: Rapid Extensive Antarctic Ice Sampling, aimed to develop small, low-cost, easy-to-deploy drilling instruments, to collect ice samples rapidly and at a scale not previously possible.
It was hoped the collected data would lead to a better understanding of ice sheets and how they might change in the future.
Led by University of Otago geology professor David Prior, the research team required an enthusiastic engineering student to help design and fabricate key elements of equipment.
Enter Mr Lochhead, who has used his mechanical engineering skills to build a range of high-pressure nozzles for a hot-water drill.
He has also helped design, develop and test a system of buckets to extract water from the drill holes.
"Essentially, we have made modifications to a commercial hot water blaster.
"The first problem we need to solve is whether we can even drill into the ice.
"If the system works as we hope, we’ll melt holes of differing diameters in the ice."
Another problem was the removal of water from the drill holes.
"If the holes are deeper than 50m, we’ll need to manually remove the water," he said.
"So we’ve been working on a system that uses buckets — although these buckets are 3m long and 10cm wide. They’re more like long tubes."
To lift the buckets, he and the research team will use a tripod, pulleys and cables — and their own muscles.
Mr Lochhead said he was thrilled to be given an opportunity to follow in his father’s footsteps.
"My father had been there years ago, helping build on Scott Base.
"I remember him talking about it. So I have always been interested in the idea of going there.
"And now I’m about to. I’m really excited."
