Defence support to the Australian Antarctic Program is helping scientists discover secrets about prehistoric climate change. 

The million year ice core project aims to extract samples from deep beneath the Antarctic ice. Those samples will help solve a long-standing mystery about why the cycle between colder glacial and warmer interglacial periods changed from every 41,000 years to every 100,000 years. 

Through the project, a team of Australian scientists hope to drill more than three kilometres below the surface to recover the deepest and oldest ice samples in the world.

Now in its 10th year, Operation Southern Discovery is the Defence contribution to the Australian Antarctic Program. 

Defence provides many different capabilities supporting scientific research, including Navy meteorologists and communications operators based at Casey Station, unmanned aerial drone operators aboard the ice breaker RSV Nuyina and C-17A Globemaster cargo flights between Australia and Wilkins aerodrome in Antarctica. 

There will be six C-17A flights this summer delivering fresh food, infrastructure, scientific equipment and priority cargo. 

Australian Antarctic Division chief of operations Simon Owen said the strategic airlift could deliver more supplies faster.

“This gives the drill team additional time on the ice to potentially drill a deeper core,” Mr Owen said.

'It’s an operation where you really believe in what you’re doing.'

This month, 12 tonnes of equipment and supplies parachuted onto the frozen drop zone. 

The pristine environment of the frozen continent means the strictest of guidelines must be followed. 

Sergeant Kate Hibbert is an Army reservist who works as an environmental management specialist.

She said making sure the environment was protected was an essential part of the mission. 

“The air dispatch team had to come up with new ways of packing the loads so they’re safe to drop into the Antarctic and they’re contained,” Sergeant Hibbert said. 

Finding solutions to the unique challenges faced by those taking part in Operation Southern Discovery was something the reservist prized. 

“I get to do something that I would never get to do in my civilian role and I would never do in my Army role either. It’s been an exciting opportunity,” she said. 

It was a sentiment shared by all of those taking part in the mission. 

Commanding Officer 29 Squadron Wing Commander Nicholas Fairweather said Operation Southern Discovery was a special mission to be a part of. 

“It’s an operation where you really believe in what you’re doing,” Wing Commander Fairweather said.