Thirst
An isolated Antarctic station. A glaciologist with a guilty secret. An unauthorised camp lead by a man whose ruthless ambition blinds him to the catastrophe he is about to unleash.
Luke Searle's station is burned to the ground and his friends murdered. Totally cut off from the outside world, he must survive the deadly sub-zero winter and save the life of his wounded station leader, Maddie Wildman. But they are pursued by relentless killers determined that nothing will stop their plans. Only Luke can prevent a global disaster, but to do so will condemn Maddie, and his young son, to death. Will he choose to save the lives of millions, or those he loves?
Find out in 2012.
In The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, dated 5/11/11, was an article on the imminent collapse of an 880 square kilometre section of the Pine Island Glacier. Very worrying news indeed:
http://antarcticsun.usap.gov/science/contenthandler.cfm?id=2536
Quotes from some of the scientists I spoke to when researching Thirst:
"Fire is the worst disaster to happen at an Antarctic base. Without shelter, the survivors would not last long." Luke Saffigna, Ranger, Macquarie Island base 1991-1993, Australian National Antarctic Research Expediton.
"If the Western Antarctic Ice Sheet were to melt it is widely believed that sea levels would rise by 3.3 metres." Hugh Corr, researcher, British Antarctic Survey.
"The increasing speed of the Pine Island Glacier pulls the ice apart- it exerts a huge strain. It tears its own skin at the surface and crevasses form which can be 100m deep. You'd have to be crazy to venture down one of these, unless it was a rescue." Julian Scott, geoscientist, British Antarctic Survey.
Note from author: I have set my story on and around the Pine Island Glacier, the tongue of which juts into the Amundsen Sea Embayment. On the map below you will see its location: if you imagine this great continent is like a stingray with its tail pointing to Argentina, then the Amundsen Sea Embayment is on the left, at the base of its tail. The two other images are of me in Antarctica and the ship I was on.
