Scientists and technicians say they no longer feel safe at South Africa's remote Marion Island research station in the southern Indian Ocean.
Crumbling infrastructure, food shortages, theft, sexual harassment and a lack of psychological screening are on a list of concerns submitted earlier this year to the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA), which this week confirmed plans to improve management of the South African National Antarctic Programme (Sanap).
The nine-page memorandum and two follow-up meetings were prompted by several incidents over the past few years, notably a team member running amok with an axe during the most recent disastrous mission to Marion Island, which also suffered food shortages and equipment failure. At one stage the base was running on a small back-up generator.
Several expedition members this week told the Sunday Times about harrowing team dynamics on Marion and South Africa's two other research stations, on Gough Island and the flagship base on the Antarctic mainland. The department confirmed several incidents but denied any management crisis.
"DEA acknowledges that some of these incidents could not be anticipated and the approach of introducing psychometric assessments could solve these by early detection of potential people who cannot withstand isolation for a long time," it said.
A "joint platform" had been established with the Department of Science & Technology (DST) and the National Research Foundation to address scientists' concerns.
The DEA confirmed several troubling incidents reported to the Sunday Times related to "meltdowns". Late last year a team member attacked a colleague with a frying pan in the kitchen of the Marion base, then trashed his room with an axe. The department refused to remove the aggressor, who returned home with his teammates in May.
During earlier expeditions a team member was removed from Gough after brandishing a knife, and an aggressive team member had to be airlifted from the South African base on Antarctica. The DEA said the incidents were under normal disciplinary procedures but conceded that changes to the expedition selection process could help prevent a repetition.
The department also confirmed a formal charge of sexual harassment against a team member's supervisor. "The investigation was undertaken and the finding could not confirm her allegation. She was offered counselling."
Sanap expeditions are made up of scientists who conduct research or provide critical weather data, and technicians tasked with maintaining equipment - including generators that power, heat and ventilate the bases.
While the department of public works is responsible for maintaining the infrastructure, the DEA manages the day-to-day running - an increasingly difficult task due to a shortage of tools and other vital resources.
This week, several stakeholders detailed a series of embarrassing equipment failures during the last Marion expedition:..