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South Africa has a tight regime for scientists wanting to “overwinter” in Antarctica.

- By Oliver Holmes

The 13-month assignment to an isolated research base on the top of a cliff edge is, as the environment ministry drily put it, “testing”. Average annual temperatures are -16C but drop much lower during the winter darkness.

All applicants are subjected to psychometric analysis “to ensure they are able to cope with the isolation, and can work and live with others in the confined space of the bases”, said the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment. “Only candidates who do not have any negative outcomes from all the background evaluations will be considered.”

But can humans ever fully prepare for long-duration remote scientific experiments? The crisis currently facing the overwintering crew at the Sanae IV station, more than 4,300km from Cape Town, suggests not.

Early in their stay, claims of physical assault, sexual harassment and a death threat were made among the team of nine. Apologies have since been made and psychologists from the mainland are now in “constant” contact with the team to guide them through the fallout.

The allegations might never have been noticed by the wider world had South Africa's Sunday Times newspaper not published an email sent by a researcher at Sanae IV accusing a male colleague of “creating an environment of fear and intimidation”.