MABEL Spring 2011

MABEL is a high-altitude instrument intended to test the design concept of NASA's next-generation laser altimeter: ICESat-2. MABEL flies aboard an ER-2, the updated, research-oriented version of a U-2 aircraft. Follow the blog I kept for NASA here:

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/MABELblog/

Mr Kucia's questions associated with NASA

Mr. Kucia found it interesting that our AMISOR team requested Tang while in the field.

Mechanic Steve discovered Tang at AMISOR Camp

Mr. Kucia said that Tang brought back memories of the Apollo space program. He thinks that if there was ever a location on Earth which mirrored the conditions of space travel, he would venture to guess that it is Antarctica. With this in mind, he had a few questions:

When you were in the field on your last project did you or anyone on your team feel as though you were training for a space mission? When in Antarctica do you feel as if you are on another planet?

We have to go through medical screening prior to heading to Antarctica. The level of detail of the exam often feels like we are prospective astronauts in the space program! Other than that, the only time we feel as remote as an astronaut is when trying to communicate with family. It is either via satellite phone or using limited email capabilities.

Has NASA ever sent equipment to Antarctica to be tested?

NASA has a LOT of equipment in Antarctica, from the ground stations of satellite systems to telescopes to terrestrial based science instruments. But one of the most interesting projects that NASA has in Antarctica is the active search and collection of meteorites. Since meteorites fall from space onto the ice, they are easy to see on the surface and therefore easy to collect. Additionally, because of the glacial flow of the ice sheet, the meteorites get entrained in the ice and then accumulate in specific areas. This is therefore a relatively inexpensive way to collect rock samples from the asteroid belt or, in one known case, from Mars.

Have they ever sent anyone training to be an astronaut to Antarctica?

Great question. I know that they sent an astronaut to McMurdo Station a few seasons back (roughly 2003). Her name was Catherine Coleman and she had been part of two different Space Shuttle missions. The best part of her trip to Antarctica was that she called the International Space Station for us and many people at the science building where I worked participated in a conference call. The three astronauts aboard the space station (which included a good friend of Catherine's named Ken Bowersox, who had been her commander on her first flight with NASA) were equally as interested at what we could see out our window as we were interested in what they could see out of theirs!

How long will your equipment that was deployed continue to transmit data?

I think the instruments we left in the ice shelf will be there pretty much indefinitely. They are frozen in to the ice shelf. Science technicians will routinely visit the site to download more of the data in coming seasons.
What data are you most interested in? Why?

Believe it or not, the most rewarding experiences that I had on this project were a) seeing a different country's program and b) seeing a full, deep-field season where we accomplished the tasking with time to spare. As far as the data are concerned, the Amery Ice Shelf is unique because of the ocean currents in the cavity beneath the ice shelf. I am not an oceanographer, so I will have to wait to see the published results that arise from the data collected.

Other fun photos from Davis Station and AMISOR Camp

Here are some more fun photos from the trip to Davis Station with the Australian Antarctic Division:

Davis Station from the air (Shavawn's photo). The light green building in the foreground is the galley; the light orange, small building in the center of the frame was our accomodation. The dark green building was being built while we were on station.

Welcome to Davis!

A leopard seal and her pup. After 8 previous seasons on the ice, this was the first leopard seal that I had ever seen!

A few elephant seals.

My friend Cath took this photo of an Adelie penguin. She thinks it is the best photo she took this summer.

Cath organized an iceberg cruise one evening. Here are a few photos from that night.

There were three boats on the trip.

Toward the end of the evening, the lighting turned spectacular!

This was truely a special evening!

The best part of the trip was stumbling on an iceberg that contained not only fresh-water ice (the white parts of the iceberg), but also salt-water (or 'marine') ice (the green part of this iceberg). Marine ice forms at the base of the ice shelf where this iceberg originated.

A cold night at the first drill site on the Amery Ice Shelf.

Instructions for the only American in camp...

My favorite photo from this season. A little bit of fun with flat lighting and an ice shelf as a backdrop.

Photos of AMISOR Camp

Here are a unch of photos of AMISOR Camp:

The first night at AMISOR Camp (the first of two sites). Four of us were left with a pile of gear at 5:00 PM to set up the tents...

AMISOR Camp. From left to right: the plant and drill tents (the plant tent is mostly dismantled here), the kitchen tent, and three large sleeping tents. Behind the 3 sleeping tents are two smaller tents, one of which is the bathroom tent. This was taken as I left the second site, so the stuff in the upper left is cargo staged to be loaded and flown back to Davis Station.

My sleeping tent (they sleep 2).

Inside my sleeping tent (it's a little messy...). We slep on cots and were inside 2 sleeping bags zipped together.

My tent being moved from the first site to the second site via 'slingload'. The helicopters picked up the sleeping tents and flew them 65 km to their new home.

AMISOR Expeditioners, 2009-2010. Left to right: Me, our leader Al, experienced driller Shavawn, mechanic Jeremy, experienced driller Adam, and mechanic Steve.

Christmas Dinner! Adam managed to get a descent sized turkey into our oven. It was very impressive! We also had pumpkin, potato, cranberries, and stuffing! It was nearly like being home!

Inside the plant tent. The boilers on the right and the generators and compressor are on the left. Note the exhaust pipes, power cables, and hoses throughout the tent.

Inside the drill tent; Shavawn drilling. The hose carrying the hot water runs through the stand and into the drill hole.

Some appliances inside the kitchen tent, including (from left to right) an esspresso maker, a bread machine, a hot water urn, a microwave oven, a sandwich maker, and a yogurt maker!

Washing my hair on the Amery Ice Shelf!

Headed back to Hobart on the Aurora!

We have completed the deployment of instruments to the second drill
site, named AM06. So our tasking is complete! We packed up the bulk of
camp and said goodbye to the Amery Ice Shelf for the season.
The team headed out of the field about a week ago. We arrived at Davis
Station and everyone had a (much needed) shower. It was nice to be
back on a station, sleeping on a real mattress, and eating food
prepared by the chefs of Davis! Everyone enjoyed being back in the
community.
At Davis, our team was able to personally thank people on station for
the direct support we received while in the field. Often, we would
call in requesting essential materials needed to continue our science,
such as electronic replacements, boiler replacements, and Tang! The
folks on station would then send out our requests on the the next
flight to camp.
A nice treat at the end of our stay at Davis included a boat trip
(three inflatable boats, called Zoliaks, with outboard motors) through
the icebergs that are near station. In the distance, we were also
able to see the Aurora Australis approaching Davis to bring new people
in and to take some of us home.
A few days ago, three members of our party (myself, Al, and Jeremy)
boarded the Aurora for the return trip north to Hobart. It's been a
fabulous time at Davis and on the Amery, but now it's time to go home.
We will be on the ship for about 8 more days. Right now, our team is
working on their computers, reading books, and watching movies. And
SLEEPING! We can't get enough sleep!
I'll write more from the boat (if interesting things pop up) or from
Hobart, where I will post pictures.

New Drill Site!

We have moved to a second drilling site!

It took 3 helicopters, 3 pilots, 5 additional helpers from Davis Station, 13 hours, and more than 20 flights, but we are now in our second location for this season. We are still on the Amery Ice Shelf, but we are now tucked behind Gillock Island, which protects us from the wind and affords us with a nice view of some rocky cliffs. The general consensus is that this site is a little nicer than the last.

The day of the move was frantic and long. We took down the kitchen tent when we knew that the helicopters were in transit to our first site (AMO5). Then we packed the first three helicopters (including two members of our camp) and began the move to the second site (AM06). The kitchen tent was in the first load, so the high priority at AM06 was to get that up and functional as quickly as possible. Then the other loads began to move to the new site. Our sleeping tents, which are made of canvas, stretched over a metal frame, which rides on metal skis, were moved 'as is', on a line under a helicopter. Most of the heavy machinery associated with the plant tent was also moved to AM06 using the same technique, which is called a 'sling-load'. Ultimately, that evening, we had all of our gear relocated to AM06 and the kitchen tent and our 3 sleeping tents were set up and operational.

By the time we were finished that day, it was 1:00 AM. And we were all exhausted. The next day was Christmas Eve, so we took it pretty easy. We set up the drill tent, which took only about 3 hours.

On Christmas we slept in and then set up the plant tent. Again, this was a relatively quick process. Then, we exchanged gifts. Shavawn bought a bunch of plastic yard toys and we headed outdoors, where the sun was shining and the temperature was a balmy 0 C (or 32 F). We tossed around foam footballs and other toys for a while. Adam received a few rubberband-powered airplanes, so we flew those as well. Most of us got a little too much sun that day, so we headed inside for Christmas dinner, which included turkey, stuffing, potatoes, cranberries, and a pumpkin pasta salad. All of this was prepared (mostly by Adam) on a 3 burner stove and in an oven with questionable heat control!

The past couple of days, we have all been working hard in preparation to begin drilling here at the second site. We expect to be drilling tomorrow. I'll keep you posted!

Drilling on the Amery Ice Shelf

We have drilled through the Amery Ice Shelf!

We started drilling about 5 days ago. At that time, our team of 6 broke out into 2 teams of 3 and we began working 12 hour shifts. The first few days consisted of using a hot water drill (a drill with a nozzle that shoots out high-pressure hot water) to drill farther into the ice shelf. Following this, we used a reamer (also a tool that blasts high-pressure hot water) to make the hole wider. We didn't realize it, but on the third day of drilling, we punched through the bottom of the ice shelf and into the ocean cavity below. It turns out, the ice shelf is roughly 640 meters thick and the sea-floor below is roughly 979 meters below our drill site.

The past few days have been spent sending oceanographic instruments though the hole and into the ocean cavity beneath the ice shelf. These instruments include a Conductivity, Temperature, and Density meter (CTD) and a current meter. We are also attempting to send a camera through the hole, but the casing that protects the camera from both pressure and water is still leaking, so this may not happen as planned.

We expect to finish with the drilling and instrumentation of this hole in the next 2 days or so. That's a good thing, because given the current 12 hour, busy work schedule, we have all been eating as if we were on a road trip: junk food followed by more junk food. We eat whatever is fast and handy. After we have finished, we will break camp and move to a second location and start the process all over again. The site has already been chosen and the crew from Davis Station is sending helicopters out in a few days to make the actual move.

I'll write more as we close up this camp.

Drilling!

We have begun to drill through the ice shelf!

We drilled more than 250 meters yesterday. The shelf itself is about 500 meters thick. However, we will be sampling the ice shelf (taking cores from the ice shelf) along the way. So getting to the bottom of the ice shelf will still take some time.

We have broken into two groups of three people each. My group had a very long day yesterday. We shoveled snow for most of the day (from about 9 AM until about 5:30 PM) to keep up with the hot water drill. Then we transitioned to monitoring the actual drilling operations (from about 6 PM until about 2 AM). We made it to bed by about 3 AM. This was to transition to roughly 12 hour shifts for drilling operations.

So today, I am very tired. We are getting ready to relieve the other team. So I should sign off. More to follow...

Ahead of Schedule

Things in AMISOR Camp appear to be ahead of schedule. We have the power/water/pump (the 'plant') tent up and running and the drill tent is making steady progress. Additionally, we spent many hours yesterday shoveling snow to be melted to 'fuel' the hot water drill. We nearly created a swimming-pool-sized hole in the ice shelf and yet we will still need more snow!

The goal is to drill 2 holes this season. Because we are currently ahead of schedule, it looks like that is a real possibility.

The food here has been great. We generally take turns cooking, however, Shavawn, Adam, and I are doing the bulk of the galley duties. This is due to the fact that Al is busy getting the drill tent up and running and Jeremy and Steve are constantly tending to the mechanics of the plant tent. Adam and Shavawn are far better cooks than I am, but they have given me plenty of advice on my days to feed the masses. A typical day's menu consists of 'grab-your-own' breakfast (usually cereal or oatmeal), a soup for lunch (with a base that closely resembles the previous day's dinner...), and then some dish for dinner (we have had mexican, mushroom chicken, shepherd's pie, among other things). When the last plane-load of our cargo arrived 2 nights ago, the Davis Station cooks sent us an amazing strawberry dessert! It was a huge hit!

There is very little wildlife in the center of the Amery Ice Shelf. We are at exactly 70 degrees south and 70 degrees east (check us out on a map). That being said, we have still spotted a couple of snow petrels buzzing our tents and 1 lonely skua that was looking to scavenge our camp.

The ambient temperatures remain at about -5 to -15 degrees celsius. But the wind is highly variable. When it is windy, it is really cold. Yesterday, we had no wind. We drank our morning coffee outside in the sun. Today, however, it has been pretty windy (about 20 knots, gusting over 25) so it has been relatively cold. We have been drinking many hot drinks.

We are close to commencing the actual drilling operations, so I will write more as we get closer.

In AMISOR Camp

We have made it to the AMISOR Camp on the Amery Ice Shelf.

Four of us (Al, Jeremy, Adam, and I) arrived about 5 days ago, at about 5:30 PM. We then set up our 8 x 24 foot kitchen tent and 2 of the 3 sleeping tents, which are about 8 x 16 feet. We finally made it to sleep at about 3 AM.

The next few days were filled with setting up more tents. We set up the third sleeping tent, the 12 x 24 drill tent that will house the actual hot water drill, and the 12 x 24 plant tent that houses the power and water supply for the drill and for the rest of the camp. Additionally, we moved around a lot of our roughly 15 tons of cargo that is used to set up the camp. This cargo took about 14 flights to move from Davis Station to this camp.

The other night, the last two members of camp arrived (Shavawn and Steve). They had been back at Davis Station ensuring that our cargo made it to our ice shelf camp. They brought us some cake from station!

Camp life is quite fun. It has been between about -5 and -15 celsius for our stay thus far. We are south of the Antarctic Circle; at this time of year, we are in 24 hours of daylight. So the temperature difference between day and night is minimal. We sleep in double sleeping bags (one light one inside one very heavy one). And most of us sleep in a hat and thermal underwear. We have cots and pads to keep it even more comfortable. In general, once you are tucked in, you are quite cozy.

The kitchen is stocked with a large variety of food. And we eat quite comfortably at a table using deck chairs. We have 3 gas burners and a gas oven. Additionally, once the generator part of the plant tent was up and running, we can use a microwave!

We also have good communications. We have an HF radio for calling Davis Station and a satellite phone for calling home periodically. We also have access to email (which is how I am posting to the blog), but no internet.

The drill tent and the plant tent have really been coming together in the past couple of days. We will be using a hot water drill to drill through the ice shelf. To do this, we will need a constantly pumped and recycled supply of hot water to be fed through the drill. So the plant tent has a few generators (for power), a few boilers (to heat the water), and a few pumps (to circulate the water). The water comes from the ice shelf itself. We will dig and chop up loads of snow and then melt it to pass it through the heating, pumping, drilling, and recycling system. Currently, the plant tent is almost fully operational. The drill tent is just a few days behind.

So once we have the setup a little further along, we can start drilling. I'll post more as we get closer to that point.

Photos from Survival Training

Here are a few photos from the 24-hour survival training that Jeremy and I attended:

This is taken from the helicopter as we approached Brooks Hut

Most of our group walking across the sea ice

Two Adelie penguins jumped into our line

A Weddell seal

We made it to Davis Station!

After a few days of being stuck in the ice within site of Davis Station, we were taken from the Aurora Australis to Davis via helicopter (a Sikorsky S76, for the aviation folks).

We were the second flight onto the station, greeted by people that had just spent the winter here at Davis. There were 18 winter-overs here on station. Many of them were overwhelmed by the arrival of new people (the last boat had departed at the end of March, 2009).

The station is now buzzing with many, many people. It is a sort of crossroads for the Australian Antarctic Program right now; there are the Davis Station winter-overs (waiting to leave), some Mawson Station winter-overs that have been flow in to catch the Aurora Australis before it heads north, and of course all of us new folks. So it is a bit overwhelming. I am not sure of the total numbers, but my guess is that we are at about 90 people on station plus about 50 people still on the boat.

But all these hands were needed for an event called 'resupply', where the Aurora Australis provides a year's worth of fuel, water, and cargo to Davis Station. So people have been working on round-the-clock shifts to get the supplies needed from the ship to the shore.

I am part of a team called AMISOR (Amery Ice Shelf Ocean Research). There are 6 of us in total. Al (our leader), Shavawn (our team member with the most experience outside of Al), Adam (another very experienced team member), Jeremy (a team member with drilling experience on the Ross Ice Shelf), Steve (a mechanic that wintered here at Davis), and myself.

When we arrived at Davis, there were many briefings and trainings. Jeremy and I had to attend a 24 hour survival training. We were flown out to a hut and then walked back to station with a trained field officer. The first day was spectacular, and we saw Adelie penguins and Weddell seals. The evening was quite nice and we all turned in for a good night sleep. However, the wind picked up and kept many of us awake in our bivvy bags (large, wind-proof bags that go over you and your sleeping bag).

The next day of survival training was very windy; it was roughly 40 to 50 knots gusting to 55+ knots. We got up quite early and quickly packed to head back to Davis. It was quite hard to walk with the packs on our backs, and the survival training quickly became challenging! We were all exhausted by the time we reached Davis, but in truth, I think we were all happy that we had an exciting experience. Although, I am still recovering.

The past couple of days have been associated with getting our camp cargo loaded onto small planes (called CASA 212, with support from a company called Skytraders, again for the aviation folks).

We are expected to leave Davis Station tomorrow and head to our camp on the Amery Ice Shelf. So things are a bit frantic.

Before I take off, I wanted to share a few photos from the trip south:

The Aurora Australis (photo from the AAD website, credited to G. Dowse)

On the bridge of the Aurora Australis

A big wave crashing over the bow of the Aurora Australis

AMISOR team member Adam uses a sextant on iceberg watch

An iceberg

Stuck in the sea ice

The critters (emperor penguins) that live on the sea ice

The 22 guys onboard that shaved their heads for Camp Quality

Stuck in the ice near Davis Station

Well, we can now see Davis Station. However, we are making only slow
progress through the fast ice, or the sea ice that is held 'fast' to
the shoreline. We have moved roughly 500 meters since this morning.
There is a lot of uncertainty associated with when we will actually
set foot on station.
But we are very well fed and there are enough social activities to
keep people entertained as we wait out the ice.
Where we are stuck is called Iceberg Alley and it's quite amazing.
The fast ice has trapped a number of magnificent icebergs. Some of
them, I've been told, have been here for years. I will definitely
have photos up soon!
The fast ice, and our close proximity to land, also means there have
been A LOT of Adelie penguin sightings. Adelies make their nests from
small rocks on land. So we are seeing a lot of them as they wander
across the fast ice to get to the ocean for a dinner of krill.
More later, when I know more about our arrival on station...

The Aurora is in pack ice!

The sea ice that we were cruising through has consolidated a bit and
become what is called pack ice. And we have been cruising (and often
stuck) in this pack ice for the past couple of days. We are chasing
leads, or places where there are runs of open water through the pack
ice. Additionally, we have been breaking some of the thin pack ice.
But it has been slow going for the past few days (we are averaging
about 7 knots) and even slower at night (typically less than 5 knots).

The pack ice has provided us with lots of animal spotting
opportunities. We have all seen a lot more penguins (especially the
Adelie penguins). But the best sighting we had was of a leopard seal
and her very young pup. They were on the pack ice next to a bit of
blood, implying that the pup had been born in the past few days. With
respect to humans, leopard seals are probably the most dangerous
animal in Antarctica. They have very fierce and scary jaws. And this
one was ready to defend her new pup from the Aurora. She displayed
all of her teeth for us and then skirted her pup away from the boat.
After 7 years in the US Antarctic Program, this was the first leopard
seal that I had seen. They are truly a rare sight.

The Murder game has ended! There were two participants left and they
declared a truce. Everyone is walking around with a bit more
confidence.

The crew of the Aurora Australis are huge supporters of an Australian
charity called Camp Quality, which offers a care-free camp setting
for kids with cancer. The crew hosted a charity head shaving the
other night and about 22 guys onborad shaved their heads. This raised
roughly $14,000 for the camp from the 100 or so expeditioners and
crew onboard.

We also crossed 60 degrees south latitude. For sailors, crossing the
Antarctic Circle is a big deal, and while 60 south is not exactly the
Antarctic Circle, King Neptune still reared his head and hazed the
people onboard that had not sailed this far south before.
Fishy-smelling milk shakes were poured over the heads of his victims
while Vegemite was smeared across their foreheads. This event was
also hosted by the fabulous crew of the Aurora, who were incredibly
entertaining in the roles of King Neptune and his subordinates.

We are getting very close to Davis Station, where I will be able to
upload pictures to this blog. So standby...

We are in the ice!

We are finally in the ice!

For the past 2 days, we have been in the sea ice. We are surrounded
by unconsolidated chunks of it, intermixed with large icebergs. The
sea ice and the icebergs have afforded us with the opportunity to
finally see a lot of animals!

The sea ice helps calm the seas, so the trip has become far more
smooth and steady. Everyone is feeling a lot better.

The Aurora Australis has the ability to push right through this
unconsolidated sea ice. When the ice becomes more consolidated, and
these chunks start to freeze together as we head farther south, the
sea ice becomes 'pack ice'. The Aurora, which is currently going
about 10 knots, can go through 1.5 meters of pack ice at a steady 2
knots. So this is a pretty strong boat!

There are about 3 people left in the Murder game, so it is getting
very exciting. There was a high-drama Murder this morning...

We are getting busy with briefings associated with our upcoming
arrival at Davis Station. So things have picked up on board the
Aurora!

Mr Kucia's class had a series of questions. I have done my best to
answer them. When I couldn't answer them, I asked a specialist! So
here are the questions, followed by the responses:

Have you committed murder on the ship yet? Or were you murdered first?

I committed one very skillful Murder. I knew where my victim was and
I also knew that nearly everyone else was in the theatre room at the
time of the 'attack'. So when he approached the theatre, in an empty
hall, I struck. However, two days later, I was Murdered. Yesterday,
my roommate faced a similar demise. There are only a few people left
in the game (we are GUESSING 3, but nobody know for sure), which has
lasted much longer than anyone expected.

Is Corey the new city council representative of Hobart?

I left Hobart without finding out if he made it to the council. I
will let you know when I reach Davis Station and can look on the
Internet.

When you were a kid, did you always want to study glaciers?

I think I always liked cold weather, snow, and skiing, but didn't
really consider glaciology until fairly recently (about 6 or 7 years
ago).

When did you decide to become a glaciologist?

While working in Antarctica (making maps for the U.S. Antarctic
Program between 2000 and 2004), I started to appreciate the beauty of
ice shelves, ice sheets, and glaciers. I met a glaciologist in
Antarctica that thought I should come back to school for a PhD in
glaciology. It sounded like a great idea! So here I am.

What animals will you run across during your stay in Antarctica?

We have already seen a lot of animals on the Aurora. Specifically, I
have seen 1 emperor penguin and I just saw 2 Adelie penguins. This
morning, a good friend of mine saw a minky whale. Yesterday I saw a
Ross seal. We also have an ornithologist on board and he tells me
that we have seen the following birds (in rough order of abundance):
short-tail shearwater; Antarctic petrels; Antarctic prion; fairy
prion; cape petrel; southern fulmar; southern giant petrel; blue
petrel; southern diving petrel; wandering albatross; black browed
albatross; light mantled sooty albatross; and snow petrels. When we
get to Davis Station, we ought to see more animals. I will list those
as well, and I will also post photos of some of the things we have
seen.

What has been the coldest temperature that you have experienced to
date? Where were you?

The wind blows onto the Ross Ice Shelf from the West Antarctic Ice
Sheet. That wind is steered toward the center of the ice shelf by the
Transantarctic Mountains. The converging air masses meet at the front
of the ice shelf, where I was camped for about a week in 2004. The
ambient temperature was about -30F. But the win made it much more
severe. It was probably closer to -50F with the wind chill. We had to
stay in our tents for about 3 full days.

When drilling, what type of shelter will you be staying in?

We'll be sleeping in tents. They are a little bit more rugged than
the tents you probably take hiking, but they are still just tents. We
will have two slightly bigger shelters for cooking and communications.

Do you like your job? Would you choose another one?

I really love my job. I love looking at ice shelves and the job has
taken me to very interesting places. I can't imagine what else I
would be doing.

Is it hard to breath in such coldness? We all know that there is no
such thing as cold, only the absence of heat.

It's not hard to breath. However, there is a lot of condensation of
your breath when you exhale. This condensation ends up on your neck
warmer, or your collar, making it wet. Wet neck warmers are not warm
neck warmers. So this is the major hazard of breathing in the low
temperatures.

What types of activities do you do when you are not working?

We are on the boat right now. Extra activities include playing cards,
reading books, watching movies, and listening to talks by other
researchers or explorers. I just sat in on a lecture about fishing in
Papua New Guinea. At Davis Station there will be too much to do! I'll
report back on that later. And at the drill site, on the Amery Ice
Shelf, we will be a little limited. I imagine I will read a lot more
in camp.

Have you ever tried ice fishing? Would you ever want to?

I actually have never tried ice fishing. I wouldn't mind trying it in
Minnesota. But I can't try it down here. The animals of Antarctica
are protected, including the fish. The only folks that can fish are
the biologists, who are trying to study the creatures.

How may layers of clothing do you have to wear to stay warm when on
the ice?

It varies a bit. But generally about 3: 1) a base layer of thermal
underwear, made of either wool or capilene; 2) a fleece layer; and 3)
an insulated layer, which is typically down. If it's windy, it is
much colder and you have to add another layer, especially around your
core, like a wind-proof vest.

How did you meet Mr. Kucia, how old were you and what was your first
impression of him?

I think I met Mr Kucia when I was in about 6th or 7th grade. He was
on the same Ski Patrol (at Ski Sundown) as my mother. My first
impression of him was that he was a small child trapped in an adult's
body.

Is the air thinner in Antarctica?

The air is definitely drier. Antarctica is a desert, receiving less
than 13 inches of rain a year. At the South Pole, the elevation is
roughly 9000 ft. But the pressure altitude is on the order of 12,000
ft. So, yes. The air here is thinner.

Does it snow on a daily basis?

Currently, I am in the ocean, at about 60 South, and it has been
snowing off and on for about 4 days. However, once we get off of the
ocean and head out onto the ice shelf, it will only rarely snow.
Antarctica is a desert. It gets less than 13 inches of rain a year.

Are the animals of Antarctica shy?

The penguins here are generally pretty curious. Additionally, they do
not see humans as a threat. So they are pretty willing to walk pretty
close to you to check you out, as long as you are lying on the
ground. Lying on the ground makes you look like less of a threat.
Most seals are also generally tolerant of people getting close enough
to take a picture. They start squawking at you of they think you are
too close. Birds everywhere are generally shy. However, the skuas are
not shy at all. In fact, some are quite brazen. One stole a bagel
from my friend's mouth. Another stole a letter that a friend of mine
was carrying.

If the living conditions were possible would you stay?
Would you ever consider winter-overing?

As much as I love it in Antarctica, it is tough to be away from other
family (and extended family) for a large chunk of time. So, for
family reasons, I don't think I could winter-over. One thing that the
winter-overs see that makes me envious is the Aurora. The northern
hemisphere has the Aurora Borealis. Similarly, the southern
hemisphere has the Aurora Ausralis (the name of the boat I am on, as
well). It would be great to see that. But it is not worth missing
more holidays and ski trips and golf outings with my family.

What is the most beautiful sight in Antarctica?

I think that would have to be compressed, glacial snow. When snow is
compressed, it doesn't look white. It's a beautiful shade of blue
that you don't see anywhere else. It is by far my favorite color. And
I never had a favorite color until I came to Antarctica.

Day 6 on the Aurora

The seas were quite high this morning. Most of the ship woke up at
7:00 AM because everyone was being tossed around in their bunks. We
were all unable to sleep. Even the soundest of sleepers. So people
were up on the bridge early or doing laundry at 7:00 in the morning
just to do something. A guy I spoke with at lunch has been in the
program 9 years and says these are the heaviest seas he's seen on
this particular boat. Showering this morning was quite a challenge.

It's really rocking right now. I almost lost my seat...

I went to a talk on sea birds last night, so now I feel informed
enough to report on what has been seen. Many folks have seen a few
different types of petrels and a few different types of albatross.
Not being a birder, I have been oblivious to these little guys. It
turns out, they leave Australia to feed in the Antarctic for a few
days and then return; the total trip takes just about 30 days. They
make better time south than we do! Although, we had to slow down a
bit this morning due to the swell. So we are under 10 knots. You
should be able to see our progress here:
http://its-db.aad.gov.au/proms/public/schedules/sitreps.cfm?season=091
0

More later!

Day 5 on the Aurora Australis

The sea swell over the past few days has really picked up. We are
rockin' and rollin'. The seas put some folks into their bunks for
extended periods. The rocking can make it a little difficult to
sleep. I have been having trouble with that for the past few nights
(it could also be associated with recent shifts in my clock
associated with travel).

I spent some time on the bridge this morning and asked one of the
mates (Garry) a few questions about the boat:

How long is the boat?
94.91 meters

How many people are onboard?
89 Antarctic expeditioners and 22 crew

How many people can the boat hold?
116 Antarctic expeditioners and 24 crew

How fast have we been traveling?
About 10 knots

How fast can the Aurora go?
Top speed is about 16 or 17 knots

How much ice can it go through?
The Aurora can go through 1.5 meters of sea ice at a constant speed
of 2 knots

You can find more information on the Aurora Australis on the
Australian Antarctic Divisions homepage (Google that).

Aboard the Aurora Australis

We are underway! We boarded the Aurora Australis on October 30th (the
29th back in the states) and are well out of sight of land.

The water is expected to get a little tough in the coming 24 hours,
so I thought I would get a post in now, while it is still easy to use
the laptop.

There are approximately 100 Australian Antarctic Division (AAD)
expeditioners on the boat. Additionally, there are about 20 crewmen
that run the ship. So there are a lot of us headed south. I am in a
bunk with 2 other girls. We are all first-timers with the AAD so the
room is full of questions.

I believe you can follow our progress at this link:
http://its-db.aad.gov.au/proms/public/schedules/sitreps.cfm?season=091
0

There have been some whale and dolphin sightings, but unfortunately,
not by me. But I will keep you posted. I can't post photos from the
ship, but will be able to once I am at Davis Station, approximately
10 days from now.

Not many people have actual tasking while on the boat, so we are all
looking for things to do. People read a lot, and nap, and of course
go to the galley for meals. Today, the entertainment starts to roll
into action. The leaders have organized a game of 'Murder' in which
most of the passengers will take part. It entails drawing a person's
name from a hat and then trying to get that person alone in a room.
Once you are alone in a room with that person, you produce the slip
of paper baring their name, thereby 'Murdering' them. Then, you take
their slip of paper, of their intended victim, which now becomes your
next victim... I'll keep you posted.

Arrived in Hobart!

I arrived in Hobart yesterday. It took 4 flights: San Diego to LA (~1
hr), LA to Auckland, New Zealand (~12 hrs), Auckland to Melbourne,
Australia (~4 hrs), and Melbourne to Hobart (~1 hr). It was a really
long trip. I left on October 25th. When you fly over the dateline, you
lose a day, as if it never happened. So I lost the 26th and arrived in
Hobart on the 27th. What makes the lost day interesting is that it was
my birthday. So for the coming year, I am telling people that I am the
same age as I was last year!

Between the 3rd and 4th leg of the trip, I started talking with a
couple (Shannon and Chris) and their daughter (Claire). We were all
headed to Hobart and had been on the same flights together since LA
and Shannon thought I looked familiar. As it turns out, I worked with
her brother (Corey) in the US Antarctic Program. Back in 2003, Corey
and I had worked together on a science cruise from Alaska, through
Hawaii, to New Zealand. Shannon and Chris traveled to visit Corey in
Hawaii and we had all had dinner together. It's a very small world!
Corey now lives in Hobart and is running for city council (results
were due today; I'll write more on that later).

Today, my first full day in Hobart, was spent meeting some of the
other folks on the AMISOR team (Al and Adam) and getting my cold
weather gear from the Australian Antarctic Division, or the AAD.

Later, I caught up with a few people over at the University of
Tasmania, including Rob Massom, a friend in the sea ice community, and
Ben Galton-Fenzi, who recently spent extended time at Scripps.

More later… Jetlag is kicking in now…

Headed to Hobart!

I am currently at LAX headed to Auckland. I then head thru Melbourne to Hobart. It is going to be a long night. I am shocked that I am not seeing travelers from the US Antarctic Program on this flight.

Headed back to Antarctica!

This season, I am headed to the Amery Ice Shelf with the Australian Antarctic Division. I will be joining a science team called AMISOR, which specializes in hot water drilling. The scientific goal of AMISOR is to drill boreholes through the ice shelf in an effort to better understand ocean and ice shelf interactions.

Starting a week from now, I'll fly from San Diego to Hobart, Tasmania (through Los Angeles and Melbourne), to obtain gear for a three month season. Then I will set sail from Hobart, through Casey Station, to Davis Station. That trip will take roughly two weeks aboard the Aurora Australis. From Davis, the team will prepare to head into the deep field, specifically the Amery Ice Shelf, for a few weeks.

(images courtesy NSIDC and AAp)

Flat Stanley in Antarctica…

Recently, I was sent a Flat Stanley by Miss Ricci’s 3rd grade class. So I have taken a couple of photos of Flat Stanley in Antarctica:

Here’s Flat Stanley at the American science base, McMurdo Station:

And here’s Flat Stanley at the New Zealand science station, Scott Base:

Stay tuned for Stanley’s adventures in New Zealand…

The Return to Nascent Iceberg...

Three members of our team (Doug, Olga, and I) returned to the Nascent Iceberg area via Twin Otter to recover 3 GPS instruments and redeploy a seismometer. We were joined by a member of the Nation Science Foundation and two pilots.
(See Nascent Iceberg...)

Photo by Joe Harrigan:

This is an image of the front of the Ross Ice Shelf. (Also check out the map at The Field Plan...). There is open water in the upper right and shelf ice in the lower left. The crack separating the two will eventually create another massive tabular iceberg. Our Nascent Iceberg site is at the far left side of the crack where we can watch and listen to the crack propagate.

Our first two stops were QUICK; we hopped to two different sites where we had GPS instruments only, jumped out of the plane at each site, quickly shoveled and located the instrument cases, threw the gear into the aircraft, and took off for the next site. One of our stops recorded less than 10 minutes of ground time! Things went so smoothly because a) we had discussed exactly how we were going to recover the gear in the aircraft on the way to each site and b) the pilots navigated the aircraft on the ground such that we were literally on top of our instruments.

Olga (right) and I jump out of the Twin Otter to grab our first GPS.

I am disconnecting the antennae cable from the GPS unit.

Next, it was on to the main Nascent Iceberg site where we recovered the third GPS unit and set up another seismometer.

Doug removes the GPS antennae from the AWS tower at Nascent Iceberg.

I climbed into the pit to set up the seismometer.

Things were going so smoothly that it surprised me that we experienced our SECOND small fire in the field! Again, while plugging the batteries, solar panels, and seismometer into the 'charge controller', the box sparked and created a small fire. But because of our experience on C-16, we knew enough to bring redundant equipment associated with potentially faulty 'charge controllers'. (See The C-16 fiasco...) Therefore, we were able to get the site up and running smoothly, even with a small fire.

A member of the National Science Foundation joined our group for the day. He took most of the photos on this blog post...

The Return to C-16...

Last week, five members of our team revisited C-16: Jonathan, Mac, Olga, Emily, and I. When we last visited C-16, nothing seemed to go right. The AWS tower had been damaged and we had experienced a small fire on the iceberg when we tried to attach the batteries to the seismometer.
(See The C-16 fiasco...)

Jonathan, Mac, and Emily (left to right) taking a break on C-16.

We started by fixing the AWS tower, again with Jonathan climbing and me acting as his anchor.

Jonathan working on the wiring of the AWS tower.

Jonathan working on the instruments of the AWS tower.

Mac and Emily worked on setting up the seismometer and a GPS. No fires this time, so that was also considered a great success!

Emily and Mac repairing the seismometer and setting up a GPS.

After about 7 hours of ground time, in what started as poor weather, we managed to get everything running smoothly. The site is currently operating perfectly.