Home Sweet Home

One final post for all our faithful readers. You will be happy to know that we're are all back where we came from: Rob is in Wellington, I'm in Cambridge (England), and Robert and Jenny are back at Harvard. 

All in all, this entire expedition has been an amazing experience. We were exposed to active research in a relevant and exciting scientific question, experienced the ambiance of scientist-filled McMurdo, were awed by the staggeringly stunning Dry Valleys, and gained valueable knowledge about just how a field expedition is run. 

Unfortunately, results from this fieldwork won't be in for months to years. But fieldwork is only part of this research - the data is what we're really looking for. And getting the data takes a lot of processing time. 

On a related note, I ran across a documentary called Ice People - our Olympus Range camp site can be seen at 0:30.

Thanks again for following the blog, and please feel free to post any last comments/questions. We had a great time, and we hope you had funr reading about it.

Christchurch Part Two and the Case of the Faking Duck

Hello to all our faithful readers. Despite the fact that we aren't in Antarctica you are still reading this blog, and for that I commend you. After one night in Christchurch, the group dispersed; Robert headed to Akaroa with an old friend, Jenny caught the first plane north that she could, and I lazed around Christchurch. Although I'm sure my day would be the one you would least like to hear (at least from first description I think it sounds the most potentially boring), I'm the one with the Internet connection. So tough luck.

It's summer down here! Yes, this was in theory known while we were in Antarctica, but when it's sunny and 29C (85F), this fact hits home a little bit better. This, of course, was part of the reason I wanted to stay in Christchurch another day before heading back to inevitably colder and drearier Boston or Cambridge. So, after walking around to pick up a sandwich, I decided it was just too hot and plopped myself down in Victoria Square Park in central Christchurch. Jenny so kindly left behind Bill Bryson's "In a Sunburned Country" for me, so I amused myself with that. Yes, it is about Australia, but I'll call it close enough. I would recommend the book to anybody who wants to go to Australia, and if you didn't already it will make you want to roadtrip the Outback.

As I was sitting in the park I pulled out my tasty chicken sandwich lunch. Within minutes a couple ducks came waddling over to beg off some crumbs. I (being infintely charitable) shooed them away. A couple minutes later another duck came over - this one was limping though, in an even-more-awkward-than-normal-duck-waddle sort of way. I almost felt sorry for it and gave it a piece of bread, but I stuck to my principles and enjoyed the sandwich myself. And as it saw me put the last morsel in my own mouth, it waddled away. Yes, waddled. It had been faking a limp for sympathy and a crust of bread. I tell you, these ducks are going to take over the city soon.

I know what you're thinking: After such a momentous lunch, how can the day get any better? Well, there was a lot more reading in the park and then dinner and drinks with some other friendly grad students who just got off the Ice as well and one of their Kiwi friends. Although it would be nice to have more R&R time in Christchurch, it's time to come home. See you all soon!

The Ungone

Allen, Robert, and I are all set to fly back to New Zealand tomorrow morning at 6:30 am. We've cleaned up and returned our gear, boxed and banded the rest of our samples, vacuumed our rooms, and packed our bags. We've even gone through "bag drag," the process in which we haul our stuff up to the cargo area and get everything weighed and checked in. Now that we've bag dragged, we've entered a state of being referred to by Robert as "the Ungone." Having only access to the contents of our carry on bag, we'll wander around McMurdo with nothing to do until we board our plane- this state doesn't last long if the weather holds until take off, but after a few days of delay the Ungone do begin to resemble zombies... or so I'm told.

In between all of our departure preparations, Allen and I have found a few opportunities to enjoy Antarctica while we still can (and frolic in the lovely summer weather we've been having). Yesterday we rented skis and headed back to Castle Rock to hike to the top. Though the snow was a little crunchy beneath our skis, the climb was pleasant and the clear sky provided an excellent view of Mt. Erebus.

The approach trail to Castle Rock with a steamy Mt. Erebus in the background

Going up Castle Rock (behind Allen is the sea ice)

Today, after banding 21 rocks boxes into a large wooden cube and returning our last item (a drill) to the BFC, we headed out again- this time to hike up Observation Hill. The weather was so warm today (~41 degrees F) that we had to strip down to short sleeves by the time we made it to the top.

With the weight of all the boxes and pallet included, this cube of samples weighs ~1490 lbs

Antarctica, Shmantarctica - it's not that cold here...
(Disclaimer: Antarctica IS cold in places like South Pole and the top of Mt. Erebus. Our friends who were up on Erebus said that -20 degrees C was a good day for them)

A view of Scott Base from the top of Observation Hill

McMurdo Station (or part of it) as observed from the top of Observation Hill

The Return of LIDAR

Our hearty quartet has been reduced to a mere band of 3 as Rob the mountaineer left Antarctica yesterday evening to go back to work in a land where energy is consumed to keep frozen foods cold and people are expected to change their clothes on a 24 hour cycle (it's a harsh world). In tribute to our kiwi friend, I encourage you to read this article describing one example of New Zealand's technological dominance over the US that Rob brought to our attention.

In other news, we went back to Sessrumnir Valley to get some more LIDAR data with Marianne today and while she was doing her scans Robert, Allen, and I went off to collect yet more rock samples. Although the weather was colder than it's been recently (dropped down to -8 degrees C), it was great to be back out in the field- if only for a few hours.

Plus, the helicopter trips between McMurdo and Sessrumnir Valley provided yet more fantastic views:

The LIDAR machine

The ice ponds at the bottom of the pothole features have increased in size since we were last in Sessrumnir Valley due to the additional melt water from the warm temperatures. Allen, perhaps lost without Rob's guidance, felt compelled to slide across the slippery ice on his belly.

Cold base glaciers creep into Taylor Valley

Geology by color: light brown = sandstone, dark brown = dolerite, white = snow/ice

Skua's eye view of Sessrumnir Valley

Happy New Year!

Although it might not be 2009 in Boston yet, it is in Antarctica. We celebrated (like everybody else in McMurdo) with the annual Icestock concert. There was a wide range of bands, from rock to bluegrass. But the midnight favorite that got the entire crowd dancing (yes, Robert and Rob too) and counting down in the frigid sunshine was a funk cover band called Porn Spill.

Just before midnight, Father Time interrupts the band to pass responsibility onto Baby New Year

Not too much else exciting going on down here. We've started sorting and cleaning gear and packing up samples to ship back to Harvard. Since everything is closed here today, we took a hike to see the Discovery Hut and a nearby ridge.

Looking out at the Trans Antarctic Mountains across the thinning sea ice

A LIVING Weddell Seal lounges on the sea ice (the first living non-skua-non-algae wildlife we've seen in Antarctica)

Discovery Hut - alas, we couldn't go inside without a guide

For all those dying to know about the poll...Drumroll please....around 320 samples was the final count! So congratulations to those who voted for 300-399. Ask Jenny about your prize. And of course, vote in our newest poll.

And in case you were wondering, the newest Blog header is from Sessrumnir Valley, home of our first camp and also where we'll be heading for a daytrip on Saturday.