EPS in Antarctica

Home Sweet Home

2009-01-14T11:27:00.004+13:00

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

2009-01-08T08:54:00.002+13:00

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

2009-01-05T20:43:00.005+13:00

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

2009-01-03T20:31:00.003+13:00

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!

2009-01-01T13:47:00.005+13:00

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.

Operation Sky-Hook

2008-12-30T19:30:00.003+13:00

We're back in McMurdo! Now we can enjoy the luxury of solid structures to sleep in, running water with which to maintain proper hygene, and an internet connection that will enable/force us to interact with the real world again. Hooray.

As it turns out, the weeks of mild Antarctic weather we've experienced served only to lure us into a false sense of security with respect to this continent of extremes. As Allen mentioned in our last post (2 posts in 1 night, internet addiction anyone?), the winds sweeping down the valley of our camp had picked up a bit since we'd left earlier in the day. Well these strong winds (the Robs estimate an upper limit of ~60 mph) held steady over the next two nights, leading to the downfall of both Allen's mountian tent and Robert's "bombproof" Scott tent. As you may recall, this meant that 50% of our initial tent population had died in the field.

The miserable carcass of a dead mountain tent

Fortunately, we were nearing the end of our field season anyway and were planning on returning to McMurdo today(Dec. 30th) anyway. But with the winds howling down the valley and ripping our shelters to shreds as they were, it seemed unlikely that a helicopter pilot would feel safe touching down long enough for us to load up camp and escape. So, with the full understanding that our departure could be cancelled at the last minute, we broke down camp and carried as much as we could about 1/4 mile down valley to a somewhat less gusty pick up site. And, in case you were curious, large duffel bags DO act as a sails in these conditions.

Once everything was packed up (or at least, everything but the last Scott tent, which we kept up just in case we'd have to stay the night), we waited outside for the signs the helicopter. Eventually we heard the distinct noise of our get away vehicle as the helo appeared over the ridge and, after confirming with the pilot that he would indeed be landing (though he wouldn't power down), we quickly took down our tent and made one last dash out to the pick up site before heading back to Mac Town.

Here are a few beauty shots of our scenic flight back to McMurdo:

Ah, nothing but rock and ice.

The blue patches represent pools of meltwater on the surface of the ice.

Oh and as for the title...

B2, I sunk your Battleship Promontory

2008-12-30T19:07:00.006+13:00

Dec. 25th:
Merry Christmas (and happy non-Christian winter holidays as well)!
Yesterday we moved to our 3rd and final camp out below Battleship Promontory in the Convoy Range, a 40 minute helicopter flight north from our Olympus camp, but our move was not without incident. As usual, we flew out first to the new site, along with half of our gear. Upon arrival, we set up our big cook tent (remember that it’s called the Endurance), tied it down to several stakes and began to eat lunch inside. In the middle of our meal, we heard the helicopter returning with the second half of our gear (all wrapped up in a sling load) and we all went out to help as the load was dropped off. Unfortunately, the drop site was a little too close to our cook tent and the combination of rotor winds and the worn state of the tent fabric quickly caused the whole tent (including table, chairs, and food) to rip from over half of its moorings and take flight into the air. With the helo still overhead, the airborne tent dumped its contents out into the blowing winds and Robert and I ran about grabbing these smaller items while Rob and Allen took hold of the tent itself. It wasn’t until the helicopter finally flew out of the valley and we had collected everything that had escaped during the “unscheduled release” that we realized the extent of the damage to our beloved Endurance tent- the entire length of a crucial seam had ripped apart! Luckily, we had been travelling from camp to camp with an extra Scott tent (just in case) and we were able to set this up for use as our new cook tent – so camp life has not been significantly affected by our little mishap. We’re just cozier now.
In other news, to celebrate the holiday, we made ourselves a hearty breakfast and headed off for a little fun on the glacier just a few miles down valley. I never thought I’d be ice climbing on Christmas before, but what else does one do in Antarctica for the holidays?

Dec 28th:
It’s been a couple days since we’ve posted, but that’s because we’ve been hard at work. The past couple days have taken us to the top of Battleship Promontory, a beautiful location flanked by huge sandstone cliffs, a prow (as the namers of the location thought) sticking out into the sea of dolerite around and below. Sheer on the sides, one would expect the top of the promontory to be fairly flat layers of sandstone – instead the entire area is dotted with potholes sunk down up to 50 feet in places. Everywhere you turn, there are more of these features, some connecting in channels, sometimes sharing snowbanks, and often toppling debris into themselves. Many of the holes have ponds (liquid in nice weather) at their bottoms. We’ve been sampling in the bottoms, on the ridges, up the channels, and everywhere in between – even dragging up the large DGPS to measure elevation change in these features and make small 3D maps. Today, after a longish breakfast necessitated by all our extra food, we headed down the Alatna Valley, hooking around Battleship Promontory to sample all the features at its base. Again, we found a lot of potholes, and a fairly large lake right beneath the Promontory. We could even see a darkened area where liquid water was leaking down the side of the cliffs and feeding into this pond – we were stunned to see so much liquid water around! We also found part of a mummified seal; originally described by Jenny and Rob as looking like a cabbage with bones, it seems to have been fragmented and transported (really far from the coast) by the wind. Of note is the amazing weather we’ve been getting. Hovering around freezing on Christmas, 4°C (~39°F) on the 26th and 8°C (~46°F) yesterday! Even though it got back to more normal (maybe even freezing) temperatures today and we have fairly high winds this evening which made hiking home a challenge, it’s been pretty constantly sunny. Yup, it’s a harsh continent. And made so much harsher by the absolutely stunning locale – Battleship Promontory’s sheer sandstone cliffs, the two glaciers draining into Alatna Valley before us, and the Convoy Range rising behind us. Certainly, it’s a very tough life out here in the field. Trust us.

Giant Pothole at base of Battleship Promontory

Sandstone Cliff, as viewed from the bow of Battleship Promontory

Looking into Alatna Valley from the top of Battleship Promontory

Sandstone erodes in some amazing ways...

The Thing! Or a mummified seal...

Allen basks in the warmth of the Antarctic Sun

Jenny ice climbs a glacier

The Convoy Range (Battleship Promontory is on the right)

Cold based glaciers in Alatna Valley

Rob and Allen search for a good climbing spot

Sandstone cliff as viewed from the bottom

Muppet Rock (unofficial name...)

Rudolf Pulls a Helicopter

2008-12-26T16:18:00.014+13:00

12/22/08
Another day, another daytrip. Only a short jaunt this time, we got flown down to Lake Vanda, the large lake in Wright Valley that is fed by the Onyx River. Although the surface is frozen, the edges are liquid during much of the summer, and the saline water at the bottom of the lake is almost 20°C! But we weren’t doing anything with the water. We were taking more samples around the lake to look at their exposure history and how recently they have been covered up.
For lunch we made our way to the east side of the lake where Vanda Station is located – really just a collected of three little pale green huts maintained by the Kiwis. No permanent residents, but the door was open, and so we made ourselves at home with a much-appreciated spot out of the wind.
Throughout the day, clouds up-valley threatened with a curtain of fog coming down to the valley floor and blowing snow, too. The major problem: helicopters won’t fly through clouds, and we didn’t want to be stuck in Wright Valley overnight. So we called for an early pickup and ended up at Marble Point Station for the night. Essentially a helicopter gas station, the little base has a permanent staff of three very friendly souls and many, many more people rotating through. By coincidence, one guy (Crunch) is from Woburn like Robert and the fuel-tech (Tanya) is from Atlanta like Jenny! Near base, less than a 10 minute walk away, is the terminus/ice cliff of the Wilson Piedmont Glacier in one direction, and raised beaches on the coast in the other. Skuas and algae guard the land in between.
For us, it was a great night – a warm place to sleep, a crossword puzzle to do, Yahtzee to play, delicious food cooked for us, and even a large screen to watch Crocodile Dundee on (Jenny picked the movie to go along with the book she’s reading right now). All in all, an amazing way to get stranded away from camp.

12/23/08
A sunny wake-up at Marble Point meant clear weather for us up the valley, and a bit before 10 we caught a ride home. While we were gone we ended up with another couple inches of very light powder! I know what you’re thinking – aren’t we supposed to be in the /Dry/ Valleys? Well, for one thing this is very, very dry snow. Powder like nothing you’ve ever seen. And, instead of melting, a good portion of the snow sublimates – turns from solid to gas straightaway, meaning that the ground here doesn’t often get wet. The water down in Wright Valley is mostly from a more constant supply of melt from the Glaciers flowing out of the mountains.
Around lunchtime we got a happy surprise – Santa showed up on a helicopter! Well, really his helpers did. A crowd of elf-clad McMurdo residents complete with pointy ears and red and green curly hats popped out of the helicopter and spent a bit of time with us, dropping off some fresh fruit and cookies before proceeding on to the next flight. Besides giving us a holiday visit, it is a good way to reward some great McMurdo workers by letting them see the area on a day-long helicopter tour.

Jenny at Lake Vanda, enthusiastic as always.

Allen bravely crosses the rushing water of the Onyx River as it feeds

into Lake Vanda.

Robert outside the architectural marvel that is Vanda Station.

Jenny captures a beautiful view down Wright Valley (where

the sun kept shining while the clouds crept up behind us).

Robert has a heart to heart with a (relatively new) mummified

seal we found near Vanda Station.

Marble Point hotel/gas station, known for its great hospitality.

A skua, seeming like a cross between a hawk and the fattest seagull

you’ve ever seen – what Robert calls a “magnificent bird” – defends

its territory from us. We think it was nesting.

Jenny – heroic in front of the Wilson Piedmont Glacier.

The helo rotors tend to kick up giant walls of snow when they

take off and land. This wave of snow was neat in that it didn’t

crash into us.

McMurdo’s resident elf population drops by our camp on their

biggest day of the year.

It’s a Harsh Continent

2008-12-23T13:40:00.009+13:00

Dec. 19th
Ahoy! Yesterday we took a trip down to Clark Valley (located east of our camp about a 25 minute helicopter ride, where the Lower Wright Glacier terminates out of the frozen McMurdo Sound), which is as close to a “day at the beach” as we’ll be getting down here. In Clark Valley, we took samples to investigate the possibility of the existence of a large lake during the last glacial maximum. We also frolicked amongst the assorted rock types as the geo-inclined are wont to do (here we came across glacial deposits from Ross Island and granite bedrock in addition to the sandstone and dolerite we’ve been seeing for the past two weeks). Unfortunately, (Allen and) I got schooled by both Robert and Rob when it came to identifying a few of the more mafic minerals and may or may not have been mocked about our geological shortcomings for the rest of the day.
Later in the afternoon, we hiked over to the longest river in Antarctica – the Onyx River (really just a large stream) and waited for our helicopter by its rocky banks. Weirdly, the Onyx flows inland “up” Wright Valley and ends in Lake Vanda (this is because the lowest elevation of the valley occurs in the middle, not at the end). In addition to transporting us back to camp, our helo also dropped off a few resupply boxes full of goodies like new mittens for me, oatmeal, and 7 pounds of beef jerky (please note that this ridiculously high quantity of jerky is due to a slight miscommunication and not to an insatiable desire for dehydrated meat, although there is that, too).
Today we hiked up to the headwall of our valley in the Olympus Range and scrambled up a few various crumbling sandstone slopes to take samples along the way. The most notable aspect of our day, however, was the increased velocity with which air particles attacked us and stole our heat. Not only could we hear the wind howl past our ears, and feel its force on our faces (and sides, and backs… it kept changing direction even when we were stationary), but we could see its might by watching snow from the polar plateau fly over the ridge into our valley and then whirl about in mini-vortexes before settling to the ground. Actually, we’ve been rather lucky to get as many calm moments as we have because strong winds are the norm out in the Dry Valleys. The existence of the glaciers fed almost entirely by windblown snow is a good testament to the frequency of windy days.

Dec. 20th
Today was yet another beautiful day in the Dry Valleys. I’ve started carrying a thermometer and it held steady at -5°C all day. As we keep saying to each other, it’s a harsh continent. (Just in case the sarcasm doesn’t transmit...that was sarcastic.) The wind calmed down a bit overnight and we awoke to an eerie, but appreciated, stillness around camp. Robert, Rob, and I spent most of the day collecting samples from boulders that have fallen from the steep cliffs of Electra’s east face. Hopefully, we may be able to date a few of the major rock falls that have occurred in the past several million years by sampling the right boulders. In addition to the insight this would give us into sandstone erosion in the Olympus range, this information would perhaps also quantify the statistical risk we undertook to stand under an eroding cliff face for hours on end banging on rocks.
In other news, Allen spent most of the day wandering back and forth across the terrain with the differential GPS on his back while listening to Harry Potter on audiobook. In theory he was logging data in order to make a topo map of the large sandstone basins in the area… but I think he’s finally cracked.

Dec. 21st
Happy Solstice! Unfortunately we couldn’t fully appreciate the longest day of the year down here due in part to the fact that the sun hasn’t set in weeks and in part to the thick cloud layer that prevented the sun’s warming rays from reaching us today. I suspect that those of you currently experiencing the darkest day of the year have little sympathy for us fools, though.
In tribute to the weekend, we took the day off from sampling and instead spent our time reading, doing homework, baking brownies, and staring at the book of stereo optical illusions/magic eye that the fabulously thoughtful Su Gao (another Harvard EPS undergraduate) sent down in a package. So thanks Su and everyone else who has taken the time to send mail all the way down to Antarctica, we fully appreciate it (and hopefully our outgoing mail will get to you before we return to the States/ New Zealand).

In the foreground in Clark Glacier, with a small glacier flowing

towards it, not quite joining up. More importantly, the peak on

the left is named Mount Allen.

Rob and Robert step out into Clark Valley.

Looking West onto McMurdo Sound, Lake Brownworth in front.

The mighty Onyx River.

Jenny on the north bank of the Onyx.

The headwall of our valley - those sandstone outcrops are about

300 ft tall.

Windblown snow off the ridge and glaciers below.

I’m glad I wasn’t there when this thing fell off of Electra.

Allen, in a useful moment, using the GPS.

Camping Among the Gods

2008-12-23T09:22:00.016+13:00

Dec. 17th:

When last you heard from us, we were looking forward to our big camp move from Sessrumir Valley to the Olympus Range. The following morning (Dec. 15th) we got up, ate breakfast, and began to break down our camp and move all of our gear down to the helipad. Unfortunately, while we labored away, the ominous clouds on the horizon caught up with us bringing low visibility and snowfall with them. As a result, our helicopter was delayed until the conditions improved - though a snow storm wouldn’t stop Bostonians from going to work it poses quite a serious threat for helicopter transport. As the hours ticked by the clouds only thickened and our move was postponed until the next day. After the official cancellation, we re-erected our tents, unpacked our stove, and waited to try it all a second time in the morning. Luckily we had left our large cook tent up.

On the 16th we awoke to clearer skies and began the process of packing up yet again. Weary of the previous day’s helicopter cancellations, we left our large cook tent standing until the very last minute (we were stuffing it in its bag just as the helicopter landed behind a large wall of rotor-blown snow). Just a brief flight across Wright Valley, one sling load, and a few hours later, we had completed setting up our new camp in the Olympus Range between the peaks Electra, Circe, and Rude Spur. We even had time for a hike in order to explore our new stomping grounds.

This morning started off with three visitors from the USAP environmental protection group. They flew in on a little A-Star helicopter to check on the eco-friendliness of our campsite (I think we passed), to interview Robert about what we were up to out here, and to film us digging a pit in an environmentally conscious way. They were a friendly bunch - they brought us a loaf of bread from McMurdo, took our mail back to town, and promised to ask the BFC to send replacement mittens when they saw the shredded state of my original pair (apparently Velcro, hammer handles and cheap wool mitts don’t mix well).

We spent the rest of our day in the usual manner (collecting rocks, taking GPS measurements, and eating). If all goes well tomorrow, we should be headed down Wright Valley for a day trip in what Robert refers to as “The Banana Belt.” Wish us luck!

Allen’s Note on the Olympus Range:
When we were in Sessrumir Valley, Robert mentioned the names of some of the peaks across Wright Valley in the Olympus Range. They have the same lithology as the Asgard Range (light colored sandstone and dark dolorites) creating sheer faces and high mesa and butte-type peaks. Now that we’re here, I’ve taken an interest in all the naming – down the range are Orestes and Cerberus which we haven’t really seen. Moving west, Jason and Hercules come next, small peaks reflecting their low status in the Pantheon. And then there are (conveniently alphabetical east to west) Aeolus, Boreas, Circe, Dido, and Electra; while we were looking at them before, we are now camped below them and hiking on their flanks (see photos). Not a bad place to be, hiking at the foot of the palaces of deities.

From Sessrumir Valley (left to right): Electra (with the

long, flat top), Dido, Circe, and Boreas.

From our Olympus Range campsite (left to right): Circe,

Boreas (low/far away), Dido, and Electra.

We don’t have many photos of Robert, so here he is in front of Circe.

Looking east from our new campsite, down Balham Valley.

Allen posing in front of Circe – I told him to look “adventurous.”

We’re movie stars now! (Dido and Electra in the background)

If you look closely, the small speck on the left side of the ridge is Allen… for scale.

Day Trippers

2008-12-22T14:44:00.019+13:00

11 Dec - Arena Valley

We took another helicopter jaunt today – this time to Arena Valley. The flight took us south, over the Taylor Glacier, and up to the top of the valley, from where we could also see the Ferrar Glacier. After taking a few samples at the top of the valley, we spent the rest of the day walking down, stopping occasionally to take more samples. Around lunch we passed through a layer which contained a lot of features called concretions – these things erode differently than the sandstone around them making all sorts of circle shapes – bowls, plates, contact lens cases, googly eyes, and even a sarcophagus.
In our helo ride home we had two surprises – our GPS/LiDAR friend Marianne happened to be riding back to McMurdo after a couple days in the field, and we stopped at a fuel cache on the way to top up the tank. Large 55-gallon drums were deposited on a good landing site on the Taylor glacier and now helicopters don’t have to go way off course to fuel up.

12 Dec – Linnaeus Terrace

Today was another daytrip, but this time by foot. A couple miles away from camp is an area called Linnaeus Terrace, a region defined as an “Antarctic Specially Protected Area.” So, we had to get a special permit to be there. It is protected because some scientists spent a long time studying endolithic microorganisms there (although the bugs are all over the Dry Valleys – there happen to be a ton on the boulder overlooking our camp) – we saw some of the colonies where life takes hold just under a rock’s surface.
We were there to photo-document some long-term erosion experiments as well as take some samples of our own. To take the photos though, Robert had to climb up on what must be Antarctica’s, if not the world’s, largest step ladder – 15 feet of aluminum which we had to find cached on the ground somewhere in the area. It was a great day full of hiking and a good opportunity to get more views of the Wright Valley Area. However, as the day progressed our sunlight disappeared; for the first time we have low clouds and a very tiny bit of snow falling in Sessrumir Valley.

13 December – Winter Wonderland

What was a very tiny bit of snow last night turned into a couple inches overnight. When we woke up it was still snowing – and it continued off and on throughout the entire day. We seemed to be on the edge of the weather, as between snow showers we had nice bright sun (which melted/sublimated some snow) and views of some pretty impressive clouds down the valley. Visibility wasn’t good (we could see neither distant land features nor the rocks beneath us) and we wanted to finally use the pancake mix and bacon in our food supply, so today became our first rest day in a while. We got some chores and some cleaning done around camp, did some of our own personal work, and had fun cooking, too. Besides frying pan pizzas for lunch (thanks Jenny!) we baked brownies for dessert. The night finished up with a long session of playing cards and a little bit more snow.

14 December:

Today was (assuming the weather’s good tomorrow) our last full day in Sessrumir Valley and so we spent most of the day packing up the non-essentials, taking a few last samples, and entering a lot of our data into the computers (just in case). Rob, Allen, and I made a brief excursion down valley to pick up some samples we had left behind in a cache and had to spend a few minutes pulling them out of the snow and brushing them off before we stuffed them in our packs. We were even able to call our families (hi families!) back at home via our Iridium phone, which made the States seem a lot closer than half a world away.
Tomorrow we’ll have to get up a bit earlier than usual in order to take down our tents and pack up what’s left before the helicopter comes to take us across the Wright Valley to the Olympus Range where we’ll have another camp and continue our work.

Here’s the Ferrar Glacier as viewed from the top of Arena Valley.

It takes more than one shot to fully appreciate it.

Looking north down Arena Valley (the black stripe is a dolerite
sill in the sandstone).

Devonian fossils? Robert says they’re named Beaconites after
the Beacon sandstone group they are found in.

The weathered concretions make the sandstone look unearthly.

1. Can you find the “J”? I promise I didn’t put it there…

Helicopter refueling at the Taylor cache.

Unlike wet-based glaciers in North America, the margins of the

cold-based Taylor glacier creep along remaining vertical ice cliffs

without forming moraines.

On Linnaeus Terrace, Robert takes pictures of a 26 year old project
from the biggest step ladder I’ve ever seen.

Our campsite covered in snow. Does it look more like Antarctica now?

On Beyond Sessrumnir: Nibelungen Valley

2008-12-12T16:10:00.008+13:00

12/9/08

We’ve started to develop a nice routine down here: Wake up at 7:00 am (or as close to that as we can), eat a hot breakfast of instant oatmeal, check in with Mac Ops over the radio, pack for the day, and then head out into the field. When it’s time for lunch we try to find a spot out of the wind and whip out our hot thermoses and such cold friendly foods as beef jerky, frozen Swiss cheese, Froodles (a noodley fruit snack we’d never heard of until we got here), cabin bread, peanut butter, and chocolate bars. At the end of the day (defined as 5:00 pm as we cannot go by the setting sun) we head back to camp, unload the samples from our packs, and start heating water for dinner. By 9:00 pm we’re mostly done washing up and unwinding and then it’s off to bed.
Oh, and the views in the meantime are INCREDIBLE…

12/10/08
Back to our old haunts today – the pools and canyon features of Sessrumir Valley. The fieldwork routine has set in and Jenny and I are getting faster at collecting samples and marking locations with our GPS equipment. In the meantime, Rob set up another anchor for Robert to rappel off of to get samples down another cliff face. So far, the weather has really been cooperating. We’ve had sun and blue skies for at least part of every day we’ve been in the field, and usually it’s sunny all day. Some days are high winds and some days it’s quiet, but the nice weather has helped the work along.

Another view of Sessrumir Valley.

We took a helicopter for our day trip to Nibelungen Valley.

Nibelungen Valley is a pretty cool place- after taking a

bunch of samples, we headed down valley and explored for a while.

Both Sessrumir and Nibelungen valleys (oriented N-S)

overlook Wright Valley (oriented E-W) - behind me (Jenny) you can see Lake Vanda.

Allen thinks that with a little imagination this rock in Nibelungen

looks like a hippo. You decide. Either way – the erosional features

here are pretty cool.

Blown snow highlights a feature called patterned ground –

where freezing and thawing of the ground causes cracks to

develop in otherwise undisturbed areas.

Sessrumnir Valley

2008-12-09T17:37:00.018+13:00

The wonders of modern technology -- Robert, Allen, Jenny, and Rob are out in the Dry Valleys, but I will keep all of you updated about their field work and experiences while sitting in Cambridge. Amazing place, wishing I was out there.... - Sujoy

12/6/2008:
We are finally in the field, hooray!

A view of the TAM taken by the helotech (she gets to sit in the
front seat so I gave her my camera to work with)

To set the scene- this place looks like a combination of Canyonlands National Park and Mars due to the combination of impressive sandstone buttes and the black/brown/red oxidized dolerites littering the ground. I would try to describe it further, but perhaps the pictures will speak for themselves.
We got here yesterday via a scenic helicopter flight across the sea ice and through the mountains. With the help of our British pilot Paul and the helotech Ally, Robert, Rob, Allen and I all crammed into the backseat of the Bell 212 for an hour long flight to our campsite. Upon arrival, we unloaded the helicopter (with rotors still spinning) and waved goodbye as Ally and Paul left us alone with 800 lbs of gear amongst the rocks and snow patches while they returned to McMurdo for the rest of our stuff. We spent the rest of the day putting up tents, carrying rock boxes from the sling load drop off to our camp, and setting up solar panels for our GPS base station, HF radio, and general electricity supply.
There are many bonuses to working in the field in Antarctica - one is the lack of ANY pests to interfere with your food or general comfort, the second is the constant availability of solar power, and the third is the ability to freeze your food simply by keeping it outside (this last one allowed us to have salmon fillets for dinner last night and steak for dinner tonight). It also means keeping water around can be a challenge.
Today we went out to explore large channels cut into the sandstone bedrock just a few hundred meters from our campsite. We also finally took our first set of samples. Perhaps the major downside to Antarctic field work is the speed at which you lose feeling from your fingers and toes whenever you stop to take a sample. In addition, our mountaineer Rob scoped out the scene for good places to make anchors so that we can take samples from the side of a cliff face in the near future. How’s that for extreme geology?

Our camp in the intermediate stage of set up

Right- this is our mountaineer Rob

12/7/2008:

With the help of a few more layers of clothing and blue skies, we headed back into the channels today to collect more samples-that’s what we’re here for after all. The sample collecting process consists of finding a good rock (ideally with large grains and easily removed from its neighbor rocks), getting the GPS coordinates, taking pictures of the area, making note of any surrounding topography that might shield the rock from the sky, using a hammer and chisel to knock the sample free, and finally stuffing it into a labeled bag. The samples are then loaded into rock boxes and transported back to the States on a big cargo ship that departs from McMurdo in February (along with all of McMurdo’s trash). Eventually (several months from now), the samples will make it back to our lab where the chemical analysis will begin.
The highlight of our work today was watching/helping Robert take samples from the side of a cliff face. Rob thought it was hilarious that Robert brought his field notebook down on the rope with him (along with his sample kit, a large stuff sack for the samples, and the camera we lowered to him on a rope when his own camera ran out of film).

Some of the sandstones here are hilariously weathered…

Allen attempts to get a precise GPS reading of his samples,
but the rocks are blocking the satellites

Robert rappels off a cliff over a perpetually frozen pond
to collect samples

12/8/2008

Today was another day of sample collecting, and something new: digging pits. The chemicals we are measuring are not only produced at the surface, but also when rocks are covered. So, in order to better understand the erosion processes going on here in Sessrumnir Valley, we dug some pits and collected the rocks we found underneath as well as collecting a whole bunch of samples in the surrounding area.
Today’s highlight was the view we got in to Wright Valley. Breathtaking. To the west is Upper Wright glacier (Manhattan could easily fit on its ice), beyond which the Polar Plateau feeds down in multiple icefalls. Directly north at the bottom of Upper Wright Valley is an area called The Labyrinth because of all the channels cut in to the rock. And to the east is a view into Lower Wright Valley and the small glaciers feeding in to it. We all decided that it was one of the most beautiful views we have ever seen.

Upper Wright Valley and the Wright Glacier as seen from the Sessrumnir Valley

What are we doing here?

2008-12-05T09:08:00.005+13:00

Hi Everyone,

So, what are we actually doing in Antarctica? Why have we come to the bottom of the world? The short answer is that Antarctica plays a large role in controlling the Earth’s climate and global sea level. Geologists often say that the present is the key to the past. For example, by studying modern glaciers and ice sheets one can learn to recognize glacial deposits in the geologic record. Using these deposits, as well as many other types of sediments and a host of geochemical techniques, we can reconstruct past climates, and thereby learn something about what the future might hold. We are especially interested in what Antarctica was like during periods that were warmer than present. Did the ice sheet shrink or collapse raising sea level, or did it grow larger, drawing down sea level?

The mountains in the Dry Valleys of Antarctica, about 50 miles across McMurdo Sound from the US base on Ross Island, contain glacial deposits dating back to the initial growth of the Antarctic ice sheet over 15 million years ago. The deposits record the presence of wet-based alpine glaciers, that slid along their base during a warmer climate. They probably looked similar to those presently in the Himalayas. At some point, the climate cooled resulting in the cold-based polar glaciers of today that are frozen to their base, and flow only by internal deformation. Determining when this occurred, is one of the goals of our research.

There are also spectacular erosional features consisting of channels and potholes cut into sandstone bedrock that look like they were cut by torrents of water. However, these features occur along the highest ridges rather than the valley bottoms where you would expect to find them. This has lead to the idea that they were carved under a glacier. But to get a glacier to these heights would require the Antarctic ice sheet to thicken by thousands of feet to flow over the tops of the mountains. In contrast, during the last ice age, the ice sheet only thickened several hundred feet and did not even flow through the Dry Valleys.

Yet, these features are clearly slowly eroding today. Could they be the result of millions of years of grain by grain erosion of the sandstone? The winds are certainly strong enough to blow the loosened sand away. These are the hypotheses that we are going to test by measuring the cosmogenic nuclides in the rock. This technique will be explained in another blog, but suffice to say that we can determine the age and erosion rates of samples we collect and bring back to the lab at Harvard. If erosion rates are low, and similar everywhere it will favor the subglacial hypothesis. If erosion rates are much higher in the bottoms of potholes and channels than in the surrounding rock it will favor long erosion by wind and freeze thaw mechanisms.

Well, all our gear is packed (just over 2100 lbs) and on the way to the helo pad. Tomorrow, weather permitting, we will use two helicopters (or two trips) to ferry all this stuff and ourselves to our first camp, about 45 minutes (100 miles) away. We have to get the stuff down there the day before now. We used to just bring it down when they were ready to load the helo, but now they often use sling loads, and I guess they need time to build them up. Just another example of the increasing bureaucracy down here. It always seems to make things easier for the support staff rather the scientists, but I guess I can’t complain, and if I didn’t know how it used to be I would not think it so bad. All things considered the field support is really terrific.

For example, Rob and I went out for the day by helicopter to our first field area, the giant potholes of the western Asgard Range, on Wednesday while Allen and Jenny were at snow school. Marianne, a support person from the GPS group (UNAVCO) came with us to make a LIDAR map. This instrument uses a laser beam to make a 3-D map, of an ~ ¼ square mile area with a resolution of an inch or two! We can use the data to make an old fashioned contour map or generate views from different points. We can also analyze roughness and slope angles, and eventually will have an interactive map you can “walk” through like a video game and examine our sample sites! Very cool, and not something you could do only a few years ago.

The weather was really fine, light winds and temperatures of 10-15° F, hopefully the weather will hold. A highlight for me was I got to ride in the co-pilot seat on the way out, something I had never done in a “Huey” helicopter in all my previous trips. Generally, a helo tech, or crewman sits there. Back when the US Navy flew the Helo’s there would be a co-pilot and a crewman in the back. But we were flying with the New Zealand helicopter that has only one pilot, and I needed a headset to guide him into our site. We flew with one of the USAP helicopter on way back was more more typical, jammed in the back with a lot of gear.

Off We Go!

2008-12-05T08:57:00.004+13:00

First, Allen would like to point out that he won the Favorite Antarctic Animal Poll.

Now, you should know that in approximately 30 minutes, the four of us will schlep our bags down to the heliport for one final briefing before we load up our gear and fly away to the Dry Valleys (we're headed to Sessrumnir Valley first) where we'll collect oodles of rock samples over the next month.

Despite the lack of internet in the Dry Valleys, we have devised a rather convoluted method for continuing to post to our blog so that y'all can keep up with what we're doing and see more pretty pictures of Antarctica. How will this work? How could we possibly transport data without the internet? Well- first we'll write up a post and take some photos, then we'll put this stuff on a flash drive and give that to the helicopter pilot when he comes out to ferry us around the Dry Valleys and bring our resupplies every few days. The pilot will then fly back to McMurdo and give the memory drive to a USAP staffer at Crary (the McMurdo science lab). The staffer will then e-mail the posts and photos to Sujoy back in Boston, who will upload it all to the blog for everyone to see. So the next time you see an update on our blog (after Robert's), keep in mind all the effort that went in to making it.

Goodbye internet land, we'll see you in a month (but you'll see us sooner)!

Happy Campers

2008-12-03T19:02:00.010+13:00

After a very long time out in the field (two days!...that was sarcasm for those that don't know me very well), Jenny and I are back at McMurdo, showered, and getting ready for our real field time - we're leaving for the Dry Valleys on Friday! But before that can happen, we had to be trained in some survival techniques - at McMurdo they call it Happy Camper School.

The experience starts with a couple classroom hours learning about dressing appropriately, spotting and treating cold-related medical issues, and utilizing the resources we will have available to us in an emergency situation. Then we get loaded up (with all our warm layers) in the back of a huge snow-truck/tractor and carted out to our field site out on the Ross Ice Shelf a couple miles from McMurdo.

Throughout the first afternoon we learned about using Whisperlite stoves, setting up Scott tents (yellow pyramids with a century old design, originally used by R.F.Scott in his early Antarctic explorations) and mountain tents (more commonly called four-season tents, dome shaped, and modern), building snow walls, and building snow shelters as well like a snow trench or a Qunicy (looks like an igloo, but made by piling lots of snow then digging it out - see photos). Our teachers were great guys - part of the McMurdo search and rescue team - and they constantly encouraged us to keep moving, keep eating, and keep hydrated in order to stay warm.

Two Scott tents: a century-old design still going strong.

Starting the Quincy: burying a whole pile of duffel bags to give the mound shape. We covered everything with about 18 inches of packed snow and let it harden for a while - then dug out the inside.

In the end it was warm and snug enough to sleep four people...and to stand on.

There were 18 of us at Happy Camper, all but one was field bound (the one was a fire-fighter in McMurdo). Almost everybody will be staying in a semi-permanent camp; some, like us will be sleeping in tents the whole time, but most will have heated buildings to retreat to. We will not. We will also not have any snow around us to construct things out of, but it was a lot of fun to play with!

At night we needed to stay active and amused, so we started on a master project - a snow bridge/arch. We spent about 6 hours on this thing - planning, quarrying the snow blocks, sculpting them to fit an arch shape, and eventually piecing it together. Finished, it stood 6+ feet tall, about 8 feet long, and about 4 feet across; we are very proud. Admittedly, putting it together was a bit scary. Towards the end we have five people bravely bracing the interior so it did not collapse on itself. But eventually, we succeeded with a masterpiece...around 1 am. We definitely saw midnight sun. And with the extra blocks we built a bench and ottoman/table to admire our work.

Apparently, scientists on ice will do anything to fulfill the desire to engineer. Including putting themselves at risk during safety school.

The finished product. Very satisfying - and impressive, don't you think?

After spending what remained of the sunshiney evening in tents/shelters (Jenny and I chose Scott tents), we got up, cleaned up camp, and got ready for more lessons on risk management and radio protocol before having some practical training in radio operation (HF and VHF), an emergency scenario, and a search drill called "Bucket Head" where we wore buckets to simulate a whiteout and tried to find a person lost outside. After a few informational videos on leave-no-trace ethics in the Dry Valleys and helicopter safety we were free to go.

Camp! See the current blog header for another view.

It was a great two days - informational and fun. The weather changed so rapidly during the course, going from fairly warm and snowy with low visibility to chilly, completely clear, and beautifully sunny in no time at all. But the best part of Happy Camper was all the awesome people - a couple from a crew going up Mount Erebus to image its interior plumbing and atmospheric impact, a few using GPS to measure movents of the Antarctic continent, some using radar to image mountains beneath the surface of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, and a crew of core handlers off to work at the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Drilling Project. It was awesome hanging out with the WAIS core crew because they are about our age and are interested in so many of the same polar topics as we are - and they're keeping a blog, too.

Now, we are ready and looking forward to what the Dry Valleys have to offer.

"GPS" or "How to put the rocks back where you found them"

2008-12-01T19:02:00.004+13:00

Two major things happened today:

1) This morning we had our environmental training. Basically, this meant listening to PowerPoint presentations and watching NSF-produced videos for an hour and a half. The Dry Valleys have a very sensitive ecosystem and are therefore considered an Antarctic Sprecially Managed Area or ASMA. A lot of measures are in place to protect them, for example extra-sensitive spill precaution measures and reporting procedures and delineations around camps where impact is localized. Because we are going to very remote areas of the Dry Valleys - including sites very near the Linneaus Terrace Anarctic Specially Protected Area (or ASPA) - we need to take even more special precautions such as replacing any rocks we moving to anchor tents; this is the ultimate experience in Leave No Trace camping. See the map below for a view of the area - we'll be in the Asgard Range, the Olympus Range, and up north of the extent of this map.

Dry Valleys ASMA Map - Taylor and Wright Valleys

2) GPS (Global Positioning System) training was the second order of the day. We will need to know the location of the samples we take not only so we can write an environmental impact report, but also to properly calculate the ages of the samples we take. (Cosmic rays attenuate as they pass through the atmosphere, so the higher a sample is the higher a production rate it will have - a value essential for calculating a sample's exposure age.) We learned a bit about GPS theory, got a tutorial on the hardware and software we'll be working with, and then took the equipment outside to play around with it a bit to make sure we understood everything.

Jenny spent some time walking around to test our roving GPS unit. On the plywood box in the foreground you can see our base station and it's accomanying solar panels.

The high-resolution GPS equipment down here is managed by an NSF sposored group (UNAVCO), who also does all the training for the units. We will be using differential GPS - by comparing signals from a roving unit and a base station errors can be reduced and we'll be getting signals with accuracy on the centimeter scale. By a great coincidence, the same person who taught us today was up in Alaska when I participated in the Juneau Icefield Research Program, training us to use a similar system. Training scientists and conducting surveys in Greenland, Alaska, and Antarctica - sounds like a job I could handle!

Tomorrow Jenny and I will be off to Snowcraft 1, also known as Happy Camper School, which will include our first night outside a building in Antarctica. Wish us luck!

Science Young'uns at Play

2008-11-30T16:55:00.016+13:00

Last night we celebrated Thanksgiving at McMurdo by stuffing ourselves with turkey, dressing, and shrimp cocktail (an unusual, yet well appreciated addition to the traditional fare), and getting to meet a few more of the other researchers down here. One of whom - Paul, a post doc glaciologist originially from NC - dubbed us "science young'uns" due to our relative lack of experience, schooling and age.

Today, Allen and I went for a hike around Castle Rock to take advantage of the blue skies and warm weather (28 degrees F). Here's a map of where we went:

The +'s on the map are emergency shelters stocked with food, sleeping bags, and a phone line to McMurdo. The base would be just off the map to the bottom left.

Vast expanse of ice - I would say it's about yea big.

Castle Rock, in the upper right. The thing in the cloud on the upper left is Mount Erebus (a volcano).

Jenny loves EPS.

Allen loves Mount Erebus.

Ice ridge and snow-covered ridge in the distance - Allen Pope for scale (he would be standing closer but we're not supposed to leave the flagged routes for fear of crevasses and other dangers).

Scott base is the Kiwi (New Zealand) Antarctic base just down the road from McMurdo. It's much smaller than McMurdo (~100 people in high season) and all of the buildings are green. Don't be deceived though; the insides are quite nice, or at least the store and the bathrooms where we were allowed to go.

P.S. Allen and I are starting to coauthor our posts...

Mac Town

2008-11-29T13:39:00.004+13:00

So what's it like to be at the biggest station on the coldest continent on Earth?

McMurdo Station is 77 degrees 51 minutes South (approximately 950 miles away from the South Pole) and 166 degrees 40 minutes East. Our current weather conditions (according to the McMurdo weather service) are overcast skies, 1/4 mile visibility, blowing snow (it's not falling, just moving around in the wind), a temp of 21 F, wind chill of 1 F, and wind speeds of approx 35 mph. Needless to say, it's a bit chilly down here.

This is what it looks like:

This sign is on the back of building 155 (where everybody eats)

Observation Hill- members of Robert Falcon Scott's party ascended this each day to look out for their leader as he returned from the ice (he never made it). There's a memorial cross on top of the hill, but the power lines are blocking it in this photo.

Antarctica's MGH- not quite as fancy as Mass. General Hospital, but it has more personality.

Assorted McMurdo buildings. The flat white behind them is the sea ice in McMurdo sound and behind that you can see parts of the Transantarctic Mountains (TAM). Unfortunately, views like this one have been rare since we got here- right now all we can see past the buildings is a white wall of cloud and snow.

No Penguins

2008-11-28T17:39:00.005+13:00

Today was just another day at McMurdo base. Wakeup, get to breakfast before the galley closes at 7:30 am, and then off to work. Today work was getting all our equipment sorted - or at least starting to. Here, the cargo building and next door Berg Field Center (BFC - also stands for Big F(rea)king Closet) is home to everything you'll ever need out in the field, from the necessities (sleeping bags and tents) to the academically important (tape measures and chisels) to things you wouldn't otherwise think of (rock drill and portable toilet system). It is also the closest we’ve come to a penguin yet…on the international Do Not Freeze symbol.

Although we still have some equipment to organize and obtain, the BFC will be closed for the weekend in observance of Thanksgiving. So, besides working today we also went to an outdoor safety lecture which means we are now allowed to use the hiking and skiing trails around McMurdo. Hopefully there will be some spare time this weekend for that.

Also, this morning Jenny and I got a tour of McMurdo Base. We saw all the dorms, admin buildings, firehouse, hospital, cargo area, helipad, cardio gym, multi-purpose gym, rec center with bowling alley and bouldering cave, and of course the three bars (smoking bar, pub, and wine bar/coffee house). This place is really a little city.

Since there wasn't that much exciting today, just thought I would mention some of the people we've met so far. Kaycee, who Jenny and I sat next to on the flight to McMurdo and has spent a full year at McMurdo working as a dining assistant, says that Antarctica hosts a "kaleidoscope of awesome people and whackjobs." So far we've only seen the awesome side - like Claire, a cycle racer from Madison, Wisconsin who has wintered at South Pole station maintaining the instrumentation for the IceCube project, or Ian, the scientist who has come down to the Ice for decades. Yesterday we met some of the Crary Lab staff (Paulene, Amy, Kevin...) and today we met some of the BFC staff (Rebecca, Martha, Craig...) who make sure scientists like us are all taken care of. It is truly amazing how many people are in this city on the end of the world (up to 1200) and the diversity of backgrounds that come together for the common goal of advancing science.

Okay, enough philosophizing - it's time for dinner. Hope you all are enjoying the blog! And please, tell us any comments you have or if there's anything in particular you want to know.

Midnight Escape

2008-11-27T19:21:00.008+13:00

They say a picture is worth a thousand words- so here's 2000 words:

We made it to Antarctica!

Just 45 minutes after midnight, Allen, Robert, Rob, and I (along with some 20 odd other ice bound folks staying at the Windsor) piled into 2 shuttle buses headed for the USAP clothing distribution center at the airport. Upon arrival, we picked up our extra Antarctica gear and changed into the mandatory extreme cold weather (ECW) gear. ECW gear consists of boots, puffy overalls, gloves, snow goggles, hat, and the classic big red USAP parka (that's why all of us are dressed the same).

After suiting up for the ice and checking in our baggage, we were briefed on what to expect when we got to McMurdo (another briefing...), then we headed off in a bus to our plane (a C-17 Globemaster III). For the next 5.5 hours we sat in the cargo hold, along with 64 barrels of fuel to be airdropped, as our pilot took us father south than Allen or I had ever gone before.

Around 9 am (we'll be on New Zealand time in Antarctica to avoid traveling through too many timezones by moving east/west), we landed on a runway constructed on the sea ice just outside of town and took our first steps onto Antarctica (the temp. was 12 degrees Fahrenheit) . After a short ride in our terra bus, we finally arrived in McMurdo - the main US base on Antarctica (woohoo!).

I should point out that we still haven't reached our final destination (the Dry Valleys). Before the four of us can head out on our own, we have to go through Snow School (aka Happy Camper training) so we know what to do in the cold. Even long time veterans like Robert and Rob have to take refresher courses. Due to the upcoming holidays (in McMurdo, Thanksgiving is observed on Saturday so that the staff can have a 2 day weekend), Allen and I won't be able to do our 2 night training course until Tuesday - which means that we won't really be able to get to the Dry Valleys until next Thursday at the earliest.

Ice on the Horizon

2008-11-26T14:15:00.004+13:00

We are still in Christchurch after our flight this morning was cancelled yet again. Yes, it's nice to sleep in, but we're starting to get a bit antsy. To kill time we've been doing some work and just got back from a sunny picnic lunch in a park.

Good news, though: Our flight has been scheduled for tonight! That is, the shuttle will pick us up at our hotel around 12:45 am to make sure we are at the airport at 1:30 am for a flight at around 4 am. So (in theory) we should get to McMurdo for a tasty Thanksgiving lunch.

To keep you readers happy, here are a few more photos of the last couple days and a map to see where we've been. Zoom in on Christchurch to find Lyttelton and Taylor's Mistake on the small peninsula near Christchurch. Yesterday we went north up to Kaikoura on highway 1 (side trip to Gore Bay, lunch in Cheviot) and came back south via 70 and 7 near Hanmer Springs.

View Larger Map

Jenny blends in with the driftwood at Taylor's Mistake.

A fur seal at the Kaikoura seal colony.

Folding in the limestone at Kaikoura. There were some awesome chevron folds nearby, but the zoom on my camera couldn't quite get them.

Clear water, stone beaches, and limestone cliffs at Kaikoura.

A view from on top of the cliffs really shows the limestone bank and it's complex channels.

Alas- Still in NZ

2008-11-25T22:56:00.005+13:00

This morning started off exactly like yesterday morning (with a 4:45 am knock on my door informing me that the flight had been delayed another 24hr and I should go back to sleep). Word on the street is that the weather in McMurdo is fine for flying, but the weather in the spot where our plane needs to drop off supplies on the way back from McMurdo is bad... so we don't get to fly in. So it goes down here I suppose.

Fortunately, we were somehow able to distract ourselves from the bitter disappointment of a second postponement by driving up to Kaikoura and taking in more of New Zealand's amazing landscape (we also saw a lot more sheep, a bunch of cows, some farmed deer, and even a few llamas). Here are a few pictures from our excursion:

Cathedrals Viewing Point - a stop along the way to Gore Bay (disclaimer: Gore Bay doesn't have any places to buy food!)

Another stop on the way to Kaikoura

Limestone Cliffs at Kaikoura

Kaikoura is also home to a seal colony - most of them are pretty stationary, but this guy got up to find a better sunbathing position

As far as getting to Antarctica goes... we'll try again in the morning and hopefully the third time's a charm.

Making Lemonade

2008-11-24T21:19:00.008+13:00

As the old saying goes- when life gives you lemons, go explore New Zealand. Thus, because our flight to McMurdo was canceled, we used our spare time to roam the Canterbury countryside and fully absorb the beauty and fragrance of fields, trees, and flowering plants before we head off into a frozen wasteland.

I thought you folks back in the northern hemisphere might enjoy some pictures of spring:

Christchurch Botanic Gardens

Christchurch Botanic Gardens

This is where sweaters come from. Merino sheep are raised EVERYWHERE in New Zealand due to its wool industry. Interestingly, possums are also everywhere in NZ because they were foolishly introduced to the island country and took over the place. To encourage the removal of the possum pests they make clothes out of possum fur too.

Cliffs in Canterbury

Tomorrow morning we will make a second attempt at getting to McMurdo- an attempt that involves leaving our hotel at 5:15 am, taking off at 9:00 am, and (fingers crossed) landing in McMurdo around 3:00 pm (New Zealand time). If all goes well, we won't be seeing any flora until 2009. Cheers!

Still in Christchurch

2008-11-24T09:28:00.003+13:00

We were very kindly woken up at 4am to hear the news that our flight to the Ice is postponed for 24 hours. Nobody told us exactly why, but the experienced hands at breakfast suggested either a mechanical problem or really, really bad weather at McMurdo.

Either way, we have another day in Christchurch. Hopefully Rob (note: from this point onwards Robert = American research assistant and Rob = Kiwi mountaineer) will be able to show us some of the Banks peninsula near Christchurch, but we'll just play it by ear.

Since we're still here, though, here are a couple photos from Christchurch:

The port of Lyttleton, from the Port Hills.

A kiwi, at the Canterbury museum.

Cathedral Square, central Christchurch.

The Winsor B&B Hotel, our home in Christchurch.

In the Botanic Gardens.

Greetings from the Future*

2008-11-23T21:43:00.005+13:00

We have finally all arrived in Christchurch, but (as should be expected when any elaborate schedule of air travel is concocted) it has been a rather exasperating trip.

At 2:30 pm EST Nov 20th, Robert and I headed to the airport in Boston with no fewer than 22 hours of flying time ahead of us. After a smooth connection in Los Angeles and a successful 14 hour journey across the Pacific, we landed in Sydney with just moments to spare before boarding our final flight from Sydney to Christchurch... or so we thought.

Our original plane could not be used due to a technical malfunction and a substitute plane would have to be flown from Melbourne for our use- so our flight (scheduled to depart at 9:15 am Sydney time Nov 22nd) would be delayed until 1:00 pm (net delay = 3.75 hr). Our rescue plane, however, was also unfit for further use due to a broken wing flap (which we learned about while our plane retreated from the runway). Several hours later we learned that our flight had been canceled and everyone would try again the next morning at 9:15 am (net delay = 24 hr).

On the bright side, this meant that Australia gave us permission to leave the airport (so that we could get to a hotel) and we were able to see a little bit of the city in whose airport we had just wasted away many hours of our life:View of Sydney from Botany BaySydney Opera House (note person for scale)

In the morning we boarded our plane for Christchurch, again, only to sit in the plane at the gate while a few paperwork issues regarding fueling were sorted through (net delay = 24.75 hr). Eventually we began taxiing to the runway and preparing to take off, when our captain informed us that THIS PLANE TOO had wing flap problems and we would be returning YET AGAIN to the gate to try and evaluate the situation. Happily, the problem was indeed fixable and we finally took off at 11:30 am Sydney time Nov 23rd (net delay = 26.25 hr).

Now all we have to do is fly the much less dependable route from Christchurch to McMurdo.
Woohoo!

*This is, of course, a reference to that one must fly across the international date line to get to New Zealand (currently 18 hours ahead of the US).

Christchurch

2008-11-23T21:26:00.004+13:00

Finally all four of us are in Christchurch, New Zealand, and tomorrow morning we head off to the ice! While Robert and Jenny had some issues with planes on the way down (see Jenny's post), I got down here without a hitch.

After landing and making my way to our hotel, I decided to explore Christchurch a bit - which is pretty much what I've been doing yesterday and today. I saw the beautiful botanic gardens, the Avon river, Christchurch Cathedral, the old Canterbury University, and the Canterbury Museum of Natural History. Christchurch isn't exactly a bustling metropolis, but it is a very charming place to spend a couple days. The gardens felt very much like a fairy tale, and the gothic buildings all over the place enhance the effect.

Today, my sightseeing took me up to the top of the (volcanically formed) Port Hills (via gondola) on the edge of town and across the other side to the town of Lyttleton. Lyttleton is the port near Christchurch which originally brought settlers to the area and was also used by many Antarctic explorers, like R. F. Scott, as a base from which to head South. It turns out Lyttleton isn't as hustle and bustle as it used to be (at least on a sunny Sunday afternoon), but is still an active port.

Apart from the sightseeing, I did actually spend some time getting properly outfitted with cold weather gear. There is a required list of items and we had to double check that everything fits as expected, because it's now or never - Antarctica is not the place to find out that your boots are too small! I now have the warmest coat and boots I will ever own as well as three separate fleece layers for both top and bottom. At the outfitting I also met Rob, our mountaineer, who was the one who suggested today's adventure - he used to live in Christchurch until a couple years ago.

And, finally, Robert and Jenny arrived in time for dinner this evening, and so we are set for an early morning departure.

Photos coming soon - I wanted to upload them now, but for some reason the wireless connection is being very slow.

Going South

2008-11-12T12:26:00.007+13:00

First thing's first - who's on this trip?

Robert - Research Associate in the Noble Gas Lab. Cosmogenic nuclide and Antarctic geology expert. More than a dozen Antarctic field seasons. He's the boss on this trip.

Jenny - Undergrad at Harvard working in the Noble Gas Lab towards a thesis using the sample and data collected on this trip.

Allen (me) - I did my undergrad at Harvard, including a thesis on Antarctic glacial history with Sujoy Mukhopadhyay in the Noble Gas Lab. So, this trip is letting me do the Antarctic field work I never got to do. I'm currently at graduate student working on remote sensing of glaciers at Cambridge University.

Mountaineer - Some of the work we're doing requires a little safety expertise. We'll have a fourth joining the crew so we can reach those hard-to-sample areas.

Although we aren't leaving for Antarctica for another week, I'm getting excited about this blog, so I wanted to post. Everybody asks me, how do you get to Antarctica? This post is an explanation of the trip down south. That, and playing around with maps on my computer.

If you're an oceanographer or working at Palmer Station on the Antarctic Peninsula, you take commercial flights to the southern tip of South America and either take a boat or a plane from there. (Map from http://mabryonline.org)

We are working out of the Dry Valleys via McMurdo Station (the largest base on the continent) , so we take commerical flights to Christchurch, New Zealand - I'm going via Chicago, Los Angeles, and Auckland for some reason while Jenny is flying through Los Angeles and Sydney; not sure where Robert is going. (Thanks Google Maps for the base image.)

In Christchurch where we get cold weather gear and final logistics before taking a chartered flight with a bunch of other scientists down to McMurdo Base. We'll spend about a week there doing final preparations for our field work in the Dry Valley. The map below is from the original proposal for this research. (I split it into two pieces so it would be a bit bigger.) See the links on the side for more information about the Noble Gas Lab, the Dry Valleys, and Antarctic glacial history. And hopefully, this post answers how we will get to Antarctica.

Formal Attire in Antarctica

2008-11-10T22:09:00.000+13:00

The photo is from my brother, when he did a stint as a research assistant in Antarctica. We may not be interacting with any penguins, but they are so iconic I had to add the photo.