November 28, 2009

Thanksgiving

Although Thanksgiving was on the 26th, McMurdo Station did not celebrate it until the 28th. We actually received an extra day off for Thanksgiving, also on the 28th. WooHoo, two days off this week.

Saturday morning there was the annual 5K Turkey Trot. I participated in this. It was a little chilly out and on the run out I was definitely on the cold side, especially my hands. My legs were cold too, but that was probably on account of the shorts I was wearing. Just me and one other guy were only wearing shorts on and not shorts with tights or a baselayer at least. It was a fun run though and a fair amount of people turned out. I still need to find out my time...I think I may have made the top 10 finishers.

Thanksgiving meal was great...Best overall meal yet. Funny thing was that the Turkey was maybe the worst part. For the main meal, We had green bean casserole (with fried onions on top), biscuits with honey butter, mashed potatoes and gravy, potatoes and yams, corn casserole/pudding, beef roast, turkey, cranberry sauce, okra, and King Crab. The King Crab was delicious...

The turkey was a combination of pieces from a whole turkey they cooked but also what is called turkey loaf...which is kind of halfway between turkey lunch meat and the regular whole turkey. It is basically turkey smashed and formed into a loaf form and then cut into big slices. Its not bad, but its not the real thing. Consistency is different.

Desserts were all out as well- Parfaits, truffles, pumpkin pie, chocolate-covered strawberries, some kind of mousse, etc.

We had to sign up for a meal time, because there are not enough seats for everyone to eat at once, so they spread the attendees at 3, 5, and 7 PM. I ate at 3 PM with my roommates. After I volunteered to help in the kitchen. I thought for sure I would be washing dishes, but I got lucky and was put in to help in the bakery. I helped kneed and something else bread that was to be baked for sanwich bread for the week, roll dough for peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, and prepare parfaits for the Thanksgiving desserts.

Then later at midnite there was a meal primarily for the night shift workers, but also after the first half hour for anyone else. I went back for meal 2 and had some turkey and King Crab again... "Today was a good (meal) day." [Ice Cube, I think]

Happy Late Thanksgiving All!

November 25 and November 27, 2009

This week was Wildlife Week. After seeing my fill of dead animals (mummified seals and the penguin skeleton), this week was the week for seeing some Antarctica wildlife. And No, there are no polar bears in Antarctica.

November 25
On November 25, we took a trip to Cape Royds to do some planning for informational signs marking the Specially Protected Areas for some penguin colonies in the area. We also had a team of subcontractors with us that were using very accurate GPS tools to mark the coordinates for locations of interest for a future management plan for the area.

Cape Royds was a good 2-3 hour ride in a Piston Bulley from McMurdo Station. And the ride was more than worth it. Finally I got to see open ocean!!! (other than the blue horizon that I was able to see during the helicopter rides two weeks ago). For some reason it was comforting to see the ocean - I'm not sure how long I could live in a landlocked area...

Here's the view we first saw upon arriving at Cape Royds.

There were two researchers at the Field Camp at Cape Royds. One that has been doing research for the past 20 years or so on these colonies, that had continued from research started by his college advisor resulting in data going back 40-50 years or so... Quite a good set of long term population data.

The other researcher has been involved at this field camp for 4-5 years, but of interest was that she runs an educational outreach program that involves schools back in the States. The program among other things has a webcam, Q and A sessions, will fly a flag designed by the students at the site, has a website, and will send pre addressed postcards to the students postmarked from Antarctica. Most of the students are in grade school. There is no cost to join the program...

Check out penguinscience.com for more info or let me know if you have any questions.

Heres the outhouse door at the camp...with an appropriate cutout in the door. My only question is how do you tell if that is male or female?

This is a picture of our piston bulley and its tracks...parked at Cape Royds. We had to walk up some mini bluffs to get to the Camp and to the penguin colonies.

Picture of a skua...

We actually saw a lot of snowy petrals at Cape Royds as well. The skua resembles a large brownish seagull.

Penguin!!! Adelie.





Here's a picture of an Adelie colony spread out over the bluffs.

Adelie penguins are the primary penguin species found here, but we were lucky to have seen some Emperor penguins at Cape Royds as well. Here they are moving along the sea ice out towards the open ocean. Emperors are much larger and have a colorful band along their neck.

In this picture you can see both species of penguins heading out towards the ocean on the sea ice. The larger ones are the Emperors and the smaller ones are the Adelies.



This is a pic of a Adelie penguin egg that was just captured and began to be feasted on by some skuas. It is larger than chicken eggs, I would say it is closer to the size of a softball.

The penguins were simply awesome. Very curious towards our, the human presence. The Adelies are quite small, I want to say maybe 3 feet tall. The belly slide is funny... The Emperors are more magnificent looking. But both were so interesting to watch. Have to say this may be one of my favorite visits.

Heres a couple of videos I took of some Adelies.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bVjnKfMjLo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZXljMoNtLA

At Cape Royds there is also a hut of Historic Importance that early Antarctic explorers utilized. Here's just a few random pics from inside:

Ummm, sounds tasty....

Boots.

Greens...

Piston-Bulley on the ride home.

As the summer season gets further underway, more of the sea ice has started to melt and more holes in the ice have popped up and thus the presence of Weddell seals has been much more frequent. Here's a pic of one we passed on our way home. You'll just see black logs that are just on the white snow that can't be anything other than seals, because there are no other features on the flat ice...

November 27

Wildlife Week continues. On the 27th, we took a trip out to Big Razorback Island, which was approximately 1-1.5 hours from McMurdo Station.

Here's a picture of the end of the island. The camp was out here, maybe a quarter mile from the rock/ice interchange. It was interesting to find out that there are a set of islands (Big Razorback included), that are all different shaped but are the remants of the outer ring of a former volcano...

The rock/ice interchange causes a lot of cracks and openings to form and thus a large population of Weddell seals can be found in this area. The group of scientists out here have also been involved in long term research on the population. They tag and weigh the seals here among other things.

We had attempted to make a visit out to this site earlier in the season, maybe 3-4 weeks ago, but had run into issues with our vehicle halfway there and had to turn around. So we missed when the seal pups were just being born, but we were still able to see moms and there pups...

A pup feeding.

Pup, with some of its newborn fur still scratching his/her back on the ice.

With the researchers we were able to get pretty close to the seals...The seals were very interested in us, but did not appear to feel threatened and did not threaten us. We were in the vicinity of probably 40 seals at this colony. Some of the research they are looking at is if seals from older mothers have a better survival rate. We heard males and females making sounds, calls. Its funny because some of the sounds were what you would imagine coming from a seal, but some were sounds that were quite electronic-sounding and not very natural.

It was pretty freakin' awesome this week to see the penguins and seals. Very unique experience. Only other time I can remember something like this was seeing/touching the gray whales in Baja. Being this close to sort of rare animals that are not in a zoo or a cage. Crazy, crazy, crazy...

It did remind me of how much I do miss the ocean.

November 16, 2009

South Pole!!!

I fell into some fortunate circumstances and got scheduled to go to South Pole for about a week. The Pole, as it is shorthandedly referred to/as, is about a 3-hour plane ride on the LC-130 aka Hercs. Here is some more pics of the Hercs:

The purpose of my trip was to get cross trained in taking drinking water and wastewater samples. This involved testing them and sending some back to Christchurch, NZ for laboratory analyses. We also visited some areas where solid wastes have been stored for the past few years to examine/plan for logisitics and removal. Another part of the trip was to get acquainted with the staff and the facilities, including understanding some of the science that is being conducted.

So the Pole is around 9,000 ft elevation, but because of certain atmospheric conditions it can physiologically be the equivalent between 9,ooo - 11,000 ft feet. Because we are basically going from sea level to these higher elevations, the medical staff highly suggest that people take altitude medicine. There is concern of altitude-related pulmonary and brain edema (there are more scientific names for these, that I'll look up later), which can ultimately result in death. Commonly people have some symptoms such as shortness of breath while at rest, headaches, and sleep apnia. I ended up taking the Diamox drug, that I believe increases your respiration rate so that you can attain more oxygen.

In the two weeks leading up to the trip I took, there had been a case of someone not taking one of the two available prescribed drugs and they had to be put in this pressurized bag that is kind of like a portable hyperbaric chamber - it is called a GAMOW bag. This person recovered, but had to go through a nasty experience and were sent back to McMurdo ASAP (shortening their Pole trip). The GAMOW bag is basically a large duffel bag that is airtight and that you can fit in with maybe a foot of space radially around you. The bag is kept at pressure and provided fresh oxygen by a manual pump (the same kind of pumps used to inflate air mattresses). This would not be a fun experience.

The Old Station

This is a picture of me in front of the Geodesic Dome- which was the signature of the last USAP South Pole base. It is somewhat the symbol of the South Pole Station. It is currently being decommissioned/deconstructed at this time. So I was lucky that I got to see this before it is comletely gone. Supposedly one of the problems with this dome was that is would constantly have to be dug out. I heard that the large tractors basically have to operate 24/7 to keep removing snow from around the structure. (This seemed definitely true, while I was there.

Inside of the Dome...I believe people used to sleep in Millvans under the Dome at one time.

The new South Pole Station...Elevated Station. At the time of my visit there was till construction going on, but the main part of the station was done...including berthing, galley, gym, science labs, computer labs, offices, etc. It is constructed for about 200 occupants. Although currently there are more people stationed at the Pole, but some are stationed in "Summer Camp" in Jamesway tents.



My impressions of the Pole...The new elevated station is real nice. I was very lucky and was housed in the station during my one week stay. I actually had my own room and had internet available in my room as well (quite a luxury vs. McMurdo with my 3 roommates and internet only available in the computer lab). It is pretty darn cold here, while I was in town it averaged negative 30 degrees C and with wind chill negative 50 degrees C. I can't imagine what the winter would be like. Although The Southern Lights would be awesome to see.

Heading down the stairs in a building located outside of the Station that will be deconstructed...(Skylab)

Random Frozen fish...

We were able at one point to walk through the ice tunnels. The ice tunnels were carved under the station and have pipes that carry drinking water and wastewater to and from the station. The tunnels are not at all supported by any infrastructure and are pretty far underground and travel a long ways from the station. The walls are somewhat bulging inwards, which is a little scary..but nonetheless very interesting.

The drinking water that is melted from the ice here is very old. Supposedly some of the best water around though.

This is a pic of the green house at the new station...I was able to help out at the greenhouse for an hour or so and harvest the remainder of the plants for consumption as well as clean up the hydroponic system to prepare it for the next planting. They had romaine, arugula, zuchinni, and chard going at the time. It was pretty cool to see Green plants that were still alive....

Picture of a fuel arch. Contains about forty-five 10,000 gallon tanks of diesel... Has an additive to prevent freezing.

Some Science

Science- the reason we are here - to support the research.

Ice Cube. Ice Cube is a project that examines Neutrinos. The building in the picture is the processing center for data that comes from a huge grid of maybe 60 or so modules that each go down a mile or a half into the ground and have sensors that detect light/neutrinos as they go through the ice. It works well here because of the clarity/cleanliness of the ice. The mile and a half is almost to bedrock...(That is some thick ass ice!)

10-m telescope. 10-m diameter dish with what I believe is supposedly less than a 10 micron error in construction. Used to examine big-bang theories. Looking at some kind of energy and light remanants from that event. Definitely something a little (more like a lot) over my head.

Opposite of me, out of the picture, is the BICEPS telescope that is examining related events. Supposedly is on the verge of the "smoking gun" confirming the big bang.

Other science that is being conducted here includes atmospheric research...there are sectors away from the station that have limited access and have certain provisions for entering. This includes a clean air sector, a dark sector, and a quiet sector. The Clean air sector has supposedly the cleanest air in the world.

Not science, but a picture of what is dubbed "SpoolHenge." Leftover spool from cables...

The South Pole

Obligatory "Hero" Shot. At geographic Pole....Bottom of the World.

Ceremonial Pole. Surrounded by Flags of Treaty Nations.

The Pole was pretty sweet for me to get to. I was really lucky and appreciate the chance to have gotten down there. Its interesting that it is so flat other than the human influence. There seems to be a lot less activities to do outside when compared to McMurdo, but there is a different aura here as well. The population is much smaller...250 vs 1000 and theres some sense of pride/bordering on standoffishness that some of the polies seem to have. Not necessarily bad, but there is definitely a different feelin when compared to the aura at McMurdo. Don't get me wrong, everyone there was nice that I ran into, but they almost seem to look at McMurdo residents and the station with disdain. I guess in some ways I understand the Pole is a lot harsher - Colder, Drier, Higher, and more isolated. Someone explained to me that the socially the Pole is better because there is way less people, but at McMurdo there is much more to do and see (on and off base), which I think I can agree to (so far).

November 6-7, 2009

(Picture from the A-star of Lake Hoare and Canada Glacier)

Camping in the Antarctica Dry Valleys

Scenic and beautiful - Frozen lakes situated along the bottom of the dry valleys with glaciers seemingly feeding and flowing into the lakes from the surrounding mountains.

On my second visit to the dry valleys my coworker (the other envt. tech) and I visited two field camps - Lake Bonney and Lake Hoare. We accessed the camps by the A-star helicopter again. The purpose of these visits was to do an environmental audit, but also to familiarize us (it's also her first time down here), with how a field camp is run, what to look for in our envt. audits, and to learn more about the dry valleys.

Here's a few highlights:

This is an ATV that the camp uses to drive around on the frozen Lake to transport equipment and to collect drinking water. It is not permitted to be driven on the dry lands due to the envt. damage it could cause. Notice the chains on the middle set of tires.

Renewable Energy!!! Here's a picture of solar panels that are used to supplement the energy needs for the camp.

This is a picture of another helicopter transporting a sling load over a glacier. (Seuss Glacier) This was taken while I was sitting in another A-star, hovering above and adjacent to the subject. I think they can haul up to 8000 pounds or something ridiculous in a sling load...(I'll have to check)

My coworker and I spent a night in the dry valleys at the Lake Hoare camp. The camp was occupied by the camp manager and the assistant camp manager. They run the camp and provide oversight, logistics, and just basically run the camp. This includes among other things- a majority of the cooking duties, organization, ordering supplies, and providing any needed support for the scientists conducting their research. At this camp the ideal max capacity is for 12 people. During our visit , it was just 4 of us total at the camp.

One of the tasks that we learned at camp was collecting drinking water. This was done by heading over to the glacier and collecting chunks of ice from sections of ice that have "calved" off the glacier. These were hauled back to camp in the bed of the ATV and in the sled attached to its end. Sometimes a large bar with a flathead tip is used to break/crack up large pieces into smaller pieces. The sizes ranged from football sized to the size of a milk crate. They are called “glacier berries.” Here is a sequence of pictures of my coworker demonstrating the technique...

Here's a good overview shot of the ATV with glacier berries in tow and the site of the "calving"

The glacier berries are taken back to camp and are melting in a stock pot (see pic below) and then filtered for drinking water. This ice is really old...how old? Older than Jesus...seriously. Because its so old, it is kind of a novelty for some people and they like to use it as ice in a cold drink. It's somewhat interesting because there are a lot of gas bubbles in the ice that fizzes and bubbles as it melts.

My first penguin sighting!!!

Here’s a picture of the Scott tent at Lake Hoare Camp that we slept in flanked by Canada Glacier. You can see a calving in the background.

Driving on the lake and walking on the lake, especially along the frozen moat, or outside edges (before it melts later in the summer) is encouraged because it reduces the footprint on the dry land... My coworker and I were able to take an awesome little hike around the area and walk along the Lake. One interesting part of the hike was while walking on the frozen lake surface, every few minutes or so you would here pops as the ice beneath you cracked. It wasn't going to break through or anything, but it was quite startling the first few times. Here's a pic of the lake ice. Notice all the bubbles frozen in it.

Here’s a few pics from our little hike.

Coworker Laura on the Lake as the sun drops behind Seuss Glacier.

Walking along the Glacier.

Ventifacts - rocks formed by the winds…Dry Valleys are characterized by the dryness, lakc of precipitation, and winds among other things.

These are stabil-icers that are worn on the outside of your boots to provide traction on the lake ice.

This is a picture of Lake Hoare with Canada glacier in the foreground and another lake to the right side of the picture, behind Canada glacier and another glacier sitting in the back left.

Me in front of Seuss Glacier to give a little bit of size perspective...And it's actually quite taller further back.

Me, surfing the Seuss Glacier...



Lake.



This area is very, very beautiful...