January 9, 2008
WAIS Divide camp Antarctica

Time: 6 am
Latitude: 79° 28.10’ S
Longitude: 112° 3.56’ W
Elevation: 1820 m (5919’)
Ice core: ~40 m (180.32 m)(~540') – dates to approximately 1418 AD
We should reach the depth equivalent to Black Plague by today
Temperature: -7 °C (19°F)
Wind speed: 14 km/h (9 mp/h)
Wind Chill: -8 °C (10 °F)
Visibility: 7 km (4.2 miles) fluctuates
Clouds: clearing, low and high stratus, with breaks
Wind direction: W/NW
Relative Humidity: 86%
Barometric Pressure: steady
Precipitation: steady flurries, possibly up to 3 cm (1”+) of accumulation
Breakfast: Burritos, hash browns, bacon, homemade coffee cake
Lunch: tuna melt, fries, green beans, vegi soup
Supper: Flank steak, catfish gumbo, Tofu stir fry, veggies

As I mentioned yesterday we are scheduled to get another plane today.
Folks in and folks out and more resupply fuel and food. My legs are
also now fully recovered from the Winter Olympics we held two days ago.
Other than the skiing, the one event set-up I wanted to continue was a
mini-golf course designed by Rebecca and Dave. The entire course was like
playing in the rough with sand (snow) traps and obstacles but worth
saving had it not been groomed over by a bulldozer later that evening.
I hope someone saved the numbered flags for each hole. We might try and
set it up in a different location one of these days since we have the
colored golf balls and putters.

Yesterday after working in the
arch all day I ate supper, caught the end of a video, and was in my
sleeping bag early. It was probably the deepest sleep that I have had
since I got here. It is day two of ice core processing and we are
better prepared to handle ice cores and the cold – if that is possible.
I will try a different sock combination to keep my feet warmer and
maybe a couple of heat pads for my hands. The one thing I noticed about
working at -20 C yesterday was how dehydrated I got just from breathing
in the cold dry conditions. Today I will take more water/tea with me to
work and try and take a break during the day to rehydrate and snack.


Just
a quick note for those interested in the weather here. The plan is that
at the end of the season the weather guys here in camp will provide the
complete 24 hr day by day weather for the season. We would like to have
had it available now but it is another project that we will not get to
right away. And speaking of weather. We actually did not get our flight
today due to the weather inMcMurdo (where the plane originated from). The big test here for determining the weather/cloud ceiling here at WAIS
Divide camp it to launch balloons. The balloons used are red and come
in two sizes, one that is filled with 10g of Helium and the other that
is filled with 30g of Helium. Once the balloon(s) is launched it is
watched to see how long it takes to disappear. Then there is a chart
you use to determine the ceiling height (bottom of the clouds). The
minimum ceiling for a plane to land is 1000’ with 1 mile visibility.
When we know that a plane is scheduled, the weather data (including
balloons) is taken hourly and reported to flight operations. If the
weather looks good then the plane comes on its way to camp, but if the
weather deteriorates, even after the plane is in the sky, then the
landing may be cancelled. This morning the balloons told us – no
landings today.

Every Wednesday night one of us gives a "lecture". Tonight I am on to talk about science education and the WAIS DIvide program. I good portion of my talk will about talking with students and the general public about climate change and WAIS Divide ice cores. If you are interested in hearing more about the project please go to our science and outreach sites at www.waisdivide.unh.edu and or contact one of us to set up a talk or visit by one of the scientists. And please tell your friends about our education outreach efforts.

Today’s image is of the drill barrel (sonde) as
it is brought out of the ice core hole and moved to the horizontal so
that the ice core contained inside (look at the very end of thesonde carefully) can be removed and moved to the ice core processing room.

January 8, 2008
WAIS Divide camp Antarctica

Time: 6 am
Latitude: 79° 28.10’ S
Longitude: 112° 3.56’ W
Elevation: 1820 m (5919’)
Ice core: ~30 m (900’)
Temperature: -13 °C ( 9°F)(warmed to -10 °C/14°F by evening - our warmest day yet)
Wind speed: 9 km/h (5 mp/h)
Wind Chill: -17 °C (0 °F)
Visibility: 1 km (.6 miles)
Clouds: fog
Wind direction: N
Relative Humidity: 67%
Barometric Pressure: steady
Precipitation: flurries but little to no accumulation
Breakfast: French Toast, sausage, hot/cold cereal
Lunch: Chicken, Beef, Vegi fajitas
Supper: Pan-seared Atlantic Salmon, lentil soup, bread, steak fries


I almost feel like I just came up out of the mines. Today we split the
core handler group in two and worked 8 am -5 pm and 4 pm to midnight
shifts. It has not been the first day I spent all day indoors here at WAIS
Divide camp but somehow today seemed different. Half excited to get
some real ice cores and half anxious about getting the data done
correctly. The -20° C temperature in the arch certainly sapped the
energy out of me after my morning shift. Ice core processing is not
extremely difficult but it can be quite tricky as you try and get the
depths of each ice core as precisely as possible. Not every ice core
comes up out of the hole in a perfect 3 m long cylinder and there are
often breaks, cracks, chips missing, weird irregular cuts, and plain
ole’ imperfections. We record every little break and missing ice chip
as we collect the ice cores since they will be boxed and sent to the
National Ice Core Laboratory in Denver Colorado and potentially not
examined again until June 2008. When you open the boxes in six months
atNICL to complete the ice core processing and divide the ice cores
into the appropriate pieces for each science investigation, all the ice
cores might look the same. Without great observations now, along with
excellent records, we might easily lose track of which ice core is
which. If that were to happen then any age dates we establish for the
ice cores could be confused.

The age dates are critical in
helping determine the composition of the atmosphere and the
corresponding climate during each time period. That is basically the
point of collecting ancient natural records of the climate. There are
other ways to investigate ancient climate like deep sea sediment cores,
dendrochronology (tree rings), and pollen from lake sediments. These
records, along with ice cores, are all called proxy records as they
come from natural sources and are chemically analyzed to determine
temperature changes. The other record climate scientists use to
determine climate change is the instrumental record which comes from
“modern” instruments (back to late 1700s) which give measurements of
weather changes. When placed together these records provide a precise
look into what climate has been in the past. Ice core records are the
most detailed of these proxy records and have been dated, depending on
the ice layer conditions, back to 800,000 yearsypb (years before
present). All this information adds up to a more complete understanding
of the past climate and will help to determine what the future climate
change on Earth will be.

All this Antarctica science and camp
life may seem like one big snow party, and to some it is. In fact,
there are a couple folks here in camp who are professional polar
(Antarctic and Arctic) workers. The science here is supported by lots
of skilled staff currently employed byRaytheon Polar Services Company.
Some of these folks use their 4-5 month stints in Antarctica or the
Arctic as their only real employment (some work both poles each year).
After their stint on the ice is over each spring (or fall in the
Arctic) they head for other exotic places in the world to camp, travel,
or just hangout and enjoy the scenery until their next assignment comes
up. Our camp director, Elizabeth, is one of these free spirits that have
no address (maybe a storage locker somewhere) and when she is off the
ice she travels and or maybe picks up other part-time jobs somewhere in
the world. This February she will be working in Alaska for
a few weeks before taking off and traveling somewhere she might not
have been before. Then, in the fall, it is back to Antarctica for her
eighth season. Not just a job, but a career as a dedicated polar
professional. Then again, after skillfully directing a camp of mostly
men in Antarctica for a few months, I am sure that she needs (and
certainly deserves) the long break.

The weather started off
very nice this morning but deteriorated enough to have us cancel a
scheduled C-130 flight. Another is scheduled for tomorrow – so we will
see what happens. We have run out of Ginger tea so I am very hopeful for
tomorrow’s flight and resupply.

Today’s image is of Ursula and group examining and recording information on one of the new ice cores.

January 7, 2008
WAIS Divide camp Antarctica

Time: 6 am
Latitude: 79° 28.10’ S
Longitude: 112° 3.56’ W
Elevation: 1820 m (5919’)
Ice core: 285 cm (~8‘)
Temperature: -13 °C ( 9°F)
Wind speed: 9 km/h (5 mp/h)
Wind Chill: Visibility: 7 km (4.2 miles) Clouds: clearing, high stratus
Wind direction: N/NE
Relative Humidity: 67%
Barometric Pressure: steady
Precipitation: 0, lots of frost last night
Breakfast: Leftovers
Lunch: Leftovers
Supper: Leftovers


I just spoke about Hoar Frost yesterday and after a fantastic sunny day yesterday, the fog and frost set in after midnight. Today was so foggy it reminded me of a day on the ocean by my house. Visibility was poor but it was a day off anyway. The big event today was our Winter Olympics which included a team Nordic-cross skiing event, a Nansen sled pull, bamboo flag javelin toss, a three-legged race, a 6-hole mini golf course, and curling – with candy corn. The olympics took the better part of the afternoon and we had most people in camp participating in events. The rest of the day was spent reading, watching movies, and just relaxing. I had House Mouse at lunch but with left-overs for meals and people wandering in and out at any time it was a really easy job. Ken and I did a little filming but all in all it was a relaxing day. I am almost glad it was foggy and not sunny so that I did not feel compelled to be outside all day working.

Tomorrow we start two shifts of ice core processing. We are anxious to get a lot of ice and as there is not a lot of time left in this season. Some of us we will flying off the continent before the end of January.

Today’s image is of the Hoar Frost as it collects on tent guidelines and on the ground (my boot under the edge for contrast).

January 6, 2008
WAIS Divide camp Antarctica

Time: 6 am
Latitude: 79° 28.10’ S
Longitude: 112° 3.56’ W
Elevation: 1820 m (5919’)
Ice core: 285 cm (~8‘)
Temperature: -16 °C ( 4°F)
Wind speed: 10 km/h (6 mp/h)
Wind Chill: -20 °C (-5 F)
Visibility: 11 km (7 miles)
Clouds: clear
Wind direction: N/NE
Relative Humidity: 77%
Barometric Pressure: rising
Precipitation: 0
Breakfast: pancakes with blueberry syrup, buckwheat pancakes
Lunch: sandwiches
Supper: Turkey, gravy, baked potatoes, mixed veggies


Today was an unbelievably sunny day from beginning to end. One Twin Otter left with another science group to the Pine Island Glacier for three days and our group was in the arch all day working with the drillers to get another 2.85 m of ice. Being that today is Saturady and tomorrow is our day off, we secured the ice cores that we have drilled into the ice basement to stay cold until we do minimal processing tomorrow. It is -20 °C in the ice core processing room but not cold enough for ancient ice. On Monday we are moving to double shifts as we expect 10s of meters each day. We will continue working on that schedule for a couple days and then move to three shifts per day and really move things into higher gear.

There are a few things to report from the 3d quadrat. As I have mentioned before, the surface area here is the same for thousands of kilometers in every direction, nothing grows here, and unless the weather changes and the snow drifts there might be seemingly little to observe. The snow surface here though is becoming more compact by the wind each day. When I poke my pen in to the surface it is hard and more resistant each day. Since no new snow has fallen in awhile the surface becomes more and more compact and a wind pack layer is forming in some parts. The very top surface in another part is becoming very crystalline. Some of that seems to be Hoar Frost forming as the snow on the surface is sublimating. Sublimation is when the snow moves directly from a solid to vapor water, skipping the melting phase. It happens with the intense sunshine we are getting. Sublimation is sort of like evaporation with out the water part. Hoar Frost is a think crystalline frost that forms on the snow surface. At least some of the water that contributes to the Hoar Frost comes from the sublimating snow. The water molecules move from the solid snow to vapor water, then freeze in the cold and crystallize on the surface as frost. The rest of the frost probably comes from what little water vapor is in the air. This type of frost is similar to what happens at my house in Maine but since there is nothing else to crystallize on but the snow surface, that is where it forms.


Ken and I also did some filming this morning since the weather was so cooperative. A couple quick takes on film and my fingers were feeling the bite of the dry cold wind. I have noticed that it is cold here, the wind makes it colder, and on these very dry days it is even colder. The Sun makes it very warm in my tent and allows me to sleep without my sleeping bag zipped but once I am outside I remember that I am West Antarctica. The other funny thing about the location of my tent in tent city is that it is one of the closest tents to the diesel generator that we use to power the equipment in the arch 24/7. Basically, I came thousands of miles to almost the middle of West Antarctica and camped near a power plant – kind of funny. Then again it is worth the spectacular science and the scenery to come to Antarctica, generator or not.

Today’s image is of a group of us performing an Antarctic pig pile on John. We like John but felt he needed a good pig pile.

January 5, 2008
WAIS Divide camp Antarctica

Time: 6 am
Latitude: 79° 28.10’ S
Longitude: 112° 3.56’ W
Elevation: 1820 m (5919’)
Ice core: 250 cm (~7‘)
Temperature: -14 °C ( 7°F)
Wind speed: 10 km/h (6 mp/h)
Wind Chill: -18 C (-2 F)
Visibility: 11 km (7 miles)
Clouds: thick stratus
Wind direction: N/NE
Relative Humidity: 77%
Barometric Pressure: falling
Precipitation: 0
Breakfast: egg-ham mix, egg-asparagus mix, fresh cinnamon bread, cold/hot cereal, fruit
Lunch: lasagna
Supper: Catfish filet, vegi soup, fresh bread


Yesterday we spent most of the day in the arch making more final adjustments. By afternoon we drilled another 2.5 m (250 cm or ~7’). It was just enough ice core to work it through our processing line and make sure everyone knew what needed to be done when we soon collect 10s of meters per day. Because there are plenty of core handlers for the work today in the arch, I spent most of the time as a carpenter building shelves and such.

The weather was calm and quite warm compared to past couple days. The light was still very flat due to the cloud cover but it could still have been a great ski day had I had a moment off. The warm weather had me starting to think about summer time and plans for diving on coral reefs and being at the beach with my children. Not that I am looking forward to the heat but I am thinking about playing in the “warm” Maine ocean water with friends and family. Possibly this is because though we have a shower here, my body has not seen a lot of water in weeks. This camp situation has almost everything we need including showers and a washer and dryer. The weather here is so dry though that you rarely sweat so a shower hardly seems necessary very often - maybe every week or so. To provide water for the shower and the washer (and all cooking/drinking) you need to melt water in washing machine-sized snow-melter. Each wash load takes about three full large garbage type buckets full of snow for enough water to run the load and one bucket full of snow for a 3 min. shower. With that much effort to dig and melt snow for a shower or wash load it seems hardly worthwhile to do too often. That being said, yes, I have taken a couple of showers since I got here, and even did a load of laundry. There is also not any dirt here. It is all clean snow and ice so you and your clothes never get dirty as they might at home. Remember, there are 60 other people here so if you do want to shower or do laundry you might have to wait in line. I do not have much time or interest for that when I could be skiing or seeing the sights. McMurdo also has showers and washers so I will make sure not to take any dirty clothes home – maybe.

Today’s image is one of John and me taking a warming break in the Jamesway shelter between work shifts. John, a graduate student from Penn State University, looks like he is still unsure about the whole concept about being in West Antarctica, or maybe it was something he ate?

January 4, 2008
WAIS Divide camp Antarctica

Time: 6 am
Latitude: 79° 28.10’ S
Longitude: 112° 3.56’ W
Elevation: 1820 m (5919’)
Ice core: 45 cm (~1.5 ‘)
Temperature: -14 °C ( 7°F)
Wind speed: 16 km/h (10 mp/h)
Wind Chill: -21°C (-6° F)
Visibility: 11 km (7 miles)
Clouds: overcast
Wind direction: N
Relative Humidity: 77%
Barometric Pressure: steady
Precipitation: very very light snow
Breakfast: egg-ham mix, egg-asparagus mix, fresh cinnamon bread, cold/hot cereal, fruit
Lunch: chicken/vegi potpie
Supper: meat/vegi loaf, green beans, fresh bread

Yesterday, John and I started to shovel out an old frozen food freezer that was dug into the snow last year. It is now buried about 2 m (6’) deep so John and I had a tough time digging through the packed snow – similar to digging another snow pit. There is no food left in it but it was framed with wood and metal pallets that we need to recover and reuse. This morning it was so calm it is almost startling but a nice day to be outside, and not too sunny or not too cold. We were back to D-1 operation in the morning but moved to the arch by the afternoon. We actually never finished digging out the old under”ground” freezer by lunch but with ice coring starting I guess that is the end of my D-1 operating (shoveling) for now and I will be able get to my primary job of ice core processing.

The amount of action in camp has also increased with the arrival of a new science group on yesterday’s C-130 flight. It is always interesting to hear about the science of other groups and how they are handling the logistics of their projects here in Antarctica. The PI (principle investigator) is a 10-year veteran of Antarctica and a friend who attend a international teacher workshop I hosted last year in Montana (PS- more information on this year’s teacher workshops can be found at www.tufts.edu/as/wright_center). This group was actually supposed to be on their way out of the field by now but since everything in Antarctica takes more time, a little bad weather can set you back weeks. They will be going from here to Pine Island Glacier as soon as possible in this their recon year before they return next year to drill a hole through the ice shelf and sample the ocean below. They have a videographer from the Polarpaloozer program with them and you should checkout their videos on the web.

After noon, the drillers “cleaned-out” the ice core hole of any snow that might have fallen in over the last year and then went on to drill the first ice core of the season. Though it was only 44 cm long it was fantastic to actually get new ice out of the hole that was from about 115 m under the surface. The age of the ice, at that depth, is (very) approximately 447 years old. That ice fell from the sky at about the year 1560 AD. The 44 cm of ice we drilled included about 2 year worth of time. Imagine that the gas bubbles in our new ice core was the same air that people breathed while the Pilgrims settled in New England, before the French Revolution, and before Shakespeare wrote a play. Tomorrow we should be drilling more ice core and running it through our ice core processing area to record its depth, length, and condition before preparing it for packing and shipping to the National Ice Core Laboratory at the end of the season.


Today’s image (courtesy of Nicoli) is of the drill pipe and the first ice core of the season (white stuff on the at the end of the pipe) before it was removed. You will recognize me on the right from the “new” hat (see very early blogs).

PS Happy Birthday to Sylvia, Mathew, and Hugh. It was a three cake supper last night.

January 3, 2008
WAIS Divide camp Antarctica

Time: 6 am
Latitude: 79° 28.10’ S
Longitude: 112° 3.56’ W
Elevation: 1820 m (5919’)
Temperature: -14 °C ( 7°F)
Wind speed: 10 km/h (6 mp/h)
Wind Chill: -18 C (-2 F)
Visibility: 11 km (7 miles)
Clouds: stratus on horizon to the North, cirrus overhead
Wind direction: N/NE
Relative Humidity: 77%
Barometric Pressure: falling
Precipitation: 0
Breakfast: egg-ham mix, scrambled eggs, pumpkin bread, fruit
Lunch: Salmon or lentil patties, veggies, bread
Supper:

The forecast said that we would have a new storm move in last night but it never happened. As a result, we have been enjoying the relatively calm cold weather. When my neighbor(s) in tent city finished building the igloo around 3 am last night I am sure it was very cold. The actual temperature that I record each day is deceiving cold compared to what we experience here. For me, the 24 hours of sunlight psychologically makes it feel warmer than it is. When it is cold and dark it feels very cold, as I know from living in Maine, but sunny and cold is not too bad. A big impact on temperature is the wind, and as you can see from the wind chill calculations some days around here are very very cold. Some of our Alaskan friends claim that they actually come to Antarctica to warm-up at this time of year as it can easily be at least 15° F colder in central Alaska then it is in West Antarctica, as well as being dark. The lack of a storm today allowed another C-130 to land today. It dropped off another couple scientists that will stay here for a couple of days on their way to the Pine Island Glacier to work, and the plane took away a couple folks that need to get back to McMurdo and then home.

Yesterday we talked about wind direction, today we can talk about wind speed. The wind speed can also be determined using your wind flag or similar instrument if you do not have an anemometer. What you will have to do is calibrate your wind instrument (flag) compared to a professional instrument or on-line weather. Observe your flag on calm still days, then observe your flag on days that have winds of various strengths. A flag should be pointing straight out at about 30+ mph (miles per hour) and vary between that position and hanging down depending on the wind strengths. You can make up a chart that describes the position of your flag relative to the wind strength (see below for example). Then you can use your chart each day when you make observations and record the appropriate wind speed.

For a good chart on the Beaufort Wind Scale go to
http://www.mountwashington.org/education/center/arcade/wind/beaufort.html

The wind speed calibration chart that you create might look like this-
**this data is completely estimated and you need to calibrate your own wind speed scale!

Wind speed (mph)
0 10mph 20mph 25mph 30mph
flag at 0 flag at 10 flag at 45 flag at 60 flag at 90 (degrees)


see image


Time for me to get back out into the windy plains of West Antarctica. Since our galley building is the eating and meeting place, and the drill arch is ~1/2 km (¼ mile away) we often are shuttled to and from. Today’s image is of a couple of us on a sled being towed by a snowmobile back to work at the arch.