Deployment Mission(s): Complete

Weddell seal enjoying the sunshine

Dear regular blog readers,
I apologize for leaving you hanging the last couple of days.  It has been non-stop go recently as we have been trying to deploy our two towers.  Since my project summary blog post has yet to be written, suffice it for now that my goal is to collect blowing snow (which Antarctica is kind enough to supply with ample quantities).  Where to begin?  So much has happened (this is a good thing) except for sleep (this is a bad thing).  I've also realized that I will be unable to cover everything in one post.  Thus, I plan to spend the next few days organizing pictures, remembering stories, and catching you all up to date.  Let's start with the fun stuff first.... we saw our first Antarctic wildlife!   

Scoping the Ross hiking trail system

Rachel and I went for a short walk down to Hut Point, so named after the historical hut still standing that had been built by the Antarctic explorer Robert Scott and his team during their 1901-1904 expedition.  Enjoying the views from the top of the cliffs, we then looked down only to see nearly a dozen seals lying out on the sea ice.  The ice near the point is quite fractured, providing multiple breathing holes for the seals.  The seals enjoy taking naps out on the ice and waving to scientists.  After quite some time, the wind drove us away and I decided to take an adventure in the opposite direction.  Separating the New Zealand base (Scott Base) with McMurdo Station is Observation Hill (Ob Hill).  To prevent everyone here from going crazy (scratch that... we already are, and in fact they sell t-shirts stating so), there is a trail system for hiking/skiing in the area, with one path going straight up Ob Hill.  I took an evening hike up and was reward with incredible 360 degree views of Ross Island, our volcano Mt Erebus, and Ross Sea (more pictures coming).  Enough recreation... onto science.

Our original site is better for swimming

Pancake ice (yes, that's the scientific name)

One of the sweet benefits of our project is that it requires helicopter access to reach our 2 field sites.  The original plan was for Site 1 to be somewhere near Cape Bird, which was chosen after Rachel's careful analysis of the prevailing winds (and the fact that there is a penguin colony nearby).  Our helo ride was a breath-taking trip, passing right by Mt. Erebus, vast snow fields, and menacing crevasses.  We flew to the north side of Ross Island and excitedly looked down.  However, rather than spotting the sparking white expanse of sea ice, we realized we should have brought the bathing suits as the entire bay was open water.  As we circled Cape Bird, we sadly realized that there was no solid sea ice to play on, nevertheless land a helicopter.  Do not be alarmed (I know you were) that this is all due to global warming.  Rather, it is primarily a result of movement of a large (the world's largest) iceberg that had been blocking the Ross Sea for the last decade, keeping lots of sea ice near McMurdo.  We had been forewarned though, and were prepared with plan B.  We then flew along the ice edge across McMurdo Sound towards Marble Point.  We stopped several miles offshore of a lovely place called Butter Point that satisfied our site requirements.  Long at last, we erected our first tower complete with the Ice Kid keeping a watchful eye.  The Ice Kid even captured tower setup, which John has converted into a fun movie (available soon at stores near you and from this blog, but temporarily findable from my facebook page).  Anchoring the tower and the Ice Kid required all hands (our field/ice safety specialist, the pilot, the helo-technician, Rachel, and I) as we had to make some last minute adjustments.   Nonetheless, it was an excellent mission, and as the Ice Kid shows, our tower is now successfully collecting blowing snow.

Site 1: Butter Point

Beautiful valley south of site 2

Sweet iceberg next to tower 2

Completely exhausted, we returned to our dorms with the assumption we would do sea ice training Thursday and deploy the second tower Friday.  Surprise!  This is Antarctica and plans are always fluid.  If you are given helo time, you take it because you never know when the weather is going to change.  An email informed us that we were going to setup tower 2 on Thursday, immediately following our training.  I ran back to the lab, unpacked and repacked all of the equipment, and caught a few hours of sleep.  Today's sea ice training was fun, but could not compete with the joys of the afternoon deployment.  Once again we had a magnificent helo ride out to our new site, north of Butter Point towards a place called Cape Roberts.  After a great recommendation from the pilot, we decided to setup alongside an enormous iceberg that would block westerly (continental/non-sea-ice) winds.  This setup went a little faster as we had more ice screws and we now were all seasoned experts in blowing snow tower deployments.  The site (particularly the iceberg that must be over 100 ft tall) is absolutely stunning, and I promise more photos will be forthcoming.  However, just as we were finishing up (and before we took our photos), we received word on the radios that a storm was coming.  Very kindly, the pilots encouraged us to finish up now and get into the helo.  By Murphy's law, this was also when a crimp decided to break, dropping the mast of the tower.  I begged for another 7 minutes and was able to give it a quick fix, so tower 2 is now successfully deployed.  The ride back to McMurdo was highlighted when we overheard the pilots say, "This is going to be interesting" and "I think I'll just close my eyes."  However, based on the smoothness of the landing, you would never have known there were any winds.  As it turned out, the storm hasn't quite materialized yet, and we arrived with plenty of time.  We thus were able to enjoy the evening, knowing that our 2 towers are out there ready to collect all of that blowing snow!

Where is that sea ice?  I just see open water

Totally stoked on my helicopter ride

The Ice Kid catches us in action

Setting up the tower with helo in the background

 

Antarctic Survival Gear: Frisbee, Cards, and Chocolate

Campground for Happy Camper training

I'm officially a Happy Camper.  We had a great time the last 2 days learning the skills required in case of an emergency while out on the sea ice.  For this training, 20 of us (plus 2 instructors) were loaded up on one of the monster trucks and shipped out onto a frozen wasteland (aka the Ross Ice Shelf).  Out here, we practiced the standard winter camping skills of operating a whisper light stove, setting up tents, constructing a snow wall, etc.  We did luck out in the sense that the weather was beautiful (for all you northerners, that means single digit temperatures with little wind).  There is a very simple designation of weather down here.  Condition 3 (Con-3) means that the weather is lovely: wind chill above -75 deg F, winds speed less than 55 mph, and visibility less than 1/4 mile.  When any one of those thresholds is crossed, you have now reached Con-2.  Condition 1 means that either wind chill is less than -100 deg F or wind speed is greater than 63 mph or visibility is less than 100 ft.  Things begin to shut down in Con-2 and no one is allowed outside in Con-1, Most of our time down here (and just about all of Happy Camper training) has been Con-3.  Thus, Happy Camper wasn't much different than some back-country ski trips I've done back in VT.  

Rachel and Tracy enjoying dinner

Stimulating white-out conditions

Just before you start thinking of me skiing down the backside of Mansfield, there are a few differences to remember.  First, you are camping on top of 300 feet of heavily compacted snow/ice.  This means that if you want a nice kitchen or chairs to enjoy dinner, you simply need to dig deeper.  It also makes going to the bathroom interesting.  For our trainings, we were at a predesignated spot where they had drilled a really deep hole and erected an outhouse.  Out in the field though is another story... Second, there is absolutely no topographical relief, particularly when the visibility drops and you can't see the mountains on Ross Island.  This can be very disorienting and we all had good laughs fighting over which way was north.  One thing I have yet to do in VT is flag the route from my tent to the outhouse.  All paths/roads out on the ice are flagged since the weather might become Con-1/white-out very quickly or there might be a crevasse nearby... not things to be taken lightly.  As part of our training, we practiced trying to find a lost person in white-out conditions.  To stimulate this, we all put buckets over our heads and used a rope to stay together.  45 minutes later we had made hardly any progress in our search, which made us realize the importance of all safety measures. 

Frisbee out on the sea ice

Antarctica was mean to my poor frisbee

The night was pretty uneventful.  About half the group dug trenches in the snow and slept in them.  I got side-tracked building ice benches in the kitchen, and alas, didn't have time to make a trench.  Thus, I slept in one of the "Scott" tents.  After nearly 100 years, we have yet to develop a stronger more rugged tent for these conditions than what Scott used on his expeditions.  Those of you who know me, know that I don't go anywhere without my frisbee and a deck of cards, both of which came in useful.  Running on snow/ice in bunny boots bundled up with all your clothes is difficult.  Running while trying to throw and catch a frisbee with mittens is near impossible.  We all had a hilarious time trying and it also warms you up quickly as an added bonus.  However, cold Antarctic temps are not nice to frisbees, making them quite brittle.  Right before training ended, my poor little disc (that has traveled the world with me) decided that enough was enough, exploding into 3 separate pieces as it hit the snow.  We all gathered in a circle to say a little prayer... and then we learned how quickly conditions can change.  In a matter of seconds, a big gust of wind came in and we were in Con-1 (due to lack of visibility).  Holding on to each other, we stumbled into the warming hut where the indoor portion of training had occurred and waited.  The truck driver was likewise caught midway, and in those conditions there is nothing you can do except wait it out.  I broke out the deck of cards, and we all joined in an exciting game of Spoons (we even played one round with TimTams, a chocolate cookie/biscuit).  This delay only lasted about an hour before the visibility cleared and we could return to McMurdo.  This storm has lingered and the region has been Con-1 or Con-2 recently, although solely for visibility as temps are still warm (you can see this on some of the IceKid images).  Still, we learned the important message that weather dictates everything down here.

A Happy Camper (with Mt. Erebus in background)

McMurdo Life

My dorm is the building furthest to the right

As a scientist, I really am excited to share my research with you all.  However, more likely than not, your first question to me will be, "What is life like in Antarctica?" rather than "Where were the bromide ions located microstructurally and stratigraphically in the sea ice cores?"  Thus, my long-awaited project summary blog will be pushed back a little further.  Let's start with the most obvious questions.  No, I have not seen any penguins.  They are closer to the sea ice edge (near where it becomes open water), but we hopefully should be able to see them when we go out to Cape Bird.  There are several seal colonies nearby, but the seals don't wander down the streets of McMurdo.  One of the few research groups here though arrived early with us to tag the new born pups since it is currently birthing season.  They will be establishing a field camp closer to the colonies, accessible by snowmobile.

Rachel next to some serious trucks

Recycling with some sweet views

If you were magically transported to McMurdo, you might mistake it for a mining site, other than for the weather and blanket of white everywhere.  Many of the people who work here rarely leave the station.  This summer (that is Dec/Jan for you northerners), the population will reach just over 1,000, of which only 144 are here on NSF grants to do science.  The rest have jobs ranging from mechanics to air traffic controllers to firemen to logistics to communications to lab techs, etc.  One of the best things though about McMurdo is that since we all eat and live together, you get to know the community very quickly.  Isolated from the rest of the world, there is a huge effort to offer a variety of evening activities (and there are even people here devoted solely to recreation).  I've been loving the fact that basketball, volleyball, and ping-pong are some of the most popular sports.  In fact, there are several people here that can destroy me in ping-pong.  For those of you who know me, that is NOT something I admit readily, but what else can you say when you lose 21-5.  Although the majority of people work regular business hours, McMurdo operates 24/7, and thus a significant percentage of the population works nights.   For those stuck on station, there are some nice recreation routes right out of town although many are still closed since we are early in the season.  The good news though is that there are beautiful views right from town.

Snowmobile training

My cargo arrived!

So far, Rachel and I have been going from training to training.  The biggest difference I've noticed between the Arctic and Antarctic is the logistics/paperwork/bureaucracy.  In Barrow, I was kind of just given the keys to the snowmobile and told not to kill myself.  Today, Rachel and I just completed a 3 hour course on first safety and then driving snowmobiles around a preset obstacle course.  The instructor was pretty easy on us since it was clear we had experience, but you do feel incredibly safe with everything you do down here (that line is for you, mom).  All of the trainings have also been a great way to meet all of the crew running McMurdo.   In our free time from trainings, we have been busy collecting and gathering all of the gear and supplies we will need for the field.  Shockingly, all of the cargo I shipped back in early August arrived undamaged.  Most of the gear though we had reserved in our 62-page SIP (Support Information Package).  Through an incredible logistical miracle, that gear was all labeled and ready for our pickup down here.  They also didn't complain too loudly when we asked for more stuff.  The next two days we will be completing "Happy Camper" training, a crash course on survival where we will camp out on the ice preparing ourselves for a real emergency.  After that, we have a specialty course on sea ice, as that is where all of our research occurs.  We hope to finally setup our research station on Tuesday, the first day the helicopters fly scientists.  I hope to return to you all soon, officially as a Happy Camper.

IceKid's McMurdo home

Arriving to the land of ice and snow

One excited researcher

There is no other way to say it: I'm in Antarctica!  We all showed up the International Antarctic Centre at 5 am to pack up our bags.  I had 110 lbs of IceKid, 27 lbs of ECW (extreme cold weather clothing), 40 lbs of my own bag, 231 lbs of me dressed warmly plus my carry-on (which contained the most important items, such as my laptop and 2 bottles of scotch).  Rachel didn't have as much of the equipment, so together I think we stayed under the 300 lb cutoff, but they never checked.  The first half of the flight was uneventful.  Then we reached the beginning of the ice and my face became glued to the window.  One of the benefits of taking the Airbus rather than the C-17 is that we had windows on our plane.  The weather could not have been nicer: clear skies, no wind, -20 temps so the landing on the ice was quite easy.  We all put on our ECW, exited the plane, and walked into a world like no other. 

 

Antarctica International Airport

It's pretty clear who the newbies were since our eyes were wide open (despite the polar sunglasses) and our cameras out.  The veterans tried their best to herd us like cattle onto the monster truck that shuttled us from the ice to McMurdo Station.  As we were leaving, we had a glimpse of the other monster truck (named "Ivan the Terra bus") that was shuttling people leaving McMurdo.  Those guys were on the winter crew and many had been there since February or earlier.  As we were driving, one of the veterans asked when I had my "WOW" moment, that instance when you realize you are actually going to Antarctica.  For me, I think it was when our plane was on the runway leaving Christchurch and I knew there was no turning back (unless of course we boomeranged). 

Fata morgana

As you might expect, there is a lot of snow and ice, with constant cold temperatures.  Since you are generally quite bundled up, your field of vision is often just white.  However, considering that the sky was clear and temps were only -20, we actually had some pretty sweet views.  I learned a new term: fata morgana, which refers to a mirage in really cold areas.  It was really disorienting looking across the sea ice and seeing it.  I was told to appreciate the nice weather now since it won't last. 

 McMurdo from the plane

Arriving to McMurdo kind of felt like a reunion, except Rachel and I were on the outside, as one of the few newbies and the only scientists.  Most of the people in Antarctica have been coming for years and were reconnecting with old friends.  Since we were the first "mainbody" flight of the year, everyone on station hadn't seen new faces in 5-6 weeks.  There was only one other research team already on site, so we had a great opportunity to get to know everyone who makes the station run.  It also meant that we were guinea pigs for all of the orientation (which changes slightly every year, but more-so this year as a new contractor is running all of the logistics).  These few days are pretty much filled with different trainings and the like, so no science yet.  However, we have temporarily setup the IceKid, so you can get regular glimpses of McMurdo from the IceKid website.

I could go on and on about life at McMurdo, but I have 6 weeks and plenty of blog-space to fill.  Thus, I will just leave you with a few more fun images from the plane (which is really all you wanted anyways).  Enjoy!  I know I am.  

Ice runway

First view of Antarctica

Lead in the ice... will be important for me later

Mt Erebus

So close...

Clothes I must wear on the plane

I have been corrected (and humbled) to find that there are indeed more than my mom and sister reading this blog (and in fact already have over 550 hits).  Thanks!  Thus, you can all share in the excitement that tomorrow's the day (hopefully) that we head down south.  We are getting up in a few hours in order to check-in at the Antarctic departure center by 5 am sharp, but I have been unable to sleep at all. Rachel and I already have a strike against us in terms of timeliness as we were late for gear issue.  Apparently today was the start of daylight savings, but we somehow never received that memo.  Personally, I didn't think you should be allowed to spring forward twice without one fall back in between.  But alas, my body clock is so dysfunctional by now that I wouldn't know the difference anyways.  We arrived just in time to get our computers checked, receive a flu vaccine, and watch the information video.  We then proceeded to gear issue where we had two bags full of clothes labeled with our names.  Basically, I could have showed up with no clothes for this trip as the ECW (extreme cold weather gear) provides everything from long johns to fleece layers to ridiculously warm outer wear (not to mention 5 different sets of gloves/mittens).  Props go out to Giff, whose name tag is displayed prominently on the example clothing near the entrance of the building.  

My personalized parka

Rachel and I will be taking the airbus rather than the C-17 plane.  This means that we will have windows and not all of the cargo, more like a regular commercial plane (minus the flight attendants).  This also means that since our plane can't land in the nastier conditions, we have a higher probability of boomeranging.  Boomeranging refers to the unfortunate circumstance where after the 5 hour flight to McMurdo, they determine the weather is too severe to land and you must return back to Christchurch.... 10 hours completely wasted.  Of the 55 people on the flight, there are only a couple of scientists with the majority being those hardy folk that run McMurdo station.  They rarely allow scientists on the first flight of the year, but we were given the exception due to the time-sensitive nature of our work.  I just realized that I have yet to give a proper explanation of my project and I promise that blog entry will be forthcoming.   

After our gear pickup, we had a pretty relaxing day.  I checked out the Antarctic IceFest that fortuitously is going on in Christchurch these weeks.  They have quite a bit of historical information on the adventures of Scott, Amundsen, and Shackleton.  There was supposed to be an outdoor movie about the Ross Sea that I tried to attend this evening, but did not show due to technical difficulties.  The guy next to me at the screening found out I was actually going to the Ross Sea tomorrow, and before I knew it, there was a crowd around me looking to hear stories.  Since I'm a newbie myself, I didn't have much to share (except make them all jealous I think).  However, I have been having a blast already sharing my science with so many interested people.  If only politicians also believed in science...

Picking up our ECW

Right now I need to go pack.  We are allowed a strict allotment of 150 pounds each.  Since the IceKid weighs 110 pounds and my ECW weighs 27 pounds, I'm running pretty low on space.  Hopefully Rachel will share some of her allotment.  We need to divide our items into a) checked luggage b) carry-on c) boomerang bag.  If our flight does indeed boomerang, we are only allowed access to our boomerang bag while we wait in Christchurch.  Thankfully they also allow us to leave some items here in Christchurch so I don't need to carry all of our backpacking gear for Australia with us.  I found it interesting that the only questions the other guys asked during gear issue was in what bag should they put their alcohol.  These guys are clearly much more experienced than me.

My next post will hopefully be from McMurdo Station! 

Gorgeous New Zealand

Good Ol' Cromwell... fruit capital of NZ

You probably came to my blog to see incredible images from Antarctica.  Ha!  I fooled you.  The following images are indeed incredible, but are all from New Zealand (I promise the Antarctica ones will come, provided my camera doesn't wimp out in the cold).  Well, we left off our story telling at Otago University where I was giving a talk to the geography department.  For the two of you that are diehard followers of my blog, you might argue that I was giving a talk to the physics department.  Ahh, but we are trying to recreate my PhD application process when I applied to physics, math, geography, and engineering (all at the same two universities).  Thus, I gave my chemistry talk about my engineering PhD to physics and geology professors (and a math grad) at the Otago geography department.  Surprisingly, everyone seemed to follow it and I was subsequently bombarded with excellent questions.  After an excellent lunch, I drove out to Cromwell to visit the vineyard where I worked in 2007 and was lucky to pick up two hitchhikers in Dunedin who accompanied me the whole way.  Sadly, the owners at Olssens have sold their vineyard but the land seems to still be producing excellent grapes.

Grant and I with Mt Cook over our heads

I then continued the drive out to visit my friends Grant, Sarah, and their four boys (who at ages 7-12 aren't quite as small as I remembered).  Grant didn't need much more of an excuse to take the day off from work to take me on a sweet hike in the Mount Cook National Park (Cook is the tallest Mountain in NZ).  If it wasn't the last day of school for the term, I think the boys would have skipped as well to go skiing.  We started along the Sealy Tarns trail and after a pretty steep climb, we quickly reached the snow fields.  Considering there wasn't a cloud in the sky and the temps were quite warm, the joys of postholing began.  After another hour of sludging through the snow, we decided we were wet enough and lunched with one of the best views I have had in quite some time (maybe since my last visit to NZ).

View of Mt Sefton

I admit that I am quite jealous that this region is now Grant's backyard.  Unfortunately we couldn't spend too long up there as we had to return in time for Daniel's birthday party (or Grant would have been in quite some trouble).  I was treated to a typical 7-year-old NZ birthday party, complete with treasure hunt, sports, and lollicakes.  Alas, I had to call an end to my epic 4-day adventure across NZ.  In total, I think I covered 1100 km (680 miles) and although gas runs at about $6.50/gallon, the fuel efficiency of my little Toyota Yaris ensured I didn't break the bank.

At lunch rocks with Mt Cook in the background

Snowfields with view of lunch rocks

Leaving Mt Cook National Park

Earthquake damage in Christchurch

I finally made it back to my hotel in Christchurch around 9pm.  As Rachel (www.rachelinantarctica.wordpress.com) had just finished her around the world journey to New Zealand, she was already asleep by the time I checked in.  Realizing I still needed to return the rental car to the airport (8 km away), I inquired about a shuttle.  After they mentioned it was $10 I decided I would just enjoy an evening run back, to which they thought I was mad (well it was cold and kind of rainy).  However, I enjoyed those $10 immensely more with an Egyptian souvlaki back in my room. Rachel and I then rendezvoused at a local coffee shop and proceeded to spend the entire day catching up on work.  We did take a sobering walk through downtown Christchurch to observe the damage that still remains from last year's earthquake.  It seems nearly everyone here has a story of someone who just barely survived.  After a productive day, we dined with local Thai food and a bottle of wine from my old vineyard.  

NZ, VT, and Jews... so many people?

The world's southernmost synagogue

Who would have thought I would find so many Jews in New Zealand that have connections to Vermont?  The world's southernmost synagogue is in fact a lovely place and I thoroughly enjoyed attending Yom Kippur services there.  NZ and VT have many commonalities, one of them being that neither is a Jewish mecca.  However, a wonderful group of 20 people arrived for morning services with all ages represented.  When I mentioned that I was from a small state called VT, I was shocked to find that nearly half of the group had either lived there or had some other connection.  Others in the group had a connection to Boston.  Most people I meet in the US have never heard of Norwich, VT or Cohasset, MA but this group knew these towns well.  Jewish geography lives on even on the other side of the world.  They consider their services progressive, and actually use the same prayer book we use back home in Hingham.  One of the amazing things about Judaism is that you you can travel to the other side of the world, yet still sing the same prayers with the same melodies.  After services, we all broke the fast together at a local Thai restaurant with incredible food (or at least it tasted that way after nearly a 2-day fast).

The view from Inga and Greg's house

With the sudden change in plans, Inga and Greg graciously agreed to host me both nights while in Dunedin.  They have a beautiful home out on the Otago peninsula, and I really enjoyed the opportunity to sleep-in and relax before we head out onto the ice.  I made a quick trip to the grocery store and was delighted to see the full selection of wines from the vineyard I had worked at 5 years ago.  The owners I knew have moved to Australia, so I don't think I will pass through Cromwell on this visit.  However, I am looking forward to once again sipping wine from the grapes I helped grow.  There is indeed a sense of nostalgia on this return trip to NZ.  Inga even remembered hearing about this story from my previous trip (Kim, it's a miracle you are alive and I'm definitely missing our epic road trip).  Currently I am back at the Otago University campus about to give a talk on my research for the physics department, where Inga is a professor.  Next stop: visiting the Thompsons in Twizel.

Remembering those we've lost

After 38 hours of travel, I have finally arrived to beautiful NZ.  During every one of my layovers, someone overheard I was going to Antarctica and before I knew it there was a crowd around me.  My flight out of LA was delayed just long enough to ensure I missed my connection in Australia.  I was rebooked on an Air Emirates flight, which meant that I ended up having a 5 plane, 4 different airline trip to arrive in Christchurch.  Needless to say, I was blown away when all 3 of my ridiculously sized bags arrived.  As you all know, I am indeed crazy.  Immediately upon arriving after this multi-day flying adventure, I rented a car and drove 4 1/2 hours to Dunedin.  However, due to the flight delays I arrived just as erev Yom Kippur services were ending.

As I have learned over the last years, you never know what life will throw at you.  It is so important to enjoy your life in the present, and look for and remember the blessings during the difficult times.  While on the road here, twice I received the news that a friends from the past had passed away.  Please take a moment to remember their wonderful lives.  I had truly been looking forward to tonight and the chance to reconnect and catch up with Alison (and John, who survived with their baby and is doing ok).  I will never forget their incredible hospitality and kindness they provided when I was a wwoofer with them in 2007.  Those we love live on with us forever through these memories.  

Good Fortune in DC

Parade at the US Naval Academy

How to describe the last 48 hours?  Simply put: lots of good fortune.  I show up to Manchester airport (thanks Bill!) and they tell me it will be $90 to check my ridiculously sized backpack on board.  After some sweet talking, I find out that instead I could just spend $60 a fly first class with as much luggage as I want, so I flew in style.  Upon arriving to DC, I immediately went to the US Naval Academy to pick up the IceKid.  I was picked up to the good news that the IceKid as of a couple hours ago was now working for the first time (just in time!).  John Woods and his team are truly miracle workers.  After Jimmy and Dan showed me the inner workings of the IceKid, I spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying a parade at the Naval Academy (once again, perfect timing).  One of the midshipmen then volunteered to drive me back to DC and over to Meg's house.

Midd crew (minus Jason who joins later)

My first image from the IceKid

Meg, Mark, and Kathryn graciously organized a lovely dinner complete with an incredible Midd crew (thanks Mark for putting up with all the reminiscing) and birthday cake for Meg.  After dinner, the gang was easily persuaded to join me in the inaugural IceKid testing.  The IceKid is designed such that a bumbling, mumbling, stumbling idiot with mittens can assemble it at -40 deg.  Thus, it did not take long to assemble inside Meg's warm DC house.  Anxious to see the first images online, we checked out the IceKid website: http://icegoat.datatransport.org/monitor#icekid-1/camera0 but were disappointed to see no image.  As you might expect, there are a couple of logistical differences between DC and Antarctica.  One such example is the presence of buildings that block connection to the iridium satellite.  Thus, we relocated to the front porch and shortly thereafter IceKid made its first connection.  As it turns out, it has stored the data taken inside and we were treated to an incredible first shot.  We were better prepared for the second shot once we realized the camera flashes blue when it is about to take a picture.  Alas, the IceKid figured out where it was located, recognized it was nightime, and went to bed.

We were much more prepared for the 2nd IceKid photo

Ashley's lovely apartment

Yesterday Ian and I went to the Nationals game for his birthday and watched them cruise to an easy victory (something that we've sadly missed this year back in Boston).  While at the game, we left the IceKid on his porch to both test out the solar panels and keep watch for any intruders (unfortunately the IceKid did not catch Christine coming home).  I then was able to celebrate another birthday dinner for a friend with Ian, Christine, and Ashley.  After a great weekend in DC, Ian drove me to the airport with all 200 lbs of my gear.  It was fun being quite the celebrity at the airport.  The ticket agent was thrilled that I was the first person she met who was on route to Antarctica.  Several people who overheard our conversation or saw my gear came up to ask questions about my research or get the web address for this blog.

I haven't quite wrapped my head around my flight schedule.  I take off midday Sunday and touch down in New Zealand midday Tuesday.  At no point though will I ever see the day Monday, Sept 24th.  It's good, I didn't care for that day anyway.  I think I have scheduled this perfectly such that I have a 3 hour layover in LA right as the Pats play Sunday Night Football.

Next post: New Zealand!   

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go...

Anyone can build something.  Engineers build things with constraints (time, money, resources, etc.).  I am not an engineer (don't ask me why I'm getting a PhD in engineering).  Maybe I'll become one?  Thankfully I'm blessed to have good friends.
 

The first assignment Rachel gave me was to build a tower for collecting blowing snow in Antarctica with a budget of $500.  I once played with Lincoln logs and I love snow forts, but that is about the extent of my prior skill set.  The very next week, I meet Anthony at a home-brewers meeting who designed such a tower.  I had also recently met Ben, who just happened to have returned from installing said tower in Greenland.  Sweet!

I read a little more into the grant, and it calls for a webcam system such as the one the Canadians used with their OOTI (Out-On-The-Ice) setup.  Well Don sends me up to Barrow, where I just happen to meet those very Canadians with their OOTI sled, sans webcam.  To top it off, I also meet LCDR John Woods from the US Naval Academy.  For Barrow John and his midshipmen built the IceGoat, a ruggedized solar-powered webcam that also records some meteorology data.  After much marveling and non-stop questions by me, John offers to build me a smaller IceGoat... the IceKid for my Antarctic trip.

Very first image from the IceKid

The IceKid saga deserves its own blog entry.  However, the cliff notes is I tell John that I have a very limited budget and am leaving the end of September.  Through John's heroic efforts, the IceKid is born.  Wait!  It weighs 110 lbs and now I find out airlines only let you check luggage up to 70 lbs.  Since nothing fazes John, he somehow finds a way to split the IceKid into two, with one box weighing 69.25 lbs.  As we speak, John's crew is finishing up the IceKid with minutes to spare as I am flying to DC in the morning to pick it up.  Since the IceKid flies with me (rather than with my equipment I shipped via boat back in August), it counts against the 150 lbs of personal gear I can take.  Alas, this called for some extreme light weight packing tonight, particularly since I am carrying all of my backpacking gear for Australia afterwards.

What to take/leave? coconut bra definitely comes

At some point Rachel will probably start catching on.  In fact, I'm already working on trying to get an engineering class to take on one of the challenges for our next grant.  But they don't call it collaboration for no reason, right? 

It's impossible to thank the countless others who have made this trip possible (and I haven't even left yet!).  From right now until Antarctica I have... Bill driving me to Manchester in a few hours and Laura picking me up to take me to the US Naval Academy.  Meg is making a goodbye feast in DC and then Nationals game with Ian for his birthday.  John then drops off the IceKid in time for my plane to NZ Sunday morning.  I crash with Inga Tues near Dunedin for Yom Kippur.  Wed night is with John and Allison (who I WWOOFed for in 2007) before I give a talk at Otago University.  Then onto visiting the Thompsons (also friends from 2007) before meeting Rachel back in Christchurch on 9/28.  On the way back, I think we will even get to crash with Eric in Sydney.  Here's to having great friends in the right places at the right time and willing to lend a hand.   

In the morning I begin my 4 month, 5 continent, 25 plane ride adventure (including the trips shortly following this Antarctic trip).                Bon Voyage!

Tickets, tickets, tickets...

 How to get to Antarctica?
With 2 weeks until I leave, I finally received my tickets.  Flights to McMurdo Station in Antarctica leave from New Zealand.  I'm heading down a few days early to hopefully visit some old friends from my days on the South Island.  I'll be hitting 6 airports to get me to Christchurch, NZ (Manchester NH, Washington DC, Chicago, Los Angeles, Sydney Australia, Christchurch).  The US Naval Academy offered to build us a webcam for our tower.  Sweet.  Except I need to fly down to DC to pick it up and then carry a 100 lb box with me to New Zealand.  I think I'll be over my weight restriction for flying to Antarctica but I guess we will cross that road when we get to it.  Thankfully Sept 22 just happens to be Ian's bday and we are going to hit up the Nationals game.  It's also helpful to have a friend that will change his work schedule to drive me 1.5 hours down to Manchester on a Friday morning.  Thanks Bill!

What's your itinerary?
I get a lot of strange looks recently when I tell people that I don't know.  Now that I have tickets, I have a few more answers but nothing is certain.  This is a common theme for polar research.  Weather has the final say on anything.  You can plan all you want, but unless God signs expect that plan to change.  I leave home on the 21st and get to NZ on the 25th.  I know I have 2 nights in DC, but I still feel there are some missing days in there.  We hope to be on the first main body flight of the season into McMurdo on Oct 1 (if Weather cooperates).  We will leave Antarctica when we finish, but should be sometime around Nov 12.  Rachel and I then hope to take a vacation in Australia, getting back home Nov 20. 

Will you have any access with the outside world?
I would like to tell everyone no.  However, thanks to mankind's incredible feats (which are still unfathomable to me), I should be able to click a button on a computer at the bottom of the world, send a message out to space, and into your computer seconds later.  No cell phone service.  Mail can be sketchy (remember that everything travels together to Antarctica: mail, people, food, equipment, etc.).  Email should be fine though but just don't tell anyone who needs something from me.