Transmissions from the Ice Sheet

Date: 12-7-2008
Location: McMurdo Station, Antarctica
Time: 1:00am
Latitude: 77°50′46.42″S
Longitude: 166°39′59.78″E
Elevation: 34m (112’)
Temperature: -2°C (28°F)
Wind speed: 6 knots
Wind Chill: -6°C (21°F)
Visibility: Unrestricted
Wind direction: E
Relative Humidity:
Barometric Pressure: 28.785
Precipitation: None
Animals: None
Brunch: Pancakes, eggs, fresh fruit (pineapple & watermelon!!)
Supper: Pork & salmon, scalloped potatoes, bread.
Tim and I rented skis and went skiing today around the ~10 mile Castle Rock loop. Well, [...]

Date: 12-6-2008
Location: McMurdo Station, Antarctica
Time: 9pm
Latitude: 77°50′46.42″S
Longitude: 166°39′59.78″E
Elevation: 34m (112’)
Temperature: -3°C (27°F)
Wind speed: 6-9 knots
Wind Chill: -9°C (16°F)
Visibility: Unrestricted
Wind direction: E
Barometric Pressure: 28.79
Precipitation: None
Animals: 3 Weddell seals
Breakfast: Eggs w/ spinach and French toast
Lunch: Turkey sandwich with lots of fresh veggies
Supper: Roast beef, potatoes, bread.
Today was the day of tours for me! After lunch a few [...]

Date: 12-5-2008
Location: McMurdo Station, Antarctica
Time: 10 pm
Latitude: 77°50′46.42″S
Longitude: 166°39′59.78″E
Elevation: 34m (112’)
Temperature: -5°C (22°F)
Wind speed: 18 km/h (12 mp/h)
Wind Chill: -14°C (7°F)
Visibility: 11 km (12 miles)
Clouds: Mostly cloudy
Wind direction: East
Relative Humidity: 41%
Barometric Pressure: 981 hPa (28.96 in)
Precipitation: None
Animals: None
Breakfast: Eggs, bacon, blueberry pastry
Lunch: Turkey sandwich, fritos, and a pickle.
Supper: Potato salad with apple pie for dessert.
Today [...]

Date: 12-4-2008
Location: McMurdo Station, Antarctica
Time: 11 pm
Latitude: 77°50′46.42″S
Longitude: 166°39′59.78″E
Elevation: 34m (112’)
Animals: 3 Waddell Seals, 1 Skua
Breakfast: Blueberry pancakes, eggs
Lunch: Turkey sandwich with lots of freshies!
Supper: Steak, mashed potatoes, green beans. Mint Oreo cream pie for desert.
Today we had lots of classes. First up at 8am was the Environmental Awareness class where we learned a bit [...]

Check out the great video of Dr. Kendrick Taylor of the Desert Research Institute and Chief Scientists for the WAIS Divide Ice Core project. In the 12-minute video, Taylor gives a tour of the camp, discusses the process by which ice cores are drilled and extracted from the ice sheet and explains the importance of [...]

Date: 12-3-2008
Location: McMurdo Station, Antarctica
Time: 10 pm
Latitude: 77°50′46.42″S
Longitude: 166°39′59.78″E
Elevation: 34m (112’)
Breakfast: trail mix and old oatmeal (I didn’t eat any)
Lunch: Hummus sandwiches and potato chips.
Supper: Roast beef, potatoes and bread
Today was the second day of Happy Camper class. Today was less fun, but still interesting. We had a few classes on radio communication and risk [...]

Date: 12-2-2008
Location: Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica
Time: 8pm
Latitude: 77°50′22.37″S
Longitude: 166°46′52.61″E
Elevation: ~3m (9’)
Breakfast: Omelette, pancakes, and JoJos.
Lunch: Hummus + cheese sandwichs (2) and potato chips.
Supper: “Alpinaire” dehydrated dinners (similar to Mountain House) dated
October 31, 2001.
Today I woke up at 6am to work on the blog a little bit before breakfast. It was so weird to stumble out [...]

Date: 12-1-2008
Location: McMurdo Station, Antarctica
Time: 11pm
Latitude: 77°50′46.42″S
Longitude: 166°39′59.78″E
Elevation: 34m (112’)
Temperature: -8 °C ( °F)
Wind speed: 7-12 knots km/h ( mp/h)
Wind Chill: -12 °C (°F)
Visibility: unrestricted
Clouds: partly cloudy
Breakfast: Eggs & potatoes
Lunch: Sandwiches
Supper: Chili & roast beef & kiwi
We have been quite busy all day today getting gear together & running errands. It was really nice that [...]

Date: 11-23-2008
Location: Medlands Beach, Abel Tasman National Park
Time: ~9pm
Latitude: 40°55′15.58″S
Longitude: 173° 3′16.92″E
Elevation: 2 m
Precipitation: light to heavy rain throughout the day
Animals: Birds including the New Zealand Bellbird and all black
oystercatcher, sand flies (!).
Breakfast: Muesli w/ dried fruit.
Lunch: Bagels w/ lettuce, cucumber, cheese, tuna.
Supper: Couscous with Lamb and beef sauce from pouches.
Hiked another ~11km today. Saw [...]