Transmissions from the Ice Sheet

Here are some more of Thomas’ answers, this time from the Hood River class. Enjoy, and don’t forget to follow up with him on experiments!
Which direction does a compass point to when you are at the South Pole? North, right? But is north “down”? We weren’t sure exactly where the magnetic South Pole is either. [...]

“Since the sun is up 24 hours a day, is the amount of light the same or does it dim  a little?  Is it hard to go to sleep?  Does the sun feel warm on your skin?  Is it weird going to bed while it still light out?”
This is a great question.  The angle of [...]

Visiting an ice cave near Mt. Erebus that has formed inside a glacier.

We’ve had a break in the weather this past week and a number of  flights that had previously been delayed have been able to make it into the camp. I am still in McMurdo but I have a flight scheduled for Monday the 30th. While my time in McMurdo has been fun I am much [...]

Over the past two days I’ve been attending “Happy Camper School” where I learned how to set up a camp and survive out in cold, windy Antarctica. I made a short video about the camp and my accommodations for the night.
Also, if you wondering, the camera battery got really cold during the night [...]

Yesterday I finally made it to Antarctica after waiting for a flight from Christchurch, New Zealand. Christchurch is the staging point for most people headed to the Antarctic continent and McMurdo Station. People head to the Antarctic Peninsula and Palmer Station usually take off from Chile.
Before leaving for Antarctica everyone is issued Extreme Cold Weather [...]

Who am I?
I am PhD student in geology at Oregon State University where I study how carbon dioxide has varied in the past.  You can learn more about the OSU ice core lab. I grew up in Boardman and St.  Helens, Oregon and went the college at the University of Chicago.
What will I be doing?
I [...]