Nearly three weeks at McMurdo gave us a good chill about weather in Antarctica and its predictability. The last days partly felt like never ending SIO coffee hours with all the project Scripps partitioned that  this season (see San Diego Union Tribune). Today is the day of take off to camp: They day when we say good by to frosty boy, … Read More

Here in the Antarctic, unlike at home, we are continuously reminded of the immensity of nature and its ever-present hostility to human life and activity. As we await the “put-in” of our campsite on the Ross Ice Shelf (RIS), each morning we check the TV screens outside the galley (food hall) before breakfast for an update on the day’s scheduled … Read More

Our training is starting to get more serious. In addition to packing smaller boxes in big boxes or even unboxing boxes for the cargo stream, we also spend our preparatory time here at McMurdo in field training courses for all kinds of hazards we may face. One of the more enjoyable trainings so far has been the Crevasse Training, which … Read More

Being in Antarctica is an exclusive experience and we can barely imagine how the first discoverers felt in their early expeditions. Many of these early voyages to Antarctica, around the turn of the 20th century, found a safe harbor in the McMurdo Sound, landing on Ross Island where McMurdo station stands today. One of the few remnants of early Antarctic exploration … Read More

Sorry for the delayed posts!…we arrived Thursday last week and have been busy with meetings, training, packing our gear for camp, learning the ins-and-outs of McMurdo town life, and wait, there’s more training! Indoor field safety training and now outdoor training. I have begun to realize that 80% of research in Antartica is preparing and surviving the environment while 20% … Read More

We’ve safely landed at Pegasus field and are getting settled (and trained) here at McMurdo before heading out to our field camp in a few days. (Note: we’re a few days behind with this post, but stay tuned for more pictures and updates on our last few days of Antarctic activities.) A stellar first glimpse of sea ice from the … Read More

I’m learning the USAP is well polished machine but this takes it to new levels…royalty!  When I heard we might take a commercial style jet instead of the standard cargo planes C17, I was somewhat disappointed for not getting the real experience. Now that I’m on the plane with a window seat, I’m ecstatic!! Now all we have to do … Read More

Today was our first full day in Christchurch, New Zealand and most of it was spent preparing for our field work in Antarctica.  We arrived at the United States Antarctic Research Program station to learn the details of our upcoming trip and get outfitted for the coldest place on earth! If all goes well, we will depart tomorrow morning for Antarctica. … Read More

We were  backup on the Basler today and didn’t fly. Ever wondered what we do when we don’t fly? Well, we get up between 5:30 and 6:00. Go and have breakfast to be ready to receive news between 6:45 and 7:00. That’s when they tell us we are staying: So we have to find some other tasks around the office and there is … Read More

We have a map in our office with all the stations that we have to service. The weather within the last few days was quite good. So we had the chance to reach some more of our stations by plane. This leaves our group with seven more stations. These stations are close together, within a 20 km radius. On Friday … Read More