The Asymptotic End: Snowy Days in McMurdo

No field work for anyone in Polenet during the past few days. :( We have one more station to service via Twin Otter (the plane), but there will be so much equipment on that flight, that there will only be enough weight allowance for 2-3 people (UNAVCO and PASSCAL employees and hopefully a mountaineer). So, I won't be going on that service run. Although it has been scheduled for the past three days, the flight keeps getting cancelled due to poor weather at the site, which is near the coast and has regular fog. But, as of tomorrow, Monday, we will be added to the helicopter schedule. There is one seismic site that will serviced by helicopter, and I will be on that service run. Having never ridden a helicopter except over the Gulf of Mexico, I'm excited about this!

The weather has taken a turn for the cold, with high winds, highs in the teens, wind chills well below 0F, and snow. Yes, snow! You might think that snow is common here, but it isn't in the summer. Antarctica is the driest continent on earth, which means very little precipitation. It was fun at first, but it's starting to make dressing difficult. We have excellent clothing to deal with weather much colder than this, but unless we are going to the field, we spend most of our time inside. If you're sitting at a computer inside a heated building all day, long thermal underwear is a bit hot. But, if you aren't wearing it, and you get unexpectedly sent outside to deal with cargo or batteries for a couple hours, you will be very cold without it. And, who wants to deal with putting on snow boots, snow pants, and a parka to walk from building to building for dinner and such? But, without them, snow blows into your sleeves, hood, and pants. We face such difficulties working in Antarctica in the 21st century. (Sarcasm, obviously. I catch myself whining about things like this and have to remember how very difficult life really was here not so long ago.)

The days here in McMurdo have been filled with "a little of this and a little of that." It's amazing how small trivial tasks can occupy a whole day. You start the day hoping for field work, find it's a no-go and settle for working on a paper or codes. But, no sooner do you start than you're asked to go sweep snow off of batteries. Turns out that sweeping isn't effective, so you clear the terminals by hand - on nearly 200 batteries. Then you sit down, take a bit to refocus, and then need to go find someone to answer a question you got via email. That takes a while, because no one is where you expect. Then it's time for lunch. Then back to your paper for a while before you need to go put batteries in a box. But, after an hour, you're freezing and have to warm up. You can't work while you're teeth are chattering and your legs are numb, so there's another 30 minutes shot while warming up. Back to work, but - oh - those are the wrong batteries for that box, so you need to do it differently. Get the right batteries in the right boxes, see them off on forklifts, and then it's time for dinner. Spend an hour checking email and taking a breather, and it's time for bed so you can wake up early the next morning for weather call - to find out whether there will be any field work going on that day.

That's just a sample day. We've also spent a lot of time moving general cargo around and most recently, prepping for our helicopter site. Each day passes and seems to be spent doing the most trivial of things. It doesn't seem like we're busy, but somehow a day is gone and all you've done is move batteries around. (I don't want to see a car battery for a long time after this trip!) And, of course, even simple tasks take much longer in the cold - whether it's because you're trying to use fine motor skills with gloves on, because your big jacket is in the way, or simply because the cold is making your brain foggy - it slows you down. And, in my personal view, these tasks are made particularly difficult and seemingly menial, because I don't usually know what the "big plan" is (most of these tasks aren't directly related to my project), and people don't like to be asked. I'm pretty accustomed to "running my own show," so it is strange to simply work from moment to moment, waiting for someone to tell me of a task for one project or another that needs my hands.

Two days ago, the most important ship of the season arrived in dock - the cargo ship. This is THE ship that everyone has been talking about and prepping for. (Although, the tanker with fuel was also pretty important.) This carries food and supplies for the next year. Anything needed in the next year that isn't brought in by plane - where space is limited - is on that ship. And, when it leaves, it takes old equipment and trash away with it. (Dealing with trash in Antarctica is a big deal. Nothing is left here.) So, large portions of the base have been cordoned off for millvans and crates from the ship and there's more heavy machinery around than ever. The base has moved to a 7-day work week (normally 6-day), the bars and alcohol counter in the store have closed, and cargo is #1 priority on people's minds.

We did have a bit of fun a few days ago, when we were able to tour the Polar Star, a Coast Guard ice breaker that was at dock. The Polar Star was in caretaker status (i.e. not going on any missions and have a skeleton crew) for 7 years, underwent a major overhaul, and is now on it's first mission in many years, so it was a treat to see it. Our tour guides were clearly unaccustomed to giving tours, but it was kind of charming, as it was clear to everyone that this day of tours was their "thank you" to the staff of McMurdo for hosting them while they were at dock. Here are a few pictures from the tour.