1/22/2002, guess
Waiting out our departure is a little easier when one understands the nuances of what is happening on the other end. The other end being McMurdo and the flight operations that really involve all the deeper field camps. So I thought I'd talk about some of these details to describe what we go through when planning. It's a chance to further understand the massive logistical support that McMurdo gives not only us-but so many other field parties out right now. It really is a massive undertaking that so many folks never see, in other words folks that are involved that have a thankless job that deserve so much recgonition.
Three types of aircraft do our put-ins and now take out. LC-130's that are ski equipped, an incredible aircraft that has a very high "ACL", a term we become very intimate with, meaning "aircraft cargo limit", weight in other words. The plane itself is the primary aircraft used in shuttling passengers to and from the Antarctic from New Zealand and vice versa. Has 4 engines and can't land where we are, it would be nice but they can't hurt the skis on the ice around here. The next is not an airplane instead a helicopter. We are at the absolute limit of the range they can fly, problem is it would take a helicopter many flights to pull out our gear and passengers, besides that we do not have the type of fuel they need to refuel them once they arrive. The last and my favorite aircraft is the DCH Dehavilland Twin Otter. This plane has 2 engines and is ski equipped as well an incredibly versatile utilitarian plane. Perfect in other words for use in the Antarctic. It's "ACL" out of here is around 2700 lbs. In fact it can land and take off in very short distances, which for some of the landing sights here make it all the better. Our last resupply in fact when our plane was turning to short final for landing it had landed and stopped in probably less than 700 feet, an incredible feat.
So moving on...this time of year back in MCM the air operations office run by Raytheon employees do the difficult task of trying to figure what takes priority. Problem is it's almost impossible to do, or keep everyone happy. It makes it hard as well since science is still going on and others are done. In our case we're done obviously and ready to go, but we have too get in line. And since we're not a really high priority we wait.
The mood is still high still which is good. I'm used to it, John is used to it and by default everyone else is getting used to it, they just may not be happy about it.
1/21/2002, Near where the Twin Otter will land
Antarctic meteorite hunters, once finished with their field season, endulge in a variety of diversions and sports in an all-out effort to wait, wait, wait in good spirits for the first of many plane rides home.
Besides French Cricket, DVD movies, crossword puzzles, books, packing personal gear, and meals:
Matt constructed a sailboard using a banana sled, bamboo poles for a mast, and skidoo canvas-cover for a sail. Cari and Maggie took it for a few rides also. It seemed to go pretty fast actually. Then the winds went away for the next few days. Which of course is great! Except if you want to go sailing on the blue ice. Funny thing, that weather and what you have to hope for one day as compared to the next.
On a beautiful, windless day, a group went for a hike to Score Ridge to enjoy the expansive view from the top. No skidoo bumps, exhaust, or noise to bother us!
Duck went for a walk to another nearby ridge and brought back pieces of fossilized sandstone from the rock formation underlying the Ferrar Dolerite.
Nancy went for a walk and found a meteorite! Hooray! That makes our total count 333 for the season.
Matt, Nancy, and Linda built a snow castle. It probably looks more stable than it actually is. John came by and offered the comment of "well, this is truly boredom." But really, for those of us who didn't grow up with snow, it was quite fun!
We are on the flight schedule for, hopefully, two afternoon flights tomorrow. So, perhaps this time tomorrow, we'll be in McMurdo!
If not, talk of the ANSMET games has been floating around, including three legged races and sleeping bag hopping...
1/20/2002, Meteorite Hills
No Otter yesterday and no Otter today. Maybe tomorrow and maybe the day after tomorrow.
Yesterday we started to break down camp. The emergency survival gear, the ice axes and most of the ice chippers, the broken skidoo parts, the flags, and the meteorite kits are all packed. The meteorites and the chocolate bars for the JSC meteorite folks are all in their shipping cases. The skidoo tanks are almost empty and the skidoos are all sitting in a row where the Otters like to park.
Matt built a wind surfer out of a sled, a skidoo cover, and some flag poles. It skims along the ice at a nice clip in even a light wind. We got up to roughly 10 mph with two of us aboard.
Here are some phrases that I've picked up in the last six weeks.
Antarctic Salute: A one-mitten gesture of contempt used in place of the one-finger gesture of contempt.
Clean Underwear: Underwear that has been worn for less than ten days.
Crowd: A group of more than eight people.
Equalizer: A girl's best friend or her worst enemy.
Feast: A meal that requires more than one pot to prepare.
Health Food: A meal that contains less than a stick of butter or any vegetables whatsoever.
Lunch Break: An interval, usually around noon and lasting no more than ten minutes, in which you huddle downwind of a rock, a skidoo, or a friend and cram chocolate bars and slim jims into your mouth.
McMurdo: A magical place that has showers and toilets.
Micrometeorites: The dirt at the bottom of the water pot.
Nice Weather: Any weather condition in which the wind speed is less than 40 mph.
Safe Ground: An ice field or a snow field in which the width of the crevasses is less than the width of the skidoos.
Slim Jim: A unit of currency worth about a US dollar.
Wildlife: The skua bird that flew by a few weeks ago.
-Mags
1/19/2002, Meteorite Hills
So, we spent the afternoon packing up our camp a bit. We might have a plane come as early as tomorrow to begin taking us and our supplies (and our meteorites!!) back to McMurdo. However, we are just an alternate for tomorrow's scheduled flights, in case one of the primary flights can't fly because of something like bad weather at the field site. We are a primary flight on the schedule for Tues. afternoon (Jan.22). But as we've all come to know well over the last few weeks, you never can tell what the weather might bring. So, we'll just have to wait and see how it all works out...
Meanwhile, meteorites were inventoried and stored. Extra food was consolidated and packed. Snowmobile survival packs were organized and stacked. Flags were retied and bunched. Broken snowmobile parts were boxed. Snow was shoveled. And numerous other little tasks, that really went pretty quickly with 8 of us. We now have a nice pile of supplies waiting for a plane. All our tents are still up of course, including, amazingly, that determined little poo tent which continues to hang on by strings...
So, with this relatively easy day, I wanted to answer a few more of the questions we've received. We have really enjoyed getting comments and sharing our expedition through this website.
Is it interesting researching meteorites in Antarctica? What is the most difficult part of your job?
Well, I personally feel extremely lucky to be here. Antarctica is amazing and every time you round a corner you are reminded of that. I also think researching meteorites anywhere, not just in Antarctica, is interesting. Some of these are rocks that date back to the beginning of the solar system, 4.5 billion years ago. Some of these are rocks that came from deep inside asteroids large enough to have a core and mantle like the Earth. Some of these are rocks from lava flows on the Moon or Mars. To me, it doesn't get much more interesting than that!
As far as difficult, we have been out here at our Meteorite Hills camp for over 6 weeks. That is quite a bit of time. And I think though we've enjoyed our stay very much, we are all also looking forward to getting back to our family and friends.
What type of materials have been collected? I'm interested to know the composition of the materials.
Most of the meteorites we have found this season will probably be classified as ordinary chondrites. But don't let that ordinary fool you! These materials are some of our most primitive samples, dating back to when our solar system was just forming. They have, in general, a similar concentration of elements as the Sun. These meteorites may represent the building blocks out of which planets such as our Earth were formed.
However, you should keep in mind that it is difficult to positively identify the type of meteorite in the field. More detailed analysis is needed in a lab to do that. Along with the ordinary chondrites, we did find many other meteorite types. Some were guessed to be from melting on a large asteroid. Others are probably composed of iron and nickel and may represent the central core of an asteroid. But really, we have to wait for the meteorites to be properly examined in a lab before we'll really know what we've found this season. That proces will begin in late March, when the meteorites will arrive at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Do you get to keep a small meteorite as a souvenir of your adventure?
No. Absolutely all meteorite samples are collected and made available to the scientific community. Even small, seemingly common meteorites can tell us quite a bit about our solar system. And really, we all have plenty of photos and memories as souvenirs.
What a great post about MN, sad to say it arrived on a day when the temps are expected to reach 45F. True Minnesotans are really envious of your weather as WE HAVE NO SNOW and it hasn't gone below 0 once yet this winter.
Hmmm. Well, true Minnesotans may be envious, though I won't pretend to possibly understand that. Personally, I'm very much looking forward to some warmer weather and not having to wear 3 layers of clothing all the time. But then, I don't live in Minnesota...
And now, some questions and answers from Linda:
Is it night when we have day?
We are on the same time as Christchurch, New Zealand (where the International Antarctic Center is and where we were all issued our Extreme Cold Weather Clothing.) We are 3 hours earlier, but one day later than California. I really like the 24 hours of sunlight here!
Do you see any animals?
We are far enough inland that we do not see animals or birds here. A skua (kind of like a seagull) would be the only bird that would come around here. They are scavengers. When we get back to McMurdo Station, we might be able to see penguins and seals along the coast.
How do you eat?
We cook with a lot of butter and eat just about anything you find in a freezer case: scallops, shrimp, steak, chicken, mixed vegetables, potatoes. Sometimes we fix pasta, soup, stirfry, quesadillas. Dinner is fixed on two Optimus camp stoves in the vented tents (which also provides the heat.) Lunch is quick foods: mixed nuts, dried fruit, beef jerky (lots of it), chocolate bars (lots of them), and granola bars.
