Today
was choc full of excitement. The weather was incredibly nasty with temperatures
plunging to -26 degrees F and wind speeds topping off at 39 mph. While one
team of the UT/TAMU group were sampling sediments in a fish hut over Station
C-2 riding out the Condition 2, with a periodic Condition 1 drifting in
and out, Steve Sweet and I were off to locate and mark Transects E and F
for drilling with the large track mounted Reed Drill. This may not sound
significant, but if one examines a map of McMurdo Station the previous transects
we sighted and marked are located in the sheltered Winter Quarters Bay area.
Hut Point and Cape Armitage tend to break up the high winds that funnel
from the South over Minna Bluff and blow heavily across the sound. This
day, Steve and I were located outside the protective cove of Cape Armitage.
Little did we know what we were getting ourselves into. The new transect
locations were located south of the fuel lines from the McMurdo storage
tanks to the transitional ice runway. It was imperative to locate the specific
ramp for small tracked vehicles, such as Sprytes and in particular ours
named "Lolita", that runs up and over the fuel lines. The wrong access(those
used by skiers and skidoos) by our vehicle can crush the line and stop all
operations coming into and out of McMurdo from days to weeks and potentially
causing a sizable fuel spill. As we didn't want to become the environmental
people that caused a humungous spill and stopped station operations in their
tracks, Steve and I left the protective environments of our Spryte and walked
windward to examine each access to determine which would be most appropriate
for Lolita to traverse. In all the blowing snow, sighting the flags to the
access was difficult. For a moment your eye could catch but a glimpse of
a blue or yellow flag, and then all was gone into a white blanket of driving
crystal that stung our faces. Steve's beard froze completely over in a matter
of minutes. We found the access after some wandering down the fuel line,
and we trekked back to our Spryte and crossed over into the study area.
Because it was so cold, I turned on my GPS unit used to find the waypoint,
and placed my gloved hand outside of the window poising the GPS unit above
the vehicle. After the unit managed to lock on the satellites, the direction
to the waypoint as well as the distance popped up on the little display
screen. Steve drove us to the point within 5 meters. Once we reached this
desired location, we used a small Kovak's auger drill with 3 meters worth
of drill bits to drill through the sea ice. Though this auger is more manageable
that the Jiffy Ice Drill, it is still difficult to get the bits on and off
with gloved hands. Steve had the excellent idea of moving the Spryte in
front of our drilling location for a wind break. During drilling, we had
to take our gloves on and off during the process and the bitter cold made
them sting in a matter of seconds. Once the hole was drilled, we used a
weighted measure to determine water depth. Because the bathymetry map that
was used to position the stations has a certain degree of error (approximately
20 to 30 meters in a north to south direction), Steve and I had to repeat
this process some 3 to 4 times to position the station at the appropriate
water depth. We finished the first transect, transect E, before lunch. Though
visibility was minimal, we found the small ramp and left the ice. Whenever
we leave the station proper, we inform MacOpps of our whereabouts. MacOpps
requires that we give the following information:
Vehicle number
People on board
Event number
Where we are going
Estimated time of return
Contact person who will always know our whereabouts.
After a hearty lunch of vegetarian lasagne and garlic bread served in the
comfortable and quite stylish dining room, revamped by NSF earler this year,
Steve and I headed back out on the ice. We located the southernmost transect,
Transect F, and started drilling. Midway through our drilling process, Steve
and I noticed that the station began to disappear under a blanket of snow.
Visibility went from minimal to almost none. We finished up our work as
quickly as possible some 30 minutes later, and we began our trek stationward.
We soon realized it was impossible to see anything 5 feet in front ofour
faces. Steve stopped the vehicle and after a momentary lapse of time he
said, "Don't you have the GPS? Find E-3!" So I removed the GPS from my parka
pocket and held it out the window and above the vehicle to track the waypoint.
Using this form of navigation, We found E-3 and the gate to the ramp not
too far away. By the time we crossed, the blinding snow settled down to
big, fluffy flakes. Soon, we were in the wine bar on the station premises
toasting with glasses of port to a job well done. D.Gielstra
and S.Sweet |
