tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63838953140702309602011-06-07T23:10:06.182-07:00bnewboldnoreply@blogger.comBlogger831100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-27026702071849854292007-12-12T21:49:00.000-08:002008-04-14T15:57:06.029-07:00

The last blog falls to me...(continued...)Here at the end of the season, we have been busy with the business of giving back the increadible amount of stuff we borrowed from the permanent stores here at McMurdo. Packing is no fun at all. Rusty and I had an unexpected bonus on our last afternoon when the fish biologists asked us to help them check their lines at Penguin Ranch. The penguins were

BLee Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16266332865325618587noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-73226369322383224122007-12-12T11:16:00.000-08:002007-12-12T11:20:12.508-08:00

This blog has been moved back over to the blogspot free blog hosting service after the 2007 field season, sorry if there are any broken links or missing images.

bnewboldnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-18159902386422803272007-12-11T18:30:00.000-08:002007-12-12T11:00:46.851-08:00

Last Sunday we said our farewell and thank you to the community. Many people have volunteered to help us, taking time off work to come drill holes and haul heavy gear around. Even more have helped us as part of their jobs, but have done much more than that, making themselves available after hours and for inconvenient requests. We very much appreciate all that everyone has done to make things

stacynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-22109892923753277122007-12-10T13:08:00.000-08:002007-12-12T01:23:08.225-08:00

Last friday I got to tour the pressure ridges near Scott Base with a small group. Our leader was Ann Bancroft, a member of the American Women's Antarctic Expedition to the south pole back in 1992, who now works as the site manager for the long duration balloon project.Also, yesturday was the last time SCINI went in the water this season, we hosted an open house for the McMurdo community down at

bnewboldnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-76174744414167204712007-12-09T20:09:00.000-08:002007-12-08T00:35:43.498-08:00

Penguino, Penguino,He's Nice-O!, Not Mean-O!,Penguino!(continued...)Shortly before my son Jack was born my wife and I watched March of the Penguins and something from it stuck in our subconcious... Not long after he entered the world he became El Penguino.When he was just a few days old and I was doing the midnight feedings I would sing the above rhyme to him. Over the last 2 years he has

BLee Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16266332865325618587noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-50123157599172605742007-12-08T20:34:00.000-08:002007-12-08T00:35:35.463-08:00

Even in the land of ice and snow, human natures primordial need for self expression burns hot. Long winters and brief interludes from work allow time for minds to wander and creativity to flow. Below are examples of the art forms that one finds when in and around town. Take a self guided stroll through the interesting and sometimes weird art of McMurdo Station.(Continued)In the stairwell to the

Rustyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13550368605937883368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-29642619390875881422007-12-07T23:55:00.000-08:002007-12-08T00:05:33.709-08:00

(continued...)

Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05007506801702957192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-86428031652258961652007-12-06T02:30:00.000-08:002007-12-06T11:21:33.234-08:00

Today we made the long trip out to Cape Royds one more time, to take advantage of a hole that David Ainley, Adelie penguin researcher extraordinaire, had for a current meter. My interest in sampling in this location is based on the penguins, but not just because they are oh-so-cute…An Adelie penguin, Pygoscelis adeliae, poses for the camera.(continued...)But because there are lots of them, and

stacynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-46063675157955398632007-12-05T23:58:00.000-08:002007-12-04T23:52:17.717-08:00

BLee just put up an old post that won't show up on this front page, check it out here!

bnewboldnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-76918321376299402682007-12-05T12:23:00.000-08:002007-12-08T00:34:09.829-08:00

Bob and I spent the last couple days down at the jetty doing some lighting and vehicle dynamics testing and we've got hours of video to pick through as an indirect result. Here are a few choice frames to peruse, plus a couple LIVE ACTIONvideo clips at the end.(continued...)Some of these are reasonably high resolution and you can make out more details if you click on them for the original file.Le

bnewboldnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-80491515105646548082007-12-04T02:18:00.000-08:002007-12-03T10:52:29.620-08:00

I'm sure everyone is going to post about the Grand Day Out to Cape Evans. So I'll just cut to the heart of the matter.(continued...)I'm sure everyone is going to post about the Grand Day Out to Cape Evans. So I'll just cut to the heart of the matter and sum up why you should turn off your computer, get up off the couch and do whatever it takes to get out in the world right up past your ears. And

BLee Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16266332865325618587noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-58123001961621997142007-12-03T01:46:00.000-08:002007-12-04T01:57:50.406-08:00

We have given several glimpses into diving beneath the ice but looking back through the earlier posts I see we haven’t given a good description of all the effort it takes to actually do a dive here. We have been doing sampling dives about every other day so I’d like to give a start to finish description of the effort involved with making those dives.(continued)Yesterday’s dive at Cape Armitage

Rustyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13550368605937883368noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-9086864303233744912007-12-02T21:13:00.000-08:002007-12-04T21:17:05.279-08:00

Today was one of the most eventful SCINI days we have had in a long time. BLee, Bryan, Bob and myself planned on launching SCINI so that we could evaluate her performance over several engineering test that BLee had established. These tests were going to help determine if SCINI was ready to take on science missions. In the past I felt we have really rushed into getting SCINI in the water for

Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05007506801702957192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-27250809785377539682007-12-01T18:35:00.000-08:002007-12-02T00:05:59.868-08:00

With SCINI almost completely rebuilt and tested, and only 2 weeks left, it’s time to reevaluate what we can achieve in the remaining time, without making ourselves too crazy. We have been remarkably successful so far, and we’d like to keep that high note.SCINI beginning underwater explorations, with the hole in the ice visible in the background.(continued...)Our engineering goal for the season

stacynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-74022215082173631622007-11-30T01:27:00.000-08:002007-12-02T21:27:29.183-08:00

One of the best parts about working in the Crary lab is meeting all the other grantees and seeing their projects unfold, and today i've got a sampling of groups i've met over the past two months around station. By next year, the NSF should have updates it's US Antarctic Program website with a list of active science groups, but for now i'm all you've got...(continued...)A nudibranch collected by a

bnewboldnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-1067839593124112892007-11-29T12:22:00.000-08:002007-12-06T11:08:04.106-08:00

What do you do when you come across an iceberg frozen in the sea ice? On our trip to Cape Evans Bryan and I had the opportunity to find out!(continued...)What do you do when you come across an iceberg frozen in the sea ice? The Big Ice... its lure is irresistable.Well, you walk up close and then you test the boundary between the sea ice and the berg with the best tools you can find. Being the

BLee Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16266332865325618587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-85945525327980495412007-11-28T01:37:00.000-08:002007-12-06T11:03:11.081-08:00

Blee mentioned that we had a day off on Monday and the highlights of the day for him were having seal snot blown in his face and licking an iceberg. Now I don’t want everyone thinking we all are as easy to please as Blee. Some of us prefer the more civilized side of vacationing in Antarctica.(continued)Evan’s Wall is a shear volcanic wall that rises about 200 feet above the sea ice. Glacier ice

Rustyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13550368605937883368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-74222391392419184032007-11-27T10:46:00.000-08:002007-12-01T11:45:43.714-08:00

Well today was an eventful one. As the title implies the schedule called for a scuba dive and a Video Ray mission held at Turtle Rock which is north of McMurdo. Stacy and Rusty were the divers who collected our normal suite of experiments while BLee and myself focused on carry out the Video Ray mission. We were joined by the dive tender William Tinus who works as the local machinist at the

Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05007506801702957192noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-25700299968027753192007-11-26T01:21:00.000-08:002007-11-30T02:02:12.864-08:00

Today we are working on access to two sites that are several kms away from McMurdo, Turtle Rock and Cinder Cones. We have been laying the groundwork by helping the Field Safety folks survey the area to be sure there is a safe way around the cracks for the large vehicles to travel, and flagging those routes. Today we accompanied Tom the driller out to put in the holes, and put a hut, kindly

stacynoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-60503932236018830952007-11-25T18:51:00.000-08:002007-11-26T20:16:02.300-08:00

Sunday night at the end of Thanksgiving weekend McMurdo station got a screening of Werner Herzog's new documentary Encounters at the End of the World, which he shot last year in Antarctica as part of the NSF's writers and artists program. Many of the individuals interview in the film were present, and it was interesting to get an outsider's (warped?) perspective on life on the ice.(continued...)

bnewboldnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-20667477925203543992007-11-24T11:59:00.000-08:002007-11-25T12:33:04.873-08:00

We have been making steady progress at improving our operation.Of course, there are still better things to do...(continued...)Congratulations are in order for the whole team as we have accomplished the goal for this season here in Antarctica: We can navigate under the ice. We have used Project Scini's nav equipment on the Video Ray and succesfully made maps of in-place science equipment on the

BLee Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16266332865325618587noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-39547434684710291602007-11-23T00:32:00.000-08:002007-11-26T20:12:30.583-08:00

For those of you waiting for news on the latest progress with SCINI, you'll have to be patient because this update will discuss the other major component of the project. Dr’ Kim’s past research in Antarctica has focused on benthic community changes (critters living in and on the seafloor) resulting from human activities in the Antarctic. Detecting benthic community change requires years of

Rustyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13550368605937883368noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-28088927771052212952007-11-22T19:20:00.000-08:002007-11-22T20:01:15.668-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving!!!So Thanksgiving crept up on me this year and for some reason I thought it was on the 25th. In the light of this holiday I thought I would write a little about what I am thankful for this year. I would have to say I am thankful for all of my family and friends that miss me so during my time here in Antarctica. I really enjoy Thanksgiving and Christmas because it is a time when

Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05007506801702957192noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-2818444158856248212007-11-21T17:59:00.000-08:002007-11-26T20:30:59.833-08:00

After 2 days of surface supply diving, I was very happy to have a little less physically strenuous day in the lab. I worked with the experiments that Charmaine Ryan’s SOS class in Watsonville, CA and Mindy Bell’s biology and chemistry classes in Flagstaff, AZ built for the ROV to perform down here. So even though the students can’t be here, a bit of each of their spirits, captured in film, is

stacynoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-17839963904121943162007-11-20T13:41:00.001-08:002007-11-23T15:19:39.057-08:00

This week will be a lot of bench time for me as I debug some thruster power issues, recalibrate sensors, clean up our controls software, and add some inertial measurement features. So while everybody else is out breaking their backs in beautiful high twenties weather I'm getting fat eating cookies, electrocuting myself, and putting the Mr. Coffee through a stress test.(continued...)Being a

bnewboldnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-53473693314278829252007-11-19T13:59:00.000-08:002007-12-21T21:15:44.160-08:00

I have been in Antartica for coming on 18 days, and we have had VideoRay in the water 10 of them. Including the last 6 days in a row. I call that reliable.(continued...)I have been in Antartica for coming on 18 days, and we have had VideoRay in the water 10 of them. Including the last 6 days in a row. I call that reliable. Since as ussual I am behind on my blog, I thought it would be a good idea

BLee Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16266332865325618587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-81044556328618530532007-11-18T19:58:00.000-08:002007-11-23T15:17:00.356-08:00

Safely and efficiently traveling around McMurdo requires functionality and reliability of equipment that is suited for extreme cold conditions. This update takes a quick look at the strange names and configurations of vehicles used to meet the various needs of the community. Think of it as a car show- McMurdo style.(continued...) After stepping off the airplane, new arrivals are hurried to the

Rustyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13550368605937883368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-51883626720735001642007-11-17T00:40:00.000-08:002007-11-20T01:37:59.856-08:00

Today’s update comes to you from underwater. Well not really but it involved some underwater activities. I have to say that every time I suit up to get into the water there is a feeling of excitement that runs through my body. I have made seven or eight dives under the ice and each dive has been a new experience. Today we were suppose to dive a site called Arrival Heights and this was going

Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05007506801702957192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-21194443271421187672007-11-16T00:37:00.000-08:002007-11-18T02:35:04.972-08:00

Rusty and BLee are almost through the training process and ready to start. Having new ideas and fresh energy added to the team will be great. The down side is that today Marcus and Mindy left. We will miss them! They contributed a lot to the team with their hard work, great attitudes, and individual skills. And their departure reminded us that we do not have that much time left before we too

stacynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-13079431066247259082007-11-15T18:15:00.000-08:002007-11-17T20:35:43.606-08:00

Today is Mindy and Marcus's sad last full day, and one of the first we've had Rusty and BLee along, so we were a bit crowded in a a dive tomato for our video ray deployment.Nick collected data on the sewage outfall pile for his capstone project, and the rest of us got practice deploying and driving the video ray so we'll know what we're doing after Marcus leaves.I thought the middle of our time

bnewboldnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-30952701263955301792007-11-14T01:07:00.000-08:002007-11-23T15:14:23.800-08:00

When it comes to posting a blog, as far as I know I am the furthest behind of any member of our team. This post was suppose to be up on the 16th and it is now the 21st. Makes me kinda proud, actually. I have no excuse, but I might have an explanation...(continued...) I'm in Antarctica. "When I grow up I'm gonna..." We all had a list. Visiting this continent was the only thing remaining

BLee Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16266332865325618587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-62548307805742944432007-11-13T23:54:00.000-08:002007-11-16T21:09:55.621-08:00

We’ve had a mid-season changing of the guard on the SCINI project with the previous Sunday’s arrival of Rusty and Blee and today’s (Friday) departure of Marcus and Mindy on a northbound C-17. That leaves some big shoes to fill for myself (Rusty) and Blee. We have been going through the week long basic survival and logistic trainings (sea ice, snow school, vehicles, small engines and radio

Rustyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13550368605937883368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-70609417065705544142007-11-11T13:07:00.000-08:002007-11-11T14:20:28.357-08:00

"He is happiest who hath to gather power and wisdom from a flower." is the quote I found inside of the McMurdo Greenhouse on my visit today.NOTE: For folks reading both journals - there is a SURPRISE at the end of this one!(continued...)When I walked in I found John Williams and Farah McDill just enjoying the warmth, humidity and oxygen from the hundreds of photosynthesizing plants in the

Mindynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-23019878013014750682007-11-10T01:20:00.000-08:002007-11-14T01:41:49.827-08:00

I really had to earn this view but the six hour trip was well worth it. Even the rock formations up here are something to see.Today we were suppose to make our way back to McMurdo Station and we were a little unsure if the heilo flights were going to come to New Harbor because of the bad weather we had the past couple of days. The team was to fly back in two different loads with each load taking

Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05007506801702957192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-23971453494116502912007-11-09T12:47:00.000-08:002007-11-12T21:22:10.584-08:00

Tomorrow we are scheduled to return to base, so today we need to re-pack our 2500 lbs of stuff into helicopter-sized boxes and loads. We also need to prepare the big items – the snowmobiles, the ATV, the Siglin sleds, the fuel barrels and propane bottles, and of course the Hotsy and generator – for sling loading under the helo. And of course clean up and secure the camp for the year. It seems

stacynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-89210539207097012532007-11-08T17:00:00.000-08:002007-11-14T20:34:54.028-08:00

We're getting to the end of our drilling rope, just a few flights left. Bob and I wore out a bit going through some very dirty ice, but made progress by chipping the hole out every few minutes to give the bit something to catch on. I think we could chip through the ice all the way if we wanted to (the ice cracks into chunks pretty easily and our chipper bars are sharp and well designed), but

bnewboldnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-78159759482060354252007-11-06T11:06:00.001-08:002007-11-10T20:47:28.149-08:00

I woke up early today to fuel the hotsy. It is like a hungry monster that always wants food. It cycles on and off, but it often seems that it cranks on as it is guzzling the diesel I pour in! Marcus had to get up early as well for his remote presentation in Key Largo, Florida with the Iridium satellite phone. Since he was up early, he made blueberry buckwheat pancakes for breakfast. My dad

Mindynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-21816548549466228512007-11-05T13:04:00.000-08:002007-11-10T17:16:00.793-08:00

I awoke this morning to find out that our water rations had run dry... how could it have come to this!!!No water equals no milk.(continued...)You would think in a place like Antarctica there would be water all around to drink but this isn’t the case. Even the ice that we chipped and melted wasn’t really suitable for drinking. Some of the foods that we brought were dehydrated and require water

Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05007506801702957192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-17403855981332837122007-11-04T00:28:00.000-07:002007-11-08T01:54:35.658-08:00

We have learned a lot about how to be efficient at taking advantage of our best hours – between 7:30 AM and 9:30 PM. The sun is higher in the sky then, so it’s warmer, even if just psychologically so. So we “predrill” our holes, putting in four 3 ft flights, or 12 feet, and then cover the holes, leaving just two flights, or 6 feet, to drill out the next day. We still haven’t managed to get

stacynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-57484561766228172802007-11-03T13:01:00.000-07:002007-11-11T14:59:51.145-08:00

Today we flew SCINI at our second dive site, code name SIDESHOW. The sea floor around New Harbor is desolate compared to many regions in the world, including the McMurdo area, but it's still got a lot of strange critters, like this green sucker sponge (Latrunculia apicalis), brittle stars (Ophionotus victoriae), and lots of bernacchii fish (Trematomus bernacchii).(continued...)We're starting to

bnewboldnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-83143950874006159152007-11-02T23:16:00.000-07:002007-11-10T20:51:32.348-08:00

November 2nd we drilled holes, chipped ice, ate lots of chocolate, chipped out our transducer holes, and fed the Hotsy every 4 hours - all the things we do every day here at New Harbor...On the 3rd I was chipping out one of the transducer holes trying to get it clear enough to drop our positioning transducer down when, just like that, it slipped through my icy gloves right through the hole! I

Marcus Kolbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-86621120074303338002007-11-01T16:44:00.000-07:002007-11-10T20:46:24.687-08:00

“Dear Dr. Bowser, Thank you. I liked the dynamite. From, Bryan”This thank you note from a young student is to Dr. Sam Bowser (who studies Antarctic foraminifera) is on the outhouse wall at New Harbor camp. We could have used some dynamite today!(continued...)For all the nice folks reading both the www.polartrec.com site and this one, forgive me for the identical posts!We started with a big

Mindynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-76080395395780483152007-10-31T01:01:00.000-07:002007-11-03T03:04:16.228-07:00

As Stacy reported in the previous post we are currently at our beautiful deep field camp New Harbor, which is about 60 miles away from McMurdo Station. Today was filled with all kinds of jobs that needed to be done around the camp and some of today’s highlights include pluming issues, moving of equipment, starting generators, drilling and cooking.Just take in the beauty of New Harbor, and I

Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05007506801702957192noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-21379063272478771222007-10-30T14:21:00.000-07:002007-11-05T02:42:26.806-08:00

Today we landed on the Antarctic continent! I know, we have been in Antarctica for a month, but we have been in and near McMurdo Station, which is on Ross Island, just off the continent. So though McMurdo is technically Antarctica, now that we are at our field camp at New Harbor, we are on the actual continent!The real Antarctic(continued...)All our packing efforts over the last few days

stacynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-85550978030585283872007-10-29T02:37:00.000-07:002007-11-01T23:03:52.727-07:00

Our helo flights are scheduled for tomorrow morning, our bags have been packed and are at the terminal, and our divers are grounded because they'll be flying tomorrow, so we had a bit of a breather to get our personal gear together and do some more detailed planning for the New Harbor camp site.We also got to explore a crashed resupply plane that's been lying on the sea ice for decades...(

bnewboldnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-58580417534345221412007-10-28T23:46:00.001-07:002007-11-08T15:17:33.377-08:00

We spent all day organizing and packing up the significant amount of support material for our trip to New Harbor. This included 45 pounds of my dive gear - and that's not including the 43 pounds of lead or the 60 pounds of tank and regulators. We were suddenly aware of what everything weighed since each box had to be weighed and tagged for the helicopter flight. We had to decide what things we

Marcus Kolbnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-45260283357117235512007-10-27T14:17:00.000-07:002007-11-01T23:40:44.899-07:00

On Shackleton’s return journey from within 97 miles of the South Pole, they were miles off their course, starving and weak, when by “an almost incredible coincidence the signal flag Joyce had mounted on the depot was raised into sight by a mirage, just in time to save the returning party.” From Shackleton’s Forgotten Men: The Untold Tragedy of The Endurance Epic, by Lennard Bickel.Fata Morgana (

Mindynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-62327493533585907422007-10-26T16:20:00.000-07:002007-10-30T03:30:14.935-07:00

I can see observation hill out of one of the windows in our lab. If you look closely you can see a cross that has been mounted at the top.So after three weeks I have started to become familiar with all of the acronyms and slang that runs ramped around McMurdo Station. There are so many times when I have to search my brain to connect the acronym to the actual meaning. So just incase you intend on

Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05007506801702957192noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-8367370003753417972007-10-25T03:16:00.000-07:002007-10-25T12:21:20.352-07:00

No, today was not about dentistry! But we started out drilling (sea ice, that is) and ended up pulling (food, for our field camp). It was another windy day, so Nick and I were not that warm when we started out to meet Tom the driller on the sea ice. Rob Robbins also went with us, to try and ease things along with the Fleet Operations office, since one of the drill locations was unfortunately

stacynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-1566663097973489382007-10-24T03:43:00.000-07:002007-10-24T04:15:47.979-07:00

We've been having the good kind of pressure leaks the past couple days: the slow predictable kind with no permanent damage. While testing the electronics bottle for our backup SCINI, we found water repeatedly leaking in around our "waterproof" connectors. Usually we're worried about leaks caused by dirt and hairs around our rubber O-rings, but as we've demonstrated it's worth testing the usually

bnewboldnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-92217545996680022702007-10-23T04:38:00.000-07:002007-10-24T15:31:52.497-07:00

So I'm in Antarctica AND I'm diving under the ice AND I'm working on underwater robots - WOW!We start off each day meeting at breakfast to make plans for the day. We still need high resolution still photos of both tomato locations (Road and Transition) so Stacy can do her benthic ecology organism counts. We've had a terrible time getting a strobe working with the digital still camera so we hatch

Marcus Kolbnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-44611138252714519282007-10-22T11:10:00.000-07:002007-10-23T15:04:59.603-07:00

We woke up today to Condition 2 at McMurdo with Condition 1 (the worst) in some surrounding areas. There are official standards for each Condition but basically Condition 3 (the best) is cold and windy, Condition 2 is colder and windier with low visibility, and Condition 1 you don’t leave the building you are in because you might not be able to see your hand in front of your face.Marcus took

Mindynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-23978674671397103672007-10-21T14:15:00.000-07:002007-10-23T15:02:22.839-07:00

The work days seem to fly by and before I know it, it’s time for another update and a day off! Everyone in McMurdo Station usually works about 10 hours a day six days a week with Sunday being the only day off. Except for a select few who work 12 hour shifts and get two day off. You’d be surprised how much there is to do on a day off. There are all sorts of arts and crafts events, movies shown

Nicholasnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-35732519357451651012007-10-20T17:47:00.000-07:002007-10-20T21:23:32.557-07:00

With our dive tomatoes sitting 200 m apart, it was easy to drill a single hole halfway between them to for the third transducer and have both divers and the VideoRay in the water at the same time. Since we are still working in front of the station, where the ice is 8 years old and 7 m thick, anything that reduces the number of holes we have to drill makes things much easier. Here's our Tucker,

stacynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-88807058154965206252007-10-19T20:42:00.000-07:002007-10-24T15:33:46.218-07:00

Got some goodies for you to viddy today from the past week of diving and driving. See if you can identify critters using this field guide to marine species around Ross Island!(Get the Flash Player to see this player!)var s1 = new SWFObject("/flvplayer.swf","single","480","380","7");s1.addParam("allowfullscreen","true");s1.addVariable("file","http://scini.mlml.calstate.edu/video_clips/

bnewboldnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-59608306135889502332007-10-18T17:00:00.001-07:002007-10-21T17:47:35.381-07:00

Yesterday we managed to get 6 flights stuck in the ice and, after dumping 40 some gallons of hot water down the hole, we finally gave up on the stuck bit. I'm not sure we explained why we are trying to make other holes. To use our short baseline positioning system,we need three transducers in the water separated by at least a few Meters. The system works by having three wired, through the ice

Marcus Kolbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-43086635343687449462007-10-17T13:58:00.000-07:002007-10-18T21:37:29.201-07:00

Bob launching VideoRay. Photo by Marcus.One step forward, two steps back is how it feels sometimes - but progress is being made! Today we tested the navigation system with VideoRay taking her first Antarctic dive and using our newly remodeled Tucker as dive-command center.(continued...)The morning started out with "two steps back" with Bob, Marcus and Nick trying to extract the triple-stack of

Mindynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-9237429119157193242007-10-16T18:37:00.000-07:002007-10-17T22:18:45.579-07:00

In our last excited episode the SCINI Team got two transducers, which are used for the navigation system, stuck in the ice sheet during the excitement of our first SCINI deployment. Through the ingenuity of Bob we were able to free one of two transducers with hot water. By the time we recovered transducer one it was 2 a.m. and we decided to call it a night and return the next day to recover the

Nicholasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-79384775405799440562007-10-15T21:36:00.001-07:002007-10-15T22:51:33.136-07:00

Today was incredibly eventful! After all the months to years of planning and designing and building SCINI did what she was "born" for, she went under the ice in Antarctica, swam around, and sent us back pictures! I can't describe how thrilled the team is with this success.This intrepid explorer-fish has decided to go for a ride -(continued...)We started this morning with a plan to do a "dunk

stacynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-63877011865883431152007-10-14T23:29:00.000-07:002007-10-17T12:48:55.432-07:00

Sunday was our first day off since we got here, and we made good use of it running around to visit historical sites, take care of mail, read, and generally flop about. I can't say building SCINI really feels like work, but it's good to take a break and let our brains process through all the progress we've made.This photo is from arrival heights looking north along Ross Island; it was a very windy

bnewboldnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-17446234234937959182007-10-13T01:34:00.000-07:002007-10-14T11:46:15.979-07:00

I'm going to jump back a few days to cover my ice dives since this is one of the most amazing things I've ever done - and I've been around the world a few times and done some amazing things! I thank God and a bunch of others (credits towards the end) for this incredible opportunity and experience.Me under the ice with a refrozen crack letting in some light. We were drilling on refrozen cracks

Marcus Kolbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-91190159641088330022007-10-12T00:37:00.000-07:002007-10-12T14:52:04.118-07:00

Or rather in and out and in and out of the lab!(continued...)We have been so busy trying to get things up-and-running that it was a rare moment today when we were all in the lab together with the cozy familiarity of working together and apart but all for a common purpose. It is a good feeling, and helps provide some of the sense of family that we are otherwise missing. Our SCINI team is six

Mindynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-91537250418835015702007-10-11T18:21:00.000-07:002007-10-11T22:21:21.080-07:00

I have been waiting all year for the scuba dive that took place on 9 October 2007. When I first learned that I would have the opportunity to dive while in Antarctica I was very excited. Never in my wildest scuba diving dreams would I have thought that I would be diving under five feet of solid ice. Before I continue with my dive let me tell you what I had to do in order to get cleared for diving

Nicknoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-56524614130812170782007-10-10T21:31:00.000-07:002007-10-10T21:27:20.176-07:00

After this, we should be fully prepared to survive and do all the things we need to in the Antarctic. Our morning training session was drivers training. We learned about the most normal vehicles on station, 4wd trucks with special parking brakes that won’t freeze, and then a new one for me, the Tucker Sno-Cat. Vehicles are in such short supply down here that we are lucky to get this vintage

stacynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-80082931321300498032007-10-09T14:48:00.000-07:002007-10-10T21:31:21.042-07:00

There's a lot to say about ice, and you'll be hearing of it from us as we continue our training and start spending the majority of time on, under, and around the stuff. Today Mindy and I took the training course Marcus and Nick took yesturday, and the two of them took their first check out dives under the ice. They're alive and exited, but you'll have to wait to hear all the details from them.In

bnewboldnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-33602507175786668592007-10-08T21:24:00.000-07:002007-10-10T01:55:35.407-07:00

Today we learned all about Sea Ice and how to determine if its safe to drive on with our various tracked vehicles. Heres a picture of what happens when youre not careful!(continued...)Susan taught us how to use all the tools such as ice measuring tape rigs and ice augers, both hand and gas engine driven. Nick models one of the 2 inch flights. Flights are what the extension auger sections are

Marcus Kolbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-50350928901934107262007-10-07T13:21:00.000-07:002007-10-10T00:44:22.716-07:00

I woke up this morning to discover I had frostbit finger tips on both thumbs and half of my fingers. White blisters surrounded by darker pink skin had replaced my normal light pink skin. Bummer.(continued...)Today is Sunday so the departments here are closed. The regular working hours at McMurdo are 7:30 am to 5:30 pm, 6 days a week. Everyone works long hours here to help the science teams

Mindynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-32247310688598035772007-10-06T18:26:00.000-07:002007-10-07T00:00:29.985-07:00

I am writing this update as my fingers are still recovering from Happy Camper School. You may be asking yourself, “What is Happy Camper School?” glad you asked! Happy Camper School is a field course where three instructors teach you how to survive outdoors in the Antarctica environment. And then you actually camp out over night in this environment! Lucky for us (and everyone else who comes to

Nicknoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-52914617055007564022007-10-05T00:51:00.001-07:002007-10-05T21:32:46.279-07:00

We seem to have found our rhythm, more or less. We meet for breakfast at 7, are in the lab at 7:30, and try to reach everyone we need to talk to/arrange stuff with before they leave their desks for their days work. This morning Marcus and Bob were talking with Woody in the carpenters shop about modifications to our track vehicle and to the trailer for all our gear. Bryan was trying to make the

stacynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-41662770447991532212007-10-04T22:25:00.000-07:002007-10-06T16:17:08.058-07:00

Nick and I took a hike this evening up Observation Hill behind McMurdo Station, and in addition to taking in an amazing view and reflecting on the fragility of the human condition, we learned an important lesson about electronics in the cold: they don't work so great.(continued...)It's very easy to lose perspective and orientation in Antarctica, both because the air is so clear that distant

bnewboldnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-45743829228233479132007-10-03T15:34:00.000-07:002007-10-03T21:57:04.763-07:00

I miss my wife and kids already!Today we woke up early and got on a C-17 military flight to McMurdo! Here we are with our ECW (Extreme Cold Weather) gear waiting to board. (continued...) Here we are on board this awesome heavy lift air cargo aircraft. We have to have all our ECW ready to wear to get off the plane. They even let us up in the cockpit. It’s “all glass” meaning

Marcus Kolbnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-76885275013449648962007-10-02T19:53:00.000-07:002007-10-06T14:33:04.500-07:00

When we crossed the International Date Line we changed the date, and when we crossed the equator we changed the seasons! When it is fall in the Northern hemisphere, it is spring in the Southern hemisphere. Penguins only live in the Southern hemisphere but not usually on the tops of vans.Do you still have your orange? Then keep reading!(continued...)Draw a belt around the middle of your orange

Mindynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-48561898516576129092007-10-01T21:36:00.000-07:002007-10-03T22:11:34.281-07:00

Somewhere between the 12 hour flight from California to New Zealand the 1st of October was lost. I’m not sure where the day went but we left California on 30 September at about 9 p.m. and arrived in New Zealand on 2 October around 6:30 a.m. After putting some thought into it a calm came over me and the answer was clear. The loss of the day was due to the International Date Line. The International

Nicknoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-49118378679915264102007-09-30T02:49:00.000-07:002007-10-03T22:13:52.512-07:00

Today we leave for Antarctica! All the months of planning, designing, building, packing, and dreaming come into focus as we gradually converge at various airports. Like so many other things, this isn’t as easy as it sounds.In the picture, Marcus is giving a big "Kia Ora" greeting to a Maori carving in the Aukland Airport in New Zealand. But to get to New Zealand...(continued...)My research

stacynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-123030903300599092007-09-20T13:38:00.000-07:002007-10-03T19:35:15.644-07:00

I was lucky enough to get out on the Point Lobos yesterday to observe the Ventana ROV in action. Ventana is an 18 year old robot, but it has been continuously upgraded over it's lifetime and has all the latest and greatest gizmos and sensors. It's primary mission for the day was to recover a mid-water experiment left earlier in the week, and then if there was extra time try squirting squid at

bnewboldnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-18592772335401888942007-09-05T17:24:00.000-07:002007-09-08T19:37:07.135-07:00

Today everyone involved in Project SCINI had the opportunity to meet one and other. Each one of us gave a short presentation about ourselves and the role we play in this project. After the presentations the team went over to the MBARI test tank for a checkout dive. The MBARI test tank is a 33 foot deep tank that has windows all around so that you can look out into the dry world while SCUBA

Nicknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-53629608414041990922007-08-20T14:38:00.000-07:002007-08-21T15:08:32.424-07:00

Because supplies and time are very limited when working in the field somewhere as remote as Antarctica, quality assurance of every component becomes very important. Shown here is custom ethernet cable being checked under a microscope: mistakes unnoticeable to the human eye can cause subtle and hard to debug problems down the line.(continued...)Some of the most important pieces of SCINI to check

bnewboldnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-40911558098193255322007-08-13T16:10:00.000-07:002007-08-21T15:23:23.848-07:00

We got a visit from the Elphel developers this past weekend and they dropped off new cameras (as well as helping us out with some integration engineering). We've got a new camera packed back into our waterproof bottle and should have some new video to share after our next submersion tests!

bnewboldnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-91980753554119058472007-07-31T09:20:00.000-07:002007-08-21T15:23:51.350-07:00

We've recently been having unreliable communications with SCINI over it's tether line, and have tracked the problem back to our power supplies. This photo of an oscilloscope shows the alternating current input to the power supplies: usually this is a very thin and smooth sine wave, but the interference has blurred out the top of the waves. We use an ethernet over power system to communicate over

bnewboldnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-983266190194489122007-07-05T11:31:00.000-07:002007-08-01T09:41:11.424-07:00

Today we visited the "other" marine lab in Moss Landing, CA: MBARI, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. They kindly gave us use of their giant 11 meter deep test tank, which gave us room to fly SCINI for the first time! After a series of motor problems last week everything went very smoothly, with none of our equipment bottles leaking (let alone flooding and destroying our electronics!)

bnewboldnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-55907610907730452512007-06-18T13:15:00.000-07:002007-06-20T13:46:51.009-07:00

We put the ROV body sections in the water for the first time today, to check buoyancy calculations and trim configuration.(continued...)As expected, SCINI is heavy in the butt (or airy in the head) without any innards but that will change when we add the navigation, camera, and propulsion systems. The three good things we learned wereall the pieces fit togetherthe watertight sections do not leak

stacynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-42237045608337041332007-06-06T16:18:00.000-07:002007-06-20T13:42:02.164-07:00

Part of the mission of this project is Education and Outreach. We are partnering with a local high school program, Second Opportunity School, to create SOS-SCINI, a plan for the students to build an experiment for the ROV to conduct in Antarctica, and to analyze and report on the results. (continued...)We visited the school, which is on the Cabrillo College extension campus in Watsonville, to

stacynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6383895314070230960.post-70883293480957146092007-06-04T13:37:00.000-07:002007-06-04T13:40:50.317-07:00

We're looking at using an "open source/open hardware" video camera from Elphel. Here's one of the first frame grabs we got back from the device just the other day.

bnewboldnoreply@blogger.com0