Wednesday, November 3, 2010

ECW (Extreme Cold Weather) Gear

I have discovered that like many government agencies the USAP (United States Antarctic Program) likes to use acronyms. Yesterday I spent time at the USAP CDC (clothing distribution center) getting my ECW gear. The USAP provides researchers with the clothing and gear that they need to survive in Antarctica. People don't need to bundle up in the buildings at the research bases, but they do need the ECW gear when they are out at camps. For my work, I will be camping in the dry valleys and working out in the elements and I will definitely be bundling up then.

We also need to wear the ECW clothes on the flight from New Zealand to McMurdo, presumably so we are prepared if we have to get out of the plane in an emergency situation. Plus the ride from the airstrip to the buildings at McMurdo is probably pretty cold too. To the left is a poster that is up here at the CDC that explains the what clothes we have to wear on the flight, and there are also some pictures of other clothes that we get for when we are working out in the elements.

Each person working for the USAP gets assigned a set of ECW clothes. The big red down parka is lovingly referred to as "Big Red." None of our clothes are heated. What these clothes are designed for is insulating our body really well. If you are insulated, your body produces all the heat you need by burning the food you eat. Your body metabolizes food, which has potential energy stored up in the bonds that hold the food molecules together. When your body metabolizes the food, it releases the energy that holds the food molecules together as heat. So if we eat a lot, and wear clothes that insulate us well when it is cold out, we should be able to handle some pretty cold temperatures.

Speaking of the weather, I am still stuck in New Zealand waiting for the weather down at McMurdo to clear up. It seems nothing is certain, and we need to have flexible schedules. This works out well for me because it is giving me some time to post these pictures.





5 comments:

Kristina Araya said...

Your ECW gear looks really warm! Too bad you can't keep a Big Red for your next trip to Michigan.

What kind of food will you be eating? For some reason I was picturing astronaut food (do you remember the astronaut ice cream we used to get from the museum when we were kids?), but if your body temperature depends on your diet, I hope you are getting some hearty meals!

Mrs. Radner's Fourth Grade Class said...

Dear Eric,
Thank you for your letter and the pictures of all the clothes. Here are our next questions:
1. What kind of plane did you fly from New Zealand to Antarctica? Did you ever make it to Antarctica, or are you still waiting for the weather to clear? We went on the McMurdo website and the webcam says they are waiting for visibility, so we are not sure you made it to Antarctica yet.
2. We read Kristina's comment and we would also like to know what kind of food you have to eat. Do you get a choice or do you eat what they serve?
Have a great weekend! and Much Success on your trip!
Mrs. Radner's Fourth Grade Class

Eric Sokol said...

Hi Everyone. I made it to McMurdo after the weather finally cleared. I spent the last day and a half in Snow School learning cold weather survival. I'll have some updates from that pretty soon. I head out to the Dry Valley's on Monday if everything goes as planned. I'll try to answer all of these questions in a new post sometime this weekend.

Anonymous said...

We have really enjoyed viewing your blog. We think it's amazing what you're going through. The whole class is amazed by what we have learned about Antarctica.
From Mrs. Partovich's Fourth Grade Class

Lilly Soble said...

Dear Eric,
My name is Lilly from Hillel Day school. It is so cool that you are in Antarctica.I can't believe that you saw a penguin. I have always wanted to see a penguin. I am interested in your blog because we are learning about deserts and in Antarctica there are deserts,but they aren't like normal deserts because it's cold there. Did you ever want to go home because you were scared? Please write back from Lilly