We flew on a LC130 which is fairly large military aircraft that has four turbo-prop engines. They are pretty loud. The flight from Christchurch to McMurdo Station was about 8 hours and we landed on the ice runway on the Ross Ice Shelf. Just before landing, we had a spectacular view of Mt. Erebus, which is an active volcano.
You can see some pictures from our trip down here:
(please let me know if you can't see the pictures when you visit the link)
We spent most of yesterday going to meetings and briefings about safety and environmental awareness. Today Jeb and some other folks from our team are flying out to the Taylor Valley to collect some soil samples and scout out a sight where we will be conducting a field experiment.
2 comments:
Dear Dr. Sokol:
This is Mrs. Radner's new fourth grade class. Here are some of our questions this year:
1. How do you get your electricity?
2. How did going to Antarctica change your life?
3. What sound does a penguin make?
4. Where do you sleep?
5. What animals have you seen and what animals have you seen the most?
6. What happens if there is a fire in Antarctica?
7. What happens if you get frostbite?
8. When you got there, what was the first thing you did?
9. Is it fun being a scientist, especially in Antarctica?
10. How long did it take you to get from Virginia to McMurdo Station?
11. What is the hardest thing you experienced in Antarctica?
12. We saw pictures of you building a wall of ice around your tents. How long did it take to build that wall, and how long did the wall last? Did you destroy the wall or did you leave it up?
13. What's the coldest the temperature has ever been when you were there, and what's the warmest the temperature has been?
14. You mentioned that when you were in the Dry Valleys, you did not have a chance to wash your clothes. How do you wash them in McMurdo?
15. What kind of techonology works in Antarctica: cell phones? computers? laptops? tablets?
16. Why is the research that you are doing have to be done in Antarctica?
We will be reading more of your blogs and looking at more of your pictures. Thank you for spending your time answering our questions. Have a good time in Antarctica.
Mrs. Radner's class 2013-2014
Dear Dr. Sokol,
I also attend Columbia High School and was very intrigued in what your blog had to say! There are some very interesting facts you have blogged about that I was unaware about. If you could answer a few of my questions that would be awesome!
1. With so many different things being studied, how was Dry Valleys designated as the official spot to conduct the vast research?
2. How has the physical environment changed since the last time you were in Dry Valleys? Do you notice a drastic change?
3. Are you only able to move a far distances away from the base camp to conduct research without risking machinery dying without having an electrical supply readily available?
Thanks in advance,
Julia Binder
Post a Comment