Recovering forward.
Hi everyone- Just a quick note today letting all of our readers know that the 8 members of this year's field team all made it to their respective homes last week. Jon was about a day ahead of the rest of the team on February 2; most of the remaining...
A final post from the 2023-2024 ANSMET field team
The past few days in McMurdo have been a bit of a whirlwind, but we wanted to share a few final highlights as the season winds down, and provide a look at what will come next. We’ve spent the last couple of days getting all of our cargo back, returning...
The “Last day at Davis-Ward” post: January 26, 2024.
We all woke up to strong winds hitting our tents. It was -23° C with around 20 knots wind - windchill around -35° C. My first thought was “Well, we might not be flying today”. Around 7:30 am, Brian came and told us that our flights had been activated....
post from McMurdo- January 26, 2024
Thursday was our last full day in the field at Davis-Ward, where the team had some pretty significant accomplishments. We finished up collecting there—a big feat since ANSMET had visited seven times previously. We collected more than 200 meteorites this season, including some pretty hefty and unique ones, like...
Post for January 24, 2024: Tent day!
Well, today wasn't a full tent day, but the wind did pick up a great deal. It was -24° F ambient and with 15-18 mph winds it was -35° F with wind chill. Most of the morning was spent grooming the skiway for the flight tomorrow which will take...
Post for January 23, 2024: What are you wearing?
One of the frequently asked questions that we get from people at home is: “Are you cold?” I can honestly say that no, I’ve not been chilled-to-the-bone cold as part of ANSMET. The reason is that we wear the proper cold weather gear to get our work done comfortably...
Post for January 22, 2024: The most beautiful day.
Today was, hands-down, one of the most beautiful days I have ever had the privilege to see. We awoke to a pretty intense chill and an almost unnatural quiet. There was barely a hint of wind; the skies were blue with just a hint of cloud cover low on the...
Post for January 21, 2024- The Far North (of the South)
This morning we woke up to blue skies, sunshine, and very little wind – great weather for searching for meteorites, as long as yesterday’s snow didn’t bury them. We started off the day collecting a few meteorites that we had previously flagged in the “Klondike moraine”. Then we continued...
Post for January 20, 2024
Today we woke up to a snow flurry and an all flat white world. It has been cloudy the last couple days, but worse today. As I peeked outside from the tent, I knew it was a tent day, a day when we don’t go out meteorite hunting. Everything...
Post for January 19, 2024
The sheer amounts of snow—and how much it drifts and buries everything in its path. The dynamism and massive scale of the landscape. How quickly we developed familiar routines. The joys and comforts of a tent-home cooked meal. The way anything adhesive predictably fails to stick in the driest,...