January 2018 – ANSMET, The Antarctic Search for Meteorites

Behind the scenes #3

January 31, 2018

When you enter the BFC (short for Berg Field Center) your eyes need a few seconds to adjust to the windowless, dimly lit container building. But if you are an outdoor lover like me, once your eyes have adjusted to the light, your heart will start racing and your eyes...

Behind the Scenes: Zeke Fenelon, I.T. Support at McMurdo Station

January 30, 2018

In a dimly lit room off in the corner of a building, the hum of servers in the background, code streams across the computer screen like a scene from The Matrix. At least that’s how Hollywood would portray it if Antarctica I.T. Support ever made its way onto the...

Freshies

January 27, 2018

After 2 months now without “freshies” (freshies is everything fresh and raw: vegetables like lettuce, cucumbers, carrots, fruit like apples, bananas, oranges, etc.) we are starting to fantasies about them a lot. Every lunch and dinner is met with the hope that maybe today there will be some kind...

Excitement over the arrival of the cargo vessel

January 26, 2018

Today all of McMurdo was in a frantic mood. The cargo vessel was due to arrive. In preparation, large areas were closed off for cargo container storage overnight, specifically the area between building 155, where the galley is located, and all the dorm buildings. It was...

Hut Point Loop Trail

January 23, 2018

This day today greeted us with a temperature drop to -11C. Still a lot warmer than what we had experienced in the deep field but without our protective gear we did feel the icy wind cutting into our faces quite a bit. We spent most of the morning with...

Work, fun, and a penguin

January 22, 2018

Another two days have passed here in McTown with lots of work, some fun, and magical nature. The weather has been tropical -2C and we feel really warm, way too warm. We got Sunday off and so some of our team members went on the big Castle Rock Loop...

“Coastie Day” in McMurdo

January 20, 2018

With the green fog lifted, that cartoon-like haze of smell we all know you’re imagining surrounding us as we arrived in McMurdo, we’ve been getting things clean (real clean, not field clean) and organized to round out the field season. Gear and even half our skidoos are in the...

First night in McMurdo

January 18, 2018

We arrived. Yesterday we got pulled out of Shackleton Glacier Camp via Basler and arrived in McMurdo (also lovingly called McTown) in the late afternoon. Now the entire team is reunited again, finally! We had a real shower last night, one with hot water and lots of water pressure....

Successful pull-out to Shackleton

January 16, 2018

We made it!! We were successfully pulled out today to Shackleton. The wind had picked up a bit last night and the temperature had dropped even more. It was really cold this morning but so very beautiful. The snow put on a wonderful display of sparkle and glitter to...

Back in McMurdo, taking the “reek” out of recon…

January 16, 2018

Team B is back in McMurdo after a 400 mile journey on a 70+ year old aircraft. A 1944 (modernized) DC-3 (Basler) was our ride today, getting us back to McMurdo just in time for dinner. Its sister aircraft built in 1942 (and owned by the same company) carried...

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