Weddell Seal pup
Dear ANSMET-ophiles,
It is Tuesday (Monday in the US, the day the Bears will lose to Dallas) in McMurdo Station and according to our schedule that means that ANSMET team G-058 is deployment ready and will to start the sequence this evening. We completed the planned frozen food “pull” yesterday, loaded 6 tri-walls (triple layered cardboard container on a pallet) with our gear, and entered all into the “cargo stream”. It is amazing to consider the entire supply and delivery chain that starts in the U.S. finding its way to all manner of remote locations allowing groups like ours to operate in Antarctica. Snowmobiles, tents, and sleeping bags all wing their way to CTAM, where we rendezvous with these essential supplies.
Last evening Manavi, Morgan, Alex, and I toured the pressure ridges near Scott Base. The dynamic force of the flowing Ross Ice shelf creates a microcosm of tectonic features as it meets the sea ice and land. The shelf ice folds into an undulating series of ridges as it scrums against Ross Island, while the collision with the sea ice is evidenced by an icy display of subduction, orogeny, and faulting that has an other worldly feel. This fracturing also allows Weddell seals to come to the surface and crawl out on the ice for a nap. Please enjoy Alex’s photo titled “Seal Face” (no that is not a reference to my handsome face)(also the photo was taken with telephoto lens at an appropriate distance for the animal).
This evening half the team performs “bag drag”, where we present all our hand-carry items, ECW, as well as ourselves to be weighed in preparation for tomorrow’s flight. As mentioned, our put in logistics are complex with John, Barb, Jani, and I traveling to CTAM where we establish a camp, spend the night, and begin transferring our items into the next transport queue for delivery to our South Miller Range camp. Jim, Alex, Morgan, and Manavi will tag up with us in CTAM, just as we leap toward our “permanent” camp. All this travel may make for spotty blog updates, so please be patient.
Today we learned the basics of “Meteorite Hunting” and the process by which we collect pristine samples that may unlock the secrets of our solar system and beyond. Our mission is clear, we are ready, and the future will find us keeping with the altruistic ANSMET tradition of, “collection above self” as we venture into the next phase of this fantastic expedition, putting us ever closer to the “Messis Siderum”, Harvest the Stars.
The team is deeply indebted to all those that toil to make this effort possible…..thanks everyone!
Ice Bound and Down (on behalf of us all Barb, Jani, Manavi, Morgan, Alex, Jim, and John)
-posted by Meteorite Hunter Steve, with small edits from rph