Basically, when you want to find a right spot in Antarctica for finding meteorites, you need a place where the ice is vertical (because blocked by an obstacle, like a mountain), and is ablated by wind in order to free all meteorites kept within the ice. So basically, you look for the windiest place around a mountain. This means that the wind is our best friend for unraveling meteorites hidden in the ice. Wind is also going to blow away the snow that may accumulate, hence hiding meteorites, so it seems the wind is helping us a lot. On the other hand, because we have to go to those windiest places, we actually suffer of the wind effect. At first, it seems OK, we all know the effect of a tropical storm or big storm. But the wind in Antarctica is a bit different, because it is driven by gravity. Basically, the cold air at the South Pole is denser, and as water on a slope, is flowing to the coast, with us on its path. This is powerful wind, called katabatic wind, is continuous. No gust, it just does not stop. Of course, this is what we need for ablating the ice (see diagram from a previous blog post), but unfortunately, as collateral damage, we are just trapped in the middle of it. You may have heard of the wind chill factor. The idea is to say that what matters to be warm is not only the external temperature, but also the wind, because it will blow away the small pocket of warm air around you. This means you will feel colder than the absolute temperature, and faster if wind is blowing. As an example, a wind of 14mph (22.5km/h) at -6.4°F (-21.4°C) means a wind chill of -30.9°F (-35°C). Pretty chilly, especially if you spend 7 hours in that weather! So what to do? Well, wear several layers of clothes (the over-fluffy not sexy look), and protect every bit of skin that could be exposed to this wind, otherwise you could get burnt by the cold! This is why you can often see us with full facial protection. For the record, yes, I still smile when someone takes a picture of me! In the tent, such strong winds are very interesting. A tent is a light shelter, shaking in the wind. The sound is like being inside of a washing machine (as you can hear in the 2-sec video previously posted). Not that I have ever been in a washing machine, but I am sure it would be the sound if I were! Add to that the sound of snow constantly blowing on the tent. The first night, I was wondering why my tent mate was scrambling plastic bags. The truth is she wasn’t, it was just the noise of the snow against the tent. We get so used to that that when suddenly, the wind stops (it may happen under some conditions when the warmer and more humid air from the coast is going south), this is actually scary. And then, you can hear the noise of ice popping just under your tent. Not sure which one is the best… This noise is actually like a lullaby, our best friend and worst enemy! -written by Vinciane Debaille, Jan 16, 2015, Davis-Ward