2015 / 2016 Field Season – Page 6 – ANSMET, The Antarctic Search for Meteorites

A shoutout to the Basler crew

December 20, 2015

Today we got our last major haul of cargo, including two skidoos and lots of gas for them, via the Basler. The Basler folks are remarkably efficient at getting cargo on and off of their plane and they also couldn't be any nicer--I'm guessing it's because they're Canadians (but...

The elusive J&B

December 20, 2015

As many ANSMET fans are aware, Jim Karner is our science lead and Brian Rougeaux is one of our mountaineers. Jim directs our science operations and makes sure we're on task, while Brian ensures our safety throughout. They are both naturally modest types and don't frequently appear in pictures...

Hunting season is OPEN

December 19, 2015

Today was our first day of meteorite hunting as a team! Our first step was to take a look at the local geology to get a sense of what kinds of rocks are "normal" for this part of the world. There are a lot of beautiful metamorphics here, with...

ANSMET team field deployment: Complete

December 19, 2015

(Note that this post was delayed due to overall low battery power in our devices--but now the solar panels are set up, we are back up and ready to blog!) Today the winds simmered down, the stars aligned, and our remaining team members were able to make it to Iggy....

Tent Day 2: Return of Tent Day

December 16, 2015

Field Team Sparkle (Nina and Morgan) here, reporting from Iggy Ridge. Overnight the winds managed to pick up speed. I went outside to gather weather measurements and was almost immediately blown over once I was away from the protection of the tent. Right now the windspeed is a whopping...

Weather update from the field

December 16, 2015

Today the weather has gone from exciting to thrilling to nuts. I took another temperature and wind speed measurement: -3.3 degrees F at a whopping 52 mph. Morgan went out to grab some additional food from our boxes and said that she almost got knocked down by the wind...

Greetings from Iggy Ridge

December 16, 2015

As our avid ANSMET fans are likely aware, half of the team made it out to Iggy Ridge yesterday. The four of us (Jim, Brian, Morgan, and I, Nina) departed from Williams Field on a Basler, which is a refitted DC3 for those airframe nerds out there. We flew...

Come Fly with Me…. Or Not

December 15, 2015

Ellen, Johnny, Con on Willy Field. “Where’s our ride?” We have been waiting a few days to put the team into the field so we can start doing our job – find and retrieve meteorites. Days pass as we wait for flights. The following occurs between hours of 06:30 and...

they are on the way to Miller…..

December 14, 2015

Just got the message below........ "Hi Ralph, Just a quick sit rep: Team 1 (Jim, Brian, Nina and Morgan) deployed at Miller this morning via Bassler and are setting up camp. Team 2 (rest) is now on route now with another Bassler. That is all. Cheers! Con " Sometimes that's enough!

Making the most of a delay

December 14, 2015

We're taking advantage of being stuck in McMurdo another day to learn about some of the incredible science projects that only happen in Antarctica. The windy, overcast weather we had over the weekend has cleared up, meaning the Basler flight with priority carrying supplies to the South Pole got...

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