Extension, Time in the Field, Thanksgiving

At the end of my last post, I mentioned that we had requested an extension to our field season. That extension was granted. The extension was not a given as there are numerous projects that are similarly, or in some cases even more, behind in getting work done for the season than we are. It helps that our project requires minimal resources. The big resources that we need (e.g. Twin Otter flight and helicopter flights) were supposed to have been used during the past two weeks. The extension is for four days. We were originally scheduled to leave tomorrow (Monday) and we are now scheduled to leave on Friday. If we get out on time, and that is obviously a big if, I will spend a full day in Christchurch to reset, and then leave New Zealand and arrive back into Colorado on Sunday, December 3.

The good news is that we have been making worthwhile progress in the field. Last Thursday was a big day as we installed the Double Fenced Intercomparison Reference (DFIR) shield. It is easiest to think of it as a snow fence with a 16 foot diameter surrounded by a snow fence with a 40 foot diameter, both of which encircle a precipitation gauge. Part of the wood materials were fabricated last spring in Boulder and some of them were fabricated in the "Carp Shop" (carpentry shop in McMurdo). We also had the assistance of two "Carps", Rachel and Liz, to help us assemble and install the DFIR at the Willie Field location. It was snowing most of the day, and the visibility was continually decreasing throughout the day, but the winds were light and there was minimal concern of the weather turning bad on us. Installing the DFIR is a key component to the field season as the DFIR shield is the accepted worldwide standard for measuring snowfall. 

Working on the second exterior ring of the double-fence after the completion of the interior ring. 

The Carps Liz and Rachel showing off the finished Double-Fence Intercomparison Reference (DFIR) wind shield around the precipitation gauge at the Willie Field site.

The installation of the DFIR ended a stretch of four of five days working in the field with most of the work at the local sites and the one day trip by Twin Otter. We anticipated having a quiet day on Friday and it worked out well as the weather was also bad all day with Condition 2 weather on the ice shelf. Friday was also the last day before a rare two-day weekend, so most of McMurdo was ramping down for the weekend. We ended up only having a one-day weekend as we went out to the Phoenix site on today (Sunday afternoon). The good news is that we were able to finalize the installation at that site. We were late for dinner, which means pizza for dinner as they serve pizza in the galley 24-hours a day. We also ate our dinner watching this week's Sunday Science Lecture on a robotic vehicle to explore the ocean underneath the ice shelf. The technology and experience developed from this project will likely be used in a future mission to one of Jupiter's moons, Europa.

Lastly, yesterday (Saturday), was our Thanksgiving at McMurdo Station. By celebrating Thanksgiving on a Saturday the station is able to provide a two-day weekend. My Thanksgiving started the same way as it does for many people in the United States. I ran in the McMurdo Turkey Trot, a 5K race. There were 126 people that ran/walked in the turkey trot and a had a great time. I was very reluctant to run in the race when I went to bed the night before. The weather was nasty, I knew the course would be moderately snow covered, and I have not been running on the treadmill as much as I had hoped. I ended up having a great time. The weather was perfect when I woke up to run the race. It was about 20F, not a cloud in the sky, and little to no wind. The course was a little slick but I managed to not let it slow me down too much and I avoided a nasty slip and fall. I grabbed a quick late breakfast after the race as the galley was closing for the Thanksgiving dinners. There were three sitting times (3:00, 5:00, and 7:00) for the Thanksgiving dinner. A group of us chose the 7:00 dinner. In between the race and dinner, I took a nap, wrote some postcards, worked on photos, and showered. It was a wonderful afternoon. The Thanksgiving dinner in the galley was very good and we had a great time together. The day ended with hanging out with some friends in the coffee house. Overall, it was a nice and relaxing Thanksgiving.

A little less than a mile into the McMurdo Turkey Trot 5K. I am in the black in the middle of the photo.

The serving line for the Thanksgiving Dinner in the galley. They have designated seating times for the dinner to encourage people to sit together with projects, work teams, and friends and enjoy the dinner.

We are scheduled to have four remaining days in McMurdo with our northbound flight on Friday. We have 2 1/2 days of field work that needs to be done including a Twin Otter flight and a helicopter flight. The remaining day will be spent packing cargo to be kept here over the winter and cargo to be returned to Colorado. I feel pretty good at the start of this week. We'll see how the week unfolds.