Today was a busy day around town as we worked on disassembling the large wooden wind shield that was removed from the field last year. There was also work done to further tear down the hardware that has been removed this year and prepare if for the northbound vessel cargo departing in January. Today turned out to be a perfect day for all of this work around town as the temperature was in the low 30sF and light to no winds all day. I'll also include my frequent disclaimer. Yes, those temperatures are relatively warm but don't lose track that it is summer here and we are approaching the warmest time of the year in Antarctica.
I'm going to keep most of this post brief as I'll let the photos take up much of the space. This past Friday I went on a Twin Otter flight to the Cape Hallett automatic weather station (AWS) site. Four of my previous trips to Antarctica were with the AWS project and this flight was to assist with the AWS group. Cape Hallett is located on the edge of the Transantarctic Mountains and almost to the northern extent of the continent in that region. I've included the map below to put the location in context. As I described in my previous post, the best way to think of Cape Hallett is a penguin colony surrounded by majestic mountains.
We left Williams Field Ski-way on the Twin Otter around the normal launch time of 8:30 AM. A fuel stop was required with the Twin Otter since the flight to Cape Hallett is so long. The fuel stop was at a fuel cache at Cape Reynolds for both of my visits to Cape Hallett in 2015. Fuel caches are setup at different spots around the continent to give planes a chance to refuel where they otherwise may not have a chance. A fuel cache is often a collection of barrels of of fuel that are frequently buried, or partially buried, and have to be dug out. For Friday's trip, we stopped at Mario Zuchelli, which is the Italian station located at Terra Nova Bay, about an hour and 20 minutes from Willy Field. We landed at their airfield. An Italian fuel truck and a pump truck pulled up next to the plane and transferred the fuel. The pilot signed the receipt, we reloaded the plane and were back in the air for another hour and a half flight to Cape Hallett.
The Twin Otter flies along the Transantarctic Mountains for much of the flight. During the last half hour or so the plane flies over the mountains to arrive at Cape Hallett from the south. During this time there are amazing glaciers, old avalanches, and mountain peaks that we pass.
The Twin Otter circled overhead to decide on where to land on the sea ice. Because the Twin Otter is equipped with skis it can land nearly anywhere on snow or ice that is safe. For Cape Hallett, we landed on the sea ice with giant icebergs locked into the ice not far away.
We were a little surprised when we got to Cape Hallett to find a camp of scientists already at the location. There were seven tents setup and a more permanent building. The camp was a part of the South Korean Antarctic program and their main base is at Terra Nova Bay. This group of South Korean scientists are there studying the Adelie penguins, which make Cape Hallett their summer home and where their chicks are hatched. I talked to one of the South Korean scientists and he told me that they are studying the size of the population, the survival rate of the chicks, and whether the hatch rate is different if the nest is on land versus on snow. Cape Hallett is also an Antarctic Specially Protected Area (APSA), which means you are required to have an approved permit in order to visit. We had an ASPA permit in order to repair the AWS at this site. It turns out that it was a bonus for us to have the South Koreans at Cape Hallett. One person from their contingent was on a snow machine and he greeted us after we landed. He also volunteered to tow the sled with tools, batteries, and spare parts to the AWS site. It was about a one mile hike from the plane landing spot to the AWS. This hike also involved walking around the periphery of the penguin rookery. The hike went extra slow as I was also frequently stopping to take photos.
The AWS is located fairly close to the South Korean camp. The AWS that we were visiting had stopped transmitting over a year ago. In the end, I was not needed as the main AWS field engineer did most of the work and troubleshooting. Instead, I stood around and took photos and photos and photos.
The penguins seemed more curious this year in comparison to 2015 and we had many that would walk right up to us and check us out. Unfortunately, I was not able to get as close to the nests this time around, nor did I get to see two penguins fighting over a rock for their nest. The AWS repair took about an hour and a half and it was transmitting again by the time that we left. Then it was the hike back to the Twin Otter. Again with numerous photos along the way, as well as the South Korean scientist towing the sled with the tools and gear back to the Twin Otter.
The return trip was the reverse of the flight to Cape Hallett. We stopped again at Mario Zuchelli for fuel. We were a little disappointed that we were not invited up to their station for coffee or a bite to eat. Such a more extended visit has happened at times in the past with some of my colleagues. The flight from Mario Zuchelli back to Willy Field was brutal. We were flying into 85 knot head winds and the plane was moving all of the place. The flight that took us an hour and 17 minutes earlier in the day was instead an hour and 49 minutes. I highly doubt that I've been on a plane the moved around that much for such an extended period of time. Up, down, side-to-side, continually being pushed around by the winds. Oh well, we still made it back to Willy safely.
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