Hello from WAIS Divide!

Hello again!

Yes, we are still here in Antarctica. I haven’t (yet that is) hopped on a plane to a warmer climate. Although that is sounding pretty enticing right about now. How about somewhere in the Caribbean perhaps?? Anyways, for now we are at WAIS Divide field camp. We finally arrived on December 18 after 2 long weeks of trying and just this week internet was up and running. So I am going to do my best to update y’all on what I’ve been up to these past few weeks.



WAIS Divide (West Antarctic Ice Sheet) is about 800 miles east of McMurdo, about 6000feet in elevation, and is the location for the drilling of a 10,000 foot ice core. We are here to support the scientists for this specific project along with other scientific research that is being done in and around this area. The idea for this specific ice core project began in 2000 with testing beginning in Greenland in 2005, which Eric was a part of. The actual drilling here began in 2007 and will continue for the next few of years. In studying the ice, the scientists want to learn about past climate conditions dating back 100,000 years ago and see how it has changed. It is quite a neat experience being here and learning about the science that is happening right in our backyard. Last Thursday I was able to assist in bringing some of the ice cores up from the freezer in the arch, where the drilling takes place, and get them ready for packing up and shipping out. It was -26 in the room we were in. Talk about chilly!!! I even got to get lowered into the trench where the drilling takes place and used a chainsaw to skim pieces of ice off of the walls so that the drill would fit better. I was in a box with pulleys and had a harness on, and it was a bit nerve-racking, but cool nonetheless!


But back to when we arrived. When we first got here there were 10 of us on the carpenter crew. Our main goal was to get all of the “buildings” up and running. Since early November the camp staff (10 of them) had only been using a couple of small modules that had been up since last year. We were in charge of putting together about 9 other buildings for various uses. 3 are berthing areas for people that don’t want to sleep in a tent, or transients that only stay a few days. One is the galley, one is a medical tent, another is the recreation tent, one for camps management offices and communications, and 2 for science. Some are quite old (called Jamesways) that were used during the Korean War and some are new which are called Rac Tents. Pictures are attached of what these look like. So that was the main push for the carpenters. We came and built most of the camp from the ground up. I can’t believe that all this is done every year and taken down as well. They were long days, but we had a great crew and an even better boss!


During the down time here there is a lot of visiting, playing cards (Texas Hold ‘Em, of course), resting, reading, eating etc. The cook staff takes excellent care of us and feeds us too well. They have to plan on around 4000 calories per person, per day due to the amount of energy we’re exerting working here. We had a wonderful spread for Thanksgiving along with 2 days off of work. That was the best. We had turkey and all the trimmings along with a friendly game of kickball thrown in. Eric and I even made 2 Texas pecan pies with pecans that his mom sent to us. Thanks again for those. Everyone devoured them! All in all it has been a great experience being here in the field. We are literally in the middle of nowhere but for the most part have quite a cozy set up. In all of the “buildings” there are diesel stoves that provide heat for us, which I find myself standing by quite a lot. But in our sleeping tents that is another story. Yes I’ve been winter (even though it’s summer here) camping for almost 3 weeks now. That is definitely my least favorite part. Getting into a freezing cold tent (usually around 10 degrees) at the end of a long day is not the most pleasant experience. But after getting all bundled up in my long underwear, flannel pajamas, flannel blanket, -40 rated mummy sleeping bag, another blanket on top, a hat on my head, gloves on my hands and neck gater on… I’m pretty warm. Oh, I also have my eye pad on because it’s 24/7 sun right now! I have been sleeping pretty well. It did take a few days to get used to the whole process of going to sleep. But now I’m sleeping soundly and in the morning the temperature has risen to between 65 and 70 degrees inside the tent. Too bad it’s not that temperature when I’m trying to go to bed!

Life is good here. I have had 3 showers in 2 and a half weeks and there are outhouses galore for everyone’s use. We do our best to stay clean and fresh smelling. We are being well taken care of and enjoy having only between 20-50 people or so at a time here. Very different from the 1100 in McMurdo. We’ll be back in McM in a couple weeks should all go well with the drilling. We’ll return to the carp shop with hopefully some day trips to other areas of Antarctica. They are set to start this year’s drilling next week. I hope that you are all enjoying the holiday season. My love to you and yours!



Love,
Erika