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> Will I be Shoveling Again?, 27 November, 2005
Dena_Rosenberger
post Nov 28 2005, 11:05 AM
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Hello From the Ice!
For those interested in things Antarctic, check out the weekly Antarctic newspaper at http://AntarcticSun.usap.gov
They do an incredible job of telling about the research going on here as well as other articles about Antarctica, life at the different research stations, comics, opinions, and some pretty funny stuff. Great photos, too. If you check out this week's Sun, there is a photo on the front page of a team that I may get to go out and visit on Wednesday - the seal camp! I am totally excited!

Where’s Rosenberger?
Pony Lake, Ross Island, Antarctica
For additional pictures, check the Gallery.
Our communicatins satellite was out for two days, so I am posting two journals today.


After a wonderful Sunday Brunch (Am I in Antarctica?), we loaded up the Pisten Bully to go out to Pony Lake to see if the snow has blown into the pit again, making it necessary to dig it out again, to get more ice cores. We aren’t really going to work, just to survey the damage. We have a new member of the team: Chris Jarros is a scientist who has worked with Christine Foreman on a project called Long Term Ecological Research, or LTER, in Antarctica. Chris worked at Pony Lake last year and Christine wants him to see where we have dug the pit for ice cores. The sun is shining brightly and it is a beautiful day with no wind. Everything is melting so I am hoping that the snow at Pony Lake might be melting, too. With the sun shining and melting everything, they are worried about the cracks in the sea ice on the way out, so they will check the depth of the ice very carefully today before driving the Pisten Bully across. I think I’ll walk. Also, my PI Christine Foreman told me that she tasted the melted water on top of the big crack we have to cross on the way to Pony Lake and it was salty. She explained that if it is fresh water, that means that it is just melted ice on top and there is no danger. If it is salty, that means that the crack goes all the way down to the ocean and the seawater has come up through the crack.

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Carefully checking the ice cracks. This is a pressure ridge where two pieces of ice have crashed together and pushed up.
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Yippee! When we got to the lake, the New Zealand team that is restoring the hut told us it did not snow here at all. There was NO snow inside of our pit! I am so happy, but I guess we are not out of the woods yet because now we still need the lake to start melting. Last year at this time, the lake was about one-third melted already, so they could take water samples with ease.

The pit is clear! All of the snow we removed after the storm is still piled around the outside:
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It is amazing how much snow we removed from this pit:
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It was such a beautiful day and I wasn’t really working, so I took lot’s of pictures of the lake and the rookery.

Markus checks a piece of ice core:
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The New Zealand Team with Mt. Erebus in the background:
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A watchful skua is always looking for unguarded eggs:
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Broken dreams:
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After dinner, Christine, Markus, and I climbed up Ob (Observation) Hill, right next to McMurdo. At the top, there is a memorial to all of the explorers who came to Antarctica a century ago. It is a great walk with a view in all directions. To the west and north is the sea ice of McMurdo Sound (about 3-20 feet thick), to the south is the Ross Ice Shelf (permanent ice 200-300 ft thick), to the east is Mt. Erebus.
> Christine and Markus on Ob Hill:
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> The town of McMurdo below:
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> A memorial to Antarctic explorers is on Ob Hill:
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Where the sea ice meets the Ross Ice Shelf, there are some cracks and buckles in the ice because the thinner sea ice is being pushed into the permanent ice shelf, which won’t move at all. This causes “pressure ridges” to push up as high as 6-7 meters (how many feet?) along the line where they meet. Usually, the sea ice eventually breaks up and moves out to sea, except in the past couple of years, a very large iceberg has kept this from happening. Because of this, the sea ice has been trapped here for several years and is thicker than usual. This has caused problems with icebreaking ships that would like to come in to port at McMurdo to deliver goods and passengers.

> Pressure ridges where sea-ice meets permanent ice:
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What a gorgeous day!

Pathways to Antarctica
This week I will be starting a feature showcasing various people who work in Antarctica in a variety of jobs and how they came to be here. From crane operators to waste water technicians to scientists, everyone has a story.

Did you know?
On the continent of Antarctica, 98 percent of the land is covered with an ice sheet; the remaining 2 percent of land is barren rock. Antarctica has about 87% of the world's ice.

Current Conditions at McMurdo Station
After a 4 inch snowfall Friday night, now it is sunny and warm (hopefully, the sun will melt snow at Pony Lake so we won’t have to dig as much)

Right now:
Weak easterly winds
Pressure: 29.140 inHg
Temperature: 25 oF/ - 4 oC with no wind
Pressure: 29.405 inHg
Sunset: February 20 at 1:38 am
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Gwen Robinson
post Nov 28 2005, 06:21 PM
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Dear Dena, We're enjoying your journal and spectacular photos very much. What a wonderful Thanksgiving feast. You deserve it! It was 46 degrees on our patio this morning and I thought it was cold!!!! Our thoughts and prayers are with you. Hugs, Gwen & Robby
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Janet_Warburton
post Nov 28 2005, 07:44 PM
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From: Fairbanks, Alaska
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Yes, I must agree - your journal entries are great! I can't wait to learn about how all those people got to work in such a unique part of the world. Also, I enjoy reading the temperatures - it was -28 F in Fairbanks this weekend! And we have about 4 hours of daylight sad.gif I'm totally jealous of your weather!

Janet
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