antarctica
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Flying From Civilization To Nowhere – New Zealand to Antarctic Field Camp
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Flying to Antarctica is an adventure in itself. Here’s a brief collection of clips during my 2014-2015 flights from Christchurch, New Zealand, through McMurdo Station, and finally ending up at the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide Field Camp – WAIS Divide. Both airplanes are LC-130 Hercules, operated by the New York Air National Guard 109th…
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Touchdown at WAIS Divide, Antarctica in an LC-130 Hercules
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The flight from McMurdo Station in to WAIS Divide, aboard a US Air Force LC-130 Hercules. As we flew from McMurdo and approached WAIS, the weather got worse and worse. We circled for a while, and then at the last minute swooped down and landed. The flight crew let me sit in the back of…
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After A Month Of Waiting At McMurdo Finally At WAIS Divide Field Camp
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After a solid month of waiting at McMurdo Station, I’ve finally made it to the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide Field Camp – commonly knows at WAIS. Last Saturday, after the holiday schedule shutdown had worn off, we received notice from the McMurdo Air Transport office that our flight to WAIS was first priority the…
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COSRAY – Detecting Neutrons in Antarctica
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One of the hidden gems at McMurdo, in terms of science experiments, is the COSRAY Neutron Detector. I had the opportunity to go inside the current COSRAY Building at McMurdo, led by technician James Roth. More on COSRAY, from UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE BARTOL RESEARCH INSTITUTE NEUTRON MONITOR PROGRAM : A neutron monitor is an instrument…
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IceStock 2015 – McMurdo Station, Antarctica
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Every year at McMurdo, to usher in the new year, there’s a giant concert celebration that takes place in the middle of town. Bands that have been formed in the beginning part of the season, as well as bands formed over the years, all get a chance go play for the town. It’s a huge…
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Recreation at McMurdo – Hiking the Observation Hill Loop Trail
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During my team’s time stuck at McMurdo waiting for transport to WAIS, we had a lot of free time to kill – and spent much of it taking long walks and hike around the surrounding area. Ross Island, where McMurdo is located, has its own extensive trail system. One of the more popular and accessible…
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Helicopter Operations at McMurdo Station
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At McMurdo, helicopters play a vital role in local transportation and logistics. McMurdo has its own helicopter operations hanger and pad, operated by PHI Helicopter, featuring 6 pads, and an indoor enclosed hangar for maintenance. During my month or so living at McMurdo while awaiting transport to field camp, I had the opportunity to watch…
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A Chinese-Operated Kamov KA-32 Helicopter Slingloads Fuel at Scott Base, Antarctica
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On December 30th, 2014, a Russian-made, Chinese-operated Kamov KA-27 Helicopter made a brief stop by New Zealand’s Scott Base, Antarctica. The helicopter is operated by the Polar Research Institute of China, and was flying from its supporting research vessel, the MV Xue Long, China’s only polar research vessel. The helicopter was picking up a slingload…
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Investigating SPIDER Polarimeter Long Duration Balloon Payload
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One of the most interesting science facilities at McMurdo is the NASA Long Duration Balloon Facility. This site, on the ice shelf and well away from anything else is the assembly and launch area for extreme high altitude balloons, carrying a variety of science payloads. During my trip out there, I was fortunate enough to…
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Happy Holidays from McMurdo!
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McMurdo’s holiday party this year was fantastic! Including family photos slideshow, multiple bands, beer and wine bars, chillout room, and of course, a santa+elves photobooth.
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Launching a Meterological Balloon from McMurdo
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Weather plays a very important part of our lives in Antarctica, and many operations live by the daily weather forecasts. Although there’s a distinct lack of the latest and greatest weather gear on the ice, met balloons are launched twice a day to help build up the daily weather forecasts. I had the opportunity to…
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McMurdo’s Ice Shelf Airport – Willy Field
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Here at McMurdo, we have a number of airfields used for different missions. Willy Field is located on the McMurdo Ice Shelf, and therefore can be used year-round, even when the floating sea ice has melted. Only ski-equipped aircraft land here, including LC-130H, and DHC Twin Otters. Earlier today I took a quick trip out…
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Racing at McMurdo Station
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Antarctica is filled with interesting, fit, adventurous, competitive people – and as a result, there are a bunch of races every year. Last time I was at the South Pole, I ran one big race – the South Pole Marathon. This year, while I was at McMurdo Station waiting for my flight out to WAIS…
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Celebrating Chanukah at McMurdo Station, Antarctica
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Chanukah is a celebration, no matter where you are. This year at McMurdo, we used “Hut 10”, a special events building, to host a fun Chanukah party. A few pics..
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Exploring Scott’s Discovery Hut and Hut Point, Antarctica
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Scott’s Discovery Hut is located on the outskirts of McMurdo Station, and is a short walk from the center of town. A bit of background, and some photos of my recent exploration of the area: From Wikipedia: Discovery Hut was built by Robert Falcon Scott during the Discovery Expedition of 1901–1904 in 1902 and is…
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Tracking Satellites in McMurdo at NASA’s Near Earth Network Ground Station
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One of the more interesting facilities at McMurdo station is NASA’s NEar Earth Network Ground Station. The facility is comprised of a server and management office in McMurdo proper, as well as a large satellite dish, covered with a radome, on the edge of Arrival Heights, just outside of town. From NASA: October 3, 2014…
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McMurdo Station’s Hospital
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Currently, McMurdo Station is hosting a little over 800 people in an industral, dangerous, busy town about as far away from anywhere as you can get. Naturally, with so many people, there’s the occassional sickness and injury. To deal with that, there’s a complete hospital and medical staff waiting to take care of any medical…
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Exploring the Pressure Ridges of McMurdo Sound
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In McMurdo Sound, the McMurdo Ice Shelf cascades into the sea. pushing and squeezing the frozen sea ice against the hut point peninsula where McMurdo Station and Scott Base are located. This pushing and squeezing of the floating sea ice creates dramatic pressure ridges in the ice, which are beautiful and memorizing to explore. A…
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McMurdo’s General Store – Anything You Want In The Middle of Nowhere
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Since I’ve been stuck at McMurdo Station, Antarctica for the past week, I’ve had numerous opportunities to shop at the McMurdo General Store. This is the place on station to get gifts, souvineers, clothing, movies, liquor, and just about anything else you could need to feel comfortable. In addition to just providing general goods, interestingly,…
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An Antarctic Thrift Shop: McMurdo’s Skua
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At McMurdo, lots of people transit though on a daily basis – and not everybody needs everything they brought with them. To effectively recycle unwanted clothing and gear, McMurdo has a bit of a free thrift shop, called Skua. The name comes from the Skua birds that inhabit Ross Island, and frequently scavenge dropped food!
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Observation Hill
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Observation Hill is a small mountain that looms over McMurdo station to the east. It’s a fairly steep, but easy climb, and gives views of the entire surrounding area, including the Long Duration Balloon launch facility on the McMurdo Ice Sheet. During my stay in McMurdo, I hiked it a few times. A few pics…
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My First Penguin in Antarctica
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Despite the time I’ve spent here in Antarctica, up until last week I had never actually seen a penguin. That all changed when I was biking from McMurdo Station across the frozen sea ice out to Willy Field airfield. As I was riding along, I noticed a van of people stopped on the ice looking…