Who we are and what we're doing!


Welcome to our project site! We are six National Science Foundation-funded researchers from Pacific Lutheran University, Berkeley Geochronology Center, University of Washington, and the University of Maine who are studying the glacial history of the Pensacola Mountains in West Antarctica.

Our 2011-2012 field season is almost underway! We will spend about two weeks in McMurdo equipping ourselves for another month in the Pensacola Mountains. We spent December 16th, 2010 through January 17th, 2011 in the Pensacola Mountains, where we mapped and sampled glacial deposits along the Foundation Ice Stream. This year, we will revisit last year's field sites, and map new regions of the mountain range.

Our work will track the thinning history of the Weddell Sea Sector of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, and will also provide insights into ice sheet dynamics, and the history of sea level contribution from this sector of the ice sheet.

In the coming weeks and months, we will use this site to show you our preparations for the 2011-2012 field season, and to share our initial results as they emerge. Please check back to catch up with our progress. Thanks for finding us!

Saturday, January 22, 2011

We made it to Christchurch!

Hello Friends!

I have about four or five more posts I plan to write about our field season, but I had to give you the latest news - we are in Christchurch!! It was a very long night. We left McMurdo at 1:00 AM, arrived at the airfield via "Ivan the Terra Bus" at 2:00 AM, waited at the airfield until 4:00 AM, and our plane finally took off for Christchurch at 4:30 AM.

Our C-17 lands in McMurdo with passengers and cargo! The cargo has been long-awaited on station; the kitchen is out of fresh fruits and vegetables!! For the Lutes who are following the blog - this C-17 hails from McChord AFB!
Passengers disembark to Ivan the Terra Bus and cargo handlers prepare to remove pallets from the back of the plane.
Forklift loading pallets of our cargo (mostly passenger luggage) onto our plane.
This McMurdo-to-Christchurch flight had 107 passengers on it - an unusually large group! After waiting all night, we're very excited to get on the plane!
It's cold on this airfield!

Finally boarding!

107 very tired passengers!
Our plane to Christchurch just took off!!!!! Yes, Michael's mustache is ironic.
Our flight to Christchurch took 5 hours. We passed through immigration and customs as though we had arrived from any other country. Once through customs, we walked over to the Clothing Distribution Center where we returned all of our Extreme Cold Weather gear. We're now settled into our Bed and Breakfast in Christchurch! Michael and I are meeting in 20 minutes to treat ourselves to a nice meal. Our work here is finally done! It has been a wonderful season!

I'm going to post a more entries tomorrow to catch you up on more of the science, adventure, and mishaps of our season. For now, it's time to celebrate!

Thanks for keeping track of us. It's nice to know there are people out there who can appreciate how far we've come! Less than a week ago, we were waking up to the site of snowfields, ice streams, and mountain ranges! Tonight we'll enjoy our first sunset since November 28th!

More from us tomorrow. Hope all is well,

Claire



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2 comments:

  1. Amie!January 25, 2011 at 6:47 AM

    Hooray!!!! Wow, a sunset--I bet it was AMAZING!

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownFebruary 10, 2011 at 5:15 AM

    Hello,
    my nake is Tom Mazzuca & I am a PLU student & I am also in the Reserves at McChord AFB. I was one of the aircrew that flew you guys off of the ice in January. Small world !!!

    ReplyDelete

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