Pensacola Mountains, West Antarctica: Second Scheduled Blog Post

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!

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Second Scheduled Blog Post - Moving Camp!

Hello friends!

This blog post was scheduled before we left McMurdo. We do not have internet access in our field camp!

One of the very first things that we will do in the Thomas Hills is move camp. We want to begin our work at sites farthest from the C-130 landing site. We will return to the landing site shortly after Christmas. We'll set up a new camp near the landing site to complete work at field sites in that area. For a tentative schedule and for field maps click here.

Looking back at Greg as he snowmobiles across the tracks left by the C-130.

Lunch stop on a blue ice patch! In some areas, snow accumulates, and in some areas the ice is wind-swept and snow-free. We call the snow-free areas "blue ice" areas. These areas are often associated with mass loss of ice due to evaporation. Based on satellite imagery, we expect to find many more blue ice areas in the Thomas Hills than we did last season!

Onwards! Chris is ahead of us dropping flags along our route. These flags will mark the route for our return along this path later in the season.

It takes a few tries to get the sled loads secure enough to withstand all of the bouncing around. In the early part of our traverse, we had to stop multiple times to re-strap loose items. The first cargo flight and satellite imagery of the Thomas Hills indicate that there is a lot of sastrugi, or irregularities in the snow surface caused by wind. Sastrugi will make for a slow, bumpy travel conditions for us this season!