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!

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Weekend in McMurdo - the first of seven new posts!

Hi Friends, 

We are scheduled to take off at 10:00 AM tomorrow (Monday) morning. We're hopeful that this time our departure proceeds as planned! Even though we're a bit impatient to get to the field, we have had a lovely weekend in McMurdo. On Friday, we toured the desalination plant and the power plant. On Saturday, we toured the wastewater treatment plant and went for a hike. Today (Sunday), we relaxed and toured a hut built by Robert F. Scott's crew in 1902. The next several posts will show you what we saw!

On Saturday, Kat, Matt and I walked around the shoreline away from McMurdo, visible in the background. Scott's Discovery Hut is visible in the center of the photograph. See a subsequent post for a view of the inside of the hut.
We enjoyed the view across McMurdo Sound. 
Seals were lounging along cracks in the sea ice.

  
McMurdo has a well-traveled, well-marked trail system. Our short hour-long hike took us across volcanic rock and snow! 




A lovely hike on a cool afternoon! We've had highly variable weather lately! In the coming posts, you'll see everything from clear skies to blowing snow!


Thank you for checking in with us! Six more weekend posts to follow shortly,


Claire 
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