3619 meters above sea level
Maximum & Minimum temperatures: -27 to -36 °C
One morning everybody woke up at Plateau Station due to a dramatic sound that appeared to be traveling through the camp. This was a very scary episode for the personnel that did not know what had happened. After the noise had died down, they realized that it had been a firn quake. In very cold conditions large snow crystals grow and they are very loosely bonded. Thus, this weak layer in the snow can suddenly collapse. The personnel at Plateau Station figured that the surface lowered about 1 cm during this event.
- Jan-Gunnar
Photo caption: Helgard feeds the snow melter with snow blocks (Photo: Jan-Gunnar Winther).
This contribution is from the log of the Norwegian-US Scientific Traverse team, who are en route from Troll Station to South Pole Station. Much more information can be found here.