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Tuesday, 27 November 2007 23:29
Report #3 from the Japanese-Swedish Antarctic Expedition
Written by Sweden/Japan Traverse
Report #3, covering November 24-26:
The weather is still problematic, with high wind speeds making preparatory work slow and chilly. At the moment we have an average wind speed of 28 m/s. Though progress is slow, the vehicles are getting ready one by one. It is a matter of servicing engines, installing radar equipment, etc. The lab module is now instrumented with particle samplers, a weather station and a work bench for the preparation of snow samples. The team is hard at working getting ready for the departure and everyone is keen to get going. The harsh weather has had surprisingly little effect on morale, but we all have two wishes now: One is to wake up to a sunny calm day and the second is to start the traverse.
We need a calm day both for the final prepa...
Tuesday, 27 November 2007 23:21
Norway-USA Traverse: Making progress across the Antarctic Ice Shelf
Written by US-Norway Traverse
Written 25 November, 2007
3481 meters above sea level
Today we covered 70 km toward the next fuel depot (Depot 700); we should reach it tomorrow evening. On these traveling days, those of us not driving spend the time in a variety of ways. Typically, the living (or kitchen) module draws a group of 4 to 6 people who try to get work done while moving, as long as our laptop batteries last. Over the last few days, the traveling surface has been very smooth, and it has been relatively easy to enter data from previous stops, plan what to do at the next stop, read and type.
Others keep an eye on the radars, which are always running while we are traveling. Given the long last few travel days, others try to get some rest in the sleeping module. Our colleagues f...
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Sunday, 25 November 2007 06:05
Thanksgiving on the Antarctic Ice Shelf
Written by US-Norway Traverse
Thursday, 22 November, 2007
3280 meters above sea level
Today was Thanksgiving Day in the United States, a holiday typically marked by a turkey dinner with family. Einar was well aware of this holiday, and had arranged to have some turkey brought along. Lou coordinated the cooking, and with help from Glen and Tom, managed to prepare an excellent Thanksgiving dinner that couldn't be beat with the turkey, fresh bread, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, and mixed vegetables, with ice cream, sliced pears and whipped cream for dessert. The leisurely pace of dinner was a welcome change from our typical routine. ...
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Saturday, 24 November 2007 17:54
Thanksgiving on the Antarctic Ice Shelf
Written by US-Norway Traverse
Thursday, 22 November, 2007
3280 meters above sea level
Today was Thanksgiving Day in the United States, a holiday typically marked by a turkey dinner with family. Einar was well aware of this holiday, and had arranged to have some turkey brought along. Lou coordinated the cooking, and with help from Glen and Tom, managed to prepare an excellent Thanksgiving dinner that couldn't be beat with the turkey, fresh bread, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, and mixed vegetables, with ice cream, sliced pears and whipped cream for dessert. The leisurely pace of dinner was a welcome change from our typical routine. ...
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Saturday, 24 November 2007 17:41
A look at Antarctic marine biodiversity
Written by International Polar Foundation
For the longest time, it was thought that the waters of the Polar Regions were relatively low in biodiversity. Research that has been conducted over the past few decades has proven otherwise, particularly research that has been conducted in the Southern Ocean. Researchers are only beginning to understand the incredible biodiversity that lies beneath the surface and its importance in local, regional and global ecosystems.
Making sure that we don't negatively influence the biodiversity of the very delicate Antarctic ...
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Tuesday, 20 Nov 2007
3177 meters above sea level.
After a late arrival last night, we slept for an extra hour or two to get ready for the day ahead. We are now at Site I, which is our first stop where we do more than a few hours of science; in fact we plan to spend a full day and a half here.
Today gave everyone a chance to work on the traveling conditions in the modules, vehicles and science gear. In particular, Helgard and Karsten took the opportunity to fix radar antennas that had been acting up in the last few days; Atsu worked at getting a measurement of the firn temperature at 10 meters depth; Stian replaced the power supply in one of the UAVs; Mary made measurements of the physical properties on the top 2 meters of the firn, and Glen, Tom, Lou a...
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Wednesday, 21 November 2007 23:47
Report #1 from the Swedish part of the Japanese-Swedish Antarctic Expedition (JASE)
Written by Sweden/Japan Traverse
Nicola Munro, the volunteer coordinator, communications centre, finance officer, and all-around administrator for the IPY International Programme Office, travels south in the next few days to work as the administrator at the Halley Research Station of the British Antarctic Survey. We in the IPO regard this as a fabulous opportunity for Nicola and as a good connection for IPY - we hope Nicola will post some of her stories on this blog. We thank BAS, Kathy Salisbury, and Cynan Ellis-Evans for helping the IPO support this adventure and survive Nicola’s absence.
(If you like Nicola’s anorak in the picture, you can f...
Nicola Munro, the volunteer coordinator, communications centre, finance officer, and all-around administrator for the IPY International Programme Office, travels south in the next few days to work as the administrator at the Halley Research Station of the British Antarctic Survey. We in the IPO regard this as a fabulous opportunity for Nicola and as a good connection for IPY - we hope Nicola will post some of her stories on this blog. We thank BAS, Kathy Salisbury, and Cynan Ellis-Evans for helping the IPO support this adventure and survive Nicola’s absence.
(If you like Nicola’s anorak in the picture, you can f...
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Submitted: Saturday, Nov. 17, 2007
Position: -72.7116, 3.7829
Altitude: 2786m
Air temperature (22:20 local time): -27.2 degrees C
Today we made another good progress distance wise, covering nearly 70 km. And the science is in full swing too! Helgard and Karsten have been collecting data since the start of the traverse using their radar equipments but today Glen and Mary started making their measurements as well. Glen is interested in the evolution of topographical features on the ice sheet and made surface roughness measurements. Mary, with helping hands of Tom and Lou, collected two 50 cm snow core...
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