Written 18 December, 2007 3619 meters above sea level Maximum & Minimum temperatures: -22 to -32 °C All cameras were pointed towards the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) launcher when Stian made his first test flight today. The UAV carries one C-band radar, temperature and pressure sensors, a digital camera and a GPS. The C-band radar is similar to the ones on satellites and to the one we have mounted on one of the vehicles. Thus, data from these three different platforms will be compared. The camera can be used for route planning and crevasse detection. Some modifications will be made before the first long ...

A number of Discussion Groups have developed during IPY that are useful ways for members of the IPY Community to interact, discuss, and share information. To sign up, please visit the following links. Open discussion space and announcements, especially regarding outreach and education. IPY Teachers Discussion Group IPY Data and Information Services Discussion Forum ...

Written 17 Dec 2007 3619 meters above sea level Maximum & Minimum temperatures: -22 to -36°C The medical doctor at Troll paid us a visit today to inspect the wounded finger of our chief driller. In addition, we were supplied with spare parts for the vehicles. The doctor inspected the wounded finger and put the chief driller on medication to prevent further inflammation. She is doing fine but is not allowed to use her right hand in order for the wound to heal. The remaining part of the drill team has currently reached to a depth of 50 meters. The Basler also carried spare parts for our vehicles, in particular two transfer boxes, one differential and hydraulic oil. Shallow coring was completed and Stian prepared for flying the dron...

Written 16 Dec 2007 3619 meters above sea level Maximum & Minimum temperatures: -20 to -36 °C Our chief driller has been troubled with a bleeding finger the last week due to metal pieces that are stuck in the finger. The situation has become worse these last few days and she is currently requested by our paramedic Kjetil to quit working. The wound has been bleeding this last week. It is not serious but the wound will not heal properly. Today, our medical responsible, Kjetil Bakkland, removed pieces of metal in the finger but there might be more remaining. Because of this, the drilling of t...

Written 15 Dec 2007 3619 meters above sea level Maximum & Minimum temperatures: -23 to -36°C Unfortunately, another technical problem arose the other day. This time it was the transfer box on Chinook that died. A spare one is at Troll and we are expecting a Basler flight within a few days. However, to utilize our valuable time we decided to call this site “Plateau Station B” and go on with the planned science including drilling of a 90 meter ice core and erecting the first out of two Automatic Weather Stations. This weather station is prepared by the “Ice and Climate” group at Univer...

On 14 of December 1911, Roald Amundsen and his four men reached the South Pole. Thus, Amundsen, Bjaaland, Hanssen, Hassel and Wisting became the first persons to set their feet on the geographical South Pole. Written 14 Dec 2007 3619 meters above sea level Maximum & Minimum temperatures: -20 to -37 °C In 1911, it was a race to be first reaching the South Pole. Amundsen’s strategy with using dogs to pull the sledges turned out to be superior to ponies and motor sledges used by Scott. Amundsen used 99 days back and forth from his station Framheim at the ice edge in the Ross Sea. The station was named after the polar vessel Fram owned by Fridtjof Nansen and used during the famous drift across the Arctic Ocean in 1893-1896. ...

On 14 of December 1911, Roald Amundsen and his four men reached the South Pole. Thus, Amundsen, Bjaaland, Hanssen, Hassel and Wisting became the first persons to set their feet on the geographical South Pole. Written 14 Dec 2007 3619 meters above sea level Maximum & Minimum temperatures: -20 to -37 °C In 1911, it was a race to be first reaching the South Pole. Amundsen’s strategy with using dogs to pull the sledges turned out to be superior to ponies and motor sledges used by Scott. Amundsen used 99 days back and forth from his station Framheim at the ice edge in the Ross Sea. The station was named after the polar vessel Fram owned by Fridtjof Nansen and used during the famous drift across the Arctic Ocean in 1893-1896. ...

Over the past month, there has been an unusual abundance of negative environmental news coming from Antarctica. First, at the end of November, a well-tested, ice-strengthened Antarctic cruise ship sank near the Antarctic Peninsula. The 154 people onboard were all safely rescued. The ship sank to the bottom of the ocean, with all the fuel, machinery and furniture that was onboard. The environmental impacts are being closely monitored. However, with today’s technology, there is precious little that one can do to a ship (spilling...

Written 13 December, 2007 3619 meters above sea level Maximum & Minimum temperatures: -21 to -38 °C Having completed our drilling at site 32B yesterday, we began our trip to Plateau Station this morning. With clear skies and a smooth snow surface, we were able to make good time across the ice sheet. Today is the International Polar Year’s “Ice Sheet Day” celebration. As one of the key International Polar Year Antarctic expeditions for Norway and the U.S., we used our satellite telephone to join in the Ice Sheet Day session at the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Fran...

Written December 12 3591 meters above sea level Maximum & Minimum temperatures: -24 °C to -37 °C The core would just not keep together! A number of drill holes were given up before we eventually managed to retrieve the two short ice cores that were planned for this location. The reason for this was most likely that we had stopped in an area with extreme low accumulation with large ice crystals that were very poorly bonded. None of us had experienced such conditions before. To avoid similar situations later on our traverse, we have now studied the Radarsat satellite mosaic for Anta...