|
Welcome to
Antarctica!
Dr. Dowling’s Most Excellent Antarctic Adventures
Winter 2005-2006
Our journey to Antarctica took
us from:
Memphis, TN to Dallas, TX
Dallas, TX to Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles to Auckland, New
Zealand
Auckland, New Zealand to
Christchurch, New Zealand
Christchurch, New Zealand to
McMurdo Station, Ross Island, Antarctica
Psst: Photos of animals and
historical monuments are located at the end.
24 November
Thanksgiving Day
Ms. Leonette Cox, a PhD students
in the Graduate Program in Environmental Sciences,
Mr. Jarrett Slade Wright, an ASU undergraduate, and
I (Assistant Professor at ASU) started our travels
to Antarctica on Thanksgiving Day.
Carolyn Dowling, Slade Wright, and
Leonette Cox at the Memphis Airport.
We flew from Memphis Airport (MEM)
to Dallas Airport (DFW) to Los Angeles International
Airport (LAX). Our international journey began at
LAX where we met up with Dr. Glen Snyder from Rice
University, the final member of our field team.
Our flight to New Zealand was over
12 hours. It was a surprisingly comfortable flight
with decent food and beverages.
26 November
We arrived in Auckland, New
Zealand (North Island) on 26 November. Because we
crossed the International Date Line, we missed 25
November! Good thing that no one had a birthday that
day!
Yes, by this point, we have been
traveling for a very long time already and we
haven’t even gotten to our final destination in New
Zealand (NZ) yet! After going through customs, we
went to the domestic terminal for our flight to
Christchurch, NZ (South Island). A number of fellow
travelers to Antarctica were also on this flight.
Once we arrived in Christchurch
(finally!), a representative from the United States
Antarctic Program (USAP) met us. Our hotel
reservations and remaining schedule in New Zealand
were given to us. Because we have been traveling 24+
hours, we were tired! However, NZ is a day ahead and
6 hours time difference (18 hours from the East
Coast, USA), we needed to acclimate ourselves to the
new time zone by still staying up.
Once we were settled down, a group
of fellow Antarctic travelers meet and walked
through the beautiful Botanical Gardens of
Christchurch.
Blooming Yellow Rose in the Botanical Gardens.
Slade Wright, Carolyn Dowling, Leonette Cox, and
Glen Snyder in Christchurch, NZ
(credit: Passing Tourist)
27 November
Because we were going to
Antarctica, Extreme Cold Weather (ECW) gear was
issued to us at the USAP Clothing Distribution
Center (CDC). We received many pieces of warm
clothing to take with us.
Examples of ECW gear that were issued to us.
Thermal boots aka “Bunny Boots.”
28 November
Today is the day that we leave for
Antarctica! We woke up early and got our last minute
items packed. We boarded a New Zealand military
craft (C-130; Herc) and flew to McMurdo Station,
Ross Island, Antarctica.
Tight quarters in a military plane!
We arrived at McMurdo Station
which is located on Ross Island in the Ross Ice
Shelf off the coast of Southern Victoria Land. It is
a working community whose sole function is to
support the science that goes on in Antarctica.
There is the Crary Science Laboratory (pride and joy
of the National Science Foundation (NSF)), Science
Support Center (field equipment, survival training,
etc), Berg Field Center (camping equipment),
Carpenter Shop, Electrician Shop, Vehicle
Maintenance Facility, Helo Pad, Galley (cafeteria
style food), Dormitories, etc. During the peak
(austral summer, near Christmas time), there are
~1000 people housed at McMurdo Station.
McMurdo Station as viewed from Observation Hill (ObHill)
(North side).
McMurdo Station as viewed from Hut Point (South
side).
Antarctica has an incredibly
beautiful yet indescribable landscape. The pictures
that are on this website and others do not do
Antarctica justice. You need to come see for
yourselves the incredible beauty and awesome stark
landscapes of this continent.
29 November to 04 December
Lots of Training, Lots of
Meetings…
In order to sample lake water from
lakes with permanent ice covers, a hole must be
drilled through the ice cover. This hole allows
sampling equipment to be lowered down to discrete
depths for sampling. As part of our training, we
tested our drilling equipment on the frozen McMurdo
Sound, just off McMurdo Station.
We were testing our drilling equipment on the
frozen McMurdo Sound.
05 December
For many of my group, today
represents their first helicopter (helo) trip. We
flew to Lake Vanda, Wright Valley, to help another
team drill a hole in its ice cover.
Helicopter landed at Lake Vanda
Helicopter taking off from Lake Vanda
Helicopter flying up Wright Valley, from Lake
Vanda
 
Drilling the hole at Lake Vanda
Slade Wright and Leonette Cox at Lake Vanda
Carolyn Dowling at Lake Vanda
(credit: G. Snyder)
06-07 December
We made sure all our sampling
equipment was packed.
08-09 December
Because Lake Vanda is 70 m deep
and we sampled at 2 m intervals down the water
column, we had to sample the lake over two days…two
VERY long days. This requires getting up early,
getting to the heliport early, boarding the helo,
flying ~60 minutes to our destination, and start
working. At the end of the day, the helo returns to
pick us up. Repeat next day. Each work day is
approximately 16+ hours long.
10-12 December
The water samples were processed
right away.
Our next destination was Lake
Garwood in Garwood Valley so we got our drilling
equipment packed.
13 December
Our trip to Lake Garwood was a
disappointment as the permanent ice cover was too
thin. It was too thin for us to even work upon it,
much less a helo to land on it.
Leonette Cox and Slade Wright in a helo.
Carolyn Dowling, Trevor Deighton (RPSC employee),
Glen Snyder, Leonette Cox, and Slade Wright in front
of a helo.
14-15 December
Plans were quickly changed to
drilling Lake Joyce in Pearse Valley. We planned to
stay overnight at Lake Joyce and camp out on its ice
cover due its thick ice cover, which requires a bit
more planning than a day trip.
16-19 December
We arrived and set up camp while
we waited for the rest of our equipment to arrive.
Once we received our equipment, we started drilling
and melting a hole in the ice cover. Because the ice
cover averages 6-7 m thick, we decided to drill
through most of it and then using something called a
Hotsy to melt the rest of the hole. Because of the
ice thickness, it is not easy to use a jiffy drill
with so many flights attached to it. It gets
extremely heavy and awkward to use. Once the hole
was drilled down to 5 m, the Hotsy was used to melt
the rest of the way. On average, the Hotsy can melt
through 1 m of ice is 6-7 hours. It took over 13
hours to break through the ice cover but it was
great to see that water! I got 3 hours of sleep that
night because we had to take turns watching the
Hotsy.
Lake Joyce, Pearse Valley.
Taylor Glacier is located south of Lake Joyce (right
in the photo.)
Camp at Lake Joyce
After our hole was made, we were
ready to go. Unfortunately, bad weather moved into
the area and the helos were unable to pick us up. We
camped out for an additional 2.5 days, waiting for
better weather.
A rare snowfall in the Dry Valleys of Antarctica.
Remember Antarctica is a polar desert.
Once we did get picked up, we
rushed around to get for our scheduled sampling trip
on 20 December. Showers and clean clothes were also
a priority!
20 December
Once again, the weather got bad
and we were delayed, except we were in McMurdo
Station this time where there were flush toilets!
21 December
Even though the weather wasn’t
look good, we decided to risk getting stuck
overnight again. Luck was with us. We sampled Lake
Joyce in record time and got picked up early.
22 December
The water samples were processed
right away.
23 December
We returned some of the issued
drilling and camping gear to us.
The McMurdo Christmas Party that
was held that evening was quite fun! There was
music, food, beverages, dancing, photo taking, and
all-around gaiety!
24-25 December
This weekend is our first official
days off since the beginning of our trip on
Thanksgiving Day.
Animals
There are few animals that live in
Antarctica. The Skua, a larger cousin of the more
common seagull in the US, is a scavenger. The
Weddell Seal is a seal that will lie on the ice
during the summer months. There is an Adelie Penguin
Rookery near Ross Island. Typically in January, the
penguins visit McMurdo Station.
A Skua with the Royal Society Mountains in the
background
A Skua at Vince’s Cross, Hut Point, Ross Island
Weddell Seal at Winter Quarters Bay near Hut
Point, Ross Island
Historical Monuments
In 1902, Captain R. F. Scott and
his crew built this hut at Hut Point, Ross Island.
It had been used by other early explorers. McMurdo
Station was built next to this historical monument.
Over time, several people have
lost their lives in pursuit on science on
Antarctica.
The Scott Party (Captain R. F.
Scott and 4 others) died during their return journey
from the South Pole in 1912.
Vince’s Cross commemoratives
the death of George Vince, a crewmen of the
Discovery, who drowned near Ross Island in early
1900s.
The Lady of the Snow memorial
is a tribute to a Richard T. Williams, US Navy who
lost his life in 1956 during Operation Deep Freeze.
All photos were taken by Dr.
Carolyn Dowling unless otherwise stated.
Program Content |
Organization|
History & Current Status |
Seminars |
Frequently Asked Questions |
Theses & Dissertations |
Alumni
| Links
|
