Hello All,
The weather has turned a bit nicer today, and Sunday - however, it may not last. In the meantime, they've finally gotten a flight out of here to Christchurch as well as another one on its way from there. Also, they have deployed a team to Mt. Erebus to study the volcano in detail.
The meteorite hunters
have arrived. They will be preparing to spend nearly 6 weeks in the field
hunting for meteorites. This is the team that found the Mars meteorite
ALH84001 that is currently in debate over
the evidence of perhistoric life on Mars.
Yesterday, I climbed to the top of 700 foot hill that is right next to the station - called Observation Hill. The views from the top are impressive. Even had the chance to watch the LC-130 that flew in last night land on the ice runway below. Atop this hill is a cross that was errected here many years ago in honor of Capt. Robert F. Scott and his crew who did not make it back from their journey to South Pole.
Here's a few more fun facts to know and tell about things down here in the Antarctic:
- The Beardmore Glacier here in Antarctica is over fives miles wide at its mouth. If glaciers are "frozen rivers" then the Beardmore is the widest "river" in the world.
- Antarctica is the highest, driest, coldest and windiest continent.
- McMurdo Station was built during the International Geophysics Year (IGY) in 1957-58 - this year is its 40th anniversary. The IGY had 60,000 scientists from 66 nations involved in what has been called the greatest peacetime activity in history. IGY marked the opening of Antarctic for scientific research.
- 30,000 feet of six inch diameter fuel line connects storage tanks at McMurdo Station/Scott Base to Williams Field - the ski runway that is 7.5 miles away. The hose itself hold 47,500 gallons of fuel used for the LC-130 aircraft.
That's all from here!
Matthew