Hi Everyone,
1. Operation Deep
Freeze - years past
2. Diving for neat stuff at New Harbor Antarctica
3. Bag Drag...
1. Operation Deep Freeze - years past
Last night, we got
a treat of a slide show - pictures taken from McMurdo Station, South Pole
and Plateau Station (which is in East Antarctica near Dome Fuji - 80 degrees
East and 79.5 degrees West) during Operation Deep Freeze in 1964-1965.
It was fun to see how folks did things here in Antarctica at that time....LC-130s
were new to the then US Antarctic *Research* Program (the Research go
dropped in more recent times). Much of the buildings were done in classic
Navy/Arctic style. There were things to see that you'd not think of -
such as how McMurdo used to be powered by nuclear power - but since it
was very expensive to run, they no longer have it any more. At this time,
the program was all Navy done - every job was done by them. Only the scientists
were the civilians on these stations. It was also an all male population
too. Interesting to note that McMurdo, which today has just over 1100
folks on station, had about 1000 in the 60s too each year. Also, did you
know that the Navy Antarctic gropu was based out of
Rhode Island? (In more recent times it was run out of California until
the US Navy pulled out of the Antarctic Program in 1998-1999, and was
replaced by the 109th NY ANG).
2. Diving for neat stuff at New Harbor Antarctica
Tonight, I got to
hear about how some biologists and divers have been learing about some
interesting small animals in Explorer's Cove, New Harbor, Antarctica.
These little tiny animals called forams seem to
be very challenging to study - although found all over the world, they
perhaps do best in cold weather/cold water climates. Gauging how long
they have been on the Earth has puzzled scientists. It appears that they
have been around since pre-cambrian times...with much of their diversity
coming from a period when the Earth may have been covered completely with
snow (also known as Snowball Earth). Very unique studies indeed. I guess
New Harbor has the *most* diversity of them around. Who says not much
lives around Antarctica?
Picture
courtesy of Raytheon Polar Services
Company's Antarctic Photo Library
3. Bag Drag...
Also there is still two groups of folks awaiting to leave on the C-141 that is flying in tonight, tomorrow we will "bag drag" - that is drag our bags to be checked in the night before our flight back to Christchurch, New Zealand. I'm not sure when we'll leave on Wednesday yet, but could be later on that day. I'll attempt to get another report or two to you all, and for sure one more after I am back to the mid latitudes.
Take care!
Matthew