Changeable

From -81F/-60C wind chill to 1F/17C in just two days.  The clouds have moved in overhead and have brought warm, moist air with them.

In the meantime, we are all preparing (mentally, spiritually, physically) for the beginning of Mainbody starting next Monday.  With each flight, we'll get 140 new people and lose only about 100 winterover personnel (in total!).  It will get crazy busy very quickly.  To commemorate the end of WinFly, the carpenters are throwing a big party with live music this Saturday night.  Sadly, I agreed to cover someone's bartending shift so I won't be able to attend.  I hope some people actually come to the bar!

The Carp shop

Gallagher's Pub, where I'll be bartending

More Nacreous Photos

Here are photos of some stunning nacreous clouds we observed a couple of nights ago.  Unfortunately, the photos don't completely capture the variety and clarity of the pastel colors, but you get a good idea of what makes this place so special.

Recreating During WinFly

Even though the temperatures have been quite low recently, we do try to get out and recreate when it's Condition 3 (good visibility and not less than -60F wind chill).  There are several marked hiking trails and a software program that helps us plan our route and check out with the Firehouse (when the program is working properly!).  Checkouts are mandatory for certain routes and at certain times of the season.  During WinFly, since the weather is vey changeable and cold, most routes require a checkout and a radio.  The software is updated to inform us if we need radios and checkouts.

Last Sunday, we hiked the Ob Hill Loop in temperatures that might have gotten down to -30F wind chill.  For about an hour and half, we hiked in the swirling snow, searching for our path, which had been drifted over.  At times, the gusts made it difficult to move forward, but that just added to the "workout".

It was good fun, but after such an outing, lots of water, warm drinks and calories are imperative. 




The Coldest I've Ever Experienced....

I thought the other day was cold but, today, I reached my new record for low wind chill....-76 degrees F.  Woo Hoo!  Not a bit of skin can be showing in temperatures like these.  We're grateful for "big red", the parka we get issued.  Mine has real coyote fur around the hood. Check out the What to Wear post for a photo.

Oh, wait...it just got colder.....

And by the way...that is awful, deadly cold.  The wind gusts almost knock me over and even covered body parts are close to frost nip in a very short amount of time.  The roar of the wind is ferocious and a bit scary.  On my way from lunch back to the building where I work (uphill and into the wind!), I did a little experiment with a cup of water.  I tossed the water into the air and it froze instantly into a spray of ice.  Pretty neat but it was too bitter to hang around outside long enough to ponder the science behind it.

BRRRRRR!!

The current temperatures make me think I should stay right where I am....but I've got to walk from Building 155, which houses the Computer Training Room, the Dining Hall, the Store, the Barber Shop and other functions, to my office.  It's only a 5 minute walk but it's into the wind.  On a day like today, goggles, a balaclava, hood, glove liners, and mittens are not only desired...they're absolutely necessary!

What To Wear...

If you're in 30 to 50 knot winds and it's below freezing, we recommend the following outfits for maximum warmth, comfort and added potential of later robbing a bank (though I'd suggest removing the name tag from the big red coat beforehand.)

No Auroras but Lots of Life Under the Sea

We subscribe to an aurora alert email service.  Today's alert email said this:  "The effects of the solar events of the last days have reached Earth and a large magnetic storm is in progress. The aurora associated with this storm is already covering Scandinavia. It should be visible in Central Europe during the night.  Because of the activity following the initial shock, we expect this storm to continue; if it does at the present level, it will be visible across the northern half of the continental US, Southern New Zealand, Tasmania, and even the southern coast of Victoria, Australia."  Sadly, the raging storms with 55 knot wind gusts are blowing too much snow around for us to see any farther than the building next door!

Since I don't have any pretty sky photos for you, here are some photos taken by the divers who are here researching the cold adaptation genetics of Antarctic worms. And, yes, the divers are diving under the ice.  The support staff drills big holes in the ice and then places a little warming shack over the hole - not unlike ice fishing in Minnesota or places like that, except that otherwise normal people put on diving gear and jump into the water.  Here's a bit of what they see:

And here's a photo of what they are wearing to go into those frozen waters.  This was taken from inside a Dive Hut.

WinFly Weather

So far, we've had a surprisingly mild WinFly. WinFly stands for Winter Fly-In; it's one of hundreds of abbreviations we have here that came from the Navy.  It's the period of time after winter and before Mainbody when the bulk of the summer population arrives.

WinFly goes from mid-August to early October and the population is about 460 - 29.6% of whom are women.  The population is made up of remaining winterovers who will leave in October and about 300 new folks, who are remarkably tan, with-it and perky in comparison.

I expected the winterovers to be resentful of us, crusty and grumpy, but I've only heard a few grumbles about the increased population, the onslaught of cold viruses and the fact that we are eating THEIR salad and fruit.  The more sane winterovers told us that it was a mild, snowy, blowy winter that was made more pleasant by the giant shipment of freshies that came mid-winter with a medevac flight - but certainly, even these folks are ready to go after seeing only white and feeling only cold for nearly 9 months.

WinFly is known for its super-cold temperatures, storms and nacreous clouds.  We hadn't seen much of the cold temperatures.  Temps had been hovering around 0F/-18C with wind chills getting down to -15F/-26C or so.  That all changed yesterday.  Here are today and tonight's forecasts:

   

We've seen some nice, but mild displays of nacreous clouds, but nothing like these. Photos were taken by a winterover.

The nacreous clouds pictured here might be the Type II Polar Stratospheric Clouds, which require temperatures of -125F/-85C. They are more vibrant than the ones we've seen recently, which might have been Type I, which show up in warmer temperatures and have to do with a reduction in the ozone layer, Check out this website: http://www.atoptics.co.uk/highsky/psc1.htm for more photos and descriptions.

McMurdo Night and Pole Air Drop

This is my 7th season at McMurdo Station, Antarctica but the first time I've ever seen the stars from here. Normally, I arrive for the main season in October, when the sun is about ready to start circling the sky for 5 months without setting. But this year, I have the opportunity to see the transition from the long, dark winter to summer. We arrived on August 27th, after a very relaxing 4 day delay in Christchurch. At that time, the sun was rising at about 9:45 AM and setting at about 4:00 PM. It was a bit hard to tell because of the heavy cloud cover and blowing snow. Now - just one week later, the sun rises at 9:11 AM and sets at 4:38 PM.


During the day, the light is soft and the mountains glow pink. The sunsets take at least an hour. On the walk home from work, we can see the moon and stars shining brightly and the lovely silhouette of the local feature, Observation Hill, with its cross on top commemorating Robert Scott.


When you add in the surprisingly warm temperatures, oodles of snow on the ground and moments of only light wind, it is magical! I've never heard people talk so much about the beauty of this place as I have in the last week. There is loads of snow around (due to the fact that they had such a warm winter...they don't get snow if it's too cold.) and everything looks relatively clean and white.


I feel very lucky to be here...and now that the NSF has made an agreement with the Russians on an icebreaker, I also feel relieved to know that I'll be able to stay until February.


On another note, one of the C-17 aircraft that came in recently continued on to the South Pole to do an air drop mission of medications (and oranges!). Here are some photos:

Inside the C-17. Getting ready to drop the load.

Note that the temperatures on the ground at the South Pole have been about -85 F/-65 C and the sun has not yet risen over the horizon (that will occur on Sept 21 at 5:48 pm). The crew at the Station lit giant flares to give the plane a target. (AlmaMia: an interesting fire gig for you???)

Burn barrels glowing in the drop zone.

The Air Drop