After an excellent season working at WAIS Divide, my team and I returned to McMurdo to wrap up a bit of administrative items, finalizing this season’s shipping, and pack everything up for redeployment to New Zealand. Luckily, during those few days at McMurdo the US Coast Guard Cutter “Polar Star” came into port, cutting the way for the resupply and refueling ships to come.
USCGC POLAR STAR (WAGB-10) is a United States Coast Guard Heavy Icebreaker. Commissioned in 1976, the ship was built by Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company of Seattle, Washington along with her sister ship, POLAR SEA (WAGB-11).POLAR STAR is one of the largest ships in the US Coast Guard and one of the world’s most powerful non-nuclear ships. The POLAR STAR is home ported in Seattle, Washington.
Polar Star uses four different methods of electronic navigation to overcome the difficulties of high-latitude operations, and a computerized propulsion control system to effectively manage six diesel-powered propulsion generators, three diesel-powered ship’s service generators, three propulsion gas turbines, and other equipment vital to the smooth operation of the ship.
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Polar Star’s three shafts are turned by either a diesel-electric or gas turbine power plant.[disambiguation needed] Each shaft is connected to a 16-foot (4.9 m) diameter, four-bladed, controllable-pitch propeller. The diesel-electric plant can produce 18,000 shaft horsepower (13 MW), and the gas turbine plant a total of 75,000 shaft horsepower (56 MW).
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With such a sturdy hull and high power to back it up, the 13,000-ton (13,200 metric ton) Polar Star is able to break through ice up to 21 feet (6.4 m) thick by backing and ramming, and can steam continuously through 6 feet (1.8 m) of ice at 3 knots (6 km/h).
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Polar Star has a variety of missions while operating in polar regions. During Antarctic deployments, the primary missions include breaking a channel through the sea ice to resupply the McMurdo Research Station in the Ross Sea. Resupply ships use the channel to bring food, fuel, and other goods to make it through another winter. In addition to these duties, Polar Star also serves as a scientific research platform with five laboratories and accommodations for up to 20 scientists. The “J”-shaped cranes and work areas near the stern and port side of ship give scientists the capability to do at-sea studies in the fields of geology, vulcanology, oceanography, sea-ice physics, and other disciplines.
Here’s a compilation of time lapse videos I made of the Polar Star cutting its channel to allow the “Ocean Giant” cargo ship in.
I was fortunate enough to be able to take a few tours of the ship:
At the end of January, once I had returned back to McMurdo after a few weeks at WAIS, I notice the US Coast Guard Ice Breaker “Polar Star” cutting its way through the ice to McMurdo.The Polar Star was in port for a few days, and designated an afternoon to give tours to USAP members. What a great opportunity! I was on the first tour, and ended up going through the ship a few times.Walking across the McMurdo Ice Pier to the gangway, you get a sense of the scale of the ship.Requisite shot on the stern, with the flag.The aircraft deck and hangar. There are no aircraft on the Polar Star anymore, and the hangar is used for storage, staging, and recreation.Looking aft off the starboard side, the ice slowly refreezes.Looking aft from the bow.On the brige.Me at the helm. Since all steering is electronically controlled, and can be done from various points on the ship, the main helm is strangely small! I swear, the size of the helm is not proportional to the might of the ship.Looking aft from the bridge deck.The modern electronic Engine Order Telegraph. Since the ship was docked and the controls were locked out, it was fun to move the lever and watch them automatically reset to zero.Dining on the Polar StarAfter my second tour, I started talking with one of the engineers, and was invited below deck for a tour of the three jet turbines which provide the incredible thrust to break through ice.One of the three massive jet turbines.Making our way throuhg the engine room. Here you can see the thermal blankets surrounding the intakes of two of the turbines. This is the true heart of the ship.Looking forward to the air intake ducting for two of the turbines.The modern engine control center, with digital displays and computer control.On the other side of the engine control room, the backup engine control system is the original Westinghouse system. Here, we’re opening the original cabinet to inspect the original engine control, rheostats, etc.The USCGC Polar Star Icebreaker ship commissioning plaque.
McMurdo Station, Antarctic survives on the food, supplies, and fuel brought in via the air and sea. By far the most cargo comes in every year by sea, and McMurdo’s Seaport is the southernmost in the world. The port operates with an Ice Pier, and handles a variety of ships.
Here’s a few timelapse videos of the USCGC Polar Star and the Ocean Giant shipping vessel operating out of McMurdo. The US Coast Guard Icebreaker Polar Star (WAGB-10) leaves McMurdo Station, Antarctica, breaking way for the shipping vessel Ocean Giant. Filmed on January 25-26, 2015 by Jeffrey Donenfeld at McMurdo Station, Antarctica
An ice pier is a man-made structure used to assist the unloading of ships in Antarctica. It is constructed by pumping seawater into a contained area and allowing the water to freeze. By repeating this procedure several times, additional layers are built up. The final structure is many metres in thickness, and strong enough to support container trucks. Operation Deep Freeze personnel constructed the first floating ice pier at Antarctica’s southernmost sea port[1] at McMurdo Station in 1973.[2] Ice piers have been in use each summer season since, at McMurdo’s natural harbor at Winter Quarters Bay located at 77°50?S 166°40?E. The harbor is positioned on the southern tip of Ross Island.
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Ships docking at the McMurdo Station ice pier rely upon icebreakers opening a ship channel from Upper McMurdo Sound to Winter Quarters Bay. One or more icebreakers, depending upon seasonal conditions, will typically open a channel from eight to 50 miles (80 km) long.[3]
However, in 2005 icebreakers encountered more than 90 miles (140 km) of pack ice blocking entry to McMurdo Sound.[4] The ice buildup occurred when a 100-mile-long iceberg (B15A) ran aground near Upper McMurdo Sound. Two icebreakers eventually broke a ship channel through to Winter Quarters Bay.
The ship channel provides a seaway for the few annual re-supply vessels and research ships which call upon the extraordinarily remote seaport at McMurdo Station. Preparation for the supply ships’ arrival includes icebreakers maintaining a uniform edge on the seaward side of the pier. The ship’s skipper maneuvers the icebreaker to use its bow as a giant battering ram to scarf or shave jagged edges from the pier to facilitate ships tying up at the dock.[2]
In order to dispose of a few pounds of PETN explosives at WAIS Divide Field Camp, the decision was made to simple blow them up under the snow. The alternative was to go through the certification process for transporting by air back to McMurdo, which would have been a bit overkill, given the small amount of explosives remaining. I believe this was about 15lbs of explosives, buried a few feet under the snow. Everybody stood a long ways back, and the resulting explosion made a huge plume of burnt snow, and left a nice sized crater. Never a dull moment at WAIS!
This season at WAIS, we did a lot of work in disassembling and packaging the DISC Drill. As work proceeded, I setup my GoPro camera to record a frame every 30 seconds. Here’s the compressed timelapse of our full season of work at WAIS.
At WAIS Divide Field Camp, health and safety is a top priority. However, injuries and sickness do occur occasionally, and to deal with any issue, the camp has its own medical tent and PA. A few photos from inside the WAIS Divide Medical Tent, fully stocked and operational.
WAIS Divide sits on top of the antarctic ice sheet. Every season, a new layer of snow is deposited on the surface, which eventually gets added to the many, many layers of snow. Erin Pettit and her teammates this year dug a snow pit, showing the various layers of snow over the last few seasons.
The West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide Field Camp Snow Pit, 2015
The main WAIS Divide borehole is 3.3 km deep and filled with fluid, resulting in pressures of nearly 5000 PSI
Drilling and winching expert Mike and logger engineer Merlin move the fabric logger from the prep tent into the logging arch.
Merlin troubleshoots a problem with the logger
The optical fabric logger, a brand-new instrument from the University of Minnesota’s Optical MEMS Group, shows off its internal mechanisms. The tool uses three remotely-controlled cameras and lenses, three embedded computers, and motorized rotating polarizers to take images of the ice crystals in the borehole wall in order to calculate the ice fabric
Troubleshooting issues in the field can be hard work. Luckily, the prep tent came thoughtfully equipped with a cot for taking quick breaks.
Living and working at WAIS Divide Field Camp is rough – long hours of work, harsh environment, and living in a frozen tent for weeks, sometimes months on end. To get a bit of a break from the grind, an extremely important feature of camp is the Rec Tent. This tent is one of the hubs of social life and relaxation life, and offers basic comforts of home. A few photos.
Layout of the entire rec tent. At the back of the tent is the entrance to the wash module, with sinks, showers, washeing machines, snow melter, and satellite phone booth.
In the front of the Rec Tent, there’s a small workout area with a spinning bikes, and various yoga mats and weights. Additionally, there are two computer terminals, a keyboard, and other reconfigurable space. This small space plays host to so many activities, and it’s constantly busy. On the left, individual cubbies store personal good.
Movie nights happen almost every night at WAIS. We have a projector and screen setup, as well as a dedicated laptop. Everybody has hard drives full of movies and TV. Watching movies in relative darkness, warmth, and quiet is an essential respite from the harsh environment outside.
At WAIS Divide Field Camp, almost all of the buildings are various kinds of tents and compact structures. The galley is made out of the combination of a RAC Tent, and the “Galley Module”, a hard-sided module attached to one end of the tent. The galley is not only used for food, but also as a communal space for announcements, stretching, and lectures. It’s also the designated primary muster point for the camp, and very much serves as a central social hub of the camp.
Food at WAIS, given the extreme remoteness of the camp, is pretty great! Fresh, hot meals are served for all 3 meals of the day, with a pretty decent variety. The lack of fresh food is a bit of a pain, but given the supplies, everything tastes pretty good. In addition to the prepared meals, there’s also lots of snacks, and 24/7 coffee, tea, and other drinks.
Also in the galley, there’s a projector screen, which is used for weekly science lectures and presentations. The stereo plays almost all the time, and between meals, people hang out at the tables and relax. For a camp in such a harsh environment, the galley is really an “Owaisis” of comfort and community.
Here’s the exterior view of the DISC Drill Arch, where I’ll be working for the next few weeks. On the first day of work, camp was hit with a massive Condition 2 Storm. The drill arch was originally on the surface of the ice, but during the 7 or so years it’s been there, snowdrifts have slowly buried it to the point where it’s completely under the ice. There’s a long ramp carved down to the entrance, which we’ll be using the haul gear out.
(Cheers from WAIS Divide Field Camp, Antarctica. Posted using email via satellite – I’ll post larger/more photos as soon as I’m off the ice.)
After a successful landing at field camp and quick briefing in the galley, first order of business was to get our tents and gear setup. In this picture, I’m sitting in our gear sled as we snowmobile to “Tent City”, on the edge of camp. Everybody has their own tent, and it’s a blend of 4-season mountaineering tents, pointy “Scott” tents, and dome-shaped “Arctic Oven” tents.
(Cheers from WAIS Divide Field Camp, Antarctica! Posted using email via satellite – I’ll post larger/more photos as soon as I’m off the ice)
Update – Now that I’ve returned from WAIS, here are a few more high res photos of WAIS Tent City. Additionally, see a video tour of the inside and outside of my own tent in my video tour of WAIS Divide Field Camp.
Flying to Antarctica is an adventure in itself. Here’s a brief collection of clips during my 2014-2015 flights from Christchurch, New Zealand, through McMurdo Station, and finally ending up at the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide Field Camp – WAIS Divide. Both airplanes are LC-130 Hercules, operated by the New York Air National Guard 109th Airlift Wing, Operation Deep Freeze.
The flight from McMurdo Station in to WAIS Divide, aboard a US Air Force LC-130 Hercules. As we flew from McMurdo and approached WAIS, the weather got worse and worse. We circled for a while, and then at the last minute swooped down and landed. The flight crew let me sit in the back of the cockpit and watch as suddenly black flags marking the skiway emerged from the solid white view in front of us.
(Cheers from WAIS Divide Field Camp, Antarctica! Posted using email via satellite – I’ll post larger/more photos as soon as I’m off the ice)
After a solid month of waiting at McMurdo Station, I’ve finally made it to the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide Field Camp – commonly knows at WAIS.
Last Saturday, after the holiday schedule shutdown had worn off, we received notice from the McMurdo Air Transport office that our flight to WAIS was first priority the next morning. Sunday morning we woke up, and miraculously, the weather was great, and we transported out to the Williams Field Airfield – built on the Ross Ice Shelf about 30 minutes drive across the ice from McMurdo. After a bit of a delay and a few cups of coffee at the field galley, we finally got on the LC-130 Hercules, and the Air Force crew got things started – for a minute. After two attempted starts of the engines, they realized a maintenance issue, and scrubbed the flight for the day. We almost made it, but had to wait until the next day. Monday morning came, and we once again had decent weather at McMurdo and borderline weather at WAIS. This time we actually took off, and after a month of waiting, were finally on our way to McMurdo.
The flight from McMurdo Station to WAIS Divide Field Camp takes about three hours, however at the three hour mark we were still in the air. The weather at WAIS while were in flight had gotten worse, and the flight was forced to circle looking for a break in the clouds until finally, at the last minute, we swooped down, landed, and ran off the plane – finally at camp!
The first day was spent prepping for work, and getting our field gear setup. Except for the pilots and doctor, everybody lives on the edge of camp in “tent city”, a grid of various tents. My team has fairly nice “Arctic Oven” tents, which are very roomy for one person, and do get a little warmer than the outside. The photo attached to this post is a pic of setting up one of the tents – pretty nice – and thanks to Enerplex for the solar panel I now have strapped to the top of my tent, which keeps all of my cameras and gadgets fully charged from the 24/7 sunlight here. We also got basic comms and organization gear setup in the science tent, and took an initial look at the Drill Arch, where we’ll be working for the next three weeks.
It’s the end of day three now, and work has been going great. Over the next three weeks we have a ton of work cutout for us, and we’re all slowly getting more used to working in the extreme cold all day.
Communications is extremely difficult from such a remote location. The camp has no internet access, except for one daily 10-minute satellite pass, which is restricted to only pre-queued emails under 50kb. Because of that, I’m experimenting posting to my WordPress blog via Email. If all works, you’ll also see a small picture attached to this post – it’s small to stay under 50kb, but I’ll try to send as many as possible.
During my time at field camp, I’ll be filming and photographing as many activities as possible, higher res photos and video posted as soon as I’m back.
One of the hidden gems at McMurdo, in terms of science experiments, is the COSRAY Neutron Detector. I had the opportunity to go inside the current COSRAY Building at McMurdo, led by technician James Roth.
A neutron monitor is an instrument that measures the number of high-energy particles impacting Earth from space. For historical reasons these particles, mostly protons and helium nuclei, are called “cosmic rays.” Because the intensity of cosmic rays hitting Earth is not uniform, it is important to place neutron monitors at multiple locations in order to form a complete picture of cosmic rays in space. Bartol Research Institute currently operates 8 neutron monitors.
The McMurdo COSRAY building lies along the road connecting McMurdo to Scott Base
James Roth entering COSRAY
Inside, there’s a small living room and kitchen, computer room, and door into the main detector room.
The main COSRAY Detector Room. You can see various lab benches and desks, as well as the first bank of detectors in the middle.
COSRAY has been around since around 1960, and it looks like a bunch of the gear still there may be original..
James Roth removes insulation to show the ends of the neutron detectors.
The electronics interface of the detector tube.
James Roth with the COSRAY bit bucket – these bits of paper were punched out of a long paper tape, used to store data before digital storage.
From https://neutronm.bartol.udel.edu/stations/mcmurdo.html : Inside the Cosmic Ray Lab. The neutron monitor is in three sections (white structures on floor) each containing six neutron detector tubes. Photo by L Shulman, 1999.
From https://neutronm.bartol.udel.edu/stations/mcmurdo.html :
The cosmic ray lab at McMurdo Station, Ross Island, Antarctica. Behind the lab is the Ross Ice Shelf and, on the horizon, Black Island (left) and Mount Discovery (right). Open water at far right leads to McMurdo Sound. Photo by L Shulman, 1991.
All of the white structures you see are syntactic foam. This strong flotation material is comprised of millions of hollow glass beads. It can resist being crushed by deep water pressure down to 9kft or 5kpsi. This amazing substance weighs half as much as water. – Bob Zook
The front end of SCINI Deep. showing the blue camera hosing, the sapphire pressure window and one of our LED lights. The top rails have been removed to facilitate access. The button I am waring is a Christmas greeting (Noel) – Bob Zook
Demonstrating one of our sensor boards in the camera module. This board provides us with 3 axis acceleration, 3 axis gyro, 3D magnetic compass (mostly useless in Antarctica), temperature and barometric pressure. The information that is most usefull for us is the ability to measure the Tilt of the vehicle and to be able to watch the internal pressure of the camera bottle. This pressure sensor allows us to test the bottle and confirm that we have closed its seal successfully. We have yet to experence a flooded bottle on this project. – Bob Zook
This is the inside of our main electronics bottle. housed in this dry space is our power supply, thruster motor controllers, our main surface communications devices and several micro controllers that maintain order and control over these items. – Bob Zook
The inside of one of our camera bottles. There are a total of 12 circuit boards arranged on a complex aluminum try system. This tray design has been optimized to dissipate heat while while providing the necessary mounting space for all of the components. – Bob Zook
Every year at McMurdo, to usher in the new year, there’s a giant concert celebration that takes place in the middle of town. Bands that have been formed in the beginning part of the season, as well as bands formed over the years, all get a chance go play for the town. It’s a huge party, with days of setup, and months of preparation going into it. This year, in addition to an amazing list of bands, there was also a Chili Cookoff.
Highlight for me include listening to “Shitty and Loud”, who really were shitty and loud, declaring Chief Andre’s firehouse chili my personal winner (definitely beating the Kiwi’s “chili”, and making the strange realization that all of my WAIS Divide field camp amigos had all brought our own costumes for field camp.
A few pics, and video clips from the celebration..
Hanging out with fellow WAIS scientists – strangely, we all brought our own costumes to wear at field camp…. similar minds..
Main stage, with the Antarctic sun circling overhead
During my team’s time stuck at McMurdo waiting for transport to WAIS, we had a lot of free time to kill – and spent much of it taking long walks and hike around the surrounding area.
Ross Island, where McMurdo is located, has its own extensive trail system. One of the more popular and accessible trails is the relatively flat loop circling Observation Hill. On a sunny day, I hiked the loop with a few members of my team:
In addition to taking lots of hikes, we also explore town quite a bit. Dumpster diving in McMurdo is a whole sport, especially just otuside of the Crary Laboratory, where all sorts of interesting science gear is discarded.
On the outer lap of the ob hill loop, cracks in the Ross Sea give way to lots of seals coming up onto the surface of the ice to warm up and relax.
Hiking with my team.
The hiking trail circling Observation Hill is quite mild, with a gentile slope, and well worn pathway. To the left is the frozen Ross Sea, starting to crack during the summer thaw.
Since Ross Island is volcanic, the stones on the surface are all lava rocks, or similar. In many spots, the landscape feels like another planet.
At McMurdo, helicopters play a vital role in local transportation and logistics. McMurdo has its own helicopter operations hanger and pad, operated by PHI Helicopter, featuring 6 pads, and an indoor enclosed hangar for maintenance.
During my month or so living at McMurdo while awaiting transport to field camp, I had the opportunity to watch countless helicopter flights, including flights of the PHI-Operated Bell 212 “Twin Huey”, NZ-Operated Eurocopter AS350 B2, and finally a Chinese-operated Kamov KA-32. A few photos and video clips:
On December 30th, 2014, a Russian-made, Chinese-operated Kamov KA-27 Helicopter made a brief stop by New Zealand’s Scott Base, Antarctica. The helicopter is operated by the Polar Research Institute of China, and was flying from its supporting research vessel, the MV Xue Long, China’s only polar research vessel.
The helicopter was picking up a slingload of fuel, for deposit at a remote fuel depot at Cape Adare, Antarctica, in support of a Kiwi research project.
Video of the fuel pickup, and a photo of the chopper coming around to Scott Base.
Reference Photo “Ka-27 orthographical image” by FOX 52 – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons – https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ka-27_orthographical_image.svg#mediaviewer/File:Ka-27_orthographical_image.svg
Reference Photo
Reference Photo From https://www.avionslegendaires.net/wp-content/uploads/images/post/Ka-32_Chine_SAR2.jpg
In this video, Lt. Roger Shapiro gives me a brief tour of an LC-130 Hercules, Number 93-3300 or 33300 or 73-3300 or CN 382-4508, as it’s parked at Williams Field outside of McMurdo Station, Antarctica. This Herc is specially adapted for polar duty, and in the video we go over a bunch of the special modifications, including the skis and JATO bottle mounts. Additionally, I had the opportunity to open the cockpit’s emergency escape hatch and take a look out. Thanks very much to Lt. Col. Shapiro and the New York Air National Guard 109th Airlift Wing (Wiki) for the time and consideration.
One of the most interesting science facilities at McMurdo is the NASA Long Duration Balloon Facility. This site, on the ice shelf and well away from anything else is the assembly and launch area for extreme high altitude balloons, carrying a variety of science payloads. During my trip out there, I was fortunate enough to be allowed inside the hanger where the SPIDER Polarimeter was being assembled and tested. A few pics, as well as a video clip of the unit performing a scan test.
The entrance to the US Long Duration Balloon Facility, located on the Ross Ice Shelf, just a bit away from McMurdo Station. The facility is located pretty much in the middle of nowhere on the large, flat, stark ice surface.This is the truck that launches the balloon and payload. The crane arm on the end is used to suspend the payload above the ground, allowing it to hang from the crane until the lifting baloon gently takes it up.One of the payload hangers – with large doors and gantry crane for delicately transporting the payload over to the waiting launch truck.The comms facility, with radome, comms antennas.The giant solar panels which power SPIDER.SPIDER – with its reaction wheel spokes visible, and NASA comms and controls pack.Inside one of the hangers, the SPIDER Polarimeter is readied for flight.
Here’s the launch: https://youtu.be/yaYqKqeBuHo
Spider (polarimeter) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Spider is a balloon-borne experiment designed to search for primordial gravity waves imprinted on the cosmic microwave background (CMB). Measuring the strength of this signal puts limits on inflationary theory.
The Spider instrument consists of six degree-resolution telescopes cooled to liquid Helium temperature (4 K) which observe at frequencies of 100 GHz, 150 GHz, and 220 GHz (corresponding to wavelengths of 3 mm, 2 mm, and 1.4 mm). Each telescope is coupled to a polarisation-sensitive transition-edge bolometer array cooled to 250 mK.
The first balloon flight of the experiment is planned for 2013 from McMurdo Station, Antarctica, with support from NASA’s Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility. This Long Duration Balloon flight allows several weeks of mapping over about 10% of the sky. Further flights planned for successive seasons enable upgrades and changes to the modular telescope, and ever-improving depth for stronger results.
The primary science goals include:
characterization of the curl-free component of the CMB polarization on the largest scales searching for the signature of inflationary gravitational waves in the CMB polarization characterization of the polarization properties of the emission from our own Milky Way Galaxy
Jeffrey Donenfeld at the controlboard of 104.5 Ice Radio, McMurdo Station, AntarcticaBelieve it or not, McMurdo Station has its own radio station – 104.5 FM Ice Radio. The station broadcasts with 50 watts around the McMurdo Area, and is able to be heard as far away as Williams Field and Pegasus Airstrip. Additionally, the station is broadcast locally on an AFRTS TV channel.
This evening, I had the opportunity to man the station and bring my radio show, “The Acid Lounge”, back to the airwaves. Here’s a recording of the show, originally broadcast 2014-12-26 on 104.5 FM Ice Radio from McMurdo Station, Antarctica. Notably, the music selection is limited to what’s available on-site, which has been cleared for broadcast. The collection exists on CD, Vinyl, and digitally in a broadcast specific computer system. It seems like the library was last updated a number of years ago, but I still had fun rediscovering some old classics.
Setlist:
Dead Prez – Hip Hop
Notorious Big – Juicy
Outkast – Ms. Jackson
Busta Rhymes – Dangerous
Lauryn Hill – Doo Wop
Jay Z – Change Clothes
Lil Kim – Magic Stick
Wu-Tang – CREAM
50 Cent – PIMP
Beyonce – Me, Myself, and I
George Benson – The Ghetto
Jamiroquai – Everyday
Tribe Called Quest – Stressed Out
Roots – Next Movement
