WAIS Divide
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Disassembling the Deep Ice Sheet Coring (DISC) Drill at WAIS Divide, Antarctica
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This year in Antarctica, I worked at the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) Divide Ice Core Field Camp for the University of Wisconsin-Madison Space Science and Engineering Center (SSEC) Ice Drill Design and Operations (IDDO) Group as a Field and Drill Specialist. I was on a team of four, with our primary mission being to…
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Communication and Control at WAIS Divide, Antarctica
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At the WAIS Divide Field Camp, communications and overall administration of the camp happens in the comms tent. A few photos:
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The WAIS Snow Pit
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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.
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WAIS Divide’s Recreation Tent – Warmth and Comfort on the Polar Ice
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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…
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DISC Drill Arch, Condition 2
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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…
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Entering Tent City, WAIS Divide, Antarctica
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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…
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Flying From Civilization To Nowhere – New Zealand to Antarctic Field Camp
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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…
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Touchdown at WAIS Divide, Antarctica in an LC-130 Hercules
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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…
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After A Month Of Waiting At McMurdo Finally At WAIS Divide Field Camp
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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…
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I’m Going Back To Antarctica To Work At The West Antarctic Ice Sheet Field Camp
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After a year of training, travel, expeditioning, and preparation, this Austral Summer I’m going back to Antarctica to work with the United States Antarctic Program on an science expedition at the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Field Camp, one of the most remote permanent field stations in Antarctica. I’m very excited to be going back to the…