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Date: 01/07/04
Latitude: 81.46 degrees South
Longitude: 126.99 degrees East
Temperature: −18°C( 0°F)
Wind speed: 2 knots
Wind Chill: −21°C( −6°F)
Wind direction: not given
Elevation: 9,270 feet
Kilometers traveled: 1585

Notes on daily life:
By Dan

Final Leg Underway!
Today’s drive was fairly uneventful. Apart from a few stops to relieve the call of nature and an hour for lunch, it was a non-stop straight shot. We drove 46.5 miles in 11 hours!

At the end of the days driving we reached seismic site N092. This is the first of five sites that Audrey is charged with recovering and within two hours of arrival we had it all recovered and onboard.

The weather was unbelievable! Although the temperature was −18°C it felt warm because there was almost no wind. It was so nice that Andrea slept the whole night outside in her sleeping bag!

Date: 01/09/04
Latitude: 80.91 degrees South
Longitude: 135.43 degrees East
Temperature: −20°C( −4°F)
Wind speed: 18 knots
Wind Chill:−33°C(−28°F)
Wind direction: South
Elevation: 8,270 feet
Kilometers traveled: 1746

Notes on daily life:
By Dan

For the past two days we have been driving an average of 50 miles per day. We have recovered two more seismic stations: N084 and N076. The surface conditions have hardened up to the point where the CAT tracks are barely leaving any marks on the surface at all this is quite something considering that each tractor weighs in at ~26,000 pounds! The hard surface creates an extremely bumpy ride for everyone inside the tractors and the modules, but at least we are moving along at a reasonable speed. We are making such good progress that we are able to sleep (while stationary) for about 8 hours each night luxury!!!

The wind speed has increased steadily since Jan 7th and has changed direction so that it is coming from directly behind the trains. This wind direction causes a problem for the collection of surface snow chemistry samples; it opens up the possibility of the tractors contaminating the surface snow to be sampled before we even get to it. Lets hope that the wind direction changes soon.