Ice Cores from the Dry Valleys October 2003

Ice Cores from the Dry Valleys of Antarctica

Karl Kreutz, Bruce Williamson, Erich Osterberg
October 18, 2003 to December 10, 2003

October 23, October 25, October 27, October 29, October 30, 31, Nov. 1, 2, November 27, 2003
In the field: Day 1-5, Day 6-10, Day 11-15

Saturday November 22, 2003

Day 16
Weather: Overcast all day with low clouds and fog, steady easterlies, light snow.
Temps: High teens, low 20s
Ice collected: 30.5 m

Collected radar profiles all day. The Blue glacier is much bigger than the Clark and Commonwealth and is also much deeper. The radar cannot see all the way to the bottom of the ice, but it is probably over 500 m deep in some places. Like the Commonwealth, the internal ice layers are complicated, so we must collect lots of radar data to find the best ice core site. Erich and Mike feeling worse. Steve starting to feel sick now, too.

Sunday November 23, 2003

Day 17
Weather: Overcast and calm all day. Light snow
Temps: Teens
Ice collected: 30.5 m

Collected more radar profiles all day to find the best coring site. Thanks to Steve and his radar, we found a great one again! Erich and Mike feeling better – Steve feeling worse.

Monday November 24, 2003

click on a photo to see it full size

Day 18
Weather: High thin clouds and fog all day, flurries
Temps: Teens
Ice collected: 32.5 m

Spent all day digging the 2 m-deep snowpit and collecting snow samples. Steve still not feeling well.

Tuesday November 25, 2003

Day 19
Weather: Clear in the morning, overcast in the afternoon, easterly wind
Temps: 20s in sun, teens under overcast
Ice collected: 48.5 m

Steve and Erich conducted the GPS survey of the radar lines while Karl, Mike and Bruce drilled the ice core with the hand auger. They cored all the way to 18 m deep, the longest core yet! After dinner, Karl, Mike and Erich skied up a nearby ridge to collect snow samples at higher altitude to compare to the snowpit samples. Beautiful views down into the surrounding glaciers. Returned by midnight. All of our science is now done! We celebrate a very successful trip.

Wednesday November 26, 2003

Day 20
Weather: Beautiful steady, light snow all day with 3 cm total new snow. Thin clouds, calm.
Temps: Teens to low 20s
Ice collected: 48.5 m

With all of our science completed and bad weather, there is nothing to do but read