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 11-15, Day 16-21

Wednesday November 12, 2003

Day 6
Weather: Mostly clear with light wind
Temps: Teens
Ice collected: 14.5 m

Karl, Mike and Erich skied up a nearby slope to collect snow samples at higher altitude. Beautiful views of the valley and surrounding mountains. Returned by early evening. After dinner, Steve, Mike, Bruce and Erich went for a hike up the other side of the valley to collect more snow samples to compare the snow samples from our snowpit. Found some very interesting and beautiful rocks that have been sculpted by the wind.

Thursday November 13, 2003

click on a photo to see it full size

Day 7
Weather: Sunny and calm all day – beautiful.
Temps: Teens to low 20s
Ice collected: 14.5 m

In the morning we made the big move from the Clark to the Commonwealth glacier. It took a few hours to take down all of the tents and pack all of the gear into separate loads for the helicopter. This time it only took 3 loads to move all of our gear, and we were done with the move by ~1 pm. Very fast for a total camp move! By ~3 pm, we had the camp set-up at the Commonwealth glacier with the same arrangement of tents as on the Clark. Mike and Karl once again started to flag the radar lines, and Steve, Bruce and Erich started the first radar surveys. We were very pleased to have moved camp and done some science in the same day. The Commonwealth may be even more beautiful than the Clark, with mountains almost all around. We can see towards the south again and actually see Ob Hill next to McMurdo station. The sea ice is starting to break up and we can see open ocean and some icebergs.

Friday November 14, 2003

Day 8
Weather: Sunny and calm all day
Temps: teens
Ice collected: 14.5 m

Radar surveys all day. The Commonwealth is another very deep glacier (~300 m deep). The internal ice layers are very complex – much different from the Clark where everything was simple. It is more complex here because there are other glaciers feeding into the Commonwealth further up-glacier. More radar lines will be needed to find the best ice core site.

Saturday November 15, 2003

Day 9
Weather: Overcast all day – cool clouds rolling over the hills. Light wind
Temps: Teens
Ice collected: 17.5 m

Two researchers from Ohio State University, Tim and Rebecca, arrived via helicopter in the morning from a camp at Lake Hoare in the Dry Valleys below. They will stay with us for two days to sample the snow pit for Mercury. After they arrived, we dug a 3 m-deep snowpit and began to collect samples. Very long day – did not stop sampling until 10 pm.

Sunday November 16, 2003

Day 10
Weather: Overcast and calm
Temps: Low 20s
Ice collected: 17.5 m

Continued to sample the 3 m-deep snow pit all day. Once the pit was finished, we collected a few new radar lines to find the best core location – found a great one! After dinner, we all hiked up the nearby ridge to collect some samples and enjoy the view.