The day started out with the intention to do nothing but snow surveys (get the remaining 3 1km-long transects done) and then at 5pm go with Jen to look at finger rafting and check on Mani’s GPS buoy array. Of course things never go as planned but it was a good science day regardless. Peter Wadhams requested the use of my wonderful survey team to get an “APLIS North” line surveyed relative to the command hut as that had been the key location from which he did all his submarine transects. This was vital to the data integration of the project so we delayed the start of the next snow lines until this was done. It took a couple of hours with several folks to help so I stayed behind and did some prepping to learn how to take soot samples for Tom Grenfell as part of the snow measurements. Just before lunch the snow team set out and we finished the first 500m of line #3 following behind Jackie and Bruce in less than an hour with a full snow pit at 500m and a first attempt to take a soot sample. The procedure was slow because I tried to just do the whole thing right out of his box for this first effort and so it took me about 20 minutes. To collect snow samples for soot analysis the directions said to put on these fleece gloves that were very bulky with food-handler plastic gloves over them that were tight around the gloves and also my fingers. With these cumbersome things I was to open one sterile ziplock, insert another into it, and then facing into the wind (-15F with 10-20mph winds) get a clean sample with a clean spoon and load up a gallon zip lock with snow from a clean location. Opening and especially closing the ziplock bags was very difficult with those gloves. Since the bags are used for soot collection they can’t be the nifty freezer version, rather the simple perfectly clear ones which are not easy to handle in the cold and therefore even more difficult to handle if you have bulky tight fleece with slippery plastic gloves over. I was kneeling into the wind like that for about 20 minutes trying to get all the baggies to work and keep the sample as clean as possible. The snow pit crew finished and headed back to lunch while I continued to struggle. Robert waited in his usual incredibly patient way and then we walked back for lunch.
While walking back I thought about how to do this more effectively and by the time we started up again for Line #5, I had modified my technique to take a sample in about 5 minutes thanks to Bill Simpson’s expertise. He recommended I use my own liner gloves and then put on two layers of the plastic gloves over those since they fit my hand better and they were thinner for easier hand maneuvering. Additionally, while everyone was digesting lunch for a half hour, I prepared the next round of samples by already setting up the double bags with a labeled number inside. I tried this out at the end point of Line #3 at the 700m mark and managed to cut out the most time consuming parts experienced the first time. During that snow pit, we checked out the state of the lead (see photos) that had opened earlier and sure enough it had compressed since yesterday but was still too wide to get across safely with sampling gear so we officially declared line #3 to be a 700m line with a lead at the end (same lead at the end of Line #4).
Also Bill suggested that we take some samples at the center stake near the runway and then also a few extras to see what the camp contamination is. So we took soot samples also at 200m as well as 500m and 1000m on line #5. I showed Robert how to take soot samples because I had to leave a little after 4pm to prepare for a trip with Jen out to the active ridging area. As I did not know what to expect, I took a large sleeping bag and a harness with rope in case someone fell in as this was a very active area with potential danger that someone could fall in.
I had to do a “hurry up and wait” patiently for Jen to return from preparing the site for the ridge survey with dive hut. She came in right on time at 5pm but was hungry and tired after drilling in a ridge all day so I took a short trip with Pablo to see his buoy at the end of Line #4 (see photos).
After that Jen was charged up again so I buddied up with Pablo and Jen buddied with Pat and we proceeded on two snow machines to the active ridge area. We arrived at one of the GPS units I had brought and I proceeded to download the data onto my laptop. This was possible in the end but I experienced yet another learning moment. At -20F in bright sunlight it is very hard to see your screen (put a plastic bag over my head). Additionally, the mouse pad didn’t respond well. I found that I needed to keep my palm over the mouse pad to warm it up enough for the mouse to show so I could move the cursor to transfer the data. In the end it all worked out but it took 8 minutes to do a simple data dump from one folder. I now know to bring a parka for my laptop and put it over my head to make warm tent to work with it. We walked around after that and found a freshly formed ridge about 2 meters high (see photos) that wasn’t there yesterday when Jen had visited. We also came across some slushy spots which consisted of fresh snow on the top, then this mushy/slushy layer, then hard ice on the bottom. The mushy/slushy layer was about 10 cm thick with 5 cm of snow on top of it and some pretty thick ice below it (more than Jen’s knife blade (4”) – see photos). I took out my compass and found the camp to be due east of our position. As we walked back to our snow machines, Pat found this great curved crack (see photos). We then went a ways on snow machines, found another really cool radial crack and had to back up to find a better way over the newly formed ridges. It took a bit but we made it back in time for dinner.
Another long hard day! Just finishing up the download of these pictures and this journal entry. I transferred the latest files to Robert for upload e-mails to Hans and for PolarTREC. A message came in from Hans with some incredible news. Katya’s first tooth (which had been loose just after I left) just came out today. I was feeling both the joy of this first event and the sadness of not being there but I returned a message and now have Colleen’s (my sister’s) phone number so I can call her house tomorrow and wish everyone a happy Easter. I don’t feel too horrible about missing it because we celebrated Easter as a family the weekend before I left, but I do feel sad that I missed the first tooth coming out. I am so glad I am taking the rest of the week off when I get home as I will need that time to reconnect with my family and recount with them the many adventures they have had (snow day for Katya at school today and her first tooth (lower left center) just came out). It seems early because she is not even 5 ½ years old yet, but I guess this is when all those wonderful things start to happen.
I need to get some sleep now. It’s 11pm and we are up at 6am with a full packed scheduled every day.
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