Brett's Southern Crossing

LDB Camp Office

LDB Galley

A few miles from McMurdo on the ice shelf is the Long Duration Balloon facility, known as LDB.  Funded by NASA, 2-3 balloon launches per year are done from Antarctica.  The balloons this year are carrying payloads of around 5000 pounds and rise past 99% of our atmosphere.  Compared to launching a satellite this is a huge cost savings, but it’s still a complex enough task that I’m told it has it’s own line on the national budget!

Payload Building

CREAM

The facility consists mainly of 2 large payload buildings for assembly of the large scientific instruments attached to the balloons, a rigging building where the launch technicians prepare, and a communications and tracking building for monitoring the position and status of the balloons after they launch.

BLAST

BLAST computers and liquid helium

The balloons are inflated with helium, and as they rise through the atmosphere they continue to expand as the pressure in the air decreases.  What’s amazing is that in the end the balloon will expand to the same approximate volume as the Houston Astrodome!  The balloon itself is only 0.02 millimeters thick.  Think about how strong a balloon that large would need to be to inflate and launch without tearing to pieces.

BLAST shielding

The Boss

The launch procedure itself is interesting.  The payload is hung from a customized vehicle called The Boss.  The balloon is inflated on the opposite side of the launch pad, which is a huge circular area of snow that our Fleet Operations crew spends thousands of hours building for months in advance of the launch (compacting and grooming the snow so it is strong enough).  The Boss is well over 100,000 pounds, so you can imagine that the snow surface needs to be very strong for it to drive around without any rutting or sinking on the pad.

The Boss doing a hang test with the BLAST payload

Balloon inflated, with The Boss on the opposite end of the pad

The Boss has the most critical job on the launch:  As soon as the balloon is released, it will rise into the air and take up all the slack between it and the payload.  Any winds can change the position the balloon goes to.  The boss has to react immediately and perfectly to drive itself so that once all the slack is taken up the payload is directly beneath the balloon when it is released.  If not, you can imagine it like a pendulum – the payload will drag across the pad, causing a lot of damage.  Something like this actually happened in Australia last year.

But it’s important to know that only 4 percent of launches fail and usually in much less spectacular ways.  A few days ago I was lucky enough to be in an ideal place to see the first balloon launch of the year, carrying the CREAM payload.  Spectators have to be 3km away, but I still got a pretty good look and it seemed like a flawless launch by the Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility staff.

Payload released

In the background, Castle Rock on the left and Mt Erebus on the right

Just over the hill from McMurdo, near Scott Base, is a long line of pressure ridges in the ice.  Some of the sea ice remains trapped near the permanent ice shelf rather than breaking up and floating out to sea.  When it’s cold the ice shrinks a bit, causing cracks which fill with water.  Then when it warms up and the ice expands it forces ridges of ice formations to appear.

In the background, Mt Discovery

I volunteered to be trained as a guide for recreation trips to the ridges so I’ve been able to go 3 times.  My last two trips were cancelled but I’m hoping to go at least once more to see how they’ve changed over the year.

Notice the two blue tags on his flippers

Another great thing about the pressure ridges is that Weddell Seals like to come up through the cracks and lie on the ice.  Seal mothers have been giving birth, so I’ve seen some baby seals up close.  The seals are completely passive and it’s not clear if they even notice we’re standing there!  It’s easy to notice the tags on their flippers that science groups are using to track them, but despite the experience of being tagged they don’t pay any attention to passing humans.

Awwww....

"I'm bored mom..."

In our store there’s a sign near some of the souvenirs that says “Buy your South Pole souvenirs here, because that’s where everyone thinks you are anyway!”

Palmer Station on the upper left; McMurdo in the lower center; Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station in the middle. Image from the British Antarctic Survey

It’s a funny joke because most people really do think that’s where we are.  The US Antarctic Program (USAP) has 3 permanent stations, a couple of research vessels that study the oceans and seas, and lots of seasonal field camps.  The stations are Amundsen-Scott Station at the South Pole (summer population around 250), Palmer Station on the coast nearest the tip of South America (summer population 45), and McMurdo Station where I’m living and working nearest to New Zealand.  McMurdo’s peak population this summer is projected at over 1200.

Antarctica relative to the rest of the world. Image from the British Antarctic Survey

McMurdo is in fact on a peninsula of an island just off the coast of Antarctica, called Ross Island.  It’s connected to the mainland by the Ross Ice Shelf which is permanently present ice.   The island is volcanic, with several volcanoes.  The most notable volcano is Mt Erebus, the world’s southernmost active volcano which towers above McMurdo Station.  Many of the photos I’ve posted have had views of Mt Discovery and the Royal Society Range, which are on the mainland coast.

Cape Evans is on the coast between McMurdo and Cape Royds. Image from the British Antarctic Survey.

Other areas of Ross Island are filled with historical sights from exploration during the so called “heroic age” of exploration near the start of the 20th century.  Cape Evans was where Robert Falcon Scott built his hut for the Terra Nova Expedition.  Discovery Hut is located adjacent to our base.  And another hut is located at Cape Royds (also famous as a rookery for Adélie Penguins).

Less than 2 miles from our station is Scott Base, the main base of the New Zealand Antarctic program.  Our programs cooperate closely, sharing flight operations and basics like power along with the deployment facilities in Christchurch.

Hopefully that helps everyone understand exactly where I am!

Camping under our volcano, Mt Erebus

Last month I spent a night camping for a 2-day class by our mountaineers which teaches skills for building field camps, emergency survival, and general skills for working and surviving in extreme conditions.  Formally called Snow Craft I, in practice it is universally known as Happy Camper.  Anyone who may go outside of town attends Happy Camper, and lots of people that have no specific need go just for the experience.  It’s amazing how many people have stories about going to Happy Camper in “Condition 1” (which signifies either wind chill below –70F or sustained wind above 70 knots)

Mountaineer Brian diagrams how to lay out a camp

The class starts with half a day in the classroom learning about layering techniques, cold weather injuries, and planning approaches in survival situations.  Then we headed a few miles out onto the Ross Ice Shelf for the meat of the course, about 24 hours outside.  Our weather conditions were good, with a temperature of 5 degrees (F) and mostly calm winds, although we did have a little 3 hour storm with 30mph winds.  We learned about our tents and camp stoves, and then began some practical work to build our camp.

Mountaineer Julian shows us how to cut blocks of snow from a quarry

With high winds a common situation in Antarctica we started by learning how to anchor a tent and set it up in high winds.  Next they showed us the best way to organize a tight cluster of tents, storage, and cooking area so the camp is most protected and functional. Then we learned how to build a wind wall using snow.  The weather here doesn’t lead to the fluffy snow you’re probably used to.  Instead it’s hard packed and strong.  You can walk on it and barely mark the surface, much less sink.  So the way to protect your camp from the wind here is to build a wall out of snow.  This is done by digging a channel in the snow a couple feet deep, and then using wood or ice hand saws to cut blocks of snow.  It’s called a snow quarry and these blocks are also useful for building a cooking area and constructing igloos and snow trenches.

Our finished camp

As an emergency technique we also learned how to build a snow trench.  Imagine you’re stranded without a tent, or in conditions too severe for a tent.  One option is to basically dig a hole in the snow and bury yourself.  The snow is a good insulator, and if it’s built right it will be warm and protected from the wind on the surface.  Of course, there’s always the unpleasant thought that if you were taking shelter in a trench and a search party didn’t find you, you might die in a grave you dug yourself!

Standing in my half-finished trench. Digging it helped keep me warm

Just fill it in and add a tombstone...

Since the wind was calm, I decided to build a trench and spend the night there rather than in the tent.  Digging that hole is more work than you’d think – in the end I spent about 5 hours on it.  A good trench needs to be about 8 feet long and deep enough that you can sit up without your head touching the ceiling.  A foot or two below the surface it’s good to dig out the sides, to create some elbow room both for maneuverability and to avoid losing heat by conduction.  The trench needs to be capped as air-tight as possible.  The simplest way is to use blocks of snow cut from the quarry.  I covered most of mine with a sledge turned upside down and covered in a layer of snow, then added a few blocks near the head that I could slide on and off for my “door.”

The start of my roof...a spare sled, covered in snow for insulation

The second day of the course is a detailed look through the field survival bags kept in vehicles and helicopters in case of an emergency.  They include everything needed to build a camp like we did in the class.  The day ended with 2 emergency scenarios, the first being a helicopter crash with limited resources to build a camp and wounded people to deal with to add confusion.  This was kind of awful in a way because it meant digging another snow quarry, building another wall, etc.  On the other hand, we also set up an HF radio and called South Pole Station, so that was pretty cool!  The second scenario involves a missing person during a whiteout and is meant to teach us how to plan in an emergency.  They’d like us to think through the situation carefully to find a way to look for the missing person without risking the safety of those who are already in a warm building.  To simulate the whiteout anyone that goes outside wears a bucket on their head, and watching people try to search the surrounding area is hilarious!

How to simulate a whiteout

Have you ever watched someone try to walk around blindfolded?

At McMurdo we work a minimum of 6 days and 54 hours per week, so holidays are eagerly anticipated as a time to rest and unwind.  Since we only have Sunday off we observe our holidays (which during the austral summer are Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Day) on Saturdays so we have a 2-day weekend.  The festivities started early, with a bunch of Friday-night parties in various work centers, complete with live bands.

The start of our Thanksgiving Day was the annual Turkey Trot 5k.  The route was from the Chapel of the Snows (on one edge of town) through McMurdo and up the hill to the Scott Base sign.  Scott Base is the kiwi base located 3 miles from us on the other side of a ridge.  Almost any event is a good excuse for the community to dress in ridiculous costumes, and the turkey Trot was no exception.  We ran to the sounds of Take on Me blaring from a boombox carried by one of the runners.  My time was glacially slow 31 minutes.

Thanksgiving dinner is an elaborate meal our awesome galley staff puts together.  In addition to turkey, stuffing, relishes and other traditional foods, they served king crab legs, massive amounts of freshies (fruit, salad, etc), and a full vegetarian and vegan menu.  Our bakers are always amazing but the desserts were a step up from what I expected.  My favorite were the chocolate mousse stuffed pastries shaped like Antarctic Skuas.

At home we always take a walk after dinner, so I went with a few people to walk the Hut Point Ridge trail.  This is a three mile loop from town that passes over a ridge and by one of the huts used by Captain Scott during his exploration of Antarctica.

The night was capped off with a party and jam session in the band room.  I have no musical talent but it’s always fun to hang out with some beers.  For whatever reason there is a lot of musical talent among the community here.  It’s hard to find anyone here who doesn’t play an instrument (Ukuleles are really popular!).