Ice Stories: Dispatches From Polar Scientists » Nadine Quintana Krupinski http://icestories.exploratorium.edu/dispatches Mon, 15 Nov 2010 20:40:36 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 Video Dispatch : Skidoos http://icestories.exploratorium.edu/dispatches/video-dispatch-skidoos/ http://icestories.exploratorium.edu/dispatches/video-dispatch-skidoos/#comments Tue, 15 Jan 2008 14:15:09 +0000 Nadine Quintana Krupinski http://icestories.exploratorium.edu/dispatches-new/?p=88 In our live webcast at the Exploratorium last weekend (to watch click here) we aired some as-of-yet-unseen video dispatches I made at Siple Dome, Antarctica. During the webcast we also mentioned a couple of video dispatches we didn’t have time to get to– videos made out in the field on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. One of those videos was a short clip I made of what a skidoo looks like as it goes over the ice — posted here. The other video also posted here was taken aboard a skidoo as we approached our camp on the ice sheet. This one gives you a real sense of the vastness of the ice sheet as well as how bumpy skidoo rides can be. (For those with motion-sickness or aversion to bumpy footage, this second video be one you want to skip.)

In our webcast Saturday, Slawec described riding a skidoo as akin to riding a mechanical bull. The comparison fits because of the bumpy ride the skidoo gives as it travels across snow formations on the ice. The surface on the ground is much like a frozen ocean– with frozen waves like small “snow dunes,” called sastrugi. Because of these sastrugi, the irregular surface makes it dangerous to travel much faster than about 25 km/hr.

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Unloading our skidoos at our field camp on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.

This first video shows what a skidoo hauling a sled looks like. See how tricky it can be to pull them!

skidoopass.wmv (Windows)

skidoopass.mp4 (Everything else)

This second video was taken atop a skidoo as we rode into camp. While it really gives you a sense of how vast the ice sheet is, those averse to bumpy footage might want to steer clear.

skidoo_to_camp.wmv (Windows)

skidoo_to_camp.mp4 (Everything else)

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Camp Tour http://icestories.exploratorium.edu/dispatches/video-dispatch-camp-tour/ http://icestories.exploratorium.edu/dispatches/video-dispatch-camp-tour/#comments Tue, 15 Jan 2008 14:14:43 +0000 Nadine Quintana Krupinski http://icestories.exploratorium.edu/dispatches-new/?p=87 In our live webcast at the Exploratorium last weekend, (Ice Stories: Glaciologists WAIS) we aired some as-of-yet-unseen video dispatches I made at Siple Dome, Antarctica. During the webcast we also mentioned a couple of video dispatches we didn’t have time to get to– videos made out in the field on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. One of those videos was a tour I made of our camp on the ice sheet — which I am posting here.

Due to the winds that can pick up on the ice, some parts of the audio are harder to hear than others. Please be patient and adjust the volume accordingly– you really get to understand how hard it can be to hear people when it gets windy out there!

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Our camp near Whillan’s Ice Stream on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet

camptour.wmv (Windows)

camptour.mp4 (Everything else)

(Please click on one of the above links for the video.)

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Looking Back: The Storm http://icestories.exploratorium.edu/dispatches/looking-back-the-storm/ http://icestories.exploratorium.edu/dispatches/looking-back-the-storm/#comments Fri, 11 Jan 2008 14:20:27 +0000 Nadine Quintana Krupinski http://icestories.exploratorium.edu/dispatches-new/?p=94 Slawec and I are both back in Santa Cruz now, and will be doing a live webcast at the Exploratorium tomorrow! In the meantime, I’d like to post some more pictures and videos from our time in the field.

Earlier in December, I sent an audio dispatch in the middle of a storm that delayed our work out on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. I stuck my phone outside of the tent so you could hear the wind howling. Here are some of the pictures that accompany that audio– together you can get a bit of an impression of what being trapped in the storm was like. To listen to the audio dispatch again, click here.

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The Storm begins.
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Slawec prepares to brave the outside. Yes, he’s in there!
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The interior of my sleep tent where I eventually took refuge — small, but very cozy. The wool blanket and foam pad serve as a carpet, and my sleeping bag is on the right.
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Going to get water during the storm was a chore — winds were around 20-30 knots at this time, with higher gusts.
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Doug and Slawek inside the kitchen/work tent during the storm. As we were unable to go do our field work, we spent the time huddled inside this tent together.
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By the time the storm had ended, snow blown by the strong winds had nearly buried much of our gear. Here you can see the snow packed in around one of the sleeping tents. In the background, you can see the poles we used to mark objects in camp — a preparation made especially because of events just like this.
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A lot of digging had to take place in order to uncover our newly-snow-buried equipment…
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…a lot of digging. Here Rickard frees our sleds from the snow.
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Antarctic Life: A Look Back At Our Time In the Field, Part 3 http://icestories.exploratorium.edu/dispatches/antarctic-life-a-look-back-at-our-time-in-the-field-part-3/ http://icestories.exploratorium.edu/dispatches/antarctic-life-a-look-back-at-our-time-in-the-field-part-3/#comments Mon, 31 Dec 2007 14:22:06 +0000 Nadine Quintana Krupinski http://icestories.exploratorium.edu/dispatches-new/?p=101 The members of our team are now either home or still in the process of making their way there. Looking back at our time in the field here in Antarctica, I want to share some more photos that help illustrate some of my earlier posts and give you a little taste of what life in the field was like.

Journey to the Field: The Last Leg

The journey to our field site at Whillan’s Ice Stream on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet was long, with many stops, the last of which was at Siple Dome. From there, it was a matter of getting our selves and equipment out to the ice sheet.

Some of the most important pieces of equipment were, of course, the skidoos — the only things enabling us to travel from camp to our various research sites. So how do you get a skidoo into and out of a small plane? As these pictures show, you drive and lift it, using a ramp, some muscle, and some finesse.

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The lift…
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The muscle…
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And the finesse.

Of course, landing a plane on an ice sheet is an impressive feat by itself. The Basler plane (a DC-3) is the largest bush plane used by the United States Antarctic Program and can land without a runway.

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This photo shows how much cargo a Basler plane can hold. Our group had enough cargo to fill three flights.
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By the time the Basler returned with the second load of cargo, we had set up the sleep tents. We watched the plane circle once over our camp before landing.
nqk_85_plane.JPGThe Basler created a flurry of blowing snow during takeoff, leaving us windblown and all alone in the flat white, with only our essential survival gear.
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Antarctic Life: A Look Back At Our Time In the Field, Part 2 http://icestories.exploratorium.edu/dispatches/antarctic-life-a-look-back-at-our-time-in-the-field-part-2/ http://icestories.exploratorium.edu/dispatches/antarctic-life-a-look-back-at-our-time-in-the-field-part-2/#comments Sun, 30 Dec 2007 14:22:57 +0000 Nadine Quintana Krupinski http://icestories.exploratorium.edu/dispatches-new/?p=103 The members of our team are now either home or still in the process of making their way there. Looking back at our time in the field here in Antarctica, I want to share some more photos that help illustrate some of my earlier posts and give you a little taste of what life in the field was like.

The Last Stop Before Our Field Site: Life at Siple Dome

Out here, sometimes doing what would be a basic task at home (cooking, for example) takes a little ingenuity and spontaneity…

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No electric mixer handy? Use the power drill!
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Your feta is frozen in one huge solid block? Use a hammer and crow bar to break off some pieces for dinner!

Compared to our field site, life at Siple Dome was luxurious…

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The jamesway (a solid insulated tent with a wooden frame, heating and indoor comforts) at Siple Dome is the cozy center of life there.
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Siple Dome has a rustic little outhouse, secured against wind with a cargo strap over the top. Though it may look primitive, this was luxury compared to our later toilet tent in our field camp.
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Antarctic Life: A Look Back At Our Time In the Field, Part 1 http://icestories.exploratorium.edu/dispatches/antarctic-life-a-look-back-at-our-time-in-the-field-part-1/ http://icestories.exploratorium.edu/dispatches/antarctic-life-a-look-back-at-our-time-in-the-field-part-1/#comments Fri, 28 Dec 2007 14:23:11 +0000 Nadine Quintana Krupinski http://icestories.exploratorium.edu/dispatches-new/?p=104 As our team finishes up and we all make our way back to the States, I thought I’d post a variety of photos from our time in Antarctica. Our first stop on the journey home from our camp on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet was Siple Dome, where we spent some time on our journey out after being delayed by weather. In these photos from our first stop there, one of the Siple Dome scientists prepares a weather balloon.

Siple Dome Weather Balloon

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Sal fills a 10g weather balloon with helium. The balloon is used to determine cloud height for weather observations.
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Sal releases the balloon and starts the timer. The balloon quickly flies off into the cloudy sky.
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Sal watches the balloon with binoculars until it disappears into the cloud cover. He records the ascent time and reads the altitude corresponding to that ascent time from a chart. Now we know the height of the cloud cover!
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Finishing Our Field Work http://icestories.exploratorium.edu/dispatches/finishing-our-field-work/ http://icestories.exploratorium.edu/dispatches/finishing-our-field-work/#comments Tue, 18 Dec 2007 16:16:16 +0000 Nadine Quintana Krupinski http://icestories.exploratorium.edu/dispatches-new/?p=109 In this latest audio dispatch, I describe the end of our field work here–taking down our camp and setting our devices so they continue to collect data for us for the next two years.

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In this image of Antarctica, you can see the location of Whillans Ice Stream, where we’ve been living for the past three weeks.
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The Barrier to Lake Conway http://icestories.exploratorium.edu/dispatches/the-barrier-to-lake-conway/ http://icestories.exploratorium.edu/dispatches/the-barrier-to-lake-conway/#comments Sun, 16 Dec 2007 16:16:56 +0000 Nadine Quintana Krupinski http://icestories.exploratorium.edu/dispatches-new/?p=111 In this audio dispatch I describe our team’s attempt to travel to Lake Conway, one of the sites where we were planning to place our GPS instruments. On the way there, however, our team found a crevasse blocking the route.

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Caught in the Storm http://icestories.exploratorium.edu/dispatches/caught-in-the-storm/ http://icestories.exploratorium.edu/dispatches/caught-in-the-storm/#comments Sun, 09 Dec 2007 16:18:25 +0000 Nadine Quintana Krupinski http://icestories.exploratorium.edu/dispatches-new/?p=118 WHILLANS ICE STREAM, ANTARCTICA– In this audio dispatch I describe the storm that temporarily halted our research and left us stranded in our tents. Listen to the sounds of the storm when I stick the phone outside the tent!

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The Toilet on the Ice http://icestories.exploratorium.edu/dispatches/the-toilet-on-the-ice/ http://icestories.exploratorium.edu/dispatches/the-toilet-on-the-ice/#comments Sun, 09 Dec 2007 16:18:14 +0000 Nadine Quintana Krupinski http://icestories.exploratorium.edu/dispatches-new/?p=117 In this short audio dispatch I describe one thing you might not think about when picturing us living on the ice—our toilet. Listen as I describe the process of putting up our Toilet Tent, pictured below.


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Our toilet tent. We keep the flaps open so the snow inside doesn’t melt!
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