Building the science sled, known as the “Thunder Sled.”

On National Geographic or the Discovery Channel it always seems so easy. On TV it goes something like this: a scientist has an idea, no one agrees with him, he builds an experiment in his lab and toils away at mathematical equations until ultimately proving himself correct and sending the scientific community into a tailspin.

When, in fact, it is far more complicated. The Science Channel never tells you about dozens of meetings, hundreds of relationships and the never-ending logistics behind harvesting scientific data. There are proposals to be written, documents to be filed, signatures required, wrenches to be turned, personalities to pacify, schedules to be made and lists to be filled. Murphy’s Law dominates. A successful scientific expedition requires a well-equipped diverse team and a lead scientist morphed into a project manager. We are still in McMurdo Station when we should be in the field. Fortunately our lead scientist has scheduled enough down time into our expedition schedule. We are still confident we can reach all of the scientific goals.

More work to be done on the Thunder Sled.

Antarctica is harsh. Trying to harvest scientific data from Antarctica is excruciating. This continent does not give up her secrets easily, not even to the most tenacious of scientists. I am inspired by the knowledge, tenacity and problem solving skills of my teammates. If I had to describe them with one word, it would be: capable. These people know how to take care of some serious business and I am proud to be one of them.

The storm that kept us grounded at McMurdo Station.

The bad weather prevented us from leaving for our field site.