A Busy Couple of Weeks

Sunset on the Pressure Ridges

Well, we survived the government shutdown. While a lot of folks were told they would be going home, only a few made it off the ice before the government turned back on. And now the station is growing. We started the week with a little more than 300 people on station. At this point we're at 527, and by the end of the week we'll be up above 800. And Crary (the science building) isn't an echoing chasm anymore. We've had a couple of science groups make it back down and there will be a lot more coming down in the next couple of weeks, including a group connected with one of my projects, CTBT. I'm looking forward to them coming down, since they've got a remote site about 20 miles off station that I might get to tag along to.
Between the preparations for  shutting things down, and then turning things back on, the last couple of weeks have been pretty busy. For a while it looked like I'd be the only person staying on in Crary, which would have added a bunch of duties to my regular schedule. As it is, I've picked up a couple of things while we wait for the rest of the lab staff to get back on the ice. The last couple of Sundays I've lead a Crary tour for folks from town who are interested in what exactly they are here to support. Unfortunately, the main attraction at Crary, our touch tank and aquarium tanks, are waiting on research groups to arrive and stock them with fish, sponges, urchins, jellyfish, and maybe an octopus or two.
At the beginning of last week, I said goodbye to Liz, the research associate I am taking over for. After a year down here, she was more than ready to get off the ice. She is planning on spending most of next year traveling and then coming back either to McMurdo or Palmer for another season.

Liz and me up at Arrival Heights

Along with my regular duties, which take me a little ways off station and up to Arrival Heights in the afternoons, I've gotten a couple of other chances to get out of town.

A diver getting out of the water

Last week I got invited to help out the divers. It meant caddying some of their gear and feeding the air line down as the divers moved around under the ice. On this particular occasion the divers were checking on the ice pier, making sure that the ice was good and that the edge of the pier wasn't running up against the shore. John, the diver in the yellow dive suit, saw a seal while he was under. Sometimes, seals will pop up to check out the dive holes, and I was kind of hoping that would happen, but no such luck.
I also got a chance to go out on the pressure ridges over by Scott Base. They were so amazing, and I've been back a couple of times since.

Walking across the ice to the pressure ridges

A seal hanging around on the pressure ridges

Along with exploring off station, I've gotten to know town pretty well. Occasionally, McMurdo will host artist, who come down on an NSF grant. There are a number of painting hanging in the galley by some of the artists. We've also had a couple of sculptors come down, and they've left behind pieces scattered around that station.

Tim the Troll hanging out under the bridge between Building 155 and Crary