good morning from another lovely sunday! this is a photo of me with "the sturgeon" this fish has a great tale... originally he was brought to mc murdo station by some russian scientists as a gift. he then lived in variuos sheds and random places in mac-town until being wrapped up in a blanket and smuggled on a C-130 hercules (plane) here to the pole and placed deep into the ice tunnels where he resides for eternity...safe from the scua, which are the seagulls of antarctica, although we have none here at the pole, the fish is now in the tunnels as part of the lore of the pole! pictured with the sturgeon is a tin of russian sturgeon caviar, mmmm. these photos were taken on weds. down in the tunnels that i wrote about previously, this week i was actually working down there doing snow and trash removal. the snow came through a hole in the surface that is the site for a new rod well, which they forgot to cover tightly, and over the winter the snow drifted in. the photo that looks like stalactites is actually "fart-cycles" ! i know, not so pleasant, but down here life is very simple, and we have to deal with the reality that everybody poops! these beauties are formed where the sewage outflow vapors are vented before the solids are expelled. since it's -65 down there, the smells are not present...it's not so bad! yesterday we went to the cryo lab on a tour. our boss shaggy makes every attempt to get us tours at every facility here, due to the difficult nature of our work, he figures we deserve to see who and what we're shoveling snow for, rather than the ominous "it's for science". the cryo lab is where they house liquid helium to cool the telescopes at the base, it is very similar the the types of systems that are used in telescopes in space, due to the fact that in the winter here there is no chance for resupply, just like in space. so here they are doing cutting edge research on how to conserve and save this precious resource that likes to evaporate at a rate of 65% and can only be found at 2 places on the planet. the helium is kept at 4 degrees kelvin, which is only 1 degree above absolute zero-COLD. they have spacial tanks called dewars that house the liquid, if it warms anymore that 4 kelvin it will reach it's boiling point and evaporate, which is a waste of an expensive and important part of the science here. the telescopes have to be kept so cold so that they are able to read the the radio microwaves from deep space, they are studying the origins of the universe, the big bang. the microwaves are heat sources and the telescopes must be cold in order for their sensitive sensors to detect these very faint waves from the edges of the universe. this is the stuff i am very excited to learn about while i'm here, one of the reasons i wanted to come. it is at my fingertips, literally...i still have a hard time believing i'm here. i hope you all are well and enjoying my adventures at he bottom of the world!!! if you'd like please send a letter or card, snail mail day is very exciting and only once a week, my address is listed on the first blog in this series. take care and enjoy autumn! xo kg*
good morning from another lovely sunday! this is a photo of me with "the sturgeon" this fish has a great tale... originally he was brought to mc murdo station by some russian scientists as a gift. he then lived in variuos sheds and random places in mac-town until being wrapped up in a blanket and smuggled on a C-130 hercules (plane) here to the pole and placed deep into the ice tunnels where he resides for eternity...safe from the scua, which are the seagulls of antarctica, although we have none here at the pole, the fish is now in the tunnels as part of the lore of the pole! pictured with the sturgeon is a tin of russian sturgeon caviar, mmmm. these photos were taken on weds. down in the tunnels that i wrote about previously, this week i was actually working down there doing snow and trash removal. the snow came through a hole in the surface that is the site for a new rod well, which they forgot to cover tightly, and over the winter the snow drifted in. the photo that looks like stalactites is actually "fart-cycles" ! i know, not so pleasant, but down here life is very simple, and we have to deal with the reality that everybody poops! these beauties are formed where the sewage outflow vapors are vented before the solids are expelled. since it's -65 down there, the smells are not present...it's not so bad! yesterday we went to the cryo lab on a tour. our boss shaggy makes every attempt to get us tours at every facility here, due to the difficult nature of our work, he figures we deserve to see who and what we're shoveling snow for, rather than the ominous "it's for science". the cryo lab is where they house liquid helium to cool the telescopes at the base, it is very similar the the types of systems that are used in telescopes in space, due to the fact that in the winter here there is no chance for resupply, just like in space. so here they are doing cutting edge research on how to conserve and save this precious resource that likes to evaporate at a rate of 65% and can only be found at 2 places on the planet. the helium is kept at 4 degrees kelvin, which is only 1 degree above absolute zero-COLD. they have spacial tanks called dewars that house the liquid, if it warms anymore that 4 kelvin it will reach it's boiling point and evaporate, which is a waste of an expensive and important part of the science here. the telescopes have to be kept so cold so that they are able to read the the radio microwaves from deep space, they are studying the origins of the universe, the big bang. the microwaves are heat sources and the telescopes must be cold in order for their sensitive sensors to detect these very faint waves from the edges of the universe. this is the stuff i am very excited to learn about while i'm here, one of the reasons i wanted to come. it is at my fingertips, literally...i still have a hard time believing i'm here. i hope you all are well and enjoying my adventures at he bottom of the world!!! if you'd like please send a letter or card, snail mail day is very exciting and only once a week, my address is listed on the first blog in this series. take care and enjoy autumn! xo kg*
4 comments:
wow; first blog I've seen from Antartica; and I thought it was cold here today....I liked the story about the Sturgeon; best wishes, Charles
hi this is noah!i hope you are having a awesome time!just wandering did you do the thing where you throw a boiling pot of water in the air to see if it freezes in mid air? see you later bye. Love you
mmmmmmmmm caviar. toast points too i hope!
Hi Gracie, Kristen from Tahoe here!
What a coincidence, we just watched Herzog's new movie Encounters at the End of the World this week and saw that famous said-same sturgeon on screen. And — coincidences never cease — I'm listening to a few scientists from McMurdo talking on NPR's Science Friday right this very minute! (I guess you were too busy to be interviewed.)
Sounds like you're having a great time down there, live it up and make lots of memories — but not of cleaning that bathrooms. That part you're free to forget as soon as it's over. Sending you a warm hug!
-k
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