Work at Summit... because that's what we do

Just as our jobs at Pole exist for science so do our jobs in Greenland. Summit camp really came into existence during the second major Greenland Ice Sheet Project or GISP 2. This was and ice core sample 3053 meters deep that was completed in 1993 when it hit bedrock. It was done up at what is now Summit Camp. It is still one of the best continuous climate records and was the deepest ice core ever recovered at the time.
Transportation of tools and stuff in the clean air sector.

Well, it seemed as though the place to update my blog about Summit would be, at Summit. But with WiFi on the ferry to Martha's Vineyard (I left Greenland yesterday) there is no time like the present. So, with whiny dogs wagging tails, the smell of the ocean in my nose and the cry of seagulls drowning out the engine, I begin to introduce you to our work this spring at Summit Camp. That, after all, is why we were there!

Below is in the inside of the Flux facility where a number of us started our work at Summit. Flux was only put in last year and is a tower with a buried vault that is used to collect data about the movement of gases in and out of snow. There are a number of sensors (intake cups) at various points of the tower both above the snow and buried in it. These measure the concentration of various gases at those points.

Inside the Flux facility in the clean air sector

The idea is that we've always believed ice core samples to give us a realistic picture of the composition of our atmosphere over hundreds of thousands of years. Those cores, however, do not take into account the fact that gases move between different levels in the atmosphere and the snow. These gases may have cyclic movements over a day or over a season and so an ice core sample may catch only a moment.

The entrance to Flux, the buried buildings where data about the flux of gases in the snow layers is collected

The building where the data is collected and gases stored is buried beneath the surface in order to avoid creating artificial eddies in the wind and thus affect the data.

Fixing the stairs at Flux

Since it was put in, the buried vault had taken a beating and a bunch of stuff got tweaked including the stairs and the ducts. One of our first orders of business was to fix the stairs and to clean out snow that had accumulated behind the small building.

Above are the stairs and the space that we were clearing snow out of.

Our next assignment was the layout of the arctic pipe that would end up underneath the portable buildings at camp, once they were all moved to their new locations.

First the area was graded and hardened. Then we laid the pipe out on the flat and a snow pad was built up over it over the course of many days by one of the heavy equipment operators. It was important that the snow settle and have significant weight and pressure on it as it was built up in order for it to support the weight of the buildings.
All the buildings were being moved because of drifting. With an accumulation of about a meter of snow a year, when the buildings are dug out they end up sitting in a big bowl and the natural level of the snow rises up around them. By being set up on a pad that is higher than the surrounding snow, it is hoped that they'll get less drifted in and won't have to be moved again for quite a while.
Another project we worked on was building a new vestibule for one of the modular buildings that was getting moved up onto the pad. It was built out of SIP (structurally insulated panel) panels and went together reasonably easily with only some "arghs" and grinding of teeth.

And there you have it, a glimpse of work at Summit camp. Now that I'm in Colorado on my way back down to Antarctica, it seems that any more fun Summit Camp photos and information will have to wait until I go back next year.

Next week I head back down to Antarctica for another season. Instead of going directly to Pole, I'll be working out of McMurdo (big station on the coast) for about a month out of their Carp Shop. It should provide some new work adventures and hopefully some new inspirations for blog entries. Happy fall......

A zoo at Summit Camp

Okay so there aren't may animals at Summit but some birds do come our way as does a fox now and again. This year, I think they were mostly snow buntings that made there way to the Greenland Ice cap only to pass away during a storm or cold weather. We did try and feed them occasionally but I gather that if they stop to visit us mid-migration they're pretty much done for. While at Summit these little guys went in for the warm places. They perched themselves under the black arctic pipe that we laid out and hovered around any dark-colored building, outhouses included.
Even though they sought out the warm spots, they did not of course let us pick them up. The photo at the top of the page was only possible after somebody found the poor little guy frozen. After finding him in tool bags and various locations on the job site, he now graces the front window sill of one of the buildings.

In 2006 a fox graced Summit with its presence and while nobody actually saw one this year, Chris and I saw some fox footprints on a couple of occasions. Pretty exciting but probably did not bode well for the fox, being so far from any food source. We can only hope it managed to rifle enough out of the carbage pallet to get where it was going.


Our other exciting visitor this fall, that I didn't see but a couple others did, was a falcon. One of the scientists caught it with his camera as luck would have it. And a few days later, our very own Commander saw it (assuming it was the same one) out on the back deck of the Big House.

Lastly, are the Summit bears that can always be counted on because they are made of plywood and as any respectable plywood bear knows it's a good idea to stick around camp. These guys are actually the furthest of the mile visibility markers running out from the station that allow us to tell the guard how far you can see from the station on flight days. There is not a lot of variety on the Ice so it's a joy to ski out and see these guys on a beautiful sunny day.

Weather at Summit

Well, I've almost got a blog ready go from Summit Camp in Greenland. For the moment though, here is some footage of a fun weather day. Needless to say no flights came in today. We've had a couple of gnarly weather days since my arrival here. There is a little more visibility in this video than this evening when I walked down here to the bunkhouse. Enjoy
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Summit Camp

The Big House, raised last year, high above the snow. It is set to be raised next year as well to avoid being drifted in by snow which accumulates at about one meter per year here, compared to less than ten inches at Pole.

Hello from Summit Camp, Greenland. Our location should be on a posting from a few weeks ago. We are located 400km from the nearest point of land up here on the Greenland Ice Cap, and within Northeast Greenland National Park. We sit above 10 000 feet elevation, physically higher than at South Pole but with less variation in false altitude than we get at Pole. Summit is a research facility run by CH2M Hill and Polar Field Services for the National Science Foundation and United States Arctic Program.

After two weather delays, we arrived at Summit on a C-130 from Kangerlussuaq. We got here on a Thursday which was nice as it was the end of the week and only had two days of work before a day off on Sunday. It is a small facility, maxing out at a population of around fifty I believe. That would make it crowded indeed. Right now we're sitting at around thirty and it can be quite cozy in the Big House during meals.

Pizza night (some Saturdays) at Summit. The cook prepares the dough and toppings and the crew has it it in the kitchen.

The camp is made up of a few buildings. The Big House (above) is like the mother ship. It's where the dining/entertainment/eating/ laundry/shower areas are all located. The office and communications are also located in the Big House. The white ball on top of the building keeps the snow off of our satellite dish and provides us with twenty-four hour internet and phone service, a real treat compared to the less frequent satellite access at Pole.

The Green House (above) is now dug out of the snow and will be moved this year. It houses the camp staff like the science technicians, camp manager, our awesome cook, the machine operators and maintenance personnel. The medical facility and medic are also based in this building. There is a lounge and a small kitchen in the Green House but residents tend to eat lunch and dinner in the Big House.The Shop (above) is the maintenance facility where our mechanic works. It also houses the main generator that runs the camp on diesel fuel brought in on the C-130s. The big machines on station are a CAT 933, a D6 and a Tucker. They are used to keep the drifting at bay, maintain the skiway and move cargo and other materials around. We also have a small fleet of snow machines, including on electric snow machine that comes up from the University of Wisconsin. Waste heat from the generator is used to melt snow which is our water supply on station. Above, Steve is filling up a tank on the sled with hot water to bring it over to the Big House where it is pumped up into a holding tank for our consumption.

And that is pretty much it for the main buildings. There are a number of other permanent and portable buildings on station used for weather balloon release and other science. There is an electric shack and a couple of antennas, some buried buildings and vaults. Our food storage is a walk-in cooler (freshie shack) inside the Big House and frozen food is stored in freezer trenches (made of SIP panels) located under the Green House (accessed by a hatch within) and in the snow just outside the Big House down a set of stairs. The cook plans meals ahead of time and retrieves food for the coming week into the Big House fridges and freezers or sometimes leaves the frozen outside on the deck of the Big House until it's to be used. Although it gets warm here compared to Pole (yesterday it was up to 12 degrees F), it has n0t gotten above freezing since I've been here. Apparently it can reach freezing though at the height of the summer. I'll be out of here before then but I imagine by the end of June when I leave, I might get to see some particularly balmy days and frankly, I can't wait.

Kangerlussuaq

Well, here I am up in Greenland. Why I left the promise of spring warmth and sunshine I do not know but I am having a fabulous time up here so far. I arrived at Summit Camp (where the work is) last Thursday after two days of delays. One of those days we actually got on the plane and hovered above the camp hoping for the weather to clear. It didn't and we flew back to Kanger. Too much time on a C-130!

Kanger, as we call it is the home of the Kangerlussuaq International Science Support center which, as the name suggest provides support for science groups that come into Greenland. We flew into Kanger two days before we were to come to Summit and housed in this interesting building (below) where the offices for science support and dorm rooms are located. We were sent to the cafeteria or canteena in the Kangerlussuaq International airport for meals. The New York Air Guard who flies us to the South Pole from McMurdo also flies us to Greenland from their base in New York State.


The airport and tourism are the primary employers for this town of five hundred people. Kangerlussuaq was originally a US air base called Bluie West Eight, opened in 1941 after the US was given the responsibility for Greenland's security. Kanger is called Sondre Stromfjord by the Danes.

Kanger is an interesting town though there is really not much to it. Most of the buildings are prefabricated, many dating back to the military days. There seems to be a concerted effort to make the newer buildings in town brightly colored but some of the older buildings, including this apartment building below are downright industrial. The one below reminds me of some sort of communist apartment complex.There are few signs and the only way we found our way to the bar was a small Carlsberg sign outside an anonymous back door of the small convenience store. At said store, a twenty pack of beer cost a measly $80 US.

While in Kanger we were outfitted for our time up in Greenland. Our gear is similar to the stuff we receive for the Antarctic program. Insulated Carhartt bibs, Carhartt jackets, long underwear, hats, mitts, boots, etc. Everything we could possibly want for cold weather work though, as I've found out this week, the temperatures are rapidly getting warmer.
While in Kanger we did have the opportunity to ramble about. Others saw a muskox up on one of the slopes by town but I wasn't so lucky. I did see some caribou after a friend pointed them out (below)

Below is an image of a musk ox that somebody painted on a rock near town. Musk ox provide some sort of a living for people in Greenland. I'm not sure how lucrative it is but the yarn made from Qiviut (musk ox wool) set me back quite a bit. Below you can see a stack of musk ox pelts. There were a few stacks of these around town and also random bits of the animals themselves. The dogs appreciated those.

At the edge of town down by the water were the dog yards. I think of them as a community garden of dogs. The dogs belong to different people but they are all quite close together. I was prepared for the barking and whining of dogs when we showed up but they were all quite quiet which was a relief. They tended to be a lot bigger than the dogs I've seen running in North America and there were some very cute cuddly and attention-seeking puppies in the vicinity that were strategically located behind openings in the fence.

Another difference from the dogs back home is that these dogs pull these big sledges. Must be great for carrying caribou and musk oxen.....
And now my time in Kanger seems like long ago. I've been up at Summit a week and a half, gotten immersed in the work and celebrated two lovely, relaxing Sundays......

Greenland Bound

Image above was taken from the Polar Trec site (http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.polartrec.com/ptrecgallery/)

Yes, Greenland. Of course Greenland.
It's the natural next step after working in Antarctica. In fact most of the people who work up here have at one time or still do work in Antarctica. The season here tends to start in April and end in August, usually with time off in the middle when the camps are mostly inhabited by science groups. This summer at Summit Camp where I'll be working, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summit_Camp) construction staff will be there for the entire four month season.

As in the Antarctica program, the National Science Foundation contracts out the support work for the Greenland science to a big company, in this case CH2MHill Polar Services. Like at South Pole I'll be working with the construction crew. This being my first time up here, I still do not know exactly what to expect except that the camp at Summit is much smaller than South Pole. There are just a few buildings and most of the construction crew will live in large mountaineering tents instead of in the jamesway-style buildings we live in at Pole.

Last week my employment began with four days of training in Schenectady, NY. We mostly covered safety and it was quite similar to the training we do before Pole. I was pleasantly surprised, however, with the town of Schenectady. I didn't expect much from it but there were plenty of good places to eat at and nice neighborhoods to run in. I also enjoyed the novelty of having a hotel room and bath and television all to myself.

The old part of Schenectady is called the Stockade and used to be a walled community. The streets wind around in no predictable direction and every other house is labeled with a year. They all seem to date back to sometime in the 1700s which is after war and fire destroyed much of the city. These houses are beautiful and most have been restored immaculately, at least on the outside. While walking through this neighborhood, you almost trip over plaque after historic plaque, describing one corner or another and its significance in battle or as the location of the first mill or school or boat-building operation or... in Schenectady. Not for everyone but anyone who has any interest in architecture, old graveyards or American history would get a kick out of the Historic Stockade (http://www.historicstockade.com/).

These pictures were all taken in the Stockade.

Season Three Continued....

Let's face it, I've been fairly lazy about updating my blog this year. But I have been reminded and I probably should do a little writing as the end of season three approaches. Another great season too. I feel pretty lucky. Below is my crew, hometown, New Hampshire folk except our fearless local leader (foreman) Steve who's from the West Coast. Not his fault of course!When I last left you three months ago we were flying over some of the Antarctic mountains, headed once again for South Pole. Well, I arrived in good spirits, having been reacquainted with old friends and met some good solid new ones.

It's a bit difficult to write about another season at Pole because they really are all so similar. Small changes in scenery and evidence of new snow piles on station engross us but our work is probably the most diverse thing in our lives down here.

Cleaning out a cold building over at MAPO, in order for a science group to move in. They did receive heat.

This season we started off with (and in fact our ending with ) a rash of maintenance on portable buildings on station. Below are photos of some of the buildings we worked on, in the field and out back of our shop. This tripod below had its footers dug out from the snow and the camera taken off of it so it could be stored out on the line, awaiting another purpose in life.
These buildings below were cleaned out and the plywood one directly below was outfitted for a winch that would be tethered to a small blimp. The blimp had some sort of instrument mounted on it to monitor ice particles in the air.

Above are the boys working on the roof, preparing it so that the winch cable can be put through and tether the balloon. In the Background are the other portable buildings being used by this science group.
Below is the frame that was created to support the winch cable after it had come through the roof of the building. The cable was small but quite tough, made from Kevlar if I remember correctly.
The tripod and this building below were part of AASTO, ( The Automated Astrophysical Site-Testing Observatory) which was decommissioned in 2005. AASTO was home to a number of experiments including measuring emissions from the earth's atmosphere and measuring turbulence in the atmosphere. There was also some talk that some studies from this building had something to do with extraterrestrial life! Okay, so I really don't understand what was going on there even after reading the information online but this green modular building is pretty cool. It is both skiddable and forkable and was created to plunk down anywhere on the continent as needed. This building got sent back to McMurdo this year for some new and exciting assignments.Below is the crate I made for the cryostat for BICEP telescope that got taken off-line this year. Eventually it'll have a new and improved cryostat put in so it can look deep into the universe again.
I got to practice working in different mediums with this one as the cryostat was actually in a crate inside this one and needed to be well cushioned. The cushioning product of choice for this were old (like 1970s looking) spring mattresses old gym mats, the kind that velcro to walls and each other. In case anyone needs to cut up said gym mats at any point, I suggest using a skill saw and then taping the new seams shut, maybe even using a heat gun to make the tape stick.

Above is the finished cryostat box, complete with sharp-looking metal edges made by our resident tin-knocker. Below is the South Pole Telescope (the big part on the left) with BICEP telescope's ground shield showing on top of the blue building on the right.




Above is Kate working on a platform for one of the solar outhouses; one of the portable buildings and the cryostat crate behind her.
And now I've left this blog so long that I'm in New Zealand with the wind blowing through the palm trees outside and ducks swimming in the pond. It's a far cry from that snowy plateau above. I can't say I miss it, but I did have yet another wonderful season. If I feel motivated I'll add some more South Pole info from this past year but I'm thinking my next blog might be filled with green NZ pictures (and sheep of course).

Antarctica Season 3 - En Route

And so it begins again. I've been on the ice now for over a month and enjoying (almost) every minute of it. I am working on the same crew that I've been on for the past two seasons but with different folks. Below are some photos from the trip down which was fun and tiring and uneventful....

Now that I've been working here for a few seasons, I know people who live in Denver and so, during our three days of training I visited with some friends who worked down here last year. Below are Bob and Sarah, ready for a Halloween party. Bob worked as a carpenter down here last season. I'm in the dress and hat below that, a costume I wrangled in Boston before flying to Denver.

One of the most delightful changes this year was the addition of the Hotel So in Christchurch, New Zealand to our list of places to stay. What a trip these little rooms are. T.V., a glassed-in mini-bathroom and this crazy wake-up alarm that mimics the rising of the sun and finishes with images of the playing on the screen in front of you.

I traveled to the Ice with two comrades from seasons past (and many new ones of course). While in Christchurch we got in some fun adventures, including a walk over the hills to Lyttleton, a small port town. Other than the scenery, the fish and chips was by far the greatest highlight. From left to right in the picture below are Warren (operations general assistant), Sarah (welder) and Todd (electrician at one of the bigger field camps on the continent).
Knowing our feet would be stuck in big, sweaty boots for the next few months, we allowed them some freedom during the walk over to Lyttleton.

The C-17 flight to McMurdo from Christchurch

From Ob Hill, overlooking McMurdo Station

Scott's Hut in McMurdo has a very dehydrated seal guarding its exterior. That's what the grey blob is below.

This hydrated seal (below) was hanging out on the sea ice right near Hut Point in McMurdo. I don't know why it was basking on the ice but it seemed awfully far from any opening to the water. I also don't know why it was marked by a black flag but the seal didn't really seem to notice.

On the walk from town over to Hut Point, there are a few frozen ponds (or large puddles) with these fun bubbles frozen into them.

I don't know what these antennas are for but they they looked interesting, sat up on one of the hills in McMurdo.

While in McMurdo, I had the opportunity to leave town on a trip to the Ice Caves, about a 40 minute drive in this funny vehicle. I probably should have slept instead as I felt miserable the next day but the opportunity to see something outside town could not be missed. In retrospect it was well worth it.

Out on the frozen tundra waiting to enter the Ice Caves.

Inside the caves, the light was very very blue and the ice crystals were quite beautiful. Below is a picture of me leaving the cave. The trip was all very regulated. I think they let six of us in at a time, in order to avoid damage to the cave.
Above is our vehicle to the South Pole, the trusty C-130. Below is a picture of some mountains that I took from the plane to Pole.