Travel to McMurdo Station!

Hello friends!

Welcome to our blog! We're happy you're following our progress. For our first entry, we thought we'd catch you up on our travels to McMurdo Station, Antarctica. In subsequent entries, I'll introduce you to our research team, provide you with more information about our research, and give you a tour around McMurdo! (On our first weekend day, we assisted a team who dove below the sea ice!! Lots more exciting posts to come!)

We convened as a group for the first time in Sydney, Australia. Dr. Greg Balco is coming from the Berkeley Geochronology Center. Dr. Brent Goehring traveled from Tulane University. Isaac Moening-Swanson (a senior geosciences major!) and I traveled from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA! Our field mountaineer, Chris Simmons, traveled down to McMurdo before us. More details about each team member later!

From Sydney, we caught a flight to Christchurch, New Zealand. We arrived in New Zealand the afternoon of Tuesday, November 25th. New Zealand and McMurdo are roughly a day ahead of those of you in the US. From there, we made two attempts to reach Antarctica.

Our first flight on Wednesday, November 26th "boomeranged," US Antarctic Program slang for having to turn around mid-flight due to weather in McMurdo.

We've checked in for our flight! Isaac is on board the bus that transports us to ....

...our plane!!

Alas, after nine hours, we were back in Christchurch, but our second attempt was successful!!

Back on the same bus heading toward....

...another plane!!

It was a 7 and a half hour flight.
I spent a lot of time appreciating the exposed inner-workings of the plane. 

Isaac slept.

Isaac's first steps in Antarctica!! We landed at Pegasus Airfield which you can learn more about here.

We are all very happy to have made it! From left to right: Isaac Moening-Swanson (PLU), Dr. Brent Goehring (Tulane Univ.), and Greg Balco (Berkeley Geochronology Center).

Notice the matching red jackets? They are part of our "extreme cold weather" gear issued to us by the US Antarctic Program. Throughout our time in McMurdo, this gear is called ECW. You're required to wear it when you fly!

Cargo unloading begins immediately after we disembark.
For people living on station, the arrival of a flight from New Zealand may bring fresh eggs, fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as long-awaited mail!

Our transport from the airfield to McMurdo Station - Ivan the Terra Bus!! Those of you who followed our previous blog may recognize Ivan. He's a McMurdo fixture!

One last look at the plane, a L-382 (also known as a L-100) which is a C-130 cargo plane configured for civilian travel!

Brent and I are very happy to be on Ivan the Terra Bus. It's about a one-hour drive to McMurdo Station from Pegasus Airfield.

Ivan the Terra Bus is cozy but comfortable! Matching red jackets everywhere - they are affectionately known as "Big Red." I love my "Big Red." It's like walking around in your sleeping bag!

McMurdo in the distance; the station is located on that piece of land known as Hut Point, a peninsula that sticks out from Ross Island. The United States Geological Survey has a nice map of Ross Island, easily available here. More maps of the area to come! 

We're now on Hut Point, looking back toward the airfields (not visible). The green buildings in the middle of the image are Scott Base, the New Zealand research station!

Our field mountaineer, Chris Simmons! He has been hard at work for a week in McMurdo, getting our equipment ready for our trip. Thanks, Chris!!

Ivan's work is done for the day. 

We arrived at McMurdo Station at about 6:00 PM on Thursday, November 27th! Our first task was a briefing at the National Science Foundation's headquarters, which is located in a building known as "the chalet." During this briefing, we received the keys to our dorm rooms and an orientation to life on station. Then we retired to the galley for dinner!

More entries to come! We have lots to share about our time in McMurdo and our research. Please check back!

Claire