The Long Awaited Update...

So in the past 4 weeks I haven't made any posts. The reason is simple, I've been in the field and working. Sorry for the lack of communication, but we did not have internet/telephone access in our camp and the closest connection was an 1 1/2 hour walk away. Even though the hike down valley would have been a modest one, honestly there was no time. Our crew has worked non-stop all month to complete our tunnel, sample shaft and sampling. Thanksgiving day was our first full day off since our camp put-in on October 29.

Since I couldn't have periodic updates, here's the last few weeks in photographic review (credit for all photos go to Dr. Brent Christner, TMFT Brent):

Oct. 29-31: Camp Put-In

Our camp was located on the west lobe of Lake Bonney, next to the Taylor Glacier, in the Taylor Valley. Here's an aerial photo of our site, our camp is in the lower right hand corner (for reference south is pointing up). I am sorry it's too hard to make out the details of our site; when I come home I'll show off plenty of detailed photos of our camp and set-up.

It's no small task to transport 7500 pounds of equipment into the field; here cargo is brought out via a helicopter sling load.








Nov. 1-10: The Tunnel





Before tunneling into the glacier, we had to cut steps into the melt apron to create an approach we'd use to reach our tunneling elevation.

We used electric chain saws for cutting into the glacier; here our tunnel is starting to take form.

Here is our tunnel half way completed.

Looking out from the tunnel












A look down at our work site and tunnel.







Nov. 11-15: The Pit

Once we had a tunnel 38 feet into the glacier, we opened up a room to complete a vertical sampling shaft.

Here is our shaft about 1/4 completed.








About 1/3 of the way down we found the beginning of the sediment layers we're interested in.











Once we were in heavy sediment laden ice, we switched to jackhammering to conserve our chain saw blades.









The completed shaft was 23 feet from the ceiling of our tunnel to floor of the pit.





Nov. 16 - Ongoing: Sampling

With our sampling shaft open, we are able to collect a 4 meter tall profile.

Pierre and I returned to McMurdo station on Friday with our first batch of samples. We'll probably have to run 3 more helicopter flights just to bring all our samples to station. As of Friday morning, there was 80 cm of the column left to collect. Pierre and I will remain on station to receive the samples as they come in over the next couple days. We'll repack the nearly 2000 pounds of ice for transit back to our home institutions. Once all our samples are back in McMurdo, our team will shift into packing mode; we'll close our work site for the field season, pull out our camp, and return our field equipment to the work centers in town. After that, all that remains is getting on a flight home.


So far we've had a safe and extremely productive season and we look forward to returning home earlier than we expected. I look forward to hearing from my friends and family in the coming weeks. Please, e-mail me with questions and comments!

-Tim