2 June, 2001

Saturday, June 2, 2001

I am in Boston today for a meeting at the Boston Museum of Science. Everyone who is involved with the U.S. component of the ITASE 2001 trip to Antarctica came for a planning session. Paul Mayewski, the principal investigator, lead the meeting, which consisted mostly of the logistics of transportation to, and working in, Antarctica.

The goal of the expedition is to collect a total of 800 meters of 3"-diameter ice core for shipment back to the U.S. This year's expedition will have two Challenger tractors that can go 12 mph. There will be a total of 13 people going, and they are hoping for 2 blue rooms (work space and berthing), about four tents for extra sleeping quarters, a kitchen, and a polar pooper. All of these buildings will be put on large sleds and dragged by the tractors. We will also take 2 snowmobiles.

We will fly from McMurdo Station to Byrd Camp (a 5-hour flight). The team will travel 300 km to Siple Dome, stopping at seven different sites to drill and collect ice core. We will stop at each drill site for about 4 days each, depending on the amount of work needed there. We will not have a freezer this year, so the cores will have to be buried as they are drilled and then picked up on the way back from the last drilling site.