22 November, 2001

After a good night of sleep, I tip-toed out of my dorm and made my way to the dome for a bite to eat. I have always been appreciative of a well cooked meal, so I must give the cooks at the South Pole a tremendous amount of credit. They put together amazing meals that not only taste good, but provide the necessary calories for working in cold climates. An interesting observation I have noted about my own eating habits is that I am drinking a large amount of water, about a gallon a day. Antarctic is considered one of the driest spots on Earth, so keeping hydrated is of extreme importance.

About 0.5 miles from the dome is my current work site. The area is called the Dark Sector. The name is due to the fact that there is very little electromagnetic radiation emitted here. The building I am working in is called the SPASE (South Pole Air Shower Experiment) Shack. There are currently three of us working outside the SPASE Shack: Mats Pettersson, Jerry Piorier, and myself.

Jerry is an engineer who works for the University of Deleware department of physics. Many people consider Jerry the backbone behind the projects occuring in the SPASE Shack. He is responsible for engineering and constructing the equipment that is utilized in this experiment.

To learn more about the SPASE2 Project, refer to the following webssite:

http://www.bartol.udel.edu/spase

The three of us spent our afternoon digging out an old detector so we could remove the cables that connected the detector to the SPASE Shack. We had to do this becuase tomorrow a bulldozer will be excavating a site nearby for a new detector that we will be installing soon. The cables had to be removed so they were not accidently severed by the bulldozer.

After dinner, I along with many of the other "beakers", code name for scientists, volunteered to help the kitchen staff with preparing for our Thanksgiving celebration. We spent a few hours peeling potatos, followed by chopping celery which had just arrived on a cargo flight. The folks at pole get very excited when a plane lands becuase that means there may be fresh vegetables on board, something commonly known as "freshies."

Since I could not fall asleep due to the continuous sunlight, I ended up staying awake. One of the satellites that allows us contact with the outside world appeared above the horizon shortly after mid-night. I took this opportunity to catch up on my e-mails and update my journals.

Biological Weather

Saturated Oxygen: 89 Temperature: -41

Pulse Rate: 98 Windchill: -58

Jerry showing the instrumentation found within the SPASE Shack

The Ceremonial South Pole