14 November, 1996

November 14th, 1996

Preparation

We started today at 5:30 am in the hope of beginning to catch up with our computer work. We ate breakfast at 6:00am, then started work. At 7:30 we went to a waste management lecture. In Antarctica there are 26 different categories of waste. With the exception of sewage, all waste generated on the ice is "retrograded" to the US. Over 70 percent of the waste is recycled, which is remarkably high. As a result, everything is sorted into special bins.

Next we stopped off for a science meeting and a tour of the Crary labs. This is where most of the lab space here in Mcmurdo is located as well as where the computers are. We also then started planning what food we will be taking with us into the field.

After lunch we went to learn how to set up one type of tent we will be using in the field. All of the gear we will be using on our seven day stay at Ferrel weather station is stored in a cage at the Berge Field Center. Suruj and I then climbed observation hill (750 feet high) for a breath-taking view of the surroundings. The weather has been nice, much like a cold, clear January morning in Indiana. I hope it holds for our field training tommorrow!