The McMurdo record player

After a smooth C-17 flight I have arrived at McMurdo Station.

From Antarctica 2009

Life is now a combination of briefings and trainings, and pulling, packing, and preparing equipment. All the places and many of the people are exactly the same. Its feels timeless returning year after year. The analogy that I think of is an old record player. At the end of the season, the record player arm moves up. The record keeps spinning and time passes. Then upon one's return the record arm lowers and you pick up right where you left off. or maybe the record player keeps skipping in place...

delayed in Chc and South Shore KAP

A 430am knock at the door... flight delayed for 24 hrs. Our second delay. I used the first delay to capture some kite photos at the South Shore. The South Shore is located at the end of a long peninsula outside of Christchurch. The spit creates an inland estuary on one side, and the Pacific on the other.

Good conditions, nice steady wind, about 7 to 10 knots. I forgot sunblock and had to wrap jackets around my head and hide under shrubs. I took over 500 images. It is a project to sift through them all, but I am getting better. The steady wind allowed me to capture my first few panorama images:

From KAP

After spending time at the spit I headed over to the estuary where the tide was starting to rise. Beautiful moss on the sand, with very interesting color in the water:

From KAP

dust off the rss feeds, shew the crickets.

Dear all five of my readers,
With about 24 hours of travel since pushing off at PDX, I am back in Christchurch on my way to the ice, season six. psheeew.
sincerely,
basagix

in space

Talk about some interesting field work, I just found a link to space shuttle radio:

http://www.nasa.gov/178952main_Mission_Audio_UP.asx

It reminds me of trouble shooting Explorer's Cove met station in November in Antarctica, except these guys are weightless, orbiting Earth, and their equipment costs a bit more.

Settled back in sunny Portland, Oregon.

Africa photos: Safari, Zanzibar, Kilimanjaro, and Rhonda's photos too.

Christchurch, New Zealand... such a wonderful place for re-entry. Adjustments needed for night, green things, traffic, and people are always surprising. Had a relaxing day, despite continued over stimulation. Getting use to the rhythm of the modern world. Tomorrow I head back to the states in one very long day.

The ever present hum of McMurdo

I have returned to McMurdo (aka town, MCM, mcmurder) to wrap up the season. The tasks at hand are to return issued equipment, have an outbrief meeting, ship items back to the States, and backup all data collected. Showers, soft beds, frosty boy and catching up with folks are the good parts of town. But after being in the field for 12 weeks, town requires some adjustments.
First, there are a lot of people here (hundreds compared to six).
Second, the buildings are overheated and dry.
And most of all there is the ever present hum. 24/7. I recently became curious about the different sources of the hum. Inside buildings the venting systems run continuously. The sound of machines, and computers create a persistent vibration. Outside are all sorts of vehicles, especially large vehicles including huge CATs (loaders, trucks, tractors) , transport vans, and ATVs. I am not sure if others are aware of the hum and i imagine you get use to it. After 3 months of living in the valleys I usually feel ill for the first 24 hours entering town. I think in part sensory overload and part indoor living. It makes me appreciate the good quiet life in the dry valleys. For now, I am looking forward to heading north, hopefuly later this afternoon.