Astrobiologist Dale Andersen Antarctic Status Report 12 November 2018: Better Weather
“The last two days have been pretty nice weather-wise, and very productive.”
“We have replaced all of the tents lost to the storm and tomorrow we will complete the camp setup with the installation of the science tent, the second 10×12 ft Weatherport structure.
We still have a few challenges ahead of us before we are able to engage in our scientific studies nevertheless, slowly but surely we are getting there. Currently our camp consists of three Mountain Hardware Stronghold tents, one Alaska Tarp & Tent pyramid tent and one Weatherport.
This afternoon we also re-drilled the water-hole on the lake and refilled our two 20 liter Igloo water coolers, so we are set for water for a few days. During the next day or so we need to organize the lab tent, get the hole-melter (for melting diving holes through the 3.5m thick lake ice) operational and check to see if the dive compressor was damaged. Once we have confirmed that they both work we will start working on a dive hole for sampling. But, not before the camp is fully operational, safe and warm.
Safety is the first consideration in all that we do, and having shelter from the elements comes ahead of all else.”
