Astrobiologist Dale Andersen Antarctic Status Report 6 December 2019: One Week Left For Science
Last night our weather shifted from sunny skies to low-cloud, light snow and light but gusty winds, our highest gust today being about 30 knots. The forecast is for more of the same so we must be prepared tonight for high winds that could descend upon us at most any time.
Although the day was not great for field work some work was carried out in the Aurkjosen Cirque by grad student Tim Roy – he spent several hours collecting additional samples and data that will help describe the holocene history of this interesting valley which once hosted a lake somewhat similar to Untersee until it dried down leaving only traces of its former existence in the permanently frozen valley floor.
Grad student Benoit Faucher also spent the day collecting additional control points with a high-resolution dGPS system. The rest of us spent most of the day working on samples collected over the last several days or working on equipment that will be used in the coming days.
We have just over a week left for science before we begin closing down the camp and with much left to do, we will certainly be kept busy over the next few days weather permitting.
– Latest Weather Observations for Novolazarevskaja, Australian Bureau of Meteorology
– Antarctic weather satellite imagery
– Earlier reports
Astrobiology
