Astrobiologist Dale Andersen Antarctic Status Report 31 October 2021: Gear Prep At Novo Station
We had our first full day here at the ice-runway at Novo Station. We spent most of the day getting several of our snowmobiles working and that have been in cold storage since we last used them in 2019 and assembling and organizing cargo we brought down with us on the flight.
I have additional gear (tents, stoves, camping equipment, science gear, communications equipment, and diving gear) stored in several locations here as well, and we spent half the day pulling some of the items we will need for the upcoming traverse to Untersee. We will need to work a few more days with the gear and cargo getting organized and ready to go into the field. But we are also awaiting some new snowmobiles (BRP Lynx Commanders) and other gear that hopefully will make it down on the next flight.
Our weather has been pretty nice since our arrival with mostly clear skies, light winds and air temps a pretty reasonable -12°C during most of the day. But we may see a shift tomorrow night with a front moving in with higher winds and blowing snow. We may have to work inside for a couple of days or so if the weather deteriorates. But, that is part of what one expects and not a big deal.
So, all in all a great day, and it is wonderful to return to one of the last real frontiers left on the planet – Antarctica!
Reports for this field season and several previous seasons prior to the hiatus due to the global pandemic
– Dale Andersen’s Field Reports: October 2021
– Dale Andersen’s Field Reports: December 2019
– Dale Andersen’s Field Reports: November 2019
– Dale Andersen’s Field Reports: October 2019
– Dale Andersen’s Field Reports: January 2018
– Dale Andersen’s Field Reports: February 2018
– Dale Andersen’s Field Reports: December 2017
– Dale Andersen’s Field Reports: November 2017
and
Keith Cowing: These updates in 1996 and 1997 were done directly by Dale Andersen while in Antarctica to a webserver in my condo in Reston, Virginia. As best we can tell this was one of the earliest – if not the first – website to be maintained from Antarctica.
Astrobiology
