Checking the Cracks: Sea Ice Training

         One of the perils on working down in Antarctica is the fact you are on Ice. Whether it be the glaciers  the snow pack or the Ice shelf, you have the chance of slipping through the cracks, so to speak. Here at McMurdo, there is a lot of traveling being done on the Ice Shelf. Either the permanent or the winter ice is thick, but during the summer, it tends to crack due to changes in the currents, the tides or the environment. We have to be diligent and stay focused  to our surroundings. This training taught us the tools to measure a crack in the ice and to gauge it's safety to cross in whatever vehicle we can travel.  We first had to identify a crack, what type of crack, how wide the crack and how the thick the ice was. We then have this funky chart which is confusing to me, but I had to throw logic out the door. This was just another thing 15 years in the Navy taught me to do. I had a hard time with it then, and still do, apparently. You have to find a spot adjacent to the route you are traveling and then mark about 10-12 feet of space spanning both sides of the crack. You then clear any of the snow that is covering the ice. This could take sometime as you have to dig to the actual ice surface. Once that is done, you begin to drill holes into the ice about 11 inches apart and drill all the way until you reach the surface of the icy water beneath. After that, you take a measuring tool to take the depth of the ice at those points. Mind you, you are taking readings and drawing a rough draft of the terrain so you can kind of have a picture of what you are doing. Finally, after all the readings are completed, you can see, using a standard chart(no picture) to see if the vehicle(s) you and your party are driving can safely continue on your journey, or have to travel along the crack to find a safe enough spot to cross. this can take an hour or four depending on the thickness of the ice. After spending about that hour learning that, we learned how to make anchors in the ice in the off chance we need to hunker down in a tent while hanging out, working on the ice. That was it, my day in sea ice training.

The contraption that took us to where we needed to go. 

Here is what they named Backhoe Crack looking to the north.

Here is that same crack looking south.

This is Ned, our field instructor for the course. We had classroom instruction prior to this day.

Here, we have the strip of ice we are testing after the snow is cleared.

Here is a video of us drilling one of the holes

Still photo of one of the last holes being drilled out.

Here is the measuring tape used to gauge the depth of the hole.

The data we collected from the site. You cannot see much and I was disappointed that I did not get a better shot after the fact.

Here is my ice anchor. It was pretty tough to get the holes made. I found a way though.

Here is a seal chilling on the ice. This was the best of three I took of the lazy sea slug.

A view of The Royal Society Mountains. Names such as each mountain is names after a member of the British Club.

Mount Discovery. You'll see a lot pictures of this because it seems each day  I am here, the reflection of the sun makes it seem like I am seeing it for the first time.