back if you've received notification, and I could try to work out
a few kinks if there are any.
I can set up 10 people to receive automatic notification.
I plan on sending an email to the rest of you with a link to the URL
of new blog entries.
I'm scheduled to leave Thursday, Jan. 1 from Sioux Falls.
All but one of our team will meet up in L.A. for the flight
to New Zealand. The sixth team member is traveling from
Poland. We're scheduled to arrive in Christchurch (CHC)
Jan. 3, because we cross the date line AND it is a long flight.
We were lucky and are scheduled on a Quantas Airlines flight
from LAX to Auckland.
Here's where I'm staying while in CHC:
http://www.croydon.co.nz/main.html
We are scheduled to depart Jan. 5 from Christchurch,
on an 11-hour flight to Antarctica. The NY National Guard has
the NSF contract for flight support, and we are scheduled
to take a C-130 military cargo flight. That is how most scientists
get "to the ice", on cargo flights.
Between the 3rd and 5th we have to check out all of the gear
and clothing they issue. And I have to get a flu shot there.
I may only have a half-day or so for sight seeing.
Hopefully we'll get stuck there a few days either on the way in
or on the way out.
We'll arrive in Antarctica at McMurdo Station,
landing on an ice runway. McMurdo is one of 3 stations operated
by the U.S. Antarctic Program. Very good official information is at:
http://www.usap.gov/index.cfm
After getting settled in at the base, we have to take survival
training to qualify for going out to do field work. Don't worry,
the weather is nice there in Jan., it's summer. Average high 33,
average low 22. We'll also test out all our gear and
confirm helicopter support scheduling.
We are scheduled to go out into the field about a week after arriving,
and will be out f0r at least 2 weeks. While in the field I will be
essentially out of contact. After returning to McMurdo,
it takes a few days to get checked in and all the gear cleaned up,
etc., etc. During that time I should be in email contact.
We can also call out to the U.S. from there.
We will be tent camping and hiking around the Dry Valleys
in areas like this to collect control points so that older aerial
photographs can be registered to the earth's surface and
compared to newer data.
We are currently scheduled to depart McMurdo for Christchurch
on 1/28, and depart Christchurch for the U.S. on 1/29,
but all of that can change between now and then.
I've been counseled to expect schedules to change on a daily
basis. So, don't use this posting as my final schedule, but
rather a very rough outline of one of many possible future schedules.....
I'll try to post from Christchurch, but if that's too hectic
you'll have to wait until I reach McMurdo. I should know
more schedule information once we're there.
I'll post as often as I can, and hope to include photos,
but it may be sporadic.
Visualize Whirled Peas.
