CTBT

CTBT - ComprehensiveTest Ban Treaty. This site monitors seismic activity from anywhere in the world including earthquakes and nuclear explosians.

We had the warmest day yet out there. Our job was to close out the camp and take down two polar havens. We rode out in two Pisten Bully tracked vehicles. The top speed is 15 mph and it took two hours to get there. two hours to get there, three hours of work and two hours to return. Here is a picture of our lunch. Almost a picnic. I got sun burned on my neck. It happens.

One of the polar havens and the Pisten Bullys

lunchtime

The CTBT building with all the recording instruments

Cosray

Cosray is the oldest continous research experiment at McMurdo. It has been going since 1962 and is located on the road to Scott Base.

They are measuring nuerons. The tubes are encased in lead and heavy plastic called UMWA to shield out unwanted rays. We had to take everything apart to encase the eperiment in an insulated box so that they can turn the heat off in the building. The experiments put out enough heat on their own.

Here is Aaron Barbee getting the lead out. Each lead ring ways 220 lbs.

The three wind generators visible out the front door of Cosray.

BYRD Deep Field Camp

Thanksgiving dinner

I was on the second flight scheduled to go to BYRD to set up the camp. We ended up being delayed about two and a half weeks and so ended up spending Thanksgiving out there. The five carppenters on the first flight had there hands full. After being delayed they discovered that crates had been blown off the winter berm during the winter. These are very heavy crates. Three crates containing Kuma stoves were completely destroyed. The carps spent three entire days digging boxes out of the snow. Yea, lots of fun. Then they had condition one weather for a couple of days where you can't leave your tent let alone work. They had been there for a total of two weeks when the weather got better and allowed another four of us to come in. The camp was very happy to see us. We were lucky and had pretty good weather and were able to finish setting everything up in a week.

Thanksgiving spread in the galley. Rob and Tom were amazing cooks

Tent City

My tent

One of the outhouses

Setting up Jamesway vestibule

Setting up the "Tweedy" tent

Setting up the Galley RAC tent

The "Chief", the carps warming tent and hang out place

Havoc on the winter berm

BYRD Carps

Sparky, Laramie, Wyoming

Me

George Harrison, Gunnison, CO

Grey Davis, Sandpoint, Idaho

Kristen Lamberson digging "deadmen"

Rob Holtry, St. Louis, MO, previously Key West

Jeremy Stephens, Wyoming

Ben Satterwhite, Ops GA

Me

Tim Burns, Montana

Kristin Lambertson, aka Sparky

Grey Davis

Rob Holtry

George Harrison

Aaron Barbee

Jeremy Stephens

Carpenters waiting for the Air Force C-130 to take them back to McMurdo

Ob Tube (Observation Tube)

Robyn with our bikes and the dicovery hut, McMurdo and Ob Hill in the background.

Still trying to fly to BYRD deep field camp after a week of moostly weather delays, but I think that we may actually fly today.

Last friday Robyn C. (also known as Robyn with a "Y", as there are two Robyns/Robins in the Carp Shop who happen to be roommates) and I got a what would normally be an ordinary work order of fixing a window in a fish hut next to the Ob Tube.

It was a beautiful day. We took a shuttle as close as we could get to hut point and then walked down. We investigated the situation and then walked the fifteen minutes back to the Carp Shop. We did this twice and then went to lunch. After lunch Robyn had the idea to bike back to the hut which we did. Pretty nice day already, but it gets better. While we were there, the divers showed up and were preparing to dive and so we went down in the Ob Tube to watch them underwater. We photographed them , and they photographed us. Some days are better than others and this one was amazing. Well, I'm off to BYRD like a prom dress after a quick breakfast in the galley.

Waiting to go in the Ob Tube on a different day.

Robyn and her new seal friend in fish hut #6

The divers getting suited up in their dry suits

My pictures of the divers taken from the Ob Tube

Us inside the Ob Tube. It hangs about twenty feet below the ice. It really is just a big tube. Not thre best picture. You can see Robyn, my hat, but Val is obscured. The tube is not real big. Tight with two, so with three it is a wee bit cozy.

The diver's pictures.

Good work if you can get it!

Seals

I've been working for a few days in one of the fish huts on the sea ice. These huts have a dive hole where the scuba divers in dry suits can enter the water and study the underwater sea life. It becomes a convenient breathing hole where the seals can come up for air. A few came up to say hello while we were there. Some get scared and make a hasty exit when they see people, but some are not so shy. Damn cute those seals.