The Sun, the Population of McMurdo has Increased and a New Storm is on the Way

The storm that started last Saturday night finally left us on Thursday morning. Wednesday was quite an exciting day. Antarctica was really showing her strength with hurricane force winds and blowing snow making for whiteout conditions. The wind noise and shaking buildings were awesome but scary. Whenever the winds somewhat abated there was travel allowed between some buildings by use of a rope system that the Search and Rescue Team had laid out. All movement was coordinated with dispatch at the firehouse.

Thursday mid-morning the weather cleared and the winds dropped down to 20 knots. A few of us had arranged a boondoggle for a sunrise trip to Arrival Heights. Since the weather cleared we left town at noon. At first it was overcast but then the clouds cleared and the sun appeared as the dozen of us cheered. It had been exactly four months since we had last set our eyes on this beautiful sight. Even though it was windy and biting cold we felt like "tanning". We all had a sack lunch and ate while we took in some rays. A few hours later the sun set. 

Yesterday evening The first Winfly C-17 landed and the population swelled by 120 people. There are five more cargo and passenger flights scheduled. By next Monday McMurdo will swell to 450 people.  We will then be isolated for the month of September which is supposedly the worst weather of the winter.

Mt. Erebus on the right.

The island to the left of the sun is called "Inaccessible Island". It was named by Robert Falcon Scott because of the difficulty in reaching it.

Glorious!

I'm on the left.

Another storm is on the way.

Regional Summary	8/24/2012 5:25:21 AM
Welcome to our new comers to beautiful McMurdo by the sea. Playground of the rich and famous. Now grab a shovel and get ready to dig out as snow and high winds develop throughout the area today and continue through tomorrow. A rather large Low pressure system looks to throw out an anchor pummeling the region for the next 24 to 48 hours. Stay Warm McMurdo......

Antarctica is Showing Her Strength

McMurdo is in the midst of what is called a classic old fashioned Antarctic storm. This system moved in Saturday night and is forecast to start clearing Thursday. The town has gone in and out of condition 1 all night.

Unfortunately this is also winfly week with a C-17 scheduled to fly in new people and supplies (six flights) in preparation for main body arrival (summer season) in October. The first flight did arrive here Monday evening and circled the area for 40 minutes before boomeranging (returning) back to Christchurch. It was a dangerous time as all the runway operations personnel and people leaving were stuck on the ice when condition 1 was announced. That was also 11 hours in the air for the 120 people onboard the C-17. The flights were delayed again yesterday and today (Wednesday). As a result all the manifests are now piling up and tomorrow's forecast is questionable. Onboard that first flight are 991 pounds of freshies that we are anxiously awaiting and also mail. In the meantime sleep is eluding as all of the buildings shake through the pounding wind. We are also waiting to see our first sunrise. Today's sunrise is at 11:09 am and sets at 2:26 pm.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHvh9jYH__E&feature=youtu.be

A 6 minute YouTube video walking to work this morning.



An August 22nd 11:00 am update: McMurdo is now condition 1. During condition 1 nobody is allowed outside. Two short videos showing whiteout conditions.

Condition 1: a whiteout.

Regional Summary	8/22/2012 3:50:14 AM
From the McMurdo Storm Team 2 Severe Winter Weather Action Desk. Expect the winds to continue howling through tonight and start to ease tomorrow as skies begin to clear. Conditions on ice areas will be much worse wind wise and should be avoided. So it might be a good time to relax in a comfy chair with a nice cup of joe or some hot chocolate. Stay Warm McMurdo......

Weather Conditions

McMurdo

1

T-Site

1

Arrival Heights

1

Scott Base

1

Road to Scott Base

1

Ice Runway

1

Road to Ice Runway

1

Pegasus Field

1

Road to Pegasus Field

1

Preparing for Winfly, Ice Cream and Antarctic Awards Ceremony and a Delay in Viewing the First Sunrise

The penguin Olympics have started.

The sky from the ice shelf. Photo credit to Fleet Ops.

Ivan the Terra Bus preparing for next weeks travel to and from the runway.

Ivan parked in front of my dorm.

McMurdoites (or McWeirdoites) having fun Part 2.

My friend Matt had a birthday and he invited six of his friends to the Crary Lab for a very special treat - nitrogen ice cream. I had never seen this made before so it was certainly a different way to make it. A mixture is made of milk, cream, chocolate syrup, and sugar. Then liquid nitrogen is introduced to freeze the mixture. It really tasted good.

Crary Lab Zen Garden.

Liquid Nitrogen

Ice cream mixture.

Adding liquid nitrogen to the mixture and stirring.

Very tasty.

The final product.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAjj3eKaA20&list=PL1EE5BA217494D185&feature=plpp_play_all

A YouTube link showing the process.

McMurdo Station's Antarctic Award Ceremony

History of the Antarctic Service Medal

The Antarctic Service Medal (ASM) was established by the 86^th Congress on July 12, 1961 to commemorate polar service.  The medal is awarded to any member of the United States Armed Forces, any U.S. citizen, or any resident alien of the United States who has served on the Antarctic continent or in its contiguous waters for a minimum of 30 days.

The ASM has been presented to qualifying participants beginning with the members of United States Navy Operation “Highjump” under late Rear Admiral Richard Byrd beginning January 2, 1946.

The medal was designed by Rawson K. Moore and sculpted by Thomas Hudson Jones, both of the institute of Heraldry.  The design received final approval in 1963.

Antarctic Service Medal Symbolism

Obverse Side

In the center of the bronze medallion, there is a view of a polar landscape on which stands a man in Antarctic clothing.  The word “Antarctica” is to the left of the man and the word “Service” is to his right.

The man is standing erect, his eyes on the far horizon.  He is standing with his feet in an attitude of stability and determination.  His arms are extended and his hands are closed.  The attributes of courage, devotion, and honor are represented by his demeanor.  Those qualities best exemplify the traditions of Antarctic service.

The uniform is based on the one worn by Admiral J. Dufek who led an advance party in 1956 to build the first permanent station at the South Pole.  The hood is thrown back suggesting readiness for instant action.  The vast empty regions of the polar landscape are conveyed by the distant mountains.  The modern bold letters emphasize the aggressiveness of the scientific aspects of these expeditions.

Reverse Side

In the center of the medallion, the continent of Antarctica is shown from a polar projection with geodesic lines.  Across the continent are the words, Courage, Strength, and Devotion, which reflect the high standards of the men and women assigned to the expeditions.

A decorative motif of penguins and marine life comprises the border, symbolizing the marine life of the area.  The border forms a complete circle, alluding to the unity and teamwork necessary to ensure success of the expeditions and also refers to the thoroughness of scientific endeavors.

Ribbon

The outer black and dark blue bands make up five-twelfths of the ribbon and represent the five months of total darkness.  The graded center comprising seven-twelfths of the ribbon represents the seven months of light and the Aurora Austalis.

Devices

People who remain on the continent during the winter months are awarded “Wintered Over” clasps.  A bronze clasp indicates one winter; a gold clasp indicates two winters; and a silver clasp signifies three of more winters.

We received our Antarctic Service Medals.

For our first sunrise (yesterday, August 19th) Antarctica decided to show another one of her alluring attributes. Good or bad Antarctic storms are just as beautiful as a clear starry aurora filled sky. At first it is the sound of the wind pounding on the wall letting you know she was showing her harsh side. When the building starts shaking I smile knowing that we are in for the long haul. This started last Saturday evening and is continuing to build. We are now in condition 2. The walks outside are treacherous and demanding and requires full extreme weather gear. Our viewing of the sunrise will wait for another day.

Today is the first Winfly flight. Just as during a space shuttle final countdown beginning in poor weather when most people say "No way, it will never launch in this weather" so goes the first C-17 flight that departed Christchurch 2 hours ago. It will probably boomerang (the expression given to an incoming flight that turns around and heads back to Christchurch due to poor weather in Antarctica). But that happens frequently and if there is anything I have learned here is patience. In Antarctica nothing can be rushed and changes are the norm. 

Several months ago I flexed my work schedule and started working out with the firemen in the gym at 9:30 each morning. It was brutal but fun and continues to be. Several of them are leaving this week. I was presented with their official polo shirt. How cool is that! In my next life maybe I'll be one.

McMurdo Movie Channels, Radio Station, and a Glowing Nacreous Afternoon

McMurdo television station is operated by the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS). A friend of mine is the broadcast engineer and I took a tour of the facility. There are about 800 movies on station in the Hi8 format. The format really surprised me. Each of the two movie channels show 4 movies each day. When I arrived here I noticed that several of the movies shown were not available on DVD yet. They were still showing in theaters.

Two banks of Hi8 tape players and timers.

The navy converts all the movies to Hi8 tape format. Sometime in the future the station will upgrade to DVD format.

Twelve channels of tv.

John loads all the next days movies and sets the timers before he leaves for the day.

There are 800 Hi8 tapes.

One of the timers.

Three channels (BBC, New Zealand TV and Australia TV are fed to McMurdo from Scott Base.

New NSF vans that came in on the ship in February. They have been moved here from the Helicopter airfield.

The wheels/tires are way too small.

A nacreous afternoon.

So many colors.

The sky does not look real. What an afternoon! Eventually the -41 degF chilled us and we had to go inside.

Mt. Erebus

Three 'wing' clouds stacked together.

Looking across the sound from Hut Point.

What a beautiful day but oh so cold.

I have never seen a more beautiful sky.

McMurdo Radio Station (an interesting history)

McMurdo radio station goes high-tech with retro vinyl

www.AntarcticGuide.com
http://antarcticsun.usap.gov/features/contenthandler.cfm?id=2604
Turn up the volume
McMurdo radio station goes high-tech but retains retro vinyl collection By Peter Rejcek, Antarctic Sun Editor
Posted February 24, 2012
Army Sgt 1st Class Bart Schrum had never been to Antarctica, but he was one of two people assigned to upgrade the civilian radio station used by the U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP) out of McMurdo Station.
There was one odd thing about the job. The schematics called for a couple of turntables to play vinyl records.
“There shouldn’t be turntables on there,” he recalled thinking.
It turns out there was nothing wrong with the drawings. McMurdo just happens to boast one of the largest — and possibly one of the last — record collections of any media outlet overseen by the Defense Media Activity (DMA). Depending on who’s doing the counting, the collection ranges from 12,000 to 20,000 records.
“I’ve never seen vinyls until I got here,” said Interior Communications Electrician 2 Jessica Lopez, who, along with Schrum, spent about three weeks in McMurdo earlier in the 2011-12 field season to install a fancy new digital-analog radio station system. Two people from DMA typically come down every year to McMurdo for routine maintenance on the audio and visual systems, as well as for special projects like the radio station upgrade.
DMA is the one-stop-shop for all communications and media under the Department of Defense. The U.S. military, as part of Operation Deep Freeze , supports the National Science Foundation’s research mission in Antarctica, primarily in transportation and logistics, including the operation of cargo flights aboard the huge C-17 Globemaster III and the charter of fuel and resupply vessels every year.
And, of course, the military supports the TV and radio station operations. The relationship dates back to the 1950s when the U.S. Navy was assigned to run all of the day-to-day operations for research in the Antarctic — a job now done mostly by civilian contractors.
The original radio station was on the air as early as 1963 under the call sign KMSA, according to Billy-Ace Penguin Baker, a retired Navy radioman who, between 1962 and 1980, spent four winters and 15 summers in Antarctica as part of Operation Deep Freeze.
By 1971, the call sign was WASA, for W Antarctic Support Activities, and by 1975, it was AFAN (American Forces Antarctic Network).
“During my first two winters [1963 and 1967], the radio station was located in the same building with the bowling alley,” Baker said, referring to a structure that was torn down just a few years ago. “In those days the retail store, the barbershop, and beer sales were also located in that building.
“During that timeframe there [were] no disc jockeys, and only music tapes were played. During the winter, we moved it up to the transmitter site and the guys up there changed the tapes,” he added.
Eventually, the radio station was moved to its current location in Building 155, with the record collection tucked into a nearby room. Building 155 is also home to McMurdo’s dining hall and kitchen, retail store, along with offices and residential dorm rooms.
Today, there are three radio stations (and several TV stations). The original radio station is now Ice 104.5 FM, boasting 50 watts of power, about enough to send a signal maybe 10 miles onto the ice shelf, if any seals are tuning in.
The new $100,000 radio station setup boasts some 38,000 digital songs, allowing the station’s 30-plus volunteer DJs to click and drag their sets into a queue. The library includes everything from rock to country to rap.
“I don’t have to search for my music. It’s all there in a row. Everything I need is there. It really eases the pain as far as what a DJ has to do in terms of research,” Schrum said of the new software.
On a Tuesday night, volunteer DJ Tristan Eames of New Hampshire was in the radio station, working out the kinks of the new system by queuing up a song by the Kinks. He was particularly excited to spin some tunes on the new turntables.
“I’m going to play Nirvana on vinyl, because how often do you get to play Nirvana on vinyl?” said Eames, who works in supply for the kitchen in his first year on the Ice. “I was blown away by the records. … It’s a great way to explore music.”
Rumor has it that at least part of the vinyl collection came from Vietnam, and that many of the records were played by none other than Adrian Cronauer on his radio show in Saigon in 1965-66. Cronauer was the music DJ who bucked the military brass, as portrayed by Robin Williams in the 1987 comedy “Good Morning, Vietnam.”