Field Safety
In addition to the lab safety trainings that we have received, we spent a large part of today looking at safety out in the field. The weather has been a constant reminder that safety outdoors is the most important part of our field operations. We've had several Condition 2 days, as well as some rapid changes in the weather. I went inside for lunch today and it was beautiful outside. I came out from lunch and it looked like a near white-out!
Have you ever been camping, hiking, boating, or mountain climbing? If so, you know all about safety in the field. Upon arriving here at McMurdo Station, everyone who will be working or conducting science away from McMurdo Station is required to take a survival course.
Basic Skills
First, our instructor Jen Erxleben, from FTSP (Field Safety Training Program) talked about assessing risks in the field. This is an important part of the decision-making process out in the field. Bottom line, you should consider the danger associated with your activity, your preparation and action plan, and what are the possible consequences of your actions.
The team has appointed Theodore as our Risk Assessment Expert. He even has a helpful chart that he got at training.
Cold Weather Injuries
Next, we talked about cold weather injuries as they can be a problem here in Antarctica. We get cold here because our bodies are warmer than the air. Heat energy moves from the warmer object to the cooler object. In this case, heat energy is transferring away from our bodies to the colder air or ground.
There are two major cold weather injuries to watch for:
- Hypothermia
- Frostbite
Hypothermia is a condition where your core body temperature drops below 98.6˚F, normal body temperature. There are several levels of hypothermia, depending upon how low your body temperature drops. At each of these levels, there are some characteristic signs and symptoms to watch for. A lot of times, the person experiencing hypothermia doesn't even realize it.
The different stages of hypothermia, their signs and symptoms, and treatment suggestions.
Depending upon how serious the hypothermia level, there are different treatments. The bottom line is to try to get the person to a warmer environment and call for help on the radio. Sometimes the hypothermia is mild and can be treated by giving the person food, water, more clothing, and suggesting they do a little exercise. Other situations, you need to get the personal to a hospital as soon as possible.
Frostbite is the freezing of a part of the body. Usually the fingers, toes, nose, and ears of a person are places that can get frostbitten, but it can happen anywhere on your skin. Again, there are different levels of frostbite and different treatments. Sometimes you simply need to touch the affected skin with another warm part of your body. Other, more severe cases require going to a hospital.
When you look at people's faces when they are outside, you can see why watching exposed skin is such an important thing.
You can see how exposed skin can be a problem. Look carefully at Mike's face. Can you see how moisture can freeze to your skin? (Photo courtesy of Adam Marsh.)
A little tip: Don't rub the affected area! It can cause more damage. Simple touch it to a warm part of your body.
How do you avoid these cold weather injuries?
The simplest solutions are the best. To avoid a cold weather injury, stay warm! But to figure that out, you need to know how your body produces heat. Just like a car engine, your body needs fuel to burn and produce heat. So, the best thing to do to avoid cold weather injuries is to eat plenty of food and drink plenty of water. There is chemical potential energy stored in that food, and your body can transform that energy to heat energy. Your body needs different foods to be the most effective at producing heat. Sugars and carbohydrates will be quickly used by your body, while proteins and fats will be used over longer time periods.
Even the chocolate bars remind you that they're packed with stored chemical potential energy.
You can also encourage your body to produce heat by being active or exercising. When your muscles convert food to energy of motion (called kinetic energy), there is also heat energy produced. Have you every noticed how much warmer you feel when you are exercising?
Stephanie and Annamarie know how to stay warm outside. A little exercise can go a long way to keep you warm and toasty.
Once your body is producing heat, the secret to staying warm is to use your ECW layering system to slow that heat from transferring away from your body. You can never stop the heat from transferring away, but good clothing can slow down the heat transfer to the air or ground. You'll stay warmer longer.
Annamarie and Mike's heat energy transfer at different rates because of their different clothing choices. (Photo courtesy of Stephanie Guida)
We can't see heat energy transferring, but if you could it might look like these arrows. You can see that Annamarie (small, yellow arrows) is transferring less heat energy more slowly because she's well dressed. She is happy and warm. On the other hand, Mike (big, orange arrows) is transferring heat energy more quickly because he forgot his ECW and he is cold, shivering, and unhappy.
So, when we're working out on the sea ice in cold conditions, you'll see lots of people adjust their clothing, eat chocolate bars, drink water, and exercise (like shoveling or jumping jacks).
Brilliant Thoughts
A couple of pearls of wisdom from our field safety training:
"If you're cold, don't just sit there. Do something about it!"
"Your job is not more important than your safety."
"If your feet are cold and you're miserable, change your socks. It will change your attitude."
But what if you get stuck out there?
That's where the rest of survival training and the survival gear comes in handy. Tomorrow, we'll look at the survival gear we'll carry out in the field. Can you think of some of the survival gear we will need?
Mystery photo 8/30/11
I thought we'd start a little contest. Winners receive a personal postcard from Antarctica. I've set up a space in the forum for guesses. Click here to submit your guess. The first group to post the correct answer wins. Today's is an easy one (if you've been reading the journals). What is this Antarctic mystery item?
Can you guess what this is? A prize awaits the person with the first successful answer in the forum.