The team moved to Site 5 on December 8, 2008. Site 5 is the location of one of the soil pits dug by Dave Marchant (See 22 November 2008 journal entry). Dave uncovered a volcanic ash layer directly on top of cobble-rich ice (the cobbles represent an ancient rock fall onto the glacier accumulation zone). The team needs to drill beneath this layer to determine if pristine ice lies beneath it. As mentioned previously, this will be the hardest drilling challenge of the season.
Base map provided by J Walker RPSC 29 November 2006.
Dave Marchant clears the ash from the ice in preparation for drilling at Site 5.
The drill was not able to penetrate the rocks at site 5. The final depth reached was 0.7 m. As readers may recall, one of Dave's drilling goals was to test the new ICDS (Ice Core Drilling Services) drill. Drilling at Site 5 revealed that ICDS needs to explore a different technology to penetrate the rocks beneath the site.
The team began pulling out of camp in stages beginning Monday, December 8 and by Thursday, December 11, 2008 the camp pullout was complete and the entire team was back in McMurdo. This was my last helicopter ride to McMurdo and fortunately it ended in a different route. The pilot went to McMurdo via Taylor Glacier and Round Mountain to refuel. Enjoy my photos for the last time.
Panoramic view of the Quartermain Mountains.
The enclosed area is a portion of the Simmons Basin which contains several meltwater pools.
Simmons Lake is a large meltwater pool.
Cavendish Rocks in foreground.
Meltwater Pools on the McMurdo Ice Shelf.
It's not over yet. When the team returns to McMurdo there is a lot to do before leaving the ice. We still have to sort through the camping gear, samples, and the team has to complete lots of paperwork.