It's been another long period with no updates, but yesterday WISSARD showed some renewed life. I got my PQ packet (Physical Qualifications) in an email. When I printed it out and stacked it up, it was just under 5mm high. It doesn't sound like much, but its around 40 pages all together. I guess the rational is that if you can get it filled out correctly, get the doctor appointments scheduled and attended, and generally survive that ordeal, you are fit enough to take the cold and wind in Antarctica.
Deployment dates are still vague, but it's looking like December 2012 through early February 2013 are the most likely. The core activities of the project are becoming more focused on drilling into the sub-glacial lake environment, sampling the waters for biological activity, and doing it all without introducing contaminants into the sub-glacial ecosystem. I'll be making an update in a few days on the whole drilling/sampling process, but first I have to do some research to make sure I'm current on the plan too.
Did you catch the phrase I used in the last paragraph - sub-glacial ecosystem? The lakes and interconnecting streams that lie beneath the Whillans Ice Sheet are a distinct ecosystem which has not seen daylight in many 10's or 100's of thousands of years. It's assumed that there may be bacteria or other very simple organisms down there, but until samples are taken, no one can be sure. It is very exciting to be a part of this pioneering effort, getting to watch the process in action and be able to communicate with the scientists as they see into this environment for the first time. I hope you will continue to follow along as I learn more about it too.
More to come - stay tuned!