Today began with another "Tomato” dive. Nick and Stacy moved the Tomatoes over new dive holes so Stacy could continue collecting samples and photos for her long-term monitoring of the benthic organisms in front of McMurdo. Our dive tender today was Allan Timm. He works in the IT department at McMurdo and this is his first season here.
Allan Timm in the McMurdo Dive Locker
Allan, thankfully, has videography skills that we put to use today. Marcus will be presenting at a conference in Florida long-distance from Antarctica, so Allan videotaped Marcus in the dive hole giving the introduction to his presentation. It was hard for Marcus to talk with all his dive gear on and with frozen lips after the dive!
In the afternoon, Stacy and I went out to the sea ice to drill two 5-inch diameter holes. We had to really push down on the drill to get through some thick ice and at one point the drill was spinning us around like we were on a merry-go-round. We drilled down over 12 feet in the ice so we had five flights attached. It was hard but rewarding work to drill down to the water and then pull water up with the flights to make a clean hole.
Stacy (left) and I drilling holes for the transducers in the sea ice (Photo by Amy _)
You might think the guys should have been drilling the holes since they are stronger than we are - but the guys were doing the mechanical and electrical jobs of getting the ROV's in the water. Everyone does what is needed to get the overall job done, so there we were!
We were lucky to have both a box of food and a campstove in the dive hut to heat water for hot chocolate because the guys came down to the ice with both VideoRay and SCINI and we got them in the water.
Marcus and Stacy watching VideoRay images on the monitor
We are always fascinated to see the images from VideoRay and SCINI. Stacy got to see some of Paul Dayton's structures from 40 years ago that are now colonized by all sorts of interesting organisms.
Look at the intent expressions as they watch the underwater scenes
Marcus is managing the joystick while Stacy selects images to capture with the still image selection. She can identify most of the organisms on the seafloor and on the structures just by sight.
Bryan, Nick and Bob were all working to get SCINI in the water.
Nick making a final adjustment to SCINI
Bob lowering SCINI into the dive hole
Bob is on the radio with Nick and Bryan who are in "command central" in the back of the Tucker. (October -- journal entry has photos of command central)
The guys stayed to "fly" SCINI and get her primed for our upcoming trip to New Harbor, while Stacy and I drove back to town to process her samples from the morning dive and to get ready for the Halloween Dance. We had a beautiful view driving back to town over the sea ice.
Lenticular clouds over McMurdo Station
These clouds probably formed over Mt. Erebus and then drifted over McMurdo. Lenticular clouds are shaped like lenses because they form over mountains. We get similar clouds in Flagstaff, Arizona where I live that form over Mt. Humphreys. What kinds of clouds do you get where you live?
Before I get my costume on for the Halloween party, here is the last team member quiz!
Which is FALSE about Bob? 1. Bob once skied off a 38-foot cliff. 1. Bob spent 8 days completely alone on a small portable ledge on a 3000-foot high rock wall. 2. Bob spent 18 sequential months in Antarctica.
This is not Bob's Halloween Costume. This is Bob on a "normal" day.
Which is FALSE about BLee? 1. BLee once spent 108 days straight underwater. 2. BLee was the chief pilot of the Alvin for over 11 years 3. BLee holds the depth record for the Alvin at 4,402.5 feet.
BLee Williams with his SCINI team jacket, in Moss Landing, CA
Answers to the quiz on Bob 1. False: Even Bob has his limits! 2. True: Bob was on a big wall climb in Yosemite and got caught by a storm. Climbing and its challenges have taught him how to break down problems that seem insurmountable into small parts that can be solved one at a time. 3. True: Bob worked as a communications technician at McMurdo Station for a summer, a winter, and the following summer. He looks back on these months as some of the best months of his life!
Answers to the quiz on BLee 1. True: BLee worked on a Navy submarine and was underwater for three and a half months! 2. True: The Alvin is usually called the "workhorse” of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and has been in almost continuous operation since 1964. BLee was its chief pilot from 1993-2004. 3. False: It is even better. Blee holds the depth record at 4,402.5 meters (14,308 feet or 2.7 miles) deep.
BLee at the controls of the Alvin