6 June 2008 First Plane Back to Civilization

June 6, 2008 – First Plane Back to Civilization

Big day today!

Camp rose early as a plane was coming in to take 18 people back to civilization.  Many of the people leaving were construction workers who were here to get ready for the science teams to show up.  Many of the structures and the power "lines” you will see throughout this journal were constructed by them just for summer research and will be torn down come fall.  They worked long hard days in extreme conditions to make our work here possible.  Now there are 30 that remain in camp.  No planes out until June 23!

Hercules with skis is the major mode of transport for cargo and people to remote arctic places. Here, Barry Lefer bids farewell to some of the crew as they head home.

Today is the day of balloons!  The science techs launched a radiosonde balloon at about 4:00pm.  The balloon rises high into the atmosphere and sends back information about atmospheric pressure, temperature, ozone, etc via radio (hence the name).  It travels on and on, higher and higher, until it finally pops.  As science tech Steve stated, "Farewell little balloon…Farewell”!

Science Techs Steve and Andy launch a radiosonde weather balloon in snowy conditions and high wind. The balloon transmits back information about weather conditions from high in the atmosphere before bursting and falling back to earth.

Craig Clements, Barry Lefer and I have been working very hard to prepare to launch a balloon of our own.  However, our balloon (actually called a "tethersonde”) has a long rope (tether) and an electric winch so we can retrieve the balloon and the expensive sensors that go up in the air with it.   You will probably see much of this "blimp” throughout the next month and a half.  We are collecting data on wind speed, air temperature, ozone, etc.

Craig Clements and Craig Beals prepare for the first flight of the tethersonde. This "blimp" is attached to a wire so it can be lowered back to the ground after it has taken measurements of the atmosphere.

Food update: Lunch was Grilled sandwiches with turkey, Swiss cheese and sautéed onions; tomato soup and salad.  Dinner: Barbequed flank steak, grilled veggies, mushroom tortellini with browned butter (for real…I couldn’t make this stuff up!) and salad!  [Side note: Have I mentioned that there are ALWAYS fresh baked cookies at the Big House!  One can stop in for a hot cup of coffee and a cookie to warm up!]

Just turned to 1:00 am (Saturday morning) and we are still out at the Satellite Camp (our distant research camp away from the main camp) and we are still collecting data with the blimp.  The conditions are just right and we want to take advantage of it.  We’ll be working long into the morning hours!

Stay Warm!!