7 July 2008 Short-timer

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July 7, 2008 – Monday - Short-timer

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As this day comes to a close, I am finding it hard to believe that I will be leaving Summit Camp in 3 days. With the Hercules leaving here early on Thursday, I actually only have 2 full days left! Then, off to Kangerlussuaq, Greenland for two days before hopping flights home on the 12th.

The short amount of time remaining is sure to fly by. Tomorrow morning we are expecting a dozen teachers from Denmark, Greenland and the US as well as a few students! We will spend the morning showing them around the camp and introducing them to our instruments at Sat Camp. At noon, when we have showed them all of our research, we will begin the long process of tearing all of the equipment down and packing it up for the trip home.

On Wednesday, a NASA plane is scheduled to fly over camp and take air samples as they cruise over. So, we are trying to keep as many instruments up and running as possible so we can compare our data on the ground with the samples taken by the people on the plane.

For the journal today I have decided to liquidate some pictures I have been meaning to share. There is no rhyme or reason to them and some were taken 34 days ago when I arrived here: Enjoy!

The outhouse at Sat Camp is a tent with a bucket inside. Procedure for use: Place plastic bag in bucket. Do job. Take bag out. Carry bag 1 km back to Summit Camp! "Pack it in, Pack it out!" The Mercury team from NOAA (looking for elevated levels of mercury) place a "Sonic" away from camp. The sonic measures wind direction vertically and horizontally as well as wind speed and temperature. Rime frost forms when "frost fog" dropplets freeze on the surface of objects. Here, the frost seems to grow out of this bamboo flag pole in the shape of whispy feathers. Hoar frost forms when objects (like this hand rail at the Big House) cool faster than the air around them. The cool, moist air freezes on the surface and makes large crystals that stick up off the surface. This is the GISP2 Hole (Greenland Ice Sheet Project 2). This is the spot where the original core of Greenland Ice was drilled. The crew reached bedrock 2.5 miles down on July 1, 1993 after 5 years of drilling! It provides a record of the Earth's atmosphere going back 100,00 years. These ice core samples are stored in the U.S. and our work here is used to help interpret the gasses found inside that core. Craig Clements entertains the crew at Balloon Island during a frigid night of continuous tethersonde launches. Craig Clements and I wire up the data logger at the base of the Swiss Tower. The logger keeps track of the temperature sensors that stretch all the way to the top of the 165 ft tower. Barry Lefer and Craig Clements gaze upon Greenland's blue skies.

What is your threshold for your own personal body smell? I mean, at what point do you KNOW it is time to get in the shower? Today, I found my threshold! After 14 days without a shower, I could hold out NO LONGER!

*Today, I finally cleaned up; much to the pleasure of those folks I am working with. Normally we get one shower a week, but after I had gone 10 days without one, a few people thought I should see how long I could go without…so, I did! *

Go ahead…give it a try sometime…see how long you can go before people start to notice!!! Just kidding…take a shower…PLEASE!

Food Update:

Lunch: Leftover scramble…put ‘em all together and see what comes out the other side! Yum...

Dinner: Buttery Chicken (like a curry sauce), Rice Pilaf, Cottage Cheese, Salad.

Stay Warm!!