Tonight, after getting ready for bed in the Recreation Tent, I stumbled out into the fog! According to Stephanie, our camp meteorologist, the cool air that blew in this evening was so close to the dew point that it created fog. The sun is at its lowest angle in the sky around 8 p.m., resulting in lower temperatures in the evening. Therefore, fog usually forms at WAIS in the evening and lingers until the early morning, when temperatures generally rise again.
The fog creates an eerily quite yet beautiful landscape. Tonight, the wind was still and the temperature was dropping- it was a perfect time to head out to my tent to fall asleep! Did you expect that it would get foggy in West Antarctica? I never really expected to see fog. However, I like it because it reminds me of the ocean. Liquid water is a welcome thought these days as I sit atop 3,500 meters of snow and ice!
This is fog hanging over the runway. No flights would be able to land tonight. We have to have at least one mile of visibility for a LC-130 to land at camp.
Fog and the plain white of the ice sheet. It is neat to see the contrast.
My friends observing the fog roll in over WAIS Divide.
The view towards town from Tent City. The fog obscured sight of all of the buildings in town.
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