Mr. Wesche came to visit WAIS Divide! What a great surprise! It is rare to have a friend just hop over for a visit when you are in the deep field in Antarctica.Body: We had a special guest for the day here at WAIS Divide! Mr. Wesche, a PolarTREC teacher who is at Byrd Camp, flew in with his crew to come visit. I'd like to think he came just to see me but I think the ice cores were more exciting! I got to take Mr. Wesche around camp and show him how our little camp on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet differed from Byrd Camp. Both Byrd and WAIS Divide have the same type of buildings and the same number of people.
Apparently, the only real difference between the camps is that we have the drill arch, or the large structure that is dedicated to the DISC ice core drill. In 1967-1968 there was an ice core drilled at Byrd. With improving technology, new scientific questions, and a better understanding of how to document, preserve, and sample ice, the hope is that the WAIS Divide ice core will help to better elucidate past climate variability.
It was nice to show someone in person what it is like to work with ice cores. Mr. Wesche got to see the ice cores with volcanic ash layers and even got to see the drill come out of the borehole with a new piece of ice. He picked a great day to come because we drilled to 2000 meters, a landmark in this project. We want drill a total of ~3,500 meters by the end of the 2011 so there is only one more chance to see a one thousand meter mark!
Be sure to check out his journal if you haven't yet! He has TONS of great stuff up about Antarctica.
Thanks for the visit Mr. Wesche. Safe travels back to the United States! The West Antarctic Ice Sheet already misses you!
Mr. Wesche getting ready to depart WAIS Divide for Byrd Camp.
Heidi and Mr. Wesche at WAIS Divide!