21 November 2009 Christchurch

Alarm: 3:30 am.  I, along with all the other researchers, drillers, painters, janitors, and other support staff, need to be to the US Antarctic Program building at 5 am this morning to get ready to board a C-17 to McMurdo Station.  I am tired but adrenaline gets me going in no time...

The past couple of days I have been in Christchurch, New Zealand.  It's an odd town, small, quiet, and overrun by ice people.   It has the feel of a college town, without the college students.  There is a small, slow river (Avon River) running through the center of town on which people can "punt" - take a guided canoe ride in water that would come up to your knees if you tried to wade across.  Bagpipes are apparently popular.  Also, ducks.  A nice botanical garden and some very interesting architecture round out the scenery to keep it lively and dynamic.

Punting (floating in shallow-draft boats) is popular along the slow, shallow river Avon that runs through the middle of Christchurch, surrounded by parks and greenery. A drum and bagpipe marching band, practicing in the park ("Skirl" refers to a high piercing sound such as that of bagpipes; apparently it also refers to a group of bagpipers) Everywhere you see water in Christchurch, you will probably see ducks. You can tell which one is Q*Bert because he is wearing his school ID.

I crossed paths with many Antarctic-bound folks, going to all corners of the southernmost continent.  I also met two other PolarTREC teachers: Sarah Diers, off to the Dry Valleys to research dissolved organic matter and the microorganisms that feed off it; and Lindsay Knippenberg, just returning from several weeks on the ice in which she helped collect specimens of microorganisms that live in the lowest reaches of Antarctic glaciers.  Lindsay has many stories to tell, you should check out her journals, and ask her about the "aroma" that permeated her as she came back to McMurdo from several weeks working in the field without access to basic sanitation...  And Sarah will certainly have many stories to tell of her exploits, so you should check out her journal as well!

Yesterday afternoon, all the deploying personnel had to meet at the USAP Clothing Distribution Center (CDC) to fit our Extreme Cold Weather (ECW) gear.  Our list of issued equipment was very extensive, from socks and thermal underwear to the thick red parka, balaclava, and goggles.  Some of this we must pack in our "hand carry" bag, which actually means we will be putting it on before we board the plane, in case of an emergency. 

All of these orange bags are packed with Extreme Cold Weather (ECW) gear for the people deploying to Antarctica tomorrow; each of us was issued two bags packed with warm apparel, specially selected based on where we are deploying and what our job function will be. Here's my checklist of what goes into my ECW bags. Some of the items could be packed in the checked baggage; but the items are listed in the "hand carry" column we needed to wear (or have immediately available) as we boarded the plane.

In the event that the weather turns bad and our plane gets "boomeranged" back to Christchurch, our luggage will stay packed up - except for a "boomerang bag" which will contain a couple days of spare clothing and necessities.

But barring a boomerang I should be in Antarctica by this afternoon!  In the mean time, some more images of Christchurch...

This cathedral is the centerpiece of town. Christchurch has quite a few buildings with modern and unusual designs. This art center looks pretty cool from the outside; I will check out the inside when I get back to Christchurch from Antarctica. Engineering students: consider the operation of this in terms of trusses - stress, strain, compression, tension; also consider the torques acting around the base in order to keep it balanced. Note the massive counterweight just to the left of the base - much closer to the base than the end of the crane's arm where it would lift a heavy load. These modern sculptures outside the Christchurch Art Gallery show the same engineering characteristics as the crane visible in the background - careful balancing of forces and torques to bring to life an unlikely shape in steel.