The dive hole is almost ready! It is actually already large enough for divers to get through; in fact, the upper portion of the dive hole is huge! But, as the hole goes deeper, the hole gets narrower. We couldn't really see from the surface how narrow it was at the bottom, so I went for a quick swim to find out! The verdict: the hole is plenty large enough for divers to get through, but not wide enough for some of the equipment we will be deploying. At the bottom of the hole, when I put my fists together, my elbows rubbed on either side of the hole - for the entire 360°. Some of the equipment is wider than that, so .... more melting! We have to refuel the generator and hotsy every four hours. Last night, Hilke took the 3 am refueling shift; tonight, I will take the 2 am refueling shift. The hole should be plenty big enough by tomorrow, so the research diving will begin!Antarctic research is quite a process. Just think, I left the states on October 13th and we will finally begin our research work on October 31!
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The beginnings of a dive hole. I already posted this picture in a previous journal entry, but I wanted to refresh your memories and show some of the progression.
As the hotsy continues to melt, the surface hole will get a bit larger, but then it stops increasing in size. The heat from the water dissipates out through the existing relatively small hole as the melting continues underwater. Basically, this means that a large hole is forming under the ice, but the surface of the ice doesn't melt any more. If you stand at the edge of the visible hole, you are basically standing on a lip of ice over the larger hole beneath. So... we chip away the lip of ice to meet the edge of the larger hole underneath. Chipping and scooping the ice chunks out of the hole is hard work!
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Ian chipping away the "lip" of ice surrounding the dive hole.
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That looks better! Welcome to the "Dive Hole." The darkness you can see in the hole is actually not even at the bottom of the ice! We need to melt the bottom out a little bit more.
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Today, Ian, Aslan, and Hilke set up the "Endurance tent" beside the dive hole. This tent will have a heater inside to keep equipment, and divers, warm!
I have been asked a couple questions quite a few times, so I thought it would be best to write about them. First, several folks want to know if we can ice skate on the ice. The answer is no. The surface of the lake ice is VERY rough and full of cracks. Now - in between those cracks and roughness is incredibally dense turquoise ice. It is spectacular to look at; I will be sure to get pictures of it tomorrow. There is just no way to skate on this ice; it's very bumpy for the most part. I suppose you might find a small patch that would be perfect for skating, but you would only be able to go around and around in a very small circle. Plus... what would I give up and not bring in order to bring ice skates?!
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The surface of the lake is very rough, too rough for ice skating!
The second question that keeps coming up is "where do you go to the bathroom" in the field. It's a good question. First of all, that depends on where you are. Different camp sites have different "facilities." Lake Hoare has two "rocket toilets." They are called rocket toilets because they have propane tanks which burn the waste and the tanks look like rocket boosters. In camp, we use those. They seem like luxury. When away from camp, we use "pee bottles." They are empty nalgene water bottles that are very clearly marked (really all over the bottle!) with "P" so that there can be no misunderstanding about what's inside! These are also used at "night" so that we don't have to get out of the tents! You learn to live with it!
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Rae, the camp manager at Lake Hoare, shows off the "rocket toilet"!
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The "rocket toilets." Can you see the propane tanks inside?
I wanted to end with a parting picture of Rob, the dive coordinator for dive operations here in Antarctica. Apparently Rob was feeling left out of the pictures! So - let me introduce you to Rob!
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Are you feeling the love now Rob?!
You can also check out my journals and pictures from previous seasons at: http://www.ryejrhigh.org/ellwood