"Just keep truckin' on" -The Grateful Dead
At 6:00am I woke with excitement. My heart was pounding a bit as I heard the wind rattle the windows. I looked outside to see a sunny and windy day. I knew it was probably pretty cold out there. I gathered up my layers of clothing...thin long underwear, thick long underwear, fleece pants, wind pants, sweater, down jacket, liner gloves, regular gloves, liner socks, warmer socks, big red parka. While the wind and thought of going out on this blustery day made my heart beat a little bit faster, the real reason for my excitement is that today is the day I learn to drive the Pisten Bully!!!
Amy Osborne learning how to drive a Pisten Bully.
Here's what I know so far about the pisten bully...it is a large track vehicle that, apparently, can go over anything. It can go up a mountain of snow and is similar to the machines that are used to groom ski slopes. I love learning to drive new things.
Sure enough the Pisten Bully training didn't disappoint. Amanda told us a bit about what she calls the grumpy old monster. She told us about the multiple tasks we need to do before we even start the vehicle. I, also learned a new word...webasto. The Webasto is what warms the engine coolant and pre-heats the engine. The webasto switch needs to be turned on 30 minutes before driving, which provides plenty of time to check all of the other things off of the pre-driving checklist. Anyway, I found the whole presentation fascinating and had a hard time remembering all of the steps that need to happen before I can crank the engine. Not to worry though, I had a chance to actually drive the Pisten Bully with Tony!
Amy Osborne receiving instructions from Tony about how to drive the Pisten Bully.
I met up with Tony outside and he showed me how to drive the Pisten Bully. There is no break pedal and the pedal that you think of as a gas pedal or acceleration peddle is the tachometer. To control the speed at which I travel I have to turn a dial and there is a button that I push to go either forwards or backwards. I loved driving the Pisten Bully around McMurdo! Tony showed me the handy binder that lists all of the things that need to be done before and after driving the Pisten Bully. He even let me park it. (There was a moment when I forgot there wasn't a break pedal. Luckily, we didn't go over the edge of the snow bank.) I helped him shut it down which involved replacing a bunch of exhaust caps and turning a lever to the off position. I don't know that I'll have a lot of opportunities to drive around in a Pisten Bully but it sure was fun learning!
This Pisten Bully training is just one of many trainings I need to go through. Yesterday, I had field safety training. This means I practiced setting up a single walled tent, starting a whisperlite camp stove, and tying some knots. I also learned what's in an Antarctica survival bag so I'll know in advance what I have if I get stuck out in the field somewhere. We reviewed hypothermia, frostbite, and cold water immersion. For me it was like a shortened wilderness first responder course mixed with a survival skills course.
SOME WORDS FROM THE SPACE STATION
Yesterday ended with an incredible opportunity that had nothing at all to do with my trainings...All of McMurdo had a chance to talk live via video stream to Jessica Meir! She is one of the astronauts at the International Space Station who was a member of the FIRST EVER ALL WOMAN SPACE WALK!!! She virtually showed us around the space station and even demonstrated how to drink water while in space. Jessica used to work at McMurdo so we were very fortunate that people who have worked with her linked her to all of McMurdo for this very special glimpse into life in space.
Working hard on my journals and researching more information in the Crary Lab Library. It has one of the best views around and so many wonderful books! (Amy Osborne)
Tomorrow I have an all day sea ice training and on Thursday I have snow machine and light vehicle training. In between my trainings, I've been working on my journals and finding out more information as I sit in the Crary library with views of the sea ice. I'm hoping by Friday I'll be all trained up and able to head out to the dive sites with the research team!
Graham, a member of the research team, places tubes of sea spider eggs into a box that will be placed into a negative (-) 80 freezer. These will eventually be sent to Hawaii and used to study the development of these eggs.
Boxes with tubes of spider eggs in them in the negative (-) 80 freezer. A thick mitten must be worn when placing these boxes into the freezer.
While I've been doing all of this training the research team has been separating egg masses from sea spiders and freezing them as well as observing what's been happening to embryos of nudibranchs that have been developing in different water temperatures. As the sun almost sets, but doesn't quite get there, another day at McMurdo ends and I'm excited to find out what I learn tomorrow.
Sunset at McMurdo Station, Antarctica
TRIVIA TIME ANSWERS
Thanks to those who answered the trivia questions from October 18th! Congratulations to Emily and Zoe from Belize! Send me your addresses via email: aosborne [at] polartrec.com. Let's see if that postcard can make it from Antarctica to Belize. Thanks for playing and stay tuned tomorrow for another round of Antarctic trivia. (This time the questions will be Antarctica based)
Here are the answers:
What is the name of the extinct flightless bird that once called New Zealand home?
A. kiwi B. ostrich C. moa D. chicken
The moa is the only one of these listed that's actually extinct. Some people said the kiwi which is an animal under threat. There are only 68,000 kiwi left and 2% of the population is lost every year. The cassowary, another flightless and very large bird, is native to Australia. It is related to the moa and the kiwi. These, along with the ostrich and emu, are in a group of birds called ratites.
In which hemisphere is Antarctica located?
A. Northern Hemisphere B. Southern hemisphere C. both hemispheres D. none of these
The "Ant" in Antarctica means opposite. The Arctic is in the northern hemisphere and Antarctica is in the southern hemisphere. Steve, thanks for bringing up the eastern and western hemispheres! About half of Antarctica lies in the eastern hemisphere and half of it lies in the western hemisphere.
What type of rock is formed by layering sediment?
A. metamorphic B. sedimentary C. igneous D. classic
Nice job everyone! As the name implies, a sedimentary rock is a rock formed by layering sediment.
What animals will I be studying in Antarctica?
A. mammals B. birds C. ectotherms D. reptiles
I'll be studying marine ectotherms which means animals that can't control their body temperature so their body temperature varies depending on the environment. Specifically, the research team I'm on will be looking at nudibranchs, which are molluscs (phylum: mollusca, class: gastropoda, subclass: Opistohobranchia) and sea spiders which are arthropods (phylum: arthropoda, subphylum Chelicerata, class:Pycnogonida). I'm still waiting on that animal photo shoot. I'll get more pictures of the sea spiders and nudibranchs to you soon!
Where is the ring of fire located?
A. Pacific Ocean B. Indian Ocean C. Atlantic Ocean D. Johnny Cash's house
The ring of fire, also known as the rim of fire, is a major area around the edges of the Pacific Ocean that is characterized by volcanic activity and earthquakes. This area includes New Zealand, Japan, Alaska, the west coast of North and South America. I do love to listen to Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire"
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