For the first week or so in Antarctica, our time has been spent at McMurdo Base, getting ready for our field research. Sometime this week, we are scheduled to fly to WAIS Divide, about 3.5 hours from where we are now. WAIS Divide is considered a remote field site -- we will not have many of the luxuries that we have here, like dorm buildings, daily hot showers, and 24-hour internet access!
During the past week at McMurdo Base, we have undergone several different training sessions to get us ready for life in the field. Today, my teammate Rachel Obbard tells you about some of them.
Train This!
by Rachel Obbard
A good part of the first several days in McMurdo are spent in training. For first time participants, the number of rules and procedures, the speed of the courses, and the usual administrative love for acronyms makes it all a little confusing.
Returning participants have to take the classes too, even if they’ve had them on a previous trip (or many previous trips). This is OK if the presenter does a good job – because a lively presenter invites you to pay attention and participate. Even if you already know some of it, you may have forgotten (if your hard disk is near capacity or fragmented like mine). Plus you may pick up different things than you did previously.
Here are the training seminars we have had or will have this week:
Environmental Protection
Protecting the environment in and around Antarctica is of utmost importance while we are here, so it is the first training we attend! Photo Credit: Yamini Bala
Outdoor Safety Lecture
This session is to teach us how to enjoy outdoors recreational opportunities safely.
Crary Science Lab Tour and Safety Protocols
We are given a tour of the Crary Science Building and taught the safety protocols for working in the Labs. Photo Credit: Yamini Bala
Solid and Hazardous Waste management
This lecture taught us how to correctly sort our garbage into the 12 recycling categories they use here! We also learned how to clean up and report spills, and how to handle hazardous waste. Photo credit: Yamini Bala
Fire Safety
You wouldn't expect fires to be a big problem in the coldest continent on earth, but apparently they are. The biggest cause of fires? Improperly put out cigarette butts. Photo Credit: Yamini Bala
Light Vehicle Operations and Maintenance
We are talked to about the correct way to operate a light vehicle. Here, pick-up trucks and vans are considered "light" and can be rented out by anyone. Photo Credit: Yamini Bala
If you are going to rent a van or truck, you have to know how to properly maintain it. Tony shows Rachel how to check the oil and fluids. Photo Credit: Yamini Bala
MacOps Communications Briefing
We talk to Shelley at MacOps about communication protocols for our field site. Photo Credit: Erin Pettit
Generator Operation
We will take a small generator with us to WAIS Divide. Tony shows us how to operate it. Photo Credit: Yamini Bala
My favorite so far has been MacOps (McMurdo Operations), which is in charge of central communications for the base. MacOps is the group that handles all communications with US Antarctic Program participants who are in the field, whether in a deep field camp or simply out for a day trip on the sea ice or the Dry Valleys, etc.
This is a board of all the science groups MacOps keeps track of out in the field... just this season! Our picture was taken and will be added to the top right corner, under the I section, for Geology. Photo Credit: Yamini Bala
They handle check-ins, emergencies, and relay of field calls to people in town, they monitor the weather and contact you if it looks like it will take a turn for the worse, AND they are the group who sounds the alarm, so to speak, if you don’t return or check in when you said you would.
A MacOps employee checks in with a group out in the field. Photo Credit: Yamini Bala
I’m realizing that this post will make my mother much happier… IN FACT, the MacOps stickers say “We are not your Mother…But we still love you.”
MacOps staff are our moms away from home. They check up on us to make sure we're safe, and if we are not home on time, they will send someone out to find us! Photo credit: Rachel Obbard
The MacOps office is always hopping, with calls coming in from the field on High Frequency (HF) and Very High Frequency (VHF) radios and Iridium (satellite) phones. It would definitely take a well organized, level-headed person to work there!
Goldie says she may apply…
Goldie uses the MacOps Radio to check in with a remote field team. Photo credit: Rachel Obbard