Submitted by Anonymous on Sat, 09/10/2011 - 04:57
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Adaptations of Marine Worms in Antarctica

I have noticed that some of your dive holes have a water level that is even with the surface of the ice, and some have a water level that appears to be several feet below the level of the ice surface. Why?

Sat, 09/10/2011 - 13:36

Michael League

Great observation! A lot of that has to do with whether we cleared thesnow or not before placing the dive hut. In most cases, when there is a
larger gap between the bottom of the dive hut and the water level, most
of what you are seeing is compacted snow. In many places around
McMurdo, there are about two-three feet of snow on top of the sea ice.
At the dive site called the Jetty, we removed all the snow before we
drilled the hole. This led to some problems. You can see the video of
drilling that hole by [clicking
here.](http://www.polartrec.com/expeditions/adaptations-of-marine-worms-in-anta...)
But, there is a much shorter drop to the water.
Hope that helps answer your question.
Mike