Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 10/15/2007 - 18:55

1 - Does it get dark enough to see the stars? If so how different is it than the North America sky? Does it make you feel like you are not home?

2 - Do sounds sound "different" in the extreme cold? I remember it being 0 or 5 degrees F here (in Penna) and seem to recall sounds were clearer or crisper.

3 - When away from 'civilization" do you notice any smells such as the ocean?

 

Thank you

Rich Kucharik

Mindy Bell

Hi Rich and others,1. The switch from complete winter darkness to total summer light takes place over a mere 8 weeks here.  The group that came for WinFly (when the first planes arrive here after winter ends - this year around August 21st) said they saw the partial lunar eclipse and the Aurora Australis (the Southern Lights) because it still got dark then.
Most of our team was up until 2 am last night and the sun dipped close to the horizon but never set.  The stars, whether they are visible or not, are different than the ones we see.  The Southern Cross is one of the marker constellations for the southern hemisphere as it points to the south pole the way our Big Dipper points to the north pole.
I think the experience of seeing different stars affects people differently.  People who know their constellations and star-gaze a lot might feel very disoriented.  I lived in Australia for a year and enjoyed the differences but it didn't make me feel too "lost".  The strangest thing for me was having the sun in the north instead of in the south like we are used to.
2. I'll ask around about sounds.  What I've noticed is that if you get away from the ever-present diesel engines and the loud crunch of snow boots on snow, then Antarctica is very quiet...  You can hear nothing which is pretty amazing!
3. The air feels pure and I can smell very well here.  Unfortunately I'm often smelling gas from ice-core drills or diesel fumes.  Since the ocean is under ice it is not too smelly.  But the dead fish in the aquarium... 

Kirk Beckendorf

 Mindy,
That is interesting about the sunrise/sunset. In another message from Ann the question arose about accurate weather data from the web. The INternet source I have been using for sunrise sunset shows a sunrise on Oct 15th of 4:31 and a sunset of 10:57. So my websource must be incorrect? Do you have an website that you would recommend?
 http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/astronomy.html?n=1032
 

Mindy Bell

Kirk,Your website is more accurate than I am.  There were clouds on the horizon so it dipped below and I didn't notice!  Basically, it never gets dark, but the sun is technically "setting" for a little longer at our latitude.  Sorry to mess you up!
Do you have the mesonet address for McMurdo weather that you will be using? 
Mindy

Kirk Beckendorf

Mindy,I am copying and pasting below a message I posted on your weather comparison thread...
 
Shelley Knuth from UW-Madison said,
"The AWS closest to McMurdo would be Williams Field, but it doesn't necessarily have the best representation of McMurdo weather since it's out on the ice shelf and McMurdo is on Ross Island in a protected area (from winds, etc).  You can look at the synoptic data taken by the observers in McMurdo for real-time weather if you wish: "
 
The following link is for all of the UW-Madison team's stations.
Hope this helps.
Kirk

Jim Walters

Hi Mindy:Interesting comment about the Southern Cross - we saw it for the 1st time from Fiji last month!  The sky was very different and fortunately we had a few Kiwis to guide us around the stars.
Q: As a former arctic researcher, I know how important it is to enjoy your non-'work' hours during the day.  What do you do to relax and recharge?

Mindy Bell

Hi Jim,Fiji sounds great right now!  Or anytime for that matter!  McMurdo is getting more and more full of scientists and support personnel and I think we are scaring the brave folks that wintered-over with all of our exuberance.
There is a lot going on here.  Every Sunday and Wednesday there are science lectures.  There are three "beverage centers" for evening imbibing, and Gallagher's serves burgers and entertainment a few nights a week.  Live music happens, and there is a bowling alley, weight room, aerobics room, and craft room that includes a ceramics studio.  Thursday night is American Night at Scott Base so we will all be going there tonight, and then on Saturday we are having the Banff Mountain Film Festival in the galley.  In between (or instead of) this excitement, we usually work in the labs at night as well.  The field season is short (as you know from the Arctic) and we have to maximize our time while we're here!