Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 11/18/2009 - 07:33
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Microorganisms in Antarctic Glacier Ice

Dear Ms. Knippenberg, We read on http://www.antarcticconnection.com that there isn't much snow in Antarctica, but when we read your journal of 11-17 you commented about a snowstorm that kept you from reaching Cape Evans. Is there Snow in Antartica?

EL Rosehill Wednesday (Snowstorm Smarties)

Fri, 11/20/2009 - 12:29

Lindsay Knippenberg

Hello There Snowstorm Smarties!
The snowstorm that kept me from going to Cape Evans was on Nov 13th and 14th, so check those days. I tried to go to Cape Evans on the 16th and it was a beautiful day on that day, but none of the plows had gotten a chance to get to the ice roads. Their first priority was to get to the ice runways so that planes could get in and out.I'm guessing that trips to Cape Evans were not a huge priority. As for how much sun we actually got from that storm, it is hard to say. It is always so windy that the snow blows everywhere and drifts. In some places the snow would be up to my waist and in other places it would be only an inch or two. McMurdo was really pretty with all of the snow, but within 3 or 4 days it warmed up so much that a lot of it had already melted and McMurdo was back to being muddy again. Now I am back in New Zealand, so there are no risks of big snowstorms here. Thanks for the question.
Lindsay